2/4/2026

3/21/2026 10:59 PM

40

0

0 wins / 0 losses

Sage

The Cat Must Be Fed

unpublished

Won't somebody feed the poor, desperate, starving cat?

Loosely based on a true story.

Written for The 24 Hour Storygame Comp.

I really like the first one also!

The fun thing about Wes Anderson is a random new trailer can drop and you instantly know it's a Wes Anderson movie. I think there's still one or two of his movies I haven't seen yet, but I've enjoyed all of them.

That's definitely a classic! The Snowman (1982) and Father Christmas (1991) have always been yearly holiday favorites for my family.

That is hilarious and a great idea!

Do you know what's just as good as cats and robots? A robot cat. Or a robot cat trophy. Congrats!

These appear to be real, and are really fun looking!

Just think of it as a learning opportunity! We all make mistakes, and there is a lot of convincing AI stuff floating around these days.

Oh interesting, that sounds like a fun direction to take with it. And thanks!

Good thoughts! It's tough to handle something like personal horror. That "ick" factor can definitely wear out its welcome when it's too much of a focus. It can sometimes reach a point where the reader is like, ok, I get it, it's gross. So you have to be careful not to linger too much on it, but give it just the right amount of attention to establish that it's not a pleasant thing. Not all of the descriptions have to sound unpleasant, either. They can be a little more physical or matter-of-fact to help balance that out. I think exploring the mental/emotional journey would also help give it a more balanced feeling. I (assume) they don't need to instantly be a ravenous mana-hungry being, but it's something that happens slowly and starts creeping into their mind in unexpected ways. It would also give you the opportunity to explore different ways they try to cope with it. For example, that might be a realization that they can't entirely stop this change and that they will need to bite a few people/creatures/etc. along their journey as a necessary “evil” as they look for a cure. And thanks to this format, you can also have a different all-in route where the character embraces it. So, I think there are a lot of things you can explore with this. Since it's mana and not blood, this also gives you creative leeway to allow for some rare/expensive but alternate sources of mana that don't involve biting anyone. I think that can be another key differentiator that could make it something much more than just a mana vampire story. Anyway, those are just a few quick extra thoughts. I'll definitely need to check out Fey Lights at some point! I'm pretty locked in on getting my current story done for End's Contest (extension aside), but will have more time for reading stories next month.

I enjoyed the early concept you had going with your story, so I'm definitely looking forward to the rewrite! It felt like you already had some interesting worldbuilding in mind with the curse, and it's mostly a matter of finding a way to share that adventure with the reader. For example, instead of just telling the player they're cursed after the fact, being able to play through that would be a more engaging and slower way to introduce them to the concept. You'd even have the option to establish a few pre-curse moments as part of the introduction, though you weaved some of that into the storytelling already. It mostly depends on the scale (pun half intended) you have in mind. It would also be great to have a bit more branching and a touch more nuance in the choices, so it doesn't just come down to "bite" or "help." A lot of that is likely the time constraint though, as I think most of us had to make a lot of compromises to make sure we could finish something in time. Overall, it felt like a good preview/demo of a bigger concept, so it was a nice introduction to that world!