holyspirits | W5 CYOA - Zhongli, Akihiko, Laurence, Ali Zoph

[ well good then he continues to be useless. is there any sign of the setup for this show tonight?? ]

he said Lucas was "assimilated"
Chrono recognized me but didn't want to leave the game
Zhongli said he set off some alarm and disappeared

[ The entertainment changes up so fast that they don't seem to have a lot of signage to advertise. Instead it's mostly pamphlets, but whatever works!

He manages to grab one and sees that it only lists the show that will happen on this deck. And they're all basically like... The Newlyweds games... Some comedy shows... Nothing that really seems like it would fit the Idol... Probably?

But they don't say anything about the outdoor movie theater on the top deck. ]

[ okay he will tack on another message for akihiko in that case: ]

there's a movie theater up there, right? can you check that for any sign of the idol?
i don't see anything for down here

[ ding.

the elevators go off, and lo - a maid. ]

Laurence -

[ Wahoo! Reunited! Also Laurence gets another text: ]

It makes sense an idol would want to be near a stage. We'll try to get behind the scenes

[ So sounds like they've got that area covered? Maybe? What about you two - where to? ]

[ well he did say he was changing so this doesn't bother him. he just glances at the text, nods to himself, and turns to zhongli after pocketing his phone again. ]

We should probably find somewhere quieter...?

Wise, I think. [ his voice lowers as he comes over. ] We have updates for each other - I was a bit held up by seeing the security room.

[ r...restrooms? a broom closet? ]

[ they may duck into a broom closet to speak privately! ]

[ neat. once they're in there and the door is shut behind them he's just going to lean back against the wall with a heavy sigh, shoulders slumped. ]

Director Hu said our collateral can be a favor if we kill someone for her. [ rubs face. ] It's Iris. He's supposed to be upstairs in the state rooms.

She said... even if we don't, then she will. But it'll give us a lot of money for the casino.

[ he can't bring himself to care about that right now. ]

[ he takes up a position in front of the door once it's closed, just in case someone decides to follow them. he is going to be HAUNTED by lucas until they're out of here, frankly, but he brought this upon himself. ]

... a troublesome girl as always. [ except it isn't said as fondly as zhongli normally would say it. unfortunately, they... might need to head towards the staterooms anyways. ] At all costs, Laurence, we will do our utmost to ensure your friend's safety in all of this. Perhaps we need not even see him, though we might need to make our way in that direction, regardless.

[ he'll take his phone out and voice to text a message, to akihiko and ali both, so that laurence also gets the update (but, also, he's a slow texter): ]

The Idol last spotted on the Promenade using the elevators to possibly go towards a stateroom. Security on the ship believes there is an imposter for The Idol running around, but there is only the target, no second individual. If you need to send them on a goose chase you might be able to use this.

[ No it's fine, no one thought anything about a maid pulling a guest into a broom closet.

And Lucas is probably fine... It's not like this place seems to erode people's memories and identities or anything... Maybe those girls let him out? Yeah. They seemed competent.

You send out the text. yippee. ]

What if we can't? What if he still dies? [ what if it's akihiko and firefly all over again? ] I'm supposed to help that idiot, not...

[ cuts himself off with a groan ugh ugh ugh ]

Let's just - get this over with, I guess.

I will not be giving up before we even try. If we can do something, then we should - Hu Tao, when herself, would never issue an order to kill someone. There must be a source to all of this.

[ if you want to help him then we're helping him!!! even if he's not real!!!!

but. ok. ]

... shall we check the stages, or head towards the staterooms proper?

[ :thinking: ]

She said it doesn't matter who it is, just that he dies. [ ... ] But okay. We can try.

You said they were headed toward the staterooms, right? We can start there. If we deal with this idol thing, we don't have to worry about the rest at all.

[ he hopes. ]

Mm. If we take care of things, the scenario may end before we even need to worry about it. [ agreeing! he would rather free everyone, real or not, from this terrible situation than have to make laurence get his hands literally bloody.

but ok, he will nod, reaching to open the door. then pausing. and he grabs a broom from this broom closet. ]

You may want to take off your jacket, there, and grab something to help blend in as a maid while we go.

[ gives you one more round to see if you are changing before heading out ]

Do I really have to...?

[ uuuuuugHGHUGHGhUGH

reluctantly takes the hoodie off. ] You know, I really think we should've looked a little harder for wigs or something. It'd make this disguise thing a lot easier.

[ grabs a stupid mop he hates his life ]

Would that we could, Laurence. I will say that the staff here is not particularly competent, unless you run into a familiar face under their employ - they won't realize.

[ just. throws that out there.

anyways he'll open the door and step aside so laurence can exit, straightening up even more to look like he's just a maid about to set off on some cleaning duty. yeah!! ]

[ Off you go! You head to the elevators and take them down? up? Up. I forget my layout. ANYWAY, to the stateroom deck! There should be several stateroom decks but for the purposes of storytelling, there's only one. Wow!

There are a few girls coming and going up and down the hall. There are............ Many rooms. ]

Edited 2025-03-19 21:05 (UTC)

[ well they should have expected this. ]

I don't suppose you know where we're supposed to start?

[ do any of those girls have any traits of the idol... ]

[ uhhhhhh man maybe he should've stuck around longer to see what stateroom she headed to... ]

No. Considering the terms I left Lucas on, I did not want to linger on that level for long.

[ DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT looking around to take in the security presence. maybe laurence can pick a direction and get lucky l. ]

[ Well. You don't know where The Idol is... and none of these girls share any traits with them...

But you do know which room Iris is in. :) ]

[ yeah sorry we're going to avoid that one for now! haha! whichever direction room 205 is in, he's determinedly heading in the opposite.

if he knocks on a random door can he get lucky... ]

[ He knocks on a random door after moving far away from Iris' room. Guess he doesn't want to see his friend. :/

The door opens! It's just some rando. But she looks him up and down... Cute maid outfit! I'm not bothering with an icon for her. ]

Woah, room service here is fast.

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