Octavia

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<<print either("Most of the rich class is a sentimental old sapience.", "The mob, in its fickleness, continued the human mind.", "He died a victim of false notions.", "Children, begotten weeds, marriages are daily pushed to pick.", "Pale anguish keeps the heart.", "This gentle landsman’s life is nothing; a murder here, a blow now.", "Well, I too feel that was ours.", "Don't turn up another hell. You torment them.", "The general development of woman's emancipation seems to overlook this fact.", "Above all, our affections are little, or nothing.", "Murderer! Murderer! Murderer! Murderer! Murderer! She cried, pointing.", "Man has subdued his housekeeper, and strains celebrating.", "A dying age exacts no taxes.", "I cannot think of the human society.", "The fact is, the string breaks. Untuned ears hear nothing but the witness, little moment.", "The devil grabbed the American citizen and friend.", "Seven years ago, I heard of culture.", "Never did it occur to his being a rebel.", "Aside from anything else, it had to die, and at that time.")>>

<<print either("I am", "You are", "Thou art", "We are", "They are", "It is")>> <<print either( "primitive in dealing with the sweet and tender, unsophisticated as an enemy.", "a single America of the child.", "based upon the customary salute to the fact that he is a woman.", "earned with the blood-curdling of women.", "dependent, defective, with no real social expression.", "the conscious social abyss.", "the living, burying their individuality.", "lately released from a certain musical voice, peculiarly characteristic of the bitter smile.", "the true character of toiling, and the appreciation of life.", "gentlemen of the workingmen; dirty, filthy, shivering little girls.", "her heart's blood, her very life, out of both men and woman.", "young, and despairing.", "the grisly terror in the girl to be heard.", "the grisly terror on the point of the Anarchism, her fortitude, her ability.", "undertaken with no little afford to be devised.", "the vilest deeds, like poison works in a factory and mill.", "the grisly terror of a married couple, falling.", "a visage, perturbedly brooding on the defense, whom the glance lights.", "the serene, calm character all but extinct now, and rarely discussed." )>>

<<print either("I", "You", "He", "She", "They", "It")>> <<print either( "organized the grizzled gossips of the middle classes.", "added to the economic inability to shed some rays of kindness.", "became mothers for himself with the sea.", "confronted violent elementary care.", "got along, as beautiful young plants into faded old women.", "felt a hundred thousand stinging, piercing the drudgery.", "strived time and time again against this bleak monster.", "vowed to master and crew, abbreviated in radical ranks", "held such devotion to the few survivors.", )>>

<<print either( "And then refer it to the merchant-ship's peacemaker!", "And with the dead of night, so luminous it plays on the ship.", "And I have eaten the King's Navy by way of showing the drudgery.", "And yet she is also the most horrible thing of the social relations to hate and effect.", "And do they outgrow the death penalty, based on love, and give thee to emancipation?", "And then I understand how we can oppose the former, the comely young.", "And the little French Revolutionists who study the children reach maturity.", "And yet the epithets he claims are that of cynic disdain.", "And by refusing to be held responsible for her own personalities.", "Thus, it is merely a reflex.", "She also found opportunity, and energy, in demanding a palatial stage.", "His spirit filled with honesty, prescribe the incubators.", "The history of asceticism proves this to say:", "Yet she also persists in living in the broken sacredness of capitalist press." )>>

<<print either( "Oh, for the naivety of Youth's enthusiasm, tenderness, and liberty.", "I wonder if they see clearly and late for ten long years?", "Who, but the very unusual circumstances, proposed organization?", "Is it love of others, a highly developing knowledge?", "And why did they not revert to the growth of a mentality overlooked?", "Yes, it is well to examine what some sort of joy indeed he was for the priest.", "I cannot think of it--four hundred thousand copies of modern ideas.", "Alas! The cultured people remained to our industrial world.", "Every thought of salvation lies in being in the midst of them.", "O, let them see all that you did about it, and increase my infamy.", "O, let them loose like wild beasts, and above all, something was whispered.", "Simply, in this new beauty, in things getting worse, tell-tale reports." )>>

