30 Comments
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Jessica Maison's avatar

I dug the quizzes and the footnotes. Super engaging. I feel like I have been both the Dylan and the Taylor in different situations. Cool story.

Keith Long's avatar

Thanks 👍🌝

K.Lynn Grey's avatar

The mushrooms were a nice touch, subtle foreshadowing...

Keith Long's avatar

Yeah I tried to keep the nature of the story very underneath the one being told, sort of to mirror the main characters own ignorance due to being on his phone lol

Nick Buchheit's avatar

I liked this. Nice job, Keith!

Keith Long's avatar

Thanks very much! Idk if I pulled off what I was going for but it was fun to try it lol

Waymon Hudson's avatar

This is such a sharp concept.

The interface becoming part of the narrative… those prompts, permissions, little “helpful” suggestions…

it’s not just creepy, it’s familiar.

And that’s what makes it land.

By the end, it doesn’t feel like the phone is observing him…

it feels like it’s deciding what matters.

Keith Long's avatar

Thank you — yes, that’s exactly right 🌝👍 I’m glad it came through that way for you

Waymon Hudson's avatar

I love when a concept lands exactly the way it’s meant to… that’s such a good feeling.

There’s something especially unsettling about horror that feels familiar like that… like it’s already part of your life.

Really glad I found your work through the Spring Fever event!

Keith Long's avatar

Definitely — perhaps horror can even be a method of showcasing the insidious things people aren’t seeing,

Waymon Hudson's avatar

I love that way of putting it.

Horror feels like one of the only spaces where those insidious things actually get named… the ones people learn to live with, or explain away, or just stop noticing.

The ones that don’t look like horror at first… just slightly “off” until you realize they’ve been there the whole time.

Keith Long's avatar

🫷exactly🫸

Sean Thomas McDonnell's avatar

You're such a creative mother fucker. I'm jealous.

Keith Long's avatar

Hahaha Creative Mother Fucker™ love it — thank you 🫶

Nick Winney's avatar

nice!

i totally misunderstood the CLOSE...

i was thinking tanner was telling him he was getting close...

had to read it twice...and of course reading the footnotes as i went along would have helped.

Far too clever for my simple brain LOL!

well done mate, ingenious!

Keith Long's avatar

I worried/knew I would lose people along the way — but I figured it wouldn’t be experimental unless it was risky lol

Thanks🫸🫷

Nick Winney's avatar

i was a bit WTF for a while… very good work…you really put aome structure and thought into that, layers of story telling. my stuff is very 2d in comparison

Bryan Wiler's avatar

so smart, in so many ways. my mouth dropped open when the amber alert came in; the story was unsettling up to that point, but then it became "oh shit." I stayed away from the footnotes until finishing the main text, which I think may have made the reveal even more jarring.

Keith Long's avatar

Thank you thank you thank you. 🫶🫵

I was hoping the amber alert would be a kind of tip off, and that Dylan says they’ve been happening all the time lol

I’m glad it still works even if the footnotes are read last 👍

Maxwell Boyd's avatar

Great story. I love how the main character’s appreciation of nature echoes the ecosystem of death and decay. Well done!

M.A. Knight's avatar

Ohhhh well done. Love how you play with form

Keith Long's avatar

Thank you🫶

Garen Glazier's avatar

Your mind! So cool, Keith. I love how you play with form.

Keith Long's avatar

🫴Thank 🫵 very much

troy adkins's avatar

finally caught up on this, and damn. the convergence of multiple horrors feels unexpected yet inevitable. harrowing as ever, keith. great work

Keith Long's avatar

Thank you🫢 that means a lot

Nevena Pascaleva's avatar

That really gave me shivers!

Keith Long's avatar

Thank you🫲🌝👍

Aaron Martinez's avatar

This is clever. The footnotes was a great touch, especially the way they advanced the story. By the second reference to carrion or dead bodies I was hooked! When the ending landed, it was a nice payoff. Well done!

Keith Long's avatar

Thank you! I’m glad the format was effective🌝👍