Write a Paragraph, push the story

[Daemon]

PLEASE READ RULES\/

Spoiler for Hidden:

I had an idea to make a type of forum game where you wrote a single paragraph, and then let other people continue it off of you, like a single story written by multiple people. I got the idea from a friend who told me of a college writing exercise, where two people would email back and forth to each other, each writing a single paragraph until the story was over. I put it into this section only because it should be viewed a bit more serious than anything in the Forum Games section, but less so than the Serious RP. In truth, this is a great exercise to practice writing. Let me just lay down the rules, then.

1: Normal color text is canon, yellow is out of writing, A.K.A., discussion.
2: Don't make useless 1 line paragraphs.
3: When writing dialogue, make sure to do more than just one character.
4: No introducing a million and three characters.
5: Stay away from touchy subjects.
6: Don't 180 the storyline, it gets confusing.
7: Keep the story going!
8: AND ONLY WRITE ONE PARAGRAPH!
(9): Oh, and wait a couple posts before posting another paragraph, so, say I type a paragraph, then Macid does, I can't type another one, otherwise it'll turn to just two people writing it.
(10): please refrain from using your fursona.
(11): minimum of 4 lines.
Sorry for the flood of rules, if their is any that you think need to be removed/changed, PM me.

*rules are a to change based on differing situations.

Each page in this topic counts as a chapter. If we get to "chapter" 50, then the story is considered over, unless it actually hasn't ended.

Ready? Let's go!

CHARACTER LIST

Spoiler for Hidden:

Otebon (Prtagonist #1/3)
Tammo (Protagonist 2/3)
Sarah (secondary character)
Marcus (Protagonist 3/3)
Mark(Antagonist?)
Zat(I'm not even sure, still under development)

The sun shone brightly, unhindered by a cloudless sky. Birds flew, casting shadows upon the ground. The snow of the past winter was beginning to melt, and everything was getting warmer. Even the trees seemed to sense the change, budding new leaves like a change of clothes. Spring was coming.

[Otebon Albrecht]

I love the idea. Let's do this thing! Though I do have a question... Dialogue, by the rules of the conventions of writing, take up multiple lines as each new speaker and idea is introduced and explored through it's own paragraph. Perhaps a minimum line requirement, like say 5, would be more appropriate? You're the leader here, so your choice. It's just a thought.


Otebon glanced out the window as he passed by on the way to the kitchen. It was nearing noon, he'd been working diligently on his research for many hours already, and he was getting hungry. Thoughts, as always, tumbled and leaped through Otebon's head in their chaotic dance that only he could make sense of. Upon glancing at the sun, he thought of the chemical fusion occurring 98.6 million miles away, he thought of the time it took for the light given off by that reaction to reach his eyes, and he laughed at the "dark" notion that if the sun were to mysteriously disappear or spontaneously erupt, we wouldn't know it for 8 minutes. He thought of his research, even away from his desk thoughts of pi-orbitals, hybridization, and optimization sprinted through his mind. Mostly though, he thought of making himself a ham sandwich.

[Leiton]

This sounds like fun. Otebon already pretty much said what I was going to
 
Tammo ran about outside, playing in what was left of the snow. His sister, Sarah, watched him from her spot on the porch. She was writing, just as usual. She was always either writing or reading. She even drew sometimes. They were the only ones who lived at their small home, but they were happy. Sarah was only a few years older than Tammo, but she was the perfect mother-figure. Tammo hopped into one of the trees and stared up at the birds in the sky. If only he could fly...

[Daemon]

Spoiler for Hidden:

Yes, I think a minimum of 5 lines would have been better. I also want to add that I will be adding a new rule: Don't use your fursona, please. This is supposed to be a story-like theme, so I'd prefer to keep it at one main character for a little bit, and to make sure that no one complains when their fursona is forced to do something. But, it's too late to do that now, I suppose. So, Otebon, I'm going to borrow your character for the storyline.

