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[LP CYOA] Spiral
- Thread starter treave
- Start date
Nevill
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2009
- Messages
- 11,211
I've been doing a little rereading, and I noticed a peculiar detail...
Well, not that it isn't warranted in a haunted hospital, but I mean, in real life. He jumps at the shadows, and Uehara refers to constantly reminding him about how stupid these fears are. At first, I thought that he might have been having fun at our expense, talking about spooky things in a place that is seemingly abandoned, but now I think it might be genuine.
And he was the one who stopped Mori from opening the charm, though the only reason you are not supposed to do so is for the charm not to lose its protective powers.
It is not a solid evidence, but it points out to him being a bit supersticious. Which is kind of unexpected and funny, considering his personality.
Could it be that our kung-fu friend is afraid of ghosts?
Well, not that it isn't warranted in a haunted hospital, but I mean, in real life. He jumps at the shadows, and Uehara refers to constantly reminding him about how stupid these fears are. At first, I thought that he might have been having fun at our expense, talking about spooky things in a place that is seemingly abandoned, but now I think it might be genuine.
There is also this bit of dialogue. He mentions tha Uehara didn't believe in ghosts, but he does not say that they do not exist outright.
And he was the one who stopped Mori from opening the charm, though the only reason you are not supposed to do so is for the charm not to lose its protective powers.
It is not a solid evidence, but it points out to him being a bit supersticious. Which is kind of unexpected and funny, considering his personality.
Tigranes
Arcane
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2009
- Messages
- 10,350
I think so, and it's notable that between the superstitious scaredy cat Sakimura and the gung ho skeptic Uehara, it is the latter that ends up dead with a charm in hand. Maybe there's something about people coming in pairs and their different personalities and complexes?
B1. I think it will be interesting to separate Sakimura and Uehara, and maybe find out more through our liaison with Amanozaki and Mitsuki before we bite it from the swimming session.
B1. I think it will be interesting to separate Sakimura and Uehara, and maybe find out more through our liaison with Amanozaki and Mitsuki before we bite it from the swimming session.
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2008
- Messages
- 11,370
Sakimura casts a quick glance towards Uehara.
“Your friends… what about them?” you ask timidly.
“T-That’s...” His shoulders sag slightly as he makes up his mind. “Yeah, I can’t let Kozaka and Shiba go by themselves. Uehara! I’ll meet up with you later! You take care of them, Shinoseki-san.” Giving you a quick bump with his fist, Sakimura runs off. You quickly do the same in the other direction, dragging your dripping body as fast as you can.
The thing rising from the pool now has its head fully above water. Its features are obscured in shadow, but you get a feeling that it is a she. Ahead of you, Uehara is leading Mitsuki by the hand, already running through the doors in search of safety. Your vision is turning hazy and grainy, as if you are viewing the world in an old, black & white movie. You stumble – the pain in your ankle a biting, cold reminder of the thing in the pool – and almost fall.
A hand reaches out to grab you.
“Shinoseki, don’tcha flake out on us now!” screams Amanozaki as she pulls you along, rudely dragging you by your wet collar. “Faster, dammit!”
Wait, was she always like this?
***
You do not know how long you ran, but you are out of breath by the time you sink down to the cold hospital floor, panting and gasping. Somewhere along the line, colour had returned to your vision, though it had not improved the environment any; the power was still out, and the emergency lighting was still as dim and gloomy as ever. You are currently in a small office of some sort – in your hurry, you had run in immediately and shut the door without checking to see who it belonged to.
“That… thing… what was it?” whispers Mitsuki fearfully to no one in particular. Between the encounter in the toilet and the one in the pool, the hospital seems to be starting to get to her. Not a surprise… she’s just a little girl after all.
“It’s… a vengeful spirit, I’m thinking. A very powerful, strong ghost, who died with so much hatred that it couldn’t move on. I’m not much of a betting person, but I’ll betcha it’s bound to this hospital and probably the main culprit for whatever’s going on. Y’know, I’ve read that real powerful spirits can twist time and space with their hauntings. This here’s likely one of those experiences, and I don’t like this one bit,” explains Amanozaki worriedly, speaking in a Kansai dialect.
