[X] Because you're friends with a doll made of poison and so you had poison put in you to make it so the other poison wouldn't do stuff when it was put in you which is just what happens when you hang out with someone made of poison.

Kurumi, you might want to find an antidote. Pronto.

[X] Because you're friends with a doll made of poison and so you had poison put in you to make it so the other poison wouldn't do stuff when it was put in you which is just what happens when you hang out with someone made of poison.

I'm sure Kurumi has nothing to worry about.

[X] Because you're friends with a doll made of poison and so you had poison put in you to make it so the other poison wouldn't do stuff when it was put in you which is just what happens when you hang out with someone made of poison.

[x] Because it's not that your blood tastes funny, it's that her taste buds are tasting things funny. She's the one with the problem, not you. There is nothing wrong with how your blood tastes. There's nothing wrong with how any of you tastes. You are perfectly normal and goddamn delicious.

Fuck yes I'm delicious.

[X] The option everyone else chose.
Why is this adorable?
...I wonder if Koishi is okay with sharing.

[X] Because it's a natural defense to ward off predators. They won't eat you if you taste bad. Unless they like things that taste bad. Then you're kinda screwed.
Normally you would question the defensive properties of something that requires you to bleed to work. Good thing we have long left normal.

[x] Because you're friends with a doll made of poison and so you had poison put in you to make it so the other poison wouldn't do stuff when it was put in you which is just what happens when you hang out with someone made of poison.

I'm sorry, I need to inform you of your possible demise.

[x] Because you're friends with a doll made of poison and so you had poison put in you to make it so the other poison wouldn't do stuff when it was put in you which is just what happens when you hang out with someone made of poison.

I wonder if Ms 'Miracles' effort to help us did anything useful. My money's on 'no'

Anyway, gotta let you know: I love that pic. No idea why.

[x] Because it's not that your blood tastes funny, it's that her taste buds are tasting things funny. She's the one with the problem, not you. There is nothing wrong with how your blood tastes. There's nothing wrong with how any of you tastes. You are perfectly normal and goddamn delicious.

[X] Because you're friends with a doll made of poison and so you had poison put in you to make it so the other poison wouldn't do stuff when it was put in you which is just what happens when you hang out with someone made of poison.

[X] Because you're friends with a doll made of poison and so you had poison put in you to make it so the other poison wouldn't do stuff when it was put in you which is just what happens when you hang out with someone made of poison.

[x] Because you're friends with a doll made of poison and so you had poison put in you to make it so the other poison wouldn't do stuff when it was put in you which is just what happens when you hang out with someone made of poison.

Makes total sense to me.

"It's because I'm friends with a doll made of poison, and poison's bad for me, so this nice doctor lady put poison in me to make it so that other poisons wouldn't be so bad for me when they get put in me, because that sort of thing is just what happens when you hang out with someone made of poison. You get poison put into you," you explain. The girl, for her part, nods as you speak, making at least some effort to show you that she was listening, even as her eyes begin to glaze over. "So, uh, that's probably why it tastes weird. Poison. In the blood. Makes it taste funny. Poison."

"Ah, okay. Okay..."the girl says, pausing a moment to sniff the air.

"So, yeah. Poison in the blood. The blood that you, uh, you know. Tasted. There was probably poison in it."

As you repeat the words 'poison' and 'blood' and 'tasting', it occurs to you that tasting things with poison in them is generally not a good thing to do. More often than not, it doesn't really end well for the one doing the tasting. And yet, for some reason, this girl is showing a distinct lack of concern over the knowledge that she ate poison. Or rather, drank poison. ...lapped up poison?
You're not sure how she went about tasting your blood, or why, but the point remains that there was poison in it, and she put it in her mouth.

Poison. Right in her mouth.

This was probably bad. For her, mostly.
Yet, she doesn't look worried. Not in the slightest.
Poor girl. She must be in denial. Denial of her imminent and almost certainly unpleasant demise.
Poor girl. Poor, poor, soon-to-be-convulsing-and-frothing-at-the-mouth girl.

You should probably tell her.
No. You must tell her!



[ ] Break it to her gently. Tact is of the utmost importance!

[ ] Break it to her firmly. She's bound to freak out. Shaking her and smacking her will help her to not freak out so much!

[ ] Comfort her. Where words fail, hugs can do wonders!

[ ] Deny everything. Nothing can harm you if you don't acknowledge it in the first place.

[ ] Actually, you think she might be okay. If the scythe didn't kill her, what would a little poison-tainted blood do?

[X] Actually, you think she might be okay. If the scythe didn't kill her, what would a little poison-tainted blood do?

The wonders of being a vampire.

[x] Actually, you think she might be okay. If the scythe didn't kill her, what would a little poison-tainted blood do?

[X] Actually, you think she might be okay. If the scythe didn't kill her, what would a little poison-tainted blood do?

Without Medi actively trying to kill you? Yea, she's probably ok.

[X] Actually, you think she might be okay. If the scythe didn't kill her, what would a little poison-tainted blood do?

No need for drama yet

[X] Don't Panic!
>Poison. Right in her mouth.
L-Lewd.

[X] Actually, you think she might be okay. If the scythe didn't kill her, what would a little poison-tainted blood do?

[x] Comfort her. Where words fail, hugs can do wonders!

Hugs!

...or not.

When you think about it, and you mean really think about it, what do you really have to worry about?
So this girl who for whatever reason tasted some of your blood may have ingested a teeny, tiny, little bit of poison in the process. So what? You saw her have what you're sure had to be a fairly good number of vital organs perforated by a damned scythe, and from her current demeanor, you feel confident in saying she took it like champ!

When you think of it like that, what could something so much smaller and non-bladed like a bit of poison possibly do? No need to get worked up over nothing, you suppose, so you may as well just keep calm and carry on as if nothing were wrong. Which, as far as you can see, is totally the case.

Yes, as far as you can tell, this girl is perfectly fine. Not at all worried about the implications of what you just told her about what she ate or drank or lapped up from the floor like a cat or dog or whatever else laps stuff up from the floor. And if she's not worried about it, why should you be?

You will, however, continue to regard the fact she tasted something that was on the floor to be weird, especially when that 'something' happened to be your blood.

Unless, of course, she happened to be a vampire or something. Because you could probably see one of those doing something like that, probably. In fact, just from what you've witnessed first-hand in your few encounters with vampires, you think it is probably safe to say that there is nothing that would surprise you about them, at this point.

Nothing at all.

Nothing at all.

"H-hey, is something wrong?" the girl asks, having apparently noticed you shuddering at your sudden recollection of things best left forgotten.

"Yeah. No. I'm fine. I'm fine. Really. Fine. Fine..."you reply while desperately trying your best to force the bad thoughts away. Bad, bad, awful, horrible, awful bad bad go away go away stop thinking about it stop thinking about the noise and smell and AH AH AHHHHHHHHHSTOPSTOPSTOPIT STOP IT STOP GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT OUT WITH THE BAD IN WITH THE GOOD OUT WITH THE BAD IN WITH THE-

?DINNER!? you suddenly yell, making the girl yelp in surprise. "Wanna have dinner? I think we should have dinner! Yeah, dinner! Let's have dinner! Dinner is good! Dinner is a good thing! It is a very very good thing!"

"U-uwha? Ah, erm, okaaaay?" the girl says, eying you warily all of a sudden. Not that you see any reason to be wary. After all, all you're talking about is dinner!

Yes, dinner! Wonderful dinner! Wonderful, trouble-forgetting dinner! Just the thing to make you forget bad things in favor of bad things! When in doubt, dine the pain away! Dine the pain away!Dine the pain away
Dine the pain away
DINE THE PAIN AWAY

Yes, dinner is just what you need right now!
You will have dinner!

Filled with new purpose, you throw off the covers and hop out of bed. You stride past the girl, who simply sits there, awestruck by your determination.

Dinner determination.

Dintermination.

With mighty steps, you make your way to the door, and swing it open in a similarly mighty fashion. Stepping forward, however, you are immediately stopped as your vision goes red and your face presses into something warm and soft.

"Well. Hello."

A voice you feel you've heard before fills your ears, spoken from somewhere above you. Leaning back slightly, you crane your neck upwards, and find a lady looking back down at you. Much like the voice, you get the feeling you've seen her before. You also get the feeling you should maybe probably be worried about being so close to this lady. Then again, you also get the feeling that you would like to touch those curls of hers. You think they would feel all springy and sproingy and nice. You think she might kill you for doing that. You think it may or may not be worth it. Also, dinner. You are thinking about dinner.


[ ] ?Hi."

[ ] ?I'm sorry."

[ ] ?Pardon me."

[ ] ?Boing~!"

[ ] ?YOU. ME. DINNER. NOW. NO MAKE EYE-CONTACT."

[x] "YOU. ME. DINNER. NOW. NO MAKE EYE-CONTACT."

Guess rabbits aren't the only ones who rubbed him the wrong way.

[x]"Hi"
[x]"I'm sorry"
[x]"YOU. ME. DINNER. NOW."
[x]"Pleeeeease."

[x] "YOU. ME. DINNER. NOW. NO MAKE EYE-CONTACT."

I live for these choices.

[X] "YOU. ME. DINNER. NOW. NO MAKE EYE-CONTACT."

What could possibly go wrong other than everything?

[x] "YOU. ME. DINNER. NOW. NO MAKE EYE-CONTACT."

>>179684
Clearly nothing can go wrong with this.

>>179680
>>179683
>>179684
>>179686

But let's at least respond to the hello first?

[x] "YOU. ME. DINNER. NOW. NO MAKE EYE-CONTACT.."

I have to wonder what will happen if we ever truly run into remilia again...

[x] "Pardon me.."
We already have a dinner partner

[x] "Pardon me."

[x]"Hi"
[x]"I'm sorry"
[x]"YOU. ME. DINNER. NOW."
[x]"Pleeeeease."

[x]"Hi"
[x]"I'm sorry"
[x]"YOU. ME. DINNER. NOW."
[x]"Pleeeeease."

>>179689
Indeed we have!

[x] "Pardon me."

