If you could enter one of your own stories...

What would you do?

Write a story where you can get near unlimited power and knowledge with no ill effects. What else would you do?

edited 27th Feb '14 9:38:49 PM by storyyeller

That really depends on whether or not you can leave again and if you're still God of the story once you go in.

edited 27th Feb '14 9:39:56 PM by ThetaTumbleweed

Well, let's say you could leave again, but you're not god of the story.

Then what's the point of going?

What do you mean?

There are a number of settings that I'd trade the real world for in a heartbeat, at least on a purely theoretical level.

edited 27th Feb '14 10:10:21 PM by nrjxll

Occupied Space: Run around in circles screaming "I DON'T WANNA DIE!" Then I would have my mind wiped by the U.S.S. for having copyrighted thoughts, shoved into a ghetto by New Pyrrhius for being unable to pass basic training, declared a heretic by the remnants of Morokoth, shanghaied into a terrorist cell by the Opposition, become an unwitting pawn of the Japhnaara, and/or get swallowed by Hive if I don't die from any of the horrible disasters, diseases, and wars that occur regularly.

Demi-Human: Similar, but I'd really only have the option to be ostracized by society for my complete lack of connection to Arc and live my days as a beggar on the streets, waiting for the nukes and artifacts of doom to start flying.

The Lukewarm Equations: Slowly drift through space and either get recycled by a survivor or assimilated by a Probe.

The Quake Years: Run around in circles screaming "I DON'T WANNA DIE!" Then I would get shot by a Cascadian drone for wandering into their forests, conscripted by a Texan militia or a Chinese general, get radiation poisoning in India or Pakistan, get run over by an advanced Russian tank, freeze to death in Europe, get sent to "moral reeducation" by Deseret, or get mugged by bandits pretty much anywhere in the world.

The Lost: I'd just shoot myself.

The Hunted: I'd huddle in a corner and cry. Shooting myself just wouldn't do the trick.

Zero Acknowledgement: Finally! A setting I might not die immediately in. I'd wipe the memory of me writing the story so that a bored neurohackist doesn't discover a revelation that would send shock waves through transhumanity, then sell off the rest of them for reputation that I would use to get the usual upgrades needed to live normally in the 2500s. Of course, this would only work if I end up in a post-scarcity habitat where reputation is used as a stand-in for currency.

I'd stay away from Arc at all costs. It's a masterpiece of design and engineering, yes (or at least, that's how I intend it, once I get past the world-building phase and into actual story-writing), but acrophobia would get the better of me.

Settle down somewhere quiet with my significant other and enjoy a quiet life in a strange world, assuming that such a world would permit me the opportunity.

Or, if I were really feeling stupid, become a goddamn thaumaturge. Because the possibility of death or getting tossed headlong out of my own story may well be worth it if I can literally do anything.

In my Post-Cyberpunk 'verse I'd work on getting some of my defects fixed (replacement eyes, fix my left ear so I've got directional hearing) and start investigating going full cyborg to prolong my life. If I wound up in my actual story, I'd be getting the hell out of Hamilton as fast as possible (hopefully faster than I did IRL).

In the Fantasy Kitchen Sink story, I'd have fun travelling around with the others, meeting interesting people and seeing the cultures.

In the TEOTWAWKI story, I'd be trying to find ways to ensure we were able to survive and doing whatever work was necessary. I'd have more than a couple of ideas about how we could get food, water, electricity/energy.

If in the story where the protags wake to find they've been abducted and taken to a strange place, I'd be doing what I could to be a productive and helpful member of the group as we strive to find out where we are and how we came to be there. I'd probably enjoy it a lot.

In the bush-survival story I'm working on, I'd be relying on my EDC and survival gear along with the others and doing all I could to ensure we all made it back to civilisation alive.

Probably either the Bloodtied universe or the Running Royal universe.

Really, there are very few stories of mine that I would voluntarily enter. Let's break it down.

Occupied Space: Simply put, it's a World of Badass, which usually doesn't bode well for the non-badass. This cyberpunk space opera is filled with humans augmented to superhuman levels with psychic powers and cybernetics, which I have none of. Not to mention all the death worlds present, whether man-made of naturally occurring.

Demi-Human: Similar to the above in many ways, but replace the psychic powers and cybernetics with magic and clockwork necromantic grafts. Furthermore, everyone has some level of ability to interact with magic simply through exposure to it. Naturally, I have had no exposure to magic. Also, there's a four-way cold war with the potential to escalate into full mutually assured destruction.

The Lukewarm Equations: A solar system plagued by machines out to erase mankind from space while the humans are forced to push themselves to impossible levels either to survive or to let others survive. It's not a happy setting, especially on Venus.

The Quake Years: It takes place in the same universe as Occupied Space, but with much less reliance on Rule of Cool. A global earthquake has ravaged the earth and we don't have the benefit of psychic powers or supertechnology. By 2042, two years after the Quake, you have much more to fear from your fellow humans than you do the numerous devastated landscapes.

The Lost: Where do I even start? Nuclear war has turned the world into a dying wasteland, supernatural horrors stalk the ruins of a dead world, and Eldritch Abomination has woken up on the moon and is now coming down to fuck shit up, and we're busy beating each other to death with rocks for a can of beans.

