Editing Falling Oak Avenue (section)

==Checkpoints==
===Watertower===
The first length features a falling watertower which falls alongside the Finder until the conditions to reach the next length are reached. Every fifty seconds, a newspaper will hit the Finder, open to the weather page, which predicts an imminent change in weather or other environmental conditions. In order of decreasing probability are increased wind, rain or lighting, decreased temperature, or darkness, the last of which may variously be attributed to nightfall, an eclipse, a power outage, or the end of the world, and eliminates ambient light, but not that provided by lights on buildings, debris, or Lost. The watertower may also spray water. The effects can stack, and repetitions will intensify the effects. All the accumulated effects remain for the rest of the Path, not resetting until the Path is completed. This length ends when the Finder goes through a door or window.<ref>'''First Length - the Watertower'''<br><br>Waste no time. The first length always has a freefalling watertower to the left or right of it. The longer one remains here, the worse the wind and weather become. Exact specifics are not yet known, but every fifty seconds that pass, the practitioner will be struck in the face (or a waiting hand, if they are prepared with hand in front of face) with the weather pages, notifying them of the imminent weather effect.<br><br>The effects (and rough odds) are added wind (35% chance), rain (25% chance), lightning (25% chance), a drop in temperature (10% chance), or the Avenue plummets into night (5% chance). These effects are determined anew each fifty seconds, accumulate, and interact with one another. Wind, if multiple instances build up, will increase until the Finder is in the midst of a tornado. Rain will limit visibility, but can become torrential. Lightning is apparently harmless at first instances, but there is a steeply increasing chance of the lightning striking the finder if multiple instances of it build up. This invariably kills the practitioner.<br><br>Cold weather is deceptively dangerous, with the first instance lowering the temperature from 20C to 3C, and each instance lowering the temperature another 17C. Even the first lowering of the temperature may be dangerous if the watertower is shedding water.<br><br>The 'night' effect (sometimes termed the eclipse, power saving measures, or the end of the world by the weather pages) eliminates all light sources but those shed by the falling buildings, streetlamps, etc. This makes traversing the Avenue much harder.<br><br>The checkpoint is cleared when one maneuvers their fall to fly through a door or window. Take care not to touch the floor in the process. The weather effects remain in play until the Finder has left the Avenue. Expect to take two to three minutes to navigate the first length, finding an appropriate aperture, positioning oneself, and passing through. - [https://old.reddit.com/r/Parahumans/comments/hp8xmw/_/fy8jyl6 Wildbow comment on Reddit]</ref><ref>Newspaper came flying up.  Avery blocked it with her hand, to keep it from smacking her in the face, and the back pages fluttered out on all sides.  She read the weather page the paper had been open to.<br><br>''Meteor to strike town.  Dark days ahead.''<br><br>“Fuuuuck!” Jude shouted.<br><br>She pushed it away, and saw that while the pages had blocked her view of the sky, things had gone dark.<br><br>Starless, sunless, moonless night.<br><br>The only thing shedding any light at all on the Avenue now were the porch and interior lights of the houses, streetlamps, and a single car with flickering headlights. - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2022/03/06/gone-and-done-it-17-10/ Excerpt] from [[Gone and Done It 17.10]]</ref>

