<div class="intro-fade">
<center><span style="font-size: 250%; font-family: 'Georgia', serif; color: white; text-shadow: 2px 2px 4px rgba(0,0,0,0.8);">''The Ugly Duckling''</span></center>
<p>You’ve known nothing but darkness—until a thin crack of light splits your world open.
Your shell breaks and warm sunlight comes over you as you stumble forward on unsteady legs. The air is loud. Around you, small yellow ducklings chirp and wobble, huddling close together.
Your… siblings?
You turn. Behind you lie white eggs—except one.
A large, rough, brown shell. It's yours.
A few of the ducklings stare. One tilts its head.
“Why are you here,” it seems to say without words. "You don’t look like us."
Do you <span style="color:#911425">''return to the group that doesn’t recognize you…''</span>
or <span style="color:#e3cc00">''step away, into a world that you don't know yet?''</span>
[[Walk Away]]
[[Talk to a loved one.->Talk to a loved one.]]
</div>
<audio id="hatch" autoplay>
<source src="https://github.com/brodyalhall/TUD/raw/refs/heads/main/hatch.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
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<script>document.getElementById('hatch').volume = 0.3;</script><p>You decide to stay with your duck siblings and Momma Duck. The pond feels familiar and safe, but you wonder who to speak to first.
Do you go to one of your duck brothers… or go talk to Momma Duck?
[[A duck brother.]]
[[Talk to Momma Duck.]]</p>
<audio id="select" autoplay>
<source src="https://assets.mixkit.co/active_storage/sfx/2358/2358-preview.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
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<script>document.getElementById('select').volume = 0.1;</script><p>You find yourself at the bank, not sure where to go next. The water as the world around you spins. So many different paths, but none feel certain.
Lost and with nowhere to go, where do you head first?
[[Down the stream.]]
[[Nearby pond.]]
[[The trees.]]</p>
<audio id="select" autoplay>
<source src="https://assets.mixkit.co/active_storage/sfx/2358/2358-preview.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
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<script>document.getElementById('select').volume = 0.1;</script><p>You notice one of your siblings standing apart from the others. You take a deep breath and walk over.
What do you ask?
[[How can I be more like you?]]
[[Why did you guys laugh at me?]]</p>
<audio id="select" autoplay>
<source src="https://assets.mixkit.co/active_storage/sfx/2358/2358-preview.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
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<script>document.getElementById('select').volume = 0.1;</script><p>You tell your mother how much it hurts to look different from your siblings, and that you are thinking about leaving.
Momma Duck looks at you gently and says,
"My dear, you may not be as pretty as your others, but you are just as special."
She pauses.
"The world will not always see what I see in you. But I do. And that is enough to know that you belong."
Do her words give you the courage to stay… or do you still feel you must go?
[[Yes]]
[[No]]</p>
<audio id="quack" autoplay>
<source src="https://github.com/brodyalhall/TUD/raw/refs/heads/main/quack.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
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<script>document.getElementById('quack').volume = 0.1;</script>
<audio id="select" autoplay>
<source src="https://assets.mixkit.co/active_storage/sfx/2358/2358-preview.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
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<script>document.getElementById('select').volume = 0.1;</script><p>"You can't be like us, man! I don't think there's any way to fix you!" he says dismissively.
His words sting.
What do you do?
[[Talk to Momma Duck.]]
Return sadly to the [[bank of the stream.]] </p>
<audio id="select" autoplay>
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<script>document.getElementById('select').volume = 0.1;</script>
<audio id="baby_duck" autoplay>
<source src="https://assets.mixkit.co/active_storage/sfx/1012/1012-preview.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
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<script>document.getElementById('baby_duck').volume = 0.2;</script><p>"Because you don’t look like us, you didn’t even come out of the same color of egg. I just don’t think you’re one of us," he says, his words sharp.
You feel a pain in your chest.
How do you react?
[[Talk to Momma Duck.]]
Return to the [[bank of the stream.]] </p>
<audio id="select" autoplay>
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<audio id="baby_duck" autoplay>
<source src="https://assets.mixkit.co/active_storage/sfx/1012/1012-preview.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
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<script>document.getElementById('baby_duck').volume = 0.2;</script><div class="ending-screen" style="background-color: #2c3e50;">
<div class="end-title">SEEKING VALIDATION</div>
<div class="end-body">
You stay with your duck “siblings” through the seasons. Winter passes, and at last, you bloom into a swan. Your feathers are long and white, and the other ducks gaze at you in awe.
Yet when you are alone, the reflection in the water feels uncertain. Without the eyes of others to admire you, you can't shake the thought that perhaps you are not truly beautiful.
