W5 CYOA - Zhongli, Akihiko, Laurence, Ali Zoph

[holyspirits]

aaaaaaaaaaaa

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EPISODE ONE

[holyspirits]

[ Hello, girls! It's time for—wait hang on.

Hm. Okay. I see.

Well. Alright, let's try again.

Hello, students! Yes, much better. You're all definitely students! And you're right in the middle of a completely ordinary day in Kivotos.

Naturally, you're exactly where you should be on a weekday: at school! Millennium Science School, to be exact. Why am I even telling you this? Of course you know your own school! And like any other school, there's no such thing as teachers, but you watched some good combat-training blu-rays in class, and there were only one or two shoot-outs during lunch break! So it's shaping up to be a nice, calm day.

Though, on the subject of shootouts: who's gun is who's? Everyone choose a gun! It's first come first serve. ]

Twin Dragons - (Two SMGs chained together)


Hawkeye - (Sniper Rifle)

Surprise Party - (Assault Rifle)


Silent Solution - (Pistol)

[ziosar]

[Akihiko doesn't hesitate to grab the Silent Solution. When it's about guns, he has such a high preference for this shape and size he has very, very rarely even considered anything else]

[dijun]

[ well. zhongli will take the twin dragons, because it's thematically correct - and it's his, isn't it? ]

[smokeandglasses]

[Just going for the sniper rifle then. It suits him.]

[outdistanced]

[ because we didn't have enough surprises in w4, laurence's gun is surprise party! this tracks. ]

EPISODE TWO

[holyspirits]

[ Alright girls—sorry. Students.

After getting changed, you head straight to the pier. The Engineering Department is there even though they acted like they wouldn't be, but they keep a distance. Maybe they're just watching to make sure the right students board their boat. Who knows. They look a little on edge, but will exchange amiable nods. Save for Iris, who just turns his head away at any eye contact.

Whatever problems that causes among you, you do eventually board the ship. It's a tiny little cruiser and very sleek! Noa sends you the coordinates of The Golden Fleece, and you're off.

Now, as you approach what is clearly a huge, thriving cruise ship, two questions:

1. What are you wearing?
and
2. Are you approaching with stealth, or trying to board as guests? ]

[ziosar]

[Akihiko isn't very happy at all. He adjusts the shawl he's wearing, over the really big sweater, and the long skirt. He looks like he's trying to cosplay a middle-age woman, and that sure brings some very conflicted feelings in him, enough for him to comment:]

I know these are mine and I got them myself, but why are these my tastes?!

[Geez. Well, perhaps it's for the better. It can get cold in the middle of the sea. Behind him, there's a bag with a clean maid uniform. The plan is simple: approach like you're supposed to be here, and if anyone asks, say you're going to be part of the cleaning crew or that your shift is going to happen soon but until then you hope to be there as a customer. It's not a perfect lie, but it's all in how you tell it, right?

The sight of the Golden Fleece makes obvious there's no time left to discuss much]

Is everyone ready?

[dijun]

[ zhongli snorts very softly at akihiko's complaints, but offers him and laurence both the oversized hoodies that he got from his own closet if they'd rather have those than anything else that came in their closets. considering he borrowed from akihiko's... well.

he wasn't going to wear short shorts. he's not the director. ]

Yes. [ dressed like another librarian, with his own maid outfit in an upright garment bag. he's even put on a pair of the extra glasses that akihiko had, pulling his ponytail into a low bun to complete the very unassuming look. "he's 6'3" tall" unassuming.

time to walk through the front door, and when all else fails, lean back on being maids. ]

[smokeandglasses]

[Ali is unfortunately embracing the gyaru look. Pink sweatshirt, purple skirt, knee-socks, flat shoes, purple bow in his hair. No makeup though, he's not even going to try putting that on.

His maid outfit is in his backpack. He doesn't care about potential wrinkles.]

Let's head on in then and catch this Idol.

[outdistanced]

[ ali you are so embarrassing. laurence would never dare to wear the gyaru fits, so he is unhappily in a fresh maid outfit, and he WILL complain about not being able to put on more of a disguise on their way to the boat. no wigs so they can at LEAST blend in with the girls around here...

he did at least put on some of the makeup using their memory soup but only so he would look less like himself. it only works so-so? god this whole thing is mortifying he hates it here.

but thank you for the hoodie zhongli he will gladly throw that on for SOME small sense of comfort here. ]

No.

