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[LP CYOA] Spiral
- Thread starter treave
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2008
- Messages
- 11,370
Dream’s End
“What is happening to Kozaka Touma will soon happen to you…” You turn to glance at the maid, to further emphasize the point. “…and you.”
“Bull… bullshit! This is nonsense!” yells Shiba. “I don’t believe you!”
“Shiba-san Shiba-san san-shibababasan.” Kozaka begins babbling as he sways from side to side. He shoves away Sakimura, who is attempting to calm him down, and begins trudging towards Shiba. “I like you. I like. I likekekeke you.” Kozaka’s confession is greeted with a hysterical scream, as Shiba desperately backs away from him.
“Is there any ounce of guilt in your heart at all, Shiba Tsukimi-san? If you had just been more considerate of his feelings, if your tongue had just been a little less sharp, he would still have his mind. He would not have been condemned to a fate worse than death,” you say.
“No, no, no, no, no, no no no no not my fault, not my fault,” Shiba mutters tearfully, her ponytail swishing from side-to-side along with the shaking of her head. The mark is growing visibly. Soon it will overcome her.
“Won’t you shut up, you bastard? If you don’t have anything good to say, say nothing!”
Roaring in anger, Sakimura leaps at you. He throws a straight kick right at your abdomen: his poise and execution is near perfect, and there is a lot of power behind his attack. As expected of a national-level karate athlete. Unfortunately for him, you know how to handle pure, uncreative reproductions of form. You slide your forearm under his leg while it is in mid-kick, and redirect his momentum upwards with a forceful parry. Sakimura hops back, trying to balance himself on one leg. He seems surprised by your sudden exhibition of speed and strength. Without pausing, acting on instinct and muscle memory, you step forward and plant your palm in the middle of his chest. The blow is sufficient to knock Sakimura off his feet. He crashes to the ground painfully.
“There is no need to run.” Without looking up, you stop the maid in her tracks with your words. “No matter where you go, it is pointless. It is all pointless. Surely you can feel it? The fingers in your chest… the cold fingers, digging, squirming, exploring, dredging out all of your sins and your secrets?”
As if triggered by your words, she begins scratching at the front of her frilly apron. “No… I can’t… I can’t feel it. I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“I told you to shut up!” Sakimura makes another attempt at you, shouting in anger. He draws his fist back for a punch, but before he can throw it, Sawada locks him up from behind. Holding him fast, the actor drags Sakimura away from you. “What the hell are you doing, Sawada! Are you betraying us too?”
“Sorry, he’s right on this one. It has to be done,” he smiles apologetically. “Can’t risk having these three turn later on, when we aren’t prepared. Isn’t that right, Seiji-sama?”
“That is right.” You nod, and stretch your hand out. While pinning Sakimura to the ground, Sawada rummages in his pockets for a bit. His hand reappears with a folded switchblade, which he tosses to you. The blade unfolds smoothly, exposing its sharp metal edge. “Now, how shall we begin?”
“Stop!” Sakimura’s yells fall on deaf ears.
Kozaka is first. You cut his throat from behind before he can react. A shower of dark red blood sprays all over Shiba. The shock pushes her over the edge and causes her to succumb. As the darkness surrounds the schoolgirl, turning her into a confused monstrosity, you plunge the knife into her right eye, driving it right into the depths of her skull. She begins convulsing, parts of her brain having been severed by your attack. The blade whips out with little resistance. Flicking the little pieces of brain matter off, you advance upon the trembling maid.
“Shino… Shinoseki. Shinoseki! Don’t do this!” Uehara shouts suddenly, desperately, and more than a little too late.
I… I don’t…
You ignore her. The knife comes down, flashing, and ends up buried in the maid’s chest. Your blow punctures her heart easily; through the hilt of the switchblade you can feel the pulsing throb of the injured organ, madly pumping blood in its dying throes.
Then, the spirits begin to emerge, shadowy figures crawling from their chrysalis of dead and cooling flesh. You hold the book up high, the incantation a swift whisper from your lips. It glows with a black, hungry light, and when you finally give it permission, the book seizes the defeated souls of the newly departed.
***
You fall.
With every minute that he was in control, you had felt yourself receding further and further away from the surface, falling deeper and deeper into your own mind. He was right. He had the ability to survive the hospital. You have nothing. It was best to just leave it to him. And why not leave it to him, all the way to the end?
