Feb 2022 chooseyourownadventure orchestral score story fantasy
Just in case you don't know, I'm creating a "Choose Your Own Adventure" FAWM.
For this FAWM, I've decided to make a score to a film/story that hasn't been written. This is because YOU will decide where the story will go and how it will eventually end. After each song, I will give you options for your "Choose Your Own Adventure" story. Write your option in the comment section. I will wait about 8 hours or so, calculate the numbers, then create the next song that fits this option. After each song is posted, I start the process all over again until FAWM and the story is over.
The majority of those who voted (during a certain window of time) picked A) Save the mother.
Anything other than option A or B cannot be counted. Yeah, I know I'm giving you some hard choices and the choices have consequences on how the characters interact with each other, in addition to just the next action.
I actually find your answers and reasoning quite interesting and you're ALL so fascinating! Some of you are survivalists. Some of you choose based on emotion rather than pragmatism. And some of you don't choose at all because it's a difficult choice to make. I love seeing your answers because your reasoning and explanations sometimes challenge my own and, in the end, I like to think that there is no wrong answer.
*************
You save the mother. You make a hard, practical choice.
You grab her arm and pull her quickly. She lets go of her baby, who is now crying even more loudly. She struggles against you in vain, trying to reach the baby. She scratches your face with her nails, so you forcefully shove her behind you closer to the wall. You then shush her and give her a threatening stare. No way this girl's gonna get you fucking killed. Her eyes go wide. She doesn't just see you. She sees INTO you. She can sense who you are and she is frightened by the shadows inside you.
The soldiers are at the door. They enter and slowly walk through the room. You can hear them coming closer and closer. They don't seem to be in any hurry. The mother freezes. You attempt to stay calm, but you can feel your pulse quickening again.
"What is that? A cat?" a young soldier asks.
"Not a cat," the other one replies. "It's a baby." You can tell the second soldier is an older man and you swear you've heard his voice before.
The first soldier wrinkles his brow. "I'm pretty sure we took care of all the babies. Do you want me to take care of this one, too? What's a baby doing here alone, anyway?"
"He's not alone," the older soldier says, sniffs the air, then looks around. He draws his sword. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"
You feel your pant leg become moist and you realize the mother has pissed herself out of fright. At this point, you really wish you had gone home, possibly picked up some weapons or even fled. They're going to look for you now. And, if they don't find you, they'll yell for backup and you'll have an entire regiment looking for you. You promised yourself you weren't like this anymore, but you were wrong. You close your eyes and rage surges through you like a white hot flame. You look at the mother and she senses what you are about to do. You point in the direction of the baby, then point back to the mother. She understands and nods.
You can taste your heartbeat in your throat now. Your lips are dry and your tongue is sticking to the roof of your mouth as if it's glued in place. Your stomach is made of acid and anxiety. Your ears are ringing and you know what you have to do.
YOU CHOOSE VIOLENCE.
As quick as you can, you reach out from under the bed and pull the ankle of the first soldier, knocking him completely off balance. They may have been expecting a mother, but they weren't expecting you. As you climb out from under the bed, the second soldier, the older one, swings his sword at you and you barely evade it. You're getting slow, old man. You grab the baby and thrust him in the outstretched arms of his mother, who then pulls him underneath the bed with her. It's been a while since you've been in a fight, but, just as you think you've made a huge mistake, the adrenaline surges through you, hot and wild, and you see red. All that training, all the skill that you'd learned as a young man, comes flooding back in your mind.
The first soldier gets up and lunges at you with a knife with all the sloppiness and enthusiasm of an amateur. You dodge his attack, then grab a fistful of his hair and yank hard. The soldier stumbles and you let go of his hair and lock your massive hand around his pretty neck. You may be old, but you're as strong as iron. Without hesitation, you squeeze it like an overripe peach and it spills its warm, thick juice onto your hand. His body falls to the floor and, suddenly, it all feels so natural.
The older soldier swings his sword again and, this time, it catches on your forearm, leaving an ugly cut which will eventually turn into an even uglier scar. You grunt with pain and you step back. He lunges at you again, but this time you duck and ram your fist into his bloated stomach, followed by a second punch into his kidneys. The blows land solidly, and the soldier drops his sword, stunned. You grab him by the neck with both hands and look him in the eyes and then you finally recognize him. Mathias is older, of course, with more wrinkles and a gut like an expecting pig, but he still has that thin nose and the hideous mole on his chin with the single hair growing out of it. You remember teasing him about that when he was a young recruit. You were not friendly and you could tell he hated your guts after that. His eyes flash with recognition and the frenzy stops.
In between gasps for air, Mathias whispers, "Kaleb...supposed to be dead...thought king was crazy..." Mathias frantically tries to pry your hands from his neck, but it's no use. Your hands were made for violence. Once you sink your teeth in something, you never let go. Bad dog.
You growl and shake him like a paunchy, little ragdoll. "Why did you come here?" you ask in low tones.
Mathias hesitates and says nothing. You shake him again.
"You," Mathias says weakly. "The mines, the money..."
Your blood is pumping and, for the first time in a decade, you feel alive. You relish the idea of killing him, remember what it used to feel like, to sink your thumbs into human pudding.
You hear faint footsteps in the distance, followed by a voice calling out, "Hey, Mathias! Commander wants to see you!"
You tighten your grip around Mathias' neck and he begs for his life. "Please..." he gasps, his face red like a summer tomato, sweat dripping down into his eyes. "You....can...trust...me."
If you kill him now, at least he can't call for help and attract attention. People will come looking for him, but you could be miles away by then. If you let him live, he could give you information, but he could also betray you and get you killed.
Do you:
A) Let Mathias live?
or
B) Kill Mathias?
@headfirstonly Mar 2022
So much tension in the first half of this. It builds, and we know it's going to erupt, but even though we're expecting it, that double kick drum metal onslaught really raises the roof. The big synth drones really add some weight, too.
@pianoonthepatio Feb 2022
I'm 100% peace-loving but really Mathias doesn't seem that trustworthy......
@adforperu Feb 2022
This lad was going to finish off a baby, KILL HHHHHHHIIIIIIIM!
This fucking rocks btw
@tawny249 Feb 2022
Oops. I missed my chance to weigh in, dang. I was expecting an epic musical turnaround at those caps, but damn if it wasn't straight-up metal. That surprised me, but it works in this grim a setting.
@dragondreams Feb 2022
Wow! the way you bring the violence in the score is a chef's kiss of cinematic excellence!
@dzdandcunfsd Feb 2022
Ugh I saw the next one and had to come back to this since I missed one :D
I'd of also chose A though..... but he can only be trusted with a knife to his throat while he tells the other guards its all clear.
Wonderful piece of music! Perfectly fitting!
@leepat Feb 2022
that heavy metal fill :)
A) let him live:
1. he owes you his life
2. you owe us a living and breathing protagonist
3. we all know these adventures can't end in chapter 2.
unless they can?
@tamsnumber4 Feb 2022
That was an awesome track, it fit the violence and tension, but had to play it twice...more slow reading? I don't know. I say let him live....for now.
@sapient Feb 2022
Hoy crap. There's the goodness of METAL in the core of this.
You had me wanting to do the yelling over that.
Perfect for the violence. Just perfect.
And I'm really feeling the trension of the choice in the music there at the end. Damn. This is hard.
Now, what to choose
Gotta let him live. Help him fool the other guards and let us escape...
Gah. This is all going to get worse, isn't it? ;)