[ he is NOT ready and will never be. but you guys decided so we're doing this he GUESSES. ]

EPISODE THREE

[holyspirits]

[ So! Zhongli and Laurence drag The Idol up to the top deck, and head towards the theater, where it looks like some random bunny girl is just being very rude to Ali and Akihiko. That's. Well. Okay! ]

Aaaand there's our real star! Come on down!

[ As you approach, a few things happen.

First: It's nighttime now! Like a switch being flipped, the sun is gone and the moon is out.

Second: More helicopter spotlights. One is shining down on each of you. Including: Chase, who steps back outside the restaurant, and Iris, who is still standing next to the restaurant VERY confused.

Third: The crowd and random girls in the audience disappears.

In fact, everyone else disappears and you are each isolated. Behind you, each others threads play out on the projector screen. But you might not want to get too distracted. ]

ZHONGLI

[holyspirits]

So you were going to leave me there, were you? You saw what this place did to Chrono, and you locked me in a cell. Was this always the kind of person you were?

[ As Lucas says this, stepping onto the stage from side, Zhongli: you find yourself at the other side before you know what happened.

He doesn't even sound accusatory. More curious. Like he doesn't know what kind of person you are. Is that because you've changed? Because he's forgotten?

He's aiming his gun at you. ]

[dijun]

[ oh.

zhongli goes very still - not like prey, caught in the headlights, but instead like a predator gauging the threat in front of it. his instinct is to pull on elemental energy, to summon his polearm and ready himself for a fight, but there isn't either of those available. his hands touch his guns, instead, bringing them around and letting the chain fall away, pooling on the ground behind him and his maid dress skirts. ]

... perhaps it is, in some ways. [ regret. so, so much regret. an old friend given sight but eroding into a fragment of himself, lashing out at allies as if they were foes, locked away to continue eroding into nothing. ] But by completing things, here, we could put an end to what's happened on this ship. What had taken you, and Chrono.

[holyspirits]

An end for who? What do you think happens to the apparitions you leave behind? You think they rest in peace the moment you leave?

[dijun]

[ great questions!

he doesn't like the possible answers to any of them! he wants to believe that by ending this scenario, they would be freed - if they were truly here, they would be able to fetch them so that they could return with laurence back to the living as the three of them that had died limped back to the other side. if they're apparitions... they would simply fade.

wouldn't they? ]

Would you have had me sit in the cell and wait for my own self to be overtaken by the powers in play, here? Unable to help free anyone from whatever thrall that befell you?

There are no apologies that I can offer that would appease you, Lucas. I doubt even saying that I would return for you, when all was said and done, would convince you.

ALI

[holyspirits]

Your kids a murderer, but maybe life doesn't mean as much to someone like you. Come on. You can't be part of the show from up there. Lets stop playing on the sidelines now and actually get involved. Don't you want to play Slay the Dragon? Let's treat your life with as much care as he treated Majima's.

[ She says this, and Ali: you find yourself on stage in the blink of an eye.

Also on stage: Chase! He still has his gun strapped to his back, because why wouldn't he. The bunny girl's words have him very on edge, and he pulls the gun out. Time to go on the offensive!

He's lining up a shot. What do you do? ]

[smokeandglasses]

[Wow this is a thousand kinds of unfair and rude and he has a bone to pick with this girl.]

Oh come on, how can it be 'slay the dragon' if I can't even turn into a dragon?

[Chance might have a gun pulled but Ali is just looking directly at him.]

I know I don't look like it right now, but I actually am your father. This isn't about you versus me, it's us versus the problem. And the problem is over there right now, so let's work together.

[holyspirits]

You are still you, aren't you? Or do you think your form negates what you are? Is it the form or the memories that matter? Do you think that this isn't Chase just because he doesn't know you?

[ Because... He doesn't!

I'm not embedding icons for Chase anymore because I only had the two and those are no longer the vibe. But a complete stranger giving the I Am Your Father speech shockingly doesn't... sway him... ]

I think the problem is a cheapskate who tried to dine and dash, then climbed on the roof and started shooting the entertainment.