Now that it is all over, you see, as if through an old, failing television, the image of Amanozaki confronting him.
“You… you aren’t Shinoseki. Shinoseki was weird, but he wasn’t weird like this! Who are you? Why did you have to kill them?” she asks bravely, though even all her mustered courage cannot stop her body from shivering.
“Who I am is entirely irrelevant to you,” he answers quietly.
“You are a murderer, that is who you are!” spits Sakimura, full of venomous hate.
A light chuckle passes his lips, and he turns to leave. “I don’t deny that.”
“Wait!” Uehara shouts. “You can’t just-”
He continues to ignore her, just as he always has. He can never look at her face for long, nor can he stand the sound of her voice. “Coming, Jun? If not, you can stay here. With the barrier in place, you are probably safe in here until you get bored and venture out, or until you starve to death.”
“Of course,” grins Sawada. “It’s time we went for the mid-boss, right?”
As he leaves the room, as you continue to fall, you hear his voice again from a great distance, clearly addressing you this time.
“I wish I could say that there is rest for you, at the end of the fall. There will be none.”
Your fall begins to slow, as the last glimpses of light, of the outside world, fade out altogether. You can already hear the murmuring far below you. It is a familiar sound… it is the lamentations of the tormented, the tortured sea of souls that lay at the bottom of the Abyss.
This is what you find, in the deepest, darkest depths of your own soul.
The fingers dig into your flesh. They drag you down.
And piece by piece, they tear you apart.
---END---
“What is happening to Kozaka Touma will soon happen to you…” You turn to glance at the maid, to further emphasize the point. “…and you.”
“Bull… bullshit! This is nonsense!” yells Shiba. “I don’t believe you!”
“Shiba-san Shiba-san san-shibababasan.” Kozaka begins babbling as he sways from side to side. He shoves away Sakimura, who is attempting to calm him down, and begins trudging towards Shiba. “I like you. I like. I likekekeke you.” Kozaka’s confession is greeted with a hysterical scream, as Shiba desperately backs away from him.
“Is there any ounce of guilt in your heart at all, Shiba Tsukimi-san? If you had just been more considerate of his feelings, if your tongue had just been a little less sharp, he would still have his mind. He would not have been condemned to a fate worse than death,” you say.
“No, no, no, no, no, no no no no not my fault, not my fault,” Shiba mutters tearfully, her ponytail swishing from side-to-side along with the shaking of her head. The mark is growing visibly. Soon it will overcome her.
“Won’t you shut up, you bastard? If you don’t have anything good to say, say nothing!”
Roaring in anger, Sakimura leaps at you. He throws a straight kick right at your abdomen: his poise and execution is near perfect, and there is a lot of power behind his attack. As expected of a national-level karate athlete. Unfortunately for him, you know how to handle pure, uncreative reproductions of form. You slide your forearm under his leg while it is in mid-kick, and redirect his momentum upwards with a forceful parry. Sakimura hops back, trying to balance himself on one leg. He seems surprised by your sudden exhibition of speed and strength. Without pausing, acting on instinct and muscle memory, you step forward and plant your palm in the middle of his chest. The blow is sufficient to knock Sakimura off his feet. He crashes to the ground painfully.
“There is no need to run.” Without looking up, you stop the maid in her tracks with your words. “No matter where you go, it is pointless. It is all pointless. Surely you can feel it? The fingers in your chest… the cold fingers, digging, squirming, exploring, dredging out all of your sins and your secrets?”
As if triggered by your words, she begins scratching at the front of her frilly apron. “No… I can’t… I can’t feel it. I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“I told you to shut up!” Sakimura makes another attempt at you, shouting in anger. He draws his fist back for a punch, but before he can throw it, Sawada locks him up from behind. Holding him fast, the actor drags Sakimura away from you. “What the hell are you doing, Sawada! Are you betraying us too?”
“Sorry, he’s right on this one. It has to be done,” he smiles apologetically. “Can’t risk having these three turn later on, when we aren’t prepared. Isn’t that right, Seiji-sama?”
“That is right.” You nod, and stretch your hand out. While pinning Sakimura to the ground, Sawada rummages in his pockets for a bit. His hand reappears with a folded switchblade, which he tosses to you. The blade unfolds smoothly, exposing its sharp metal edge. “Now, how shall we begin?”
