- Registrado
- 23 de Feb, 2019
This thread is for making your own stories or playing the ones already posted, like mine! The only rule for posting them, is that they must be interactive. This is how it works: you write your story with the different paths, choices, or endings, structured in a way in which the reader can jump from sequence to sequence in the appropriate order given their decision. In other words, people would read a sequence, then at its bottom be presented with 2 or more links (representing their options), and depending on which one they click on, it would lead them to the appropriate next section of the story (they are contained between the asterisks line, and you must click/choose an option in order to go to another section, so no cheating).
How do you do that? XenForo has default BBCode for internal links (similar to <a href="#id_name">) with the [HEADING] tags, so you can use those to create the anchors for your story's sections, then use the URL tags to link to them. You're also free to add media, like images or audio that are pertinent to your work; as an example, here is mine, which should display how this works in an intuitive manner.
Needless to say this is a writing/reading thread, and it welcomes everyone even if you're ESL (like me), maybe it can help us to become better at english, while still having fun & without making this a huge project. Participating here probably takes more creativity or effort than in other threads, so if you just want to shitpost (without a story), you have Q&A, General Discussion, or Mass Debates for that, however you may comment about the stories posted here if you want.
Many folktales have been told in this small village, some lingered while others perished, but the one that you could never get of your head no matter how hard you tried was the fabled "red persimmon". It is said that once every many years, by the end of fall a random tree will be possessed by a ghost, bearing a kaki fruit with reddish color. Whoever eats it, will find themselves engulfed in fortune, health, riches and success, however that wasn't the reason why you were obsessed over this tale, the truth had a much darker tone.
About 20 years ago both your parents were victims of the great village's massacre, taking the lives of several dozens of people, and without no one knowing what truly happened, the only proof of this incident were the remains of their skeletal corpses piled up in the nearby forest. Standing tall above the decaying and putrid mountain, a crooked tree seemed to mock them, and while grotesque in its shape, you could tell it resembled nothing like the surrounding wild trees, you would even dare to fantasize that it was the one from the legend, but it bore no fruits.
Since you were a young boy this catastrophe haunted you, you were determined to find the truth about this even if it meant putting your life at risk, if anything, it would bring peace to not only yourself, but your deceased parents. Something about the air told you that the next massacre would begin soon, you felt the same way days before your parents were killed, a very peculiar sensation of despair and imminent danger. At least you had some clues, or so you thought, the temple of the village, while being in a tiny isolated place, seemed to benefit greatly over the past years for no reason, the abbot was always covered with the finest silks and ornate objects from abroad, and the shrines were reconstructed with materials you hadn't even seen until now, so much for humility when facing the gods.
It was time to act, you had to know what happened. While it's the middle of the night... what will you do?
- Wait until tomorrow, then gather more information from the neighbours.
- Sleep and wait for the sunrise, then go to the temple.
- "Let's confront that bastard abbot and make him show true repentance!" (Take meat-cleaver)
After having a horrible nightmare, you brutishly wake up. You decide to eat some leftovers from yesterday and ask any passerby about this, however, eerie memories flood your head before departing, what was this nightmare about? You were fighting something, but you can't recall anything else, "let's just focus on what we're doing" - you said outloud. No one seemed to be outside, which was odd since this village wasn't known for having indolent people, in fact many earned their living through agriculture and working in the farms. The sun was bright as ever, so there was no reason to fear anything yet, despite the ominous feelings from yesterday.
You were starting to become preoccupied, what the hell was happening? Why was no one out? Flustered by this unusual state of affairs, you decided to knock on the wooden wall of a neighbour's house. You recognize it as the home of Ume, the girl that helped your mother in the garden decades ago, despite her looks, she was far older than at first glance, something that seemed very unnatural. "Yes? Oh, what can I do for you?" - she asked.
- "Ah Ume, I wanted to talk with you, can I come in?"
- "I need to talk with you about the incident, I think the abbot was involved in that massacre!"
You entered Ume's home and sat down, she mimicked your moves, always with a smile on her face. "Can I get you some tea?" - she asked, but you declined, the conversation was not going to be pleasant.
After procrastinating for some minutes trying to ease the topic about the massacre, you decided to question the unpredictable fortune the temple and its priests had been granted out of nowhere, and how the wretched tree that towered over the corpses of the victims resembled a persimmon tree. While you were speaking, she was quiet, attentive, and smiling, "think about it Ume, what could possibly give someone so much success after such disaster, to the village and its people? It's sacrifice! They sacrified my parents and all others for their own damn benefit!". Suddenly, she stopped smiling, the corners of her lips dropped like a brick, barely showing her front teeth, and her eyes focused, with her glaze puncturing your eyes.
