Bay 12 Games Forum

Finally... => Forum Games and Roleplaying => Topic started by: Man of Paper on December 02, 2023, 11:37:34 pm

Title: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: Man of Paper on December 02, 2023, 11:37:34 pm
You are Kevin, a high school junior and varsity basketball player at the climax of the greatest game of the season. Score's tied, the seconds are ticking down on the clock, and you have the ball. The other team's coverage decisions left you open and you can drive the ball straight to the net. You have the opportunity to win the big game for your team while scouts are watching, but one of your teammates calls for the ball. He's a senior, and not only has he been sinking balls all night, but he's also already locked into a college with a solid scholarship. He is the best shot on the team, but he just so happens to be where your coverage headed off to, leaving your teammate outnumbered. Your entire future could rest on the next few seconds.



You are Martin, a recovering alcoholic who just lost his job. No matter what you've done, you just can't shake the feeling like it's never enough to keep everything perfectly on track. You flip a sobriety token between your fingers, nervously rubbing the 7 on one side and the AA on the other. If things go wrong when you do everything right, why not do a little bit wrong if you can at least enjoy yourself? The bartender snaps you out of your thoughts, gesturing to your sobriety token and asking if you're a trade-in as he slides a small glass of whiskey in between you.



Choose:

A. Take the shot.
B. Pass.


Spoiler: Some Information (click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: Powder Miner on December 02, 2023, 11:43:33 pm
Pass.

Kevin has another year to make an impression. Martin has seven years to throw away and more to likely struggle.
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: FallacyofUrist on December 02, 2023, 11:49:51 pm
Pass.

I wonder if the people exist in the same world as each other?
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: a1s on December 03, 2023, 03:46:00 pm
pass for sure. Love the wordplay.
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: Quarque on December 04, 2023, 03:58:13 am
Take the shot
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: Man of Paper on December 04, 2023, 07:35:44 pm
Kevin passes the ball to his teammate and immediately hears jeering from the crowd, confused cries from his teammates on the sideline, and angered shouting from the coaches. His teammate is unable to overcome two man coverage and practically passes the ball himself to the other team as the buzzer sounds. As the game gets ready to head into overtime Kevin finds himself benched. His team ultimately loses, and Kevin sees himself slipping to a permanent spot on the bench before the season is through thanks in large part to continued poor calls on the court caused by getting in his own head. Kevin's chance to get the attention he wanted quickly fades as he enters his Senior year and ultimately decides to put his basketball dreams on hold for a couple years to save money and attend a community college instead...


You are Martin, and you haven't quite given in yet. A patron mutters an authentic "good for you" as you head toward the the heavy wooden door. A couple holds it open as they enter and you pass into the brisk night air. The silence is deafening as the very well-insulated building muffles the music and conversations within. You look down at your sobriety token, then turn around and look through one of the windows in the bar. People are enjoying themselves, talking, eating, drinking, watching one of a half-dozen televisions competing with one another and the jukebox. It's warm, and you might actually find some happiness here, however temporary, right?


You are Devin and you are standing outside the chapel on your wedding day. It's a small event, just you, your fiance, and friends and family you could count on two hands. Things have had their ups and downs, but as far as high school sweethearts go your relationship was probably one of the better ones. But that's where your doubt creeps in, isn't it? You're in your early 20s, you've barely even experienced life. What if you're locking yourself into something too soon, settling when something better might be coming just over the horizon? You are in love, but you hardly even know who you are yet. You thought about voicing this to your partner, but they've always been wholly committed and loving, and you felt it was unfair to foist unfounded doubts on them in an otherwise functional relationship. There is a warm comfort in familiarity, but you have so much more you could do and see in the world. You still have time to decide, right?


