Sneak Peek: All That Comes Before (Changes)

Here's a sneak peek at the first story you'll come across which is basically just the aftermath of your attack. It takes place three or four weeks after your mother has died and you've left the hospital two days prior. This specific scene is how you can react to your uncle and a variable that will be pulled into the main story.

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He drives to Dairy Queen, and we eat inside the car. It's a treat that I rarely get to do because my mother always feared I'd spill it. I frown as I continue to eat more of the ice cream I ordered than the burger; she was probably right.

"Come on, $name," Uncle Matheus says, using his lips to point at the forgotten burger. "You'll have to eat something or <<if $hasVisited("1.00Vomit")>>what happened earlier will just keep happening.<<else>> you'll get sick." <</if>>

"I'm not hungry," I complain, and he nods in understanding.

"Do this for me. Eat at least half of it and maybe a few fries."

[[Cry.][$emotion is “crying”]]

Roe is prone to crying. Sometimes, it all becomes too much, and Roe has no other outlet besides crying. They are not trying to gain sympathy, just trying to calm the tempestuous emotions within.

I know what he wants, and I know why he wants me to, at the very least, try. But I don’t want to. I don’t want to eat anything but this ice cream. The very thought of eating the burger or even the fries just makes me sick to my stomach. The ice cream helped; perhaps the sugar overpowers the acidic smell that usually burns my nostrils and causes me to flinch from food. But the burger … the fries, all of it just disgusts me right now.

“Hey, come on,” I hear my uncle say, and upon feeling his finger crossing my cheek, I realize that I’m crying. I hadn’t realized it until now, but I’m not wholly shocked either. <<if hasVisited("1.02Cry")>>Like earlier, I have found that crying is the only thing my body seems able to do now.

“Don’t eat it,” he sighs, putting the car in drive and shaking his head in dissatisfaction, “but this can’t continue, $name. Otherwise, I’ll have to take you to the doctor.” I know he’s right, but my sobs don’t care. With shaky hands, I continue sipping my treat, placing my forehead against the cold glass and closing my eyes as if that will quicken the coming of the night.

[[“No! I don’t want them!”][$emotion is “outbursts”]]

Roe is prone to outbursts. When upset, Roe has no problem screaming back, hitting, and breaking some things. Some may even call it a tantrum.

“No!” I shout, grabbing the burger, opening the door, and throwing it to the ground. The anger tucked away inside continues to roar, inspiring me to get out of the car and step on it. I pound it into the ground, not caring about the mess I’m making or how odd it feels under my shoe.

Once I’m done, I jerk around to face my uncle, who only stares at me with sadness.

“I don’t want the burger.” We stand there staring at one another, and he is the first to break, glancing away as tears begin to leak from his eyes. I calm down as I watch him, not knowing what to do or if I should do anything at all. I feel like the cause, but I’m not sure I’m apologetic. I want to break something else, throw more things, and scream at the top of my lungs. So, I just get back into the car and slam the door, looking everywhere but at my uncle, as I continue to eat my ice cream.

The ride is silent.

[[Shove it in your mouth.][$emotion is “pass_agg”]]

Roe is passive-aggressive. Roe will do precisely as the person asks or says, but they’re not doing it because they’re some obedient sheep. Oh no, they’ll do it their way and make sure you regret it.

I slam my ice cream cup down in the cup holder as I pick up the burger and begin to eat it without considering manners. I don’t swallow as I take bite after bite, ignoring my uncle as he tries to get me to stop. Soon, my mouth is full, and I turn to him with rage alight in my eyes.

“Is this what you want?” I question, though I am entirely sure that it all comes out sounding like one long sound with no inflections to even differentiate that multiple words were said. I swallow some of the food but make it a point to keep some in my mouth.

“Happy now?”

“No,” he answers flatly, rubbing his brows.

“But you said you wanted me to eat,” I continue, swallowing a bit more as my stomach tells me to stop; it can take no more. “So, I’m eating.” He glances over at me and, after closing his eyes for a minute or so, quietly puts the car into drive and leaves the fast food parking lot. I snatch up my cup and return to sipping the rich, frosty substance. Staring mindlessly at the passing unfamiliar scenery and thinking about how this is not the way to my house.

[[Ignore him.][$emotion is “ignore”]]

Roe is the type to ignore the speaker and the problem. Whether by literally ignoring it and continuing to do what they are doing or walking away, showing they have little care, Roe is not the type to stick around or show their care when emotions are high.

I heed him no attention as I continue to drink my milkshake, wondering if I’ll need a spoon to finish the rest.

“$name, I’m not doing this because I want to be the not-fun guy. You need to eat.” I continue sipping my ice cream, watching a stray cat wander into the parking lot in search of food. Turning, I grab my burger and, after rolling down the window, toss it out towards the cat. It takes a minute before it approaches but soon does, grabbing hold of the meat.

I glance back at my uncle, who looks nearly ready to explode.

I shrug, “the cat needs to eat.” My uncle says nothing else, simply driving to his house while my mind stays on that cat as I sip the rest of my ice cream.

[[Try and do as he asks.][$emotion is “calm”]]

Roe is calm. Though they may not wish to do something or agree with what is happening, Roe will take a more diplomatic stance and try to make do.

I gaze over at the burger, and though I want to vomit just at the idea of eating it, I do as he asks. I take bite after bite, using the fries to break up the monotony. All the while, I push past the urge to throw it all up, ignoring my stomach as it screams at me to stop, that it’s not hungry and doesn’t want this food.

I swallow and gaze over at him, not realizing that a few tears have found their way to my cheek. I rub incessantly at them.

“Is that enough?” I question in a soft voice, and he nods slowly. I put the burger down and return to the ice cream, resting my head on the window as I mindlessly sip at it and my uncle drives. The passing scenery is unfamiliar, and all I can think is this is not the way to my house.

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Of course if you're reading this and think, omg Tee can you add another then just tell me as I'm of course okay with adding extra overarching ones (they have to be pretty broad though so nothing too horribly specific).

In the main story Roe won't shove food in their mouth but they will instead use the passive aggressiveness in other ways. Characters like Chris may fold to a passive aggressive Roe while a character like Sydero will push back and one like Zillah will simply find it funny.

These variables may also sometimes work off of other variables. For the two variables working together though we can look at having a risky coping method with that of an ignore emotion. In low stress situations Roe is more prone to ignoring people as they do their thing but as that situation turns into a high stress one, they find themselves getting more reckless. They're now just ignoring everything that's wrong by placing their attention on whatever reckless action they chose to go after. You can easily change the ignore emotion to a crying one. Now a Roe taking risks is also crying and letting their emotions get the best of them as they do these things. One can even say crying is the catalyst to the risky behavior.