In a monotone voice she mumbled "wait in here for a moment will you?", and before finishing, she quickly stood up in a rush, then walked slowly towards the other room until she was no longer visible.
It has been several minutes, "what the hell is she doing?" - you asked yourself, "well, I have to do something!".
- "Screw this, I have no time to waste, I'll confront the abbot myself."
- You decide to wait a bit more.
"Come here" - she confidently and loudly uttered, anxious but decided, you obeyed and kept walking. As you entered the rooms, they were being flooded in darkness until you eventually stopped when the woman, facing you backwards, was standing there quietly. "Ume?" - a question that was answered with a grinding noise coming out of her throat, "why would you meddle in our divine affairs? Who gave you permission to question our sanctity? Who gave you the right to oppose the Gods?" - a moment of silence passed by, then she started walking backwards towards you.
With her speed increasing, she suddenly turned around with a maniacal laughter, screaming her lungs out and swinging a knife at your face! What will you do!?
- Step back and cover your face.
- Try to catch the knife.
Ume's knife missed your eyes by a mere inch, overwhelmed, you attempted to run away, however in the middle of her vicious flurry of sharp steel, turning back to face the entrace proved to be a great challenge. Unable to keep your composure, you tripped and fell to the floor; followed by the crazy woman, you managed to grab the hand that was wielding the knife, with your other one attempting to grab onto something across the floor.
As you were clinging to life itself, you suddenly felt the touch of a wooden ornament nearby, and without a second to spare you used all your might to sink it into Ume's head, in an instant, she stopped.
Pushing her away was your first instinct, you stood up and took some steps back. Her head was half open, and a gelatinous substance flooded out of her broken skull, she was dead. "What the hell happened to her?!" - you thought, and equally as importantly, what was she talking about? Divine? Sanctity? This had to be the works of the monks at the temple, no other cults around here that you knew of besides those bastards...
They had to pay for what they've done, there was only one way at this point. Standing in silence, you took one final look to Ume's deceased body, she was still holding onto that knife, shining in the dim-lighted room. Normally you would feel something under these circumstances, fear, sadness, hopelessness, but instead, anger was flowing through your veins. It had to be, or else you would have fainted by the macabre sight that was taking place in front of you.
- "Let's get going, the abbot needs to give some answers!"
- You decide to pay the monks a little visit. (Takes knife)
Before you could consider anything else about what was happening on that instance, an intense pain flourished below your jaw. Crimson warmth began to bathe your from top to bottom: your neck, your chest, your stomach, and finally your left leg.
Your vision got dizzy, noises became distorted, and a buzzing sound would not leave you ears. You were still moving, but what was happening? You don't know. Fighting for your life was a desperate struggle, you couldn't last longer. Without enough air to breathe and your lungs on fire, you felt as if you were about to lose consciousness, but you didn't, you simply fell to the straw tatami.
With everything fading, all you could see is a blurry figure in the dark swinging violently, and eventually feeling a repeated, painful piercing in your belly, whoever was doing that displayed relentless cruelty, you couldn't even tell if it was a weapon or their own teeth what was puncturing your guts.
In these few moments you could not even think about anything else, as if you were falling asleep, every feeling was beginning to fade, and your consciousness as well.
- ("I'm not done!" - continue your adventure!)
The full moon was up, as you walked through the muddy trails you started to think about your plan of action. It would probably be bad if the monks saw you with the weapon you were wielding, and you knew that being night-time would not make this easier, since they often meditate regularly even at this hour, so you hid the sharp blade under your garments. No one seemed to even be awaken, the neighbourhood was as peaceful as it could be, it was perfect.
You kept and kept walking until you stumbled across the great pagoda, the temple where most of the monks resided. With no one guarding the entrance, it was easy to infiltrate the place, however surely someone would be inside, so by ever so slightly pushing one of the gates, you managed to slip through. As a place of devotion, it was never closed, however improper etiquette would be deemed as blasphemous and punished accordingly, "too late for that!" - you thought.
This was the first floor of the pagoda, no one was there and the square room was completely empty. Only the tatami, paintings, and scrolls on the walls were what inhabited that ghostly enclosing, the only way was up through the stairs. Without reservations, you proceeded, however what was greeting you slightly shaked your resolve. In the next floor, dim candle-light emanated from the small opening in between one of the room's doors, and something could be heard. Were they mantras? "They should be" - you thought, "let's keep going".
