[LP CYOA] Spiral

[Baltika9]

Well, we're kinda tired after our little scrap with the ghost, so might as well get some shut eye in. Their screams of fear and agony will wake us up and give us plenty of time to prepare.

More seriously, though, Adachi is a very ornery person, so I doubt we could enunciate our points well without (intentionally or not) insulting our audience, while the office lady seems to be very persuasive for some reason (Mind control spells? Cleavage?). I expect B to go something like this: we sit in our paper cage, the witch will try to spin some more bullshit or shame us into giving up the book, then the ghost shows up, everyone starts panicking, Uehara says 'fuck this' and breaks our barrier since we're the only one here worth a damn against the nurse. Then the two groups split up.

 

[treave]

She only needs to promise Murano and Kozaka a cure to sway them completely to her side. Desperate people are easiest to manipulate.

Which is what I can't wrap my mind about this whole situation. Kayano is powerless to help them and can't take the book from us since we have it hidden. She is essentially nobody, we are their leader who has demonstrated some extraordinary abilities, and the only other known spellcaster is on our side. They have little to achieve by following her and a lot to lose by losing our favor. The only thing we need is for that realization to settle in.

They want to get the book to grant themselves the power to survive the dangers of this place - they are as good as dead without it, - yet they depend completely on our goodwill to obtain it. "Give us the book or you are not leaving the barrier!" I'm sorry, if I were the spirit, why would I care about leaving the barrier? And if I am a person - and you are counting on it by making an ultimatum that only a flesh and blood person would care about - aren't you digging your own graves by antagonizing me and splitting the group under a false pretence?

We have such a huge leverage to use, so many doubts and uncertainties to place in their little panicked heads, and we are taking a nap instead.

Are you certain that's what she told them?

 

[Nevill]

More seriously, though, Adachi is a very ornery person, so I doubt we could enunciate our points well without (intentionally or not) insulting our audience

They are acting like morons and deserve being called on it.

while the office lady seems to be very persuasive for some reason (Mind control spells? Cleavage?)

With hotness 5? What a bunch of losers. We would never settle for anything below 8.

Then the two groups split up.

It would be nice of us to announce that anyone who wants to live is free to follow us on a condition to stick to our orders.

Are you certain that's what she told them?

No. But I guess we might as well ask them. It would not make a difference if we are a spirit, right?

 

[Baltika9]

But we're not a nice person.

They are acting like morons and deserve being called on it.

Exactly what Adachi would do, which is my point. True or not, this isn't the diplomatic approach and would probably upset some people.

 

[Nevill]

But we're not a nice person.

We are nice to lolis and hot girls. It's all that matters.

True or not, this isn't the diplomatic approach and would probably upset some people.

I care very little for Kayano diplomacy. Truth is, they are stranded in a place they do not understand with adversaries who are beyond their abilities, and they have no tools to fight back.

They have trapped us because they are afraid we would kill them or something, but as things are now, they might as well hang themselves before the spirits get to them.

They also can see for themselves that we didn't kill Amanozaki, Uehara or Sakimura yet, so at least we are not an immediate threat out for their blood. It is a risk to trust us, but what are their alternatives?

I have no idea what Kayano could have told them to override their ability to make basic logical assumptions.

 

[treave]

No. But I guess we might as well ask them. It would not make a difference if we are a spirit, right?

Do you want to ask them after you break out, or while you're waiting peacefully?

Exactly what Adachi would do, which is my point.

You guys should have built him up as the CHA 10 master manipulator who gets into people's heads and leverages their weaknesses like a dog with an open jar of extra chunky peanut butter instead of being the poster child for social awkwardness.

 

[Baltika9]

Yeah, but this is pretty fun too. I'm just waiting for the perfect chance to let loose and start punching things in the face.
Imagine the look on everyone's faces.

 

[Nevill]

Do you want to ask them after you break out, or while you're waiting peacefully?

What prevents us from asking right now before we commit to a course of action?

