Rules & Guides

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***Ascent: Trials of Vore*** is a collaborative "exquisite corpse" (or "round robin", if you prefer) vore story-writing series, originally inspired by the Korean manhwa web-comic *Tower of God.*

But if you read the ***Introduction*** before this, you knew that.

For anyone who's been nominated to write, though, this is the page you probably need to pay the most attention to.

Below you'll find all the guides and rules for writing for *Ascent*, though as of now there's only really a few sections. In time, though, this list may grow as there's more precedents.

## Writing & Publishing for ***Ascent: Trials of Vore***

***Note #1:** Writing for* Ascent *is by nomination of the previous writer (hence it being a round robin). If you aren't writing, it isn't necessary to read this. Feel free if you're curious, though. :P*

***Note #2:** For clarity, 'you' in the following rules & instructions refers to the nominated writer, whilst 'we'/'I' refers to moonpunch101, creator/"organizer" of* Ascent*, who's writing most of this. For the structure of these rules, it's easier for me to address you directly.*

1. **Confirm & Get Acquainted:** On being nominated by the previous writer, confirm with both them & me that you're up for writing. Just because you've been nominated doesn't mean you have to say yes. If you're not up for it, it's down to the person nominating you to find someone else. If you said yes, though, its down to you to write the next part/floor of the story, so you should come here to the wiki & read both the ***Introduction*** & the rules on this page. Admittedly, if you're reading this you've already done that, but as you might want to read this before you agree, or out of curiosity, it's here.
	* Also make sure you know what you're getting into. Read existing/up-to-date lore, such as story recaps, character info, setting details & anything else about the story so far you feel you'll need to write your part. This wiki's a resource. Feel free to use it.
2. **Plan Your Part:** Lay out what you want to do with your bit of the story. You're not obliged to share your plan, but conversing with other writers about your ideas never hurt, to help iron out anything you're unsure of. I, though i'm trying to be hands off, am more than happy to talk through ideas with you via PMs on Eka's Portal if you need inspiration.
	* Consider looking at the ***Author Notes*** pages to find any ideas that haven't been used or are only hinted at, if you want to tie into previous writers' plans. Providing brain fuel is the entire reason these notes exist. Watch out for red text, though: Red marks notes that are now contradicted by canon facts, so shouldn't really be used.
	* One thing to consider when planning, though, is our view of using non-original characters. We're aiming for almost all or entirely original characters. Any non-OCs from existing works you want to include *are* allowed, but should be minor/unimportant in the grand scheme of things, or relegated to background cameos in passing at best. ***Parts that appear to have non-OCs suddenly steal the spotlight, to the detriment of the original cast, will likely be vetoed on principal.*** Keep this in mind when planning.
3. **Write:** Getting to writing, there's no singular guide for part structure or length. As long as your story follows the few restrictions in place to make *Ascent* accessible for a wide range of readers & writers (see below), your entry can take whatever form you enjoy. For example, my opening part was over 30,000 words long before edits because i'm a crazy person. It was seen by me as like the opening chapter of a manga, & ended by jokingly implying that the Tower was a video game. This was a personal choice/gimmick, & future writers can completely disregard this, write a short but powerful story segment in the form of a security log & end it with a musical number, if it's what they want to do. It's about what your style & preferred gimmick (or lack of) is, as long as it all slots together. As for those few rules, though...
	* First & foremost, ***no scat, piss or excessive gore.*** I know there'll be people with this as part of their style, & I respect that preference, but we want to make *Ascent* as inclusive as possible for as many readers & potential writers as we can, & a lot of writers prefer to keep things clean. If you *really* want to, it can be implied very subtly off-screen, but it ought to be kept to that. To a similar end, i'm personally also steering almost entirely clear of underage characters in my entry so I can post it on Eka's Portal without any chance of issue, but this is a personal choice, & shouldn't dictate what anyone else does (as long as you're willing to tread lightly, post previews only & link to elsewhere). Shit be complicated, yo.
