The Game at Carousel: A Horror Movie LitRPG

Chapter Seventy-Nine: A Ticket to the Show

Suddenly I was standing in the control room alone. All around me was still. All around me was silent.

The poltergeist was gone.

The bodies on the floor were gone.

Was the storyline over? Did this mean we had won?

I looked at the red wallpaper. No, the storyline wasn't over. In fact, we had just entered the finale. But how was I alive?

I wasn't.

I thought I might have been a ghost, but then I realized that wasn't right either. The red wallpaper had me listed as Written off and Dead. As far as I knew, ghosts weren't Written Off. On the contrary, they still had sway in the story. Ghosts were merely Dead. I was both. Must have been really special to achieve that.

But what was I doing there?

My answer came with a familiar voice.

“Congratulations, you've won a ticket!” Silas the Showman said.

As I turned around to see him I noticed that all the security monitors were frozen. It was like they were paused.

“How am I getting a ticket before the end of the storyline?” I asked. “I'm dead, right?”

“In Carousel, death isn't always the end. Sometimes it's a well-earned rest,” Silas responded with his canned phrasing. "Other times it's just Carousel's way to say that you talk too much. Hehehe."

I knew the drill. I reached out and pressed his red button.

Four tickets popped out. Three tropes and one new kind that I hadn't seen before. It was short and thinner and had a few scant paragraphs.

Silas recited a poem:

“You can pick one from three, what will it be?

No matter the choice, no room to rejoice.

All three can save your skin or tear it off again,

The question remains, you must choose your pains,

In this game of dread, you can choose well and still be dead.”

Of course, Silas ended the macabre poem with one of his signature laughs, “Hehehe.”

Pick one from three of what?

I turned over the cards in my hands. The thin one had the words “Start Here!” in big red letters. I took that as a sign.

I focused on the ticket. It was colored black with text that was printed onto the ticket during its creation. It featured fill-in-the-blank sections but was otherwise generic.

You’ve reached a level where the game starts to get more difficult. Luckily, you are about to get the tools to fight back.

Having achieved Plot Armor 21 and having afterward accomplished the requisite feat of [dying in a storyline] you have now unlocked your choice of aspect.

Choosing an aspect allows you to decide what type of [Film Buff] you wish to be. Good luck!

After I read the ticket, a plaque with lots of writing on it appeared on the red wallpaper.

As a Film Buff, you have a deep appreciation for the art of cinema. However, the way you engage with films can vary greatly, leading to different paths: the Fanatic, the Critic, and the Filmmaker. The choice of aspect will shape your abilities and influence your journey in significant ways.

Fanatic: The Fanatic is a superfan, especially of horror movies. Their passion and extensive knowledge of films make them adaptable and formidable in combat. They learn from rewatching films, preparing them for similar situations or enemies. Their approach to film is instinctual, and their vast movie-watching experience equips them with unique, situational meta abilities.

Example tropes that a Fanatic possesses include Ghoulish Enthusiasm, which buffs the player when they're perceptibly excited about scary endeavors, Shared Fandom, which helps gain info from NPCs by bonding over shared interests, and Weekend Stage Fighting Workshop, which allows them to fake fight, causing enemies to also fake fight temporarily.

Critic: The Critic is an analyst, able to dissect and critique films with precision. They use their analytical skills to understand the underlying mechanics of the storyline and provide valuable insights. Despite their physical fragility, they have strong Insight tropes and high Savvy, reflecting their intellectual prowess and deep understanding of film. Their insights can influence the course of the game and unveil new, intriguing story arcs.

A Critic has tropes like Eye for Intermission, which gives insight into when breaks from important plot events are coming up, The Renowned Intellectual, which assists in getting information from NPCs who admire the player’s career, and A Killer Review, which allows the player to leave vague reviews about the killer after death that allies can read on the red wallpaper.