I doubt anything Kayano told them about us would live up to Ei's image.

Spoiler

Don't look, Onii-chan, it's embarassing.

You guys should have built him up as the CHA 10 master manipulator who gets into people's heads and leverages their weaknesses like a dog with an open jar of extra chunky peanut butter instead of being the poster child for social awkwardness.

I am fine with him as he is, but he surely has been stuttering less since character creation, and learned to become assertive and push back when the situation calls for it (Mori in 1st chapter, Taketatsu in 4th chapter, and our talk with Uehara in the previous one).

It is certainly different from what we have played before (though YOLOTIGER still seeps through the cracks sometimes), and I like it.

 

[treave]

What prevents us from asking right now before we are committing to a course of action?

Nothing. If you really want to ask, go ahead. I'm tired of this and I'm willing to allow an attempt at a diplomatic option. Let's call it option C.

 

[Baltika9]

Ahaha. Freeform option. Nope.
Is rather sit down, kick back and watch Kayano dig herself into an even deeper grave.

 

[Nevill]

Ahaha. Freeform option. Nope.

Come on, dude, it's just bitching on the forums. I didn't even address it to you. It wasn't a call to CHANGE THIS THING I DO NOT LIKE IMMEDIATELY!!1!1

 

[Baltika9]

We just have a terrible history with freeform options in treave's LPs is all I'm saying.

 

[treave]

Ahaha. Freeform option. Nope.
Is rather sit down, kick back and watch Kayano dig herself into an even deeper grave.

It's only freeform if you want to take charge of the conversation, otherwise, I'll handle it and there will be no more talk about teh reasonz (feelz is fine). But the option is now edited in nonetheless.

I am fine with him as he is, but he surely has been stuttering less since character creation, and learned to become assertive and push back when the situation calls for it (Mori in 1st chapter, Taketatsu in 4th chapter, and our talk with Uehara in the previous one).

Not in the way you imagine it would be. You want someone with the eloquence and incisive wit to dissect their psychological status, lay their weaknesses bare, and tell them exactly what they want to hear and that everything will be alright. Shinoseki doesn't push back like that.

 

[Nevill]

Not in the way you imagine it would be. You want someone with the eloquence and incisive wit to dissect their psychological status, lay their weaknesses bare, and tell them exactly what they want to hear and that everything will be alright. Shinoseki doesn't push back like that.

Not exactly. I am simply uncomfortable with sitting back in silence while people decide our fate for us, which the option seemed to imply.

I'll take your word for it that nothing we can - and able to - say would change the outcome in our current circumstances.

 

[treave]

Not exactly. I am simply uncomfortable with sitting back in silence while people decide our fate for us, which the option seemed to imply.

I'll take your word for it that nothing we can - and able to - say would change the outcome in our current circumstances.

You can pick the new option C. If nothing changes, then you at least didn't sit back quietly. If something changes, then hey, you did something. It should fulfil your requirements.

Mind control spells? Cleavage?

Ah, missed this. Face might be a 5, but the tits could be a 10/10. You never know.

 

[oscar]

B

 

[Nevill]

Btw, cold hearted as i may be toward Uehara, I now see that she was completely justified in the way she has treated us from the start. Our other self must have straight up murdered her a thousand times. If the lp were from her perspective, I totally would have been in favor of screwing over that shinoseki bastard...

I think I disagree with this. Her reaction to us, her outburst aside, is the one of mistrust and apprehension, not one of seething hatred. She is interested in learning what is our game here. If all we did was screw her over a hundred times, that question simply wouldn't exist.

She wouldn't have saved our life if she didn't think we could be useful in some capacity.

There are also these words:

"Admit it! Stop pretending to forget! Night after night, for a hundred nights you play the fool, your masks changing endlessly to hide the foul core of who you really are, and I am just so tired of it!” she screams in your face.

It looks like she encountered our other selves, but not exactly the 'neighbour' every time. And those people all behaved differently, so she could not read us very well - or at all.

