... Please be careful. [ We're doing great, let's all shuffle after Denji and surely nothing will happen.
No, she doesn't believe that for a second. At this point she just wants to get all of them back in mostly one piece and they'll take it one homicidal entity at a time.
She sure is radiating exhaustion and dizziness and worry, but isn't that all of them right now-- ]
Hey, my axe! [he watches it sail through, farewell
as he charges the monster to retrieve it, it reaches out those tentacles and reflexively he mentally directs the chainsaw to cut that fucker to shreds, so if it's really just an illusion I guess it just buzzes around it uselessly for a few seconds until the others approach?? it'll follow after him and not hurt any of his buddies
meanwhile, Denji's just grumpily stomping through it to the other side and taking in whatever room is on the other side—what're we dealing with now?]
Gettin' real sick of this place messin' with my head [ha ha] Don't worry, guys! Stupid thing can't grab you or do anything! [he yells back, in a fateful move that will surely have no negative consequences]
[denji comes into the room - and the heartbeat pulse of his tattoos gets harder to ignore.
it's a pretty small room. there's a few bookshelves with jars of nondescript organic matter that seem to shiver in time with each pulse. along the walls are iron sockets that hold candles, all of them burning. in the middle of the room is a red carpet, stained in places, and across from the door, there's a desk. it's covered in notes and books.
anyway! malik walks through the door.
immediately, a tentacle shoots out and grabs him by the hair, and there's the sound of sobbing, painful and gasping, everywhere in his mind. welcome, welcome, WElcOMe scream voices in his head, and then - he is faced with every terrible thing he's ever said, with every thing in his life that could make him feel guilt, and is weighed down by it. guilt. he is drowning in guilt.
otome walks through the door.
a tentacle shoots out and grabs her by the hair, as well. there's the sounds of jeering, hissing voices, booing and stomping their feet, and then - welcome, welcome, WElcOMe weLCOme, WELCome, WELCOME - voices scream in her head. she is hit with loathing, disgust, for everyone around her, for herself, for her friends and family. loathing. she loathes existence itself.
lucretia walks through the door.
a third tentacle shoots out and grabs her by the hair. there's a roar in her ears, furious, wrath from the crowd of voices around here, screaming for blood. welcome, welcome, WElcOMe weLCOme, WELCome, WELCOME welcomE - the voices shriek, rattling iron and chains. she is hit with absolute rage. she is angry, she wants to hurt people, she wants to destroy everything.
[ oh no. not again. not the voices, the screams-- not again!
the weight of his guilt is heavy; he's been able to avoid it until now, dismissing his thoughts and feelings. it's not his fault, it's not his fault, it's not. his. fault.
it's your fault echoes in the back of his mind as he's forced to relive every awful, sickening moment of his wretched existence. he just wants to give up. the overwhelming guilt feeds into his deep, deep self loathing, and you know what? he just wants to die. get it over with. there's no point in prolonging his suffering when everything. is. his. fault.
he's too tired to fight, or writhe, or even attempt to get away from this creature that has forced him to acknowledge what an absolute waste of space he is. just let him die here as a failure. it's what he deserves. ]
[ Luckily(?) for Otome, she has not encountered this before!
Unluckily(!) for Otome, she is immediately subjected to it and what follows is probably one of the worst experiences of her life? She loves what little family she has left, she loves her friends, the people she met here and the people back home, she wouldn't be fighting so hard if she didn't love humanity but suddenly that's all gone. There's the memory of that fondness and caring but now she can't stand any of them and because she can remember that and she's aware of the feeling welling up inside of her now, the strongest feeling of loathing is absolutely for herself. Why is she like this? How could she think like this? A better person would be able to accept everyone. She hates her life, this entire existence and in her loathing at even just drawing breath right now in this miserable world, she probably accidentally shoves Malik forward, sorry Malik you adorable waste of space.
There are tears in her eyes. Wow, if only they could have been like Denji. Except she hates him too, the little shit. ]
[there's a moment of shock when she's grabbed, and then--
it's not like she hasn't felt anger before, but it's so rare for her to feel genuine rage. she always wants to try to help make the world a safe place, to preserve it from being destroyed, but all of a sudden that's just... it's gone. it's gone and it's replaced with that seething anger, the urge to rail at everything and everyone around her. she's worked so hard, and for what? to be trapped here and surrounded by death? hugo keeps talking about tearing it down. she just wants everything to be gone. decimated. she hardly recognizes these people as ones she should care for, blinded by it.
anyway here's the extra bad news about the situation: lucretia is full of rage, equipped with poison spray, and malik and otome are right there and still fairly close together if otome didn't shove him very far.
we might need some more saving throws in this bitch.]
