CHAPTER THREE:

TO THE BONE IS A 16+ THRILLER/SUPERNATURAL/ROMANCE IF WIP. IT IS THE FIRST BOOK IN THE "HUNTING SEASON" DUOLOGY INSPIRED BY AND BASED ON THE SHOW "YELLOWJACKETS".

When a chartered plane taking you and your classmates along with your teachers to your senior year trip crashes deep in the Canadian wilderness, you and the other survivors find yourselves isolated and without any means of communication with the outside world. As the initial shock subsides, the group of students with vastly diverse personalities, some of which have never even talked with each other before, must band together to find food, water, and shelter while hoping they'll be rescued. Sooner rather than later.

But days turn into nights, and the boundaries between reality and nightmare blur. The isolation plays on all of your fears, desires, and insecurities. The strange symbols you find all around the woods and the weird noises you hear at night are making you all question if the woods are as abandoned as you thought. The passing weeks with no sign of rescue laced with constant dread and uncertainty make you wonder if any of you will even survive this ordeal. Or if there’s something else out there trying very hard to keep you in the woods.

Stranded in a remote and unforgiving landscape, the teens must confront not only the challenges of their surroundings but also the darker aspects of human nature that emerge as they struggle for survival. Unexplainable events start unfolding, and you quickly realize that your relationships and personal conflicts could be just as deadly as the ominous wilderness itself as winter leaves you cold and tired.

And hungry. So, so terribly hungry.

Play as a disturbed teenager who finds themself stranded in the middle of nowhere with their classmates and two teachers.

Fully customize your character including: pronouns, gender, physical appearance, personality, sexuality, and more.

Romance 1 out of 3 classmates turned love interests (1 female, 1 male and 1 genderfluid). Or not.

Will you try your best to co-operate with the rest of the group, or is only your survival the top priority for you?

Learn more about your forgotten past through flashbacks and blurry memories.

There is something in the woods. And it doesn’t want you to leave.

Gaslight. Gatekeep. Girlboss.

I̴͓͓̖͕͖̗̾̓̎̐̾̉̕T̶̢̞͚̼̎̀̃͂̈́̎̍̽̕ͅ ̴̛̳͚̰̪̆̉͊̐̐͊͊̓̌͜W̷̭̐̏̆̅͠Ở̸̰̹̝̜̰͉̇̏̒̔͛͂́̿͜Ǹ̷̢̧̙̫̦̠̣̔̀̏'̵̧̳̹̦̓̏̓͐͌Ţ̶͖̜͚͙̻̣̥͙͆͗͆̍̕͠͝ ̵̛͙͈͊̈́́L̸̢̺̪͉̠̍̉̇͗͒Ĕ̶͈̬͍̺̺͈̹̖̃̏̊̕T̸̨͔͚̗͚̐̅̕ ̵͍̼̝̜̗̳̅̄̂̐̊̿̅̔Ý̶̡͇̜͈̯̠̩̤̫̫̃́͑̌̈̃͒̿O̴̘̻͇̩̫͎̦͕͎͑̀̈̐ͅƯ̸̢̧̢̡̙̦̥̠̜̘̅̈͘͝ ̶̲̲͎̟͖͔̖͈͑̂̈͗̀̅̕͠͠ͅG̷̗̹̺̯̖̰͖̜̀͌̌̓̀̆̾̈́͝ͅÖ̵̫̳́̓̍

The Best Friend - Sage Romero has been by your side ever since freshmen year, taking you under their wing even though they were just starting highschool themselves. They're eccentric and artsy, running around the hallways in the most colourful and unconventional clothes you've ever seen, all sewn and patched up together. Their brown hair has dyed green tips, and if you didn't know any better you'd think they're splashes of paint like the ones their hands are constantly covered in. Sage has always had your back no matter what, even if they might not completely agree with you. That's what best friends do, right? Even when they get stuck isolated in the wilderness together. (RO, they/them)

The Mean Girl - Aurora Corrigan is popular for having straight A’s in all her subjects (including the AP ones) and for her typical mean girl attitude. She makes it obvious how much she dislikes you every time you pass by, her bossy attitude and scrunched up nose a constant whenever you're around. She's always focused on her academics, trying hard to make her parents proud while strutting around the school with her posse and donning perfectly-styled blonde hair falling perfectly on her back, covered from head to toe in perfectly fitting clothes. Everything about her screams “preppy” and “old Money”, and she'll do anything to make sure no one stains that reputation. (RO, she/her)

The Skater Boy - Laid-back and rebellious, River Rockwell is well known around the school for being joined at the hip with his skateboard and skipping classes as often as he can. The self-proclaimed ‘misunderstood loner’ was the only one bummed about the class trip, thinking he won't be able to sneak in all the booze and weed he wanted to bring. But he seemed to change his mind really quick after finding out you'd be going. Weird, right? But you're sure it's nothing to worry about even as you catch his brown eyes following you wherever you go, fists clenched and jaw tight. Yeah, absolutely nothing to worry about at all. (RO, he/him)