The 'neighbour', though, sounds like he is a big deal, like he is different from us. We are a mere fragment of a joint personality with no memory prior to the incident, we had no knowledge of sorcery before, and we do not remember the other nights. This guy looks like a much more competent sorceror (so I assume he does not have our memory problem) who is observing us from the back of our mind, waiting for the opportunity to get out.

this other you says, in a cold, methodical and arrogant voice, “Finally. Are you listening?”

He knew about us for some time, but we didn't know of him. That is why I believe he is special, unlike the other fragments, and quite possibly the original owner of the body.

I admit that it might be possible that he could have affected the actions of others like he did ours, but I doubt it was that often or Uehara would have behaved much differently.

Alternatively, we are reading too much malice where there is none. The guy only said she was a 'liability', and, well, it is completely true. We are kind of attributing to him what we think he would do to someone who is in his way. Considering that Seiji was Seika's lover and the two sisters were somewhat close, he might not have foul intentions towards the girl.

Unless he is the one who invited here to die here, of course, which is also not too far-fetched.

 

[GreyViper]

So out of curiosity what is the worst/horrible thing she can do to us if she has the book? And while we wait, what is the most powerful time consuming spell in our book, that we could use in our current situation? I mean is there some kind self buff that gives enhanced strength etc?

 

[Nevill]

I am afraid we can only cast spells that we have unlocked, and to unlock more spells we need to feed the book some more.

Unless Ei has something she is withholding from us, of course.

 

[Baltika9]

It looks like she encountered our other selves, but not exactly the 'neighbour' every time. And those people all behaved differently, so she could not read us very well - or at all.

The consequence effect of picking so many different skills?

 

[Nevill]

Well, you have to explain those somehow, thus Project Omoikane and all the corresponding trouble.

Though the notion of consequences that are applied retroactively is pretty lulzy.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Nevill, there are many possibilities as to who the other guy is. He could be another amalgam of the personas within like us like we are. A stronger one that has seen many more nights than we have and has learned from each of them. Alternatively, he could be the original us, as you suggest. I even wonder if he could be the old man - our "enemy" - somehow...

Also, you keep bringing up that Shino and Sekia were lovers, but that is 3rd hand knowledge and we still don't have the real picture of their relationship. Uehara told us what her sister said to her, but our other self could have just been manipulating Seika so he could eventually use her for the ritual - Practical Incarnation style. There are a few vague feelings of wanting to rescue her though - but could that be only part of what we want? Is it out of love or out of some other desire?

We need to be thinking about is the very nature of this experiment. Sekia has essentially become what exactly? An observer prototype? And this world is essentially a universe under her observation? If so, Shino may have been trying to build a god, or to become a god. An observer. Rescuing Sekia might just be a means to an end as she is the centerpiece and perhaps final product of this experiment. Either that or perhaps - if Shino truly did love her - she started out helping him in the experiment, but after Shino was removed from the project, the others involved continued to use her for the experiment, twisting it and her
to their purposes.

 

[treave]

So out of curiosity what is the worst/horrible thing she can do to us if she has the book? And while we wait, what is the most powerful time consuming spell in our book, that we could use in our current situation? I mean is there some kind self buff that gives enhanced strength etc?

If you take everything that has happened so far at face value, technically she can't do anything you can't already do, so probably not that horrible, all things considered. Stopping the Nurse was just a more skillful application of the spells you already have. Of course, this might not be the case if she's hiding a trick or two, so it's hard to say.

All of your spells barring the exorcism incantation are defensive spells, so you can probably set up a couple more barriers around you if you want.

 

[Nevill]

Nevill, there are many possibilities as to who the other guy is. He could be another amalgam of the personas within like us like we are. A stronger one that has seen many more nights than we have and has learned from each of them. Alternatively, he could be the original us, as you suggest. I even wonder if he could be the old man - our "enemy" - somehow...

I have not thought about the amalgam, this might be possible considering that we have not heard from the voices for some time.

