week 4 CYOA - prompto, aymeric, meteion

[saturations]

Comments

[slashay]

[As each of you come to - funny, weren't you just awake? When did you fall back asleep? - you find yourself in a room, the last lingering bits of grogginess and perhaps a little motion sickness fading and leaving you feeling mildly discomforted.

Prompto's room is small and somewhat cozy, with the walls painted in a light, spring-like shade of yellow. There is a rack of clothing on one side of the wall, with something glittering peeking out of it. Nearby, an unopened chest awaits. On the other, there is a table and a mirror with light bulbs around its edge. A single chair sits in front of it, and across the back of the chair reads PROMPTO in bold letters. A few pictures appear to hang from the mirror frame. There is one black door on the wall farthest from him.

Meteion's room feels a little chilly, like the air conditioning has been left on for too long. The walls are a pretty shade of pale blue. A rack of clothing waits on one side of the wall, with an unopened chest sitting beneath the clothing. On the opposite wall, there is a small and cute vanity. There is a chair in front of it, with the name METEION written across the back in curled, elegant font. Some papers rest on the table. There is one black door on the wall farthest from her.

Aymeric's room is quite cold and somewhat dimly lit, perhaps because the lights around his vanity mirror are currently turned off. It's hard to see what may be on or around it with only the flickering overhead light, and it's hard to discern what color the walls are. A chair is in front of it, but the name on the back seems oddly difficult to read from afar. A rack of clothing waits on the opposite wall, with a chest that is cracked open somewhat. There is one black door on the wall farthest from him.

How will you proceed?]

[slashay]

[The doors open up onto a wide stage, with an enormous audience stretching out far beyond their views. Stage lights beam down on them, hot and brilliant, lighting up the black stage floor underfoot and the rich, velvet curtains tied to either side. There don't appear to be any other props or setting pieces here, for now. Though it makes it a bit difficult to look out into the roaring sea watching them, they can spot a few of the faces that are closer to the stage. They all appear to be...

extremely intense fans. Wow. Like, damn, they all have six pen lights clutched in each hand, with a smattering of Aymeric's verdant and two different shades of sunrise-yellow for Meteion and Prompto. They're decked out in shirts with the faces of the three on them, wearing headbands and waving uchiwa fans that say things like WE L*VE AYMERIC and METEION FOR BEST GIRL and PROMPTO THROW ME YOUR DIRTY SOCKS. All of them are screaming to the point of near-hysterics when the three walk out from their respective doors.

From somewhere overhead, a booming male voice announces:]

And now, the moment you've all been waiting so patiently for! The talented team assembled here tonight will serenade this lucky, lucky audience with their new hit single: As Time Flies! Are you ready for a good time?!

[The audience goes wild with applause.

...But, hm. Didn't seem like there were any notes in the backstage area for a new hit single, huh? Looks like they'll have to think on their feet.]

[slashay]

[Entering through the door reveals a large, dark room, lit only by a few sparse oil lamps hanging from the ceiling. You get the sense that this room is used for war councils; the decor is bare-bones, and the feeling you get within this space is determined and urgent.

To the right, there is a table with two wooden stools. Several papers rest on it in a neat stack, and a map on the wall above is dotted with pins and markings.

The entire left wall is a large pane of glass that opens up onto a horrific, desolate scene. The world you witness through it is dead and barren. The streets are cracked pavement with nothing but dry dirt peeking through, all plant life shriveled and brown. There isn't a single bug, a single drop of water. Corpses litter the ground in varying states of decay and mummification, some curled in on themselves in despair and others reaching with their frozen, skeletal hands toward nothing, or toward one another. The sky is a sickly shade of grey-green, and a thick cloud of purple-hued miasma hangs low in the air, obscuring the tops of any buildings from sight. It seems this place was abandoned long ago. Not even death itself lingers here, with no life remaining to end.

A single black door awaits them on the other side. Through it, you can hear distant gunfire and the sounds of war.]

[slashay]

[You enter the Shogunate army's second fortress, some via sneaking and some via horseback; the horses are dismounted and stabled behind the fortress, for what little good it will do.

This one is run down, barely holding up, riddled with bullet holes and smeared with blood, smelling of stale iron and death. The air inside is one of defeat and desperation. Despite the pockets of hope that some people may hold in this war, the soldiers here understand what they're up against. This is a losing battle. The most they want is to die with their nobility intact, like the samurai they are. To find a place out there where they can meet their end with dignity.

Estinien and Hermes help the injured through, if needed. A man is there waiting for you - you instinctively know him as Hijikata Toshizo, the general of the Shogunate's army. Meteion's sword thrums with the agony of preemptive loss. This is someone dear to it, to Meteion - a man destined to die. He's on his way to meet that fate. He looks at the three in turn.]

"You three, huh... You've done well, making it all the way out here." [He speaks with the same command for respect that you know him for, but there's something tired in his words. As if he himself understands the weight of history as it has been written, and knows that today's fight will be his last.] "I sent Ichimura ahead with everything you need to get out of here with your heads on your shoulders. Make sure that you do. ...I'm going to go find it, now. My grave."

[He turns on his heel to leave. The world seems to slow around you.

The colors bleed out of this room. Everything except for Prompto, Meteion and Aymeric shifts to shades of black and white and grey. This is the pivotal moment: the last strong tie of the Shogunate army, on his way to fall.

Meteion's sword tries to hold itself and her together, even though her misery is so deep, and its is, too. Just a little further. One more step. All you have to do is ensure that Hijikata walks through this door, and you'll have succeeded. You can put this battle behind you and go to rest and repair your broken body and heart. Prompto's sword is also ready to be done with this mission, resonating in a strange way with the hurt that had befallen his comrades earlier. War is war, but it's not any easier, is it? Every battle hurts like something new, in different ways. You want to push through this. You want to be done with it. You want to leave this place, and take a nice, long soak in the hot springs and leave this all as one more horrible mark in your exhausting past.

Two of the three of you know that this is the point of your journey here.

But one may have a different goal.]

[slashay]

[The three of you wake back up in a medical tent. It's empty, and no one else is here. This world is quiet and still, and while there is no sensation of death or encroaching doom, there is no feeling of life, either. Your injuries are still here, though none are fatal any longer. Aymeric has also returned to his senses, though he'll find himself hearing faint, indistinguishable whispers every so often for several hours after his return.

Three items lay spread out on a cot before you.

A single rose, which will turn into a glittering, light blue gumball. The user will know that they can use this item to imbue one person with a feeling of calmness and comfort which will last for a day.

A silver ring, which will turn into a marbled yellow and orange gumball. The user will know that they can use this to heal one severe injury by up to 50%.

A sliver of broken, blackened sword, which will turn into a shrimp shaped, shrimp-flavored gumball. A shrumpball, if you will. The user will know that they can use it to tie two people together for 4 hours. In that time, those two people will be able to feel each other's emotions and hear their thoughts.

They will also find that their swords have turned into small, plastic keychain replicas, like so. Their fancy idol outfits and neat accessories are also still in place, and they will find their missing outfits and items back on their beds in their apartments.

An archway opens nearby. It seems they're free to return.]