A second later, she catches herself and clams up.
“There’s no such thing as ghosts and spirits,” mutters Uehara, looking out the window.
“Kukuku… still defiant, Uehara-san. How do you explain that thing in the pool?” Amanozaki seems to have returned to her normal character.
“What thing? I didn’t see anything,” replies Uehara flatly.
“Your lies will not escape my spiritual eyes. You saw it. I could tell from the expression on your face.”
“I was simply worried about Sakimura and Shinoseki-san. You need better glasses, psychic. Speaking of which, aren’t you getting out of those clothes, Shinoseki-san? You might catch a cold.” Uehara turns the subject to you seemingly out of concern, though you think she seems to be dodging a further argument with Amanozaki.
“I… uh…” Strip? In front of three girls? No way. You smash the idea into pieces and bury it before it starts leading to any further problematic thoughts that would be rather apparent in your current condition.“I’ll be fine.”
“Okay then,” shrugs Uehara. She is a little more remote now than she was earlier, and resumes looking out the window.
Massaging your ankle, you readjust the wet clothes that are clinging to your body uncomfortably. As you do so, you notice something – an long, thin scar running down the center of your chest. You run a finger along the surface. Part of it is jagged and raised, as you would expect from a wound, but there is also a portion which looks more akin to a surgical incision. The scar tissue is old and partially faded; this must have happened sometime in your childhood. Of course, you do not remember any such incident. The memories of your personal life are still a blank mystery.
“Shinoseki-san, why are you touching yourself?”
Mitsuki’s question stirs you from… well, whatever it is you were doing. You straighten your clothes hurriedly and shake your head. “I was just… I was…” She gives you a little grin. Perhaps she is not as innocent as you thought.
A cacophony of rustling and clanking distracts you as Amanozaki goes through her satchel. She brings out an arsenal of strange objects that could comfortably be described as occult.
“Ahem.” Letting out a brief cough to gather everyone’s attention, Amanozaki begins swaying from side to side, as if in a trance. “We have fallen into a perilous situation, one far more dangerous than I have expected,” intones the psychic ominously. “I foresee great disaster ahead, and in my kindness I have decided to share my divine tools with the likes of you for free. Come, select the charmed object that most resonates with your soul.”
***
You pick…
A. “The Knife of the Eight Devas, blessed by the eight million gods for protection against demons,” a blunt, flimsy dagger with mystical inscriptions in (fake) gold leaf along the blade. The sheath is at least made of solid wood.
B. “The Cat of Heavenly Fortune, containing the spirit of a benevolent bakeneko that will protect its master,” a lucky fortune-beckoning cat doll that can be operated manually by a wind-up mechanism in its tail. The glassy eyes seem to demand a capitalistic offering in return for good luck.
C. “The Amanozaki Special Charm. It is a powerful charm that wards off all evil,” a paper charm folded up with a pentacle inscribed on it, as well as various Buddhist prayers written all over.
D. “I… I’m sorry, Amanozaki-san. They don’t really resonate with me…” None of it. They all seem like something you could find in a cheap 100-yen store anyway.
***
“Kukuku… what is the matter, Uehara-san? Do you think of yourself so highly that you will not need any spiritual protection?”
“It’s all made-up,” sighs the schoolgirl. “Why would I even take any of these useless junk?”
“Junk, you say… but I know that you aren’t as hard-headed as you pretend to be,” grins Amanozaki suddenly. She jabs a finger at Uehara. “See, what is that hanging from your neck?”
There is an omamori around Uehara’s neck. You had not noticed it before, but it must have fallen out while all of you were running. Uehara realizes that it has been exposed and stares at Amanozaki angrily. “This is… this is just a gift. I’m not carrying it because I think it protects me.”