Filmmaker: The Filmmaker has a comprehensive understanding of the filmmaking process. They can manipulate the game environment effectively, altering the game's dynamics in subtle but impactful ways. Their abilities are a mixture of meta-Insight and meta-Rule tropes. They have higher Hustle, reflecting their ability to stay out of the way, stay alive, and remain unseen as they manipulate meta movie elements.

Tropes that a Filmmaker has include Flashback Revelation, which allows dead players with Deathwatch to echo words they have said on-screen to surviving allies who heard them, It's Just a Puppet, where knowledge of movie monster making soothes fear, and No Stab in the Dark, which helps ensure that important plot events like death will not occur in low-light locations where the audience cannot see.

Choosing your aspect is a crucial decision. It not only determines your abilities but also sets you on a unique path. Whether you're a Fanatic, a Critic, or a Filmmaker, your love for cinema will guide you, but your approach to it will define your journey. Choose wisely.

Finally, I got to learn about aspects. All I knew about aspects I had learned in passing from the veterans, who tried to explain them to us but usually their explanations were difficult to follow because we were too low-level to even see what the aspects of our tropes were.

Now I wasn’t.

I flipped over the three tropes I was given. I had to choose one.

Each was a Film Buff trope and each was from a different aspect. Critic, Fanatic, or Filmmaker... an interesting choice.

I reviewed the three tropes I had to choose from.

Camped Out on Opening Weekend

Archetype: Film Buff

Aspect: Fanatic

Type: Insight/Buff/Perk

Stat Used: Savvy

As an ardent horror movie buff, you've gone to great lengths for your passion. From taking time off work for premieres, and camping outside theaters, to immersing yourself in every detail of your favorite flicks’ creation, your dedication is unparalleled. After multiple viewings within the first week of release, you've mastered the nuances of each new horror film. Your love for horror is not just a hobby, it's your way of life.

Deathwatch: the player can observe a storyline after their character's demise.

With this trope, Deathwatch allows the player to enter the Theater from the red wallpaper and watch the film version of the remainder of the storyline in real time.

In addition to this ability, the player may rewatch the film without needing to visit Carousel Family Video.

This ability to rewatch enables the Fanatic to learn and adapt, enhancing their performance. After having rewatched a storyline, they will receive situational buffs when rerunning it. Rewatching storylines will also lead to buffs in new storylines with similar scenarios or enemies to those that have been studied.

This ticket is granted after the first character death following the achievement of Plot Armor 21. Selecting this ticket aligns you with the Fanatic aspect.

“To a true Fanatic, watching a movie isn’t just entertainment, it’s preparation.”

The Fanatic was tempting. If there was one thing I sorely needed, it was some buffs. It continued the trend of unpredictable buffs that the Film Buff appeared to have plenty of, though. It would be nice to have a melee option.

Press Screening

Archetype: Film Buff

Aspect: Critic

Type: Insight/Perk

Stat Used: Savvy

You perceive films as more than mere entertainment; they are a form of art to you. Your dedication has led you to delve deep into the theoretical aspects of cinema, honing your ability to discern and articulate the strengths and weaknesses of a film in a manner that resonates with others.

Deathwatch: the player can observe a storyline after their character's demise.

With this trope, Deathwatch allows the player to enter the Theater from the red wallpaper and watch the film version of the remainder of the storyline in real time.

In addition to this ability, the player may rewatch the film without needing to visit Carousel Family Video.

As a Critic, the player can discern ratings of characters' performances and choices that influence the rewards after the storyline. After extensive rewatching of storylines in Carousel, the Critic starts to perceive these ratings (between one and five stars) within an ongoing storyline that has similar themes and setups. This insight can guide the player to make choices that not only yield better rewards and experience but also unveil new, intriguing story arcs.

This ticket is granted after the first character death post-Plot Armor 21 achievement. Selecting this ticket aligns you with the Critic path.

“If you are going to review your teammate's performance, remember not to bite their head off. There are plenty of monsters in Carousel that do that already.”

Critic seemed like a great option. Being able to know whether we were making good choices would help us improve. From the sound of this one, it might also help with finding new arcs within storylines, possibly even involving secret lore.