Choose:

A. Go through the doors.
B. Turn around and leave.
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: IncompetentFortressMaker on December 04, 2023, 08:00:30 pm
Go through the doors
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: crazyabe on December 04, 2023, 08:36:44 pm
B. Turn around and leave.
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: King Zultan on December 05, 2023, 01:19:50 am
B. Turn around and leave.
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: a1s on December 05, 2023, 03:41:57 am
We don't have to drink in the bar, right? Eat something, watch TV, talk to people.

Go through the doors
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: Kashyyk on December 05, 2023, 05:04:18 am
Go throughthe Doors
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: Quarque on December 05, 2023, 08:10:28 am
Turn around and leave
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: chubby2man on December 05, 2023, 11:39:37 am
Don’t worry Martin, we got you! BRB,  throwing a marriage in the trash to keep you from drinking tonight.

Turn around and Leave
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: Quarque on December 05, 2023, 11:52:08 am
I actually feel that "turn around" saves Devin at a cost to Martin.
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: chubby2man on December 05, 2023, 12:37:55 pm
I actually feel that "turn around" saves Devin at a cost to Martin.
I was reading the “turn around” as Martin keeping to his sobriety, while going through the doors to enter the bar is re-engaging with the temptation to drink.

I don’t know about “saving Devin”, I kind of see it as a “grass is always greener situation”. It might be! He’s young and has a whole future ahead of him. But there’s also something admirable to commit to another, to make the best of what you have. But I don’t think either choice is clear/cut good or bad.

Also it’s the day of the wedding, bit of a dick move to pull out now :P


(Also damn MOP, two for two on coming with scenarios making me ponder life and the choices we make.)
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: Powder Miner on December 05, 2023, 01:37:28 pm
I agree with chubby for the most part... but I suspect that despite the presentation here seeming to imply otherwise, Kevin probably is also involved here, with the doors then meaning the doors of his community college.

Damn, though, I don't wanna throw Martin in the trash.
Turn around and leave.
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: FallacyofUrist on December 05, 2023, 11:47:30 pm
Turn around and leave.

This is something beautiful.
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: Man of Paper on December 07, 2023, 02:33:30 am
Devin's eyes close as they take a deep breath in, exhale, and then walk away from the chapel. The sharp pain in Devin's chest gets more intense with every step, and tears begin to run down their cheeks, but the decision is made. Devin drives off and decides not to contact anyone in their relatively tight-knit life, at least for a little while, too embarrassed to face everyone they had let down or hurt for what they knew was the most selfish possible decision in the moment. But if they didn't put themself first, who would? Devin winds up fully embracing the quarter-life crisis, quitting their job the same day of the wedding and living out of a van while traveling around searching for themself.


You are Martin, and it's been a few days since you conquered temptation. It's been a year or so since you last went to one, but you decided you should attend a local Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in the basement of a church. You recognize a couple of the faces - some looking much worse now than they did - and shake a few hands before taking a seat on a cold metal folding chair. The room is pretty bright and you start to lose yourself in thought as you take in your surroundings. You were never very big on "the faith" in your adulthood, and you didn't really care for the religious under-(and over-)tones AA provided in their programs. They did give you some of that companionship and camaraderie you liked the bars for, so they weren't all bad. It didn't take long after the meeting started for you to remember exactly why you stopped going to them: each session was an hour or two of people trying not to drink while talking almost exclusively about all the times they drank. The meeting foreman eventually attempts to direct the conversation to the "new" arrival and asks why you've shown up. You could indulge them and talk about your recent brush with addiction, but it was fairly common, and almost expected, for new or returning attendees to be a little guarded.


You are Alvin, a soldier struggling with the intense ringing in your ears. A grenade had dropped into your hole, and while one of your buddies took the brunt of the blast himself, he hadn't managed to shield the machine gunner who was now trying to claw (most of) himself out of the smoking pit. A relentless enemy assault was launched with zero warning on the medical post you'd been assigned to defend, and your position seems to be the focus of the initial assault. You can taste copper as you quickly assess yourself as "alive" and realize you have a decision to make very quickly. You could try to man the machine gun and fight off the approaching enemy for as long as possible to buy the post time to respond, but they're already close enough to hit your position with grenades. The best chance you imagine you have to survive is to stay low, bury yourself among the dead, and hope you can stay hidden long enough for the defense to halt the enemy or, if it gets really bad, to escape enemy-occupied territory. You wouldn't be able to face your brothers in arms again, but at least you'd get to face your kid.


