Lori filming

    "You decide to head over to the Historical Society again to meet up with Lori and continue helping her make her movie."
    "You arrive as the sun sets like last time. It gets dark as quickly as before."
    "You turn around, and you suddenly see a pair of eyes in the darkness."
    "Must be Lori."
    "She emerges from the shadows, smiling at you."

    lori "[newname]! You made it!"
    player "It's still kind of spooky out here, did you know that?"
    lori "…Yes?"

*if you didn't help her the other day*
    "Today you find yourself headed to a place you've never been to before to meet up with Lori. You texted her earlier that day about it on chattrBox to tell her your plans."
    "She accepted your offer with great enthusiasm, you noticed."
    "She mentioned something about making a movie, and said you could help her if you wanted, right?"
    "The sun was just setting as you arrived and hop off your bike. Lori had asked you to show up specifically at that time."
    "Where was she? You don't see anyone around."
    "You decide to wait a little longer just in case you're early. Everything around you is quiet, and it gets dark rather quickly."
    "You turn around, and you suddenly see a pair of eyes in the darkness."
    "For half a second you can't tell who the hell it is, but as the figure gets closer, you see a set of whiskers and large ears emerge from the shadows."
    "It's Lori. She's carrying a largish digital camera and a notebook, smiling at you."
***

    lori "[newname]! You made it!"
    player "It's kind of spooky out here, did you know that?"
    lori "…Yes?"

    "You blink, realizing that was an obvious question."
    "Lori laughs in her throat. She seems genuinely happy that you're weirded out."

    player "Well, anyway… how can I help out with your movie (this time)?"
    lori "I'm definitely gonna need you to hold the camera for me (this time)."
    player "Really? I (still) don't have any experience."
    lori "It's ok, you won't have to do any of the hard stuff."
    lori "I'm gonna need you to start and stop the recording, at the very least."
    player "Ok, I can handle that."
    lori "You ready, then?"
    player "Lead the way."

    "You and Lori approach Shreigeist House. It's as spooky as ever, perhaps even more so. She stops and looks up at it."

*if you didn't help her the other day*
    "Lori points out the house up ahead."
    "It's a tall, slim house in a stark Neo-Gothic style in the middle of a field with a few ghastly-looking dead trees around it."
    "It definitely looks haunted."

    lori "This place is called the Shreigeist House."
    player "Seriously? That sounds exactly like a portmanteau of \"shriek\" and \"poltergeist\"."
    lori "I know, right? Like the name of some kind of bad goth metal band."
    lori "It's beautiful and it's old and it's creepy. I love it."
    player "We're actually not too far from my house."
    lori "Oh cool! Yeah, this is the part of town where the old rich people houses were all built back in the day."
    lori "I wish I could live here and stare out into the night sky as passersby see me and run away terrified."
    player "Your tattered silken dress flowing in the wind?"
    lori "Exactly."
***

    lori "This place really does make me feel happy…"
    player "Happy? 'Cause of this creepy old place?"

    "You wince. Another obvious question."

    lori "Of course! I thought you'd know me better by now."
    lori "This place is beautiful."

    "Tilting your head to one side, you start to see that it is sort of beautiful, in it's own strange, haunting sort of way."
    "If you swept away all the signs of age and decay, and saw it in broad daylight, you would probably see the resplendent home of a rich family in its prime, but that's pretty much gone now."
    "The once fine mansion has fallen into disrepair and neglect over the years, and it's probably only because of the Historical Society that it still stands."

    lori "C'mon, we're losing light…"

    "You blink, like snapping out of dream. Oh, right. Making movies."
    "Lori sets down her bag and pulls out her camera and tripod."

    lori "Alright. Give me a second to set up…"
    player "So have you figured out the whole story yet?"
    lori "Oh totally, it's all in my head, really."

*if you didn't help her the other day*
    player "So what's the story of the movie?"
    lori "Oh yeah, I've got it all in my head."
***

    lori "Basically, my character is somebody who's never actually been scared."