[not one for either putting things together re: psychic damage or recognizing obvious emotional anguish written on people's faces, Denji looks back to see if everyone's followed so the smart people can find a way out and....their all just...standing there crying or whatever??]
Hey, hey! Ya wanna get out of here or what? Tch...gotta do everything
[he starts to walk back towards them, you know, directly back into the monster's midst but then remembers his other looted item, something about a magic cat hand...?
he reaches in and grabs the claw statue, and thinks about pushing them all out of the door and into the room with him, but he's kinda frustrated and in pain so it is not a particularly gentle thought sorry guys]
[we're not rolling for this one, poison spray just. hits otome and malik! so that's fun.
which means a spray of bright green acid shoots out over the both of them, hissing and snapping. it corrodes and leaves disgusting acid burns wherever you'd like. and on top of that, both malik and otome are now poisoned! they feel ill, and sluggish. remind me to set a timer when y'all walk out of cyoa.
anyway!
denji uses his cat claw to yank everybody out of range of the terrible abomination, which, thankfully, gets rid of the effects. mostly. it's not as intense, but it still lingers. they can hit the wall if you want, since denji is not being gentle!
everybody in the room feels a little bit more itchy. malik in the center of his forehead. otome on her back. lucretia on the back of her calf. denji on his left palm.
but it's quiet, and the monster can't see them where it's stuck in the doorway, so it's dormant.]
[ you know what else this cyoa needs? everything that just happened. wow. malik finally reacts to something: being sprayed by acid. It hits him on the side, his arm, and his already torn up chest. he groans with pain but also, maybe that was his fault too. so while he's also suffering complete agony from the acid (and then poison) he gets slammed into a wall, because this is the no good very bad awful day that he's having.
he falls to the ground, his breath hitching between his pitiful whimpers. they may be free, but at what cost?
in a very quiet voice - he doesn't mean for anyone to hear it, really - he says: ]
Just let me die.
[ there are waves of depression rolling off him now, so, enjoy that, i guess. ]
[ Well if Otome didn't hate Lucretia who is a fabulous woman and deserves every nice thing, she sure does now. The acid hits one leg and one arm as she turns to the side, also part of her neck and before she can do more than scream in pain, she gets flung into the wall Back first, at least, so that'll bruise but better than The Ribs.
The good news is that with the effects mostly gone, Otome no longer thinks of these three companions as little bitches. The bad news is with the lingering bits, she just. Hates herself? So much?? And all she can really think to do, with this new sickness on top of the dizziness from blood loss, is drag herself over to Malik and use her healing spell for the week. It's not enough, she knows it's not and she hates herself even more for it, but she has to at least use what she has at her disposal. ]
... No.
[ She coughs, a little raspy from All of That. ]
We're... all... getting out of here. And then I'm treating everyone.
[she also gets thrown into the wall! i want to fuck her up still, please let me have this, i want it to break her arm because she hit it or fell wrong or something. thanks.
when the effects fade, though-- through the lingering anger, she's just Horrified. since it isn't as strong, it's more focused on the situation and her own actions now.]
Damn it-- Malik, Otome, I'm sorry, I'm-- I don't know what... I can help, after we're out of this horrible place.
[she's just holding her arm, for now, trying to ignore the extra itch.]
[Denji watches the giant cat paw manifest and it is way bigger and way stronger than he planned on—oops! everyone smacks into the wall and falls into various heaps on the floor]
Crap...uh, sorry about that. Damn...can't think with all this heartbeat pounding on my skin. [he scratches at his palm and frowns at the eye—hm gross] You guys all alive?
[he comes over and, seeing Malik still sadly laying on the ground, just sorta grabs his collar and more-or-less gently picks him up to his feet]
Come on, dude, use your smarts to help us out.
