[stop. anyway into the cemetery they go, and aquarius seems to be glancing around. the cemetery is likely back to the way it was since it's post-trial and no longer a murder location.
there's a slight rustling from somewhere, little odd spooky noises, but they don't pay attention to those.]
Sounds like a curse. What were you even doing?
[they will let jason pick where they're going to sit.]
[He looks around to check on the graves that certain people hid shit in and then others exhumed. He does not like the rustling and spooky noises, but he is trying to ignore those.
He will find a nice, sturdy mausoleum for them to park it. They can hang out near the front like weird goth kids. He sort of hurriedly hands the cigarette out to them. PLEASE LIGHT. He's about to crawl out of his skin.]
Well, I spent the first half convinced I was a lifeguard, so there's that.
[all of the graves are back to normal. everything's filled in, everything's smoothed over, and the spooky noises seem to settle a little when jason and aquarius settle. they jump up onto the mausoleum, settling so they're a little taller and reaching into their pocket to pull out a lighter.
yes, yes, here's your cigarette. it is lit.]
A. Lifeguard. [they sound so incredulous.] Do you even know how to swim that well?
He drags on the cigarette for a second to make sure it's lit, and then he moves a bit away from them so he isn't blowing smoke all in their face. He leans on the mausoleum with his shoulder to keep from using his back.
He takes a long moment to just suck the shit out of the cigarette and then exhale the smoke. Then he makes a face.]
What the hell does that mean? Yes, I can swim. What? You think I'm too heavy, or something? I'll sink?
[jason is already half a foot taller than them on a normal day, let them have this. thanks for not blowing smoke in their face though, even if they don't really seem to mind either way. they aren't rushing him, patiently waiting.]
Don't be dumb. People float. [so there.] Okay, so let's go back. What happened when you were a lifeguard? Is that why you got bit by a shark?
[In that "you calling me fat" way. But he's teasing. Mildly.]
Yeah. Apparently, I was a lifeguard with my hostage. Royce. I never saw him, but I talked to him through the radio. When I went out on the beach, someone was drowning, so I had to save them.
[He takes another drag of the cigarette, looking out over the cemetery rather at them. After he exhales:]
...It was Lup. I saved her, yeah. She thought being there was weird. She kept trying to remind me of the hotel. It felt... like something was off, but I couldn't remember anything.
She was right. Being there was probably weird, but...[jason not remembering is also weird. they go quiet.] ...you know, actually, if you don't want to go into it it's fine. I get the idea.
[they're really curious, and they're still uneasy, but they're also aware that talking about things like this isn't easy especially now that there's a whole bunch of other new shit on top of it.]
I didn't even tell you how I got my sweet shark bite yet.
[He peers at them, though, using his thumb to flick the cigarette.] It doesn't bother me. [At least, not in the way Aquarius might think.]
I figured I could throw her back toward the shore, so that's what I did without really thinking about it. But the shark got me and pulled me under. I drowned. Then woke up somewhere else.
[He hooks his thumb into the front pocket of his pants so he doesn’t put the cigarette out on himself accidentally. That’d be funny.
His head rolls against the stone he’s leaning on to rest.]
I remembered who I was and the hotel. I don’t know if it was because I died or not. Harrow asked me if someone had been trying to convince me to go back, like her.
[Yeah, he left it at that. One shoulder shrugs, and he sucks on the cigarette briefly again.]
I was on a dating show with three “bachelors” I could interview for a match. It was… Cloud, Yuri, and Sylvain, though. Except two of them were fakes, and one just had a scrambled brain.
[Yeah, very funny. I should have made him lose but it’s fine.]
I could ask three questions, but couldn’t break character. Did I mention I had to be an actor for an audience, otherwise we’d probably all die? [He sort of… shoots a sidelong glance at them that’s maybe curiously pointed.] Yuri seemed… the least… genuine, I guess. The most embellished.
So I just took the risk. [A pause.] Dunno. A while, I guess. Had to get through the dating game—and the bullshit after—before getting to Hua and Harrow.
[stop i hate you. anyway aquarius is aware of that look, but they don't acknowledge it because it's jason hours and jason hours mean listening to him explain this cyoa.]
