Ruby Quest

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An imageboard-based RPG styled as a text adventure, created and DM'ed by a certain person nicknamed Weaver on the /tg/ board of 4chan. It's now concluded.

Over the sky and far away and down and down, beneath the sea to a place unlike the glen. A world of men and man's design A place where God's light would not shine A Hell of steel beneath the brine Where misery's echoes boomed. —The Metal Glen, William Murdoch

SHIT JUST GOT TRIPLE LOVECRAFTIAN —Anonymous

It begins when a rabbit named Ruby wakes up in a cell/locker. Together with a cat named Tom she soon meets, they perform puzzles, fight horrible abominations, and try to escape the massive underwater complex they're in. They also meet Red, a creepy but helpful enough fox with a truly awful Evil Laugh; Ace, a giant bird and servant to an unknown master; Filbert, the former head doctor turned delusional; and several unnatural abominations, all of whom used to be normal and innocent.

You can get more info on the plot, characters and also participate in discussions, making theories and guesses on possible plot developments here. For the story itself, look here. WARNING: Some of the threads there contain very NSFW fan art, as does the 1d4chan-article. There is also been both a Facebook fan-page and Tumblr site created for discussing, posting news, ect. for Ruby Quest and also its Spiritual Sequel, Nan Quest. Weaver's own /tg/ Tumblr blog can be found here.

A Flash retelling of the whole story, cutting out most of the discussion, fan-art, and additional jokes/threads/clues (but leaving in choice comments) can be seen on Furaffinity right here with a Fur Affinity account (disabled Mature Content Filter), or on InkBunny right here, no account required if you meddle with the Allowed Ratings. The InkBunny version can also be read here, with no settings-fiddling required. You can also read the full story on evilcorporation in three versions: a slideshow-like sequence, a scene selection screen, and a long single page.

A music album based on Ruby Quest has been made. It can be found here or downloaded here In addition, the artist has put up a high quality version of the album that can be purchased here. All the money made off of this album will go to Weaver.

Now has a character sheet. For additional details and those not directly related to the plot, see Trivia. For a list of quotations relating to the game, see Quotes. For a series of relevant images, see Image Links.

Compare to The white chamber, a Point and Click Game with several thematic overlaps (and which Weaver has acknowledged as an inspiration).

Not to be confused with RWBY.

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Tropes used in Ruby Quest include:

Main Ruby Quest presentation

"Time to begin. It is very dark here. Hardly anything can be seen. Please recommend an action." —As Weaver first begins Ruby Quest on /tg/