Yes. Dinner.
You are thinking about dinner.
And the power of dinner.
And the benefits of the power of dinner.

And also, the power.
The power.
POWER!

"YOU! ME! DINNER! NOW! NO MAKE EYE-CONTACT!" you practically shout at the curly-haired woman who, aside from a raised eyebrow, does not look nearly as surprised by your outburst as you would expect, given the circumstances. Clearly, she is not the sort who is easily startled.

This assessment of her is further supported by the way she calmly yet firmly grabs you by the throat with one hand, lifts you up, and holds you at eye level with her.

"In light of the circumstances, sir, I'm going to assume you are confused and disoriented, and that little outburst just now was nothing more than the product of your addled mind attempting to come to terms with the situation you are now in. With that in mind, would you care to start again? Hmm?" she asks, with a glint in her eye that makes you feel as if you need to choose your next words very, very carefully.

"Um, hi? Pardon me?" you manage to croak out, feeling your dinner-inspired rush quickly fading, leaving a sense of dread and anxiety in its wake as what what vaguely passes for your sense of self-preservation sputters back to life. "I am sorry. You, uh, me...dinner? Er, now?"

The woman simply stares at you, expression unchanging. Though her lack of reaction makes you wonder what she was expecting you to say or do, you also have the feeling that something was missing. Something you had forgotten. You try to think what it might be, but the only thing that comes to mind is...

"Pleeeeease?"

Though the grip on your neck remains firm, something about the woman's face changes, ever so slightly. Though you're not sure you would say it softened, exactly, you feel much less of a 'one wrong move and I crush you like a bug' vibe coming from her.

"Hmm. I suppose that will do." the woman says, neither her face or voice betraying a hint of emotion. For several uncomfortable seconds, thanks in no small part to the hand that was still gripping your neck, you simply hang there as the two of you stare at each other.

But then, something happens. Something you wouldn't expect to see from someone while they were in a perfect position to crush your throat like a paper cup.

"Apology accepted," she says, with a smile.

Not the creepy, predatory smile you've seen the occasional youkai sporting from time to time, but a real, genuine, honest-to-goodness smile. The sort of smile that makes you feel fuzzy and lightheaded in a way that may or may not be related to the decreased flow of oxygen to your lungs and brain.
The warm, welcoming kind of smile that makes all your worries melt away, and give you the feeling that everything is going to be alright.


And then she throws you.

At least, you think she throws you. As quickly as it happens, it's hard for you to tell.

One moment, you're being held aloft by the pleasantly smiling lady, and the next you feel yourself flying backwards through the air. You hear the girl behind you let out a yelp, and catch a glimpse of her diving out of the way as you sail by. With a loud WHUMPH, your journey across the room ends, and you find yourself back where it began, nestled in a mass of cushions and blankets.

You were back on the bed.


"I feel we may have gotten off on the wrong foot," the woman says, stepping into the room, followed closely by floating tray carrying what appears to be a kettle and a set of cups. The cups clink and clatter as the tray sets itself down on a nearby table. "I am Elly, porter and current custodian of this mansion," the woman says, offering you something between a bow and a nod. "The blood-sucking parasite over there-"

"I'm Kurumi!" the girl pipes up, smiling entirely too cheerfully for someone who was just called a blood-sucking parasite.

?Kurumi, our presently useless gatekeeper," the woman named Elly continues, looking slightly annoyed by the interruption. "And you are...?"

The two ladies look at you expectantly, and you do your best not to disappoint them. Aside from your name and non-existent occupation, you give them a brief rundown of your hobbies, pet peeves, and favorite egg-based dishes.

"...and that is why you should always check before you crack them open!" Having concluded your lecture, you look at your audience and attempt to gauge their response to your words of wisdom.

Kurumi, having nodded off somewhere between your thoughts on the perfect souffle and proper whipping techniques, is still sleeping peacefully at the foot of the bed, her wings flapping slightly every now and then.

Elly, on the other hand, not only managed to remain awake, but was watching and listening to you with rapt attention the whole time. "Amazing," she says, clearly in awe of your knowledge. "In all my years, I have never heard anyone speak for so long while saying so little. If time held any meaning here, I would give serious thought to cracking your skull open for stealing so much of it."

Yep. Complete and utter awe.

But, you suppose she has a point. You have been talking so much about yourself and the things you like, you've given these two ladies no chance to do the same! Is that any way for a gentleman to act?! Least of all one with hopes of dinner with said ladies? Of course not!

And so, you decide to ask about...


[ ] Dinner! Of course!
[ ] Those 'circumstances' she mentioned
[ ] Whether she makes it a habit of murdering anyone who comes to visit.
[ ] Her thoughts on your survival of her murdering you.
[ ] The possibility of an apology for her murdering you.
[ ] Obligatory write-in option

[X] Those 'circumstances' she mentioned
[X] Whether she makes it a habit of murdering anyone who comes to visit.
[X] Her thoughts on your survival of her murdering you.
[X] Dinner! Of course!

Murder and dinner, the best conversation path with a lady who has shown to be perfectly capable of destroying us!

[X] Those 'circumstances' she mentioned
[X] Whether she makes it a habit of murdering anyone who comes to visit.
[X] Her thoughts on your survival of her murdering you.

[x]"Oh, and..."
[x]Kneel down, head and hands on the floor.
[x]"Dinner!"
[x]"Please!"
[x]If not convinced, try different poses and pleads.

[x] Whether she makes it a habit of murdering anyone who comes to visit.
[x] Her thoughts on your survival of her murdering you.
[x] The possibility of an apology for her murdering you.

[x] Those 'circumstances' she mentioned
[x] Whether she makes it a habit of murdering anyone who comes to visit.
[x] Her thoughts on your survival of her murdering you.

[x] Dinner! Of course!
Dream dinner is still better than no dinner at all

[x] Whether she makes it a habit of murdering anyone who comes to visit.
[x] Her thoughts on your survival of her murdering you.
[x] The possibility of an apology for her murdering you.
I think the whole murdering thing is a pretty good question.
Murdering people isn't good, you know.
If you murder everyone you meet, there won't be anyone left to eat dinner with!

[x] Whether she makes it a habit of murdering anyone who comes to visit.
[x] Her thoughts on your survival of her murdering you.
[x] The possibility of an apology for her murdering you.

[x] Those 'circumstances' she mentioned
[x] Whether she makes it a habit of murdering anyone who comes to visit.

>>179709
>>179714

Yeah, I think I'll go with these options. We just got her to forgive us, let's not risk pissing her off again to ask for an apology. Besides, it's not like we made all the other people who tried to murder us apologise.

[x] Those 'circumstances' she mentioned
[x] Whether she makes it a habit of murdering anyone who comes to visit.
[x] Her thoughts on your survival of her murdering you.
[x] Dinner! Of course!

"So!" you begin, wondering where to start. "Do you, uh, make a habit of doing that thing you did? You know, the murder? Like, do you just go around killing everybody who comes to your house to visit?"

"Do you make a habit of entering homes uninvited by breaking their windows and sneaking in like a common burglar?" the one called Elly fires back at you, folding her arms across her chest.

"No, I usually just go in through the front door. Or what's left of the front door when I get there. And sometimes the drainage tunnel, if they got one of those. I don't think I'd do that one again, though. Smells bad." you answer with complete honesty.

"Really," Elly says, after a few moments of silent staring.

"Hey, it's not like I was trying to rob them or anything bad like that!" you say, defensively. "Like, one time I was just trying to return something I found, and another time I thought something was wrong and was just trying to see if someone I knew needed help! And that time I walked in on...uh, well, the point is that was totally by accident! And, uh..." For a moment, you think you see Elly's eyes flick towards her scythe leaning against the wall. "Water! There was lots of water! Or whatever that stuff is! It was rushing towards me and I didn't want to drown and I wanted to use the door but I couldn't use the door because it was locked and there was a window so I went in the window and I'm sorry I broke it but it fixed itself so it should be okay but even so I'm sorry!?

Once again, Elly simply stares at you for a moment, before letting out a faint sigh. "So you had your reasons." Stepping over to the table, she picks up the kettle and begins pouring what looks like tea into one of the cups. "Even so, if you're not a guest of the Mistress, you're an intruder. It is my duty to dispose of intruders. And so..."

"So, basically, it's a habit for you to murder anyone who visits your house."

"It's my job," the lady in red corrects you, setting the kettle back down. Taking one of the cups, she pulls out a nearby chair, turns it towards you, and seats herself. "Even if she is no longer here, my orders still stand."

?'Kill all intruders' huh?" you say, trying your best to resist the urge to follow it up with something to the effect of 'yeeeeah, how's that working out for you'. Somehow, antagonizing the lady who has shown herself to be willing to kill at a moment's notice strikes you as something to avoid, even if the actually 'killing' part doesn't seem to want to stick.

Not that you have any complaint about that.

"Of course, I generally prefer my kills to remain killed, but once again, under the circumstances..." Elly takes a small sip from her cup, and immediately scrunches her face into a disgusted grimace.

"Um, circumstances?" you ask.

"Of course, you wouldn't know, would you?" she says, eying her cup as if uncertain if she should take a second sip or simply throw the thing across the room. "The short version is, we're trapped here. The long version is..."




[ ] ...probably just the same as the short version, but with a lot more words. Booooring! Move along!

[ ] ...is it story time? You bet it's story time! You like stories!

[X] ...is it story time? You bet it's story time! You like stories!

Oooh boy! stories!

[x] ...is it story time? You bet it's story time! You like stories!

I can't not vote for this.

[x] ...is it story time? You bet it's story time! You like stories!

We would listen to even the yama's lectures with rapt attention.

[x] ...is it story time? You bet it's story time! You like stories!

'Reasons' is an understatement for that tidal wave of death.

[x] ...is it story time? You bet it's story time! You like stories!
Are there dragons? I hope there are dragons.

[x] ...is it story time? You bet it's story time! You like stories!

[X] ...is it story time? You bet it's story time! You like stories!
Man the MC represses like a champ. You'd almost think he hasn't been horribly traumatized by everything that has happened to him.