Director's Monitor

Archetype: Film Buff

Aspect: Filmmaker

Type: Insight/Rule/Perk

Stat Used: Savvy

You're not just a movie fan, you're a creator. You've studied every aspect of filmmaking, from shot composition to production logistics. Like a director using a video assist monitor to view scenes as they're filmed, you see each film as a moldable work that can be made better.

Deathwatch: the player can observe a storyline after their character's demise.

With this trope, Deathwatch allows the player to enter the Theater from the red wallpaper and watch the film version of the remainder of the storyline in real time.

In addition to this ability, the player may rewatch the film without needing to visit Carousel Family Video.

As a Filmmaker, you step into the director's shoes. The more you rewatch and learn from storylines, the more likely it is that your off-screen plans involving Improvisation are to influence the story. With enough experience, you will be able to help guide storylines from behind the scenes. Beware, improvisation that changes the story too much can cause a clash for creative control, and Carousel is quite the diva.

This ticket is your reward after the first death post-Plot Armor 21 achievement. Choose this ticket to set your aspect as a Filmmaker.

"Only in Carousel do the filmmakers themselves have to worry about being killed off."

Improvisation. I had just tried that for the first time and it had largely been successful. The idea of being able to steer a story, to create plot points out of nothing but logic and effort. That was appealing.

Interestingly, they all gave me the same ability, Deathwatch. I had heard that word thrown around at Dyer's Lodge. I knew that psychics and wallflowers (as well as some others I assumed) had Deathwatch, but I thought it was a trope. It was actually an ability that various tropes could give you—the ability to watch the story unfold after you have died or been permanently written off.

But which aspect should I choose?

If it was just me, Fanatic might have been a good choice. Being able to buff myself and actually stand a chance in a fight was something I strongly desired. But that wasn't my role on our team.

My role was to gain insight into the story. Understanding a story and being able to help my teammates get to the end was priority number one. That meant I needed to be a Filmmaker or a Critic. I reread the tropes and the text that had appeared on the red wallpaper.

“Does it matter what I choose?” I asked.

Silas the Showman looked at me blankly. Either he didn't have a response that fit properly or he wasn't able to speak freely at that moment. Another possibility was that it didn't matter.

As far as I was concerned all three of these tropes were great. They all gave the Deathwatch ability. That was a real prize at that moment. It also explained why I received the tropes upon dying.

I found myself more and more indecisive the more I thought about it.

At the end of the day, secret lore was supposed to be really important and a Critic should be able to help uncover more of it.

But something didn't sit right with me about the way we had stumbled upon the concept of secret lore. I felt uneasy about the whole thing.

I liked how Filmmaker was good for staying out of sight and surviving long enough to get good insights which lined up really well with my Oblivious Bystander strategy. Also, the idea of working more improvisation into the game excited me and made me feel optimistic that I could think my way out of overwhelming problems.

I also felt like having too many insight tropes could confuse and distract me from engaging with the story and Critic was insight-heavy.

I thought back to the poem Silas recited when he first arrived. Every choice could be the wrong choice.

Which wrong choice could I live with?

I took the Fanatic and Critic tickets and slid them into one of the slots on Silas’ frontside. I could hear the gears inside spinning as the tickets were sucked into his machinery.

I hoped I hadn’t made a mistake.

As the grinding stopped and Silas shut down, I waited for him to disappear, but that wasn’t exactly what happened.

Everything disappeared. I was left staring into inky blackness.

All that remained was the red wallpaper.

Even that disappeared moments later.

I was sitting in a movie theater, my mind's eye fixed on the screen

I could see four people creeping down a hallway: my friends. The finale had begun. I was watching them as they attempted to overcome incredible odds.

I would exist there, sitting in that seat, dead in all ways but my ability to watch what became of us.

All other thoughts faded away as I began my Deathwatch, helpless to intervene, only able to sit by and hope that my friends could make it to The End.