Choose:

A. Open up
B. Lay low
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: FallacyofUrist on December 07, 2023, 02:45:31 am
Definitely making me feel pretty philosophical. There is no 'objective', no goal that isn't self-set. We decide collectively, but how do we decide?

Without ever discussing it, we seem to be trying to create the greatest possible good.

There are no obvious, clear answers. It's just life, presented in an entirely unfamiliar way.

It'll help Martin to get his feelings off his chest.

It'd help Alvin to you know, not die.

It'd help the people in the medical post if Alvin stalled for time.

Today, we play god.

Open up.

Sleep well, Alvin.
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: Quarque on December 07, 2023, 03:12:31 am
Open up.

(Not sure if this really is best for the greater good, Alvin could be fighting for the next Hitler. But hey I'm rooting for Martin now.)
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: crazyabe on December 07, 2023, 07:30:32 am
Lay Low
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: a1s on December 07, 2023, 07:40:01 am
I think there's too much sunk cost going on with Martin,

but in this case Open up.
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: Jerick on December 07, 2023, 08:07:48 am
Lay Low
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: chubby2man on December 07, 2023, 09:42:05 am
Errrr Open Up
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: IncompetentFortressMaker on December 07, 2023, 02:29:12 pm
Open up
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: S1lentWanderer on December 07, 2023, 07:24:12 pm
Open Up
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: Powder Miner on December 07, 2023, 10:11:38 pm
This feels like the sort of thing that could have unexpected side effects but WHEEEE

Open up
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: ZBridges on December 07, 2023, 10:16:04 pm
Open up
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: King Zultan on December 08, 2023, 02:50:25 am
Open up
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: Man of Paper on December 09, 2023, 09:05:15 pm
Quote from: Medal of Honor Citation
For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty during action against enemy Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands on the morning of 17 September 1942. Pfc. Alvin M. [REDACTED] was positioned on watch in a lightly developed machine gun nest responsible for defending the nearby aid center. Facing a swift and sudden Japanese attack which, preceded by a volley of hand grenades augmented by mortar fire, had crashed through our front lines, he, now the only combat-capable soldier at his position, successfully manned the machine gun and fought to turn the enemy. Unable to dislodge Alvin, Japanese forces engaged his surrounded position with grenades, rifle fire, and hand-to-hand combat for multiple grueling minutes. Enduring countless injuries, Pfc. [REDACTED] managed to destroy two dozen of the enemy while facing insurmountable odds. Having provided the aid post time to organize a defense, Alvin was finally reinforced but refused to be withdrawn until his fallen brothers in arms could be evacuated. In this time two more assaults were successfully repelled by the now fully-manned position thanks to Alvin's continued actions. However, as the enemy action ebbed, a Japanese grenade landed at Pfc. [REDACTED]'s feet, who hastily threw himself atop the enemy missile and absorbed the shattering violence of the exploding charge in his own body. Stouthearted and indomitable in the face of certain death, Pfc. Alvin M. [REDACTED] fearlessly yielded his own life that his able comrades might carry on the relentless battle against a ruthless enemy. His superb valor and unfaltering devotion to duty throughout reflect the highest credit upon himself and upon the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.


