[LP CYOA] Spiral

[treave]

Added technique choice.

 

[Baltika9]

F

 

[Nevill]

What do you know. Kz3r0 was right all along. Ei was the Baron's daughter.

So, the timeline looks as follows.

1888 - the Baron returns from Europe and orders the constructon of the mansion. (Why was the builder killed? Does it have to do with the Baron's work for the government?)
1889 - the Baron marries Tendou Shizune.
1891 - Shizune becomes pregnant with Mina and Eina. Shizuin moves in the Mansion. Yukina's mother is hired for help.
1900 - Shizune dies, supposedly in an accident (haha, as if). The Baron goes lethargic for a month, then goes mad.
1903? - people start disappearing, then the incident happens. Eina is about 12 years old when it does. Shizuin is a likely accomplice. (An attempt to get her sister back, similarly to Uehara?)
1908 - 'present' day.

I think the Elder is hiding the fact that they never found Eina among the corpses. She simply vanished. That, or he suspects something about the Tendou family (the circumstances behind Shizune's death or Shizuin's compliance).

It is highly interesting that Tendou girls always come in pairs. Is there some significance to that? Can't be a coincidence.

I am interested in the unholy alliance of Maedas, Tendous, Shinoharas, and now that we have learned it, Kimuras. There is some tangled web tying them together through the next century. So C, I guess. Bonus points for being one topic he would be more knowledgeable about than the others.

Of all the options, only B, C and D make sense to me. The Elder who stayed clear of gaijins isn't likely to know much about the western rituals, and it would be best to ask the Tendou priest about the eastern ones. Pressing him for more information directly does not seem like a wise choice, though he seems civil enough that he won't throw us out even if we nag him.

Also, treave.

She walks over to you and sits down formally, leaving you in the strange and somewhat uncomfortable situation of being flanked by two Maedas.

How being flanked by two Maedas could possibly be uncomfortable?!

I almost want to reroll a character.

 

[Rex Feral]

Wha? Can't we ask all question? I thought this was a discussion with the old man. People usually exchange more than a couple of lines.

Oh well C>D

 

[treave]

You would sound like a retard rattling off six different questions at once without giving someone time to answer them.

 

[Nevill]

So, the unidentified woman in the photo was Shizuin? Would make some sort of sense if it's the faces of the two perpetrators that were missing.

Though if Maeda was a servant she could still end up in the family photo.

 

[Rex Feral]

Of course we're not asking them all at once, we're asking them in order. Or maybe you're planning only one question to be answered before a furious oni breaks through the wall and butchers the elder.

 

[Nevill]

We kinda promised to spend a part of the day with Yuki, so there is also that.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Huh. Well, IF ONLY we had just gone to the mansion and avoided talking with these "simulated decorations" like Nevill suggested.

Don't worry Nevill, I will vote to murder this obviously simulated Maeda at the earliest opportunity so that we can get to the all important mansion.


D>C

 

[Nevill]

Huh. Well, IF ONLY we had just gone to the mansion and avoided talking with these "simulated decorations" like Nevill suggested.

Yeah, we wouldnd't be stuck with an obviously inferior woman for a companion and could go back to courting Uehara without further distractions - which is the only reason the mansion interests me in the first place.

Fortunately, I have understanding bros to take care of this... nuisance.

 

[Kz3r0]

Of course we're not asking them all at once, we're asking them in order. Or maybe you're planning only one question to be answered before a furious oni breaks through the wall and butchers the elder.

I think that Treave is saying that we can't override our character and his -1 speech skill.

 

[Kz3r0]

What do you know. Kz3r0 was right all along. Ei was the Baron's daughter.

Wait for the reaction when we will call Fox Guy Sakaguchi-dono.

 

[Kz3r0]

Being the name of the Tendou sisters Shizuke and Shizuin is quite interesting.
When Uehara ran away with the talismam one of the voices said "Shizu", considering how Uehara resembles her ancestors and her name is Shizuka seems that one of our voices is one of Uehara ancestor maybe the Baron's wife herself.

 

[Grimgravy]

C>F

 

[Akkudakku]

C> F
My cheat codes worked!

Also trying to pressure the old guy into talking with our tremendous speech skills is just plain retarded.

 

[Kz3r0]

C

 

[treave]

Huh. Well, IF ONLY we had just gone to the mansion and avoided talking with these "simulated decorations" like Nevill suggested.

