Lost Rambler

Book Five, Chapter 31

“I got it,” I said. “If we can get them to block off the air intakes in hallway 3A, that will trigger the system to open up the door into Reservoir B in order to ventilate the system. Once they're in Reservoir B, they can pass directly into hallway 3B.”

Antoine stared at the same di...

Book Five, Chapter 30

More chapters will come as they are ready.

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Time was different between our two ships. This became abundantly clear, and the reason was simple: our ship had conscious players in it.

The other ship, filled with bedbugs and doomed passengers, wasn't exactly speed...

Update

Here's the deal: I have the chapters written. I just don't like them. The ending feels unearned and does not fit the storyline or the story as a whole.

Yet.

It isn't right yet.

I need to rewrite them, which means you cannot get your chapter today. I hate that...

Book Five, Chapter 29

If you are coming directly from RR before Wednesday, September 4, note that Chapters 29-34 will be rewritten by that date. The story will be the same but more refined. Read on, but know a few details might change.

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I was finally getting a good understanding of how D...

Book Five, Chapters 27 and 28

Antoine Stone is the Athlete.

No aspect has been chosen.

Antoine has a Plot Armor score of 26, Mettle of 7, Moxie of 4, Hustle of 5, Savvy of 3, and Grit of 7.

Current Trope Limit: 9

"Off the Bench" the player feels more rested fo...

2024-08-14 06:56:47 +0000 UTC View Post

Book Five, Chapters 24, 25, and 26

I will post their stats and trope with the next chapter.

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I stood in the living room area of the loft next to Antoine and Kimberly. We had taken days off, but knowing the task that lay ahead, there was only so much relaxing that we could do.

T...

Update

Chapter tomorrow. It'll be a big one.

The first rescue begins. It's time to see if Riley and the gang can live up to Project Rewind's goals.

It's time to save lives.

It's time for... Itch.

Book Five, Chapters 22 and 23

The Carousel Atlas’ section on rescues was written, or at least rewritten, by Curtis W., who was the same guy whose journal entries in the Atlas told us about Project Rewind.

He proposed a system for rating rescue tropes based on three criteria: Potency, Availability, and Risk (PAR).

Book Five, Chapters 20 and 21

It didn't take long after acquiring the Carousel Atlas to figure out that the book was made for Scholars, not puny Film Buffs.

At first glance, it did look organized.

Everything was divided into sections based on spoilers, geography, and by topic. But beyond that, there was no way to ...

Book Five, Chapters 18 and 19

"Are you sure we can't just call Sal again?" Isaac asked. I could tell there was something he was aching to say. He was afraid. Unfortunately, his fear came out in the form of insincere apathy and overdone caution. "We just need to ask him the right questions."

"We already talked to Sal," I...

Next Post Tomorrow

Carousel Book Five starts tomorrow. I guess you could say it's about to... take off.

See you then.

Book Five, Chapters 17

Kimberly looked through the tropes and then stared back up at us, hoping that we would be able to encourage her decision.

We had discussed this a long time ago, back when we had nothing but time and the Carousel Atlas to look through. When it came to the Eye Candy archetype, there we...

Book Five, Chapter 16

I lay still in the cornfield as I waited for my wounds to disappear.

I didn't even notice when it actually happened. My head was laying on my arm, and at some point, I noticed that the fabric of my loud 1970s business suit had turned back into the soft fabric of my hoodie.

I got up of...

Checking in and a Question

Alright, Kimberly will get her aspect.

Thanks to all readers who provided their arguments for and against. Based on your ideas, I might adjust some things in the edit.

As requested, I will also be writing about what happens to her in the finale after she leaves Riley so you can see h...

Does Kimberly Get Her Aspect?

Kimberly has completed a storyline after level 21. Did she perform well enough to earn her Aspect? Eye Candy Archetypes get their aspect after a "perfect" performance.

Did she do it?

You decide!

If you vote yes, her aspect vote will appear on Discord.