“Stop!” Sakimura’s yells fall on deaf ears.
Kozaka is first. You cut his throat from behind before he can react. A shower of dark red blood sprays all over Shiba. The shock pushes her over the edge and causes her to succumb. As the darkness surrounds the schoolgirl, turning her into a confused monstrosity, you plunge the knife into her right eye, driving it right into the depths of her skull. She begins convulsing, parts of her brain having been severed by your attack. The blade whips out with little resistance. Flicking the little pieces of brain matter off, you advance upon the trembling maid.
“Shino… Shinoseki. Shinoseki! Don’t do this!” Uehara shouts suddenly, desperately, and more than a little too late.
I… I don’t…
You ignore her. The knife comes down, flashing, and ends up buried in the maid’s chest. Your blow punctures her heart easily; through the hilt of the switchblade you can feel the pulsing throb of the injured organ, madly pumping blood in its dying throes.
Then, the spirits begin to emerge, shadowy figures crawling from their chrysalis of dead and cooling flesh. You hold the book up high, the incantation a swift whisper from your lips. It glows with a black, hungry light, and when you finally give it permission, the book seizes the defeated souls of the newly departed.
***
You fall.
With every minute that he was in control, you had felt yourself receding further and further away from the surface, falling deeper and deeper into your own mind. He was right. He had the ability to survive the hospital. You have nothing. It was best to just leave it to him. And why not leave it to him, all the way to the end?
Now that it is all over, you see, as if through an old, failing television, the image of Amanozaki confronting him.
“You… you aren’t Shinoseki. Shinoseki was weird, but he wasn’t weird like this! Who are you? Why did you have to kill them?” she asks bravely, though even all her mustered courage cannot stop her body from shivering.
“Who I am is entirely irrelevant to you,” he answers quietly.
“You are a murderer, that is who you are!” spits Sakimura, full of venomous hate.
A light chuckle passes his lips, and he turns to leave. “I don’t deny that.”
“Wait!” Uehara shouts. “You can’t just-”
He continues to ignore her, just as he always has. He can never look at her face for long, nor can he stand the sound of her voice. “Coming, Jun? If not, you can stay here. With the barrier in place, you are probably safe in here until you get bored and venture out, or until you starve to death.”
“Of course,” grins Sawada. “It’s time we went for the mid-boss, right?”
As he leaves the room, as you continue to fall, you hear his voice again from a great distance, clearly addressing you this time.
“I wish I could say that there is rest for you, at the end of the fall. There will be none.”
Your fall begins to slow, as the last glimpses of light, of the outside world, fade out altogether. You can already hear the murmuring far below you. It is a familiar sound… it is the lamentations of the tormented, the tortured sea of souls that lay at the bottom of the Abyss.
This is what you find, in the deepest, darkest depths of your own soul.
The fingers dig into your flesh. They drag you down.
And piece by piece, they tear you apart.
---END---
Wooo boy! Great end there treave! 
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2012
- Messages
- 28,370
Hobo rider is awesome.You just want to get that Hobo Rider LP started next month.
Kz3r0
Arcane
- Joined
- May 28, 2008
- Messages
- 27,017
Yes, flushing the LP down the toilet.Fitting.
This is the problem with horror LPs, people reason as gamers not as someone in danger, see the whole "Let's fall for an obvious trap to gather informations."
Then you have the edgy crowd that wants to go full kekekeke when is obvious that will only lead to game over.
However is true that this was frustrating but I enjoied playing an awkward loser, pity that gamism and edgyness triumphed in the end.
Nevill
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2009
- Messages
- 11,211
Did you have better hopes for it now that lulzsec team and macho team have a clear majority and no one is willing to talk to each other?
This isn't a problem with horror LPs.
I enjoyed it quite a bit. It was different. Frustrating at times, but also fresh. I liked its introvertive, iterative nature when you were - in theory - supposed to notice patterns and connect the dots during multiple ever-so-slightly different nights. No impossible battles to be had, no countries to conquer, no continents to explore - just you, a few hapless people, and a secret spanning several generations. It was much more of a mystery detective than it was horror, the latter merely provided obstacles for us to overcome or avoid, given the limited cast. In fact, our downfall didn't come from the supernatural side (though not for the lack of trying on our part), it was our fellow human adversaries who brought it.
