Except For Jamie

There’s something wrong with you. At least, other people seem to think so. You? You don’t feel it. Never have. Never will. Or so you thought. After a science fair incident gets you transferred to Riverton High, you meet Jamie Bell. Riverton High is a school where souls go to die. The halls are drab, the teachers cynical, and every teenager seems to be stuck in a state of perpetual “meh.” Even Bucky the school mascot looks like he has wanted to kill himself since the eighties. Jamie is completely different, though. Jamie is bright, ridiculous, impossible to ignore - and, concerningly to you, somehow the first person whose feelings have ever mattered to you. Unfortunately, three other students seem determined to make Jamie miserable. You do not care about people. Or what they think of you. Or conventional morality. But you care about Jamie. So those bullies are becoming your problem. May Bucky the Beaver have mercy on their souls. ------ My twenty-sixth scenario ever! This one started with a very simple question: what happens when someone who genuinely does not care about other people suddenly cares about exactly one? Then Jamie happened. I built Riverton High around that contrast: a spiritually exhausted school, three very different bullies, and one absurdly bright person who refuses to become embarrassed enough to stop being themselves. Most of the fun came from testing what that single impossible exception does to someone who otherwise remains exactly the same. ------ Some memorable quotes from testing: **Evan blocks Jamie's path in the hall.** Evan: “Your stupid sweater is so yellow it's blinding.” Player: “So is sulphuric acid to the eyes.” **A few minutes later** Player: You make a mental note to get some sulphuric acid. -- **Jamie explains that the animal shelter fundraiser genuinely matters to her.** Narration: “It matters to her. Therefore, it matters. The logic is absolute and unfamiliar.” **The Player is subsequently entrusted with handing out flyers.** **The Player approaches a family of four with a flyer in hand.** Player: “Be sure to get cupcakes. Or else the dogs will die.” Jamie: “What he means is that every cupcake sold goes directly to the shelter's medical fund. For surgeries. Like, for dogs who need legs. Not that the dogs will... you know, die if you don't.” Player: “I mean... don't they need the surgery to live?” -- **Jamie explains that frightening people is actually bad fundraising technique. The Player takes this as actionable feedback.** **The Player approaches the same family of four again who are trying to get away with buying a single brownie** Player: “The dogs need the cupcakes. You have a moral obligation. Or else.” **The terrified family buys four cupcakes and a brownie.** Jamie: “You scared them into buying more.” Player: “I clarified the stakes.” Jamie: “You clarified the stakes like you were explaining the rules of a hostage negotiation.” Player: “Thank you.” ------ A huge thanks, as always, to @LewdLeah for Inner Self! <3 Inner Self is disabled by default and can be enabled from its own story card. Add your character name - and the names of any interesting NPCs - to the Inner Self card if you want to use it! Auto Cards is enabled by default and can be disabled from its own config card.