However once you paid closer attention, shivers ran through your legs, those were not chants, meditation or mantras, it sounded more as if a beast was eating something. No, it sounded like a human viciously eating a pile of flesh. Trying to peek inside, your suspicions were confirmed, that was one of the monks eating like a complete animal something that resembled a human corpse.
As you were about to abandon the scene, an old face with black eyes and black teeth, open-wide mouth, appeared right next to yours. All you could do as a reflex is scream in terror and take out your weapon, it was time to go all out on these monsters. What will you do?! There's no time to think!!
- The panic got to you, you faint.
- Swing your weapon like a maniac.
You began walking towards the pagoda, heated by all the thoughts going through your mind, you started to envision the manslaughter all those victims faced during the tragedy, including your parents. It had to be the monks who devised this cruel machination, and the reason why the persimmon was said to resemble a human heart, dark-red as if it was freshly carved out of a living person. A gruesome detail most people decide to forget about the story, after all, it was easy to imagine that the persimmon had to feed on something in order to acquire that color.
The more you walked, the more images formed in your head, in order to obtain this sacrilegious fruit, a great massacre was needed, it had to be planned, and it had to be executed. Only the benefited would rise afterwards, in a sea of blood yet blessed by the gods.
Finally you arrived, a monk was awaiting you as if he knew your thoughts and darkest secrets. "Good morning, young boy, have you come here to pray amongst us?" - he said. "Yeah... I have, may I see the abbot? I need his counseling.", without a moment to spare "Follow me boy." - he said as he turned around.
Guided to the interior of the enclosing, surrounded by pagodas but still outside, you walked behind the devout. Tree leaves were falling around you and birds were chirping, eventually, you entered one of the buildings that were preceded by wooden steps. While in the penumbra of the room, the monk offered you green tea as courtesy before calling the abbot. Sunk in your imagination, you drank as you planned every scenario in your head, confronting someone with this was after all not an easy task.
Suddenly, the voice of the monk behind you emerged "It's a nice day for death, don't you think?", startled by this you stood up, however something was wrong, your balance was off. Your throat started to burn, something was in the tea! There was no time to waste, you could feel imminent failure and feared being at the mercy of these wicked cultists, what will you do?
- (Rush the monk!)
Rushing like a wild horse you ran towards the pagoda; the knife, concealed under your clothes was awaiting to taste blood; your eyes, intense as a hawk's were focused like never before. Molten iron pumped through your heart, and any doubts were burned by your resolve and desire for retribution.
Finally while arriving at the temple you spotted one of the monks, however you decided to avoid him, stealth was your best bet. Infiltrating the place, you ran through the enclosing, through the hallways, and through the corridors. The place was almost desolate, so that helped control your already out of control heartbeats.
Eventually, you heard the voice of some monks, they were congregated in one of the rooms of a small temple since they were making an offering. Your eyes opened wide, there he was, the abbot. Covered in fine silk and ornate ceremonial tools, the sight of him started to burn your face, your anger was so tremendous that revenge seemed the only course of action to take. Rushing to the mob, you took out your knife and before anyone could process what was happening, you sank its blade above the abbot's collarbone.
Not satisfied with this, you brutally took the knife back and started to repeatedly slash his face and stab his torso. The monks could only stand in fearful awe, silently screaming at the macabre display of merciless vengeance. Finally you stopped, everything was warm and you were covered in blood, raising your head revealed your forgotten surroundings, a terrified crowd of people that knew what was next. You knew it too, after all, they were the ones who grew the persimmon many years ago, it was about time for you to indulge in one, a fruitful massacre was needed for it, and you could have not asked for a better place. Before their last moments, the afraid devouts could only see you as a demonic presence, very different and far away from the figure of what once was an innocent boy.
- END
Well hello reader, did you like the story? What happened after this? The boy that you were whispering what to do, what is of him nowadays? There are more tales across the nation, but nobody knows what's real anymore. Some say he retreated to never be seen again, others said that he died, and others that he never even existed in the first place! What do you think? Corruption can spawn corruption, but also an intense desire to overthrow it, whichever one surfaces while leaving the other behind, will be by the width of a split hair.
How do you do that? XenForo has default BBCode for internal links (similar to <a href="#id_name">) with the [HEADING] tags, so you can use those to create the anchors for your story's sections, then use the URL tags to link to them. You're also free to add media, like images or audio that are pertinent to your work; as an example, here is mine, which should display how this works in an intuitive manner.
