WEEK 1: CYOA (takeru, sheila, harrow, vira)

[probe]

Comments

[dotcom]

[ and out they go.

he is definitely bleeding, but he is so full of adrenaline that he is not even sure where the blood is coming from. he'll think to check later. ]

Yeah... what the fuck was all of that?

[ a valid question.

still holding chuck jingle's hand, he's going to glance around their new surroundings. what's out here besides snow. ]

[chevaleros]

[ vira pulls together a small smile when jingle takes her hand, though she sobers up as she checks out their surroundings. they're overall pretty injured, and is their baby okay???? ]

I don't know, but I don't think we're out of danger yet.

[ everything hurts pretty bad, but she looks out into the snow if there's anything that sticks out. ]

[bonetiddies]

[She does see that, and is concerned! She'll pull out her lighter, since they're out in the snow, to see if it helps keep them warm. She doesn't want to sit down, really - better to keep going while she still has adrenaline going than rest and risk not being able to get back up.

But she'll glance at Chuck Jingle, and scold them a little.]

I owe you a debt, but I won't tolerate help that comes at the expense of you overexerting yourself. If you're tired from using your energies to help us, you must rest.

[probe]

[baby is holding takeru and vira's hands. they're shivering, because they're barefoot in the snow, but that's okay, probably. when harrow scolds them, they scrunch down, just for a second, like they're really feeling it, and then they straighten up and rattle furiously in her direction. no!! not the boss of them!!

the wind out here is bitterly cold, but the lighter does seem to help, at least. takeru and vira are completely warm, at the moment.

the area they're in seems to be a connecting alleyway between buildings. there are a few snow piles here and there, as well as a dumpster that looks way too huge for them to climb. trash has been scattered all across the front of the dumpster. across the way from the four of them is that same door they could see earlier, with the green neon EXIT sign above it.]

[toesies]

[JINGLE...]

Come on, don't be like that. [Gently.] You've been a great help, and we're so proud. But we don't want anything bad to happen to you— specially not because of us. We're worried.

[She will keep her own lighter lit, as well, holding it close in hopes it will help a little. She will also try to gleam if there is anything interesting or of use in the trash scattered across the ground, but won't wander in that direction unless Harrow wants to check it out.

What now, gang?]

[dotcom]

[ hmm. time to lift up the baby. ]

We could try the door?

[ he does not sound too convinced that it'll lead somewhere good, but the only other thing to look at here is a dumpster that is too big for them. ]

[chevaleros]

[ jingle........ their reaction only really solidifies the concern. she leaves takeru to pick up and carry the baby because she only has one fully functional arm still. presuming she still has her dinner knife, she'll take a few cautious steps forward, staying close to the group.

are the trash piles moving or anything, are we going to get go wormed again. ]

I am not seeing much other option.

[bonetiddies]

[Honestly, Harrow can only respect the baby more for standing up to her. She crosses her arms, as much as she can with one arm being a little mangled.]

Stubborn. You're powerful, so you've earned the right to be, but power has limits. Don't push them recklessly.

[Anyway, she's going to limp over to one of the snow piles, make sure there's nothing like. . . buried in there?]

[probe]

[sheila looks at the trash, and she can see something very sharp sitting in the middle of a pile of junk. not sharp like a knife, but sharp in like, texture, almost, like it's way more in focus than anything else. the trash piles are not moving.

up jingle goes. they seem to be okay with being held, even though they are made of weird angles and sharp joints. they rest their bag head against sasazuka's shoulder and stay quiet. they're very cold, and are contemplating harrow's lecture.

vira can still have her dinner knife, sure. when harrow heads to one of the snow piles, she sees something shiny sticking out of it.]

[toesies]

[... Well.]

There's something in that pile of junk.

[For the benefit of the others, just in case it turns into another Vira and goo situation. Regardless of how they may respond, she's going to approach the pile to see what the heckie that is.]

[dotcom]

Try not to get eaten by something.

[ that seems to be the uh. theme here, unfortunately.

meanwhile, sasazuka and baby are going to go to inspect the door. what are they dealing with here with this door. ]

[chevaleros]

[ she's going to follow along after sheila in case of any more surprise vore. she'll help overturn any of the trash too, if needed. worms no bully ]

[bonetiddies]

There's something in the snow, too. Be careful.

[She will. Reach for the shiny thing, though.]