===Schoolbell===
The second length features a constantly ringing bell, which causes Lost to become hostile until it is stopped. Debris also flings itself at Finders along this section. The bell can be stopped by hitting it, either directly or with a thrown object, which will send the Finder to the third length. Six Lost will appear in this length, though some may have been present from the start of the Path. Three are local to Falling Oak Avenue, from a pool of six potential local Lost whose hostile behaviors are known, and three are random, visiting from other Paths, and are less predictable but may also be worse at navigating, being more likely to collide with debris or hit the ground. Any of the six fallers can die at any time on the Path, from hitting the ground or being killed by Finders, and will not show up again in the same run if they do. All of the fallers will disappear or be left behind after the second length is cleared, but can catch up in later lengths and will certainly be present again on specific lengths or when certain conditions are met.<ref name="bell">'''Second Length - the Schoolbell'''<br><br>The schoolbell may appear to be a large brass bell, or a section of wall from the school with a more modern bell that is painted bright red or yellow. This marks the first appearance of the school and with it, several Others. The bell rings incessantly, and flips Others from neutral to hostile.<br><br>This marks a good place to note the Others of FOA. There are always three random Lost who are often very poor at navigating, and three of the following six Others. In descending order of danger:
*The Ballerina in Blue, her face appears perpetually turned away as her body spins. Exceptionally good at maneuvering FOA. When neutral, is content to dance and freefall. If the Finder can contrive to dance 'with' her, she may provide assistance (kicking or flinging away obstacles, or pushing the Finder in a desired direction). When hostile, she screams and begins attempting to kick, throw, or otherwise send the Finder into contact with the nearest floor.  Exceedingly dangerous when hostile. In sixteen recorded encounters with a hostile Ballerina, there were thirteen casualties.
*The Schoolkids. Appear as three to seven children (random to start) in mismatched school uniforms, armed with improvised weapons. Always hostile, average at maneuvering. When conditions are met for them to become hostile, will instead multiply until there are seven of them. After the seventh, children the Finder isn't observing will start appearing at lower than terminal velocity, at points lower than the Finder, or will leap from ledges to intercept. This puts them on collision courses with the Finder, where they may attempt to strangle, stab, bludgeon, or electrocute them.
*The Archer. Androgynous, always with the same appearance. Carries a longbow, doesn't fall, but instead appears standing on a 'floor' somewhere further down. If passed or left behind, will appear again after thirty seconds to a minute. Does nothing until hostile, when they string their bow and then start loosing arrows at the Finder. They are reasonably accurate.
*The Ball. A colorful ball paired with a monkey (frequent), clown (frequent), small dog (infrequent) or bear (rare). Will freefall until hostile, at which point the ball contrives to bounce its partner at the Finder so they may grab or attack them, or the partner will redirect the ball. The ball may choose to be very bouncy or more dense than a wrecking ball, plowing through terrain. May cooperate with others. Danger varies depending on number of things nearby for the ball and partner to ricochet off of.
*The Man on the Bike. He's a man, pedaling madly as he falls, to no avail or effect. Tends to die on impact with the nearest object. The biggest threat he poses is that he counts his 'miles', and these numbers and his distinctive voice may play a part in scrambling any memorization of the address one gave to enter the Avenue. Otherwise, is no more dangerous than a falling mailbox. When 'hostile', he pedals harder and raises his voice.
*The Fainter. A woman screams as she falls. She can be asked questions and will answer them. A few minutes after her first appearance, the velocity with which she falls will see her pass out. She may die. If hostile, she curses out the Finder, to no effect or avail.
The second length is also littered with random objects that pelt the Finder. One should aim to strike the bell; a thrown object, fist or kick will actually fling the Finder to the third length before contact is made, if accurate. This can take anywhere from twenty seconds to three minutes, depending on the interference of the Others here. - [https://old.reddit.com/r/Parahumans/comments/hp8xmw/_/fy8jyl6 Wildbow comment on Reddit]</ref><ref>Below them, a group of children in school uniforms leaped from buildings and chunks of street, falling in formation.  Avery had seen them on the Promenade.<br><br>They were ‘native’ to Falling Oak Avenue, like the Ballerina was.<br><br>There was a girl with a twenty foot ponytail who looked like she’d been split into horizontal cross-sections around the torso, shoulders and upper arms as one section, chest as another, lower ribs as another, then stomach, with gaps of a few inches between each.  Her arms were similar around the bicep, elbow, and the forearms near the elbow.  The discs kept rough alignment with the rest of her, only periodically catching the wind wrong and flipping around some before falling back into alignment.  She dove with intent, glancing over her shoulder at them.<br><br>Snowdrop waved.<br><br>And there was an Other that didn’t look like it belonged to the Paths.  It defied easy explanation.  A crimson orb with glowing gold slashes in it for the eyes, a tiny slash for the mouth, and ornate painting around the slashes for ‘eyeshadow’ and lip definition was inset into a massive, hard growth of carved black stone, that formed about ten horns and spikes that could’ve been carved to resemble long hair.  Two thin black arms extended from that beard.<br><br>That was just the ‘head’, and that body part alone looked the size of a typical car.  The upper body was hunched, crimson, heavily tattooed, with drooping shoulders, with five limp arms on one side and an orb like its ‘face’ inset in the shoulder, and one arm on the other.  Its back half was about thirty feet of an uncountable number of tentacles as big around as Avery was, each black, entangled, with suckers on the one side and black feathers on the other.  When they bent, the feathers that lifted away became wings at the joints.<br><br>It didn’t look like it knew how to control its fall very well.<br><br>There was a man on a bike, in similar straits, pedaling madly.<br><br>That’s local number two.<br><br>There were always three locals and three non-locals.  She’d seen two of each.  She looked back at Jude, and held up two fingers on each hand.  He nodded. - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2022/03/06/gone-and-done-it-17-10/ Excerpt] from [[Gone and Done It 17.10]]</ref>