"The long version is that we're completely and utterly trapped here," Elly says. "Forever."

"Um, that's it?" you ask, feeling somewhat underwhelmed by the length of her so-called 'long version'. While it was certainly longer in one sense, you were still hoping for something more.

"Yes, that's it. Was something about that unclear?"

"Uh, yeah, kinda," you say, nodding. "I mean, you say we're trapped here, but where is 'here'? How are we trapped? Why are we trapped? It just feels like there's a story to this, and I like stories, and, um...yeah."

For moment, Elly makes no sound beyond a soft yet extremely drawn-out sigh. "Very well, but no interruptions."

"But what if I have a-" you begin to ask, only for the curly-haired woman to set down her teacup, and pull out a pair of old-yet-sharp-looking scissors from... wait, where did those come from?

?No interruptions~!? she says with a pleasant yet forceful lilt in her voice. Coupled with the way she was snipping at the air, allowing you to see the light glinting off the parts of the blades that weren't stained with what you almost hope is rust, you think that it might be best to just quietly listen to what she has to say.

"I'll be quiet."

"Very good," she says, setting the scissors down beside her cup. "Now then, the question of where we are is, shall we say, 'complicated'. Once, this mansion rested upon a boundary between the waking world and the dream world, safely hidden away beneath a lake of blood. It was a place of tranquility and peace for the Mistress, until some... unpleasantness compelled her to leave this place, and remain away for an exceedingly long time. I honestly cannot tell how long it has been since the Mistress departed, or what circumstances prevented her from so much as sending word that her return would be delayed. Indefinitely, no less. Certainly, it is her prerogative whether or not she corresponds with her loyal servant. That goes without saying, and I can't fault her for that. But, surely, it would not have been too much to leave at least some semblance of a contingency plan in the unlikely event of everything falling to pieces during her absence which, I might add, is exactly what happened but it's fine. It's fine. Really."

From the way her voice was rising in pitch and her posture was stiffening as she spoke, you get the feeling that it wasn't really as 'fine' as Elly was trying to make it sound. At any other time, you might take this as signal to speak up and ask if she was okay, or offer some words of sympathy or comfort. That would be a nice thing to do. Then again, chances were that she would consider that to be an interruption, and would make good on her threats of doing whatever it was she was threatening to do with those scissors. That would not be a nice thing to do, least of all for you.

So, yeah. You think you're going to just keep your mouth shut for now.

Pausing to refill her cup, Elly gazes briefly at the contents with a look of disgust before downing the whole thing in a single gulp. "In any case..."she says with a cough. "In any case, while the Mistress was away, something happened. The boundary became unstable, and then, I don't know. I assume the mansion fell completely into the dream world, or at least, something very much like it. What I do know is that, wherever we had ended up, it didn't take long for the demons to find us, and ever since then-"

?CITIZENS OF GENGETSULAND~!? a girl's voice suddenly booms out from somewhere above you.

?Mugetsuland~!? another girl's voice chimes in, seemingly to correct the other voice.

?Right! Gengetsuland!? the first voice agrees, except not really.

"Speak of the devil..."you hear Elly mutter.

"Nmmmgng," Kurumi mutters, somehow managing to remain asleep despite the noise.

?We interrupt your observance of Mugetsuland History Day-? the second voice announces.

?Gengetsuland History Day," the first voice corrects.

?Which we just made up.?

?But we've always had!?

?To make the following announcement:?

?You're boooooooooooooooooooooring!? the two voices say in unison.

"Well, you have my apologies," Elly says in a not-at-all apologetic way as she glances about the room. "Perhaps you could join us, that I may demonstrate how sorry I truly am?"

?Ha! Yeah, right!? the first voice says, laughing.

?Fool us once, shame on you.?

?Fool us twice, and... can't fool us again!?

?Sister, I don't think that's how it's-?

?That is how it goes, Sis! Because I said so!?

?Well, okay. I'm just saying that-?

?I know what you're saying, but I'm saying-?

"Uh, they know we can still hear them, right?" you ask, wondering why you feel like you've heard these voices before.

"I don't particularly care either way," Elly says, glaring at the air above her. "You want to know why we're trapped here? There you go."

The two voices continue to talk over each other, having apparently forgotten about the 'citizens' they were addressing just moments ago, leaving you somewhat confused, Elly looking irritated, and Kurumi still somehow sleeping peacefully at the foot of the bed.


[ ] Attempt to communicate with the voices.

[ ] Ignore the voices and ask Elly to continue her story.

[ ] Do nothing, and wait to see what happens.






--------------------------------------------


Sorry for the delay. It's been hot, I've been tired, people have been crazy, and my work schedule's been weird. So, basically, business as usual, except dialed up to 11.

[x] Ignore the voices and ask Elly to continue her story.


No more voices, concentrate! And hooray updates.

[X] Story!
Oh MC, how I love thee. Seriously, he'd be a pretty good friend.
Also, inb4 Underground 2.0

[x] Ignore the voices and ask Elly to continue her story.

[x] Ignore the voices and ask Elly to continue her story.

[X] Ignore the voices and ask Elly to continue her story.

Well aren't the two sisters a pleasant duo?

[x] Ignore the voices and ask Elly to continue her story.

[x] Ignore the voices and ask Elly to continue her story.

Well, he did promise to be quiet.

[X] Ignore the voices and ask Elly to continue her story.
Nothing stops storytime.

[ ] Attempt to communicate with the voices.

"So, what happened next?" you ask, thinking it best to just ignore the bickering voices. Just because they're not in your head for a change doesn't make them any more important, after all. "Demons showed up, trapped you in your house, and then...?"

For a moment, Elly just looks confused and irritated. "There really isn't much else to add, is there? You can hear what they're like, just imagine that every day for what feels like feels like centuries. For all I know, that's exactly how long it's been."

"Hear what? I don't hear anything," you say, completely straight-faced.

"What do you mean you don't-" she begins to ask, but stops herself. Taking a brief glance at the ceiling, the red-clad woman fixes you with a thoughtful look. "Hm. Well, perhaps there is something more I could add. There was the time that Kurumi went stir crazy and attempted an escape by digging her way out, for instance. Completely forgot the fact that at any given time this mansion is completely surrounded by either liquid or an empty void, and shovels tend to not work well on either. She couldn't even remember where she found the thing, so I can only assume they planted here as one of their little 'games'. Another time, she tried breaking a window and swimming out, and their response was to turn the lake into pure water, and I had to fish her back in without flooding the mansion in the process. The two of them had quite a nice giggle over that one. Oh, and I would be remiss to not mention the time Kurumi had what can only be described as a brief fit of madness and attempted to burn the entire mansion down."

Though you can only imagine what it must be like to be confined to one place for such a long period of time, being forced to remain in the same place for months or even years without any end in sight, you nevertheless feel a pang of sympathy for the poor girl. "So, she didn't take the 'being trapped here' thing well, uh...huh?" Feeling something tug at the bedding beneath you, you look down at the still-snoozing Kurumi, you find her to be in the process of rolling herself into some sort of blanket cocoon.

"For something inclined towards sleeping in coffins, no, she does not take well to confinement." Elly says, watching the Kurumicocoon take shape. "I'm not much bothered by it, but I can understand how someone might be affected by something like this." Suddenly, she eyes you warily. "I trust I won't have to worry about anyone else having similar... 'episodes'. Am I?"



[ ] Nope. No problems. None at all. Probably.

[ ] You make no promises either way.

[ ] Oh yeah, you're going to crack harder than an egg on the sidewalk.

[x] Nope. No problems. None at all. Probably.

We're not the 'THIS CHAIR' kind of crazy. Not sure what kind, but it involves pissing of people and falling unconscious at worst.

[x] Nope. No problems. None at all. Probably.

[x] You make no promises either way.
>>180131
Didn't you listen to Satorin at all? We aren't crazy.

[x] Nope. No problems. None at all. Probably.

>>180133

Are you kidding me? Our character's cuckoo for cocoa puffs.

[X] Oh yeah, you're going to crack harder than an egg on the sidewalk.

[x] Nope. No problems. None at all. Probably.

I like to think that the MC is a completely rational, sane person who's only crazy because of all the voices in his head(Us) telling him to do crazy things.
[X] Nope.
Speaking of which, now that I think about it, THe BOX didn't come from Marisa, so if we had done the right thing and tried to return it to her, how would that exchange even go?

"No, ma'am. No problems. None at all." You try your best to not display even the slightest bit of uncertainty. Not in your words, nor in your expression. Because there was no uncertainty. None whatsoever. If your certainty were a bunch of dentists, ten out of ten would agree that you did not have any uncertainty regarding this matter. Or cavities. Aside from maybe one or two that you did have. Cavities, not uncertainty. But also uncertainty. Because you think you might have some of that, too. So, really, it would be more like nine out of ten dentists saying you had none. Or five out of seven. But that's still pretty good, you think to yourself.

"Right," Elly says, sounding not entirely convinced. "Though, if it did come down to it, I suppose you wouldn't be too difficult to stop. I might not even need to break anything. Then again-? Elly freezes. Slowly, ever so slowly, she tilts and turns her head. "They've gone quiet," she finally says, narrowing her eyes.

Sure enough, you no longer hear the two voices bickering anymore. You can't hear them at all, in fact. Though you would wonder if they didn't simply move their conversation to somewhere more private, as should be done when discussing certain matters, the look on Elly's face makes you think it probably isn't that.

In fact, if experience has taught you anything, it's that when mysterious voices stop talking all of a sudden, it usually means something. Maybe something bad. Maybe something good. But probably not good. It's almost never good. Why can't it ever be good, you wonder? Why can't the ominous things turn out to be something nice for a change?

Like the low, thunder-like rumbling you were now beginning to hear from somewhere in the distance. You would like nothing more than for that to be a good rumble, but you're pretty sure it's not.

Rising from her seat, Elly kneels down beside the bed, reaches down, and produces a large scythe from somewhere below. Standing back up, she hefts it over her shoulder and strides towards the door. "Stay here," she says, simply, not even looking back as she opens the door and steps out into the hall.