Amanozaki laughs. “So you say, but…” She pauses, peering more closely at Uehara’s charm. “Wait, that pattern... Is it? It can’t be from that shrine? How did you-“
“It’s none of your business.” Shoving the omamori back into her shirt, Uehara snaps with such cold fury that Amanozaki falls back, cowed into silence by her sudden glare. Uehara takes a second to compose herself, breathing in deeply. “I’m... look, I’m sorry, but please do not poke your nose into my affairs. I do not believe in your ghosts. Leave it at that. More importantly, what should we do now? I want to go look for my friends.”
“I think we should try to find a way out of this building first,” Mitsuki suggests, raising her hand politely.
“W-well… I believe we are trapped here, regardless… maybe we could exorcise the spirit holding dominion over the building…” mutters Amanozaki unhappily, still shaken from Uehara’s anger. “If we can find out who it was in life… and how it died… we might be able to understand what it wants and attempt to appease it.”
On your part, there is still that key you somehow retrieved from the pool. From the looks of it, it is probably the key to a door, but which door?
***
01:50
A. You focus your efforts on finding and reuniting with Sakimura and the rest of Uehara’s friends first. Safety in numbers… probably. It would also be nice to make sure they are safe.
B. You try to find a way out of here first. If the emergency lights are still working, there is a possibility that you can restore power or at least rig up the keypad to activate it and the doors.
C. You attempt to find out as much as you can about the identity of the dark spirit that you encountered at the pool first. An exorcism seems to be the most direct way of handling your problem.
D. You search for the door that the key opens first, though there is no guarantee that it is located in this building. Still, it must lead to somewhere important, if you found it at such a suspicious and dangerous location… right?
“Your friends… what about them?” you ask timidly.
“T-That’s...” His shoulders sag slightly as he makes up his mind. “Yeah, I can’t let Kozaka and Shiba go by themselves. Uehara! I’ll meet up with you later! You take care of them, Shinoseki-san.” Giving you a quick bump with his fist, Sakimura runs off. You quickly do the same in the other direction, dragging your dripping body as fast as you can.
The thing rising from the pool now has its head fully above water. Its features are obscured in shadow, but you get a feeling that it is a she. Ahead of you, Uehara is leading Mitsuki by the hand, already running through the doors in search of safety. Your vision is turning hazy and grainy, as if you are viewing the world in an old, black & white movie. You stumble – the pain in your ankle a biting, cold reminder of the thing in the pool – and almost fall.
A hand reaches out to grab you.
“Shinoseki, don’tcha flake out on us now!” screams Amanozaki as she pulls you along, rudely dragging you by your wet collar. “Faster, dammit!”
Wait, was she always like this?
***
You do not know how long you ran, but you are out of breath by the time you sink down to the cold hospital floor, panting and gasping. Somewhere along the line, colour had returned to your vision, though it had not improved the environment any; the power was still out, and the emergency lighting was still as dim and gloomy as ever. You are currently in a small office of some sort – in your hurry, you had run in immediately and shut the door without checking to see who it belonged to.
“That… thing… what was it?” whispers Mitsuki fearfully to no one in particular. Between the encounter in the toilet and the one in the pool, the hospital seems to be starting to get to her. Not a surprise… she’s just a little girl after all.
“It’s… a vengeful spirit, I’m thinking. A very powerful, strong ghost, who died with so much hatred that it couldn’t move on. I’m not much of a betting person, but I’ll betcha it’s bound to this hospital and probably the main culprit for whatever’s going on. Y’know, I’ve read that real powerful spirits can twist time and space with their hauntings. This here’s likely one of those experiences, and I don’t like this one bit,” explains Amanozaki worriedly, speaking in a Kansai dialect.
A second later, she catches herself and clams up.
“There’s no such thing as ghosts and spirits,” mutters Uehara, looking out the window.
“Kukuku… still defiant, Uehara-san. How do you explain that thing in the pool?” Amanozaki seems to have returned to her normal character.
“What thing? I didn’t see anything,” replies Uehara flatly.
“Your lies will not escape my spiritual eyes. You saw it. I could tell from the expression on your face.”