• Abandoned Hospital/Medical Research Facility
• A-Cup Angst: "Unfortunately for all parties involved, Ruby is as flat as a board!"
• Air Vent Passageway: More like Pipeline escape, but it still counts.
• Alien Geometries: The Metal Glen, itself, displays aspects of this. First there's the metal shutter in Ruby's room, which sometimes opens to a window and sometimes to a passage. Then half of the Brig turns upside-down, gravity and all. Then it gets worse.
• Alien Lunch: The--Squick--"Godawful Smoothie". Though Red was not actually seen eating it, it was shown that he did want it.
• Already Undone for You: It seems most everyone else can get around the facility just fine without solving all the elaborate, extensive puzzles like Ruby and Tom, apparently.
• Amnesiac Dissonance: Both Tom and Ruby were each murderously violent at some point before the story starts.
• Animal Testing: Technically, "Petting Zoo People Testing".
• Anyone Can Die: Word of God said no one in the story was destined to live or die.
• Artifacts of Doom/ These are Things Mammal Was Not Meant to Know: The eye disc; the Dummy; the Green Statuette; the fleshy, red growth; and possibly the the green staves.
• Arc Symbol: Multiple occurrences of this trope in the story.
• Art Shift/ Splash of Color: Weaver's works are very distinctive in such occurrences as when he shifts from simple, low color, MS Paint-ish sketches to highly-detailed, other-worldly, and amazing illustrations.
• Astral Projection: Apparently, the white-eyed black bird was this; created by Jay's infected blood running through the facility's water systems.
• Back from the Dead: Darn near everyone, although a few were luckier.
• Big Damn Heroes: Stitches, near the very end.
• The Big Guy: Tom is known for his MANLY PHYSIQUE.
• Big Words: The cure to Tom's arsenic poisoning appears to be something called "Dimercaptosuccinic Acid" later called "Succimer".
• Bigger on the Inside: Ace's staff accommodations.
• Bilingual Bonus: The plaque underneath the trauma picture reads "Ancient Wish, Eternal Sleep" in Latin.
• Black Bead Eyes
• Body Horror: Many, increasingly horrible, and of just about every type. The simplistic drawing style actually makes it scarier in some cases.
• Bottomless Bladder: Lampshaded, and justified by the "cure".
• Bottomless Pits: The chasm that forms as the Brig begins to separate.
• Brick Joke: The severed hand in the pneumatic tube makes an unexpected return.
• Came Back Wrong: Everyone... whether they wanted to or not. On the other hand, it's also inverted, as dying and being reanimated sets back the mutations.
• Cargo Cult: The small fetus statuette.
• Cat Smile: Both Tom and Ruby once each.
• Character Title
• Chekhov's Gun
• Closed Circle: As long as Bella is alive, she is going to maintain the lockdown of the facility. Tom and Ruby have been in the facility for a year, and have gotten to Bella three times before, but never farther.
• Continuity Crossover: [Warning: Somewhat Spoilers!] The symbols from Weaver's World Eater campaign also play big role in Ruby Quest.
• Continuity Nod: When the connection between the poem and the facility the events are taking place in is established.
• Cool Key: Ace has one.
• The Corruption: More than likely: DO NOT USE THE EYE.
• Cosmic Horror Story
• Dark World: The alternate world Ruby sees when using her third eye.
• Deadly Gas: Averted once with Ruby's efforts, and another with Bella's.
• Deadly Rotary Fan: One room has a catwalk crossing over a pair of giant fans. They're proven deadly in a flashback, when Ruby shoves Stitches into them.
• Dissonant Laughter: "Red begins to laugh".
• Divide by Zero: Red had apparently done this somewhere along the line.
• Dramatic Deadpan:

"Tom and Ruby pass through the door. Into the mouth of madness."

"Moments later, Bella passes away."

• Dug Too Deep
• Dungeon Bypass: Twice - Lampshaded.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: There are not very many Cosmic Horror stories that feature a genuinely happy ending, but Ruby Quest is one of them. And it's all because the players did things that weren't supposed to happen.
• Eldritch Abomination: Its name has never been given, and an eye chart implies that it is "Cjopaze". It's sometimes also called "Perogra" or "The Barbed Wheel".
  • ...Ace. He has a face that looks like it's made of worms.
• Eldritch Location: The whole facility to some degree, but especially Cold Storage. The brig also starts going this way hard towards the end.
• Escape From the Crazy Place: The entire premise.
• Evil Feels Good Ruby feels this way when she sees the red glow with her third eye in the Dummy Room:

A second echo suddenly comes through, piercingly. It's small, and it's just an echo, but it's still incredibly focused, overpoweringly potent. It hurts so badly, and yet... ...and yet it feels strangely good. It's like a feeling that deep down, Ruby wants to feel forever.