"Uh, what about-"

?Stay.?

With that, Elly closes the door behind her, leaving you and the now fully-wrapped Kurumi alone in the room, with nothing but the girl's sleep-mumbling and the distant rumble filling the air.

Outside of this room, something was rumbling. Something that you were pretty sure was bad.
Inside this room was you and a sleeping girl that you were pretty sure was probably a vampire or something.

What could you possibly do in a situation like this?



[ ] Go and check what's happening outside.

[ ] Stay inside the room for now and keep watch.

[ ] Barricade the door, block the windows, and grab whatever you can find to use as a weapon.

[ ] Take a nap.

[x] Go and check what's happening outside.

[X] Stare at Kurumi. Menacingly. Hopefully that'll wake her up to talk to.

[X] Stare at Kurumi. Menacingly. Hopefully that'll wake her up to talk to.

Sure, why not?

[X] >>180144
Why the hell not?
Besides, I don't think there are any rocks in here.

[ ] Take a nap.

[X] Stare at Kurumi. Lewdly. Hopefully that'll wake her up to talk to.

[x] Barricade the door, block the windows, and grab whatever you can find to use as a weapon.
Common sense ho!

>>180161
This is Gensokyo; you can't let common sense hold you back!

[X] Stare at Kurumi. Lewdly. Hopefully that'll wake her up to talk to

>Common sense
>Do the Right thing
What the hell am I reading?

[X] Stare at Kurumi. Lewdly. Hopefully that'll wake her up to talk to.

What can you do in a situation like this?
Damn little, that's what!

Sure, you could try to do something productive, or at least something you can bullshit yourself into believing is productive. Like block the door with furniture. Or build a fort out of furniture. Or make a bonfire to roast marshmallows on out of furniture. But those are all things to do when you're alone, and you're not alone.

Well, not really.

Sure, the only other person in the room was currently sleeping, all curled up in her blankets. Sure, the nice thing to do would be to let her sleep, because you appreciate the rarity of having a good, long rest without any threat of it being disturbed.

On the other hand, you were not sleeping! What are you supposed to do when you're not sleeping but someone else is? Stare at them? Stare at their serene, oblivious faces, which are practically begging to be poked and prodded and have things drawn on them?

...actually, that's not a bad idea. You think you'll do that.

And so, you do.

You stare at the sleeping Kurumi.
You watch her sleeping.
You watch, and in your watching, hope to stop the thing that you are watching.

Yes. You are going to stare her into awakening.

...no. Not just stare.
You'll stare intently.
Fiercely!
Menacingly!

You will stare a stare so menacing, she will be intimidated into waking up!
How that's supposed to actually work, you have no idea, but it's not like you've ever let something like that stop you before!

Menacing staring.
Menacing staring.
Menacing staring.

You stare. You menace.
And yet, for all of your effort, you get nothing for your efforts but some mumbling about sharks and how 'one more hit and it will be done.' Whatever that means.

In any case, your attempts to menace the sleeping maybe-probably-vampire girl into waking up does not seem to be yielding much in the way of results.

Perhaps the problem isn't that simply staring at someone is a poor way to wake someone up, but the way in which your are staring is just ineffective? It is rather hard to convey the proper sense of menace in a stare when the recipient isn't even able to see it. Or conscious, for that matter.

But how else could you stare at this girl, you wonder?

'Lewdly~!' you can easily imagine a certain someone suggesting to you, as she probably would for just about anything you might ask her about doing, no matter how mundane and distinctly non-lewd the action may be. That, or she would twist the question from being about how you should do something into who and what you should be doing things to.

Unfortunately, you're not sure how lewdly you can manage to stare at someone who, at that moment, was currently so wrapped up in blankets and sheets that she looked more like giant caterpillar than a cute girl. Though you suppose that could be considered cute in its own way, and you probably wouldn't mind seeing her wiggling and wriggling around as you tried to feed her a leaf, you don't think the scenario lends itself well to stares of the lewd variety.

Then again, if you imagined her as something like a giant omelet...
Oh yeah. That would be more like it. A soft, fluffy mass of goodness, wrapped around a delicious core, just waiting to be slathered in sauces. Or, if you were feeling particularly naughty, you could unwrap it, laying its contents bare for all the world to see!

...you're not sure about lewdness, but this line of thought is definitely making you feel hungry.



[ ] Keep staring at Kurumi while possibly imagining scenarios involving her and eggs of a potentially lewd nature.


[ ] Staring is getting you nowhere. If you want to wake her, you need to take more direct action! Something like...
???
?"-? ( ) poking
?"-? ( ) pushing
?"-? ( ) pleading
?"-? ( ) ________________


[ ] Give up on waking her, and do something else.

[X] The blankets are weakening the effect of your lewd stare. Move them out of the way.

[X] The blankets are weakening the effect of your lewd stare. Move them out of the way.

[X] >>180178
Worth.

[X] Keep staring at Kurumi while possibly imagining scenarios involving her and eggs of a potentially lewd nature.

Never change, anon.

>>180137

We weren't going to return it to Marisa, we were going to return it to Patchouli. Then the box got stolen by a bird, so that rendered that more or less pointless unless we somehow happen upon the box again.

[X] Keep staring at Kurumi while possibly imagining scenarios involving her and rocks of a potentially lewd nature.

[x] The blankets are weakening the effect of your lewd stare. Move them out of the way.

[x] Keep staring at Kurumi while possibly imagining scenarios involving her and eggs of a potentially lewd nature.

This is a new terretory for him. It might possible combine lewd and lewd.

[X] The blankets are weakening the effect of your lewd stare. Move them out of the way.

[x] Keep staring at Kurumi while possibly imagining scenarios involving her and eggs of a potentially lewd nature.

[x] Keep staring at Kurumi while possibly imagining scenarios involving her and eggs of a potentially lewd nature.

[X] The blankets are weakening the effect of your lewd stare. Move them out of the way.

[x] Keep staring at Kurumi while possibly imagining scenarios involving her and eggs of a potentially lewd nature.
-[x] Like how she tries to swallow a whole boiled egg.

>10/06/19

Congrats! 4 years of writing Do the Right Thing! 32 threads and still here that is a real accomplishment. Looking forward to more threads and updates in the future.

>>180470
Well, thanks. I have to say, I feel kinda bad that I don't have anything written for this occasion. Or anything written, period. Sorry about that. As much as I'd love to place the blame entirely on work, I must confess I've also been indulging in "the vidya" lately. It's like, one minute I'm just sorting through my pile of shame, and the next thing I know I'm 25 hours into Persona 3, and I can't remember much else of the past week.

I will get back to writing tomorrow night, though, and hopefully get back to updating at better clip than I have been.

However long you guys have been following this horribly-paced, poorly-planned string of nonsense of mine, I thank you, and also apologize profusely for all the time you will never get back. Sorry.

I remember the first time I saw a DTRT thread, MC had died because he jumped off the roof of a building.

Four years already? It feels shorter than that for some reason (granted I started reading about when Anon nearly got his ass probed by a kappa), but nevertheless, good job on having kept the story going for this long!

Still waiting.
;-;

>>180599
Have patience, he probably is already writing instead of playing games.

You decide to continue to stare at the Kurumi.

You stare.

And stare.

And stare.

Just when you think about stopping, you stare.

You stare at her lewdly. Hungrily. Lewdly and hungrily.

You imagine things as you stare. Scenarios. Scenarios involving her and eggs. Scenarios so unbelievably, inconceivably lewd in nature, your mind struggles to comprehend them. Scenarios so shockingly indecent that they utterly defy attempts to express them in words. Were someone to attempt to transcribe your thoughts of these scenarios, they would undoubtedly spend countless nights staring at a blank page, tightly gripping their pen and gnashing their teeth before collapsing into a twitching, gibbering wreck, sobbing at their failure.

Or they'd just say 'fuck it' and skip right on over it.

'What a cop-out,' you think to yourself. 'That's bullshit!'

Yes. Yes it is.

But now is not the time to think about imaginary people writing imaginary things about your imagination while inside your imagination! You've got a sleeping maybe-vampire girl to stare at! Lewdly! Even if you're not really sure if you're actually staring 'lewdly' or you just think you are!

And yet, as much as you stare, it still has no effect in awakening the sleeping Kurumi. While other minds might suggest that is because simply staring at someone doesn't really do anything when they are unaware and incapable of knowing you are staring at them, as is likely the case of someone who is sleeping so soundly despite that thunder-like rumbling you can still hear outside.

Rumbling that you think might be getting louder.

As you consider the possible reasons for the girl and her stubborn refusal to awaken under your penetrating gaze, one possibility springs to mind.

Anti-lewd-stare protection!

Yes, that was it! That had to be it! That blanket that she had wrapped herself in was no mere covering of fabric! It was armor! Protection against the effects of your will-bending gaze!

Clearly, your only recourse was to remove the offending barrier to your lewd-gaze.

Yes. That is clearly the thing that you should do in this instance! Surely, there could be no possible down-side to this course of action!

After all, what could possibly happen? Someone walking in at an inopportune moment, creating an awkward situation where you have to explain what you're doing to a sleeping girl? That sleeping girl turning to have some crazy superhuman reflex that cause her to unconsciously react to people disturbing her sleep, resulting in her throwing you across the room, breaking your arm, or latching onto you an uncomfortable yet not unpleasant way? Or some combination of all of those?

Indeed, you cannot imagine anything like that could possibly happen as a result of trying to take Kurumi out of her blanket. Not at all.

Even so, you have to wonder, do you really want to do this?


[ ] Do it.

[ ] Don't do it.




----------------------------------------------



Ever have one of those times where you think you have an idea for something, only for it to turn out that you really don't. Yeeeeeeeah. I think I did that to myself on this one. I thought I had something. I really did. "Kurumi does sexy things with eggs". Seems simple enough. Apparently not, though. I just wasn't feeling it this time.


>>180600
I can tell you that I have not touched any games since my previous post. Unfortunately, I did have a six day stretch at work since then, a meeting on my first day off after those six days, and not nearly enough sleep between it all.