	* ***Always respect what previous writers have done.*** It's fine if you don't like something another writer has added in, but don't ignore it. If characters enter your story entry with effects applied that aren't to your taste, don't pretend they never happened or hand-wave them away lazily. If you really want to remove something, put some effort into a strong, well written, non-shoehorned moment where those things are removed, even if that means living with it for at least part of your entry, for sake of continuity. On those grounds, you have free reign to remove anything imposed previously, kinks or otherwise, provided you do it properly. That said, if it isn't something you absolutely hate, think about possibly *not* overriding it & instead working it into your ideas. We're trying to tell a story of some kind, & we want to see these characters grow & change over time (both physically & in personality) so don't just remove something because "my idea's better". Perhaps it could be a way of challenging yourself, rather than every single part being a boring reset to status quo. :)
	* ***Write with quality in mind.*** Not a massively complex thought, but give it your all. If you're worried about grammar or the like, since I know it isn't everybody's strong suit, ask nicely for someone to help you look over your writing (I did, & it helped a lot). We're all friends, here.
	* ***Respect the "locked in" characters' right to exist.*** You'll see more about this system below, but certain characters are marked as "untouchable". What this means is that, no matter what happens in your part, they *have* to make it to the end intact. This is meant to encourage characters who get actual development, rather than being gulped down a part after they turn up to be replaced by someone else (look me in the eyes & tell me you're not tempted to get rid of a good character for shock value or fun, because I sure as hell am :P).
	* ***More exceptions or exclusions may be added as* Ascent *goes on,*** if there's things readers/writers as a whole take exception to. I'll enforce this as *Ascent*'s informal "dungeon master", along with everything else above, if need be.
4. **Get "Approval":** Once your story's written, send a private link to the part my way (via Eka's Portal, preferably, but at mp101-captions on deviantArt, if that works better for you), so I can look it over. This is mostly a formality, due to my hands off approach, wherever possible, but this will make sure the few rules that *do* exist are kept to, that there's no contradictions with other parts, & allow me to start updating this wiki as soon as you release your entry, or even slightly before. Don't let my need to read everything stop you being creative, though. With all likelihood, i'm probably not going to reject or veto someone's part unless there's a really good reason, because that'd be a mean thing to do otherwise. It's more of a 'just in case' step.
5. **Nominate the Next Writer:** Assuming you've been okay'd, get ready to publish. If you haven't already picked someone, as is probably a good thing to do in advance, you should reach out to nominate someone to write the part after yours around now. If they don't want to take part & say no, find someone else (I'd rather you didn't drop the matter if your first choice doesn't want to do it). Also, keep in mind the following rules & points:
	* Should your initial nomination choice fall through at any point after they say yes, either because they've changed their mind or suddenly can't write, the same rules apply for searching for a nominee before releasing your part: Try & find someone else to nominate. If push comes to shove (such as if your nomination said yes but has been silent for a very long time, in general as well as on the matter of their entry) & you really can't find someone, send me a message & say so, & I'll work something out (it'll probably be case by case, but at least once we've advertised the opening post-publication). This should be a last resort, however.
	* In order to keep the ball rolling & involve a variety of authors, you are heavily discouraged from nominating the person who nominated you & just passing the story back & forth. It's a safe bet for finding reliable collaborators, I know, but it limits creativity. We should try to keep the ball rolling into new writers, whenever we can, though you can nominate your nominator if you really can't find anyone else. If we reach a point where that becomes difficult, the above note about not being able to find anyone applies. If that then proves problematic, these rules may be re-evaluated.