• Extra Eyes: Ruby has one. It allows her to see things differently, and keeps trying to kill her. And let's not even start about Subject 6...
• Everything's Worse with Bears: Stitches. Subverted in his Big Damn Heroes moment
• Evil Eye: Ruby's aforementioned extra eye.
• Eyeless Face: Subject 6, again.
• Eye Scream
• Eye Take: A recurring event in the game.
• The Faceless: Subjects 2 and 3 are mentioned and named but never seen. Subject 2 likely never will be, since it's a major plot point that she didn't come back from being killed like the others.
  • Also, the top men who had retreated the facility and left Bella in charge of a lockdown.
• Faceless Goon: Ace. Ace is seen without his mask later on. All of /tg/ shits their pants.
• Face Revealing Turn: Oh, it wasn't Tom after all.
• Fade to Black
• Fatal Family Photo: Inverted when giving Stitches the group photo after subduing him causes him to save Tom at the end.
• Flash Back
• Foreshadowing: Early in the game, Red called a "survivor", though it was still not clear that there was any sort of major disaster.
• For Science!: Filbert, especially with Subject #2.
• "Friend or Idol?" Decision: There was going to be one wherein either they escaped or Filbert told them about their past; however, by that point Filbert was dead.
• Furries: The cast of Ruby Quest are often mistaken as such by n00bs.
• Genre Shift: The story quickly departs from its original relatively cheerful puzzle solving into the realms of unimaginable horrors, and doesn't turn back.
• Gone Horribly Right: The "cure".
• Groundhog Day Loop: Heavily implied by Bella and of course the ending, though somewhat nonstandard as it appears to relate more to death/resurrection with manual resets than an actual looping timeline.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Subverted when Tom attempted it, only to be rescued by Stitches instead. Then played straight with Stitches immediately afterwards.
• He Who Fights Monsters: Filbert is going to cut the bad out of you.
• Humanoid Abomination: Everyone if the facility is heading towards this, and Ace is already there.
• Improvised Weapon: The barbed wire glove, Ace's harpoon, and the BLUDGEONY CANESHOVEL.
  • Also, the JUNKOTRON MISSILE LAUNCHER, although it was only a short jest at another one of /tg/'s ridiculous ideas.
• Interface Screw: "Red is TWO COINS fishtank."
• Interspecies Romance: Ruby and Tom are a rabbit and a cat, respectively. Their relationship takes a backseat to all the action and horror, but it's still there. There was also, apparently, a romance between a raccoon and a pig, but the latter is now either escaped or dead.
• Implacable Man: Ace qualifies:He seemed to survive an explosion, wasn't even slowed down by a crowbar in his thigh, and walked away after getting impaled by a giant hook.
• Irony: When Tom and Ruby had inquired the date near the end of the game, Bella states that is was October 31st, otherwise widely-known as Halloween.
• Jigsaw Puzzle Plot
• Killed Off for Real: Bella, Maddie, and Red--in the end. Red came back once before figuring out how to make it permanent.
• Last-Minute Hookup: Ruby and Tom, just before the latter's (subverted) Heroic Sacrifice.
  • Rule of Romantic: Tom could have had enough time to save himself too, but his heroic last stand invoked a very nice and romantic kissing scene, so everyone pretty much ignored it.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Near the climax, /tg/ finally got stuck and asked Weaver for a hint. An adventure UI popped up, hint button included, and he gave them one
• Load-Bearing Boss: "It would seem Bella's death has also caused a minor systems/power shutdown."
• Lovecraftian Superpower
• Madness Mantra: A written version: NEVER CATCH ME NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER
• Mad Doctor: Filbert. He's not infected. You're all infected, but he isn't. It's okay though. He's going to cut the bad out of you.
• MacGuffin: The cross-peg, for a time.
• Mature Animal Story/Sugar Apocalypse: Cute anthropomorphic animals right out of Animal Crossing... in a setting that's basically HP Lovecraft meets Silent Hill.
• Meaningful Background Event: Several: both Filbert and Bella are first shown like this, for instance. In either case, when the players tried to prompt Ruby in looking at them, they would be gone by the time she did.
  • Whenever past events are shown though some mannor, there are a few minor differences that have a big meaning; such as the horrific area of wall that Stitches body was bound to showed a beautiful landscape painting.
• Meat Moss: The Metal Glen's builders find a lost room covered in this buried under the ocean. Guess what the "cure" was made from?
• Men Are the Expendable Gender: Almost averted: When it came for one sacrificing his or her life to save the other, a lot of players wished for Ruby to stay behind instead of Tom. Fortunately they were both saved.
• Mercy Kill: Bella. After three opportunities for Ruby and Tom to end her life, and failing to do so, she finally snaps and gives them no other choice.
  • Subverted with Jay, A.K.A. Emobird. By Weaver's own words: "His role was never originally going to be as an ally. He was in torturous pain and asked to die. I figured you'd kill him or leave him, but then like a billion people were like SAVE HIM, and I'm like "Well... I... OKAY!". I honestly couldn't think of any reasonable excuse not to let you save him: I mean, he wasn't locked up or anything."
• Mind Screw: The story's entire premise.
• Mood Whiplash/ Mood Dissonance: Despite being mostly rather horrific, the story has its occasional comedic moments: Often, when the players suggest something silly, Weaver is more than willing to comply.
• Morally-Ambiguous Doctorate: The facility in which the entire story takes place in—known as The Metal Glen—was, in a nutshell, built out of an odd, isolated, geological-formation from out in the middle of a secluded loch for the specific purpose of doctors and medical researchers practicing/ testing treatments without the need of the proper permits, license, or the possibility of criminal prosecution.
• Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Tom.
• Mundane Solution:

Ruby/ Tom: But, if we just open the doors and leave everything gets out, too. Bella: You could just close it behind you.

• Nightmare Face: Red.
  • Also, many of the patients at one point or another.
  • And--DEAR, SWEET LORD--Ace!
• No OSHA Compliance/ Malevolent Architecture:
  • Narrow catwalk over huge fans... in a medical research institute for the blind. Granted, there are handrails, but still.
  • Also, the often deadly capabilities of the "Z-Hatch".
  • Mostly Lampshaded due to the fact that the whole facility had been improvised and most likely ran on limited funds; and in addition, there is the matter of the staff generally giving more concern over progress than safety.
• Note to Self:: DO NOT TRUST #7. Also, Filbert's note that he has recurring amnesia and is still clean.
• Official Couple: Ruby and Tom, by the very end.
• Off-Model: There are moments where characters and settings are sometimes disproportionate/ off-scale due to "poor erasure".
• Off the Rails: Played with. There was only a happy ending because the players, in essence, broke sequence.
• Oh Crap: Numerous times, but especially:

Filbert bites the crowbar in half.

• • Also, every single time Ace shows up.
• One Tom Limit: Subverted.
• Ontological Mystery
• Outrun the Fireball
• The Power of Trust: As said in the poem: "The flock that could not work together are sure still trapped in hell". It can be pretty safe to assume that unless Ruby and Tom trust each other and work together, they will stay down there.
  • Or the line could have possibly been a hidden joke by Weaver in reference to /tg/'s normally chaotic, uncompromising nature.
• Psycho Serum: Red discovered too late his "cures" had a few side-effects.
• Quest for Identity: Neither of the characters know very much of their past.
  • Subverted in that they never actually find too much answers, either.
  • Weaver originally intended to have Filbert try to use the information about the characters' pasts to keep them from getting on the tram. When the time came this was impossible, for obvious reasons.
• Railroading: A common accusation by the trolls. Used later literally (and justifiably) in a flashback, when Ruby completely ignored the players when they wanted to have a pleasant chat with Stitches and instead threw him into some deadly fans. Lampshaded at the end sequence, when Weaver describes the automated tram, including the phrase "CHOO CHOO".
  • Also, Word of God says that Red had rigged his riddle so that even if they had answered right, he would still not let them in.
• Reveal Shot: Ruby opens a door: the camera shows a close picture of her and a face of a bear, looking at each other. When it pans out, it is revealed that the head is the only good part of him, while the rest is just bloody chunks.
• Room Full of Crazy: Red's room, which was revealed to be almost normal when compared to Ace's room.
• Sanity Slippage: Everyone, EVERYONE during the "outbreak of violence" before the events of the game.
• Scenery Gorn: Weaver's incredibly high-detailed illustrations of "The Barbed Wheel" and such.
• Scenery Porn: The beautifully painted, colored sunset seen at the end of the game.
• Sealed Evil in a Can
• Sealed with a Kiss: Not the best possible example, as there was still some action after it, but counts.
• Sinister Scraping Sound: Happens when Ace pulls apart the Z-Hatch.
• Shout-Out:
  • All characters are based upon Animal Crossing characters.
    • This fact was directly referenced by Red while using one of his AC counterpart's famous lines.
  • It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts
  • Weaver has admitted that The white chamber was one of the main inspirations for Ruby Quest. Several scenes, in particular the fan scene, are taken directly from it.
  • An early command suggests carving a pumpkin into the shape of a keycard to solve a puzzle; Ruby, however, is stated not to be sleuthy enough to do so.
  • There is also a couple of System Shock references with a Body Horror shouting "Please kill me! and another inserting 0645 into a keypad. This was also probably inevitable.