Analbeads?

[x] Do it.
Betting all on 'uncomfortable but not entirely unpleasant position'

[x] Do it.

Yes what could possible go wrong here?

[X] Do it
BIG BUCKS BIG BUCKS BIG BUCKS NO WHAMMY NO WHAMMY
A broken arm is totally worth it.

[X] Do it
Fear not, I'm sure nothing bad could happen here. Ours is the calling of the righteous! Right? Nothing wrong with some curiosity.

[x] Do it.
GO BIG OR GO HOME.

[x] Do it.

All in.

[x] Do it.

[x] Do it. Fast.

[X] DO EET

DO IT! Carpe Diem! If you die, you'll just respawn~

[X] Do it.

What's one more stupid idea? It's not like we've hit our limit.

Man, you know who I miss? Our good pal Cirno. Whatever happened to her?

>>180627

Okuu went nuclear on her.

>>180632
Yeah but fairies revive.
I really miss my boat.

>>180633

Maybe respawn time is proportional to extent of injury.

>>180647
Or you could say that Cirno is so powerful she takes months to regenerate.

Xanadu did warn her about that.

>>180658

OR you can say that Cirno is so powerful, the energy required to form her hasen't been duplicated since the big bang.

>>180660
That... would explain why she can use "Minus K" spellcard. She is the physical manifestation of negative energy. Holy crap.

>>180669

I was thinking more along the lines of the physical manifestation of entropy.

You take up a loose corner of the blanket into your hands, gripping it tightly.

You were going to do this.

It was not a matter of 'wanting' to.

No, this was something you knew you must do!

The caterpillar may retreat into its cocoon, but it cannot stay there forever! It is meant to emerge from it! To break out and set off into the world as something greater than they once were!

Truly, if there were any purpose for your existence at that moment, you knew that this was it. Of all the things you've been sure of in your life, this would undoubtedly rank somewhere within your top fifteen.

Top twelve, even.

But this was no time for such thoughts! You were a man on a mission, and that mission was to get this girl out of that blanket, and that is exactly what you are going to do!

And so, you do.

Maintaining your tight grip, you deftly yank the blanket towards you, sending the girl resting within it into a rolling spin as her wrappings unfurl, followed by a sudden drop as she rolls over the edge of the bed.

Though the rumbling outside makes it difficult, you think you hear the distinct sound of a body hitting the floor, followed by what you think is some sort of grunt or moan, but can't quite tell on account of all the rumbling and shaking and... were those explosions, just now?

Peering over the side of the bed, you find Kurumi to be sleeping just as soundly as she was a moment ago. An impressive feat, you think, considering how awkwardly she was now sprawled across the floor, to say nothing of her fall or sounds that were now causing the room to rattle and shake.

As you begin to resume your staring at the sleeping Kurumi, you begin to wonder about a few things.
What are those sounds? Are they something you should be worried about? Do they have anything to do with why Elly hasn't come back yet? She has been gone for a while, hasn't she? Or perhaps she hasn't? How long have you been waiting here, anyway? And most of all, what the hell does it take to wake this girl up?!

[ ] Staring.
[ ] More staring.
[ ] Always more staring.
[ ] Something completely different.






--------------------------------------------


> Man, you know who I miss? Our good pal Cirno. Whatever happened to her?

Oh, she's around. Somewhere.

[x] Something completely different.

I just wonder what Elly is up to.

[X] Something completely different.

Beats staring.

[x] Something completely different.

This reminds me of this /at/-series (never read it)

[X] Always more staring.

Someone once said continuing to repeat something even when it doesn't work is a sign of insanity (or something to that effect). I am pretty sure our protagonist hasn't been cleared as sane quite yet.

[x] Staring.
[x] More staring.
[x] Always more staring.

We cannot back down now the staring must continue.

[x] Staring.
[x] More staring.
[x] Always more staring.

I'm not ready to give up yet!

[X] Always more staring.
Never let up on the offensive.

>>180712
Sanity was never an option.

Staring.

Staring.

All you do is stare.

It is all you can do.

It is all you know to do.

Staring.

Just staring.

You stare at her face.

You stare at the parts of her face.

Her nose.

Her eyebrows.

Her mouth.

The small trickle of drool coming from her mouth.

You stare at all of it.

All of it.

You stare at her hair, a disheveled mass of gold spread out upon the floor.

That's going to need a good brushing when she wakes up.

Or a combing.

Or both.

You're not sure which would be best for the situation.

Maybe you could watch her when she does it.

Combing or brushing her hair.

Not that you normally have any interest in watching girls as they comb or brush their hair.

Certainly not staring at them as they do so.

That would be creepy, after all.

Not at all like staring at those same girls while they sleep.

That is not creepy.

Not creepy at all.

...does she tie that bow in her hair herself?

Or perhaps someone does it for her?

Maybe those bows that is on a clip or something, so people can just put them on without having to do any of the actual work to put them on?

That seems like it would be cheating, though.

Cheating, but efficient.

How long does it take her to get dressed, you wonder?

You think it might take her a while, but that could just be how her clothes look, not how they actually are.

It's probably the frills, you suppose.

After all, nothing makes an article of clothing say 'fancy and hard-to-put-on' like putting a bunch of frilly stuff all over it.

Or a ventriloquist.

They could also probably make a piece of clothing say something like that.

They could make it say anything.

Truly, they are the most fearful of all stage performers.

Ah, but you are getting yourself distracted!

Distracted from the task at hand!

The task of staring!

You will allow nothing to stop you!

Not even yourself!

Especially not yourself!

And certainly not things other than yourself!

Like that weird, loud rumbling that sounds more and more like something exploding!

Or the sound of the door opening!

Nothing will stand between you and your strange urge to do nothing but stare at this sleeping maybe-vampire girl!

Not even-


?Hello, sir.?



[ ] Look up.

[ ] Don't look up.

[X] Look up.
Okay, we're not distracted. We're just taking a small break!
That's my justification, at least.

[x] Don't look up.
Keep our eyes on the prize. Staring harder will work, distractions be damned.

[x] Don't look up.
[x] Invite the person to stare at the girl together.

>>180758 here
changing my vote to this: >>180762

[x] Don't look up.

[X] Look up.

Someone dares to (possibly) stare at us while we're staring at Kurumi! We can't just sit there and do nothing! Counter stare go!

[x] Don't look up.
[x] Invite the person to stare at the girl together.

[x] Don't look up.
[x] "Does she tie that bow in her hair herself? Or perhaps someone does it for her? Or is this a clip? Wouldn't that be cheating? Oh, and how long does it take her to get dressed? A while? Or does it just look like that? It's the frills, isn't it? Nothing says 'fancy and hard-to-put-on' like putting a bunch of frilly stuff all over it after all, right? Or perhaps ventriloquist do? Couldn't they make it say something like that? Or anything for that matter? Aren't they the most fearful of all stage performers?
[x] Look up.
[x] "What do you think?"

[X] Don't look up.
Never take your eyes off the prize.

Hey, folks. Still alive. Writing has not been happening on account of work and other factors.

Have you ever been attacked by a goose? I have. It is not a pleasant experience. Especially when you are not supposed to attack back.

That is one of the other factors. Geese. I wish I was joking about this. I am not.

I am now going to be out of town for a couple days. This is another factor in the non-writing that has been occurring, and will continue to occur. At least for a couple more days.


Geese are assholes.

>>181061
I was once attacked by a peacock so I know what you mean. Crafty little animals.

>>181061
Well, the Tenshi picture makes up for it a bit.
Maybe one day we could have a conversation, back and forth.
Then I'll forgive you.

?Hello, sir.?


You do not respond.

You do not look up.

Why would you? How could you?

...aside from, you know, using the muscles in your neck. That is certainly one way of looking up.


"Hey."


But, no. You do not do that.

You keep your eyes planted firmly on the prize.

The prize that cannot be seen with the eye because it has not yet happened, but possibly will.

Soon.

Maybe.

You hope.

And so, you continue your stare-a-thon, paying no mind to the girl-voice that dared to try to draw your attention away from your sleeping roommate.


?Hey! I'm talking to you!?


It did not matter how she raised her voice.

Neither did it matter how you could hear her footsteps as she walked towards you.

And that sound of something soft yet heavy being dragged across the floor? Totally didn't matter to you.

Not at all.


?Hmph! Fine, be that way. If you like staring at unconscious girls so much...


You pay no attention to the girl and her words.

Her words did not matter.

Nothing would come between you and your goal.


?CATCH!?


Nothing, save for the sudden feeling of a a great weight slamming into you, sending both you and it tumbling back onto the bed in a tangled mass. You gasp for air, struggling to reclaim what had been so rudely stolen from your lungs. It is a task made far more difficult by the mass of something pressing down on your body, as if something or someone were laying on top of you.

A quick glance tells you that this is exactly the case.

Someone is laying on top of you.

Someone wearing a red dress you feel as if you've seen before, though not nearly as torn and singed as you remember.


?Ahahahaha! Did that get your attention??


Chest still aching from having the wind knocked out of you, you strain to roll the body off, allowing it flop onto the mattress. Sitting yourself up, you look down at the woman laying motionless beside you, and wonder what you should do...



[ ] Elly doesn't look so good. Maybe staring at her would help? Yeah, let's do that!

[ ] Kurumi still isn't awake! Go back to staring at her until she does! This time shall be different!

[ ] Stare at the rude Elly-throwing girl. Let her know how rude she is by staring at her. Disapprovingly.





-------------------------------------------------------------------------



>>181074
Maybe we could, someday.
I've never really been much of a talker or conversationalist, but one of these days I suppose I should try to come out of hiding, shouldn't I?

[X] Stare at the rude Elly-throwing girl. Let her know how rude she is by staring at her. Disapprovingly.

Our noble protagonist must know by now that doing the same thing over and over without having any change happen must mean it is a failure. And now there's more unconscious girls. Let's make the source feel bad about itself!

[X] Stare at the rude Elly-throwing girl. Let her know how rude she is by staring at her. Disapprovingly.
How dare she interrupt someone's staring time? Clearly she should be taught a lesson. By being stared at. Disapprovingly.