You are Martin, and you've begun telling strangers about your most recent very intimate internal struggle. Someone in the circle clicks their tongue as if to judge you, but the group foreman quickly puts a stop to that. You finish your story and receive a polite, quiet applause before you are asked a few more questions about how you felt in the moment, how you feel now, typical inquiries meant to get you thinking about your coping mechanisms. They don't work, and you feel as empty and borderline helpless when the meeting comes to an end as you did when you came in and sat down. You're finishing your lukewarm coffee when you're approached by another member of the recovery group. She's a few years your junior by the looks of her, and a little out of place as a black woman in your neighborhood - an issue for some, but the civil rights movement of a few years ago has seen a slight easing in racial tensions. You like to think of yourself as a good person, and consider yourself someone race is not a problem for. What might be a problem is her request: she wants you to take a ride with her to the bar you talked about.


You are Kevin, and these books have been kicking your ass. Having to pivot from a focus on sports to more academic pursuits hasn't proven to be impossible, but you find yourself behind your peers thanks to the slacking you were so keen on in your high school years. The library at the community college has become the backdrop for the majority of your life now, and as the lights begin to dim for another night you stretch, gather your things, and leave. You're tired, but the fresh air is invigorating (and doing a great job of clearing out the library must in your lungs). You could hop on your bike and go straight home, or you could take a bit of a detour and unwind.


Choose:

A. Take a ride.
B. Go home.
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: m1895 on December 09, 2023, 11:15:46 pm
I fail to see how this could end badly for Kev
Go Home
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: Quarque on December 10, 2023, 04:54:34 am
Take a ride.
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: ZBridges on December 10, 2023, 04:57:23 am
Take a ride
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: chubby2man on December 10, 2023, 08:55:43 am
Ohhhh man… alright I believe in you Martin Take a Ride
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: FallacyofUrist on December 10, 2023, 06:08:27 pm
Take a ride

Go to the bar, but get something non-alcoholic if that's what it comes to.
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: crazyabe on December 10, 2023, 06:56:59 pm
Honestly 'take a ride' feels like it'll lead to forcing a Confrontation at the bar for Martin, while Kevin gets into a tragic biking accident.
meh, Take a Ride.
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: King Zultan on December 12, 2023, 02:19:59 am
Take a ride
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: Man of Paper on December 14, 2023, 08:35:48 pm
Martin decides to take up his new friend on her offer and hops into her car. It's a shitty old rust bucket, but it's better than the no car Martin has. Dorothea (but her friends call her Dora) manages to fuel and maintain casual small talk between the pair as they slowly make their way through town toward the bar he'd nearly given up in. It's early evening and people are beginning to fill the bar while Dora pulls up. She tells Martin to open the glove box and he obliges, passing her a small bag before she dashes out of the car and into the bar. She comes out a few minutes later with a pep in her step and in no rush whatsoever. Later that evening, over a small dinner Dora was kind enough to pay for, Martin found out that she had a bunch of those new feminine pads that she'd flushed down every toilet in the establishment. The two hit it off very well, enough so that they began meeting regularly. By the end of the month, before Martin's rent he couldn't pay was due, Dora let Martin move into the place she shared with her aunt and sister so he had a place to sleep while he searched for work. The friendship quickly bloomed and Martin became a permanent fixture in the home even after employment. Martin began looking back at his moment of weakness as the moment he chose real happiness, and not the kind you drown in until you hit the bottom of the bottle...


You are Kevin, and the night air has invigorated you. The crisp feeling filling you as you inhale is comforting, and brings you right back to your childhood winters. Those were busy times, but they were good. Times now aren't that bad either, admittedly, or so you tell yourself as you walk into the duplex you live on the second floor of with three other students. You then realize times are pretty bad as, being the last one in, you realize you're going to have to take a cold shower if you want one before you chill out for the night. After a disappointing shower you head to the kitchen and look through the fridge. Someone ate the piece of pizza you had saved for yourself. What the fuck, man?


You are Shandiin, a Navajo girl out in the brush following a winding trail through the dirt. There's been a lot of discussion on the reservation recently about some plans the belagana have regarding tribal independence, but you've barely been around eleven years! You don't care for tribal politics right now! What you do care about is the chance to catch another animal to sketch. As you wander further and further from your home you hear a rustle in the scrub next to you. FINALLY!