I've heard acting's a tough gig, but that's a little extreme. What came after the dating game? You and Yuri stuck together after that? If you were an actor I'm guessing everyone else had to be, too, somehow.
We “won,” but they didn’t like our choice of getaway. The hotel. Thought it was boring. So they dropped the floor out from under us. We ran into an injured girl Yuri knew from home. When she sighs, apparently monsters are attracted to her.
Never seen it before. Looked like a giant lizard. A dinosaur. I grabbed the girl so we could run. I didn’t think we’d be able to fight it. My arms were full and Yuri had, what? A pipe. The thing was at least fifteen feet tall or more.
We ran down the other side of the tunnel, but it was a dead end except for two doors. One to the hotel, one to a mansion where we could see Harrow and Hua Cheng. I didn’t know if it was a trap, so I gave the girl to Yuri and told him to go into the hotel door because the monster had injured his leg.
He followed me, though. The monster had been charging something, some kind of beam. It got us across the back as we ran in.
[aquarius, thinking about all of the random garbage people have used as weapons before and going "you could have made it work."
they do not say this. instead, they continue to listen and try to suss out what the hell kind of monster this was.]
Why would he follow you? [like fair but COME ON.] So you got hit and burned with a laser beam from a dinosaur's mouth and were thrown back into a mansion where Harrow and Hua Cheng were. Is that what you're saying to me? On top of this injured girl, Yuri's leg, and your shark-bitten and drowned body.
Okay. Sure. Why wouldn't that happen. [GOD!!!!!!] Was there like...a point to all of this, or did someone just really hate you guys and wanted to see how you'd do on your show?
Eh. [He sort of shrugs.] Beats me. [And then he takes one of the last few drags of the cigarette.] I think the gist of it was we were all entertainment for an audience of skeletons.
Harrow found a note that read like a list of a show's plot details for different seasons. Things that may be interesting to happen, blah blah. We figured we should do the opposite. The audience started leaving. Oh--the car.
A woman drove into the house and hit most of us with a car, then got out to berate us about how she pays us and we're ruining the show. I don't think she saw me because I rolled over the hood. So I tried to sneak into the car.
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That's a fair trade. You want to hear about how I missed almost every single one of my shots for some reason? Because that was ass.
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there's a slight rustling from somewhere, little odd spooky noises, but they don't pay attention to those.]
Sounds like a curse. What were you even doing?
[they will let jason pick where they're going to sit.]
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He will find a nice, sturdy mausoleum for them to park it. They can hang out near the front like weird goth kids. He sort of hurriedly hands the cigarette out to them. PLEASE LIGHT. He's about to crawl out of his skin.]
Well, I spent the first half convinced I was a lifeguard, so there's that.
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yes, yes, here's your cigarette. it is lit.]
A. Lifeguard. [they sound so incredulous.] Do you even know how to swim that well?
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He drags on the cigarette for a second to make sure it's lit, and then he moves a bit away from them so he isn't blowing smoke all in their face. He leans on the mausoleum with his shoulder to keep from using his back.
He takes a long moment to just suck the shit out of the cigarette and then exhale the smoke. Then he makes a face.]
What the hell does that mean? Yes, I can swim. What? You think I'm too heavy, or something? I'll sink?
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Don't be dumb. People float. [so there.] Okay, so let's go back. What happened when you were a lifeguard? Is that why you got bit by a shark?
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[In that "you calling me fat" way. But he's teasing. Mildly.]
Yeah. Apparently, I was a lifeguard with my hostage. Royce. I never saw him, but I talked to him through the radio. When I went out on the beach, someone was drowning, so I had to save them.
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So partner lifeguards. Sure. [lightly. unsure.] Who was drowning? Were you able to save them?
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...It was Lup. I saved her, yeah. She thought being there was weird. She kept trying to remind me of the hotel. It felt... like something was off, but I couldn't remember anything.
Then a shark grabbed her.
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She was right. Being there was probably weird, but...[jason not remembering is also weird. they go quiet.] ...you know, actually, if you don't want to go into it it's fine. I get the idea.
[they're really curious, and they're still uneasy, but they're also aware that talking about things like this isn't easy especially now that there's a whole bunch of other new shit on top of it.]
