WEEK 1: CYOA (Alex, Blanca, Shiro, Sora)

[retellers]

Comments

[papasha]

[Hmmm.

Carefully, he goes back around the room to pull the sheets away from the chairs to see if anything is beneath them. And then he returns near the piano.

Does the piano have music on it? Or do any of the other instruments have music? If the lid of the piano isn't open already, he'll open it to have a peek inside.

Please don't jump scare him.]

[lionson]

[He's going to snicker to himself when he hears that piano key, because oh look he was right, there was a piano.

But that is very old, and Shiro makes a mental note of it. Then Shiro takes the poker with him and goes over to the table. Time to pull the cover off.]

[retellers]

[ The chairs... are in great condition! Apparently, all the rest of the manor needed was one big sheet. There's no music on the piano itself, but there are faded stickers on each note indicating which key is what. Nothing around the other instruments, either.

Inside the piano... is another piece of paper! This one reads "(3) Left, 23". Mysterious.

Shiro's table turns out to be a billiards table! It seems pretty intact, though none of the billiards ball or the cue seem anywhere near it. ]

[papasha]

[no please i'm so stupid

He will keep this paper! Is it... the only one?? The piano seat doesn't open, does it? I'm paranoid, so he is going to go see if he can look inside (throws dart) the cello for any other papers.]

Mister Fujimoto! [he calls across the hall, though, to check in.] How are you holding up? There was a note inside the piano!

See if you can find anything hidden!

[lionson]

[Missing cue and billiards balls, noted. Shiro is about to start looking for those, but then he hears the shout from Blanca.]

I'm fine over here! What's the note say?

[Yes, he is shouting back while checking out the billiards table for anything hidden. The pockets, the ball drop, the rack for cues, anything hidden in those places?]

[retellers]

[ The piano seat does not open, and no other instrument has a note, not even inside. It looks like for now, Blanca has found everything?

The white cue ball is in one of the pockets, but that's it. There's nothing else on or around the billiards table.

Also... The dads might not notice because of their shouting, but the creaking of the floors doesn't quite match only two people walking around. ]

[papasha]

[WELP.

He makes his way to the door and steps out into the hall to pause. Weird--the steps sound a bit off, but he isn't moving anymore, so when he listens... he can't tell yet.

His voice isn't quite as loud as before since he's closer.]

It says: parenthesis three Left comma twenty-three.

[There's a pause. Cre...aking...?]

...Do you hear that?

[lionson]

[He is taking that cueball, thanks. And he's taking the poker too and going up to the door. Time to find out what's out there. He's not sticking his head out or anything though, he's trying to stay just inside the room with most of his body hidden by the wall, so he can hopefully duck behind it if something actually does show up.

He'll see Blanca, and he nods as he holds a finger up to his mouth. Shh, danger is about.]

[retellers]

[ There doesn't seem to be anything there, but the creaking is definitely coming from the hall...? Now that they're quiet, though-- there's a sound that sounds eerily like a child's laughter coming from upstairs.

That's normal. ]

[papasha]

[He freezes in place and goes quiet, exchanging a glance with Shiro. The laugh doesn't scare him so much as worry him.

He again exchanges a look with Shiro, and then he motions toward the stairs.

Does he want him to go look? Are they going upstairs, or are they staying down here?]

[lionson]

[He nods his head, and he carefully steps out of the room and back into the hallway. But he holds up a finger again to his lips, silently going 'shhhh' as he carefully steps towards the stairs.

Whatever is up there, maybe they can get the jump on it.]

[retellers]

[ You know how Alex and Sora kept looking at the ceiling? Maybe Shiro and Blanca should've followed suit, because the one light source here was a very wide chandelier that, once either of them gets close to standing underneath it, falls with a very sudden snap, conveniently also plunging the area into darkness.

You're free to roll for dodge/damage or just decide whether they're fast enough, I'll be nice with my ceiling trap ]

[papasha]

[He just falls in line beside Shiro for the stairs, and GOD!! His head snaps up when he hears the first groans of the chandelier unraveling.

Shiro probably has good reflexes anyway, but Blanca is already trying to give Shiro a bit of a shove toward the opposite side of the hallway while he throws himself in the other direction.

The edges just barely catch the tail end of his feet and the bottom of his pants. He'll probably have some cuts, but it's definitely better than it landing right on top of him?]

Are you all right?

[lionson]

[Shiro does indeed have good reflexes, and he'll find himself pressed up against the wall as the chandelier crashes down. Luckily his skin is saved from injury thanks to his boots and thick wool cassock, but the same cannot be said of his clothes. He'll need to fix that later.]

