CYOA week 1: yoo joonghyuk, dimitri, emet-selch

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× 𝙼𝙸𝙳𝙽𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃 − 𝚆𝙴𝙻𝙲𝙾𝙼𝙴 𝚃𝙾 𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙾𝚂.

[decaptych]

0:00 AM
闇中問答 徘徊千夜
YOUR ANSWER LAY IN DARKNESS
THE THOUSAND NIGHT WANDERER

[ ...You wake up and it's dark. Wherever you are, it's pitch black. You hear the sound of dripping, but it's not water. The scent of rust and metal fills your nose, the stench of grease and rot suffocating your lungs. Take a step and you feel crunching glass under your feet, concrete dust crunching in agony under your soles...

You were awake just moments ago, you swear, but it feels like you're not. You can't seem to remember how you got here exactly. Speak aloud, and you'll be able to hear the others; however, you won't be able to interact with them physically.

Glance around you and see panes of glass, windows, spanning the hallways. Light flickers on the other side in shades of sickly yellow-green, illuminating things in short bursts, allowing you to see that wherever you are, it's decrepit and old, something black lining the corners and moulding that you don't want to look at too closely. In some kind of plain and narrow hallway, wooden boards nailed haphazardly to the walls.

One of you seems to be in a school.
One of you in a hospital.
The last of you in a warehouse.

Sometimes you see yourself in the reflection of the glass, and other times, you see the others who woke up here with you on the other side. You can speak and interact with them -- but with a flicker of light, even a blink, and they might be suddenly gone. Sometimes, you see something else -- a distorted vision that looks like you, but you can't quite put your finger on it. Its face is altered, somehow. Like somewhere deep in your heart, you don't want to acknowledge that that is you. An alteration or two is all it needs -- it's not you, you don't know that guy. . .

Despite everything, you feel alone.

Where are you...? ]

[malewife]

[ Joonghyuk finds himself in the hospital more for a note for me than for him, as he can’t discern exactly where he is just yet. The darkness and acrid tang in the air wouldn’t lead him to believe it’s a hospital in the first place. Are buildings still what they are if they’re broken down?

It’s unfortunate, but Joonghyuk doesn’t instinctively call out to see if anyone is there, even if he knows there has to be others.

Sorry, everyone who is here, you let me be first and by being first he unsheathes his sword and explores his area without waiting.

They might hear the sound of glass shattering cause he does not want to see “himself” here. ]

[overruns]

[ And so Dimitri ends up in the school, though it's so boarded over and dark that it can barely be recognized as one. His hand instantly shoots to his side towards a dagger's hilt, feet sliding against broken glass as he startles into a defensive stance.

But then he sees a flicker of movement, a reflection that shouldn't be there, blinking wide. ]

Joonghyuk...?

[ Except then the glass suddenly shatters, thanks. ]

[ktiseos]

[emet-selch finds himself at the warehouse, then, though he doesn't immediately pull his sword from his back. bright golden eyes narrow as he takes in his surroundings, frowning as he mutters-]

This again...

[...and then there's shattering glass, a voice calling out to another, and he glances to that flicker of dimitri's reflection before searching the hallway for him.

nothing. not a reflection of him from the same place, then. maybe a window?]

Where are you two?

[decaptych]

[ Joonghyuk really went and did that. While there are plenty of windows, enough that he isn't immediately plunged into total darkness (unless he goes about breaking every window), the area immediately surrounding him goes dark. Somehow, this amplifies the noise. The wet dripping, clatter of pebbles in the distance. A slow drag of something heavy and footsteps down the hall, and the sound of draining water. The hospital hallway is bare but dirty -- bloody bandages and needles litter the space.

The school is plastered with posters in Japanese writing, advertising every day things. Study Club! Lunch Club! A board covered in blood-red X's! An advertisement for the nearby club of the non-school, music variety! The list goes on. Dimitri can hear faint conversation, like gossip almost, but all doors he finds nearby seem to be blocked by wood, and the windows won't let him peer in. Dark and black, and if he tries to squint, he might get jumpscared.

Emet-Selch's warehouse hallway is equally as dark, but extra-powdery. The black stuff stains the soles of whatever shoes he's wearing, and doesn't seem to come off. It smears black, like soot. He finds shattered glass of vials all over the place, remnants of the similar black powder staining the area. ]

× 𝟸:𝟶𝟶 𝙰𝙼 − 𝚇𝚇𝚇 𝙸𝙽 𝙼𝙰𝙶𝙸𝙲-𝙻𝙰𝙽𝙳!