    "You suddenly wonder if that's a bit on the nose for Lori…"

    lori "So her friends are playing this sorta epic hide-and-seek game that takes place all across town."
    lori "And then one of her friends runs into the Shreigeist House!"
    lori "She decides to enter the old house despite all the rumors of an escaped monster hiding there."

    player "Is that why you weren't screaming the other day? Because the character wasn't scared?"
    lori "Yep. Supposed to be pure survival instinct."
or
    player "And Gregg was the monster the other day, right?"
    lori "The first of many."
or
    player "That sounds like one hell of a hide-and-seek game."
    lori "Yeah, you bet."
*last line is the only option if you didn't help her the other day*

    lori "But here's the twist: My character keeps getting killed by the monsters she meets, only to wake up the next day to go into the house all over again."
    lori "…And there's a different monster each time! Her friends tell her not to go over and over, but they tell her a different story every time she starts over."
    lori "She gets progressively freaked out until finally she screams in terror… Like this…"

    "She suddenly screams at the top of her lungs, an incredibly loud, piercing sound that rattles your ear drums."
   "You cover your ears, but a little too late."

    player "Son of a… Damn! That was loud!"
    lori "Sorry! I've been practicing! What do you think?"
    player "It was… uh… good?"
    lori "Oh good."
    lori "Yeah, so anyway… She finally learns how to be scared, and it makes the monster disappear."
    lori "The house goes quiet. Her friend shows up, having no idea what happened."
    lori "She cautiously leaves the place and never returns, all the better for it."
    player "Lesson learned?"
    lori "Yup."
    lori "Anyway, I need to get some footage of the sun setting over the house."
    lori "We've already filmed the first monster so far, so I wanna start doing more of the… plot stuff."
    lori "It might sound boring, but most of the best horror movies still have a plot of some kind."
    player "Doesn't sound boring to me."
    lori "And horror movies never should be!"
    lori "So do you want to help me set up?"
    player "Sure."

    "You help her as best you can, attempting to find the best locations on the ground for the best shots."
    "You don't really have much of an eye for artistic angles or anything, but you suggest pointing the camera at things you think look cool."
    "Like one of the windows, as seen through the branches of a tree."
    "You watch silently as Lori places a camera at the slope of a hill, and she gets a take of the sunlight hitting the exterior walls of the house as the shadows beneath it stretch longer."

    lori "Ok, I think that's good."
    lori "Crap, my hips are sore from all this crouching…"

    "She stands up, stretching, and then turns to you."

    lori "Ok, I need you to work the camera now."
    player "And you're sure I can do it?"
    lori "You'll be fine! I'll get the lens in focus and the aperture correct before you touch anything."

    "She fiddles with the settings on the camera and then stands some feet away from it, getting into position."

    lori "Ok, so we're doing the scenes where my character first comes to the house. Y'know, the part where the atmosphere builds up."
    lori "I was gonna do the hide-and-seek thing at some other point. I think I may need Gregg again for that."
    lori "He couldn't come today, though."
    player "Ok, I think I can do this."

    "The camera is pointed towards the house at the edge of the path, looking down over the house and the field surrounding it."
    "Lori is standing with her back to the camera, looking as though she just arrived."

    lori "Camera!"

    "You press the record button like she showed you."
    "When the camera begins rolling, she cries "action" once more and takes a tentative step towards the house as the sun sets."
    "She looks at it with anticipation of what lies within, her face deadpan and serious."
    "You watch as she slowly walks down the path. Her feet crunch through the dry, rotten leaves leftover from Autumn and sends them drifting away in spirals as she kicks them away."

    lori "And cut!"

    "You were so enraptured by her performance that you're startled by her words, and flail a bit as you press the button again to stop recording."
    "She turns, noticing the clattering of the camera's plastic, and starts coming back."

    lori "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to surprise you!"
    lori "This time."
    player "Do you wanna do another take?"
    lori "'Fraid we can't today. The sun's setting pretty fast."

    "She goes to the camera, looking as if she wasn't certain that you didn't break it. You're not so sure, either."

    lori "Well, that part's done. Now for the interior shots!"

    "She grabs the camera, carrying it and the tripod under her arm, and you watch as she walks towards the house, not waiting for you."

    player "Hey, wait up!"

