Link to my slides here!

 

Initially, for this project, I had some ideas on how I had wanted the story to go, however, I soon decided that it was more interesting to leave it open, and the story began!

I was in the mood for a more poetic way of writing during this project and this was reflected greatly in this project, with many metaphors and indirect way of writing. In my mind, my character was more of a cultured, elegant Englishman of sorts, who recorded his daily life in a journal, and so that was what I went with.

This way of writing required more brain cells, making it harder to write but was also a super fun experience for me to try out a new style of writing. (But also very sorry to my teammates who had to deal with this oops)

The story began in a dark world, with mainly world building of what was around, and what the character experienced. As we continued our replies back and forth, the story evolved into one about life and death, a topic I enjoy greatly :DDDD

The story is about a man who has passed on and entered an entirely new world where he sees his past and present, reflecting upon what had happened. This world opens his eyes to things he had not seen, blinded by grief from the death of his mother.

This story somehow led to an interesting end that was related to the title of this project, “The World Ends With You”, where the character realises his blindness to the world but yet accepts his weak self that only had eyes for one person. He meets her again, and his world which began with her, also ended with her.

 

Group members: Sylvia, Zarinah, Yee Teng, Wei Lin

Final slides are on Sylvia’s post here!


After deciding on a storyline, we set up a timeline to help us properly picture how the story would progress, making changes along the way. This was done using a spreadsheet as shown below.

 

Our story was about domestic and sexual abuse, and we planned to portray the other members of the family finding out this situation, telling viewers how the entire thing unfolded and its ending.

We used a children’s storybook approach, throwing viewers off from the actual horrors of the story. The plan was to make viewers do polls and vote without the knowledge of the truth unless they look further into the details within the different accounts.

 

Not wanting to make things overly confusing we decided to stick to lesser accounts, using only 2 Instagram accounts and one Facebook account.

The two Instagram accounts were the two main character’s accounts: Evelyn and Adam’s. And the Facebook account was their mother’s account, that people can only get to by looking at Adam’s post about his mother following him on facebook.

Evelyn was the one who had the drawing account, made as a way to de-stress and draw out her thoughts from the trauma she was experiencing. Adam, on the other hand, is a diva who posts things from his day to day life.

For Evelyn, since we wanted to avoid direct throwing of information, we used a metaphorical approach, such as describing the sexual assault she faced as a “sleepover”, something people would only realise later on when they think beyond it being a children’s book.

 

Time was an important factor in our story as when the posts were posted pointed to different hints. For example, when the monster hurts Sir Bubblegum, Adam posts about his sister getting hurt (bad scrape on her arm).

 

 

Outcome

It was an interesting project as many people had different views of our project. There were many different speculations as to what the story meant. But as we released mo

re info, more viewers began to understand what had been happening.

Our project differs slightly from the others in that the interactivity is only at its peak when one follows the story as it is released. Since Sir Bubblegum releases the posts in a story format, viewing it after would not have the same effect.

The adorable style of the drawings had been a driving force in viewers’ interest in the story – making them believe that it was just a cute fictional story made by a child. This resulted in different speculations of the story with most believing it to be a fun story.

Most people tried to find a link of Adam and Evelyn’s story, and they often figured things out towards the middle.

 

Our story has 4 events happening, but 3 main segments.

The first segment involved setting the scene and introducing the characters. This is when most people are still very much unaware of the situation. Hence, when we had a poll during this time, some people chose the option that actually was detrimental to Evelyn, due to the lack of information.

 

During the second segment, which was the interaction week, it had been mainly more polls from both ends, and the peak of the story occurring, with more viewers, slowly uncovering the truth. The polls now decided the outcome of the story, and it was amusing to see the reactions from friends who knew of the story watching those who did not choose options that had a bad result.

The last segment also required more interactivity through searching. Where sir bubblegum now has no more posts and people must uncover the truth through the mom’s facebook post.

 

Overall, it had been a unique project and a fun learning experience for us all.

Entry 1

 

As I glance upon the heavens, what greets me is an empty void.

There are no skies. No land. No life. Nothing, but the ominous gleam of the peculiar red liquid in which my weary feet soak in.

The darkness of the abyss that I find myself in appears to be free from the grasp of time and space; the deafening silence of the area leaving me at unease.

Perhaps I was a fool, to have thrown aside the lurch I felt in my guts as walked through the forest. It had called out to me, the shadows between the trees, and my interests had been piqued.

Though a fool I may be, could I choose again, going against my compelling desire to discover was not an option.

The saying goes “curiosity killed the cat”, and in this predicament, I pray that I be not the cat.

 

——

 

Heart filled with hope, the careful steps taken through the shallow waters in search for a different scene had left me greatly unrewarded. Lamenting my fate, I had continued to trudge forward, tired arms by side; worn out from attempts of reaching a possible end (a foolish dream it had been, I suppose).

Yet, the view seemed to have claimed permanence, the never-ending darkness chipping away at my dreams of a change.

Where I stand now, most certainly not of surprise, is amongst the liquid at my feet, the darkness enveloping me, almost appearing to welcome me into its embrace.

 

——

 

A silver lining appears to have fallen into my grasp. “Silver lining” I may say, yet I am filled with uncertainty of its nature; the possibility of danger ever-present, threatening to plunge me back to the void, or worse.

In this abyss of darkness and silence, a sudden glimmer of light had filled me with expectations. My weary self, abruptly fueled with a new founded motivation, moved towards the light at the end of the tunnel, worn-out legs picking up speed. A risky act, one may say, and I do concede. Yet, the hopefully pleasant surprise had caused me to lose my bearings.

I had been most certainly unaware of what I had expected, but the sight before me, had without a doubt been a most peculiar yet breathtaking one.

A single carp, spanning about two metres long, hovered over me. Constructed with the crimson flames which flickered as it moved, it glided elegantly through the air, circling me. Its body a beautiful blazing red arched with ease, the flames from its being dancing around it. Ever so slightly, the orange-red occasionally parts, to reveal a hollow form.

As it bestows me with its presence, I find myself at a lost, merely basking in the sight of it. As it encircles me, the weariness of my limbs return, rendering me unable to move.

And such is where I find myself, its very being casting warmth upon my cold body, a light through the darkness, and I ponder upon where this would lead me.