CYOA rough drafts
Django (Racism among blacks):
Time period will be pre-Civil War (1858, specifically)
Setting: “The South” (Mississippi? Texas? Forget where Candyland was.)
Stephen will be the main antagonist, with Broomhilda held hostage. Player needs to help Django
save her.
Tone will probably be comedic, this being based off of the movie and all.
Stephen’s African-American status will be emphasized.
Begins around Candyland, player meets Django, who explains his current situation and why
Stephen in an enemy. Player will go in, confront Stephen, rescue Broomhilda, and get out,
complete with implied heavy violence.
Things of This World (Racism in the present):
Time period will be early 1990s (story was written in 1992)
Setting: North Carolina? (I think that’s where it was, I forgot)
John Edgar Stokes will be a major character obviously, but
Dialogue
- Django Unchained
Pre-Civil War America it is then, you decide. You make your selection and activate the time
machine. It goes on its way, but during the journey you hear a loud clanking coming from the
ceiling. You worry that the machine is broken, and start wondering what it would be like to be
stranded in a time machine. But the clanking soon stops, and the machine continues on its way.
The machine lands at its destination and you step outside. This is late 1850’s America alright.
But something feels a little different, and you can’t quite put your finger on it.
You find yourself on a plantation. It’s a huge one, with cotton fields everywhere. A faraway sign
tells you that its name is “Candyland”.
Hundreds of slaves are working in the fields, with plenty of white overseers with whips watching
over them. At regular intervals you hear a crack and a cry of pain as a slave lagging behind is
whipped. The brutal treatment of slaves that you’re observing is sickening. You wish you could
do something to help. One slave nearby has managed to escape the notice of the overseers and is
just lying on the ground by the edge of the field, staring blankly at the sky. He looks over once as
you walk a little closer before looking straight up again.
Nearby, mostly hidden behind a group of trees, is a black man on a horse. You are quite taken
aback at the sight, not because you’ve never seen someone riding a horse but because the person
on the horse is a black man who looks very much like a free man. Lying near him is a long rifle
and a pack of dynamite. You wonder why in the world he would risk being around a plantation.
You walk up and talk to him. “Hi,” you say. The man turns to look at you and gives you a look
that makes you shiver. His eyes are dark and steely and seem to drill into your head.
“What do you want?” he replies bluntly.
“Uh ... who are you?” you blurt out, wondering why you decided to talk to him in the first place.
The man stares before speaking again:
“Django. D. J. A. N. G. O.”
He pauses.
“The D is silent,” he adds.
“I know,” you say, though you don’t really know why you did. Feeling that you should say
something else, you add, “Why are you here? Isn’t it pretty dangerous for you to be here?”
“I’m trying to rescue my wife Broomhilda,” he says. “She got separated from me because we
tried to run away from out owners. I managed to get myself free later, and I’ve tracked her down
to here.” He suddenly pauses and turns sharply towards the entrance of the plantation. “That’s
him, he growls.”
You turn and look yourself. An old black man walks out and surveys all of the field workers.
“Who is that,” you ask.
“That’s the head house slave, Stephen.” Django growls. “Only the black slaver is lower than the
likes of him.”
You’re surprised by his hostility.
“Maybe you should ask for his help,” you suggest. “He would likely sympathize with you.”
“No!” he shouts angrily. You are shocked by his hostility. Perhaps you should take matters into
your own hands.
> Go talk to the head house slave
You decide that Django is just being paranoid. It’s understandable, considering his wife is at
stake.
“It’s fine,” you say. “I’m just going to go talk to him and ask for his help. He’s a slave, just like
you once were. There should be no problem getting his help.”
Before Django can say another word, you walk off to talk to Stephen. Surprisingly, Django
doesn’t stop you, but as you look back, you notice that he’s staring intently at you. You ignore
him. How ridiculous, thinking that a fellow slave would not want to help. You can’t wrap your
head around the idea.
You approach Stephen, who turns to towards you with a look of curiosity.
“Excuse me, sir, but is there a slave on this plantation named ‘Broomhilda’?” you ask.
Stephen freezes before glaring at you. Slightly unsettled, you forge on ahead.
“Nearby is Broomhilda’s husband. All we want is help in freeing her and reuniting them. Do you
think you can help us?”
“You’re with that Django, aren’t you?” he snarls. “You’re with that bounty hunter, ain’t you?
Tryin’ to work behind Mr. Candie’s back, huh? Well, I ain’t gonna let you!” And with that, he
shouts into the plantation, causing several armed men to begin to run out. You wonder what in
the world you’ve gotten yourself into.
