guestservices | CYOA Week 6: Lup, Shinobu, Yoo Joonghyuk

If I remember correctly, Dimitri was a lion.

[ Joonghyuk is willing to be mean, really, granted he’d never want that for the dead man. It’s the last thing he’d want.

He’ll check out the open book anyway, but peers at the jars as he goes over to hover at a safe distance?? ]

[first thing's first. the door closes behind them once they're in the room. but at least that means there's plenty of time for them to look around! the stained glass ceiling above them offers enough light from the galaxy outside to shine around the room so they can explore. shinobu is almost too short for some of the shelves, but on others she's able to read the spines and see that some of them are, in fact, books on magecraft. there are some books on magical theory, spellcasting, etc.

yjh peers at the jars. they glow a soft green in color, labeled with one to three stars. there are some unlabeled jars that glow blue as well.

inside the book there appears to be a diagram of several rings, and text that is unidentifiable. it's written in a language that they cannot understand, but there are arrows and shorthand around the rings themselves.

the chalkboard itself has a message:]

Their hurting will be mended, when you return to end it.

[the lights dim down, and soon all three of them will hear a voice speak up. there isn't anyone in the room, but they will hear it inside their head.]

"So much to do, so little time. But power sleeps within you. Will your power be your triumph, or your downfall? If you give it form...it will give you strength. Choose well."

[three items materialize on the desk then. a sword, a staff, and a coin. if they look at the book again, they will see that the writing has changed.]

The power of the warrior. Invincible courage.
The power of the mystic. Inner strength.
The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends.

Which power will you seek, and which will you exchange?

[choose wisely. or do something else, i don't know you guys.]

[she nearly kicks the chalkboard over when the voice happens in her head. she doesn't, but she almost does. she stares at the words on there for a second, and then sighs heavily and looks over at the desk.]

See? What'd I tell you. Wizards.

[a pause.]

Dibs on the staff.

[ she is about to turn around and be snippy at yjh when the voice sounds in their heads. she stills. she doesn't like that. she doesn't want people in her head. ]

Wizards....

[ she glances at the chalkboard before she sees the new items. she wants to be contrary, but... ]

We'll have to choose one to move on, won't we? I'll take the coin.

[ First, he heavily dislikes the voices in the head thing going on and he visibly tenses, eyebrows furrowed and glare dark.

Damn. I thought she would take the sword to be mean to Joonghyuk which is valid. He also thought that, too.

Anyway, he doesn’t say anything and chooses the sword. ]

Why are they dramatic.

[cool.

they can't take any of the items until they say what they're giving up though. the items do seem to respond to them though, the choices locked in for them. they will not know what they've selected until a power is exchanged, however.

which of the three would you do away with?]

If you could shoot fire out of your hands, wouldn't you be dramatic?

[she says idly, staring down at this staff. hm.]

Uh... I guess I'll exchange courage. The sword. Whatever. [she says, reluctantly.] My strength stat sucks anyway.

[ she looks at yoo joonghyuk because he says that as if he's not one of the most dramatic bitches alive. ridiculous.

she can rise above being petty every now and then. maybe. she looks at the choices left. ]

There's nothing wrong with being dramatic. [ up to a certain point. ]

I'll exchange the staff. [ because she thinks her inner strength is fine as it is and her whole life has been wanting a better strength stat. ]

Being less dramatic can save us from invasive voices in our heads.

[ Fire is acceptable and it just ends up being flashy which he agrees comes with the package. Some things can’t be helped.

Also, he gives himself a permit for everything. ]

I’ll exchange the coin.

[ everyone in this room knows he’s a bitch already it’s fine to possibly become worse ]

[congratulations everybody!

so here's what we've got:

lup has chosen the way of the mage. she will have a staff and she can generate magic. she will be able to do an array of lowgrade spells, but after a few casts of magic (five or so), she will need to rest to recharge and regain her strength.

shinobu has chosen the way of the guardian. she will be able to help defend the party, raise their strength on occasion, and boost the luck of the group in critical moments.

yoo joonghyuk has chosen the way of the warrior. his sword can transform into a blade he's more familiar with if he'd like. he will be able to wield the sword a little more easily than usual and will have an easier time in combat without getting as winded as he normally would.

likewise, lup has given up extra strength, shinobu has given up being able to use any form of magic easily, and yjh has taken on the chance of bad luck and leaving himself open with less defense.

the voice returns to their head.]

"Your path has been set. You have chosen what is most important to you, and what you will cast aside. Was it an easy choice? You have many other choices to make on your journey."

[stars light up above them, little constellations that begin to form faces, shapes, and expressions. it's hard to make out at first, but soon the three of them will recognize several guests from the hotel. kaeya. dimitri. rupert. clementine. claude. emet. all of them are there, watching over them patiently.]

"You have been given a responsibility to fulfill. But you must choose your path to pave the way back. Will you do it? All you have to do is close your eyes."

[but don't worry. the disembodied voice will wait for whatever you want to do. whenever you're ready.]

[oh you bet your ass she's not gonna like having to recharge. lup "taz has no spellslots" lastname over here.

she makes the worst face at having to make choices. no. she doesn't want to. but - the constellations shift and change, and she glances up at them, immediately frowning. oh. no, that's unfair. for a second, she holds the staff to her chest, just watching the faces, and then she sighs out slow.]

Yeah, sure. Not uh, not like we have much choice, right? So I guess - see you guys on the other side.

[and she does. she closes her eyes.]