    "You jog a bit to catch up, entering the shadow hovering under the house as you both approach it."
    "You can't see anything inside the windows, but you already know that the interior is dark."
    "You stare into them, not keen on going back in. You remember how Lori hurt herself last time."

    player "So we're really going back in there?"
    lori "We have to! How else will we get the scenes of me going inside? Don't worry, nothing will happen this time."

    "You again go around the back where the trees grow denser, headed towards the entrance you took last time."

    player "Will the basement doors still be open?"
    lori "Most likely. I mean, it was open we got there the other day, after all.”
    player "You sure? What if we need Gregg again?"
    lori "It's ok, I seriously doubt anyone's noticed yet."
    lori "I mean, if they haven't noticed after all these years, why would they now?"
    player "Well, it's a risk we have to take, I guess."

*if you didn't help her the other day*
    player "Hey, wait! Is anyone here to let us in?"
    lori "Hm? Oh, nobody else is here."
    player "Huh? Then how do we get in?"
    lori "Don't worry about it. Gregg helped me break in the other day, so the basement doors are unlocked.
    player "…What?"
    lori "It's ok, I seriously doubt anyone's noticed yet."
    player "I, um…"
    lori "Please, [newname]? I need a good place to shoot my film, and this place is perfect!"
    player "Okay, you talked me into it."
    player "…I'm gonna be kinda nervous, though."
    lori "Aw, I'm sorry, [newname], it's just…"
    lori "…You seemed like you were interested in scary movies, too, so I thought…"
    player "No no, don't feel bad! I'm not above legal grey areas."
    player "I've just always been more the… keep-your-head-down type?"
    lori "You won't be doing that anymore with me around, frankly!"
    lori "But I get that. You don't have to do this if you don't wanna."
    player "No, it's ok. I want to."
    player "I mean, we've come this far."
    lori "It's settled, then!"
***

    "You soon arrive at the basement doors. The upper windows are dark now, but part of you is expecting them to turn on any second."

    lori "I need you to film me going through the doors."
    player "Shouldn't you test them first? To see if they're really open?"
    lori "Nah, it would actually be better if they weren't. Then my character would struggle to force them open!"
    player "Ok…"

    "You set up the camera again, and Lori adjusts it again. "Camera" and "action" soon follow."
    "You hold your breath."
    "Lori rattles the door handle. It is indeed locked this time."

    lori "Hmm."

    "She sounds as though she's genuinely surprised, but trying to stay in character."
    "She wrestles with the door again, beginning to act frustrated."

    lori "C'mon, let me in! Francis is somewhere in there!"

    "Sounds like an ad-lib."

*alternate line if the player chose the name Francis
    "Wait, that's your name! Must be a coincidence."

    lori "Cut!"

    "She turns to you as you stop the camera."

    lori "Ok, confession time. I didn't actually have a plan if this actually happened."
    player "Oh… so what now?"
    lori "I dunno… I just thought that maybe it would be dramatic to see my character trying hopelessly to get into the basement, and then somehow breaking them open…"
    lori "Turn the camera back on. Maybe I can still do it…"
    player "You sure you're strong enough?"
    lori "Just do it!"

    "You obediently turn the camera back on, and she immediately goes to pull the doors open."
    "They burst open with ease."
    "Lori stays still, while you're filled with unease."

    lori "Well…"
    lori "…I guess they're not locked after all."
    lori "Umm… cut?"

    "You stop the camera again."

    lori "…You have to admit, that was actually kinda cool."
    player "That was kinda creepy, you mean."
    lori "What's the difference?"
    lori "You can't just stop making a movie just because something weird happens!"

    "She pops into the darkness, leaving you alone outside."

    player "Aw, c'mon…"

    "You follow her inside, hoping she hasn't disappeared into some black void."
    "Lori turns on her flashlight, casting a circle of light in front of you."

    lori "Put the camera just there at the entrance, will you?"

    "You do just that, not sure where this is going."
    "Lori backs up a few steps, as if she wants to enter the room a second time."

    lori "Camera?"

    "Without hesitation you turn it on. You figure by now you should just go with it."
    "She enters the room while you film her, stepping into the darkness as if crossing a threshold."

    lori "Hello…?"

    "Her voice reverberates, a testament to the quiet emptiness of the room."

    lori "Hello?"