[x] Stare at the rude Elly-throwing girl. Let her know how rude she is by staring at her. Disapprovingly.

Perfect. This time it will work.

[X] Stare at the rude Elly-throwing girl. Let her know how rude she is by staring at her. Disapprovingly.

Is this gonna be like a repeat of the first encounter with Tenshi?

[x]Try to stare at all three and collapse from the strain on your brain in the process.

[x] Stare at the rude Elly-throwing girl. Let her know how rude she is by staring at her. Disapprovingly.

[x] Kurumi still isn't awake! Go back to staring at her until she does! This time shall be different!

This is the option most likely to annoy our guest. She's just a child lashing out when things don't go her way. Let's not give her any attention.

You stare at the interloper, attempting to convey as much of your disapproval and disdain as you possibly can with just your eyes.

"Awww! What 's is the matter? Did I break your concentration?" the winged girl says, not even trying to conceal the grin that was spreading across her face.

You do not reply. You do not so much as move. You simply continue to stare at her. Unflinching. Unblinking.

It wasn't just a matter of her interrupting your stare-fest. It wasn't even a matter of her throwing someone at you. Oh, yeah, and whatever it was she did to put Elly in such a state. That was also probably not a good thing for her to do, but that is not the only reason you are staring at this girl now.

No, worse than anything else she may be or have done, this girl was rude.

You would not abide such behavior from some ankle-biting monster girl in a forest, and you sure as hell weren't going to take it from some demon-angel-whatever girl, either!

...those wings are totally giving you mixed signals on that.

"Well, good! You have any idea how boring you were being? You had the perfect opportunity, and you spend it doing nothing! Absolutely nothing!" the wing-girl scolds you while somehow maintaining her somewhat disconcerting grin. "But that's okay! You want to know why? Of course you do! It's because-"

A thunderous crack rattles the room, cutting the girl off.

"Geeze! What is she doing?!" the girl loudly mutters, glaring up at the ceiling for a moment before seeming to remember she wasn't alone in the room. Quickly reestablishing eye-contact with you, the girl's grin returns in full force. ?Anyway! It's okay! Why is it okay? Because your Lord and Master, the Great and Almighty Gengetsu is here to give you an super-awesome once-in-a-lifetime offer, just for you!"

Though you find yourself feeling just a tad curious as to what the hell she was talking about, you do not give the winged girl any response beyond your continued stare of disapproval.

"Isn't that great? Isn't it? Doesn't that make you just want to kneel down and pledge your eternal and undying loyalty to us right this instant? You really should be doing that, anyway, what with everything we've done for you, already!"

'Everything they've done for you,' she says? You'd ask her just what she thinks she's done for you, but that would require you to break the silence that was making your stare so effective.

...not that it seems to matter, as the girl continues to talk, regardless.

"You think you got hacked to pieces like that and just got better? You'd be nothing but a pile of meat right now if we didn't make it so you couldn't just die!" the girl calling herself Gengetsu explains, as her eyes begin to take on a dangerous glint. "Of course, that was just this time! Next time, you might not come back completely. Maybe you'll only come back half-alive. Or maybe you-"

Another rumble shakes the room, louder and harder than before, and for the briefest of moments you think you see the girl's grin falter.

"A-anyway! It doesn't have to be like that, you know! We can make it so you can come back to life like this all the time! We could make you immortal! Invincible, even! That cranky scythe-lady and that idiot vampire wouldn't be able to even touch you, if you didn't want them to! Or they could touch you a lot, if you want." At this, Gengetsu's face starts twitching oddly, and it takes you a moment to realize that she was attempting to wiggle her eyebrows in what you can only assume was meant to be a suggestive manner. "But that's not all! You could have powers! Riches! Anything you want could be yours, and all you have to do is pledge your life and soul to us for all eternity right this instant!"

With a loud pop and a puff of smoke, a large sheet of paper appears in the air in front of your face, covered in strange, barely-legible symbols. Taking a closer look, you realize this is partly due to the fact that it was written entirely in crayon. Blood-red crayon, with lines trailing down from every other symbol, as if to represent actual blood dripping from them.

"Just sign anywhere you want, and it'll be a done deal! Time's a-wasting, though, so be quick about it!"



[ ] Sure I'll join your cult!

[ ] Nah, sometimes I kinda wanna die.

[ ] Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare.

[x] Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare.

Lady, normally I'm all about joining cults and pledging my soul to strangers willy-nilly but I don't like being rushed. Especially when you're being rude like that. Stay the course, stare away.

[x] Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare.

What a rude girl. She will not break our stare.

[x] Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare.

We will silently disapprove of her rudeness with the force of a thousand white-hot silently disapproving suns!

>[ ] Nah, sometimes I kinda wanna die.
And then this story suddenly gets darker.
[X] Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare.
Besides, it's not like we ever die anyway. We're already immortal. She just doesn't know it.

[x] Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare.

Is this even really a question? It's not like there's a conveniently place rock in need of throwing afterall.

So...what's this story about? Heard it's been going forever

>>181190
It's about doing the right thing

>>181190
>>181191

Though I'm not sure we've yet to actually do the right thing. All we've really done is lie to people, cause trouble, and maliciously torment a poor girl who for some unknown reason hasn't tried to kill us yet.

>>181193
Honestly, at this point the title should be "Don't Do the Right Thing."
At least at that point we might actually do the right thing for once.

>>181194

Perhaps the author was using reverse psychology! This whole time, we have been playing right into his hand, and we didn't even know it! Did we consider the consequences of our actions? Maybe. Did we care? Not a whit. But I'm digressing, now. What's important is that we haven't done the right thing. We did the wrong thing. And we did it with a smile in our hearts, and conviction on our face.

>>181195
Nice try author, but I see through your devilish ways! For it is you, the author, who is trying to convince us that it is reverse psychology, when it is in fact not that, but reverse reverse reverse psychology!
You think you've fooled me, but I am very clever, you see.

>>181199

There is a distinct possibility that I am the author. However, there is also a distinct possibility that you are the author, who is employing reverse reverse reverse reverse reverse psychology! That's even more reverse, so it must be right.

>>181205
Where is Seija when you need her?

>>181199

She's on break! After all, we're doing her job for her.

Err... Sorry about the lack of sage! Also, I linked the wrong post! I really am not on the ball today.

>>181206

>>181199
>>181205

I think you're both giving the author way too much credit. I mean, if you've read this story, you've seen the sort of shit he writes. There's no way he's clever enough to employ even regular psychology to get people to vote a certain way, and even if he was, do you really believe he would stoop to using such cheap tricks like posting anonymously in his own threads? If he did, then I'd have to wonder just what sort of idiots he takes us for, to not instantly realize what he was doing. I don't know about you, but I'm quite certain we're all far too smart to be taken in by such cheap and obvious trickery like that!

Too smart, and also handsome. Very handsome. That shirt looks great on you, by the way. Voting for Gengetsu is probably the best way to go, and couldn't possibly result in some horribly tragic consequence, wouldn't you agree? I think you do, because you know a good thing when you see it, as your taste in shirts clearly indicates. Have I mentioned how much you look like that famous actor the everyone likes? No, not that one, the other one. The good one. Yeah, that's the one. I swear, you're like twins. Speaking of siblings, Gengetsu has one, doesn't she? Another reason voting for her is the way to go, don't you think? Of course you do you brilliant and fashionable devil, you.

>>181210
Sound logic.
[ ] Sure I'll join your cult!

>>181210

I can hardly argue with that! Except when I do argue with that. But this is not one of those times. This is one of those times that I don't do that. The arguing, that is. And by that, I mean that I'm not going to argue with you. Because you're right. Not that I'm wrong, per se, but you're just righter.

[X] Sure I'll join your cult!

[x] Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare at the contract paper.

Okay now I'm totally lost.

>>181224
Alright, it's simple. We're some guy who's not very smart and just spends his time unintentionally causing trouble for other people. Despite the title, we haven't really done anything that could be considered "the right thing." Nothing significant anyway. Whatever good things we've done have probably just been to fix a problem we caused.

Outside of that, you'll just have to read it yourself. The plot of this story isn't entirely clear and we've pretty much just been doing whatever the hell we want. This story is all over the place and there's no way anyone could properly explain the purpose because none of us have been able to figure out what it is, besides doing the right thing that is, whatever that means.

At least I haven't figured it out. If someone else has then they'll have to enlighten the rest of us.

[X] Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare.

As far as I know, "doing the right thing" originally referred to returning the box to Patchouli at the very beginning of the story. A few years later, we're no closer to getting that done than we were at the beginning. We've more or less caused an uproar everywhere we've gone and have as a result died three times, dragged multiple parties into trouble which will only get worse as time goes on if we don't get a grip on them (at least some people are at the Moriya Shrine safely but that doesn't take Tenshi into consideration last time I checked, and who knows how pissy she is right now, not to mention whatever the hell Rikako's up to at the moment), and there seems to be no end to the depths of insanity our wonderful protagonist seems to be getting himself into (which isn't helped by sticking around people like Koishi, Medicine, Yuuka, etc.). Regardless of all this we're still doing whatever and having a blast doing it with no damns given to the consequences. We sure as hell aren't doing the right thing but we're having fun along the way, aren't we?
But enough of a rant, voting time!

[X] Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare.

She looks at you.

And you stare at her.

And she looks at you.

And you stare at her.

And she looks at you.

And you staaaaaare at her.

And she clears her throat.

And you staaaaaaaaare at her.

"Sooooooooooo..."she says.

And you staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare at her.

"Any second now," she says.

And you staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare at her.

And she frowns at you.

And you staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare at her.

?Any. Second. NOW.? she says.

And you staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare at her.

And she glares at you.

And you staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare at her.

And she grins at you.

And you-
Wait. Why is she grinning now?

"Oh well!" the winged girl says far too cheerfully for your liking, as the paper in front of you disappears in a puff of smoke. "I knew this was a waste of time, but Sis wanted me to try since she was going to be busy with... well, never mind that! Now we're doing this my way!"