</div>
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(link-goto: "Restart the Story", "Start")
</div>
<audio id="bad_end" autoplay loop>
<source src="https://github.com/brodyalhall/TUD/raw/refs/heads/main/BadEnding.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
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<script>document.getElementById('bad_end').volume = 0.2;</script><p>You walk off to the [[bank of the stream.]] </p>
<audio id="select" autoplay>
<source src="https://assets.mixkit.co/active_storage/sfx/2358/2358-preview.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
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<script>document.getElementById('select').volume = 0.1;</script><p>You drift slowly down the stream. Ahead, a [[deer]] sticks its neck out to drink at the edge of the water.
Do you approach and interact with the deer… or [[keep floating]]? </p>
<audio id="select" autoplay>
<source src="https://assets.mixkit.co/active_storage/sfx/2358/2358-preview.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
</audio>
<script>document.getElementById('select').volume = 0.1;</script><p>You drift to a nearby pond. Sunlight beams on the water, and a group of elegant swans float gracefully near the center. Their bright feathers shine in the light.
One of them calls smoothly, inviting you closer.
[[Swim up to group of birds.]]
Return to the [[bank of the stream.]] </p>
<audio id="select" autoplay>
<source src="https://assets.mixkit.co/active_storage/sfx/2358/2358-preview.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
</audio>
<script>document.getElementById('select').volume = 0.1;</script><p>You hear a beautiful tune coming from trees, and you spot a beautiful dove singing on a branch.
[[Talk to dove.]]
Return to the [[bank of the stream.]] </p>
<audio id="leaves" autoplay>
<source src="https://github.com/brodyalhall/TUD/raw/refs/heads/main/leaves.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
</audio>
<script>document.getElementById('leaves').volume = 0.1;</script>
<audio id="select" autoplay>
<source src="https://assets.mixkit.co/active_storage/sfx/2358/2358-preview.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
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<script>document.getElementById('select').volume = 0.1;</script><p>The deer steps lightly through the grass, barely bending it.
“You hesitate too much,” they say gently. “You think you must know where you’re going before you move.”
Just [[keep floating]].
Return to the [[bank of the stream.]] </p>
<audio id="select" autoplay>
<source src="https://assets.mixkit.co/active_storage/sfx/2358/2358-preview.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
</audio>
<script>document.getElementById('select').volume = 0.1;</script><p>You notice a [[raccoon]] sitting at the edge of the stream, rubbing its face. He puts his hands down, and you see his face covered in mud.</p>
<audio id="select" autoplay>
<source src="https://assets.mixkit.co/active_storage/sfx/2358/2358-preview.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
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<script>document.getElementById('select').volume = 0.1;</script><p>They look at you, and you feel seen.
One steps forward, and offers a few quiet words. Not judgment, nor doubt. Just words.
[[Listen.]]
Rreturn to the [[bank of the stream.]] </p>
<audio id="select" autoplay>
<source src="https://assets.mixkit.co/active_storage/sfx/2358/2358-preview.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
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<script>document.getElementById('select').volume = 0.1;</script><p>“Every time you kept going, even when you felt out of place… that was strength. You don’t need to become stronger to be worthy. You only need to recognize that you already are” she sings.
You take the knowledge of beauty with you and return to the [[bank of the stream.]]
Or [[keep on floating downstream.]] </p>
<audio id="chirp" autoplay>
<source src="https://github.com/brodyalhall/TUD/raw/refs/heads/main/chirp.mp3">
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<script>document.getElementById('chirp').volume = 0.1;</script>
<audio id="select" autoplay>
<source src="https://assets.mixkit.co/active_storage/sfx/2358/2358-preview.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
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<script>document.getElementById('select').volume = 0.1;</script><p>“Strength isn’t loud,” she says. “It’s not in pushing others down or proving yourself.”
She stamps once.
“It’s in staying upright when things feel uncertain. In standing where you are, even if no one stands with you.”
You take the knowledge of strength with you and return to the [[go into the wild.]]
Or return to the [[bank of the stream.]] </p>
<audio id="select" autoplay>
<source src="https://assets.mixkit.co/active_storage/sfx/2358/2358-preview.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
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<script>document.getElementById('select').volume = 0.1;</script><div class="ending-screen" style="background-color: #5dade2;">
<div class="end-title">FLYING SOLO</div>
<div class="end-body">
You fly alone. At first, it feels quiet. But with time, your wings grow steadier, and the silence feels like peace.
One day, you land beside a shallow creek. You decide to look down.
A swan. Not ugly, Not a duck. Just you.