  • Weaver references two William Murdochs in the game; as both the engineer and the poet.
  • "He menaces with spikes of flesh at Tom."
  • IA IA CJOPAZE FHTAGN
• Slasher Smile:
  • Red has pretty much perfected this.
    • Ruby helped.
  • And also #6.
• Spiritual Successor: One of Weaver's more recent quests, Nan Quest, functions as this to Ruby Quest.
• Stuffed Into the Fridge: What is presumed to be Sven's remains.
• Super Losers: Tom and Ruby apparently had a possibility of escaping by breaking through a outside leading window; but unfortunately, neither of them knew how to swim.
• Take That: Remember all those people calling "Railroading!"? The end has Ruby and Tom ride a tram to safety. Weaver even threw in a "CHOO CHOO".
• Technology Porn: Many of the gadgets and workings of the facility give a big feeling of science/organic-tech fiction into the storyline.
• Thanatos Gambit: Red, which also serves as his Crowning Moment of Awesome.
• These Hands Have Killed: Subverted: Tom actually thought it was pretty cool.
• Tomato Surprise: Tom was the (allegedly) incredibly dangerous Subject 6 all along. The only thing even vaguely hinting to it was how he felt good smashing inanimate objects, and the notes from later in the adventure mention that Subject 6 was transferred to the brig at some point due to the extreme danger he posed. Which is where Ruby first meets Tom...
• Tragic Monster: Mostly everyone, except for Ruby and Tom, who aren't monstrous enough, and Ace, who's not tragic enough)}}.
• The Unsolved Mystery: Everyone is still clueless of much of the stuff.
  • Weaver has answered most of the questions anyone cared to ask, however. Indirectly, of course.
• The Unpronounceable: "Cjopaze Fhtagn" (Apparently, most accurate pronunciation is Syo-pah-zay Ff-ha-tay-gen)
• Viewers Are Geniuses: Much of the controversy about the Twist Ending revolves around the fact that many readers mistook Daisy in the coffin for Ruby.
  • To be fair, the only obvious difference between the two are the ears -- But, then it's not that easy to miss the fact that the girl in the coffin has short puppy ears rather than long bunny ones.
    • That's pretty much because many readers probably weren't expecting a true happy ending. Due to the theme, they were expecting the Mandatory Twist Ending, which ended up misleading them. The difference wasn't that blatant, after all. Their ears were actually almost the same size, but Daisy's were bent backwards and pointy.
• White Mask of Doom: Ace's mask.
• White Void Room: The setting in one of Ruby's hallucinations.
• With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: A bad side effect of the "cure".
• Who Wants to Live Forever?: As things are, everyone still inside the facility is being promised an eternal life as unholy mutants. Hopefully this can be averted.
  • Word of God (Weaver) states that Red's death was indeed a permanent one.
• X Meets Y: Ruby Quest is often described as Animal Crossing meets Silent Hill.
  • Alternatively, H.P. Lovecraft meets MS Paint Adventures.
• You All Meet in a Cell

Ruby Quest Discontinuity/ Additional Quests/ Jokes by Weaver

Along with the feature presentation, The Weaver also DM'd several other small adventures within the same campaign as Self Parodies and additional reference.

The archives to both God Quest and Daisy Quest can be found here.

• Gag Series: Considerably.
• Gaiden Games
• Happy Ending: Weaver's alternate "Good End" to Ruby Quest.
• Poe's Law: Many of Weaver's discontinuity gags and jokes appear to be actually half-canon to the story.
• Something Completely Different

The Metal Glen

The poem to which Ruby Quest was based on.

• Alternate Continuity: Humans were the antagonists of the story, instead of just more animals.
• An Aesop: The only way to escape from the Hell you are trapped in is by trusting one another and working together.
• Breaking the Bonds
• Humans Are Cthulhu

Thursday Quest

Kid whines about Ruby Quest; raging, madness, absence of the fourth-wall, Thursday, and Orkz ensue.

