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💎 Endings and Gems

An ending is a story with no stories placed under it, and a gem is what readers earn for reaching one. This page will guide you through how the Studio's structure turns into a topic's belt, what readers see when they reach an ending, and how planned endings appear before they are published.

What counts as an ending​

In a thread, every story either has stories placed under it or it does not. A story with none is an ending. That means:

  • The last story on each path is an ending. A thread with a main path and two side paths that each finish has three endings.
  • A story whose only choice is a crossroad is still an ending of its own topic, since nothing in the topic is placed under it. See Crossroads.
  • A story with only planned stories under it is not an ending. Readers see "More of this path is coming soon" instead.

Each published ending earns a gem​

Each published ending is one socket on the topic's belt. When a reader reaches it, the page says "You found an ending", the gem drops into its socket, and the belt counts it, such as "2 of 5 paths explored". When every published ending is read, the belt says the topic is complete.

  • Planned endings are locked. An ending that is still a planned story shows as a locked socket, and the belt adds a count of how many are "coming soon".
  • Publishing an ending opens its socket at the next site update.
  • Adding a story under an ending turns it into a step on the path, and the stories under it become the endings instead.

This ensures the belt always matches what readers can actually reach.

Summary

One published ending, one gem. A thread with five published endings has a belt of five gems. A series has no endings and no belt.

What readers see after an ending​

After an ending, "Return to the fork" takes the reader back to the nearest earlier choice that still has a path they have not explored. This is why side paths matter: each one is a reason to come back. See Maps and gems for the reader's view.

Checking your endings​

Open "Story structure" and pick the topic. Every story with nothing under it is an ending, so count them along the edges of the tree. Stories under "Not connected yet" are not endings readers can reach, because no choice leads to them. See Maps and story structure.

Best Practices​

  • Make every ending a real ending: it should close the question the path asked.
  • Aim for a handful of gems: three to seven endings is a satisfying belt for most topics.
  • Plan endings as "Coming soon": a locked socket tells readers there is more to come.