Otebon strolled leisurely towards the fridge. Opening it, he remembered the days when he were younger that his parents would tell him about a penguin that, faster than the speed of light, would run in and turn the light within the fridge on upon opening. He let out a soft chuckle at the preposterous thought, as he removed the ham and bread from the fridge. Outside, the birds were chirping softly, loudly, and every other level of noise between.

Spoiler for Hidden:

In other words, Tammo, only Otebon's character is canon. I say this only because he posted first. Also, Otebon, since it is your character, you are allowed to make the most decisions on that characters part, for example, who his "arch-nemisis" is, although others may invent one.

also, let's establish a good storyline after a few more posts, please.

[Otebon Albrecht]

Oh...    Sorry about that. Didn't even think of character limits. or things like that. I completely agree that we keep the main characters here. To be fair though, you might wish to bring in yours and that way we have a triumvirate of protagonists (assuming Sarah is a secondary character / foil) to write of...

Also, yes, it should be that in this story all characters are open to be used. I completely agree and in fact like your post. Silly penguin...



Grabbing all the necessary and healthy parts of his lunch (Bread, ham, horseradish, pepper jack cheese, a plate...), Otebon quickly constructed this culinary masterpiece and moved outside to bask in the sun. He absentmindedly ate, barely tasting anything except the most pungent of flavors (an annoying side effect of his degenerate nerves) as he watched Tammo and Sarah play around.


"Hey you two," Otebon said as he said as he finished his sandwich and rubbed his palms together to get rid of the crumbs. His father would have called it "polishing his hands". "Come on inside. It's time to go!"


Is this sort of thing alright? Otherwise it becomes a bit of a stretch for conversation...

[Daemon]

Perfectly fine, in fact. You can use others characters by the way. I'll wait a few more posts before introducing my character, though.

And Sarah would have to be considered a secondary character, therefore, is not pro/an -tagonist.

[Leiton]

Sorry bout that.
I just introduced Sarah as a secondary character so we could have more dialogue if needed. A story with only one character is usually not a very good story unless done extremely well. 
 
Tammo hopped out of the tree and ran to the porch. "Hey, I'm hungry! Can you make me a sammich, too? Pweez?"
Sarah finished writing a word and closed her half-filled book. "Where are we going?"
Tammo looked over at her. "We're going somewhere? Where are we going?" He asked Otebon, clearly over his hunger.

[Daemon]

And so comes the third protagonist...

Otebon looked at the pair, apprehensive. Should I tell them? He opened his mouth, about to explain why they were leaving, hen the sound of a old pickup truck pulling in the drive way made him look over.  It was wrecked, and appeared to have some sort of dust on it. Probably sand. The man that pulled himself out of the car was familiar to Otebon; he had known him all his life. He was a human, a minority in this part of the country. Marcus walked over to them. "Otebon, it has happened. We've found the code." Marcus' face was grim, and Otebon knew immediately he had to remove the young ones, Sarah and Tammo, from the country. Before the riots.


I won't be back on for a while, so I'll let you two take over. For now, just post whenever until a third person joins in.

[Aoren Deringer]

Well I'll try to pick up on this. Excuse my horrendous writing style- I usually keep my stories to dialogues between two characters, a character and an object, et cetera. Anywho I doubt I'll add a character at any point- but if I can help keep this up I'll consider my work done.
 
Otebon thought about the code; a compilation of zeros and ones that, on its own, seemed so harmless. The code that is destined to let loose every secret of every company, every government... Every secret. Otebon looked at Marcus "Are you sure?" the silence that followed was almost palpable. "I'm sure. And if we have it..." then so do others... Otebon stared into his friends eyes knowingly. There was not much time. Soon, a virus would spread, and nothing could ever be the same.
 
Sorry if it's a bit out there. It's just my style xD

[Otebon Albrecht]

Otebon returned to reality quickly and immediately turned towards the house. "Come on you two," he said absent-mindedly as he nearly ran back into the house. Being a bit of a plotter, supplies had been laid out for this day well in advance and an escape route had already been planned for the children. Now that what Marcus and Otebon had feared was happening, their quiet little life in retirement from this madness was over, he just hoped that the kids didn't think this was a game.