<div class="desc">I took the complete texts of //Billy Budd// by Herman Melville (1924) and //Anarchism and Other Essays// by Emma Goldman (1910) and ran them continuously through a [[Markov chain sentence remixer|http://lkgarrison.github.io/Random-Sentence-Generator/#]]. From hundreds of iterations, I then curated fragments and phrases that I found interesting, and revised them to fit into an octave poem form. You and I write the letter together, and Melville, Goldman, Markov, Twine, and myself write the poem for you. This work was created for the [[Gaming Like It's 1924|https://itch.io/jam/gaming-like-its-1924]] jam, in celebration of //Billy Budd// entering the public domain. Mixing Melville and Goldman was mostly about personal taste, but the hybrid of images and ideas from these sources together suggested a sort of lost dream of political and sexual liberation from another century, or a parallel world, which is what inspired the text of the letter. The music is an original composition. More of my work can be found on [[my website|http://www.juliankjarboe.com]] and [[my Twitter|https://twitter.com/JulianKJarboe]]. [[Back|Menu]]</div>

<div class="title">Octavia</div> <div class="byline">by Julian K. Jarboe</div> <div class="desc">[[Play|intro]] [[Settings|music]] [[About|workscited]]</div>

→ Without a transition You see a <<linkprepend "robot">>GIANT <</linkprepend>>. → With a transition I <<linkprepend "like" t8n>>do not <</linkprepend>> lemons. → Without a transition We—We should <<linkappend "take">> away their METAL BAWKSES<</linkappend>>! → With a transition I spy with my little <<linkappend "eye" t8n>>, a crab rangoon<</linkappend>>. → Without a transition I'll have a <<linkreplace "cupcake">>slice of key lime pie<</linkreplace>>, please. → With a transition <<linkreplace "You'll //never// take me alive!" t8n>>On second thought, don't hurt me.<</linkreplace>> The answer to the //Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything// is? <<cycle "$answer" autoselect>> <<option "Towel">> <<option "π" 3.14159>> <<option 42>> <<option 69>> <<option "∞" Infinity>> <</cycle>> The answer to the //Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything// is? <<listbox "$lbanswer" autoselect>> <<option "Towel">> <<option "π" 3.14159>> <<option 42>> <<option 69>> <<option "∞" Infinity>> <</listbox>> → Without forwarding: a very basic statistic setting example Strength: <<set $pcStr to 10>><span id="stats-str"><<print $pcStr>></span> \ ( <<button "[+]">><<set $pcStr++>><<replace "#stats-str">><<print $pcStr>><</replace>><</button>> \ | <<button "[-]">><<set $pcStr-->><<replace "#stats-str">><<print $pcStr>><</replace>><</button>> ) <<print $answer0>> You <<print either("gingerly", "carelessly", "curiously", "lovingly", "morbidly", "somberly", "secretly")>> unfold the tattered piece of <<print either("paper", "parchment", "scroll", "vellum", "leather", "toilet paper", "silk pocket square", "cotton bandana", "notebook", "fishwrap", "napkin")>>. It reads:

<<audio "bgm_space" volume 0.5 play loop>>

<div class="letter">May this letter find you <<cycle "$answer2" autoselect>> <<option "well">> <<option "ill">> <<option "at all">> <<option "in hell">> <<option "at rest">> <<option "laughing all the way to the bank">><</cycle>>, wherever you are. [[...|cont2]]</div>

<div class="letter">Last I heard through our little rumor mill, you had, supposedly, gotten yourself <<cycle "$answer3" autoselect>> <<option "killed">> <<option "married">> <<option "pregnant">> <<option "in jail">> <<option "in jail again">> <<option "a small fortune">> <<option "a considerable fortune">> <<option "a truly foolproof hiding place">> <</cycle>>, a fate which I can hardly imagine another person <<cycle "$answer4" autoselect>> <<option "more">> <<option "less">><</cycle>> deserving of, but I'm not sure I quite believe it just the same. Wishful thinking on <<cycle "$answer5" autoselect>> <<option "your">> <<option "my">> <<option "their">> <<option "our">><</cycle>> part? [[...|cont3]]</div>

<div class="poem">To my $answer0 $answer1, I hope this letter finds you $answer2, wherever you are. Last I heard through our little rumor mill, you had, supposedly, gotten yourself $answer3, a fate which I can hardly imagine another person $answer4 deserving of, but I'm not sure I quite believe it just the same. Wishful thinking on $answer5 part? Maybe you will find this bottle, and maybe you won't. Maybe nobody ever will, and I'm about to toss my $answer6 $answer7 into the sea for no reason... other than if I allow these feelings to //bottle// ($answer8) any longer inside my own mind I will be moved to even more, well, "antisocial" behaviors. I've written you a little verse, copied below this letter, about our $answer9 time together in a world that's already gone and forgotten, people and "history" being $answer10 as they are. Let's just call it the last literary act of our little age, our little $answer11. I do hope you are $answer12 by it! $answer13, - O.</div> <div class="desc">//[[Perfect. All it's missing is the verse.|poem]]// //[[No, no, no. Tear it up and start over.|intro]]//</div>

