W1 CYOA - Kiruko, Miyu, Nine Vi

[lamuerta]

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[lamuerta]

[ Good day. Regardless of whatever door you happen to walk through on Thursday, you will find the floor crumbling beneath your feet as you plummet rapidly down through the dark.

It's with a loud, thick splash that you find yourself landing right into a pool full of vivid red water... or you would think it's water if not for how viscous it is. Luckily, the blood doesn't stick to you even if it's not the most pleasant thing in the world.

As you crawl out of the pool, you'll find yourself at the entrance of a long, dark hallway. Blue wisp-like figures haunt this hall, some of which may even look like people you know. You think. It's a little hard to tell with the whole shape distortion thing. But why not take some time to explore? You can wander down several hallways, explore a few different rooms, or even see if you can find someone to ask for directions.

Or, like, at least ask for where your things are. Yeah, those are missing. Fun!

What would you like to do? ]

[doublefists]

[ aw, man. gross.

she hits the horrible blool, spluttering as she makes her way out of it - but she also will instinctively go to help the others, making sure they're okay and making sure they get out too. there's lots of cursing and pissy noises involved in this. once they're all free of the pool, vi pushes her hair out of her face zagreus style.

and then squints around the place. ]

We all good? Where even is this?

[kirubeam]

[ making a very undignified sound as we land in the blool. kiruko will accept the help and stumble on out of there. ]

I'm fine... ugh. Like we really needed more surprises around here.

[ reaching for the holstered gun... and ends up uselessly patting where the gun should be. pat pat. ]

What the--!? Where is it!?

[garbaged]

[ also just shrieking quietly as she falls. and then also spinning around in place looking for her absent gun. TWINSIES......... ]

I'm okay... But my gun is gone...

[ shooting is literally her only redeeming skill NOW WHAT!!!!!! ]

Is this part of the vacation package?

[linearcrash]

[ he'll just fall face first into blool and then sputter as he leaps back. ]

Oh yuck! The hell is all of this? [ wiping his face as he immediately starts to get out of it. ]

Beats the hell out of me. [ shaking off the blool ] If it is, we should demand a refund or whatever the hell you're supposed to.

[doublefists]

[ checking over her little chickens (assigned) to make sure they're not hurt... and then shaking out her fists. wow! sure would love to have her FISTS, which she does not. it's fine. she has her lowercase fists. and an aggression problem. ]

You think anybody around here really cares about giving refunds after all the dead people? [ she says, dryly. ] Let's not make it more. Listen, stick behind me, don't go far.

[ y'all can ignore her for the record, she's just making noise. she also will... try to find someone to wave down? maybe she'll wander down the north way to get the attention of anybody who might be poking around. ]

[kirubeam]

Both our guns? [ it doesn't look like they fell in the blool, so... ] Probably isn't a coincidence.

[ vi seems confident without a weapon, at least. kiruko... not so much. ]

Got it. Let's stick together. Watch for anything weird. Don't take any stupid risks.

[garbaged]

[ oh thank god other people are taking charge. ]

But how? I was holding it. [ WELL WHATEVER. ] ... Understood.

[ even without a gun she's used to being a sniper on the backlines. so she gestures for nine to go ahead of her so she can trail behind everyone like a freak. there is nothing to see back here but a blool! ]

[linearcrash]

[ lowercase fists are still cool.

he'll pause to look at miyu to double check she wants to take the rear. ]

Let me know if it gets to be a bit much, yo. [ no crawling into whatever trash cans they have here. anyways let's duckling on after vi ]

[lamuerta]

[ As they duckling their way down the northern path, they'll see even more ghost-like beings drifting around, chattering, and minding their own business. Though you will get the sense some of them are judging you...

Eventually the northern path ends, leading you right up to a large desk. There are papers all over the top of it, and the large throne behind it appears empty. As you approach though, you hear a loud, booming voice that has the tone of a very disappointed, exasperated parent. Perhaps even your own. ]

"Stupid children. Nobody gets out of here, whether alive or dead. But go, go on. Continue gallivanting through my domain without care. You shall never leave. Go see for yourself."

[ The voice offers nothing else. But next to the desk is a large fella, curiously watching the four of you.

Honk? ]

[doublefists]

[ oh no not the parental trauma

it's fine, she only stutter-steps once at the booming voice, before scowling. hey, shut up. don't tell her what to do. she's going to ignore it to try and get the attention of these ghosts? to ask them something, except. there's a goose.

comes to a full stop. stares. at it. ]

[kirubeam]

[ glancing at the ghostly figures as they pass through... ]

These have got to be some kind of illusion, right...?

[ there's a deep frown at the voice, and then...

there's the goose. ]

That...... looks pretty solid.