What kind of things do people want to write about? What kind of pieces do you wish to play with? Action / Espionage / Magic / Technology / etc. As we write, let's kind of consider the path about what we want to allow as the main pieces of the story. Try to answer questions like "Is there special powers in this world?" "If so, who has them?" rather quickly as if this becomes a spy novel, Tammo is going to fall out quickly...

[Daemon]

Tammo won't fall out; he already knows. I'm thinking a techno-virus, a computer code that 100% understanding grants you powers, and that there is going to be riots.

Otebon went towards the escape route, still plotting the next 10 moves in this game of chess. He hardly noticed as the man in a black suit emerged from a doorway, holding a knife. Tammo screamed, and Sarah dropped to the floor whimpering. The man lunged forward, aiming fr Otebon's left breast; his heart. Otebon reacted mechanically, bringing hes left hand across the man's wrist, causing him to reflexively drop the knife. He picked up a nearby vase, and broke it over the man's head, who stumbled to the ground unconscious. He turned, pulling Sarah and Tammo by their wrists. "They're already inside the house. We have to burn it." Marcus nodded, and grabbed a match from his pocket. Sarah shouted "No!" and ran back inside the house. Marcus swore and ran after her.

[Aoren Deringer]

Sarah was rushing about inside the house, collecting small things. Mementos Marcus realised, trying to catch her, to explain that it was not safe inside. Nobody else seemed to be inside. Sarah stopped in front of a bookshelf, frantically looking for old albums and keepsakes as Marcus caught up to her. "We need to go, just leave it!" He yelled. She didnt respond, just cired and gripped the shelf. He didn't notice when another figure approached from the left.
 
So you're thinking like a scifi/drama thriller kind of thing? Althight, I can work with that. But by what kind of powers do you mean? I was thinking the kind of thing that let you break security protocols and cut through encryptions- The kind of thing that would inevitably start WW3 and well, cause riots. Either way, for now at least, I'll just follow your lead.

[Otebon Albrecht]

I think we will learn when Daemon wishes us to learn... Until then, let's get some gear.


Marcus spun around thinking that another assailant had gotten into the house, but relaxed visibly when he saw it was Otebon. The Wolf didn't look happy.


"There were another two in the kitchen," he said while he put a small pocket knife back onto the loop of his belt. Otebon rarely went anywhere without it. "I think that's all of them, but more will be coming. I'll get our gear while you get the kids out of here and burn the house. We have to get secure." Otebon smiled widely. "I'm thinking we should head north, give Mack a visit. He'd be more than happy to take care of the kids while we-" Otebon's smile suddenly went away as he saw Sarah. "While we... do what we have to..."

[Daemon]

I'm not the only one coming up with the story! xD I'm sure anything you guys come up with will be 100% perfect!

Marcus nodded. "I'm sure Mark's kids'll love it too." He smiled at the look of wonder on Sarah's face. "But now, I think it's time we left." Outside, Tammo was hidden in a bush, quivering. "I saw two more go in. Did you..." Otebon nodded, and Tammo gulped. "Where are we going?"  Marcus looked at Otebon. "A friends. He has kids for you two to play with while we take care of business. It'll be a long drive, but I'm sure you guys'll be glad to get there." Marcus led them to the car, turning to see Otebon light the match and throw it on the house. Sarah clutched her spiral bound notebook tightly. Otebon climbed into the car just as Marcus turned the key in the ignition. Off to Mark's first. Then the lab.


No idea what state they're in, so one of you could decide if you wish, okay?

[Aoren Deringer]

How about we leave some ambiguity? Just don't say anything about states. We've managed to operate so far, and putting a geographic label on it could pigeonhole us later on.
 
The toad was empty when they pulled out. This was somehat unusual as it was a major thoroughfare. "Watch for any movement. I don't like this..." Marcus trailed off. Tammo stared out meekly "Where are all the people?" The question, said aloud, brought silence to the others.
Indeed, where are all the people? Otebon was afraid of the answer.