Optional Text Companion
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Ver 1.0 Dream of Genie Optional Text Companion Preamble This is a compilation of multiple notes documents, combined with half-remembered details if I didn’t write them down. As a result, there may be some discrepancies between separate sections, or what was written in threads. In any case, I hope you enjoy reading this “whatever-the-hell-this-is.” Commentary? It’s a mix of lore explanations, elaborations on casual mentions, cut content, cross-references, and just a general explanation on how the CYOA developed. Plus a heavy dose of super pretentious nonsense. You could probably cut out a few thousand words with just repeating “hey by the way she’s kind of talking about herself here” over a bunch of options, but I realized that a little too late. You’ll probably feel an equal mix of “yeah, I get it, that was obvious” and “how the hell was I supposed to figure that out?” For the latter, the truth is, you often weren’t. I think it’s sort of cheating to write something vague without having at least having a general plan of what is hiding beneath that vagueness. THAT BEING SAID, ONLY WHAT IS ACTUALLY WRITTEN IN THE CYOA TEXT IS CANONICAL, AND EVEN THEN IT IS ONLY CANONICAL INSOFAR AS SOME INDIVIDUAL SAID THOSE WORDS AT SOME POINT. Think of this as you would DVD commentary, or deleted scenes, or other “extra” material. If you’ve ever played the Dark Souls series, you know that in DS1 Andre was originally intended to be Gwyn’s firstborn. That informed aspects of his character, like how powerful a fighter he was despite being a blacksmith, but in the end it wasn’t actually implemented. Likewise, here is a list of aspects I was thinking of that informed the writing, but unless it’s actually written in the CYOA, it’s up in the air. Hell, I use a lot of “maybe” and “I think” language here for that same reason: I’m not sure. So you should feel free to also imagine anything you want. These aren’t “the” answers. It’s “an” answer, and one that is inherently inferior to whatever you, personally you, come up with. In any case, I think I’ve squeezed about as much blood out of this stone as is possible (barring a possible artist credit section, if I can track down all the art sources I gathered over the years), so I hope you enjoy the final product. I’m still unsure if I’ll be making another CYOA, or other content in general. If I do, I hope you enjoy it. If not, I really appreciate your interest in Dream of Genie, and have loved reading builds, speculation, comments, criticism, and just about anything else people have said. The response has been amazing. Thanks. Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Broken Facade Page 4 Page 5 (DLC Page 1) Page 6 (DLC Page 2) Overview Before what you understand as “reality” was created, there were only eternal, uncreated things. This amounts to every single unique soul that would ever exist, and little else. It was a “perfect” “existence,” for extremely particular definitions of both “perfect” and “existence” that would make little sense to regular humans. At some point in time, (and since we’re talking eternity here, time is a fuzzy concept), one or more of the souls became dissatisfied with this “existence.” Somehow cut off from other souls, it, or they, mistakenly came to believe that they were the only conscious being, and set out to create something new. Perhaps it was arrogance, thinking they could create a better existence (as though better than perfection was a coherent thought). Perhaps it was ignorance, them being somehow unable to understand the ramifications of their actions. Perhaps it was simple loneliness. Whatever the reason, they authored their own reality. This world was simultaneously more, and less, than the one above it. On the one hand, you’d never see a beautiful sunrise in the old world, as there was no concept of “a sun.” But on the other hand, this “beauty” was infinitely inferior to true beauty, which can only be perfect when freed from such specific constraints. Reality was generally like this: good and bad in unequal mixture. As the reality expanded, souls from the world above began pouring in, entering in order of their affinity to the original creator and forgetting that there even was anything else. It was assumed they would be subordinate to their “benefactor,” and for the most part they were. But as souls originally equal in power to the creator, they had unforeseen residual abilities. They themselves also had the ability to create: to physically create offspring as a vessel for another soul, and mentally to give form to yet other souls as various spirits. And they had an equal ability to destroy: through their anger, pain, despair, and dissatisfaction with their existence within reality, their subconscious yearning to return to the perfect world whence they came. This destructive power eroded the reality, and the creator employed numerous strategies to counteract the problem. Sometimes, this took the form of further creation, sometimes purifying destruction of their own. But as time went on, the balance of power shifted, and the creator was unable to take such direct action. The destructive power had affected them directly, and in turn their own bitter dissatisfaction was exacerbating the cycle. In desperation, the creator’s underlings came up with a plan to stem the tide of destruction. But those who remained in the World Above had their own plans all the same. Page 1 Title In this CYOA, speakers are indicated by colored text. The Little Sister is Blue, the Big Sister is Red, and the Mother is Green. If there isn’t colored text, there is a glow around a portrait indicating the color. The title of the CYOA is in Purple, and like the other narrators it means that the text that follows “belongs” to that speaker. In other words, the italics text isn’t “just” a seemingly-omniscient narrator, it’s a particular character talking to you. We’ll meet them properly later on. Intro First mention of the Endless Desert, which is going to be really important. Essentially, understand that the geometry and layout of Heaven doesn’t make any real intuitive sense. It’s unstable and malleable, like a dream. Notice the person walking away with a glass bottle, which is not at all the way you exit the CYOA on Page 4. It’s confirmation that something “went wrong” with your particular situation, and it’s later on confirmed with the description of Wheel of Fate showing you how things are “supposed” to go, which does not match “your” experience at all. Little Sister Intro You’re late. It’s an anime trope for the protagonist to be constantly late, but remember the DLC, and how important timing is. You being late for receiving your genie is probably why you progressed enough to allow Broken Facade to be offered to you. Had you just been on time, it never would have happened. The excuse the Little Sister gives you is that you’re circulating magic through the multiverse. She isn’t intentionally lying to you. At her pay grade, that’s all they know. But it’s more than that: genies are given out to prevent more people from becoming DREAMERS by quite literally fulfilling their wishes, while also accomplishing certain tasks for Heaven. And “circulation” is actually pretty important, as TPTB’s “heart is breaking” from the unhappiness of the people in the world. The entire genie scheme is in service of that, providing a dedicated individual who does nothing but produce happiness/reduce dissatisfaction in the world. Also, notice that she gives you the nod of acknowledgement, unlike the Mother’s initial treatment of the Genie. They’re much more similar than the Big Sister and the Mother, but they are not identical. Species Intro I don’t know if elves actually exist or not in this setting. She might have just been using them as an example of a magical creature a human might be familiar with. Marid Marid take the place of the post-Disney style “three omnipotent wishes” genie, with the Pure of Heart limitation added to adhere to the “no killing” etc. rules that often come with them. The Little Sister mentions that even TPTB isn’t entirely sure of what they do and don’t know. The secret they know that Heaven doesn’t is the nature of the World Above, and the exact mechanics behind Broken Facade. As far as TPBP and Heaven are concerned, TPTB are the ultimate power in the universe, and this World is just about all there is (being either ignorant or having forgotten about their existence in the World Above). Beyond exists, but it’s merely a resting place for souls, not anything else. In a sense, that is true, but it’s filled with much more power than Heaven understands. Check the Broken Facade section for more details. It’s mentioned that the binding spell might not actually limit the Marid’s powers, and they just adhere to it voluntarily. This is true, and the reasons for it are elaborated upon in the Thing From Another Place section. Ifrit Ifrit take the place of the mischievous trickster type of genie. Not actually malevolent, just likes to play pranks on people and tout their power. IDOJ Jeannie’s personality would probably fit in here best based on personality alone.