	* You cannot nominate yourself.
	* For the same reasons as above, should you somehow be nominated a 2nd time, you cannot nominate the same person you nominated the 1st time. Same applies to a rarer 3rd time for the 1st & 2nd times, & so on. That said, someone you have nominated before *can* nominate you if, by chance, they haven't nominated you before. As above, this may be re-considered if issues arise.
	* To ensure the story keeps going, & to reduce funny business, any nominated writer should have an Eka's account that is at least a month old at time of nomination, & also have evidence of posted stories. Even if i'm taking a hands off approach, I *will* enforce this as required. There will be exceptions if someone can be verified as not being a puppet (this may seem harsh & unlikely, & I agree, but this is my worst case scenario), such as if they're a known writer, but only recently created an account on Eka's Portal.
6. **Publish the Part:** Regardless of wherever else you want to post, you should publish your part on Eka's Portal (https://aryion.com/), so we can keep all our entries together in an easy to reach & thematically appropriate place. Anywhere else your part's published may want to be linked back to there for sake of reader connectivity (not everyone's going to upload to the same external sites, after all). Upload format doesn't entirely matter as long as it can be read, but there *are* some things we'd like to ask of you to help us link all the parts together:
	* Your entry's published title should ideally contain 'Ascent: Trials of Vore', & some form of number representing the part order, be that 'Floor X', 'Part X', or whatever your preference is. A specific "name" referring to your floor's overall "thing" is an optional touch (Floor 1 is 'The Gateway', for example), but is not needed.
	* Put a link to the previous part of the story in the description of your entry, & edit in a link to the next part once it comes out, to help readers navigate quickly. To the same end, no matter what other tags your story has on Eka's, make one of them **AscentToV** . This way, all parts will turn up together if someone does a tag search for that or has it on their watch list, as I will. Try to use the same tag on other sites too, if you can.
	* Declare who you're nominating, also in the description, preferably with their Eka's username (other site names can be included as well if you'd like), so readers know who to watch when it comes to waiting for the next part.
	* Include a link to this wiki in the description as well, to help any new readers/writers find their way around (use this document link, as it will let me redirect to a new wiki host if something happens to this one: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11w5JFo0YqEOb0UeDQ-T7twhOVt30hv-5zd1PYblSfrk/edit?usp=sharing ). This also has the added bonus of meaning you don't need to explain in too much detail what *Ascent* is beyond linking here if you don't want to do that yourself. If possible, though, try to describe it as a mix of a rules sheet, index & wiki, if that makes any amount of sense.
	* Declare in the description who your "untouchable"/"tagged" character is, so the next writer knows. Noted before, there are characters who *have* to survive a given part, but the list changes over time. Functionally, there are two characters "tagged" at any moment. One's Ashley, our protagonist, who's tagged permanently. The other's chosen by authors on a part by part basis. Basically, the character you declare *must* make it through the next author's part alive (Floor 1's "tag" is Syl, for example, so she *has* to survive Floor 2 & make it to Floor 3), giving the next author the goal of writing *with* that character. After that part, though, immunity expires, & the next author's free to tag their own character who *must* survive the floor after (In my example, Floor 2's author may tag a different character to be protected on Floor 3, leaving Syl vulnerable). It can be the same character or another, as that's up to who the writer's fond of. In the end, characters, no matter how attached you are, are at the whim of later writers. Tags are a temporary get-out clause for keeping a character you want to see develop around, though, if only for a bit. Hopefully, favored characters will stay for a long time, & also... just because a major character isn't tagged, doesn't mean they *have* to die. And you don't even *need* to tag a character, on the off chance you don't have one you're attached to, though I imagine most of us will select *someone*.