But isn't it strange that the amalgam has an apparent goal and an agenda? You'd think all these people would only agree on one thing unanimously, and that is to get out of here. Yet the guy wants to dig in deeper.

I still think that it centers around one key personality. I do not know if this personality is Seiji. It could even predate Seiji, for all we know. There was a hint that Seiji who Maeda once knew and the one who had an affair with Seika were different, and it might be not just because one was a kid and the other was an adult.

Also, you keep bringing up that Shino and Sekia were lovers, but that is 3rd hand knowledge and we still don't have the real picture of their relationship.

I go from what the voices - or rather, a voice - told us.

Spoiler

Wait. Why am I here again? Where is this place?

Wasn’t I sitting with Uehara and the rest just a moment ago?

Again there is a gap in your memories… an impenetrable wall that you are unable to surpass.

Suddenly, a single, powerful thought appears in your mind.

I… I was looking for something. Someone.

[...]

In that instant, your chest seems to tighten. Her fingers brush against yours as she takes the amulet from your hand; you wince involuntarily at the physical contact. Her fingers are warm and lively, but that makes you no more comfortable than if they were cold. The sensation, however, is strangely familiar.

Have I met her somewhere before?

“Thank you for being understanding.” Uehara smiles and lets out a little giggle, placing the charm around her neck where it joins its sibling to rest under her shirt. For some reason, a small glint of triumph nestles in her eyes. She looks at you, and the pleased smile on her face takes on an apologetic curve, her brows knitting together in an expression of guilt before her expression hardens. Her gaze now seems inscrutable, and slightly icy. “I’m sorry.”

Without warning, Uehara bursts into a run, darting around the lockers and heading for the door. Her sudden exit catches all of you by surprise.

Uehara.

Not again.

I have to go after her.

[...]

A girl’s voice echoes quietly in your mind; your first thought is of the girl who was sitting on the branches of the Juunimon, the girl who had remained heedless of the carnage around her, and –her, don’t leave her behind – you are unable to resist turning back, trying to see if she is still there, swinging her feet and singing her song.

[...]

“I… I still don’t remember everything, but I do know one thing.” You feel an inexplicably painful stirring in your chest, looking at Uehara’s face from such a near distance. They look too much alike. “If what you say is right… if I am Shinohara, and I have his memories and his desires… then there is one thing that I can say that is definitely not a lie. Shinohara Seiji wants to save Tendou Seika as much as you do.” If those are truly his thoughts, this is the only way you can sensibly interpret that feeling.

The voice clearly is not ours and belongs to a different person. There isn't much room for interpretation, either.

If so, Shino may have been trying to build a god, or to become a god. An observer. Rescuing Sekia might just be a means to an end as she is the centerpiece and perhaps final product of this experiment.

Uehara mentioned that we disappeared at around the same time Seika did. Also, we have felt a surprising hatred towards the old man for reasons we - as Adachi - did not fully understand. It could have been the project wasn't ours (we were not listed among the personnel, but Juuzo was). It could have been sabotage.

The biggest clue to the puzzle lies in Seiji's personality, his thoughts and his deeds. Uehara, Maeda and Mori are the only ones who can tell us more about him, biased though they might be.

Edit: misread a part of your argument, sorry. Corrected.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Nevill, I covered all that. Again, none of these feelings absolutely and directly imply that we loved her. Only that we had a relationship and desperately want to rescue her - for what end is anyone's guess. Also, if our other self is the original Shino and did love Seika, I find it odd that he would so easily murder the sister of the girl he loves, knowing that she will be watching everything.

As for our other self and his clear goals - we ourselves have goals based on the info we know. I don't find it unlikely that our other self, if he is an amalgam, could have formulated his own goals and opinions on what is going on over the years we've been in here too. Also, your thought about not hearing the voices was something I hadn't considered. Our other self did just say that he was in the habit of talking to himself - that suggests he has been talking to us before.