WEEK 3: CYOA (Rufus, Sumire, Taako, Dorothy)

[retellers]

Comments

[uhhhmagic]

Whatever. Suck on my sweet flips, dipshits.

[Fuck! Fine. Spinning on his heel to march out to the field a bit so his (I’m assuming his hairstyle changed with the outfit) ponytail might whack the Gap Model in the face.

Then he takes a breath and does a running start to an actual flip? He’s actually fucking good at this. And I rolled a 17, so I’ll say he does a fairly impressive job - though he does throw in a twerk, which is sad, because he has zero ass - and trips a little at the end, looking kinda confused. Hm. That’s weird.

Covering up his mistake by tossing the pompoms off to the side in favor of flipping the double bird at the crowd though.]

[siblingless]

[WOW. TERRIBLE CAT. She drops the cat with a startled gasp, clutching her arms where it scratched her. Thanks for nothing, cat.

Taako tried his best and she supports him, though. She will act as his hype squad while he sadly twerks, clapping to the rhythm and chanting for good measure.]

Taako-san! Taako-san! Taako-san!

[Terrible job, team.

Did you know you can still do some sick flips even while you're down an arm? The more you learn. As soon as Sumire notices him flipping the bird, she switches the pom poms to her injured arm, runs, and shows off some one-handed gymnastic flips — landing in a split. RIP to her inner leggies.

Taking one of the pom poms in her other hand and shaking them both around from her position on the ground. What is it that cheerleaders say again? What team is this, even? She has so many questions. Uh.]

... Goooooo, team...?!

[Whatever team this is!]

[retellers]

[ The crowd goes wild! They start chanting their names excitedly, and even the cat seems to purr in recognition despite being rudely dropped.

The cheerleaders all smile. ]

Wooow, that was sooooo cool. You're on the team! Yay! Let's celebrate. Claire?

[ The lesser blonde steps forward and pulls out a knife. Where was she holding this? But she'll hand it to the pair, smiling.

The other cheerleader is also smiling. ]

Now cut Claire's throat. Goooo team!

[uhhhmagic]

This is exactly why I never joined cheerleading. It’s all, rah rah team one second and then lets drink each other’s blood and summon demons the next.

[He’ll . . . take the knife, but.]

Can I not and say we did? Claire?

[siblingless]

[Ah.

She smiles a little for Taako when she hears the crowd chant his name, lifting herself from the ground to join him. All is well — until the knife comes out, and then she takes a step back, the color draining from her face.]

What...? [Ma'am??? Part of her knows this probably isn't real but, uh.] Isn't Claire-san part of this team? Why would you ask us to something so horrible to her?

[retellers]

Claire knows her place.

[ Claire nods, smiling. She is at peace. She even steps forward towards Taako. ]

You are now part of our team. So go and cut! That! Throat!

[ The crowd goes wild. ]

[uhhhmagic]

[me, innocent and young, 8am this morning: forgetting The Suffering Game won’t really impact too much until later! It’ll be fine!

He grips the knife. Look, he may not remember the hellish Lich dungeon that fed on bad feelings and demanded extraordinary acts of cruelty, but he’s still the same person who made it through that torture prison. Sometimes, you just have to do things so the chanting stops.]

Hey, uh, Yoshizawa, pumpkin, if you just wanna turn around maybe?

[siblingless]

[oh my god.

As horrified as she was at the head cheerleader, that can't compare to the horror she feels now, as she realizes what he's setting out to do.]

Taako-san? [A little wobbly.] Taako-san, you can't. You don't have to do this.

[Though, she won't get in the way of the knife if he decides to just go for it. Oof.]

[retellers]

[ Claire just smiles brightly at them. ]

Two, four, six, eight! Go and make me asphyxiate! Gooooo team!

[ The other cheerleaders cheer and clap loudly. ]

[uhhhmagic]

Weird—- Weird rhyme, Claire. I’m not choking you, I’m stabbing you. Dumb idiot. Anyway, calm down for half a second.

[Stalling, at this point, but it’s fine.]

It’s fine, right? They—- aren’t real. It’s supposed to be fucked up, and I’ve done plenty of fucked up things, soooooo . . .

[Don’t cry, small child. Twirling the knife around his fingers for a second - just staring at it while he thinks it over, idly pacing a little, circling poor Claire.

But it’s mostly to get closer to the head cheerleader. Then he just fucking stabs her. He’s aiming for the neck, sure. Sure!]

[siblingless]

[







SCREAMING.]

Wait—!

[It's fine? It's fine. Just another day in her life, watching a friend try to merc an asshole.

For all her screaming, though, she will immediately go to bat if anyone tries to grab or hit him. Gooooooooo, team!]

[retellers]

[ I can't believe she just has a bat now.

But Taako did it! He kills the evil cheerleader! Who transforms into his sister right when he digs the blade in. She grabs onto Taako, gasping for breath, as blood slides down her neck. She falls over.