“I was simply worried about Sakimura and Shinoseki-san. You need better glasses, psychic. Speaking of which, aren’t you getting out of those clothes, Shinoseki-san? You might catch a cold.” Uehara turns the subject to you seemingly out of concern, though you think she seems to be dodging a further argument with Amanozaki.
“I… uh…” Strip? In front of three girls? No way. You smash the idea into pieces and bury it before it starts leading to any further problematic thoughts that would be rather apparent in your current condition.“I’ll be fine.”
“Okay then,” shrugs Uehara. She is a little more remote now than she was earlier, and resumes looking out the window.
Massaging your ankle, you readjust the wet clothes that are clinging to your body uncomfortably. As you do so, you notice something – an long, thin scar running down the center of your chest. You run a finger along the surface. Part of it is jagged and raised, as you would expect from a wound, but there is also a portion which looks more akin to a surgical incision. The scar tissue is old and partially faded; this must have happened sometime in your childhood. Of course, you do not remember any such incident. The memories of your personal life are still a blank mystery.
“Shinoseki-san, why are you touching yourself?”
Mitsuki’s question stirs you from… well, whatever it is you were doing. You straighten your clothes hurriedly and shake your head. “I was just… I was…” She gives you a little grin. Perhaps she is not as innocent as you thought.
A cacophony of rustling and clanking distracts you as Amanozaki goes through her satchel. She brings out an arsenal of strange objects that could comfortably be described as occult.
“Ahem.” Letting out a brief cough to gather everyone’s attention, Amanozaki begins swaying from side to side, as if in a trance. “We have fallen into a perilous situation, one far more dangerous than I have expected,” intones the psychic ominously. “I foresee great disaster ahead, and in my kindness I have decided to share my divine tools with the likes of you for free. Come, select the charmed object that most resonates with your soul.”
***
You pick…
A. “The Knife of the Eight Devas, blessed by the eight million gods for protection against demons,” a blunt, flimsy dagger with mystical inscriptions in (fake) gold leaf along the blade. The sheath is at least made of solid wood.
B. “The Cat of Heavenly Fortune, containing the spirit of a benevolent bakeneko that will protect its master,” a lucky fortune-beckoning cat doll that can be operated manually by a wind-up mechanism in its tail. The glassy eyes seem to demand a capitalistic offering in return for good luck.
C. “The Amanozaki Special Charm. It is a powerful charm that wards off all evil,” a paper charm folded up with a pentacle inscribed on it, as well as various Buddhist prayers written all over.
D. “I… I’m sorry, Amanozaki-san. They don’t really resonate with me…” None of it. They all seem like something you could find in a cheap 100-yen store anyway.
***
“Kukuku… what is the matter, Uehara-san? Do you think of yourself so highly that you will not need any spiritual protection?”
“It’s all made-up,” sighs the schoolgirl. “Why would I even take any of these useless junk?”
“Junk, you say… but I know that you aren’t as hard-headed as you pretend to be,” grins Amanozaki suddenly. She jabs a finger at Uehara. “See, what is that hanging from your neck?”
There is an omamori around Uehara’s neck. You had not noticed it before, but it must have fallen out while all of you were running. Uehara realizes that it has been exposed and stares at Amanozaki angrily. “This is… this is just a gift. I’m not carrying it because I think it protects me.”
Amanozaki laughs. “So you say, but…” She pauses, peering more closely at Uehara’s charm. “Wait, that pattern... Is it? It can’t be from that shrine? How did you-“
“It’s none of your business.” Shoving the omamori back into her shirt, Uehara snaps with such cold fury that Amanozaki falls back, cowed into silence by her sudden glare. Uehara takes a second to compose herself, breathing in deeply. “I’m... look, I’m sorry, but please do not poke your nose into my affairs. I do not believe in your ghosts. Leave it at that. More importantly, what should we do now? I want to go look for my friends.”
“I think we should try to find a way out of this building first,” Mitsuki suggests, raising her hand politely.