And... that's it!

Well, almost.

Once your part's released, you're functionally free of responsibility beyond maybe getting messages from me asking for clarifications as I port info from your part to the wiki. That said, there's an optional thing that could help, if you're willing.

If you have any notes made during writing - & if you're comfortable doing so - it'd be helpful if you could send any you don't mind sharing my way via PM, for display on this wiki's ***Author Notes*** pages. The idea's to collate a strong pool of ideas, even if they haven't been entirely used yet, or at all. Anything an author intended but couldn't fully convey - or just thought was neat - is available for future writers to think about, while any ideas that are no longer possible stand for readers to see what could've been.

Now, if you made it through the text wall & are still interested, good job. If this weren't my project, I would've switched off by now. Hopefully, you're still interested, but whether you are or not, we hope you enjoy ***Ascent: Trials of Vore***.

Have fun!

***-mp101***

## Omakes & Other Side-Content

Right now, this section's mostly for the sake of covering the topic, & not because I expect any manner of omakes, fan-art or anything else to be created for *Ascent*.

That said, i'm optimistic.

In short, omakes, fan-art & the like are entirely allowed, no matter who you are. Part of the point of *Ascent* is to encourage creativity, so why not.

In long, the same applies, but with extra info for anyone who's written for the main story:

* If you aren't sick of *Ascent* after finishing writing your part & are still interested in the setting, there's always the option of writing omakes taking place outside the scope of the main story. All omakes written by authors who wrote for the main sequence are automatically viewed as semi-canon unless something in a past or future main story part contradicts them. They're also under less scrutiny to the above limitations to writing than the main story, as long as they still stay within the setting's mechanics. Submitting them via PM & tagging with **AscentToV** on Eka's Portal would still be ideal, however, for the sake of being able to keep track of them, though you don't need us to sign off on them as you would a main part. Go wild. :P
	+ Info & lore derived from omakes will not be added into the wiki database. It makes it much easier to organize in the long run.
* A similar ruling stands for artwork from a main writer, be it made by them or commissioned. If the art's of scenes/concepts that you as a writer created or had a hand in, that art's considered the official, canon representation of that character/event, with other art from you considered semi-canon unless another writer's art takes precedence.
* All known semi-canon omakes will be listed in an index on the wiki. Art may also be used for pages where it is relevant, but since art falls under slightly different views, I will ask on a case by case basis before using any art created, & provide credit at all times. Any art considered NSFW will not be asked for, due to the limits of the Fandom terms of service. Hopefully, we'll find other ways of directing readers to those pieces that don't break host rules.

Again, have fun!. :D

***-mp101***

## Special Event Writing

A more recent topic, but something i've thought & been asked about, so needs clarification.

For a normal part of *Ascent*, the story written will cover a single floor of the Tower, & no more. However, there may be occasions where, as a writer, you want to stretch the limits & maybe try something special beyond the confines of a single floor, like a part covering multiple floors with a secret wider meta-trial or multi-floor conspiracy, or a challenge that somehow skips floors. Heck, regardless of length, maybe you want the heavy conclusion of a very emotional arc to lead into a time-skip that jumps up the floor order by a few months, in true anime tradition.

Well, there are rules for that now, because if everyone does that, then it isn't special anymore:

* Before even thinking about something like this, I don't view parts that depict other floors at all to fall into this system. If its a cutaway to another floor, or a character's returned to a lower floor, its fine in normal rules as long as the part begins & ends on the focus floor, & the main characters don't go beyond it.
* As for the actual rules of who is & isn't allowed to do something special, there's two major requirements to limit the risk of a "quantity over quality" situation:
	+ You, as a writer, *must* have written at least one part for *Ascent* before, making this your 2nd entry or later. No-one's dropping in to do something that big in the story without prior experience in the project to ensure they have some understanding of the project overall & won't accidentally make someone else's writing more difficult further down the line.
	+ You have to - unlike normal parts, which in theory only need token approval before publishing - pitch your plan for your special part to me & get it approved before writing starts. This is meant to stop lots of returning people trying to do these sorts of events back to back, which would ruin the flow if all of them were, say, timeskips, stop such things being special. By needing them to be greenlit, we can limit the number & spread these out a little bit.

And... that's about it. Beyond these differences, a special event mostly operates the same way a normal part does. A lot of the extra work's more likely to be for me, behind the scenes.

For a third time, though, have fun!. :P

***-mp101***