[ her voice is soft, grows softer as she sees the dead form in the stars. ]

It doesn't seem like it. See you on the other side.

[ her happiness lies in other people living, but shinobu would be nothing if she couldn't carry the dead with her.

she doesn't hesitate to close her eyes. ]

[ If they disappeared, then great they don’t need to sense the homicidal urges rising in Joonghyuk. He hates this… And likewise thinks it’s unfair, underhanded, to use the dead to coax them forward. How long are all of them going to be puppets for entertainment?

Sheer defiance can fuel his desire to resist and it threatens to, but the chance that this could pave a way for the dead’s return has him closing his eyes tightly. ]

[as the three of them close their eyes, the stars above disappear and they find themselves floating in liminal space. the galaxy swirls around them, and they can move freely as if gravity isn't weighing them down. they have their items, and they feel the power coursing through them.

ahead of them, there are three brightly colored rings. one is red, one is purple, and one is white.

it's difficult to see what might lie ahead in these rings, but if they swim close enough to look they'll see what appears to be a university campus through the red ring. the purple ring gives off a vision of a large manor of some kind in a quiet village. the white ring is filled with lights and sounds of a bustling city.

nothing else appears to be around them besides the three rings. they will have to make a choice which to venture through first. the longer they linger, the more the rings pulse invitingly.]

[oh. wild. this isn't like... the first time she's been in space, so she's not completely disoriented. maybe she is a bit dizzy from floating, though.

she does pause, staring at the rings. hmmm.]

... Still sticking together, or splitting up? [she asks, holding her staff tightly.] Could uh, could do one for each, if we're really curious about what we're gonna find in these things.

[ it's very disorienting for shinobu, who has never been in space. it takes a little longer than she'd like to gather her bearings without gravity.

she tests moving around a bit before looking at the rings. if she lets go of her coin, will it float in front of her or will it disappear? ]

It may be better to stick together.

[ there is safety in numbers. ]

[ He's quick to adjust, though he has never been in space-space (yet). It isn't the strangest things and he floats over to look into the rings. ]

We all gave up different assets, so it would be best to go together as a team. We can cover each other's weaknesses that way.

[ Joonghyuk has noticed he doesn't feel much more of an asshole after his choice, so he is extremely paranoid about how this trip could ruin him. ]

I would recommend the purple ring, which should be the least disorienting.

[ shinobu... not modern... lup is fantasy... but also sci-fi? i don't know. we don't need to go with this choice, he is just throwing it out there. i hope he's wrong and it's fucking weird by all of their standards. ]

[lup is an enigma with time periods it's. fine.

she shrugs a little.] Fine with me. Whatever happens is going to suck. Purple it is?

[she'll start to float towards it.]

[ it's not her fault she's from the taisho era.

she agrees with lup. it's likely going to suck. they can be paranoid together. ]

Purple, it is.

[ she swims towards it. ]

[ He will make sure the both of them go through the ring first before he enters, just in case something might sneak up on them from behind. Can't catch them, gay and heterosexual thoughts.

Into the purple ring! ]

[into the purple ring they go! also to answer your question, if you let go of your items yeah they float. you just shouldn't let them stray too far.

as the three of them swim into the purple ring, they're soon blinded by an array of neon lights. it's whites and purples and silvers, pulsing around them as they begin to fall. the ring closes behind them as they dive downward, gravity still escaping them and their movements fluid. other smaller rings appear in the area that they may attempt to dive through, wind rushing past them as they go. at the very bottom, a far way down, they see the mansion and a forest-y area with trees around and dirt paths.

however, as they go, they will soon find themselves swarmed by black butterflies. they're large in size, about two feet, wings flapping angrily as they begin to flank the party and deter them from their path. as they soar, little cuts will appear on the party if the butterflies get too close.

they are still falling...and the butterflies give chase all the way down.]

[whistles blinding lights as they make their way down...

lup squawks, when the butterflies start swarming? they're huge. she's trying to keep track of flying, so she's a little off-balance, but the second the butterflies start trying to cut at them, she whacks out her staff to knock one or two away from her. lup, you are a wizard. use your spells.]

Hey, fuck off.

[ blinding lights are bad because shinobu likes to see?

she frowns when the butterflies start to swarm them and cuts begin to happen. ]

I see we can't even try to get along.

[ she is going to kick at the butterflies. she wishes she chose the sword now. ]

[ Joonghyuk had to squint so his eyes didn't get completely sniped by the lights, but now they're fighting butterflies. Rather than caring about the cuts, he's like ??? about them falling? They're going to land on what exactly?

Are the rings going to help? Videogames tell him rings are a good idea to pass through, so he focuses on the butterflies. Two feet is not large enough to see if they can hop onto them and use them as gliders, so he swings his sword to keep them away, at least from the rear. ]

Use your spells!

[i'm yjh wondering where tf you're landing. the three of them continue to fall, and lup is able to wopple some of the butterflies. that's probably not the smartest idea seeing how they immediately begin to swarm her again. shinobu is able to kick some of them away, sending them spinning and smashing into some of the solid lit rings as they fall.

yjh's sword cuts through a butterfly and it dissipates into black stardust, disappearing into the void as clusters of stars swarm and are absorbed into his body. a counter appears before all of them.

50/400

[maybe the rings will help? but they won't know until they try to pass through them. as they continue to fall, pieces of debris appear. flower blooms burst in their faces, windowpanes and old stone lanterns rush to meet them. they will have to dodge or break them to get through as the butterflies swoop in further.]

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PART ONE.

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