Needless to say this is a writing/reading thread, and it welcomes everyone even if you're ESL (like me), maybe it can help us to become better at english, while still having fun & without making this a huge project. Participating here probably takes more creativity or effort than in other threads, so if you just want to shitpost (without a story), you have Q&A, General Discussion, or Mass Debates for that, however you may comment about the stories posted here if you want.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The red persimmon
About 20 years ago both your parents were victims of the great village's massacre, taking the lives of several dozens of people, and without no one knowing what truly happened, the only proof of this incident were the remains of their skeletal corpses piled up in the nearby forest. Standing tall above the decaying and putrid mountain, a crooked tree seemed to mock them, and while grotesque in its shape, you could tell it resembled nothing like the surrounding wild trees, you would even dare to fantasize that it was the one from the legend, but it bore no fruits.
Since you were a young boy this catastrophe haunted you, you were determined to find the truth about this even if it meant putting your life at risk, if anything, it would bring peace to not only yourself, but your deceased parents. Something about the air told you that the next massacre would begin soon, you felt the same way days before your parents were killed, a very peculiar sensation of despair and imminent danger. At least you had some clues, or so you thought, the temple of the village, while being in a tiny isolated place, seemed to benefit greatly over the past years for no reason, the abbot was always covered with the finest silks and ornate objects from abroad, and the shrines were reconstructed with materials you hadn't even seen until now, so much for humility when facing the gods.
It was time to act, you had to know what happened. While it's the middle of the night... what will you do?
- Wait until tomorrow, then gather more information from the neighbours.
- Sleep and wait for the sunrise, then go to the temple.
- "Let's confront that bastard abbot and make him show true repentance!" (Take meat-cleaver)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A new day
After having a horrible nightmare, you brutishly wake up. You decide to eat some leftovers from yesterday and ask any passerby about this, however, eerie memories flood your head before departing, what was this nightmare about? You were fighting something, but you can't recall anything else, "let's just focus on what we're doing" - you said outloud. No one seemed to be outside, which was odd since this village wasn't known for having indolent people, in fact many earned their living through agriculture and working in the farms. The sun was bright as ever, so there was no reason to fear anything yet, despite the ominous feelings from yesterday.
- "Ah Ume, I wanted to talk with you, can I come in?"
- "I need to talk with you about the incident, I think the abbot was involved in that massacre!"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The guest
You entered Ume's home and sat down, she mimicked your moves, always with a smile on her face. "Can I get you some tea?" - she asked, but you declined, the conversation was not going to be pleasant.
After procrastinating for some minutes trying to ease the topic about the massacre, you decided to question the unpredictable fortune the temple and its priests had been granted out of nowhere, and how the wretched tree that towered over the corpses of the victims resembled a persimmon tree. While you were speaking, she was quiet, attentive, and smiling, "think about it Ume, what could possibly give someone so much success after such disaster, to the village and its people? It's sacrifice! They sacrified my parents and all others for their own damn benefit!". Suddenly, she stopped smiling, the corners of her lips dropped like a brick, barely showing her front teeth, and her eyes focused, with her glaze puncturing your eyes.
It has been several minutes, "what the hell is she doing?" - you asked yourself, "well, I have to do something!".
- "Screw this, I have no time to waste, I'll confront the abbot myself."
- You decide to wait a bit more.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Confrontation
"Come here" - she confidently and loudly uttered, anxious but decided, you obeyed and kept walking. As you entered the rooms, they were being flooded in darkness until you eventually stopped when the woman, facing you backwards, was standing there quietly. "Ume?" - a question that was answered with a grinding noise coming out of her throat, "why would you meddle in our divine affairs? Who gave you permission to question our sanctity? Who gave you the right to oppose the Gods?" - a moment of silence passed by, then she started walking backwards towards you.
- Step back and cover your face.
- Try to catch the knife.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Aftermath
Ume's knife missed your eyes by a mere inch, overwhelmed, you attempted to run away, however in the middle of her vicious flurry of sharp steel, turning back to face the entrace proved to be a great challenge. Unable to keep your composure, you tripped and fell to the floor; followed by the crazy woman, you managed to grab the hand that was wielding the knife, with your other one attempting to grab onto something across the floor.
As you were clinging to life itself, you suddenly felt the touch of a wooden ornament nearby, and without a second to spare you used all your might to sink it into Ume's head, in an instant, she stopped.
