All in all, it feels as if you just arrived in a tutorial. And you have.
INVERTED HAUNTED HOUSE TUTORIAL
As you settle into this place, you realize that there is a being before you. It looks familiar: there was something about the lion head and dog body covered with scales that rang a felt bell in the minds of some. Then again, there were others that would clap their hands and point excitedly at the orb clutched within one paw and go "FU DOG!" And yet still there would be a GM that would give a flat look at the screen and go Really Maru? A fu dog? Really?
Regardless it was here now and it was looking at you, its claws flexing protectively over its orb. The creature was made not out of copper, but of a dark, mist-like substance not quite Fear, but not quite Insanity. "So you have arrived," it greeted. "Welcome to the tutorial. While this information is presented in an IC format, your character is not reading this. This experience is not-canon and your character will not remember this. This is merely a demonstration of the format this meta will be presented in." A pause. "Seriously this is all OOC your character will never meet me or see me this is all for YOUR BENEFIT as a PLAYER to teach you how the mechanics for this meta will work."
The fu dog stands and stretches before it moves towards you, rolling its life-orb easily between its paws. It moves in a slow circle around you as it speaks, "There will be a lot of information presented here. If at any time you feel lost or have questions, please write them down and continue reading. It is possible that your question may be answered in a later paragraph. If not, please post it in the Questions and Answers thread for Marushii to answer."
The creature stops in front of you, sitting down once again. "Your character has entered an inverted version of the Haunted House, one that has been corrupted by Insanity. The how and whys are unknown at this point; the answers lie at the bottom. In order to get there, however, you will need to progress through stages or levels. Each of these stages will present you with a different scenario which must be completed before you can progress. In order to reach the end, you must have completed ALL of the scenarios. This means you may not reserve a post and fill it in later to "skip" a section and move onto the next scene. Anyone caught with a "reserved" post not filled out will be asked to refrain from progressing further until the reserved post has been filled out."
"Now, as for the setting itself... You will first see the scenario. After that, the first thing you will notice is that you will be presented with two different headers: EXAMINE and ACTION. You can use "examine" to glean more information about the area you are in by clicking the "spoiler" tag. These spoiler tags contain pre-written RP segments. Go ahead and give it a try."
EXAMINE:
Ask, "What do you mean?"
The fu dog gives an approving grin. "There. You have just done it. By clicking on the "spoiler" tag, you have chosen to have your character ask me what I meant. You can use these spoiler tags to write your RP post by including your character's action and reaction."
Refuse to do so.
The fu dog watches you expectantly, giving you a knowing smirk. "Even through your choice of inaction, you have done well."
Ask, "Is it possible that some of the 'examine' options will clash with other options, thus creating a time paradox or something?"
"It is possible, yes," the fu dog admits. "Some examines will act as if it was the only choice you took. You are free to interpret these as you wish and work them into your RP posts. If you are not satisfied with that answer... then blame it on the poor AI system."
Ask, "What do you mean by AI system?"
Ask, "What do you mean by AI system?"
The fu dog shrugs. "It was another fourth wall joke, pay it no heed."
Ask, "Is it possible that some examines will lead to more options?"
The fu dog nods. "Yes. Did you click the previous spoiler button?"
Ask, "How will I know which option to choose?"
"There is no right answer, nor is there a wrong answer. Choose the option you think is best, be it what you personally think or what your character would do."
Point out that none of your characters would do a presented action.
"It is impossible to predict and anticipate every action from every character. While there will be attempts to make every option as general as possible, there might be times when none of them would really fit what you or your character would do.
Ask if this is a solo-thing or if it's possible to do it in a group.
The creature shrugs. "It is whatever you wish it to be. Do you wish to venture forth with your friends? Do you wish to go alone? It is your choice. You can even go alone and discover your friends, or start out with your friends and leave them. Or start with a group and split off into a smaller group." It shrugged again. "There are no constraints, no limits. You are free to decide who you wish to journey with. You can plan out what you'd like to do, decide personally what you don't want to do. And if it doesn't work? You can change your mind."
"Remember!" The creature holds up a paw, one claw raised in mimicry of a raised finger. "YOU are responsible for communicating your intentions to your fellows. If you decide to split off, then you should be courteous to let them know that you are doing so before splitting off. If you wish to join someone, send them a message first."
"Remember!" The creature holds up a paw, one claw raised in mimicry of a raised finger. "YOU are responsible for communicating your intentions to your fellows. If you decide to split off, then you should be courteous to let them know that you are doing so before splitting off. If you wish to join someone, send them a message first."
Ask, "Do I have to stick to the prompt exactly as I see it?"
"That depends on what you would like to do," the creature answers. "Some may wish to simply rush through the event and post only their actions. Others may wish to RP out the scenario a bit, interacting with the scenery before encountering and interacting with the 'examine' options, holding off on selecting an 'action' until the consequences have been posted. Let's say during a prompt you come across a Mexican Stand-Off. You can either witness it, or you can RP as if you were one of the people within the stand-off. If is entirely up to you what you would like to play. If you are in a group, be sure to talk to your group about what you would like to do."
"In a sense, think of EXAMINE prompts along the lines of fluff to add to the scenario as well as your RP posts. Also keep in mind what YOU are noticing may not be noticed by other characters right off the bat. Is your character near them ICly? If not, then chances are someone won't see what you're looking at, what with all the Insanity-fog obscuring just about anything." The fu dog gives you a Look. "Be sure to always examine things that catch YOUR CHARACTER's attention if you want more, or have your character call attention to something."
"Again, you do not need to stick with the prompts 100%. You do have leeway when it comes to the prompt and examine bits. You are free to make some things up, so long as it does not clash with the action posts. The action choices are things you may not change or influence."
"And speaking of... Let us move on to actions." The fu dog says, rolling its xiù qiú between its paws gently. "An action is what you take to progress through the scenario. All actions, regardless of their intention will result in a consequence, however not all consequences are necessarily bad. There is no right or wrong answer. As with examining, there is no limit as to how many you want to commit to... Usually."
The fu dog grins. "Sometimes there will be opportunities you can pick more than one option. Other times, there will not be. If you are in a group, chances are members will pick conflicting answers. Do not worry. The scene itself will shift, and only those who picked a certain answer will see its consequence play out. Do not worry about potential paradoxes. The Haunted House itself does not pay heed to logic, and its Inverted self less so."
"Come now. Let's have you select an action. As you can see, there are no spoiler tags. You will need to bold your choices in your post. You are free to change your mind before the consequences are revealed. After that, you cannot change your choice as you cannot go back in time."
ACTION:
Nod and wait for the next bit.
Try to steal the fu dog's ball thing. Roll 1d100.
Do nothing.