===Birds===
The third length is relatively calm, and features a number of neutral Lost who will call out mostly unhelpful advice. To move to the next length, a Finder has to greet any of the Lost, which will cause them to become alarmed and call out distressed warnings, a number of birds will fly off, and the Finder will move abruptly in whatever direction they turn their head. The distraction from startled Lost and birds may cause the Finder to instinctively turn, which may be fatal.<ref>'''Third Length - Birds'''<br><br>Moving to the third length leaves the Others behind. This marks the first time to 'relax', though one must be mindful of the time limit. There are no explicit hazards except for a large number of birds, the occasional branch in one's way, and the usual buildings and sections of street that are flipping end over end. If needed, this marks a good time to bandage oneself or tend to one's equipment.<br><br>There will be a number of Lost by the wayside, sitting on ledges or falling. These Lost are always neutral and have never been observed to have special rules, and tend to be remarkably calm, considering their velocity, though they may be distressed by the weather. Some will wave or call out advice, but the advice is rarely good or is very generic (such as 'don't hit the ground').<br><br>To progress to the next length, call out a greeting to a bystander or bird. They will react with alarm, with birds squawking and flapping violently, and bystanders pointing and shouting a warning. On turning one's head, 'down' will change to a new direction. Anticipate colliding buildings, streets, and hazards. It is best to choose a time to progress where one is not too near anything in particular. This section can take anywhere from three seconds to a minute. Don't black out with the change of direction. - [https://old.reddit.com/r/Parahumans/comments/hp8xmw/_/fy8jyl6 Wildbow comment on Reddit]</ref> If the Finder greets the Lost and then avoids any collisions, they will move to the Post Office. If they grab a bird, they'll move to the Big House.<ref>Wind intensified, flecking Avery with the ambient light rain.  And they were hurled into the third length.<br><br>The hostile Others didn’t come with.  Avery avoided the feathered tentacle that had been cast out into the air when the big spirit-thing had hit solid ground and gone splat.<br><br>People were stepping outside their houses now.  Waving and shouting greetings.<br><br>“Falling isn’t what kills you, it’s the ground hitting you!” one called out.<br><br>“If you ask questions at the bookstore, they might have answers for you!” a woman called out.<br><br>Avery ignored them.<br><br>A falling car that was flipping through the air hit a tree.  Crows were scattered, black as night, in a lightless dark illuminated only by cars and streetlights.  The open doors of the houses at least provided a bit more illumination.<br><br>Avery put a hand out and simply dove through the flock.  When her hand hit something solid, she grabbed, and quickly transitioned to a hold that was less painful or awkward for the bird.<br><br>“Got one!”<br><br>“Already!?” Jude asked.<br><br>“Got one!” Finn shouted.<br><br>Jude caught one after another twenty or so seconds.<br><br>“Snow, close your eyes, hold on tight.”<br><br>Snowdrop nodded.<br><br>“Hi bird,” Avery said.<br><br>“Watch out!” bystanders shouted.<br><br>“Be careful, you’re going to crash!”<br><br>“Take us to the big house?” Avery asked. - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2022/03/06/gone-and-done-it-17-10/ Excerpt] from [[Gone and Done It 17.10]]</ref>

