Week 5 CYOA: Estelle, Diluc, and Sylvain

[guestservices]

Comments

[evocationary]

[as you sort of acclimate to the situation, you find you kind of know a little about what's happened to you. you died. you did do that. but that feels... familiar. maybe uncomfortably so. you know that like this, you can't really die again, and you shouldn't be able to take damage. as far as you know. you also know that you can possess things, and that you can walk through walls, if you want.

and as you're pondering this, you get this weird sense that something is watching you.

all three of you are on the base floor of the stations! the doors lead to the sleep bay, the kitchen, the rec room, the music room, simulations, the conference room, and the common room. the elevator also seems to be working.

estelle, though - you experience something a little different. for a second, you are not on the base floor, but somewhere else. it is small, and cold, and claustrophobic. the walls are covered in black velvet curtains, and you hate it here. you can't see, you can't hear, you can't feel - it's just you, and your thoughts, and you don't know how long you've been here but it's been a long time, it must've. every minute feels like a year, and just when you think your mind is going to break from the strain --

you're in the station again. everything is fine.

diluc and sylvain do not experience this, and to them, estelle seems fine, if see-through.]

[philandery]

[ well. this is less than ideal, but sylvain supposes being ghostlike has the perks of invincibility. maybe.

(...this sounds like something someone told him about before, but the more he tries to reach for the memory, the more static it generates.) ]

Should we look for a way back to the hotel...?

[ does a part of this station lead back to the revolving doors...? ]

And is it just me, or do you get the feeling we're being watched?

[mustbepurged]

[Estelle doesn't appear to hear Sylvain's words.

To the others, her body appears to suddenly go rigid, her eyes wide with terror. She looks shocked at her surroundings -- how long has it been since she was here? Diluc and Sylvain... how long did they wait for her?]

Wh... where was I just...

[shinetrue]

I know what you mean, it does feel as though we aren't the only ones here.

[ he's really hoping this means they can't die again, and knowing they can possess things and just phase through walls, that's pretty neat.

it's when he's looking at the elevator, that he hears estelle speak up, he turns to her, immediate concern. ]

Estelle, are you alright? You look like you've just seen something unpleasant.

[ he'll try to touch her shoulder, but i imagine his hand will just phase right through her. ]

[evocationary]

[yeah, his hand goes right through her. oopsies.

oh, and there's no doors that lead to the hotel. it seems like they're... actually on the station, maybe.

there's some rattling above them in the walls. it's probably fine.]

[philandery]

Estelle...?

[ sylvain's attention is diverted by the noises coming from within the walls overhead. that's not ominous at all! he looks up, trying to figure out the source of the sound. ]

[mustbepurged]

[She's disoriented, and seeing Diluc's hand pass right through her just sends another wave of confusion through her. She starts to regain her bearings, though, as her awareness of their surroundings starts to sink in.]

I... I was somewhere else. Some horrible, lonely place... it was familiar, too.

... Did we just get here?

[shinetrue]

Familiar...?

[ he frowns at that. hateful. ]

This place will try to trick your mind...You've been with us this whole time, since we woke up here. And it hasn't been very long since we did.

[ oh those noises sure are spooky! he looks over to sylvain, then up at the wall. ]

Are those noises coming from within the walls?

[evocationary]

[more rattling... it's starting to move away from them, actually. up.]

[philandery]

[ oh no... is estelle seeing things...? and should they follow this creature? can they follow it? he'll try to either move his ghost body through the wall too, or idk. take the elevator. ]

Diluc, you stay with Estelle. I'm gonna try and scout ahead.

[ or they can all come with, because splitting up is never a good idea... (he wants to follow and see if they can get any answers from whatever it is.) ]

[mustbepurged]

[She nods at Diluc's words, accepting them as truth despite what she just experienced. And now she finally turns her attention to what the others have already noticed: something above them. An animal, perhaps?]

No, wait... I'll come, too.

[Sylvain can take the lead, but Estelle will follow at a more cautious pace, looking upward as she does. Where does this thing seem to be going...?]