[probe]

[sheila and vira head over to the trash! the sharp focused thing is... a plush bear. it's a little dirty, and it's like the size of a normal stuffed animal.

the door is a door! it's very tall, and it's propped open with a rock. it's dark inside the building, but it seems quiet, for now.

harrow reaches for the shiny thing, and finds... a dagger! it's a brilliant white from hilt to blade, and it's extraordinarily well balanced. when she touches it, she gets the same impression as she did when jingle handed her the crystal earlier - it's very important to someone.

and speaking of jingle, they immediately jolt and look up over at harrow when she touches the dagger.]

[toesies]

[Looks at the bear.

Looks at Vira.

Looks at the bear.]

Toys have gotten so weird in the last decade.

[While we all scream NO!!! in our DM, Sheila will turn the bear over to inspect it. Anything of note on any of its sides, including its butt? She will squeeze and pat it down, too, to check if there's anything inside.]

[dotcom]

[ a bear? well, okay, that's normal! sasazuka stupidly is not concerned about this. he does, however, notice that chuck jingle seems restless. ]

Harrowhark, is that a knife? The kid seems interested in it.

[ like, a little worrying.

if he uses his lighter to try to see what's through the door, does he see anything? ]

[chevaleros]

[ what a weird but ultimately not very suspect doll, thinks vira icly, while i scream. ]

I suppose it wasn't a very good toy if someone threw it out.

[ she's just going to keep an eye out for any weird shit trying to sneak up on them while they're all investigating. ]

[bonetiddies]

[Cool teddy bear! That's fine.

She weighs the dagger in her hand, a little fascinated, but starts when she's spoken to and notices jingle.]

. . . Does this belong to you? Would you like it?

[probe]

[there's like 74 spears inside the bear and they all spike out and kill sheila instantly.

no, there's nothing in the bear. it's just a normal bear! a normal, not alarming bear. when she picks it up, she gets the sense that it's important to somebody. i also forgot to mention this earlier because i'm stupid but the cat toy also felt like it was important to someone when vira picked it up.

jingle squirms a little, making a rattle noise when harrow picks up the knife. they reach out their hands - which are unnaturally long - for the dagger.

i almost wrote togami instead of takeru because of you guys. anyway takeru can see that the inside of the room looks like a classroom when he looks in with his lighter. there's a very slow, deliberate clicking sound coming from further in the room.]

[toesies]

[Boo...]

Yeah, I can see why. Maybe the kid will be into it?

[Shrugs!! And picks the bear up, taking it with her to regroup with the rest of the gang.]

[dotcom]

This looks like a classroom.

[ he doesn't trust it even a tiny bit considering literally everything they just went through, but they must go forward. ]

Come on. We might as well go see what bullshit is going to jump at us next.

[ but he'll wait to see if harrow will give baby the knife or not, but if no one has any objections he'd go inside?? he will wait if they don't want to go in yet tho. ]

[chevaleros]

[ maybe their child will appreciate monokuma more than they do, but hopefully not.

there's no use standing out in the alleyway forever—they need to progress, even if they don't know what's waiting for them. she'll walk over to the others as well—she has no issues walking a few steps inside the room with sasazuka, provided no one objects. ]

A bedroom, a dining room, a classroom... what is the significance of all these places?

[bonetiddies]

[She will immediately hand the dagger over to baby, because she trusts the baby and also learned about good parenting from skeletons.

And she'll stagger towards the door and follow Sassafras into the classroom. They may as well. But first she'll check the other snow piles to make sure there's not anything else cool in there.]

[probe]

[nothing is in the snow! just that one shiny knife. they can all go into the classroom - all of them can hear the clicking sounds, which are more like footsteps, now that they're closer. someone is just wandering around close by. the classroom is similar in function to all the other furniture in past rooms they've gotten through - about twice their size, and very rusty.

but first, before that: harrow hands jingle the knife, and for takeru, there's a second where the world stops.

it's a gutpunch of sad. lost, terrified despair, the sense of being out in the snow and running with only the sound your own ragged breath to accompany you. you run and run and you can hear a horse behind you and you're crying, the tears freezing to your face, your mother won't come to see you anymore and you don't understand why, and you don't even know what your father looks like, or if he's alive, and you trip because you're so exhausted that you can't keep running --

the baby drops the knife, and it thuds into the ground.]

[toesies]

[Sheila, oblivious to Takeru having an existential crisis:]

Whoa. Guess the kid does not like knives.

[Following the others into the classroom. She will glance around to catalogue what furniture is in here. Maybe someone else should pick up the knife, because she will not. Oops.]

But how about [presenting Monobear to Jingle, wiggling it a bit and imitating a showman:] a teddy bear? Huh? Huh?

[Sorry, Takeru.]