You lift your head, no longer searching, but gliding gracefully through the skies.
</div>
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(link-goto: "Restart the Story", "Start")
</div>
<audio id="flying_solo" autoplay loop>
<source src="https://github.com/brodyalhall/TUD/raw/refs/heads/main/FlyingSoloEnding.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
</audio>
<script>document.getElementById('flying_solo').volume = 0.15;</script><p>“You’re trying too hard to be the right kind of wrong thing, Look at me! Mask on my face, paws in the mud. I don’t fit neatly anywhere. So I stopped trying.”
He shrugs.
“Funny thing is, once you stop pretending, the world stops expecting you to.”
Return to the [[bank of the stream.]]
Or [[Stop Pretending]]. </p>
<audio id="select" autoplay>
<source src="https://assets.mixkit.co/active_storage/sfx/2358/2358-preview.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
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<script>document.getElementById('select').volume = 0.1;</script><p>You tell them about your troubles and about how you look, how you’ve never felt like you belonged.
The kind swan listens, then says,
“You may think that now, “but beauty is not just what you see on the outside. It’s in kindness, in courage, and in being true to yourself.”
“Come,” they add, “we can show you that.”
[[Join them.]]
Head back to the [[bank of the stream.]]</p>
<audio id="select" autoplay>
<source src="https://assets.mixkit.co/active_storage/sfx/2358/2358-preview.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
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<script>document.getElementById('select').volume = 0.1;</script><p>The chatter of the other ducklings fades behind you as you wander until you reach a quiet stream.
At first, the surface trembles—your reflection breaking apart into ripples. But as the water stills, a shape begins to form, not like the others. Your feathers look different. Your body, unfamiliar. Not quite what you expected… not quite what you’ve seen.
“Who am I?” you whisper.
The stream does not answer. It's just you. For a moment, the world feels very quiet, and very open.
Keep standing by the [[bank of the stream.]]</p>
<audio id="select" autoplay>
<source src="https://assets.mixkit.co/active_storage/sfx/2358/2358-preview.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
</audio>
<script>document.getElementById('select').volume = 0.1;</script><p>You come into the pond as they welcome you warmly, circling around. You spend your days playing games, splashing in the water, and laughing in the pond.
One quiet day, you drift to the middle of the pond and pause, the water still around you. The reflection beneath the surface.
What do you do?
[[Look down at yourself]]
[[Don't look down at yourself]]</p>
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<script>document.getElementById('select').volume = 0.1;</script><div class="ending-screen" style="background-color: #5d6d7e;">
<div class="end-title">NORMAL ENDING</div>
<div class="end-body">
A beautiful creature stares back at you.
Your dull gray feathers are gone. In their place, white feathers gleam in the light. Your long neck arches gracefully.
You have grown into a swan, just like your new friends. For the first time, you feel at home.
</div>
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(link-goto: "Restart the Story", "Start")
</div>
<audio id="normal_end" autoplay loop>
<source src="https://github.com/brodyalhall/TUD/raw/refs/heads/main/NormalEnding.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
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<script>document.getElementById('normal_end').volume = 0.15;</script><div class="ending-screen" style="background-color: #b7950b;">
<div class="end-title">GAINING SELF WORTH</div>
<div class="end-body">
No longer worrying about how you look, you rejoin the swans games. You swim, play, and laugh, free from the weight of judgment or expectation.
Peace settles over you, and you live a life where your worth isn’t measured by feathers, but by who you are.
ENDING — Gaining Self-Worth
</div>
<br>
(link-goto: "Restart the Story", "Start")
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<audio id="self_worth" autoplay loop>
<source src="https://github.com/brodyalhall/TUD/raw/refs/heads/main/InnerPeaceEnding.mp3">
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<p>As you float, you spot a [[goat]] sharpening its horns on a rock.
</p>
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<script>document.getElementById('select').volume = 0.1;</script><div class="ending-screen" style="background-color: #5b2c6f;">
<div class="end-title">A FREE BIRD</div>
<div class="end-body">
You take a deep breath and spread your wings. The dove’s words echo in your mind: beauty is not just what you see, but what you are. The goat’s voice reminds you: strength is found in standing tall, even when no one stands with you.
With this advice, you leave your "home" behind. The world stretches before you, full of possibilities.
The sunlight shines on your feathers, and though you are still discovering who you are, you know one thing: you are enough—just as you are.
</div>
<br>
(link-goto: "Restart the Story", "Start")
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<source src="https://github.com/brodyalhall/TUD/raw/refs/heads/main/STRENGTHANDBEAUTYEnding.mp3">
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