If you had run to the shrine first Maeda could have been a tsundere miko whacking you with a broom and calling you pervert.

 

[Nevill]

But... why are we seeing Maeda everywhere? I know she in not 'real', but I thought her 'ghost'/memory/imprint would be tied to a place that is related to her story.

I would expect to find Uehara at the shrine and Amanozaki at the mansion. Miko Maeda, not so much.

Mmm, miko Maeda... Kind of want.

What/how does Shinoseki think/feel about her currently?

Hm, maybe it is not us. Maybe is it because her wish was to be reunited with us, so she would catch up with us no matter where we would go...

 

[treave]

It's just authorial write-as-you-go powers.

Where she ends up in Yomiki is just a minor detail that can be easily changed (could also be dressed as a maid in the mansion, for example) compared to why and how she is here.

You'll have the opportunity to talk to her after this. It'll come quicker if you don't prod the old man into rambling more.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Huh. Well, IF ONLY we had just gone to the mansion and avoided talking with these "simulated decorations" like Nevill suggested.

If you had run to the shrine first Maeda could have been a tsundere miko whacking you with a broom and calling you pervert.

there are tears, bro, genuine tears of regret streaming down my face.

 

[Nevill]

The reason I asked about Adachi's thoughts on Maeda is because there seems to be a difference in how he treats her compared to others.

Spoiler

Her eyes aren’t truly seeing you. In you she sees someone… something else. A ghost of her past, perhaps. It could be the person she spoke of, Shinohara Seiji, but whoever it is she thinks she’s saving, it should not be Shinoseki Adachi. She has no reason to save you at her own expense. She is just acting on past trauma… that’s right. That must be it. The thought comforts you little, changes little.

[...]

You realize, somehow, that it’ll be alright.

It’s going to be okay.

You speak the words as if from a script that has swum up from the deepest reaches of your fading, disoriented memories, smiling weakly at Nami.

“It’s going to be okay, Na-chan.”

[...]

As your consciousness winks out, a final thought runs through your mind, clear despite the excruciating pain wracking your ruined body:

At least Na-chan made it out… I can be happy with that…

But…

Ah…

I don’t want to die.

Most of the time I tend to get the reasoning behind the actions of our characters, but this bit me confuses me a little. The thought that she should not sacrifice her life for us - that we somehow aren't worth saving because she is doing it for the wrong reasons - clearly comes from Adachi himself and his self-deprecating tendencies combined with a martyr complex. However, the thoughts that come after this... are they are own? And if not, who do they belong to?

Did we just reach into Seiji's memory and read a line without understanding its meaning? Why did we do it? Whose idea or understanding was it that it is going to be okay? Why did we think of her as 'Na-chan' as we died? Adachi as I know him isn't likely to refer to her other than 'Maeda-san' even in his thoughts.

What part of our feelings and thoughts are 'genuine' and what was borrowed from Seiji? We had no problems separating his feelings about Seika from our own in the next chapter, did we? And was it even Seiji who was concerned about Maeda? He didn't leave an impression of someone who cares too deeply about anything but his goal. Is it something that was left from his past self, before he become what he has become?

Why come to an understanding that she sees another in our stead and that is why she refuses to let go, and then reaffirm that misconception, all the while hoping that she escapes?

And we have known her for what, 3 hours, if we just look at the timeline? To sacrifice himself for one 'stranger' woman and then to coldly consider murdering another - or leaving her in the hands of a rapist spirit - it appears that Nami gets a preferential treatment for some reason. I know that what happens is largely down to our choices, but maybe it's time for that 'characters Adachi feels comfortable with' table again. Just to see what the 'real' us thinks about these people.

 

[treave]

At the moment, Adachi does not feel anything in particular for Maeda beyond the camaraderie of experiencing Ikei.

 

[Nevill]

What was he happy about, then?

It is interesting that while Adachi has 'nothing he really wants', the players behind him want some rather particular things and have more or less defined goals. I wonder why he has so much trouble making up his own.

Granted, the players do not have his apathetic personality.

 

[treave]

What was he happy about, then?

I'm not sure where it's stated he's happy to see her again?

 

[Nevill]

Nah, I meant the line where he (?) said he was happy she escaped. Would he be 'happy' as long as anyone did?

To see her again means she continues to be trapped here. Not the most cheerful thought.