[and this is the first time that any of the psychic damage hits him, shared via Malik's open channel of depression—he lets go and takes a few steps back, the chaotic vibrancy brought on from adrenaline draining out as his face falls
he coughs up some more blood, and bumping into a bookshelf just...sadly slides down it—he's trapped here, he's trapped again and he's too stupid to save anyone here just like he couldn't save anyone from Hell...he's not smart enough and his stupid body is going to die for real...his eyes widen and he zones out]
[there is definitely some damage from the wall, for sure. lucretia can have a broken arm or wrist AND some cracked ribs, as a treat.
anyway, denji's now depressed. you took a perfectly good raccoon and gave it anxiety.
i also don't know how much malik gets healed for! hopefully the mods do.
as you're all laying here, the eyes throb more and more insistently. you can all hear a faintly irish-tinged voice speaking, soft. it's familiar, yet not. worse. more sinister.
These people, this city, tragic in its fall. Yes, but glorious in its discoveries. The Somnovem had studied to prepare it enough to harness their terrible fate, and in doing so they were reborn greater than they could have ever anticipated. Isn't that right? Power of a thousand minds, dreams, imaginations, and wills made one.
Founded in the aether of manifestation, a miracle, unstoppable. Yet rudderless, fractured, wild, jealous, impotent.
I once saw them as gods. Being so far beyond my ability to understand. And they chose me to be their herald. But when I died, when I scattered, and they put me back together, I was given a view behind the curtain and I saw the fallacy. I had given everything for genius souls. Now mewling toddlers bickering over the power of creation.
Someone needed to be the parent.
When children have been acting out, well, making a mess of their potential, for this long even, a responsible caretaker must show discipline, enact a punishment, and take the reins with force. So I invite you to stay for the show, but I think you'd prefer to run.
and then there's a laugh, maniacal, almost hysterical - and then silence.]
[ squints at comment. malik is minorly healed so let's assume that means he's not going to keel over from blood loss. things are looking up!(?)
denji is a bro and helps malik up, and he can't even work himself up to say a mean comment. the throbbing of the eyes is bothering him, and he scratches at the one on the back of his neck again. but he has to stop, on account of the chills he gets when he hears that voice.
hm. don't like this. ]
...Punishment?
[ he's scared again, but it's nothing like his teen angst from a moment ago. ]
[ Otome frowns as soon as recognition sinks in, her gaze growing a little thoughtful. That... it sounds like Molly, but there's such a sinister layer to that tone that it's difficult to truly assign it to him. But...
What the voice says about potential, punishment, taking the reins...
She shivers, silently. (Or maybe it's the poison.) It's difficult to give this as much thought as this demands when there's the itchiness on her arm, her hip and her back-- but there's silence so she takes a deep breath and then reaches out to rip the sleeve off her school sweater. And then again, until it's in smaller strips and she can walk over to Lucretia to fashion a sling for her arm and then to crouch in front of Denji to help bind what injuries she can. She's feeling progressively worse, but it's fine, she can function.
Malik is doing better, she hopes-- so for now, Otome rests a hand on Denji's shoulder. ]
Denji... come on. We're doing this together, okay? Lucretia, can I ask for your help in finding an exit?
[the power of creation, is it. all of that sounds bad! especially the voice, though; it sends a little shudder through her, especially the familiarity, but she does have some idea about this.]
I know how that sounds, but that's-- I don't think it's him. Don't mistake that.
[she sounds a little pained, considering otome is helping with her arm And she has cracked ribs, but she keeps herself going anyway.]
We can look, but I don't know if there's going to be an easy exit, here.
[damn that's a lot of words from that ghost monologue—he gets enough of it to know that it's Bad Guy Stuff
before he can sink further in secondhand depression, Denji, easily influenced as he is, feels the concern and determination from Otome and pops back up to his feet, inspired, probably way faster than he should considering his injuries]
Yes, ma'am! Whatever you need you can count on me!
[he coughs out some more blood and wipes it off—it's fine! he's fine!
he's gonna leave all that paper stuff to the others, and he and his floating chainsaw (is the cats paw still hanging out too??) are going to go look at the carpet to see if there's any suspicious bumps or corners askew that indicate there's something like a trapdoor hidden underneath]
[ WELP. we'll let denji keep his guinea pigging ways up, and malik is going to look at... the desk! there's papers, yes? malik is going to look at them and NOT TOUCH THEM. same for anything else on the desk. he is looking with his eyes (just the standard two, thanks) and not with his hands this time. even though his hand has an eye on it. it's fine. ]
[ Oh. Well. Denji has recovered admirably and Otome doesn't know he's discovered a trapdoor yet, so she'll smile softly (AND WITH GREAT CONCERN BECAUSE HE'S STILL COUGHING UP BLOOD) and join Malik in investigating the desk.