===Post Office or Big House===
The Post Office is the standard fourth length, where a post office with mail streaming out falls slower than other debris and blocks the Finder's way until cleared. Either a red envelope can be found in the stream of mail, which opens the door at any time, or the door can be manually opened at specific times listed on the post office's window. The times refer to how long the Finder has been on the Path, not what time it is in any Earth time zone. The door or window can also be broken, which will allow passage but makes all the falling Lost hostile for the duration of the run and actively chase the Finder.<ref>'''Fourth Length - Post Office'''<br><br>Not necessarily a 'length' or checkpoint, exactly, the post office obstructs one's fall, falling at a slower rate than the Finder, until bypassed. One must either find or grab the red envelope in the storm of mail that flows ceaselessly from the falling Post Office, which prompts the door to open, or get to the door and open it at a precise time, relative to when they entered the path. The times are marked on the window by the door (for example, 7:30 means one must have been on the Avenue for seven minutes and thirty seconds). The door can be broken open or the post office broken into, for quicker passage through, but this provokes one of the six Lost Others on the Avenue to chase the Finder until they finish the Path. That Other will remain hostile.<br><br>Can take anywhere from a minute (red letter or breaking in, plus time to get there) to four minutes (waiting for the office to open again). The envelope can be kept. Every red letter one owns will have money in it at regular intervals. This money can be anywhere from a value of half a penny to roughly one hundred dollars, in a seemingly random currency. It is always the same amount and currency type for a red envelope, and always appears on Thursdays at one of the times the post office was set to open. Even a 'bad' red envelope can be a desirable object for Lost for future encounters. - [https://old.reddit.com/r/Parahumans/comments/hp8xmw/_/fy8jyl6 Wildbow comment on Reddit]</ref>

The alternative fourth length is the Big House, reached by grabbing a bird on the third length. The bird's head movements will control motion instead of the Finder's, and the bird will take the Finder to a big house. Inside the big house, the shelves can be pulled out of a drawer to exit Falling Oak Avenue early and enter the Common's Thread.<ref>“Water tower, bell, birds, post office-”<br><br>“Water tower, bell, birds, big house,” Avery said, reading the page.<br><br>“Big house?” Jude asked.<br>[...]<br>“Yeah.  Um, ring the bell, catch a bird immediately after.”<br><br>“Okay,” Jude said.<br><br>“Is that wrong?  Is there- Jude, you gotta tell me if I’m telling you something you didn’t know.”<br><br>“We ring the bell and get reoriented and hurled through a danger zone.”<br><br>“Okay.”<br><br>“And that takes us to the post office.”<br><br>“Apparently catching the bird takes you to the house.  I don’t have notes for the post office.”<br><br>“Okay.  Starting to see why your way is rated only a three out of ten or a three out of seven.”<br><br>“I grab a chest of drawers or wardrobe and bring it with me.  Pull out the drawers, go through, and I’m out.”<br><br>“Out.  Right.”<br><br>“Being very very careful not to touch the floor.”<br>[...]<br>Normally, recognizing the bystanders or birds meant moving on to the Post Office, according to Jude.  But it was a dangerous transition- there would be a warning, and then instant death by collision, if the person warned wasn’t careful.  Turning one’s head would mean the direction of the ‘fall’ would change abruptly, and this was often very dangerous.<br><br>But it was the bird that turned its head.<br><br>The bird dictated the change.<br><br>And they started to fall toward the big house.  The crow looking around meant the direction of the fall kept changing.<br><br>Navigating them readily past the intervening obstacles.<br><br>The house was in shambles, partially destroyed, but the sheer number of fragments made it dangerous.  If any of those were floor-<br><br>Avery moved carefully, using a number of spell cards she’d have considered wasteful before, to blow away and get rid of dreck.<br><br>She spotted a chest of drawers, went to it, and hauled the drawers out.  It created an aperture, dark inside.<br><br>Turning upside down, relative to the aperture, Avery glanced at Jude, then climbed through. - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2022/03/06/gone-and-done-it-17-10/ Excerpt] from [[Gone and Done It 17.10]]</ref>