The room shudders, the windows crack, the furniture rattles, and you're pretty sure the girl's wings are getting bigger. Along with the way she was still grinning, and was now slowly walking towards you, you have a small hunch that this is probably a bad thing.

And so, you...


[ ] Stare at her

[ ] Scream at her

[ ] Scream at her while staring at her

[ ] Throw something at her

[x] Throw something at her while screaming and staring at her

I really see no reason why we can't do all of these at the same time. It's exactly the kind of thing I would expect from our protagonist.

[x] Throw something at her while screaming and staring at her

Gotta do it all!

>>181257
I see nothing wrong with this plan and this reasoning.

[x] Throw something at her while screaming and staring at her

[x] Throw something at her while screaming and staring at her

We can't stop now.

[X] Throw something at her
Anything can be a rock if you try hard enough. A head for example can be a rock if separated from that un-aerodynamic thing called a torso.

[x] Throw something at her while screaming and staring at her

The throwing might be a bit of a challenge. That said, it's important that we never stop staring.

>>181273
[x]Scream, stare, headbutt

[x] Meet her halfway.
- [x] Pause! Finger in the air.
- [x] Segue into reciting melodramatically: "Moses supposes his toeses are roses. But Moses supposes erroneously..."
- [x] Continue on into as much of the song and dance number as you can pull off until either Elly gets back or Kurumi wakes up or she leaves or she kills you or something.

[x] Throw something at her

Not as good as full refusal, but I guess staring at her again makes us retarded, putting her into a false (false?) sense of security.

You stare at her.

You stare, and yet you know that is not enough.

That is not nearly enough.

You had to do something else.

Something more.

?AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?

And so you scream at her.

You scream, and stare, and grab a nearby pillow and throw it at her. It arcs through the air with a grace you would normally only see from a well-worn stone.

And then it explodes.

?AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!? you continue to scream, as you practically tear the blankets off of the bed and throw them at the approaching winged girl, as well.

It also explodes. Fluff and and cinder drift through the air, before burning up into nothing.

Undaunted, you continue your assault of staring and screaming while desperately scrambling for more things to throw at her.

The second pillow meets the same fate as the first, bursting into an dazzling explosion of flame and feathers.

What next, then? The sheets probably wouldn't fare much better, even if you balled them up tightly enough. What about that thing the winged girl threw at you? What was it again? It seemed almost like a body, of sort.

Oh, right. Elly.

That's Elly laying there.

A very, very, very messed-up looking Elly.


Yes. Maybe you could throw her!


[ ] Throw Elly!

[ ] Don't throw Elly!

[ ] Throw something else! Something like...

?"-? ( ) Kurumi!
?"-? ( ) yourself!
?"-? ( ) your own head!
?"-? ( ) Gengetsu!

[x] Throw something else! Something like...
?"-? (x) yourself!

This is the most insane thing that you can do here. Perfect! She will never know what hit her.

[x] Throw something else! Something like...
?"-? (x) yourself!

What's the worst that can happen? It's not like we can die here in the dream world, right?

[x] Throw something else! Something like...
?"-? (x) yourself!

This time we will not simply throw a rock.

This time, we shall become the perfect thrown rock. We will arc threw the air with glory and pride. We should also continue screaming and staring.

[x] Throw something else! Something like...
?"-? (x) yourself!

"You see comrade, to shoot the accurate, you must become shell."

[x] Throw something else! Something like...
?"-? (x) yourself!

No regrets.

That's it! You'll throw yourself at the creepy-smiling winged girl!
While still staring at her! And screaming!

This strikes you as the best possible thing you could do at that moment.

Incidentally, someone once told you that the definition of insanity was 'doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.' You're not sure why you're remembering that now, of all times, as it does not seem to be relevant to your current situation in the slightest.

The situation, of course, being that you were facing down what is almost certainly some sort of inhuman super-powered monster in the shape of a cute girl that quite possibly wishes to inflict grievous bodily harm upon you that you may or may not deserve to receive, and the best response you can think of in such a situation is to basically charge at her head-on.

That is the thing you are seriously considering doing at this time.
You don't see why not. After all, it seems like a perfectly sensible thing for you to do. Throwing yourself at at youkai or demon or whatever she was supposed to be.

Try as you might, you cannot recall any other time in the past when you were faced with such a situation or performed a similar action in response to it. Even if you could, which you cannot, you are absolutely positive that this current scenario is nothing at all like the previous ones where something like this happened.

For starters, you were staring and screaming at the girl, this time. Did you do either of those things those other times you can't remember? Probably not!

And so, here you are! Faced with a situation that was almost certainly completely unlike anything you had ever faced before, prepared to do something that was not at all like anything you did in any of those previous situations. You are confident that there is no way this could possibly end badly for you.

Nonetheless, you can't help but wonder:

Do you really want to do this?

[ ] YES

[ ] NO

[x] YES

No copout do-overs!

sighs, fine.

[X] NO
[X] Throw Elly!

[x] YES

DO THE RIGHT THING.

[X] YES
We confident nothing could go wrong after all!

[ ] YES

I still say we should have joined the cult

[X] NO

Fine, spoilsport.

[x] YES

Well, she said she sorta revived us, so she's (A) interested in our survival and (B) able to ascertain it.

[X] NO

Do we really want to die again? We already died that one time, and almost died those other times.

[X] YES
At this point I only do this because Hate You Flag is giving us a bunch of opportunities NOT to do something.
Thus, we have to do it.

>>181626

Technically we've died three times, but who's counting?

[X] YES

Because Anon's kind of known for being stubborn with possibly poor ideas. It only serves to make his potential upcoming death or near death more hilarious.

[x] YES

Engage Ballistic Anon Cruise Missile.

[X] YES
I am beginning to think that the guy we are playing as is not really in control of his own actions.

[X] YES! YES! YES!

All anons, Fire!

Well, okay. Calling it, and hopefully writing tomorrow.

You want to do this.
This is a thing you want to do.
You want to throw yourself as you would throw a rock.
You wish to fly through the air, speeding towards your target, and hit her.
Hit her hard.

You have to move fast.
Getting on your hands and knees, your body tenses up in preparation.
This was it.
All or nothing.
You threw a pillow, and it failed.
You threw a blanket, and it also failed.
But where they failed, you will succeed.
Indeed, you must succeed!
Not just because 'failure' in this case seems to involve a lot of exploding and burning, but that certainly is a major factor in your desire to succeed in this instance.

You know you can do this.
You are not a pillow.
You are not a blanket.
You are not some soft, fluffy thing made of fabric and stuffed with feathers or anything like that.
No, in this moment, you were more like a rock!
A big, squishy, meat-filled rock!
In fact... no. You will not be simply 'like' the rock!
You are the rock!
Not in body, perhaps, but in spirit! In your soul! Your very dreams were as hard and rigid as a slab of granite!

The winged girl is still smiling.
She has no idea of the world of pain you are about the introduce her to.

You continue to stare at her. Stare and scream.
Scream and stare.
How you've managed to keep screaming at her as long as you have without pausing for breath is a mystery to you, but you can't deny that it is impressive.

She takes one more step towards you, and you know it is time to spring into action.
With all the strength your legs can muster, you launch yourself off of the bed, sending yourself flying through the air straight towards your target.
One second is all it takes, and you're practically on top of her.
Still screaming and staring, you watch as her face rushes to meet your own.
You don't dare close your eyes.
You must witness the moment of impact.
You must gaze into her eyes at the very instant your heads collide, and see her smile be wiped away, leaving nothing but shock and pain in its place.
And so you stare at her.
You stare right into her eyes, screaming all the while.

And then, in a flash, her smile is gone.

Her smile, and everything else.

Gone. Just gone.

You sail through the air where the winged girl once stood, and a strange warmth washes over you. Your whole body tingles strangely, and you somehow feel lighter.

Lighter and faster.

You're warm.

You're moving much faster.

Warmer. Too fast. Warmer. Too light. Warmer.

You're not screaming. Hot. Too hot.

Too fast.
? ? ? ? ? ?Too light.
? ? ?wrong
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?it's wrong
? ? ? ? ? ? ?feels wrong
? ? ? ? ? ?ow ? ? ? burning ? ? ? ?hot
? ? ? ? burning
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?hot ? ? ?
? ? ? ? ?why
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? burning
? ? ? ? ? ?burning ?

? ? ?hot ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

? ? ? ?pain


? ? ? ? ? ? ?burning





? ? ? ? burning







- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[ ] DeathSank




[ ] Snake Beater

[ ] Weeping Dogs


[ ] The Stalking Dead

[x] Snake Beater

I think we just died. Just needed to point that out here.

[x] Snake Beater

I'm pretty sure this is the third time or so that we've died. I think. It's kind of hard to follow, honestly.

[X] Snake Beater


I SEEEEEE YOU IN A DREAM
SNAKE BEATEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER

[X] Weeping Dogs

Looks like we are still too weak-minded to become the Rock.

[X] The Stalking Dead

And so our death counter rises to four. We're the best at this!

[x] Snake Beater

Anon, what's wrong? Anon? ANOOOOOOOON!

[x] Snake Beater

It's ok, it was just a dream.

...Right?

>>181794
It's like a game.
"How many times can we die?"

It's cold.
Or I'm cold.
Maybe both?

I don't feel like I should be cold, but I do, and I'm not sure what to think about that.

It's also dark.
Really, really dark.
So dark, I can't even see my hand in front of my face.

I can't seem to feel my hand in front of my face, either, oddly enough.

Maybe the cold just made me numb or something.
Yeah, that's probably it.

So, can't see because it's dark.
Can't feel because it's cold.
Taste and smell, then?

...hm, nope.
Nothing.

That's probably not a good sign.
Senses not working?
That seems like the sort of thing I should be worried about.

And yet, I'm not.
Weird.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I can't hear anything, either.
Except...

I think I hear something.
It sounds almost like, uh...

What was that thing with the static-y sounds that it sometimes made?

Oh, right. Of course!
A radio!
That's what this sound reminds me of!

...where is it, though?