Yeah, just peachy. Seems like we have a ghostly friend here.

[His mind is already running through bible verses for this type of a haunting, even though he knows said verses probably won't have any power here. Old habits die hard.]

How about you?

[retellers]

[ Now that the light has been turned off, it might be hard to see. Worry not, friends! There's a giggle again ... and writing and graffiti on the walls appear, casting a pale blue light on everything. There are cute drawings and happy faces in various shades of blue, and footprints on the ground leading up the stairs.

If they look at the rooms they left behind, there's writing on the doors as well. The lounge simply has a bunch of circles alongside a sad face, while the music room reads "FORGOT THE SONG". There's little hand prints on the chain of the broken chandelier.

The last thing they'll notice popping up in real time in front of them is writing, a little past the chandelier on the floor, starting with an arrow pointing up.

"COME ON!" ]

[papasha]

[Almost as soon as he is down, he is fluidly rolling back into a crouch, cautious.

He scans the dark, smiling weakly at the words.]

I guess we didn't play their little games.

[He stands and moves around the chandelier toward the stairs, waiting on Shiro.]

Looks like we're going up. Let's be more careful this time.

[lionson]

[Those ghostly drawings tho. Shiro can't help but smile at them.]

If its a kid, we'll have to play. Just keep an eye out for more traps, even kid ghosts can be dangerous.

[Time to go up the stairs! And he's actually looking up this time.]

[retellers]

[ the scribbled arrows continue as they walk up the stairs-- and this time, they also helpfully denote a circle in the carpet in the middle of the stairs, for some reason? It's near the broken banister. They can choose to walk on it or walk around, though the arrows seem to indicate walking around it.

There's more scribbled drawings on the ceiling. A written oops next to where the chandelier used to hang, and what looks like a stick figure of a child with their mother.

Once they get to the second floor, there are four doors, two on each side of the floor. Their apparition has helpfully labeled them;

"BED"
"PLAY"
"BATH"
"???" ]

[papasha]

Understood.

[He's careful going up the stairs; careful not only about the surroundings, but for Shiro, too. Unfortunately, I play a smart character, so he will not step in the circle. Sad.

He does look a little hm about it, though.

Being at the top doesn't help the hm because of the labeled doors, or the chandelier. DON'T JUST "OOPS"?]

Well, I guess there is still a chance to play, Mister Fujimoto. "Bed, play, bath"... Do you want to try all of them together, or split them, and then take the "question" one together?

[lionson]

We should probably stick together now. And let's go play, bath, then bed. Maybe we just gotta get the kid ready for bed.

[They can check out ??? Later.]

[retellers]

[ They head to the room labelled play ... If they're sticking close to one another, once they are both in, the door slams shut behind them. It can also slam shut behind only one if someone dawdled.

The room is dark, not even lit up by the entity's drawing. What do. ]

[papasha]

[NO, WE ARE NOT BEING (more) DUMB. They are together. But the door slamming shut on them is concerning.

AND SO IS THE DARK.]

I'm still here. You go right, I'll go left. Let's see if we can find some light without tripping over any toys. Be careful.

[He will put his hand on the wall to the left to feel around as he moves. Is this house too old for light switches?! Are there candles?! Please, a flashlight.]

[lionson]

Don't worry, I'm good to go.

[He is absolutely using the fire poker like a blind man's walking stick. Hopefully he doesn't stab anyone with it.

He goes right, sticking to the wall and looking for light switches. As he goes, he's going to talk to whatever is messing with them:]

C'mon kid, you wanna play, right? We can't play a game if we can't see.

[retellers]

[ Between both of them, Blanca wins the search for a light switch! The globe lighting up the room is old, but it still seems to work. Of course, he doesn't manage to turn it on before Shiro stabs what turns out to be a soft rabbit plush, but these are the risks we take.

It's a library! There are shelves of books of all kinds lining the wall, and in the right near the entrance is a box full of children's toys. The poor rabbit did not make it into the box.

Nothing answers their call. ]

[papasha]

[Thank God for light. But not for a library play room.]

I would have liked to have a library, but not like this.

[He exchanges a look with Shiro about their situation currently, and then comes slowly away from the wall.]

"Play," hm? Should we check the toys then?

[He'll go over with Shiro if the man comes, so they can dig through the toybox, but he glances at the shelves as he passes because he's a nerd. Anything interesting?]