[decaptych]

2:00 AM
正常本能 毎週開花
INSTINCTS AT FULL OPERATIONS
POTENTIAL BLOSSOM ONE BY ONE

× 𝙲𝚁𝙾𝚂𝚂-𝙳𝚄𝙳𝙴 𝙴𝚇𝙿𝙴𝙳𝙸𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽 - 𝙴𝙼𝙴𝚃

[decaptych]

[ Emet-Selch walks out into this shabby town. Nearby, he can see a sign and it reads, very simply, 「BERITH」. He sees no sign of life, though it seems less because of abandonment, and more because... well, he sees it's very obvious that wherever this is, it is an outright shitty place to live. The houses are decrepit, walls full of holes, rats rummaging around eating whatever they can get their hands on... which, before his very eyes, he can see an uncomfortably large cockroach suddenly pounce and clutch onto the rat, eating it alive.

Hm. If there are people here, they certainly mind their own business, 100%.

There's a bus stop at the very end of the place, if he wants to try to just leave this place behind. On the horizon, he can see woods, and in the even farther distance, a bigger city. ]

[ktiseos]

[emet only no items final destination

he wrinkles his nose at how gross this place seems, giving the cockraoach a wide berth. noooo thank you! nope!

on inspecting the town, does it appear it might have either a school or a hospital? he notes the location of the bus stop, but he lingers around the town first to ensure he's not about to just wander the fuck off from wherever his companions may have ended up.]

[decaptych]

[ The town itself seems to lack a school, and also lack a hospital. It is quite scattered and far away from larger city luxuries. If there is some kind of form of hospital somewhere around here, it's likely to be an in-house, Just Trust The Man type of thing. Berith has an onsen though. Does Emet-Selch just want to hang around taking a bath? I cannot stop this from happening.

He sees no hide nor hair of what could be Joonghyuk nor Dimitri. The windows here are dark and reflect things or are transparent in a more normal fashion, though he might see brief eyes watching him if he glances towards one. It disappears fast enough. ]

[ktiseos]

[hmm.

well. there seems to be nothing standing out here, so he's going to head back over to the bus stop! it's sufficiently creepy here for him to have decided he's done with the place, and he ought to attempt to reconnect with them. likely best to try to make it to the larger city.]

× 𝙱𝙻𝚄𝙴 𝙽𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃 𝙻𝙰𝙽𝙳 - 𝙳𝙸𝙼𝙸𝚃𝚁𝙸

[decaptych]

[ Dimitri makes his way out into the festival! Posters line the wall to an almost obnoxious degree, all emphasizing the importance of this event. The smell of festival food wafts on the air, perfectly and normally delectable.

He can even hear music playing!

He seems to be on the outskirts of the big special event, seeing faceless people roam about. Still a little creepy, but probably miles better than whatever he just went through minutes ago. What does he want to do first? ]

[overruns]

[ Compared to a blood-stained school where he nearly got strangled by a corpse? This is less of an immediate threat, yes. He's been mauled on these adventures enough times that he's still on-guard, but... ]

What on earth?

[ What is happening. To go from eerie emptiness to such a lively atmosphere is a bit of a shock. He walks in a little further in to question some festival-goers. ]

Pardon me, but... [ the fuck? ] What are all these festivities for?

[decaptych]

[ Some weird, masked person turns to look at Dimitri. ]

"Huh? The hell you mean 'what are all these for' -- it's the damned Blue Night, kiddo! You too young for this? Homeschooled? They never taught you this shit? Go back and go home if you don't even have an idea, jeez..."

[ Okay, rude. ]

[overruns]

[ dimitri in previous mgs: it's nice that people treat me like a normal person :)
dimitri in crau2: if i get called a child one more time :)

He takes a deep breath. ]

Yes. All right. Have a nice night.

[ OKAY. HE LOOKS AROUND... can the posters give him some context on what this Blue Night is? Or are there entertainers? ]

× 𝚂𝚆𝙴𝙴𝚃 𝙷𝙾𝙼𝙴 - 𝙹𝙾𝙾𝙽𝙶𝙷𝚈𝚄𝙺

[decaptych]

[ Why is Hei doing this to me. Anyway Joonghyuk will get out of the hospital, and find himself on the streets of the grimdark city he saw earlier. The lights are flickering low around the hospital building itself, but like he saw from above, the rest of the city seems awfully dark. He hears rolling thunder, moisture thick in the air.

The street with the lamps is still there. Or he can ratshake his meatbag like it's a godawful 8-ball if he wishes. ]

[malewife]

[ I’m PST so I can shitpost for a bit longer at this time of night.

Opens the bag and tosses meat bag’s ass out. ]

[decaptych]

[ Meatbag tumbles out of his home. Joonghyuk will realise it is some weird old man in a bag, just normal things. But probably the worse and way more concerning part is the fact that he is chonked!!!!!!!. Seriously, the dude is literally vivisected into pieces and based on how much gusto he's been swearing out YJH, is perfectly alive despite it. There is a flurry of curses and screaming as he's dumped out unceremoniously onto the ground, clearly in massive pain.

WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR?! PIECE OF FUCKIN' -- SHIT! FUCK! I'M SERIOUSLY NOT TELLING YOU SHIT, FUCK!!!