However, it seems like that kind of gameplay isn't everyone's cup of tea. I was excited at the prospect of metagaming our behavior based on what people did in the previous nights, but I don't think we managed to establish a single pattern to draw conclusions from. People always went for something different. And when they ran out of exciting new things to try (why are we always running from ghosts, let's kick the Nurse's ass!), they went for a different protagonist - and that's where the LP ended. Because Shinohara Seiji is not one.
I blame ADD. And Lambchop. And myself, of course, but that's not half as entertaining.
Shinoseki Adachi wasn't a loser... well, right until he folded and lost, anyway. I liked him a lot, actually.
For some reason, though, I felt much more emotional attachment to our sidekicks like Amanozaki, Uehara or even Mitsuki than to him. Maybe it was because he was such a blank state that we never knew how he really felt. Maybe it was because half of his feelings and thoughts weren't his/our own. Don't know why, really.
Kz3r0
Arcane
- Joined
- May 28, 2008
- Messages
- 27,017
No, unfortunately, this is why I voted B, it was pointless, but let me point out that everyone who voted in favor of the serial killer without realizing that was game over deserves scorn and ridicule.
Actually this already happened once, in another LP where we were playing as the council of elders in a prehystoric setting.
People got butthurt when ater their votes brought the demise of the council we couldn't continue as the awesome fire dude that offed the council.
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- Joined
- Jul 6, 2008
- Messages
- 11,370
Shinoseki has nothing that he really wants. Even though he has taken the lead as the LP progressed, he is still, at his core, a passive person. Getting to the center of the mystery is a goal that is told to him. Escaping is a goal that can feel meaningless because thanks to the amnesia, he does not seem to have anything to return to. Protecting other people is a goal that is done because it is right, not because he is shown to particularly like or care for those he saves beyond a superficial level. Ditto for his self-sacrificing complex. Any effort he makes to socialize is forced, both in-update and on a meta level. The repeating nature of the hospital also tears away every bond that he might create, making his achievements feel hollow.
He is an isolated person, more than anyone else in the LP, even Amanozaki. Which is pretty ironic considering his origin.
I thought it was going to be a nice surprise.
Nevill
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2009
- Messages
- 11,211
Yeah, he was lacking a force to propel him forward. Something to strive towards. I so wanted him to develop some kind of relationship or attachment - anything worth living for, really.
They called him a monster, and for a moment, he believed them and stopped floundering. And then he sunk.
Had a bitter chuckle at Uehara's last words to him.
The realization that he really was came too late, both for him and for the rest of them.
I find this the most heartwrenching part in the whole ending.
They called him a monster, and for a moment, he believed them and stopped floundering. And then he sunk.
Had a bitter chuckle at Uehara's last words to him.
The guy just wanted to feel he was needed.
The realization that he really was came too late, both for him and for the rest of them.I find this the most heartwrenching part in the whole ending.
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2008
- Messages
- 11,370
A time and place that does not exist
The tinkling of the metal spoon, hitting the edges of the porcelain cup, slowly wound down to a halt. The man in white sighed. The tea had come a little too hot for his refined sensibilities. Such was the way of the world: no plans ever come to fruition as one would like. Not fully. Not truly. He turned and looked at a remote corner of the cozy room, where the shadows were thicker and the air mustier. There was no one there, yet he addressed the emptiness all the same.
“So, here you are again, Shinoseki Adachi.”
Voiceless, eyeless, earless, mindless, without form or purpose… yet you perceived his words. If you could talk, you would reply. If you could move, you would nod. But as it is, there was nothing that you could do.
“A rather fitting end to the cycle, is it not?” The man smiled. “To die where you were born. But you were not forged for that end… though of course, if you choose to accept it, that is your choice.”
There is nothing that you could do. What did it matter?
“Nothing? That is the refuge of those with no recourse left to them.” He chuckled, placing one gloved hand politely over his mouth. “It is an empty refuge, insecure, hollow, and void… but with the right soul, nothing can be everything. Creatio ex nihilo – from things that were not are man created, and all his works thereafter.”
Even if something could come from nothing, you would not know how. Where would you start? What would you do? There were too many questions and too few answers.
