#quest development

5: The Descent

You’re doing rough, terrible work. You’re facing hard truths of death, guilt, embodiment, meaning, identity, and failure.

Result: you complete the work; you can go on with your life.

Torn

You’re torn between two loyalties.

Result: you make a choice between them; if you’ve already done so, you come to an acceptance of it.

Quest 5-4: This is Reika's final descent into Mikhail's chapel, her final descent into the maelstrom. Her final fight with Mikhail, her final challenge in breaking away from him. This quest is also very focused on the fact that Reika is very conceptually lost by the idea of ending everything with Mikhail. The fact that she uses her opposition to him as a sort of identity of her own, a place in the world, and that without him

Quest 5-5: This quest is Reika's time outside of the world, primarily, her time dead. This quest is a time of painful transcendance. This quest is when Reika realizes that she doesn't love Mikhail, and that she never loved him. This quest is when Reika realizes that she's a lesbian. This quest is when Reika realizes that the world doesn't matter, and that the world doesn't get to tell her who she is, because she is the only one who gets to define that sort of thing. And then Reika returns to the world, pulls the shadows back into her kicking and screaming, comes out as gay, and finally starts living.

Major Concepts:

descent

lost without someone else

lost in general

realizing your were wrong about something that is at the core of your identity

finding a new identity

painful transcendance

isolation

a transcendant realization

interacting with dark spirits and creatures

living for yourself

an identity built around someone else

[[BLUE]]The Vast Ocean (40 XP)

The world has swallowed you up, but if you look inside of yourself, you might be able to crack its shell, to keep your head above the water, and move forward in your life.

You're alone. You're lost. You're in danger.

But it's not danger and loss and loneliness without meaning. At the end of it you see a shining light. This feels like the end of something, even if it isn't the end of it all.

The HG can grant you 5 XP towards this quest when:

you fall from a great height;

you transcend the world or your body, even if only for a few moments;

you experience a moment of perfect emotional clarity;

you realize something life-changing about your perceptions or your identity.

Once per chapter, you can earn a bonus XP towards this quest when you:

[[SILVER]]feel lost and alone;

[[ORANGE]][[GOLD]]feel intense pain (either emotional or physical);

[[BLUE]][[SILVER]]descend into a dark place;

[[PURPLE]][[GREEN]]converse with a dark and dangerous entity of some sort;

[[BLACK]]find yourself adrift on a dark ocean (probably in a dream or imagination spot);

[[RED]]put on a disguise or costume;

[[PURPLE]][[SILVER]]treat yourself to something lovely or calming;

2: Taking Charge

You’re taking charge of a situation.

Result: an enemy/opponent praises you, threatens you in a vaguely flattering way, or tries to recruit you.

Your Way

You’re ignoring the pressures on you and just doing things your own way.

Result: you’ve attracted dangerous attention and/or trimmed down the problem to an approachable space. Usually it’s both, one during the quest and one when it ends.

Quest 2-1: Reika throws herself into a big villainous scheme, I am thinking that it is probably something involving the Child of the Sun, who is part of some School-adjacent group. Maybe this scheme involves kidnapping her at an alumnus gala and doing something magically to seal her away to blot out the sun, or basically kill her in a symbolic way. This definitely visually involves shooting her with a bow and arrow. I think that Reika teams up with some sort of vampire alliance to do this, or rather that she is doing it for them. This quest ends when she does it and then the Headmaster of the Bleak Academy appears at her door to try to recruit her to the Bleak Academy. (This is, of course, deeply upsetting, along with the damage she just did to things.)

Quest 2-2: This is about Reika helping Mikhail get out of his situation, and is very focused on their romance set-up. Reika does cool stuff, and ultimately, Reika gets Mikhail out of his abusive situation. This is accompanied by romantic music and confetti raining from the sky! (That may or may not be literal.)

Quest 2-3: Reika starts cheating on Mikhail with a girl. The girl does not like Mikhail, and tries to do her best to get Reika to dump him, but Reika insists that Mikhail is all she has. Meanwhile, Mikhail is really trying to influence and corrupt Reika. He is performing a flower rite with the goal of shoving an excruciated estate into her and making her a mimic. Mikhail tells her about his plans at the end of this quest – attracting dangerous attention and being praised by an enemy – but with how she's been during her secret affair, Reika actually starts to really deeply “what the fuck” about Mikhail.

Quest 2-4: This quest focuses a lot on Reika fighting and investigating the shadowy organization Abraxas, which is basically Mikhail's mysterious villainous organization. She takes lots of decisive action, and starts to get to the bottom of the whole conspiracy, but then this quest ends when Mikhail comes back into Reika's life, asking her to join him in his schemes, and she pretty much falls for it.

Quest 2-5: This quest centers on Reika trying to do her own thing and ignore all of her problems. This quest is a time of false celebration and forced smiles. This quest is that confused attempt to say that your abuse didn't hurt you, in a vain attempt to avoid being defined by it. This quest closes on Reika having a dream of Mikhail telling her he's proud of her, and the whole thing feels to real, to the level where she wakes up crying and wondering if maybe he didn't really die.