Pushing her away was your first instinct, you stood up and took some steps back. Her head was half open, and a gelatinous substance flooded out of her broken skull, she was dead. "What the hell happened to her?!" - you thought, and equally as importantly, what was she talking about? Divine? Sanctity? This had to be the works of the monks at the temple, no other cults around here that you knew of besides those bastards...
- "Let's get going, the abbot needs to give some answers!"
- You decide to pay the monks a little visit. (Takes knife)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Crimson curtain
Before you could consider anything else about what was happening on that instance, an intense pain flourished below your jaw. Crimson warmth began to bathe your from top to bottom: your neck, your chest, your stomach, and finally your left leg.
Your vision got dizzy, noises became distorted, and a buzzing sound would not leave you ears. You were still moving, but what was happening? You don't know. Fighting for your life was a desperate struggle, you couldn't last longer. Without enough air to breathe and your lungs on fire, you felt as if you were about to lose consciousness, but you didn't, you simply fell to the straw tatami.
With everything fading, all you could see is a blurry figure in the dark swinging violently, and eventually feeling a repeated, painful piercing in your belly, whoever was doing that displayed relentless cruelty, you couldn't even tell if it was a weapon or their own teeth what was puncturing your guts.
- ("I'm not done!" - continue your adventure!)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Retribution
You kept and kept walking until you stumbled across the great pagoda, the temple where most of the monks resided. With no one guarding the entrance, it was easy to infiltrate the place, however surely someone would be inside, so by ever so slightly pushing one of the gates, you managed to slip through. As a place of devotion, it was never closed, however improper etiquette would be deemed as blasphemous and punished accordingly, "too late for that!" - you thought.
This was the first floor of the pagoda, no one was there and the square room was completely empty. Only the tatami, paintings, and scrolls on the walls were what inhabited that ghostly enclosing, the only way was up through the stairs. Without reservations, you proceeded, however what was greeting you slightly shaked your resolve. In the next floor, dim candle-light emanated from the small opening in between one of the room's doors, and something could be heard. Were they mantras? "They should be" - you thought, "let's keep going".
As you were about to abandon the scene, an old face with black eyes and black teeth, open-wide mouth, appeared right next to yours. All you could do as a reflex is scream in terror and take out your weapon, it was time to go all out on these monsters. What will you do?! There's no time to think!!
- The panic got to you, you faint.
- Swing your weapon like a maniac.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Visiting the temple
You began walking towards the pagoda, heated by all the thoughts going through your mind, you started to envision the manslaughter all those victims faced during the tragedy, including your parents. It had to be the monks who devised this cruel machination, and the reason why the persimmon was said to resemble a human heart, dark-red as if it was freshly carved out of a living person. A gruesome detail most people decide to forget about the story, after all, it was easy to imagine that the persimmon had to feed on something in order to acquire that color.
The more you walked, the more images formed in your head, in order to obtain this sacrilegious fruit, a great massacre was needed, it had to be planned, and it had to be executed. Only the benefited would rise afterwards, in a sea of blood yet blessed by the gods.
Guided to the interior of the enclosing, surrounded by pagodas but still outside, you walked behind the devout. Tree leaves were falling around you and birds were chirping, eventually, you entered one of the buildings that were preceded by wooden steps. While in the penumbra of the room, the monk offered you green tea as courtesy before calling the abbot. Sunk in your imagination, you drank as you planned every scenario in your head, confronting someone with this was after all not an easy task.
Suddenly, the voice of the monk behind you emerged "It's a nice day for death, don't you think?", startled by this you stood up, however something was wrong, your balance was off. Your throat started to burn, something was in the tea! There was no time to waste, you could feel imminent failure and feared being at the mercy of these wicked cultists, what will you do?
- (Rush the monk!)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
To the temple
Rushing like a wild horse you ran towards the pagoda; the knife, concealed under your clothes was awaiting to taste blood; your eyes, intense as a hawk's were focused like never before. Molten iron pumped through your heart, and any doubts were burned by your resolve and desire for retribution.
Finally while arriving at the temple you spotted one of the monks, however you decided to avoid him, stealth was your best bet. Infiltrating the place, you ran through the enclosing, through the hallways, and through the corridors. The place was almost desolate, so that helped control your already out of control heartbeats.
Eventually, you heard the voice of some monks, they were congregated in one of the rooms of a small temple since they were making an offering. Your eyes opened wide, there he was, the abbot. Covered in fine silk and ornate ceremonial tools, the sight of him started to burn your face, your anger was so tremendous that revenge seemed the only course of action to take. Rushing to the mob, you took out your knife and before anyone could process what was happening, you sank its blade above the abbot's collarbone.
- END
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
