henwen

[soulping]

Enjoy some appropriate music while you wait ♥

Your runner is Cassandra (sociologize), please ping them if you have any questions!

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[soulping]

[As soon as you enter the game, you find yourself in a vast, seemingly endless forest. The wind blows cold and harsh, whistling through the trees, and you can barely see what’s in front of you. The only light in the area comes from the moon shining down upon you, mostly blocked by the thick branches twisting together overhead. In the distance, it's almost as if you can see and here flashes of movement, moments of sound (a wolf howling, the sound of crying, or even that of screams). Try as you might, you can't tell where any of these sounds come from... Perhaps it would be best to explore and find out. Stranger yet, you feel as if you must explore...

From here, you can go either left or right. The two paths are indistinguishable from each other.]

[justichthys]

Eek! Is that … was that a scream?

[ Glances around, peering through silver-dappled gloom. It's creepy here … super creepy, and that means she's going to have to hold it together. BEST FOOT FORWARD, NAKAMORI AOKO, you can do this thing. ]

[robitussin]

Pretty sure it was... Well, this sure is weird and uncomfortable already.

[justichthys]

G-Great …

[ Wraps her arms around herself, cheeks puffed out in something that's trying valiantly to be irritation. This is fine, it's fine; she's been through weirder stuff! Worse stuff! She just needs to be on guard. ]

You're Natalie, right? [ Pulls up a flicker of a smile. ] I'm Aoko. Looks like we'll be working together today!

[robitussin]

Oh... Yeah. You're the one who accidentally sent me the fish scales text, right? And, yeah, looks like it.

So... Which way?

[soulping]

[After walking for a while, the trees become more sparse, until they disappear. All the while, it's as if you can feel somebody watching you...

You come to a corn field. The plants rise up high, past your head. Luckily, you can see an entrance not too far from where you stand. There isn’t a sound to be heard except the sounds of cicadas somewhere in the distance.

Do you enter? Strangely, you strongly feel as though you should.]

[robitussin]

Ooookay, somehow this got even more creepy.

[justichthys]

[ oh my god oh my god ]

I, is it just me, or did the jerk Echo—whoever they are!—set this up exactly like a horror movie …

[robitussin]

Can't say I've seen too many.

Anyways, I have this bizarre urge to go into the cornfield, which makes me pretty suspicious... But going back doesn't seem too appealing, either.

[justichthys]

You too? Mmm … I felt it back there, too, like something wants us to keep moving. It's creepy.

[ part of her is wondering what would happen if they sat tight and refused to move ]

We could make a run for it. Though it might be a good idea to look for something we can defend ourselves with, just in case. Maybe there's a mop laying around somewhere.

[soulping]

[Soon, you come to a large building. There isn’t much to be found on the outskirts of the place, but should you follow the urge to enter the space, you’ll find what once might have been a lobby of some kind. A layer of dust covers a plain tile floor, and there’s a receptionist’s desk near the entrance - of course, there’s nobody to be found behind it any longer.

What’s more notable than the look of the place, however, is the sound. As soon as you enter, a speaker high above crackles to life, and a feminine voice begins speaking.]