Major Concepts:

investigation

dreams

going against what people say

living your dreams or nightmares

giving your all

firing a bow and arrow

interacting with dark and dangerous things

witness something you do not understand

fake or exaggerate an emotional reaction

[[BLUE]]The Lens (40 XP)

The barriers between reality and fantasy are always thin around you, but for now, they're even thinner.

The things you want are in sight, and now isn't the time to question why you want them.

Now is the time for action and adventure!

The HG can grant you 5 XP towards this quest when:

a dream or nightmare becomes reality;

you play out an elaborate fantasy sequence of what you think your life will be like if only you could do successfully whatever it is you're doing. (This should typically be either comedic, tragic, or both);

things you didn't understand before start to more or less come into focus;

you fire a bow and arrow at an enemy (or perhaps a friend).

Once per chapter, you can earn a bonus XP towards this quest through:

[[SILVER]][[RED]]dreaming of the past or future;

[[BLUE]][[ORANGE]]doing something for no reason other than that you choose to;

[[GREEN]]parleying with dark and dangerous beings;

[[RED]][[BLACK]]witnessing something you do not understand;

[[BLACK]][[GREEN]]faking or exaggerating an emotional reaction;

[[BLUE]]taking decisive action against the problems you're facing in your life;

[[GOLD]][[SILVER]]exploring or investigating a place or experience;

[[ORANGE]][[GREEN]]accidentally playing into the hands of your enemies'

The Spiritual Journeys of Reika Titov

1: You’re excited about the future. You’ve found or gotten involved in something neat!

Result: Bored now? Or still awesome? You’ve gotten used to it either way.

Quest 1-1: Reika tries to get involved in [insert school club here]. She throws herself full-force into it. But everything keeps getting interrupted. Everyone keeps side-eying Reika, and she gets dragged into messy villainous stuff. She gets a bad reputation, and the club stuff by the end of this quest starts to seem very very messy and unworkable. This quest ends when Reika decides that if everyone is going to call her a villain, she might as well become one.

Quest 1-2: Reika gets excited about being a hero. She posits lots of ways that it could work. She meets Mikhail. She starts to crush on Mikhail. This quest is kind of just a glorious exploration of Reika's decision, but even it has a dark side. This quest ends when Reika makes a full decision to help Mikhail out of his abusive household.

Quest 1-3: This is about Reika's new relationship. This is about her “bliss” with Mikhail. He's come into a lot of money he inherited from an old aunt or something. She is constantly on his arm, and he is constantly buying her fancy things, showing her off. Reika starts to think that maybe her shortcut into society could be through Mikhail. There is also, I think, a hasty proposal. But then as the honeymoon period starts to wear off, she starts to see the problems. She starts to see that things might not be as good as she is thinking, but none of it is really enough for a full indictment yet. Just enough to make her question.

Quest 1-4: With Mikhail gone, Reika searches for a heroic quest she can take on to become a hero, to be treated as one. This quest has a lot of Reika trying out various tasks, the beginnings of several failed adventures that go wrong in Reika's trademark messy and not-totally-morally-good style. This quest ends with Reika finding out a large conspiracy with Mikhail at its center.

Quest 1-5: This quest focuses on Reika trying to enjoy her Mikhail-free life, but shadows and ghosts that represent both the shadow of Mikhail in her life, and society's perceptions of her haunt her. Reika tries to be excited about her life, but keeps getting brought down again, especially by the fact that society isn't treating her as the hero like she wanted. Society is treating her like an accessory. I mean, the parts of it that are not treating her as Mikhail's co-conspirator. After all, she is the girl who put out the sun for a while after trying to kill the Child of the Sun. This quest ends with Reika really losing sight of all the ways her life has improved and falling into despair.

Major Concepts:

Allowing yourself to revel in something new

Worry

the dark side of your new adventure rears its ugly head

you get in a fight

someone chastizes you for your past actions

you feel a sense of freedom

you find yourself in a place of darkness and stars

you try to do something that will bring your reputation more in line with what you would like it to be, but it backfires terribly

[[BLUE]] The Birdcage (40 XP)

Something has changed in your life, or something is going to change soon. You're walking new paths, exploring new worlds, and for now, no one can stop you.

Eventually though, all of this is going to pile up and you're going to realize that this probably really wasn't quite such a good idea in the first place.

The HG can grant you 5 XP towards this quest when:

a bird takes wing in your heart, possibly in a dream or imagination spot;

you find yourself alone in a place of darkness and stars;

a friend or enemy shows you something dazzlingly beautiful;

you fight a duel in a place filled with roses.

Once per chapter, you can earn a bonus XP towards this quest when:

[[BLUE]][[GOLD]]you monologue while in a state of extreme emotion;

[[SILVER]][[GOLD]]a monologue of yours is interrupted by an important obligation;

[[RED]][[GREEN]]you are distracted from your negative emotions by something exciting or wondrous;

[[SILVER]][[PURPLE]]you dance in the moonlight, either alone or with someone else;

[[PURPLE]][[BLUE]]you argue passionately with someone who is distrustful of the new things in your life;

[[PURPLE]][[GREEN]]someone chastizes you for your past actions, but you're unaffected by their words;

[[RED]][[PURPLE]]someone chastizes you for your past actions, and you're affected deeply by their words;

[[ORANGE]][[GOLD]]something simple and honest you are doing is interrupted by the presence of something dark and fearsome;