The Goth - In the midst of the chaos and uncertainty that envelops the group of survivors, Sabrina Dyer stands out as a figure of quiet strength and unyielding resolve. With her striking gothic appearance—dark makeup and clothing, and an air of mystery—Sabrina and her intense gaze might initially deter people, but those who get to know her discover a steadfast ally and a protector. Her friendship is unwavering, and she often demonstrates her affection through actions rather than words. But what lengths will she go to in order to ensure the safety of her newfound friends? (she/they)

The Jock - Finneas O'Connell, known affectionately as Finn, is a ray of sunshine even in the darkest of times. With his infectious smile and easygoing nature, he's the kind of person who can make friends with anyone he meets. Standing at a solid 6’3, Finn's build speaks of his athletic prowess; his strong shoulders and muscular build are a testament to his dedication to football. He's always the first to encourage others, whether it's on the football field or within the group’s makeshift camp in the Canadian wilderness. But one has to wonder when his boundless optimism and helpfulness encroach on the territory of naivety. There is a fine line between them after all. (he/him)

spotify || axel — @whatlovelybones-if , @thesecrimsonstrings-if , @songofvalhalla-if || venus — @acourtofserpents

Could we get an option to select multiple skin markings/scars/tattoos?

Sure! I just need to change the radio buttons to checkboxes. It should be easy!

taking a lil break,

Stole this ask from another blog hehe ;"p

if the ROs were given a choice to choose between saving the world or saving MC, what would they choose?

sneaky anon >:)

this is a really good question, but because it will contain spoilers for some parts of the story, I will give simple, brief answers.

Aurelian: save MC without hesitation.

Elara: I don't think she could make such a difficult decision.

Kazuo: save MC. Loyal to the end.

Aiden/Ava: the decision will be difficult for them as well, and it will depend on the situation. They may choose to save MC, or remain with MC and face the same fate.

SC: save MC.

Chop Shop is strictly 18+ for language, themes, and potential explicit content. 

🔗 - Game Intro | Bug Report | ko-fi

WE ARE LIVE!!! Chop Shop has officially relaunched on Itch.io! Available to play on desktop, tablet and mobile.

Prologue - EP .02 are ready to play - the same as the previous demo - with a new word count of 120k. The choicescript demo will be taken down at the end of the month.

Thank you so much to those who have helped me during this transition period of development! It has been crazy frustrating but I am so much more in love with the game than ever. And thank you to everyone who has been patiently waiting - hope you enjoy all the new bits and bobs!!

PLAY THE NEW DEMO NOW!

AN: CS has had some significant rejigging and rewriting. You can read the authors notes under the cut.

chop shop now has it's own UI! woohoo! (totally did not kill me) this, of course, will come with teething problems and accessibility issues. i am welcome to constructive feedback!

there are a lot of new dialog boxes to explore, especially the dashboard, which includes the PC's profile, inventory, contacts and a glossary page. (the stat definitions page from the old choicescript demo has been scrapped, too much text that wasn't needed.)

chapters are now called episodes! not a huge change but i prefer the vibe yknow.

there have been some extensive rewrites - especially in ep .01, the bar scene got a lot more fleshing out - so i expect typos and grammar errors have slipped through. this doesn't bother me too much but i appreciate any one who spots them to send them in!

there is now an 'end game' scenario in ep. 01. i won't be providing a walkthrough as i think it's relatively obvious given the scenario but it does give you an achievement!

i've kept achievements like the old choicescript demo but it no longer rewards points. maybe i will think of something to reward the player with later down the line?? who knows

i don't want to explain ALL the new details as i really encourage people to go find all the new flavour text and other things etc!!

next -- if you have not noticed, i have added a bug report to the links list. all issues, bugs, and errors found in the public demo can now be reported via the new bug report form.

in terms of writing, i am now porting episode 3. i have had rewrite plans for this chapter for a while, so i imagine this port will take some time. i was in the middle of writing episode 4 when i decided to make the twine jump lmao, so it hasn't been touched for a LONG time, probably since march. i plan to jump straight back into writing when episode 3 is all done!

like before, ep 3 won't be released until ep 4 has a first draft and i'm happy with the shape and direction. so it will be some time before i am able to release new content. but - we ball!

thank you for reading this far and i hope you enjoy the new and improved demo! happy reading! - becky :^)

It's here lovelies!

Play Demo

I hope you like it and if you find any errors please send them my way! It's mostly just reviewed by a bunch of friends, so there is no beta specifically looking for mistakes.

The Intro Post

Anyways, hugs and kisses

-Carter

Sorry if this has been asked before but is it possible to have a LT? The thought of Aurelian - SC LT got me feelin sm typa way😭

yes dear anon, it is very possible. ;)

more angst? Sign me up.

Will there be any flavor text for our MC appearance? Ofc i wouldn't expect every detail to come up- because that's a good amount of options we have lol. But the more prominent ones like Height, the more unique eye colors, scars, markings(ex: Freckles) and tattoos, or is the customization just all for fun; more than to actually play a part in any of the dialogue and or story?

Yeah, I actually always loved it when there are subtle differences in every scene. It makes things more fun and alive. As you said, I may not mention all of them, but expect to see a lot of that if it's relevant to the scene!

Castle in the Clouds by Zhang Shu