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[He peers at them, though, using his thumb to flick the cigarette.] It doesn't bother me. [At least, not in the way Aquarius might think.]
I figured I could throw her back toward the shore, so that's what I did without really thinking about it. But the shark got me and pulled me under. I drowned. Then woke up somewhere else.
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She was safe then. Even as the shark pulled you under. Does that mean you woke up alive somewhere else? But you were still hurt.
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[He hooks his thumb into the front pocket of his pants so he doesn’t put the cigarette out on himself accidentally. That’d be funny.
His head rolls against the stone he’s leaning on to rest.]
I remembered who I was and the hotel. I don’t know if it was because I died or not. Harrow asked me if someone had been trying to convince me to go back, like her.
Anyway, I woke up on a dating show.
[Don't just leave it at THAT.]
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Did she remember the hotel at least? [wait.] What do you mean a dating show?
[DON'T JUST LEAVE IT AT THAT?]
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[Yeah, he left it at that. One shoulder shrugs, and he sucks on the cigarette briefly again.]
I was on a dating show with three “bachelors” I could interview for a match. It was… Cloud, Yuri, and Sylvain, though. Except two of them were fakes, and one just had a scrambled brain.
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I'm assuming scrambled eggs was Yuri. Did you match with any of them? [...hang on a sec.] How long were all four of you split up?
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I could ask three questions, but couldn’t break character. Did I mention I had to be an actor for an audience, otherwise we’d probably all die? [He sort of… shoots a sidelong glance at them that’s maybe curiously pointed.] Yuri seemed… the least… genuine, I guess. The most embellished.
So I just took the risk. [A pause.] Dunno. A while, I guess. Had to get through the dating game—and the bullshit after—before getting to Hua and Harrow.
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I've heard acting's a tough gig, but that's a little extreme. What came after the dating game? You and Yuri stuck together after that? If you were an actor I'm guessing everyone else had to be, too, somehow.
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We “won,” but they didn’t like our choice of getaway. The hotel. Thought it was boring. So they dropped the floor out from under us. We ran into an injured girl Yuri knew from home. When she sighs, apparently monsters are attracted to her.
Well, she sighed.
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they seem to just kind of. pause. and focus a little more when jason mentions monsters.]
What kind of monsters showed up? That means you had to fight, didn't you? What happened to the girl?
[they have a lot of questions sorry jason.]
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Never seen it before. Looked like a giant lizard. A dinosaur. I grabbed the girl so we could run. I didn’t think we’d be able to fight it. My arms were full and Yuri had, what? A pipe. The thing was at least fifteen feet tall or more.
We ran down the other side of the tunnel, but it was a dead end except for two doors. One to the hotel, one to a mansion where we could see Harrow and Hua Cheng. I didn’t know if it was a trap, so I gave the girl to Yuri and told him to go into the hotel door because the monster had injured his leg.
He followed me, though. The monster had been charging something, some kind of beam. It got us across the back as we ran in.
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they do not say this. instead, they continue to listen and try to suss out what the hell kind of monster this was.]
Why would he follow you? [like fair but COME ON.] So you got hit and burned with a laser beam from a dinosaur's mouth and were thrown back into a mansion where Harrow and Hua Cheng were. Is that what you're saying to me? On top of this injured girl, Yuri's leg, and your shark-bitten and drowned body.
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Yeah. That’s the first half of it. Then we got attacked by wraiths and hit by a car.
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they are. so exhausted.]
Okay. Sure. Why wouldn't that happen. [GOD!!!!!!] Was there like...a point to all of this, or did someone just really hate you guys and wanted to see how you'd do on your show?
[what is the connection, help.]
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Eh. [He sort of shrugs.] Beats me. [And then he takes one of the last few drags of the cigarette.] I think the gist of it was we were all entertainment for an audience of skeletons.
Harrow found a note that read like a list of a show's plot details for different seasons. Things that may be interesting to happen, blah blah. We figured we should do the opposite. The audience started leaving. Oh--the car.
A woman drove into the house and hit most of us with a car, then got out to berate us about how she pays us and we're ruining the show. I don't think she saw me because I rolled over the hood. So I tried to sneak into the car.
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