CYOA week 5: cloud, sebastian, bradley, jason

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[To the west!

There is an open hot springs, with steaming hot water. Thankfully, no one else is around to see Jason and Bradley be weird as fuck.]

Gasp with a capital G! That looks like it'll warm me up. PUT! ME! IN!

[Ben, however, immediately yells:]

But take me out first!

[Unlike this snowman, he doesn't have a death wish?]

[unrecked]

[There really is a hot springs just out here, wow. How did they not know about this? They would have come here more often maybe.

He shifts his hold to try to take more of the snowman from Bradley.] Grab Ben before he has a conniption fit about being a boiled duck. [He can hold the snowman long enough probably.]

Alright. You sure about this, buddy? I'm warning you, it's hot.

[battling]

[They should've come over here and not done as many crimes as they have under their belts already.

Bradley takes Ben out of the hole.]

No comin' back from this one.

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[Thanks for taking Ben out of the hole. He looks relieved, his spirit hovering slightly above Bradley as though giving him an incorporeal hug from behind.

Meanwhile, this snowman is SO ready.]

I'm completely, absolutely, positively super duper sure! GIVE ME THAT SWEET HEAT.

[unrecked]

[...]

Okay...

[This fucking snowman, but OKAY. He will carry the snowman over to the edge of the hot springs and--well, it feels rude to toss the snowman in, so he sets the snowman down in the water near the edge.

This binch is going to melt...?]

[battling]

[This is SO embarrassing, Ben. At least nobody but Jason is around to see this.

Guess they'll see if this guy melts like a normal snowman or if being a spirit snowman will save him from a gruesome(?) fate.]

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[The snowman lets out a sigh of pleasure.]

Ooh, that's the good stuff. Sweet heat...

...

Wait, no, I'm still feeling cold. Why? Is it not enough? ARE YOU SURE YOU PUT ME IN THE WATER?

[








For the record, the snowman is absolutely beginning to melt.]

[unrecked]

[........

A bit mortified, actually, he sort of exchanges a quick glance with Ben and Bradley. Like HELLO??? but with just his eyes and facial expression.

He looks back at the snowman.]

No... You're... definitely in there. You sure...?

[battling]

[Buddy, we're not taking this snowman out of the hot springs. There's probably something messed up that'll happen if they get separated from its melted body.]

We're watching you melt.

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Hmm... but I still feel cold inside. Brrrrrr. Why? WHY?

[He continues to melt further.

Meanwhile, Ben looks like he's starting to fret. Fine, Bradley, he'll let go now, instead shooting Jason a worried glance back.]

I don't think this is working. Maybe we... or you two, I guess—should take him back out? And just... repack his body with more snow...

[do you want to build a snowman...........]

[unrecked]

Alright, big guy. This isn't working. You're going to have to get out.

[He is going to go get the sad, melty bastard out of the hot springs. He cannot believe this.] Bradley, grab some snow, yeah? [This snowman idiot.]

I don't think what you're looking to warm up is going to get warm this way. Warming the outside isn't going to warm the inside. Why is your inside so cold anyway? Where'd the hole come from?

[battling]

[This dumb snowman, smh. Alright, fine. He'll go get some snow so this snowman doesn't become a sad puddle on the ground. Even normally he wouldn't just let some guy die in front of his eyes like this.

Ugh. Why'd he have to be called out?]

Maybe they're missin' a piece of themselves. Metaphorically, or whatever.

[He's rolling up some snow and coming back.]

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[This snowman is now just a sad head + a half-melted base. Help.]

Oh, the hole is normally. Probably! Doesn't everyone have a holey-woley or two somewhere on the body?

But it feels like something's coming back to me, so I think that helped. Maybe... I just need to go somewhere even HOTTER. Do you have any volcanoes around here? I think you should put me in lava.

[Where he's floating around by the clock, Ben is making a frantic X gesture with his arms, in case it wasn't obvious that idea is, um. Also, there are probably no volcanoes around.]

[unrecked]

[He opens his mouth, then notices Ben Xing him from across the way. He hesitates in his answer for a second, trying to think of how to clearly agree with this but break it to the snowman gently?]

I don't think we're going to find any lava around these parts, buddy. How about I just give you a hug instead, or something?

[This snowman needs some Prozac, but Jason is AU'd and I don't think he can make this joke. He will put this head and half a body onto the ball Bradley brings back so they can work on shaping him again.]

[battling]

[It's a pretty decent amount of snow, but Bradley looks incredibly skeptical about hugging this snowman to make it feel better.

Probably better than dunking them into a volcano. Where would they even find one around here?]

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[If Bradley won't give the snowman a hug, Ben will attempt it, except this does nothing because he's incorporeal.

The snowman muses as they put him back together.]

A hug... a huggie-wuggie... It's coming back to me! I... I was orphan, I think. I aged out of the foster care system, and I never could figure out to form connections with other people...

Is that why I feel cold? No, I feel like I got used to that... so why am I cold? There's something else I need to remember. Brrrrrr....

[unrecked]

[Wow, he does not what to hear this story as himself or his AU self. When things hit too close to home. His lips thin, but he doesn't stop trying to build the snow back up neatly because it gives him something to do.]

I'm thinking you might really need that hug actually.

[He glances at Ben and Bradley for a second.]

Well, aging out of foster isn't a great way to get out, but you got out. Then what'd you do? Living on your own isn't easy.

[battling]

[He watched his dad die (probably in this AU) and get eaten in front of him (probably not in this AU). Bradley is not the correct person to ask.

He's filling in the snowman, but he really doesn't have much to add to this discussion.]

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[The snowman sounds distressed.]

I don't know... I was alone, I remember. I didn't have anyone with me... I don't think I did? Brrrrr... why am I so cold? I feel like... there's a warmth I'm missing.

[Ben looks thoughtful, as he listens. Softly,]

No one wants to be alone, huh?

[It's beginning to snow again, falling lightly. Ben floats above Jason and holds up his robe as an umbrella, which continues to do nothing. He mutters,]

Hope that cat isn't freezing out there.

[Careful not to get sick out here!]

[unrecked]

[Yikes. When he pats some snow onto the snowman, it's kind of a reassuring pappap more than a packing of snow.

Quietly, to Ben:] We can leave some food out. [Thanks for the assist, even if it does nothing.]

Being alone probably didn't help, right? You didn't make any friends? You had to run into some other people, didn't you?

[battling]

[ Stray cats die all the time on the streets. If it's smart, it should know a good place to hide away from the snow and chill. ]

Wanna head back? [ They can carry the snowman back home and hang out under a real umbrella. ]

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I did... but I didn't know how to connect to them.

[Glad Jason is trying to give this snowman some counselling.]

Let's go find somewhere else. Maybe there's somewhere HOTTER I can warm up in!

[Time to pick up this snowman again and hope you don't run into anyone on the way.]

[unrecked]

[Saranzanmai..........]

You really think getting hotter is going to make you not cold on the inside? Sheesh.

[Why does this sound so ominous?] Carry Ben. I'll try to get the big guy. [So Ben won't be in the cold chute again. He'll see if he can lift this weird ass snowman so they can go somewhere else.]

Where to?

[battling]

[ Ben gets to be safely carried in Bradley's arms. Good for him. ]

Home?

[ I'm assuming they walked here, Jan. ]

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[You did in fact walk here! But yay, getting carried by Bradley. Jason may carry this weird ass snowman.]

TO THE VOLCANO.

[Do not go to the nonexistent volcano.

Anyway, as Jason and Bradley walk back across the field, Ben hovering alongside them, the cat comes running up to them again. It starts pawing against Jason's legs.]