“Come, let us see if we can find some answers in my collection.” The man got up from his seat. Walking over to the bookshelves, he began browsing through the rows and rows of books. Finally, he paused, his finger resting on a particular spine. “Here it is.” Gently, almost reverently, he pulled the book out. It is a familiar-looking thick tome bound in black leather.
When he opened the book, Ei’s voice rang out across the room.
Was this the real Ei?
“Does it matter?” The man shrugged and closed the book again. “When we met, I asked you to dismiss myself as a figment of your imagination. Now, I ask you this: are you real?”
You thought…
“Therefore you are. Cogito ergo sum. Precisely!” His hands raised in an excited flourish, the man snapped his fingers. “In this place, what is real and what is not is merely a matter of perception. For all intents and purposes, it is as close to being real as it can be, should you believe it to be so. Now, the way can be opened to you… if you desire answers, you shall grasp them. If you seek the path back, it shall be laid out before you, though the journey will not be easy.” He bowed low in a courteous manner. “Shinoseki Adachi, out of respect for your tireless efforts, I humbly offer my assistance to you.”
When the man raised his head expectantly, you realized, for the first time, that his elegant, handsome features were a mask. Like the fox mask he wore. Something far more ancient than any man dwelled behind that human mask.
The mask smiled.
***
A. You seek the answers and the way back. You will brave the journey.
B. You have no desire to pursue the truth. Let it end.
The tinkling of the metal spoon, hitting the edges of the porcelain cup, slowly wound down to a halt. The man in white sighed. The tea had come a little too hot for his refined sensibilities. Such was the way of the world: no plans ever come to fruition as one would like. Not fully. Not truly. He turned and looked at a remote corner of the cozy room, where the shadows were thicker and the air mustier. There was no one there, yet he addressed the emptiness all the same.
“So, here you are again, Shinoseki Adachi.”
Voiceless, eyeless, earless, mindless, without form or purpose… yet you perceived his words. If you could talk, you would reply. If you could move, you would nod. But as it is, there was nothing that you could do.
“A rather fitting end to the cycle, is it not?” The man smiled. “To die where you were born. But you were not forged for that end… though of course, if you choose to accept it, that is your choice.”
There is nothing that you could do. What did it matter?
“Nothing? That is the refuge of those with no recourse left to them.” He chuckled, placing one gloved hand politely over his mouth. “It is an empty refuge, insecure, hollow, and void… but with the right soul, nothing can be everything. Creatio ex nihilo – from things that were not are man created, and all his works thereafter.”
Even if something could come from nothing, you would not know how. Where would you start? What would you do? There were too many questions and too few answers.
“Come, let us see if we can find some answers in my collection.” The man got up from his seat. Walking over to the bookshelves, he began browsing through the rows and rows of books. Finally, he paused, his finger resting on a particular spine. “Here it is.” Gently, almost reverently, he pulled the book out. It is a familiar-looking thick tome bound in black leather.
When he opened the book, Ei’s voice rang out across the room.
Was this the real Ei?
“Does it matter?” The man shrugged and closed the book again. “When we met, I asked you to dismiss myself as a figment of your imagination. Now, I ask you this: are you real?”
You thought…
“Therefore you are. Cogito ergo sum. Precisely!” His hands raised in an excited flourish, the man snapped his fingers. “In this place, what is real and what is not is merely a matter of perception. For all intents and purposes, it is as close to being real as it can be, should you believe it to be so. Now, the way can be opened to you… if you desire answers, you shall grasp them. If you seek the path back, it shall be laid out before you, though the journey will not be easy.” He bowed low in a courteous manner. “Shinoseki Adachi, out of respect for your tireless efforts, I humbly offer my assistance to you.”
When the man raised his head expectantly, you realized, for the first time, that his elegant, handsome features were a mask. Like the fox mask he wore. Something far more ancient than any man dwelled behind that human mask.
The mask smiled.
***
A. You seek the answers and the way back. You will brave the journey.
B. You have no desire to pursue the truth. Let it end.
Last edited:
TOME
Cuckmaster General
- Joined
- May 25, 2012
- Messages
- 1,820
Why does that second last chapter make me think of the terrible enemy Ean and co played cards with in the end of Epic.
Anyway, I haven't had the time to follow this thread as closely as I would have wanted, but I will lurk it to the end.
A.
Anyway, I haven't had the time to follow this thread as closely as I would have wanted, but I will lurk it to the end.
A.
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