REFLECTIONS – free to read!

Dark Fantasy | Literary | Coming of Age

Content warnings: mentions of depression and emotional abuse

Novelette – 17.6k words.

At night, someone talks while weighed down by memories. Escaping, fleeing, running away… for no purpose, or so they say, but like an interminable sequence of repetitious steps. But is that all there is? Perhaps, you want to hear what this someone says. Perchance, only by remembering he will find a way forwards. This is a literary, philosophical coming-of-age where limited language bars emotional understanding.

This story has two particularities:

• There are two points-of-view, which is unusual in books with choices. One PoV talks to you, but you only control the person asking questions… or so it seems.
• This story remembers. You can complete it once, and after that, it will change forever. Doesn’t matter how many times you reset, the changes will remain.

Detailed content warnings:

This story is a literary discussion on the difficulties of verbally expressing (and understanding) complex emotions, their causes, and consequences. The narrator is in second person, and the discussions of specific events are non-descriptive but self-explanatory—which adds some degree of (intended) complexity to the reading. Although there are mentions to violence (physical and mental), there are NO mentions to sexual abuse or racism. The story reaches some dark points, but the ending is positive. Depression lurks near all of us. Seek help if you need it, and whatever you do, stay safe.

MEANS OF EGRESS – $1.49 (USD)

Philosophical Fantasy | Adventure | Dungeon-crawler | Coming of Age

Content warnings: verbal bullying, physical violence

Novel – 116.5k words

A Wanderer awakens. A dungeon opens ahead. A quest to explore and survive. An almighty Dungeon Master of dungeon-twisting wrath. A path predefined by the League and the Nobleblaze lineage. A waltz of questions on the Wanderer’s mind—What do I want? What do I seek? What is my path? A chance to defy the Dungeon Master. This is a philosophical slow-burn dungeon-crawler, discussing the discovery of one’s purpose. Note: This story is presented like a continuous, non-stop single chapter due to plot reasons.

Particularities:

• Again, there are two points-of-view, one which you control, one which you do not. The latter may be a bit obtuse, a bit gaslighting, and utterly despicable.
• This is the most complex and highly combinatorial story in Unearthed Stories (so far!). Livia did a bit of math, it may have 182 different ways of crossing the dungeon. Methinks, there are some caveats to that calculation.

Detailed content warnings:

The Dungeon Master gaslights the Wanderer by saying how they should feel about a situation, prescribing actions, and/or mocking their feelings. You will find mentions of wounds (this is a dungeon with traps and enemies), and a heavy set of expectations. At different moments, this story-game breaks the fourth wall, also relying on different narrators (the Dungeon Master starts in third person, and the Wanderer in first person).

Other details:

• Author: Livia J. Elliot
• Cover design & maps: Livia J. Elliot
• Editor: Fernando Gamboa (Prowess Games’ Developer)

UNEARTHED STORIES

Is a free-to-play game for Android and iOS (iPhone/iPad) to read books with choices, also known as text-based interactive fiction. Most of our stories are free (except Herald and Means of Egress), fantasy or sci-fi only, and heavily thematic. Although there are some cozy books, we target adult readers.

The app Unearthed Story is free to install through the corresponding app stores:

• Android: https://bit.ly/unearthedstories
• iPhone/iPad: https://apple.co/48IcnYm

You can also subscribe to Livia’s newsletter for news and bookish discussions: https://liviajelliot.com/newsletter/web

You can install the app now and read the currently available stories. Reflections and Means of Egress will be released on April 16th (9am AEST) through the updated titled Elusive Pathways. 

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I’m on Twitter, Threads, and Instagram as @liviajelliot and my partner (edit and developer of the app where the books can be read) can be tagged as @prowessgames as well (in the same three platforms)