===Bridge===
After exiting the Post Office, the Finder has to get past a Bridge and the mass of water falling with it. The Bridge flips, and crashes through the water, and the water gradually recollects back into one body. The Bridge is slowed by the water, and moves in the exact same ways at the same times on every run.<ref>'''Fifth Length - Bridge'''<br><br>A simple obstacle course. The Bridge comes with a body of water it flips and crashes into and through. The water gathers back together in a mass, only to be broken up again. Navigate the segments and supports of the bridge, the water, and avoid touching the 'floor' of the bridge itself. The water slows the bridge's fall, making it possible to descend past it. Do so to pass to the next length.<br><br>Passage typically takes two to three minutes, but the bridge always moves in the exact same way in the exact same timeframes, and can be planned for. - [https://old.reddit.com/r/Parahumans/comments/hp8xmw/_/fy8jyl6 Wildbow comment on Reddit]</ref> The surface of the Bridge counts as ground. The water may or may not count as ground, but regardless, hitting water at terminal velocity is not a soft landing, in addition to the temperature or breathing problems that may result from being immersed.

===Bookstore===
Past the Bridge is a Bookstore that has split in half, which takes 82 seconds to fall through. There are one to twenty Lost present who can be asked questions. Each can answer one question accurately and honestly, but the more obscure the answer is the longer they'll take to answer; questions past a certain difficulty that would push the answer over the time limit will instead be answered with a guess, with no clear indication of that being the case. A good use of the Bookstore questions is to get answers for the Classroom in the eighth or ninth length. If the Finder is silent for the whole length, they'll instead receive three Lost books, one of which will have a minor boon and one a minor curse.<ref>'''Sixth Length - Bookstore'''<br><br>There is no challenge here. The Bookstore is cracked in half and it always takes eighty-two seconds to fall through. The building is inhabited by mundane Lost, who can be questioned. There may be anywhere from one to twenty Lost, and each is at the practitioner's disposal. The Bookstore is a tricky thing, because the Others will take time to answer based on how easy the answer is to normally find. If the practitioner could find the answer on their own within the span of a mundane day, the answer may take up to sixty seconds to come. At the same time, however, especially hard questions may see the Bookstore's occupants simply not knowing, and throwing out their best guesses instead.<br><br>As such, there is a narrow margin where the bookstore is especially useful. If not used for esoteric topics, it may be used to get advance knowledge for the classroom.<br><br>If silence is maintained throughout, the Finder will be given three Lost books. One will have a minor boon associated with it, one will have a very minor curse. Any or all may be in obscure languages, requiring translation. Collection of these books is something of a status symbol for intermediate Finders and Finder families. - [https://old.reddit.com/r/Parahumans/comments/hp8xmw/_/fy8jyl6 Wildbow comment on Reddit]</ref>

===School Grounds===
The last three lengths of the Path center around the School. In the seventh length, Finders will fall alongside the School Grounds, where all the surviving fallers will be present and hostile. The Schoolbell will also make another appearance, alongside other sources of noise like car alarms or screaming Lost. As on the second length, hitting any of the noisemakers will disable them, making the nearest Lost non-hostile. Dispatching three of the fallers, one way or another, causes the Finder to fall through or past the School's doors or windows and into the next length.<ref>'''Seventh Length - School Grounds'''<br><br>The School Grounds mark the beginning of the end of the Avenue. The School will match the Finder's velocity and remain a distance from them. This is also the start of the most hostile territory; all six Lost will appear (Where only one to three of them may have appeared at the Bell), alongside the bell and several other 'noisemakers', such as a car with the alarm going off, or a screaming man.<br><br>There is no particularly special objective or rule here. The Finder should defend themselves and use any weapons at their disposal. The number of Lost that are hostile corresponds to the number of active noisemakers, and any/all can be shut off with a violent impact, which will pacify the nearest violent Lost. Good marksmanship with thrown objects or carried weapons is a boon here.<br><br>When three of the six Lost have been left behind (killed, colliding with something, or otherwise put out of the way, the school will hit something, its momentum interrupted, and the Finder will plunge through the front doors or windows.<br><br>The subsequent sections can appear in either order. This section can take anywhere from two to five minutes. - [https://old.reddit.com/r/Parahumans/comments/hp8xmw/_/fy8jyl6 Wildbow comment on Reddit]</ref>

===School Hallways or Classroom===
The entrance the Finder falls through from the School Grounds may lead to the Hallways or the Classroom. Finishing one will lead to the other, and finishing the second completes the Path. Any fallers not already dispatched will be present, and presumably will still be hostile if they were when they entered the School.

