chapter one transcripts
page one
panel one
Narration: Like most things online, I don't remember exactly how I found the Citadel. Image: Camille, a girl with light skin and dark hair, colored in shades of blue, sitting at a desktop computer.
panel two
Narration: I know it was after school, in Mom's office. I was 13. Image: A parody of the AOL booting up screen, called "Swanstooth Online." A swan appears in two out of three boxes on a screen, carrying a tooth and flying forwards, while a button beneath says "Cancel." Sound Effects: KRRHWHRR
panel three
Narration: I don't quite remember the name of the first multi-user dungeon I found it in. "Serpent's Bane," or some shit like that. Image: A side view of Camille using the computer, which is glowing. Sound Effects: Clik Clik
panel four
Narration: I would learn later that that M.U.D. had been created by a bored high schooler, about a decade before I found it. Image: A picture of Camille's character in the dungeon, a green goblin with a long tail and fiery, curly red hair. Next to it is a mock screenshot from the game she is playing, that says the character's name is Dinah, their race is Goblin, their sex is M, and their stats balancing is "Normal."
panel five
Narration: I had never played a text-based game before. But from the moment I logged in... Image: ASCII art that says "Tutorial" with two options that say "Begin new character" and "Log In."
panel six
Camille: "Wow." Image: Camille has her eyes and mouth wide open with her hands on the keyboard, visibly awed.
page two
panel one
Narration: ...It was wonderful. Image: Dinah, standing on a grassy hill, approaching a tall white brick tower with a patched-up red roof. Smoke is blowing from one of the windows.
page three
panel one
Game Controls: Ring doorbell Dinah: "Hello?" Image: Dinah stands in front of the tower's door, which has an eye in it looking at them. Sound Effects: Ding Dong
panel two
Wizard: "Oh my dear boy, hello! Do come in." Image: A short wizard with light brown skin, grey hair and beard, and blue robes opens the door. Behind him can be seen the rest of the tower with a trapdoor in the floor. Sound Effects: Swing
panel three
Wizard: "Come, come!" Image: The wizard pulls Dinah further into the tower. A window can be seen behind them with a potted plant in it. Sound Effects: Tug
panel four
Wizard: "Welcome to Serpent's Bane! You can start your journey just down this hatch." Image: The wizard gestures to the trapdoor.
panel five
Dinah: "Um...okay! Thank you, sir!" Wizard: "Hee hee hee" Image: The wizard walks away in the background as Dinah calls over their shoulder with a hand to their mouth.
panel six
Game Controls: Open trapdoor Image: Dinah's hand reaches forward to open the trapdoor. Sound Effects: Creaaaak
page four
panel one
Dinah: "Yeah, I'm gonna try to slay the Were-Mer." Picture: Dinah sits across from an elf with dark brown skin and locs in a cave. There is hot liquid brewing over a small campfire, which they are both drinking cups of. Sound Effects: Sluuuuurp
panel two
Dinah: "RAAAGH!" Picture: Dinah swings their sword and leaps at a were-mer, a long serpentine creature which has blood on its teeth and wild eyes. The were-mer's body has cuts on it, and continues into the next panel and into the page margins.
panel three
Head Mage: "You are officially a student mage!" Dinah: "Wow, thank you so—" Camille's Mom (interrupting Dinah): "Camille!" Picture: The Head Mage, a woman with brown skin and long dark hair, gives a crystal ball to Dinah.
page five
panel one
Narration: In a flash, I was transported back to reality, the whole spell broken by my mom's call to dinner. Picture: Dinah's world collapses in a flash back into Camille's monochrome reality. We can see her mom's desk and the pictures taped up behind it.
panel two
Picture: Camille looks anxiously around.
panel three
Picture: Camille exhales.
panel four
Camille: "Coming!" Picture: Camille's chair swings as she leaves it.
page six
layout description
The page includes a background of Camille's view of the dining room table, with three panels of dialogue over it.
panel one
Camille's Mom: Camille, dinner's ready! It's your favorite! Picture: Camille's mom, a Filipino woman with dark skin and curly hair, wearing a crucifix, stands in front of a steaming pot of food with a spoon. Behind her is a kitchen table with some papers and a glass of water on it, with a window that has a potted plant directly behind the table.
panel two
Camille: Oh! Thanks, Mom. Picture: Camille walks into the kitchen, zipping up a hoodie with several stars sewn onto it. She looks pleasantly surprised. Sound Effects: Zippp
panel three
Picture: Camille, her brother Mateo, an older teenager with a shaggy undercut and a basketball jersey, and their mom eat dinner. Narration: An arrow points to Mateo and says "My brother Mateo." Another points to Camille's mom and says "Mom eats with her hands like a real Filipino."
background
Picture: A plate of afritadang manok, a stew including chicken and vegetables, rice, and a napkin under it with an overexcited hamster mascot. Narration: Several arrows point to the plate and say "Afritadang manok (actually my favorite)" and "Rice (of course)." Another points to the napkin labelling it as "Happy Hamster napkins from the Regional Dollar"
page seven
panel one
Camille's Mom: Camille, how was school today? Picture: Camille's mom holds a handful of rice drenched in stew.
panel two
Camille's Mom: I know middle school can be a weird time! Picture: Camille's mom smiles at her, cheeks flushed.
panels three and four
Picture: Camille grips her fork over her plate.
panel five
Picture: Camille stares down at her fork, not speaking.
panel six
Narration: It was bad. As usual. Mom didn't need to know that, though. Picture: Camille reads a book at lunch, eating a sandwich, while a kid next to her harasses her. Kid: Is that dog meat, bitch?
page eight
panel one
Camille: ...I love you, Mom. Picture: Camille holds a fork and smiles at her mom.
panel two
Camille's Mom: Oh! I love you too, honey. Picture: Camille's mom smiles back at her.
panel three
Camille's Mom: Mateo, how's basketball? Picture: Mateo stops mid-chew with a deer-in-headlights look.
panel four
Mateo: Really good! Picture: Mateo smiles, waving his food in the air as he talks.
panel five
Narration: That was how most dinners went in those days. Picture: Camille looks into the distance as she sweeps with a broom, the kitchen behind her.
panel six
Narration: Mom hounding us, her eyes haunted, for a shred of comfort, Mateo and me doing all we could to give it to her. Picture: A closeup of the broom Camille is sweeping with, a walis tambo. (If you're not Filipino or in the know, a walis tambo is a type of broom that's similar to a lot of the other brooms in Southeast Asian households - it has a wooden handle, and bristles made of dry grass in a fan shape. It's way more effective than most commercially produced brooms, and is very satisfying to clean with! Anyway, Filipino rant over haha)
page nine
panel one
Narration: I knew things weren't good for me. Picture: Camille gripping the handle of the broom.
panel two
Narration: I didn't know what they were like for Mateo. Picture: Mateo from the neck down, washing the dishes.
panel three
Narration: But I could guess... Picture: Mateo and another boy his age being held by a lunch monitor. The other boy has a black eye. Several other students are looking on, and one is taking pictures of the scene with a digital camera.
panel four
Narration: based on what I'd seen even just back when we were at the same school. Picture: A younger Camille looks on worriedly. She has half of a "BFFs" necklace hanging from her neck.
panel five
Narration: But we'd spent so long not discussing it. Picture: Camille hangs the broom back up in the closet wearily.
panel six
Narration: How could we ever start now? Sound effects: Shut Picture: Camille's hand closes the door.