Maybe if I just followed the sound a little bit, I could...


"...nnnnd another one to the head!?


Ah, there is!
I wonder what's playing, though?
Some kind of game or something?


"I think I saw a tooth go flying with that one!"


...a very violent game.
Oh well, it's not like there's anything else to do here.
It couldn't hurt to listen in just a little bit.



[ ] Champion

[ ] Challenger

[ ] Commentator






----------------------------------------------

>>181826
More than you'd think.
But less than you'd hope.

[X] Commentator

[x] Commentator

Oh come on guys you want to see this too.

Commentator. Why not?

[ ] Challenger
Seems less passive.

[x] Commentator

[x] Challenger
I'm beyond diamond and master... I'm challenged!

Er, er, Challenger

[X] Challenger

[x] Commentator
Do we really have to go for the death option every time it's presented to us?

[X] Commentator

[x] Challenger

[X] Challenger

Not sure if we Mokou or Elly now.

Seven straight days of work make me dead.
Days off make me less dead.
Will try to take advantage of less dead status before work and life inevitably sends it all crashing back down in a couple more days.

Okay. I've been beating my head against this update for a while, and it's just not going anywhere. Apparently I just can't into fight scenes right now.

I'm not sure I'm ready to give up on it just yet, but in the event that I do, that leaves me in need of something else to update with. I could just move right along to the whole "you're dead again" business, but it doesn't feel right to just go and do that when people voted specifically to not just go and do that.

So, what might be a good fallback? Ideas? Suggestions? Requests? I make no promises about using any of them, but they will be considered.

>>182005
You could always cut to one of our other party members, if writing them might come easier? There's been perspective switching in some earlier threads, at least.

No worries about the writer's block, hope work and life aren't keeping you down too much.

>>182006

Oh yeah. That's a thing I do, isn't it? Man, I am out of it.

Okay, I'll try to figure something out, and hopefully I'll get something sometime in the next couple days.

>>182012
No prob, we'll wait warmly as always.

Another thing that has worked in the past in this story is make the fight incredibly underwhelming and short. Bonus points for comedy.

It might get in the way of the story if they are meant to be equals though.

Bad news! I don't have an update written yet!
Good news! I have some ideas!
Bad news! They are mostly only tangentially related to the story, if at all!

Sometimes to get past a roadblock, you can't just push through or climb over it. Sometimes, you have to make a nice, sharp turn and go around it. A very, very sharp turn.

Besides, this is a nice way to make use of some of the other ideas that have popped up in my mind that I might not otherwise be able to make use of short of starting an entirely different story before finishing this one, and we all know how well that tends to work out.



[ ] A Tale of Burning JUSTICE That May or May Not Involve Actual Burning

[ ] Yet Another Path Not Taken That May or May Not Be Embellished to Make You Feel Bad

[ ] Something Light and Fluffy and Fluffy and Wait What Was I Talking About?

[ ] Yet Again You and Everyone You Know is in High School Because I Don't Know!

[ ] Something Light and Fluffy and Fluffy and Wait What Was I Talking About?

Seeking the remote chance this is Ellen-related

[X] Something Light and Fluffy and Fluffy and Wait What Was I Talking About?

I've got no problems with this.

[X] Something Light and Fluffy and Fluffy and Wait What Was I Talking About?

Mainichi fuwafuwa~

[x] A Tale of Burning JUSTICE That May or May Not Involve Actual Burning

[X] Yet Another Path Not Taken That May or May Not Be Embellished to Make You Feel Bad
[X] Something Light and Fluffy and Fluffy and Wait What Was I Talking About?
[X] Yet Again You and Everyone You Know is in High School Because I Don't Know!
DO THEM ALL.

[X] Something Light and Fluffy and Fluffy and Wait What Was I Talking About?

Yeah, I missed the old cast.

[X] Yet Another Path Not Taken That May or May Not Be Embellished to Make You Feel Bad

Sometimes you forget things.

That's okay, though, because that means you can learn something all over again! You can read books again and be surprised at how they end, or enjoy tasting all sorts of yummy food for the first time!

...finding out what foods aren't so yummy isn't quite so fun, but you guess that's also a part of learning things again.

Oh, and people! You sometimes forget about them, too, which sounds kind of bad but even that can be made into a good thing! After all, it means you get to make friends with everyone all over again!

So, yeah, you sometimes forget things. Not all things, though. You would never, ever, ever forget the really important stuff! Never ever! Stuff like magic, or the way your hair gets all fluffy and staticy any time you use magic unless you spray it with that magic stuff in the funny hissing can.

Too bad you used the last of it during that vacation you took to... what was that place called, again? Maccaw? Makay? What ever it was, there was so much magic in the air, you were just zap-zap-zapping anyone and anything you touched for a while, which made a lot of the people there think you were some sort of fluffy electric demon! Even your poor little kitty wouldn't let you hold him while you were there.

You can't blame him, you guess. You know you wouldn't like it if somebody shocked you every time they tried to hug or cuddle you.

Not that that wouldn't be nice. The hugging and cuddling, that is, not the shocking. Someone to hug you and cuddle you and maybe even kiss you every now and then...

Ah~, if only...

Oh! But look at you, daydreaming when you should be thinking about your shop! That's right, that's another thing you would never, ever forget!


"Mreow."

"Huh? What is it, Sokrates?"

"Mreow."

"Are you sure this is it?

"Mreow."


Sometimes you forget things.

Big things, small things, and all sorts of things in between. But never the important stuff, and never ever something like how to find your own shop!

But then, why can't you see it anywhere?

You walked on a path where you remembered there was a path, you climbed stairs where you remembered climbing stairs, and you even see a shrine where you remember seeing a shrine.

So, why don't you see your shop where you remember seeing your shop?






[ ] Maybe you just aren't looking hard enough? Let's look harder!

[ ] Maybe you could ask someone what happened to it? Let's find them!

[ ] Maybe this isn't the right place after all? Let's go somewhere else!

[x] Maybe you just aren't looking hard enough? Let's look harder!

[x] Maybe you just aren't looking hard enough? Let's look harder!

Because what else? Let's look harder here.

[ ] Maybe you just aren't looking hard enough? Let's look harder!

Ah, Ellen. It's been a very long time since she's been introduced.

[X] Maybe you could ask someone what happened to it? Let's find them!

Hopefully someone will pet fluffy head.

[x] Maybe you just aren't looking hard enough? Let's look harder!

[X] Maybe you could ask someone what happened to it? Let's find them!

Logical as the "look harder" option is, gonna go with this one.
Ellen is still the fluffiest.

No, you're sure that this was the place! Maybe you just have to look around a little bit more! It's not like you've been away for too long, but even so a lot can change in just a little bit of time. Plants grow, animals grow, layers of dust grow...

Oh yeah, you're probably going to have to do some dusting. Probably a lot of dusting. A lot lot loooooooot of dusting. That's okay, though, because it feels good to make everything all nice and clean again!

You know, once you find the place.

"It's gotta be around here somewhere! Let's take a look around, Sokrates!"

"Mreow.?

Your adorable little kitty looks like he'd shrug his little kitty shoulders if he could, but he goes off like the good little fluffykins he is! If he does a good job, maybe you'll get him some tasty little fishies to munch on later.

Oh, but that doesn't mean you can just slack off and let him do all the work! Heavens no! You have to look, too! It seems only right, since it's your shop and all, right? Right!


And so, you look around the shrine. You look behind the shrine, and to the side of the shrine, and to the other side of the shrine, and even under the shrine even though you realize that it's really silly thing to do.

...but you don't see your shop. Not behind the shrine, not on any side of the shrine, and not even under it. You did see some really pretty trees, though, including a really, really big one! You smell a lot of magic coming from it, though, so you don't really want to get too close to it. You've had enough staticy hair for now.

You look, and look, and look, but you can't see any sign of your shop anywhere. Not even a sign! It's almost like it was never even here, but you know it was! You remember it was!

...at least, you think you remember it.

Maybe Sokrates has found something? It sure would be nice if he did. Come to think of it, where is he? You look around, but can't see his fluffy little head anywhere. You hope he's still actually looking, and not just napping or chasing a bird he saw.


[ ] Call out to Sokrates

[ ] Wait patiently for Sokrates

[ ] Look for Sokrates
- (set search parameters)




---------------------------------------------

>Ellen is still the fluffiest.

Is she, now?
Fluff has changed.

[x] Call out to Sokrates

[x] Call out to Sokrates

Sokrates pls

[x] Call out to Sokrates

[ ] Wait patiently for Sokrates

[x] Call out to Sokrates

[x] Call out to Sokrate

"Sokrates~! Sooooooookrates~!"

You call out to your little kitty, and watch as he emerges from the brush behind the shrine not too long after, carrying something in his mouth. As he slowly, slowly, slowly makes his way back your way, you can see that it's a piece of paper.

"Hey, what did you find?"

You kneel down and take the slip of paper from Sokrates, who just looks up at you with his usual sorta-bored look on his little kitty face.

"Mreow."

"Nothing? Silly kitty! What do you mean by 'nothing'? Where did you get this paper, then?"

"Mreow."

"Huh? You don't know?"

Oh dear. It can be bad enough when you forget things, but when Sokrates starts to forget stuff, you know you're in trouble. Looking at the paper in your hands, you wonder how he could possible have forgotten how he got it. You certainly don't remember him ever picking up little bits of paper for no good reason before, though it wouldn't be a bad thing if he ever had. After all, littering is bad, and everyone should do their part to keep things looking all nice and clean and pretty!

Unfolding the paper, you realize there is something written on it! It says...




????? ?????? ???"




[ ] Um, okay!

[ ] Um, no way!

[X] Um, okay!

[X] Um, okay!

[X] Um, okay!

This is totally safe and there is a 0.0% chance this can be a trap!

[x] Um, okay!

[X] Turn around ('round); turn around ('round).

There's a thing there that can be found.

[x] Um, okay!

Huh, I wasn't expecting him to reappear that easily. Good to see the kitty hasn't befallen the same fate as Ellen's shop. I think. Yet.

Next thread is here >>182369