The Hallways appear endless from inside and are lined with open lockers and classroom doors from which streams of school supplies pour. Combination locks will appear in the debris, grabbing one of these and dialing in the number used to initiate the Path sends the Finder to the next length, or completes the Path if this is the last length. In addition to the locks, there will be 2-5 blue objects in the debris, which are boon items. Debris can be safely picked up and held onto, or thrown at any remaining fallers, but letting go of or dropping an item without hitting a target will cause the Finder to abruptly turn down a side hallway, potentially hitting the wall, ceiling, or floor.<ref name="hall">'''Eighth/Ninth Length - Hallways'''<br><br>The hallways appear endless, and the 'floor' remains an omnipresent threat. Lockers and classrooms may be open, and will vomit forth endless debris, papers, and school supplies. Deal with the remaining Lost. Keep an eye out for anything blue amid the debris. These are boon objects, and there are anywhere from two to five. Hallway objects tend to be associated with an unusual name or place. Tracking down the (a?) person with the name or going to the place will 'awaken' the object from a minor trinket with some utility to it to something more potent. It also, however, gets strange reactions from the person in question or the locals. Each such object taken from the Avenue and each awakening of any of these objects seems to correspond with the Finder being treated as more and more offputting by normal and moderate Innocents. When questioned, these people can't ever put their finger on why. Giving away or losing the items doesn't remove this cumulative drawback.<br><br>Be aware that throwing debris or letting go of debris is something of a gamble; if accurate, they may dispatch Lost. If the throw/drop 'misses', however, the Finder will abruptly 'turn a corner', with a violent reorientation of their 'fall' as they continue down a perpendicular hallway. Combined with the motion of throwing and their new body orientation relative to their fall, contact with the floor is a possibility.<br><br>Grab a combination lock (there are usually several falling through the air), and dial in the number given at the outset. It is typically helpful to deal with the remaining Others first. This can take anywhere from two to five minutes. - [https://old.reddit.com/r/Parahumans/comments/hp8xmw/_/fy8jyl6 Wildbow comment on Reddit]</ref>

The Finder falls past the windows of the Classroom, either inside or outside the School, while the Teacher keeps up with them on the other side of the window, asking them questions. The questions come from a pool of 3000, and are generally trivia more than educational. Wrong answers are punished with a physical wound, worse each time, generally being unhealable or cursed after three wrong answers. Four or five right answers in a row will end the questioning, the Teacher will give the Finder an apple, and the length will be complete. The apple should be held onto until off of the Path, losing it will cause the Finder to lose memories or knowledge.<ref name="class">'''Ninth/Eighth Length - The Classroom'''<br><br>The Finder won't necessarily be inside the classroom, but may fall parallel to it, either falling through hallways or falling alongside the school, while the teacher remains by the windows, possibly moving from room to room to stay in earshot.<br><br>The teacher asks questions one might find in a trivia contest, never questions applicable to actual education. These questions can range from the trivial (the capital of Yugoslavia) to the difficult (hitting percentage of a baseball player from 1973). Each wrong answer will be immediately followed by injury to the Finder, never directly by the teacher, each injury worse than the last. After the third mistake, injuries may be impossible or difficult to heal, or have curses and deeper consequences appended to them.<br><br>Questions and answers seem to be drawn from a pool of roughly three thousand possibilities. Finders who intend to use the FOA will want to memorize the questions and answers. Four or five consecutive right answers will please the teacher, who will give an apple. The apple can be a boon, and regardless should be held firmly in one hand until the Path is complete, or memories and years of study will be Lost to the Finder.<br><br>On finishing the Path, the apple may be addressed and then eaten, imparting knowledge that one would have obtained from two (four consecutive right answers) or four (five consecutive right answers) years of steady education in a mundane subject. However, eating the apple for a subject bars the finder from ever getting money, acknowledgement, or respect for that knowledge, and may sour the disposition of spirits when that knowledge is used for Practice.<br><br>Answer five questions to move to the Hallways (if not yet done) or end of the Path. - [https://old.reddit.com/r/Parahumans/comments/hp8xmw/_/fy8jyl6 Wildbow comment on Reddit]</ref>

Receiving the apple or entering the lock combination, whichever comes last, will complete Falling Oak Avenue and deposit the Finder safely on an Earthly Oak address.