Very wise words, such riveting conversation. ]

× 𝟺:𝟶𝟶 𝙰𝙼 − 𝙳𝙴𝙿𝙰𝚁𝚃𝙼𝙴𝙽𝚃 𝚂𝚃𝙾𝚁𝙴.

[decaptych]

4:00 AM
再生明快 邁進渋滞
LUCID REPLAY GO ONWARD
THROUGH THE MENTAL JAM

[ Time continues to pass. You come by the witching hour.

The doors will lead you into the inside of a strange... well, it's some kind of building. The flyers on the walls suggest you're in a place called the "CENTRAL DEPARTMENT STORE", but it seems unnaturally large, even for being one. All the stores and stalls are abandoned and empty, and you hear a low droning noise that never stops. That, and the sound of splashing water. It's structured something like this, aka you're on the sides with a huuuuge opening down the middle that leads into nothing but pitch blackness. You can see no ceiling above.

There is no light at all, but you can make things out in here just enough, which has to be better than nothing. It does, however, come with the unfortunate caveat that out of the corner of your eyes, you keep seeing flickers of... something.

...Someone? ]

[malewife]

[ Does he still have a headache? He glances at his surroundings, finding this all confusing, and yet not too weird. The droning noise is annoying yet the water splashes put him on edge.

He scouts and moves forward, wondering if he should call out Dimitri and Emet’s name… He’s less inclined, with how it’s dark and he seems to keep seeing someone or something at the corner of his eye.

The haunting is getting on his nerves. ]

If someone is here, show yourself.

[ eat his ass, ghosts!! ]

[overruns]

[ As much as the devil and the door unnerved him, at least they have a chance to get out from the Blue Night 'celebrations.'

Maybe now they can find— ]

...Joonghyuk!?

[ Ghosts can wait for a second as he trots over for a reunion. ]

[ktiseos]

There you a-- ugh.

[he sways slightly, as they enter this area, immediately leaning against the wall with a hand to his head. COOL. IT'S WORSE HERE.

dimitri gets to experience the stronger headache and nausea too, congratulations to him.]

...there was-- a weather report, earlier, mentioning a store. Mayhap this is the place.

[he manages, through the lightheadedness.]

× 𝟼:𝟶𝟶 𝙰𝙼 − 𝙷𝙴𝙰𝚁𝚃 𝙾𝙵 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙷𝙾𝙻𝙴.

[decaptych]

6:00 AM
混乱混同錯乱混迷混雑混沌
T HE ANSWER LIES IN CHAOS。

[ Something rises from the hole -- the sacrifices have been made, and your nightmare comes to its worst conclusion. The Lake of Refuse bubbles violently as the body, the core of your nightmares falls backwards and into the whirlpool, being swallowed by by the waves.

The silence is echoing yet brief, and rain falls, weighing heavy the weight.

And then the entire building begins to shake, and the Lake of Refuse begins to regurgitate, waters spraying out violently -- any drops that land on you burn, which gets hard to evade as something comes crawling out of it, leaving nothing behind.

Everything glitches, distorts. It is part outer god, its true form.
The skies turn red, rain hot like fire, burning like bottomless rage.
Black chains wind its limbs, masks of the Ancients working to bind it to the center of the star ere the earth cracks and shakes.

The entity that crawls forth is one of pure hatred and malice, the favours returned, snarling as it 'guards' the cross-eyed hole, your escape, clawed hands taking a swing directly at Joonghyuk and Dimitri, first. ]

[malewife]

Where are you going—[ How could the figure in white just LEAVE? But now this thing... The hole is birthing something heinous, disgusting, and Joonghyuk forces himself to keep his gaze locked on it. When some of the water or sludge lands on him, he grits his teeth and suffers the burn. It's better to keep his coat on despite the sear.

The clawed hand comes with a 13 which he can't dodge it completely. He's quick to use his sword to parry any claws hand coming his way, hoping to knock it away and take steps back. Somehow, during this turn, he asks but doesn't expect an answer: ]

What is that?

[overruns]

You—come back!

[ He's running in after his stupid, other self, but of course he doesn't make it before the figure falls backwards into the water. And that only means he has to quickly guard his face from the scalding waters that gush up, splashing against them.

In that distracted moment, since i rolled an 8 to continue failing all these combat checks, Dimitri is basically knocked back completely by a flailing claw. Good luck guys. ]

[ktiseos]

What are you two-?

[-doing, he means to ask, but it's very clear that they're attacking.

what comes next, though... this monster is unexpected, and his expressions twists on noticing the masks of his people incorporated into its form. parts of his form, though they're-- surprisingly inert.

the rest is troubling enough. he hisses as he gets splashed by those waters, but since he isn't immediately being targeted-- emet-selch takes the opportunity to uncap that ? vial, hurriedly, just popping the top off with his teeth on account of his one good arm.]

This had better help.