<div class="letter">Maybe you will find this bottle, and maybe you won't. Maybe nobody ever will, and I'm about to toss my <<cycle "$answer6" autoselect>> <<option "pettiest">> <<option "deepest">> <<option "most famous">> <<option "most humiliating">><</cycle>> <<cycle "$answer7" autoselect>> <<option "regrets">> <<option "desires">> <<option "hopes">> <<option "fears">> <<option "dreams">><</cycle>> into the sea for no reason, other than if I allow these feelings to //bottle// (<<cycle "$answer8" autoselect>> <<option "ha">> <<option "ugh">> <<option "sigh">> <<option "sorry">> <<option "not sorry-- if I can't even have puns there's really, truly nothing left for me in this world">><</cycle>>) any longer inside my own mind I will be moved to even more, well, "antisocial" behaviors. [[...|cont4]]</div>

<div class="letter">I've written you a little verse, copied below this letter, about our <<cycle "$answer9" autoselect>> <<option "too short">> <<option "over long">> <<option "heightened">> <<option "unforgettable">> <<option "horrible">> <<option "blissful">> <<option "fragmented and largely missing">><</cycle>> time together in a world that's already gone and forgotten, people and "history" being <<cycle "$answer10" autoselect>> <<option "fickle">> <<option "childish">> <<option "wise">> <<option "enduring">> <<option "resilient">> <<option "maudlin">> <<option "neurotic">> <<option "enlightened">> <<option "mistaken">><</cycle>> as they are. [[...|cont5]]</div>

<div class="letter">Let's just call it the last literary act of our little age, our little <<cycle "$answer11" autoselect>> <<option "idea">> <<option "idealism">> <<option "movement">> <<option "revolution">> <<option "contribution">> <<option "adventure">> <<option "misadventure">> <<option "affair">> <<option "jouney">> <<option "extended lapse in judgement">> <<option "moment in the sun">> <<option "moment of truth">><</cycle>>. I do hope you are, if nothing else, <<cycle "$answer12" autoselect>> <<option "puzzled">> <<option "annoyed">> <<option "comforted">> <<option "inspired">> <<option "cursed">> <<option "understood">><</cycle>> by it! [[...|cont6]]</div>

<div class="letter"><<cycle "$answer13" autoselect>> <<option "Sincerely">> <<option "Yours">> <<option "Mine own alone">> <<option "Kiss kiss">> <<option "Bang bang">> <<option "The same old">> <<option "Bread and roses">><</cycle>>, - O.</div> <div class="desc">//[[Review the letter.|final]]//</div>

<div class="desc"><<timed 1s t8n>>//[[Cork the bottle.|toss2]]//<</timed>></div>

<div class="desc"><<timed 1s t8n>>//[[Take it to the edge of the water.|toss3]]//<</timed>></div>

<div class="desc"><<timed 2s t8n>>//[[Give it your best throw, right into the cresting waves.|toss4]]//<</timed>></div>

<div class="desc"><<timed 3s t8n>>//[[Let out the breath you've been holding, and wait for your message to vanish from your sight. It shouldn't take too long. The current is powerful.|toss5]]//<</timed>></div>

<div class="poem"><<timed 3s t8n>>//<<include "statement">> <<next>>//<<include "description">> <<next>>//<<include "description">> <<next>>//<<include "development">> <<next>>//<<include "action">> <<next>>//<<include "development">> <<next>>//<<include "musing">> <<next>>//<<include "statement">>// <</timed>></div> <div class="desc"><<timed 27s t8n>>//[[Place the letter and the poem in the empty bottle.|toss1]]// //[[Destroy the whole thing, but try once more.|intro]]//<</timed>> </div>

<div class="desc"><<cacheaudio "bgm_space" "https://a.tumblr.com/tumblr_pwo3myyw821qzrex8o1.mp3">>Background Music: <label><<radiobutton "$sfx" "Play Sounds">> On</label> <label><<radiobutton "$sfx" "Mute Sounds" checked>> Off</label> [[Back|Menu]]</div>