Choose:
A. Investigate.
B. Leave it be.
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: chubby2man on December 14, 2023, 09:39:22 pm
Sorry Kevin but

Investigate
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: IncompetentFortressMaker on December 14, 2023, 09:40:31 pm
Investigate.
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: Quarque on December 15, 2023, 01:06:41 am
Investigate
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: ZBridges on December 15, 2023, 02:26:56 am
Investigate
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: King Zultan on December 15, 2023, 03:02:16 am
Investigate
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: a1s on December 20, 2023, 09:41:53 am
investigate
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: Man of Paper on December 20, 2023, 10:58:43 am
[status update: Don’t  be too worried about a slightly larger and growing update window. I’m participating in a succession fort and my year fell on this week, so efforts are currently going toward that. I’d say at latest to expect something a day or two after Christmas.]
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: Man of Paper on December 28, 2023, 09:13:50 pm
Shandiin slowly approaches the patch of grass and reaches out to part it when a blur fires out and latches onto her hand. She pulls back as a stabbing pain shoots through her hand in conjunction with a rapidly spreading tingling, burning sensation. The snake has already unlatched and sped off, leaving Shandiin holding onto her freely bleeding hand. Dizziness sets in, and she collapses in a puff of dirt before getting back home. Luckily for Shandiin, she's collapsed within sight of one of her cousins who is quick to get her aid. The tribe's clinic is poorly stocked, so while initial treatment for the snake venom works well enough, damage to Shandiin's organs occurred fairly quickly, and she would require an actual hospital if she were to have a chance to pull through. Shandiin and her parents take one of the tribe's trucks to Phoenix in order to get the medical aid they need...


You are Kevin, and you're going to find out who ate your pizza. You fire out a general "who ate my pizza!?" before you close the fridge. Edwin responds from his chair in the corner, letting you know he saw Merk (his name was Mark, but after fucking around mispronouncing his simple name in increasingly exaggerated voices the name stuck) chowing down on a cold slice before he left for his night job. You probably won't even see him for the next couple days thanks to your opposing schedules. You're going to need to figure out how to approach your roommate. You don't want to come on too strongly, but you really do need to put your foot down. This isn't the first time he's used something of yours without asking. What is finally going to prove itself effective - direct confrontation or some passive aggression?


You are Edwin and you've still got some pepperoni stuck in your back teeth. After successfully persuading your roommate, Kevin, that your other roommate ate his pizza you go back to your room and fire up your Gateway computer, toss Fallout into the disk tray, and fire it up for the first time. One of your buddies told you about this game, and you are looking forward to playing it. You navigate the start menus and the anticipation builds to a near-breaking point. When you start creating your character you realize you're going to have to make some decisions on how to approach this game. You've never been a fan of pure offensive builds in your tabletop games, which leaves...


Choose:
A. Diplomacy
B. Subterfuge
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: FallacyofUrist on December 28, 2023, 11:27:21 pm
Edwin, you arse.

Ah well.

Diplomacy should help create a more stable living situation.

Diplomacy.
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: ZBridges on December 28, 2023, 11:49:26 pm
Diplomacy
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: IncompetentFortressMaker on December 29, 2023, 12:06:26 am
Diplomacy
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: King Zultan on December 29, 2023, 02:54:48 am
Diplomacy
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: Jerick on December 29, 2023, 04:58:30 am
Subterfuge
Just to be contrarian.
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: Quarque on December 29, 2023, 08:16:07 am
Edwin, you arse.
Yeah what a criminal.

Diplomacy
Title: Re: Entanglement - New Voters Always Welcome
Post by: chubby2man on December 29, 2023, 09:58:20 am
B. Subterfuge

There is no diplomacy to be had with thieves. Merk is just going to deny eating the pizza, because he hasn’t eaten it and will get defensive, and freaking Edwin won’t fess up to it either. (The Cover up is worse than the crime!)

If we want the truth, we have to dig for it ourselves.