The other cheerleaders just watch her hit the ground before cheering. ]

Good job, team! You did do better than Lup! Yaaaaay!

[uhhhmagic]

[I can’t say I didn’t expect this.

Taako, despite himself, does start a bit at the vision - instinctively reaching to try and grab after “Lup” before he steels himself to it. Snatching his hand back, still holding the knife tightly. Knuckles turning white around the handle. Cold, instead.]

Weak. You think this is the first time I’ve seen her die? Fuck off.

[Don’t goad the evil dungeon master (francy), please,]

Can we just get on with this already.

[siblingless]

[She squeezes her eyes shut when the knife makes contact with the cheerleader's throat, so she misses the transformation until she opens her eyes, and — ah. There's Lup. Cool. Cool, cool, cool. She slaps a hand over her mouth, eyes flickering over to Taako to make sure he's okay first and foremost. Apparently... yes? Hm.

Sibling trauma to discuss later, probably.

For now, she drops her hand to her chest, balling it into a fist. Okay. This isn't real. The real Lup is fine. Everything is fine! Time to goad the evil dungeon master.]

... Is this all you wanted from us? May we leave now?

[retellers]

Um, no? It's time for the pep rally! Let's introduce our team!

[ The cheerleaders all yell excitedly along with the crowd. And right on cue, a group of people in football uniforms will run onto the field towards them. The only difference is that they're not Gap models this time? They all stare at the two of them. ]

It's almost time for the biiiig game!

[ Claire has become alpha blonde. Alas. ]

[uhhhmagic]

[ is he okay? probably going that cold and dead inside that quickly can’t be healthy coping, but, who knows. He’s just trying very, very hard not to look at that body if it’s still there. Pushing his hair behind his ears and shaking it off.

He certainly doesn’t recognize this group, but it isn’t a huge leap to assume they mean something to Yoshizawa. Like they definitely don’t look like a football team. Just tapping her on the shoulder. ]

Just— don’t give this place the satisfaction, okay?

[siblingless]

[Ah.

Staring right back at them.]

Akira-senpai? And...

[It's a good thing Taako is tapping Sumire on the shoulder because, well, it's kind of hard to remember that when you're 15 and the friends you miss like hell are right in front of you. She's obviously uneasy, but she nods... and gently shifts her position so she can block Taako's view of Lup's corpse a little.]

... If there's a big game, who are they competing against?

[retellers]

[ Lup is just bleeding down there. It's cool.

But Akira waves at Sumire, smiling. The others also acknowledge her, laughing happily as they spot their friend. Ryuji makes a badly timed joke about cheerleaders.

Claire waves her pom poms. ]

Awww, are you worried about our team? Don't worry! We will kick B-U-T-T!

[ Confetti cannons shoot out at them. Where do these keep coming from. ]

[uhhhmagic]

You can say A-S-S, Claire, you fucking dipshit.

[ really wish he’d stabbed her instead. ]

[siblingless]

[While Taako tries to teach a cheerleader how to curse, Sumire catches herself smiling back at her not-senpai and not-friends — and forces herself to look away.

Wow... This football field is so interesting... What else is here if she finally looks around?]

[retellers]

[ Sumire will get to see the marching band playing another nice tune. Even more, it's no longer manned by invisible people? there are more Gap models! Where did they come from.

Claire perkily rolls her eyes. ]

Shut the fuck up, Taako! This is why no one tells you anything. Oh, I think our opponents are coming, you two should give a little cheer. Yay!

[uhhhmagic]

[ I hate this but Taako actually does seem offended enough by the “this is why no one tells you anything” snipe to shut his mouth for half a second, choosing an anime boy style tch! instead. Fuck off, Claire.

He stubbornly won’t cheer, but he half waves a pom. ]

Whatever! W-H-A-T-E-V-E-R!

[siblingless]

[i can't believe taako is now takakin, damn.]

Um.

[Does this team have a name? Do either of the teams have a name? She lifts her pompoms in the air and reminds herself that these are not, in fact, her senpais watching her do this shit.]

... Gooooo, team!

[Shakes her pom poms? Shake, shake, shake.]

[retellers]

[ Shake, shake, shake.

The other cheerleaders cheer approvingly. ]

Good job! Look, our opponents are coming, so make sure they know we're going to kick their [ Claire looks straight at Taako. ] B-U-T-T!

[ And right on cue, the other team arrives. It's, uh. Much smaller than the home team, for some reason. ]

[uhhhmagic]

[ cool cool cool no doubt no doubt no doubt

His hands kinda sink some, just watching. He did just warn Yoshizawa about not believing these people are real and are definitely illusions to torment them but also the emotion of Miss Friends. Bad. ]

Just fake. Just bullshit.

[...] And shut the absolute fuck up, Claire, I still have a knife.