    "Her voice echoes again as she walks further inside."
    "She keeps going, sweeping the flashlight around the room."
    "She then turns around, briefly shining the light in your eyes. You squint and shield your eyes from it."

    lori "And… cut!"

    "You stop the camera, a little confused."

    lori "How'd you like that? The shot should look really cool when the light shines in the lens."
    player "Is that what you were doing? That does sound kinda cool."
    player "You're a pretty good actor, actually. You had me going a few times."
    lori "Aww, thanks! I try to really get into character. Think like they do, feel like they do."
    player "It sure seems like there's gonna be foreboding mood."
    lori "Foreboding. I love that word."

    "She walks up to you, and gives you a hug."

    lori "Thanks for your help, cameraman."

    "You're a bit startled by this embrace, as it's totally different from the way she grabbed you from behind the other day to scare you."

*if the player didn't help the other day
    "You're a bit startled by this embrace. You can't remember the last time you were hugged."
***

    "She lets go, the hug only lasting a couple of seconds."

    lori "How about we review the footage so far?"

    "You're still recovering, hoping she doesn't notice."

    player "Sure thing."

    "She pulls out a laptop from her bag, connecting it to the camera with a USB cord."

    lori "Let's see how it looks so far."

    "She sits down on the floor. You sit next to her, and she starts watching the video."

    lori "Hmm… ok… looks pretty good… though I wish I hadn't walked quite so slowly…"
    lori "You shake the camera a little bit towards the end there, but we can cut before that…"

    "It actually looks better than you expected. All you did really was press a button, however, so really it was Lori's keen eye that made it look so good."

    player "I like the atmosphere you created. It feels like something's lurking in the darkness."
    lori "Thanks! That's exactly what I was going for!"

    "You look up from the laptop, and peer into the shadowy basement."

    player "Of course, this place feels that way even when you're not filming it…"
    lori "That's why I picked it! It's creepy no matter what."

    "There's no more ambient light in the room, since the sun set ages ago and Lori turned her flashlight off, so you only see what's illuminated by the laptop screen."
    "Which is mostly Lori's face, whose eyes seem to peer deep into the distance, as if the footage is in three dimensions, going further than the flat surface of the computer screen."

    lori "Hey, are you watching me?"
    player "Yep."
    lori "You like what you see?"
    player "Don't we all."

    "She laughs as if you were only joking, but you weren't really. Lori is… interesting, to say the least."
    "You can't help but be intrigued by her, in a creepy, almost otherworldly way."
    "She stands up very suddenly."

    lori "Ok! We've still got work to do!"
    player "Oh, ok… what's next?"
    lori "Well, we've gotta get some scenes done that don't require any additional cast…"
    lori "Unless you wanna act in it?"
    player "Who, me? I've never acted before!"
    lori "You won't have to do much. You can be the friend I'm searching for- Francis- and you can slip away beyond corners before I can reach you and stuff."

*alternate dialogue if the player chose the name Francis
    lori "You won't have to do much. You can be the friend I'm searching for- Francis."
    lori "…Funny coincidence, you having the same name as the character! I had already decided on the name before we met!"
    player "Yeah, weird."
    lori "Anyway, you can slip away beyond corners before I can reach you and stuff."

    lori "That way you don't even have to show your face."
    player "Um… ok…"
    lori "Great! You feel up to it, then?"
    player "As much as I ever will."
or
    player "Well, what have I got to lose?"
    lori "Alright! I think I know where to film next. Let's go."

    "She picks up her flashlight and turns off the laptop, returning everything to her bag, and she heads for the elevator."

    player "Do we have time for a break, though?"
    lori "Inspiration is fleeting! I'm feeling the tug of creative juices flowing through me…"

    "You barely have time to get on the elevator with her."
    "The elevators are as confusing as ever, and you have to get off and take another several times."
*if the player didn't help the other day*
    "The elevators are really confusing, and you have to get off and take another several times."
    "The layout of the building makes your head spin. How does she know where to go?"
***
    "In the meantime, she tells you more details about the scene you're about to do."

    lori "Dammit, wait, that's not right…"
    player "What's the problem?"
    lori "I forgot which elevators go to where!"
    lori "We need to go back to the basement."
    player "Ugh."
    lori "I agree. Ugh."