“W-well… I believe we are trapped here, regardless… maybe we could exorcise the spirit holding dominion over the building…” mutters Amanozaki unhappily, still shaken from Uehara’s anger. “If we can find out who it was in life… and how it died… we might be able to understand what it wants and attempt to appease it.”
On your part, there is still that key you somehow retrieved from the pool. From the looks of it, it is probably the key to a door, but which door?
***
01:50
A. You focus your efforts on finding and reuniting with Sakimura and the rest of Uehara’s friends first. Safety in numbers… probably. It would also be nice to make sure they are safe.
B. You try to find a way out of here first. If the emergency lights are still working, there is a possibility that you can restore power or at least rig up the keypad to activate it and the doors.
C. You attempt to find out as much as you can about the identity of the dark spirit that you encountered at the pool first. An exorcism seems to be the most direct way of handling your problem.
D. You search for the door that the key opens first, though there is no guarantee that it is located in this building. Still, it must lead to somewhere important, if you found it at such a suspicious and dangerous location… right?
Nevill
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2009
- Messages
- 11,211
So Amanozaki is from Kansai, huh? I have to say, I like that side of her more than her fake psychic persona. It's a shame she chose to hide it.
Hm. I'd take Amanozaki's special charm, if only to cheer her up. Our team won't go far bickering between themselves as they are now, and Amanozaki does her best to remain an outcast.
I wouldn't want to leave without Sakimura and the rest, but a thought of appeasing the spirit we saw does not sit well with me either. I think it's either MYSTARY or FRIENDS for me. We kind of signed for the team guardian gig.
C D>A
Hm. I'd take Amanozaki's special charm, if only to cheer her up. Our team won't go far bickering between themselves as they are now, and Amanozaki does her best to remain an outcast.
I wouldn't want to leave without Sakimura and the rest, but a thought of appeasing the spirit we saw does not sit well with me either. I think it's either MYSTARY or FRIENDS for me. We kind of signed for the team guardian gig.
C D>A
Last edited:
Kz3r0
Arcane
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- May 28, 2008
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- 27,026
The trope in manga is that Kansai people are stubborn and superstitious and Yakuza too, practicallly Nippon Sicily.
By the way we should investigate more Uheara' charm and the shrine which comes from, is possible that this will clarifi things out a bit.
Nevill
Arcane
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- 11,211
In which case we need to earn her trust, because she clearly is unwilling to talk about it with just anyone.
Which probably means we need to place the safety of the people important to her closer to the top of our priorities list.
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Kz3r0
Arcane
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Actually Amazonaky seems to know both about the shrine and the charm, and she is probably more willing to talk about it.
Nyarmith
Educated
CB
Nevill
Arcane
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- Jun 6, 2009
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I see there is a strong desire to be done with this section of the building. But I have to ask, if we find a way out of here, what will we do next? Will we leave? That might split our group even further, if Uehara decides to stay and look for the missing group.
I can't shake off a feeling that if we leave, we won't be able to come back.
I can't shake off a feeling that if we leave, we won't be able to come back.
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a cut of domestic sheep prime
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CA
Elfberserker
Liturgist
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CD
Nevill
Arcane
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- Messages
- 11,211
The door is the true mystery. The ghost was trying to prevent us from going there... or maybe it tried to lure us in?
I keep getting a flashback to the interlude we had and the message on our phone. 'What is most important?'
Indeed, what is? Keeping everyone alive? Getting out? Putting the dead to rest and ensuring that the string of disappearances comes to an end? Or the call of MYSTARY? Maybe this is where find an answer to our question.
If we were to choose between regaining a part of our memories, and between aiding someone, even knowing that it might be useless as all of us will be dead by the night's end, what would we choose?
I keep getting a flashback to the interlude we had and the message on our phone. 'What is most important?'
Indeed, what is? Keeping everyone alive? Getting out? Putting the dead to rest and ensuring that the string of disappearances comes to an end? Or the call of MYSTARY? Maybe this is where find an answer to our question.
If we were to choose between regaining a part of our memories, and between aiding someone, even knowing that it might be useless as all of us will be dead by the night's end, what would we choose?
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