Book Five, Chapters 14 and 15

"We have to leave now," I said as I ushered them to follow me.

Luckily, whatever weird ancestor-worshipping ritual the Patchers were going through was keeping them from turning to us, but I knew it would only be a matter of time.

The Patchers did what they had to do to protect their f...

Book Five, Chapters 12 and 13

I could hear footsteps and Ted screaming as someone dragged him along the floor. I had a gun that Antoine had given me and enough Hustle to be able to use it.

I climbed out of the treehouse in what probably looked like a very clumsy crawl. I managed to land on my feet and point the gun in t...

Book Five, Chapters 10 and 11

I stared down at the page.

The name Sheriff Thomas Patcher stared back up at me.

What happened to Sheriff Jonathan Miller? They made Tommy Patcher the sheriff—the very guy who we suspected helped foil the community's attempts at finding Tamara Cano.

I took in my surroundings. ...

Book Five, Chapter 9

As we drove back to the boarding house, we discussed our plans for the future. We had suspects to question. We could see a line of attack to get to the bottom of this mystery, even if we couldn't see all the pieces at once. My He Has a Tell trope had been working on overdrive and had given us sev...

Changes to The Tutorial

I told you that I would be editing the Tutorial ending based on feedback and then tell you what changed.

The lead-up to the Silas Dyrkon monologue is largely the same. The only difference, really, is that I have tried to improve many of the character motivations and situations. I didn't wan...

Book Five, Chapters 7 and 8

Dina continued to fight back tears as Benny watched his son run off into the distance.

"I'm so sorry about that, ma'am," he said. "The boy's just going through a lot right now. Not as much as you, I'm sure. But he's just gonna go to one of his hiding places, and he’ll be fine."

He k...

Book Five, Chapters 5 and 6

Trigger Warning: While no violence towards children is depicted, the narrative deals with distressing situations related to a missing child and childhood trauma. Reader discretion is advised.

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Antoine Stone is the Athlete.

No aspect has bee...

2024-07-06 03:30:37 +0000 UTC View Post

Checking in

We are officially on the Friday/Monday schedule.

In the future, I will try to make it so that storylines take around a few weeks to post instead of months. I felt like the stories didn't have the impact they could have if they hadn't taken so long to get out. I feel full of writing energy a...

Book Five, Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4

I walked through the aisles of the general store with a purpose.

I was making a mental shopping list. The shelves were stacked with a meager supply of canned goods as well as all the staples that you might expect, such as flour and salt. Did we need kidney beans? Did we need beets? Did anyo...

Chapter on its way

I met my deadline and am working on your chapter. It should launch late tonight into the early morning hours.

Thank you for your patience.

Just to clarify

I will be starting the Friday and Monday Schedule ASAP, but as I have said before, I have a manuscript due soon. I will get the next chapter in soon, hopefully tomorrow. This one should be around 5000 words. I am working on adding in the downtime and storyline planning elements that you all have ...

Character Rundown

Riley Lawrence is the Film Buff.

His aspect is Filmmaker.

Filmmaker: The Filmmaker has a comprehensive understanding of the filmmaking process. They can manipulate the game environment effectively, altering the game's dynamics in subtle...

Heads Up

With Book Four finished, we are now onto the next phase of the adventure.

While I prepare for Book Five, I am going to write and publish an in-between storyline that I fear I won't get another chance to write once Book Five starts in earnest.

It's called The Final Straw.

Arc II, Chapter 85: The Remainder (unedited)

Isaac got two stat tickets and three tropes, along with a few coins. His low level meant that even an… uninspired performance netted him some gains.

After obtaining them, he kept calling himself a Cynic even though he had not chosen his aspect yet. I didn’t argue. I liked that he was co...

Arc II, Chapter 84: The Loft

Even as we stood there in shock at what had just happened, Carousel started to come back to life all around us.

I could hear that the Centennial Celebration, the modern one, was starting up in the distance. Every time I closed my eyes, it was like I was closer and closer to leaving the stor...