• Anachronic Order
• Character Title: ???
• Easter Egg: NotWeaver's blank image file is labeled "invisibleporn.png".
  • In addition, he uses .png as the extension of his image files instead of the usual .gif.
• Fourth Wall Mail Slot
• Identity Impersonator: It was hinted that not only was Daisy impersonating Maddie, but also Lucy and Ruby, as well.
• Jerkasses/ Kick the Dog: Most of /tg/ are all bullying, taunting, swearing, and giving "Maddie" a vicious tongue-lashing by the fact that she is neither Ruby nor "Thursday?".
  • Pet the Dog: At least a few Anonymous treated her to a few nice words, and one was nice enough to comment:

"Hey, don't listen to that guy! You're doing great, Maddie!" Keep your chin up, man, things are going to be great for you. You'll see."

• • Kick Them While They Are Down: Even after the "Maddie" confesses that Filbert had been sexually abusing her, as well as the rest of the patients; most of /tg/ are unsympathetic and still continue to taunt and harass her.

"That's no cure. Enjoy your children by a homosexual faggot."

• Tempting Fate/ Sarcasm Mode: One Anonymous makes a remark referencing Maddie's monster-mouth mutation which had appeared in her right eye during Ruby Quest.

"Nice pair of eyes. I sure hope nothing happens to ruin their symmetry."

Mushroom Forest

A baffling continuation of Ruby Quest?

• April Fools' Day
• Big Creepy-Crawlies: The "Thing That Should Not Be" looks like a giant, slimy, freakish-looking beetle.
• Brofist: Ruby to some odd web-creature.
• Cargo Cult: The totem of the local "Goddess of Pleasure".
• Chased by Angry Natives
• Comically Missing the Point: Weaver has Ruby insert a set of stinkhorn mushrooms into a totem of the local Goddess of Pleasure, mistaking /tg/'s suggestions of "giving the idol what it wants" by having Ace... Well, you kinda get the idea...
• Cool Guns: The LOVECRAFTIAN BLUNDERBUSS.
• Eldritch Abomination: The "Thing That Should Not Be".
• Fan Service: Contained in liberal amounts.
• It's Personal:

"This one's for Stitches."

• Nightmare Face: The web-creature.
• Noodle Incident: Many of them -- Lampshaded
• Rescue the "Rover"?

Déjà Vu Ruby Quest

Stitcher reposts the opening picture of Ruby Quest.

However, strange things happen as Weaver interferes with fate.

• The Cameo: Muschio from Weaver's own Dive Quest, and a few other character from his other quests [that has yet to become identified].
• The End?
• Fandom Nod: Weaver ends the gag him suddenly integrating/re-illustrating the Angry Marine's retelling of Ruby Quest into it
• Fan Adaption: Averted.
• Furries: Hordes of them are seen invading, scattering, and dispersing into the otherside of Tom's cell until Angry Marine Ruby punches through the floor and rescues Tom.
• Gonk: The Furries are portrayed as such.
• Mad Doctor: Filbert is seen standing over Ruby while holding his signature bone-saw and the scalpel, uttering the classic "Trust me, I'm a doctor" line.
• Prequel: Sort of...
• Slogan: Ruby dimly remembers some faint slogan:

"Auto-electrocution is never the solution."

Daisy Quest

The long-awaited sequel to Ruby Quest!

• April Fools' Day
• Character Title
• Fan Disservice/ Crack Pairing: "Daisy makes out with the... RED GROWTH creature?"
• Flipping the Bird: Hard to tell with those scrawny little appendages, but it's presumably what she is doing in the last image.
• Mind Screw: At one point, water begins to quickly seep in Daisy's cell through the small air-holes. Once she makes outside, there is not any water visibly seen near the locker for there to be seeping through.
• Take That, Audience!: "Happy April Fools Day" *bam!* ♥Yatta♥

---

[[Where Are They Now? Epilogue And what became of cat and hare? Did they break free to purer air? To guess their fate we shouldn't dare Perhaps their tale closed well...]]

"—Fuck No. Ruby and her ass pal escape to the fucking moon. They live happily ever after. On the moon. Every night they watch the earth BURN. Purged by cleansing fire. Ruby and Tom fucking love each other. They make a million babies. Their children reclaim earth." Oh lord. "FOR THE EMPEROR!"