    "So back down you go, and you wind up in the basement again. Apparently you had gotten in the wrong elevator."

    lori "Good thing they didn't lock these. Gregg tells me he had to pick 'em to get where they needed to."
    player "He and Mae will have to tell me that story sometime."
    lori "Can't say I know all the details either, come to think of it!"

    "You get on one last time, and eventually the elevator doors open, revealing a big, empty attic."
    "The attic is somehow darker than the rest of the house, probably because there are no electric lights or red wallpaper like the hallways."
    "The walls are bare, in fact, and covered in dust."

    lori "Hmm, there aren't many corners here. We can still use it, though."
    player "I had assumed you'd been here before."
    lori "Not me. This room is closed to the public."
    lori "Gregg told me how he got in here, though."

    "She walks towards one corner, one suitable for sneaking around, and runs her hand across it."

    lori "This'll have to do."

    "She takes out the camera and sets it down on the other side of the room, angled in such a way that you can't quite see around the corner."
    "She also puts up a light to make things a little easier to see, but it doesn't cast any light into the back of the room."

    lori "I need to act surprised when I see you."
    lori "I'll be really surprised, and you should walk around the corner without turning to look at me."
    player "What's back there, anyway? I can't see anything."
    player "You'd think you'd at least see a few antiques up here."
    lori "I dunno! Should be fun finding out!"

    "Lori tells you where to stand and how to act, starts the camera, and rushes to the center of the room to assume her starting position."

    lori "Action!"

    "You stand there still as stone with your back turned to her, shoulders slumped as if you're weighed down. Lori steps forward, and stops as if in surprise."

    lori "Francis! There you are! I've been looking forever!"

    "You walk away slowly in a trancelike manner, like she told you to."

    lori "Hey, come back!"

    "She attempts to follow you, and as you walk forward, you think about how there's going to be a cut right there to make it appear as though you've disappeared."
    "But then, you crash into something hidden in the darkness."

    lori "Oh!"
    lori "Are you alright, [newname]?"

    "You shake your head and stumble backwards. What the hell did you just run into? You rub your nose where you hit it."

    player "I'm ok…"
    player "There's something back here!"
    lori "Ok, cut! Hang on, lemme stop the camera."

    "You look up, wondering what you standing in front of. Lori returns, and shines her flashlight on it."
    "It's… something. It's a large square-shaped object covered in a tarp."

    player "What is that…?"
    lori "Looks almost like a canvas on an easel…"
    player "Yeah, but what's it doing here?"
    lori "This is perfect, [newname]! I can film myself discovering a creepy painting and revealing its hideousness!"
    player "Yeah, but what if it's something cute, like a puppy?"
    lori "That'll work too. It'd be ironically creepy, incongruous with the rest of the room."

    "You get out of her way as she goes to turn on the camera and adjust the light. You were supposed to disappear, after all."
    "She goes up to the object, and dramatically pulls off the tarp in one sweeping motion."
    "It is indeed a painting, but it's covered in dust like the rest of the room. With an elegant, broad brushing of her arm, she removes the dust."

    lori "What the hell…?"

    "That sounded like genuine surprise."
    "You look at it too. It's not at all what you expected- it's a strange, black silhouette of a goat against a starry sky."

    player "That's weird…"
    lori "Cut!"
    lori "Well, I'm gonna have to remove the audio at the end when you spoke…"
    player "Sorry."

    "She turns off the camera, and turns to the painting again."

    lori "This is the last thing I thought would be there…"
    lori "I honestly expected it to be the portrait of Mr. Shreigeist under restoration or something…"
    lori "…Not some Satanic looking crap. You'd think whoever painted this was being deliberately creepy."
    player "It looks fairly new, too."
    lori "Yeah, that's acrylic paint, not oil."

    "You step closer to it. It really is inexplicable."

    player "You suppose there's some meaning to this painting…?"
    lori "I dunno, it's doesn't really make any sense."

    "She wraps her arms around herself."

    lori "…And I'm getting a really off-putting vibe from it."
    player "You think Mae and Gregg saw this when they were last here?"
    lori "I dunno, I can't imagine they would've just dismissed it…"
    lori "…Actually, let's get out of here. I don't like it."
    player "What about you reacting to me- er, Francis- disappearing?"
    lori "What we've got is good enough!"