LAURENCE

[holyspirits]

It's pretty bad form to accept a deal and not deliver. Sorry about this.

[ Hu Tao speaks up from the lone occupied seat in the audience. Why do you have the Hu Tao cr here. Okay. It's fine. Zhongli's kind of got the Chrono cr so I guess it balances out somehow.

Anyway, Laurence finds himself on stage! Predictably, he's not alone.

Iris is here too. He's holding his gun but looks unsure. He isn't aiming it at you. ]

[outdistanced]

[ laurence freezes the second the spotlight lands on him, and then startles again upon suddenly finding himself on stage. ]

...Huh? What?

[ then his eyes settle on iris, and he takes a step back. ]

No. No! [ turning viciously on hu tao. ] I'm not doing this. You said it didn't even need to be me!

[holyspirits]

[ Hu Tao is gone now!!!!! It's just you and Iris on the stage. ]

What was she talking about? What deal?

AKIHIKO

[holyspirits]

And you've already put on your show, haven't you? So let's just watch. Is that what it feels like when you make horrible, cruel choices? Like you're just watching someone else do it? Is that why you tried to pretend that you were afflicted?

[ The bunny girl asks this from where she is very suddenly seated in the otherwise empty audience. And Akihiko, you are sitting next to her. Watching the others scenarios play out with no distractions. ]

[ziosar]

[Akihiko suddenly finds himself at the audience, seated like he's here to watch a show. Oh hell no, is his immediate thought! Glancing at this girl, Akihiko bolts up to try to run towards the stage! He has no idea yet what he'll do, but sitting to a side isn't it!

Can he even do that?

Probably not!]

[holyspirits]

[ Sure, he can run up onto the stage!

He's on the stage now!

... Welp!!!! ]

EPILOGUE

[holyspirits]

[ Well! Alright then! Nightmare cruiseship theater defeated! And you've got The Idol, who no longer has any fight left in him. Did he ever get to put on his performance? Ambiguous. He seems pretty confused about everything that just happened too, but sketched out enough that he wants to just get OUT of here.

You may search as much as you like but you will not find any of your friends onboard the ship. Not Chase, not Lucas, not Chrono, not Hu Tao, not Iris. And during any searching, you will find that the ship has become completely ordinary. Well, for Blue Archive, anyway. There is no more labyrinthian nightmare of time distortion in the casino. Just a regular labyrinthian casino. The theater plays Titanic, which is perhaps an unwise choice on a cruise ship, but you suppose they are just floating in place in the warm sun.

You can spend a little time enjoying the cruise if you want, but what you can do with no money is pretty limited. Unless... You spend some of Seminar's money... But you wouldn't do that, right?

Eventually, I'm sure, you decide to sail on home.

You get about halfway down to the debarking deck when you hear the pattering of several identical footsteps chasing you. ]

There they are! The bitch that didn't bring me my hamburger! They're kidnapping The Idol! Don't let them get away!

What?! No, I'm tired now! I just want to go home! The self reflection room's not that bad! I'm not being kidnapped I'm just leaving!

HE'S GOT STOCKHOLM SYNDROME!

[ The group of you have to make a break for it the rest of the way to the ship. You and them both open fire freely, because why wouldn't you?

You don't have roleplay this, I'm just establishing that the cyoa ends in a frantic gunfight/dash to the boat. You board in a hurry, piling in after each other, and take off before they can catch you. ]

The End

- When you return, you will be wearing whatever you ended your journey in.

- While your injuries were minimal in the cyoa, once you leave, the Blue Archive immunity to bullets stops applying. I will not force you to be full of actual real 500 bullet holes, because you would immediately die. But you may turn these into what are functionally cuts, stabs, bruises, abrasions, etc. And perhaps one or two actual piercing bullet holes. Or more. Follow your dreams I suppose. You can choose the severity and location of your injuries, since everyone was firing randomly.

- When you return home, you get to keep your gun. You each only have 3 bullets, though. That's what you wanted, right? Guns? Guns to keep?

- For your first day out of the cyoa, you will keep your Blue Archive brain soup. You are immune to bullets. Everyone is immune to bullets. Why would they not be? And everything is high school, aka the most standard form of government there is.

- The brain soup will then fade in and out for the next two days before disappearing completely.