The Hunted: The same universe as The Lost, but somehow even worse. Nothing else needs to be said.

Zero Acknowledgement: My most optimistic setting, where humanity no longer exists. The solar system is instead populated by transhumanity, who turn out quite a bit better than the humans they once were. Functional immortality is possible through brain uploading while mere longevity is a given, everyone is interconnected through the Optic Mesh Neuron Interface, nanomachines have completely revolutionized everything in general, and many habitats have achieved post-scarcity economies. Even Earth is doing well. The worse I would have to worry about is boredom, which is actually quite a problem.

edited 28th Feb '14 10:33:56 AM by MaxwellDaring

Aces High: Which is a Steampunk Alternate History story. Join the Knights Templars, live a life of celibacy protect the realm from all external threats as a discplined warrior. Probably die in battle. By far the universe I'd be most likely to live something of a remarkable life.

Fausto Cross: Urban Fantasy Noir. Uh... Try not to get caught in the cross-fire of demons, angels, Fae, Hunters and spirits. Probably fail and be just one more random casualty of the whole thing.

Pirate Tales: Join a pirate crew and try not to get killed by the superpowered pirates running about. In this verse I'd probably be something of a glorified Red Shirt. Something like Pintel and Raggetti.

That would depend on whether or not I'm walking in with some level or kind of powers of abilities that I don't have in the real world. Most of the stuff I write is Mass Effect, and realistically I don't know any of the technology so couldn't do any jobs, and would be little more use than Reaper-bait when they show up to invade.

I have considered doing a Self-Insert story along the style of Hybrid Theory, but I kind of want to finish some other stories first.

Ok, I just realized my world is one of the unnicest places to live. It would all depend on which point of history I would fall (and geographical site)

Pre-end of time.- Maybe I could get away with surviving on the Niberian capitol, seeing I have the mannerisms and verbal tics propper of the place, however it wouldn't be pretty, since I basically would lack any ties to people in power and I'm not good for manual labor, so bad. On the other hand outside Niberia is a permanent warzone so no thanks.

Post end of time - pre zero.- Should try to use the knowledge I have of the Lodge to contact them and being accepted, though investing on military industries sounds good.

Post Zero - Again depends on where I end up, though if I manage to get my hands on a Shwel or two, I wouldn't mind it. On the other hand I don't really want to be there the day the internet goes crazy.

In general it would suck, big time. My world is a very dangerous place, and I can bet I wouldn't have access to any of the important power sources (not having being born a wilder, knowing the true effects of practical magic on your soul for certain, not having the right soul for the gift, nor training or aptitude for thermocontrol, not being a pangu, and the one special thing I believe I could have wouldn't be so nice to have in the first place)

I would back away, very quickly, hope no gods noticed me, and go and hide until it was safe to come out.

I would dive under the nearest piece of cover and hope no one noticed me.

Drowning: *shudder* Depends on whether I'm a bekesta or still human. If the latter, I'd freeze to death in an instant. If the former, well... assuming I wasn't killed by the global civil war or the barely-habitable climate, eeehhh...

DeŦective: It's Earth, but during a violent crime spree in The '50s that nobody knows who's causing it. Then there's the gas explosion that wiped out downtown...

Damn, I never write very happy settings, do I?

Oh, right I also would never, ever, under any circumstances, let out my true identity, I've made so many of my characters so miserable they will want a bloody revenge on me, did I mention this includes a berserking and bitter guy so strong he is capable of punching away people back to last week (and this is literal not a figure of speech).

Fergard's Souls: Move to Australia this instant and quickly get acclimated with the local wildlife. Once alien invasion strikes I should be relatively safe and I don't think I'd live long enough to see Operation Genesis.

Sunset Peninsula: Move to Caryatid Republic this instant since the global war doesn't reach there and unlike Algara, Pandemonium or Breitland there's a chance for a puny muggle such as myself to live a worthwhile life.

Virtual Reality: Play the game for a moment, then quit appearing in it altogether before The Best 16 can be picked.

That is all assuming that I'm fully aware how the story progresses.

edited 2nd Mar '14 12:59:03 PM by FergardStratoavis

Anybody ever think "Hey I wrote this universe I know more than anyone here about its workings."? As in you enter your works and you know exactly how to interact with things.

I daresay get drafted in a lot of them.

If we're talking in those terms, I'd be a universe-breaker.

I'd know who the Big Bad is in my Post-Cyberpunk story and exactly where to find Charlie; I'd know far too much about the Fantasy Kitchen Sink 'verse to have much fun; I'd know who abducted the people, why they did it, where we were and whether or not we'd be getting home.

About the only one where I wouldn't have unfair knowledge is the Bush Survival one - because that's set in the real world.

There's plenty of stuff that I can't say 100% for certain; otherwise the world would be pretty small, as I am but one man telling a story in a world of millions or billions. However, in terms of basic mechanics, I could probably get away with some things that those born into that world would not think to do right off the bat... but by the same token, those things could still get me killed.

Also, there is a character who functionally is and isn't the author, and I am not it/him/her/them.