    "You're confused as you help gather the equipment and reenter the elevator."
    "Lori, the Princess of Terror herself, weirded out by a painting?"
    "You return to the basement, still filled with questions."

    player "…So what was that about? You weren't actually scared, were you?"
    lori "Heck no! But… I was very uncomfortable."
    player "I was too, but I would've thought you liked art like that. It's not so different from the movies you like."
    lori "Scary things are fun when they're just pretend, [newname], but not so much when it's real."
    lori "…That painting looked totally serious to me."
    player "What, you mean you think it was actually painted by a Satanist or something?"
    player "You sure that isn't just your imagination?"
    lori "Alright, so I don't have proof!"
    lori "But when you've researched scary stuff as long as I have, you start to recognize when someone's being unintentionally scary."
    lori "Like, haven't you ever seen that painting of a Titan devouring his own son?"

    "You cringe at the thought of it."

    player "Yes…?"
or
    player "No…"
    lori "It's like that. That painter was a hermit who was nearly dead, and suffered brain damage from the lead in his paint."
    player "…Oh."
    player "Those were acrylics, though. They wouldn't have lead in them, right?"
    lori "Only as recently as the 1950s. And that's besides the point! The point is that I don't think that goat was just made by some heavy metal fan!"
    player "Heavy metal fans would probably appreciate the picture, though."

    "Lori rolls her eyes."

    lori "Alright, whatever. But I'm still concerned about that painting."
    player "Come to think of it, what if they found out you shot some footage of it?"
    player "The Historical Society would probably be upset that you snuck in and touched something hidden from the public."
    lori "Nah, it's not like any of 'em go to my film school or anything. Besides, they'd be upset just because we broke into the house at all."
    player "Good point."
    player "But you did leave it behind with the tarp off, and dust brushed off of it. They're probably gonna know someone was in here…"
    lori "Crap, you're right…"
    lori "…But I'm still not going back up there."
    lori "And they probably already noticed the broken window by now, anyway…"

*if the player didn't help the other day*
    player "Broken window?"
    lori "Oh, that's nothing important…*
    player "Um…"
***

    player "Sounds like we're done for the night?"
    lori "…"
    lori "…Yeah, probably."

    "You walk out of the basement, and head back outside."
    "It's totally black out here, save for the moon and stars."

    lori "Y'know? That was actually pretty cool!"

    "You're taken aback by this sudden change in tone."

    player "Huh? But I thought…"
    lori "Think about it, [newname]! We found a genuinely scary object in there!"
    lori "Sure, it wasn't a torture device or a skeleton, but still pretty sinister!"
    player "That's the spirit?"

    "Lori smiles as you walk away from the house, further away from the painting, and closer to normalcy."
    "The two of you then stand on the dead, snow-covered grass, and look at the sky. You feel a little weird, sitting out here like this. What if someone sees you?"

    lori "Thanks for helping me tonight."
    player "No problem."

    "She reaches into her hoodie pocket and pulls out her wallet."

    lori "So there's only so much I can spare…"
    player "What's that for?"
    lori "Don't you remember? I offered to pay you for helping me with this, since you haven't found a job yet."
    player "Oh right, I forgot…"

    "She hands you around twenty dollars, made up of miscellaneous bills and change."

    player "Oh Lori, I couldn't… It looks as though that's all you have."
    lori "It's not! I've got some in the bank. I insist, you can only live off of savings for so long."

    "She hands you the money, and you take it. You start to hand it back to her, when she suddenly grabs your wrist."
    "You feel a surge of fear, but manage to keep it together."

    lori "I insist." (intense gaze)

    "She's… stronger than she looks."
    "You smile and nod as best as you can, and pocket the money."

    lori "Thanks for your contribution, and the company."
    player "Anytime."

    "The two of you smile at each other, and she gives you a quick hug."
    "Your mind reels for a second. Switching from scary to affectionate in the blink of an eye is not something you're used to seeing from somebody."
    "It's actually pretty endearing."

    lori "Have a good night, [newname]."
    player "You too."

    "You part ways, and you head back home."