[garbaged]

[ you can't catch me parent trauma, i don't have parents. however she does have 'suspicious of adults' syndrome so she frowns at being called children. even if it's correct. ]

I've heard of amusement park rides with fake ghosts, so maybe...

[ um. goose. she rummages in her pockets for a granola bar to offer it but OUR STUFF IS GONE. ]

Sorry...

[linearcrash]

Definitely an illusion. Ghosts aren't real.

[ he is going to freeze at the words. ]

The hell? Mother would never say anything like that... [ he doesn't seem too sure though. and now there's cerbergoose ] That's a huge fucking bird, yo.

[lamuerta]

[ Some of the ghosts do seem to linger around the desk, casually vibing. Some of them might be watching to see what happens and who wins in the battle of you versus bird.

You may also notice that the bird is sitting in a nest! That sure is a lumpy-looking nest though, almost as if it's sitting on something.

It stares... ]

Honk?

[doublefists]

Probably just projections or something. There's gotta be a real person around he --

[ the goose honks. NO HONK. SHE DOES NOT WANT HONK. ]

Hey, chill. [ she says to the goose, distracted. holds her hands up in surrender like don't attack. it's sitting on stuff... is it THEIR stuff. can she see her fists in there. ]

[kirubeam]

Some birds get really territorial. It's probably pissed off that we're near its space...

[ can kiruko get a look at the papers on this desk, though? are there any items on or in the desk? ]

[garbaged]

[ hmm. looking at the person behind the desk as best she can. probably on her tippy toes. ]

Um... Excuse us. Can you move your bird, please? Just for a second.

[linearcrash]

Honk, yo!

[ he is going to look around at what has to be projections... ]

Anyone else get the feeling the fake spooks are waiting for something?

[lamuerta]

[ It is in fact their stuff! The fists are egg-shaped. Perhaps it is hoping to hatch them and become a proud papa. It likely means that it is also sitting on the guns, too. Vi holds up her hands, and the goose stares her down. ]

Honk?

[ A questionable honk this time…

Kiruko can look at the papers on the desk! It appears to be… files? They are files of the vacationers they’ve all met so far out in Key Nueve. Each file has a photo, the person’s age, and the person’s height. (Basically what’s on our stats chart.) There are also a few notes scribbled on these files. Would they like to look for anything in particular? They can also find a few other stray items on the desk such as feather quills, jewels, bones, etc. Neat! Also some stray coins? Those might come in handy if you feel like stealing from someone’s desk.

There isn’t really a person behind the desk for Miyu to speak to, but there is a ghostly shade looming around the throne. It stares at her, looks at the bird… and screams. The sound is more like a startled squeak than a real scream, but the answer is apparently no. It does not control the bird.

The “projections” continue going about their day, some of them speaking to each other in hushed tones. One of them runs right through Nine, chilling him to the core. Brr! They also knock him backwards, hard enough he may need to adjust his footing so he doesn’t fall. Whoops! ]

[doublefists]

[ HEY HER FISTS

ok well. she wants them, so. the others get ignored for now until they are in danger… she stares at the goose for a long moment, hands still up, and then says: ]

Not gonna hurt you, buddy. But you have my stuff, so - wanna trade? You hungry?

[ is there anything she can find to feed this guy… ]

[kirubeam]

[ kiruko will try to find the files for all of us who are here now... maybe as a sneaky way to find out everyone's names if they're on there. but also, to look at the notes.

also looks at the bones on the desk. ]

... Think it likes bones?

[ it works on dogs... ]

[garbaged]

[ a startled quiet scream when the shade screams. OKAY!!!! NEVER MIND!!!!!!!! ]

Um... B-bird's like bread... and stealing hats... and stealing fishing poles... and stealing fish...

[linearcrash]

[ he's just going to hug himself after that ]

Oi! It's call personal space! [ he's tempted to go fistfight a ghost, but miyu screaming has him ignoring the spooks again. ]

What happened to you?

[lamuerta]

[ The goose does not seem to hunger… you may try the bones if you wish, but it continues to stare at Vi. One of its heads is watching Kiruko and Miyu at the desk, and the third is keeping an eye on Nine. It will let her approach? It almost seems like it wants to be approached.

Kiruko can look at the files for the four people here! They will find the following:

Violet, age 22. Jackass. Temperamental. Stubborn. Observant.

Kiruko, age 19 (?). Survivor. Deceptive. Delusional. Creative.

Nine, age 17. Brash. Dim-witted. Confrontational. Honest.

Miyu, age 15. Forgettable. Gloomy. Anxious. Loyal.

That’s… nice. Thanks, whoever wrote these things.

All four of them also seem to have a running tally of some kind, varying in different numbers. But they are all categorized under the same thing: Failures.

The ghosts seem to be going toward the eastern hall rather than the west. Perhaps there’s something down that way they find interesting, but you can always explore there later. ]