The doctor will see you now. The doctor will s̛͙̻̜͉͌̇̓͊̽͡ͅȩ̷̯̯̼̤̘̺̫̠ͤ̆̍̔͗͜ę̺̘̪̬͊̐͌ ̘͎̥͖ͭ̎͌̈́͋̌̐͛́y̶̸̡̘̮̪͉͔̥̑̑̃ö̶̴̺͇̮̥͖̩̆u̡̧̟͓̯̮ͤͧ̈́ͦ̽̈̆͘ ̘̥͕̙̍͒̾̓͛̌ͭ͑ͩ͢͞n̶̦̪̞ͫ̾̂o͖ͮ̂̒͒ͤ͗ͪ̉͞w͇̩̜͎̹̩̹̅̇̔.̰̤̳͖͔̫̣̭̟̓̃͊̿ͬ͞͡ ̨̠͙̺̖̹̠ͤͧ͋Ť̨̢̟͉̟͔͐̑̌hͨ̄̒̀̏ͥ̌҉̡͓͉e̛͔̯̰̖̭͚͚ͤ̈͆ͧ̀ ̢̤̖̥̮̮̮̞̊͒̀d̦ͥ̋́ͥ̽̃o͈̠̼̤̩̭ͯ̊̾̃̔ͩ͊̀c͙̠̲̞̭̤͒̇ͦͨ́͡t̘̣̬̙ͪ̈ó̸̠̟̳̭̪̖́̓̾̓̓̽̀ͅṙ̸̷͑͂ͣ̂ͩͭ̎҉̦̞̦͚̞̖ ͈̭͔̤̲̺̻̼͒ͥ͌̇͘w̷̸͎͈̥̞̺͗̊ͭ̆͛ì̻̬͙̜̜̝͍̳͗̌̋̽̓̉l͇̪̝̱̤̳̲͓̹ͥl̴͓͙͙̪̻̳̟͈͇̈̊̕ ̶̨̼̘̜̯̟̫̟̳̋͂s̴̪͍̺̄̿̇͛͂̓̚͟é͈͉̠̙̭ͭė̸̛̯̼̮͖͖̰̠̩̈ ̘̮̙̻̭͓̟͈̒ͭ̊̆ͯ̑̕͘y̸͍̜͍̼̫̣͚ͫͮ͑ͣ̏͟ͅo͎͍͎͑ͧͩ͛u̺̦ͮ͗̽ͪ̑͌̄͑-̜͖̬̼̲̯͕͚̍̓̀͢-͔͇͍̳̳̩̙̗̍

[The voice comes to a halt with a long, chilling scream, interrupted by an unhinged laugh - and then the sounds stop altogether, fading to an eerie silence.

There are two doors, one to the left and one to the right.]

[robitussin]

Ohhhhhh fuck.

[justichthys]

[ Aoko doesn't SCREECH but god damn does she ever want to ]

What the heck is with Kyriakos and creepy medical scenes?!

[ her voice is a fierce, vehement whisper ]

[robitussin]

I don't know, but... Should we try to help whoever that was...?

[deep breaths, trying to keep calm]

[justichthys]

I-I'd like to try … it might be a trap, but if it isn't …!

[soulping]

[You enter the hallway. It's even filthier than the lobby. The windows are broken and poorly boarded up. Above the doorway, the words "PSYCH WARD" are written in what looks to be blood. Through the door, you can hear screams and sobs; it sounds like a great number or people are crying out for help.

Will you go to them, or will you look around beforehand?]

[justichthys]

[ deep breaths, deep breaths … aoko's hands are curled into white-knuckled fists in her scarf. ]

God, this is ... it's awful.

[robitussin]

[putting a hand over her mouth for a moment and taking a deep breath]

Do you still want to...?

[justichthys]

[ She nods immediately. ]

I, I know that it's probably a trap, but I can't just … [ Breathes, closing her eyes tightly for just a moment. ] I'm gonna get one of the boards from the windows. If something jumps out at us, at least I might be able to bat it away.

[ GONNA GO YANK ONE OFF ]

[soulping]

[you have acquired a board]

[soulping]

[As soon as you enter this room, it's obvious where the sounds were coming from. There are rows upon rows of beds, each with a patient strapped firmly down; what's more, most of those patients is screaming and thrashing around under the restraints. The ones that aren't screaming are sobbing and moaning.

The perceptive will notice that each patient looks severely underweight. When one of them sees you, they start crying out to you to help them, to let them go. Once one of them starts, the rest begin to beg and plead as well.

What will you do?]

[justichthys]

[ And, see, the thing is … Aoko is perceptive. Utterly horrified and scared, yes, but she still notices how thin they all are. Her breath catches sharply in her throat, and the noise she makes is faint, sickly. ]

[ She wants to help them. God, she does. Desperately. ]

They look … so hungry … Hasn't anybody been feeding them?!

[robitussin]

[similarly, she looks like she's going to be sick or cry or both of the above... but she takes a step forward, trying not to shake]

W-We should let them go, right?

[justichthys]

[— grabbing Natalie's sleeve. Her own hands are shaking violently, but. She steadies her voice through sheer force of will, ignoring the prickle of tears in her eyes. ]

Y-Yeah. I think ... I don't think I can just leave them like this. But ... [ they're hungry, nobody's fed them in god knows how long. ] They might ... attack us. L-Let's start with one, working together, and see how that goes.

[robitussin]

...Yeah.

[sloooowly heading over to one of them]