No Hand Holding

This feels like a TV show.

Season one they introduce you to the world, the characters. Make sure they say everyone’s name 3-4 times per episode and over explain everyone’s backstory to make sure you’re following along.

Then season two hits and the training wheels come off. You either pay attention or fall behind, because this is what the creators REALLY wanted the show to be.

I wasn’t around during last year’s ARG so I can’t speak to comparisons, but I’m finding the context (or lack thereof) incredibly unnverving right now.

All we really have had as touchstones thus far have been DLB, CS, and Noah. The first two have largely been AWOL, and now seem to be in actual peril, and Noah is as much of an enigma as he was when his site first went up.

We have no idea what’s coming or where we’re going. All we know is that except for our fellow community members, we’re totally alone right now.

Except for The Investors. *shiver*

It does feel darker. I only got into Tension Mid-April. Early still but not as early as others. Was there already communication with “higher powers?” We received quite a bit of interaction with those that you have named. @thevoyeur and @thecontroller have been silent. I would love to get to know them as we have the others.

I get the feeling some heavy shit will hit the fan this Sunday. That FB post would not have gone up unless there was something coming.

Definitely. It seems like we are all “lusting” for interaction of some sort and we don’t seem to be getting much on these forums.

Oh man, the early days of Tension were dark as hell. There was no community, the forums went up a while after the first consultations so honestly just finding out who was who was the first big hurdle that took us a very long time. We had the added concern of questioning whether or not the forums were even safe to use, since we were terrified of the OOA and yet thought that the forums were their creation.

The first Gatekeepers were weeks away and L2D wasn’t on the map yet. Addison had a name, since her account was the first registered, but she was completely silent other than a single test post that started the forum. We had monthly newsletters but otherwise we had nothing to guide us on where to go. Things started to ramp up after a bit, especially after the Mirror event.

I’d say that right now the narrative is actually significantly more active than Tension’s was at this stage, and will undoubtedly ramp up far more shortly.

I often felt that there was too much “hand holding” in Tension’s Indoctrination and wished that the creators wouldn’t feel like they needed to do that. I already expect Lust to be darker, and I’m fine with that.

@thegilded How did people even find out about Tension right at the start?

@kevin People were reached out to in different ways. They followed both of my IG accounts and followed my Twitter account. That’s how I found out about them. I then proceeded to follow the bread crumbs.

@kevin – The first wave was directly invited. @mike @kasch @russell were among these.

Second wave was people who heard about it from them or from /r/Arg or Unfiction. I believe these were people like me, @addisonborn and @electrichippo

After that it was mostly word of mouth, podcasts and publications that got the name out

I joined Tension last year in August because of ScareLA so I had tons of information to binge on. Starting LUST from the get go is driving me nuts. I love it but my God the anticipation for information to trickle in is insane. It’s like watching a show on TV and waiting every week for a new episode rather than binge watching it on netflix. The benefit is definitely the bond with the community! 🙂 I know I’m not fiending alone.

@pandace88
Seriously. Love this. Makes me long for the days of Lost or Breaking Bad. Sitting on pins and needles for a week just dying to know what’s next.

I remember DLB specifically saying this was to be similar to AHS, which “resets” the narrative every season…

The most consistent part of the narrative is those participants that choose to stick it out.

I, for one, have met some truly fantastic people through Tension, and, now, Lust. There are some very sincere and empathetic people on these forums.

I whole-heartedly agree that the magic of this experience is in the way we can share it with each other. It’s like going to school with the same 30 people all through elementary or high school… or going to war. We’ve seen the same shit, and lived to tell the tale.

Mostly, we tell it to each other…. and squee in girlish glee at every new morsel of narrative.

@thegilded add me to the r/ARG list. I joined in February when it was posted there having never heard of immersive theater and being used to the puzzles and things. I was in for a pleasant yet terrifying surprise being hooded on the street in broad daylight in front of a jewelry store in LA. But that’s also how I met this lovely community and this whole new world of other experiences at the bar after that.

I definitely feel where you’re coming from, @coryphella. Listening to My Haunt Life, one of the most interesting and consistent aspects early on was hearing about the relationships people made with the Gatekeepers. How personable and reliable those interactions got, and how each one felt like they were taking turns leading you somewhere new. Now who do we have? A sociopath who doesn’t answer emails and Darren Lynn Bousman accosting people in parking lots. I guess in a way it’s a compliment. The Creators trust that the machine is in motion and can run smoothly and on course with a minimum of fuss. But this new quieter tone makes moments like the reappearance of @clint-sears and the deletion of the numbers thread all the more jarring. We ARE being watched. I wasn’t there for the beginning, but I imagine that although it’s comparatively more active, it must feel comparatively colder as well.

I got into Indoctrination in July, so wheels were already turning, I do feel a bit impatient since the rhythm is different from when I started in Tension, but I’m sure it will pick up soon and we will have characters to interact with 🙂

Are those all your cats? How do you feel lonely with so many cats?

I agree with @coryphella, there is definitely less structure this time around. With Tension, DLB and Clint were running the show from the start (though we didn’t know it at the time), but now that they’re not, it makes sense that we’re not getting the same kind of event.

@Babyface and I were discussing where they would stage this year’s event. It wouldn’t make sense to hold it at the warehouse, as it’s purportedly been burned down.

Maybe Noah’s seminar space will be the next arena.

My opinions on this topic mirror @thegilded pretty closely. I found Tension via some very early and vague press that mentioned a shadowy organization, some oddball “consultations,” and a site where one could sign up and wait for something to happen. I recall checking daily for the site to go live and the day it did the original participants started to trickle in and cautiously make their presence known. I recall the forum originally had some very peculiar categories that no one really knew how to navigate but slowly, very very slowly, we started taking the first steps out of the shadows, speaking to one another on small things we observed, or hidden graphics or page source, etc. It was a leap of faith into the unknown. There was no character around to instruct us how to proceed at first. Then the Facebook page would put up a random image and we’d obsess again. The camaraderie grew like that, little by little, small discovery by small discovery.

We had not a single clue who was behind it all. It could be some high school kids in their basement or a tv production company. Maybe the people were trustworthy, maybe not. I remember deciding it was probably okay to go to the first big hood event in DTLA because I deduced that there was a budget behind it all, and someone with money must have some credibility, right?! We were grasping at straws really. My heart raced as I stood on the corner and realized I had no idea what I was about to walk into or with whom. I checked my phone to check that the people with the earlier appointments had made it home safely.

I remember some of those participants who started as originals didn’t last long. Maybe they grew bored by the slow pace. I’m not sure. I remember one in particular who was so suspicious of me. She was certain I was a plant. I had fun being honest but just suspicious enough to drive her batty. I hope I’m not the reason she left, but really if I could get under her skin so innocently maybe she wasn’t really cut out for what Tension became. I wonder where those fallen comrades are now and if they have a clue what became of us or the then unknown variable known as Tension.

A friend of mine got me into this. I didn’t do ascension. I’m being cynical but the arg for me has been like an online book club. I haven’t signed up for the seminars being in Denver. Still pretty cool. I’m totally rooting for the bad guys hoping all of you really have all your nightmares become reality. I say that as a horror fan with love. What if these investors are people paying to watch you guys go through all this fucked up stuff so far?

It’s pretty cryptic to me to not have any sort of hand holding but sometimes its also hard to keep up. There is a lot of talk about last year and while I didn’t participate, I still have a lot of the info and feel caught up.

I’m excited for things to pick up. I still have not received a single email but don’t plan on giving up on that.