[shinetrue]

[ he is also following after sylvain. ]

I think it best, that we stay together.

[ can they float higher in their ghost forms? diluc will call the elevator just in case. ]

[evocationary]

[diluc can call the elevator! it chugs down to them.

while they do seem like they can go through walls, they can't quite fly. they can float across the ground or walk on it, but moving up through the ceiling doesn't seem to work. too much gravity.

however - the sound does seem like it's going up and up and up. to the top of the space tower they're in. it seems to be the only thing that's really interesting around here, for now.]

[philandery]

[ an elevator ride to the top it is... sylvain will position himself to take point, though he does realize it... probably doesn't matter... given they're all ghosts right now. ]

Keep your eyes peeled.

[ he waits for the doors to open again, and will cautiously step out to search once they do... ]

[mustbepurged]

[Estelle steps into the elevator, too.]

I suppose the only way to go is up...

[At least they seem to be able to operate it? Up we go.]

[shinetrue]

[ they’re all on the elevator! no splitting up, not right now…

are they going to have to stop at each floor or is it assumed they're just going to the very top?? unless it’s going to stop when it wants…help.

well when it does, diluc will poke his head out first, then follow the others out. keeping his eyes and ears peeled for whatever was making those noises!!! ]

Stay close.

[evocationary]

[the elevator seems to have a mind of its own.

it goes up, and up, and up. floor after floor. until it's at the very top - and they step out. the scratchy noises in the walls have stopped for now, but they do find they're in a similarly circle room. there are eight doors - they can see the the names on each.

directly in front of them is Envy. And then Pride, Sloth, Despair, Wrath, Greed, Gluttony, and finally, Lust.

what will they do?]

[philandery]

...Probably has something to do with our charges, right? If I'm remembering correctly, we share some, but not all.

[ they overlap in envy, pride, and despair...]

And we each have one unique to us.

[ lust, sloth, and wrath... ]

I wonder if the other two will budge at all... What do you think?

[mustbepurged]

So we should try going into the rooms that correspond with our "sins"...?

I hope they'll let us go in together...

[Splitting up seems kind of scary, especially after what Estelle just experienced. That feelings of being trapped and alone...]

... Which one should we try first?

[shinetrue]

I think you’re both correct.

[ he also thinks splitting up is bad, so if they can avoid it, great.

diluc looks at the door directly in front of them. envy. ]

We can start with Envy. It’s also one of our overlapping sins, the one you two share.

[ he looks to sylvain and estelle, before reaching to open the door. here we go?? ]

[evocationary]

[you choose the envy door.

it opens easily enough! the room is... dark, inside. and there doesn't seem to be anything in it, weirdly enough? you'd think there would be a bed or something, but it's just... a hallway. a long, cluttered hallway with bottles strewn up and down the carpet.

as you all step in - the door slams behind you. seems like you've made your choice.]

[philandery]

[ looks like they get to stay together after all...

it's just a hallway...? sylvain kneels down to inspect the bottles on the carpet. what's inside them? are they labelled?

he'll proceed slowly and cautiously towards the end of the hall. (he'll also look around for any other light sources best he can in the dark—are there any switches on the walls?) ]

Careful where you step...

[mustbepurged]

[Estelle whirls around to see that door slam closed.

Well... there's no way to go but forward. She stays close to the others, giving a curious look at the bottles but trying to proceed without stalling too much.]

[shinetrue]

[ operation: keep estelle safe. which is to say, diluc is going to make sure she’s between the two of them, as they move forward.

also throwing a curious look at the bottles, and feeling along the wall for any kind of switch or really anything that might be there. ]

Hm…

[evocationary]

[there's one switch! sylvain and diluc find it about at the same time, and they touch hands... o-oh.

no, anyway. they flick the light on! and a light turns on at the end of the hallway flicks on.

estelle accidentally kicks a bottle, and it clinks and clatters against the ground in the unnaturally silent hall. a beat of silence.

... nothing. it's very, very quiet here.]