Fortunately, Django uses the moment to ride up on his horse and pull you out of trouble. Before
the plantation men can take aim, Django has already ridden far out of range and back into the
nearby forest.
“Stay here and don’t move,” he sternly orders, then heads back towards the plantation.
You’re stunned by what just happened, unable to comprehend Stephen’s actions. You remember
the disdain in his voice when he talked about Django and wondered why in the world he
wouldn’t want to help. This adds a new wrinkle to what you thought you knew about race
relations: two people with the same skin color didn’t automatically ally with each other.
> Trust Django’s judgment
You decide to trust Django’s judgment. This is an unfamiliar world around you, something that
textbooks and class lectures would not have prepared anyone for. The social climate must be
more complicated than you thought. As you continue to watch, a white man who appeared to be
the plantation owner walks out and gives him a friendly greeting. Stephen appears to be
genuinely pleased by this, though his expression quickly changes as he barks an order at a field
worker who seems to have been taking a short break.
You’re a little surprised, but it makes some sense. Being a slave probably didn’t guarantee that
you would hate your white owners while feeling kinship with your fellow slaves. Stephen
appears to be living proof of that, fawning over his owner while showing disdain for the workers
that he’s overseeing.
Django begins to move stealthily towards the plantation. You decide that this is probably a good
time to return to the time machine. You don’t want to get caught up in this.
(Back to the time machine)
You start to get back into the time machine, but before you can, you hear several gunshots in the
distance, followed by a huge explosion. You smile. Django probably managed to get his wife
back. The fact that there’s at least a happy ending to his story is comforting.
- The Things of This World
You decide that going too far back in time wouldn’t be the best idea. The early nineties are more
than good enough. You reason that 1992 rural North Carolina should be pretty tame.
You hit the button and the machine promptly takes you to the appropriate time and place. You
walk out and onto a small dirt road. To your left stands a small house, while to your left is the
town.
(Two choices, go to town or go to the house.)
> Go to town
You walk into town. It seems pleasant enough. Most of the people seems to be gathered around a
building near the center of town. The sign reads “Terrell General Store”. You walk over and
listen in on an ongoing conversation.
“… and that old man Stokes has been letting his dog around our land for weeks! And this
mornin’ I caught that mutt chasin’ around one of my cows! So I decided to deal with it myself,”
a man was saying. He spat into the ground.
“That Stokes,” he started again, and called him a word you did not expect at all to encounter at
this time. You notice a few other men show discomfort of the use of the racial slur, but most of
the others laugh and jeer.
This is not somewhere you want to be. You back away and return to the time machine.
> Go to the house
You travel down to the house. The sign on the mailbox out front reads the name “John Edgar
Stokes.” There are three men gathered outside of the house around something on the ground. As
you approach it, you are horrified to see that it’s a severely beaten dog, breathing its last.
Kneeling at the dog’s side is a tall African-American man. You assume that he must be the dog’s
owner.
Another man is explaining what happened.
“It was one of them Terrell boys, Mr. John Edgar,” he says. “He was saying that the dog was
causin’ trouble on his land so … he …”
The man, who you realize is the owner of the house, silently carries the dog into his house. When
he comes back out, he is carrying a gun. You realize that you’re in a dangerous situation, and
decide to head back towards the time machine for the time being.
(After one path has been taken)
Where will you go now?
(After both paths have been taken)
Back at the time machine, you hear a truck coming from the Stokes house. As it passes by you
see Stokes through the window, his expression blank. A little later, his two friends run by,
shouting at him to stop. You decide to follow them.
Everyone is standing around the Terrell General Store. As you walk towards the crowd, you hear
a gunshot. Fearing the worst, you run forward through the gathered people and inch your way to
a spot you can see. You’re relieved to see that no one has been killed, but then realize that Stokes
has decided to shoot a dog instead. Stokes was currently pointing a gun at the Terrell boys, who
were accompanied by another, older man, probably their father.
“You’re a dead man, John Edgar,” said Mr. Terrell. “I ain’t gonna let you get away with this.”
Stokes ignored him and walked back to his truck, flanked by his two friends. The entire crowd
watches them go wordlessly, before silently returning to what they were doing before.
Even now, in the early nineties, things like this were still happening in America? You weren’t
expecting total harmony but this was something you didn’t even believe was possible. As you
return to the time machine, you think to yourself that America still has a long way to go.