She'll take the hit for the team this time and probably carefully touch papers.
[with reckless abandon and no degree of caution, Denji pulls up the carpet to get a look at that door and what its deal is, hope this carpet is a mimic too]
[malik looks very intensely at the desk, and at all the papers. these papers talk about dunamancy also - a couple of the notes describe it as magic that can manipulate time and space at a small level, currently, but could possibly do more with it. there's also talk of a luxon beacon.
that's the one otome picks up, and she's hit with a flash of memory. no context, no nothing, just a familiar orange haired man holding a glowing beacon up to a woman dressed in royal garb.
the bookshelves are really just the gross pulsing body parts in that same murky liquid. it's weird, though - when lucretia looks specifically, she'll find one of them is... a wood arm? an arm made of vines. there's a faint whisper of welcome - and then nothing.
the trapdoor is here! he can open it! please open it!]
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No, she doesn't believe that for a second. At this point she just wants to get all of them back in mostly one piece and they'll take it one homicidal entity at a time.
She sure is radiating exhaustion and dizziness and worry, but isn't that all of them right now-- ]
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[she's following with her whole ass roll of 7 so can't wait to see how that turns out! she also radiates concern, and still some lingering sadness.]
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as he charges the monster to retrieve it, it reaches out those tentacles and reflexively he mentally directs the chainsaw to cut that fucker to shreds, so if it's really just an illusion I guess it just buzzes around it uselessly for a few seconds until the others approach?? it'll follow after him and not hurt any of his buddies
meanwhile, Denji's just grumpily stomping through it to the other side and taking in whatever room is on the other side—what're we dealing with now?]
Gettin' real sick of this place messin' with my head [ha ha] Don't worry, guys! Stupid thing can't grab you or do anything! [he yells back, in a fateful move that will surely have no negative consequences]
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it's a pretty small room. there's a few bookshelves with jars of nondescript organic matter that seem to shiver in time with each pulse. along the walls are iron sockets that hold candles, all of them burning. in the middle of the room is a red carpet, stained in places, and across from the door, there's a desk. it's covered in notes and books.
anyway! malik walks through the door.
immediately, a tentacle shoots out and grabs him by the hair, and there's the sound of sobbing, painful and gasping, everywhere in his mind. welcome, welcome, WElcOMe scream voices in his head, and then - he is faced with every terrible thing he's ever said, with every thing in his life that could make him feel guilt, and is weighed down by it. guilt. he is drowning in guilt.
otome walks through the door.
a tentacle shoots out and grabs her by the hair, as well. there's the sounds of jeering, hissing voices, booing and stomping their feet, and then - welcome, welcome, WElcOMe weLCOme, WELCome, WELCOME - voices scream in her head. she is hit with loathing, disgust, for everyone around her, for herself, for her friends and family. loathing. she loathes existence itself.
lucretia walks through the door.
a third tentacle shoots out and grabs her by the hair. there's a roar in her ears, furious, wrath from the crowd of voices around here, screaming for blood. welcome, welcome, WElcOMe weLCOme, WELCome, WELCOME welcomE - the voices shriek, rattling iron and chains. she is hit with absolute rage. she is angry, she wants to hurt people, she wants to destroy everything.
so that's nice.]
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the weight of his guilt is heavy; he's been able to avoid it until now, dismissing his thoughts and feelings. it's not his fault, it's not his fault, it's not. his. fault.
it's your fault echoes in the back of his mind as he's forced to relive every awful, sickening moment of his wretched existence. he just wants to give up. the overwhelming guilt feeds into his deep, deep self loathing, and you know what? he just wants to die. get it over with. there's no point in prolonging his suffering when everything. is. his. fault.
he's too tired to fight, or writhe, or even attempt to get away from this creature that has forced him to acknowledge what an absolute waste of space he is. just let him die here as a failure. it's what he deserves. ]
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Unluckily(!) for Otome, she is immediately subjected to it and what follows is probably one of the worst experiences of her life? She loves what little family she has left, she loves her friends, the people she met here and the people back home, she wouldn't be fighting so hard if she didn't love humanity but suddenly that's all gone. There's the memory of that fondness and caring but now she can't stand any of them and because she can remember that and she's aware of the feeling welling up inside of her now, the strongest feeling of loathing is absolutely for herself. Why is she like this? How could she think like this? A better person would be able to accept everyone. She hates her life, this entire existence and in her loathing at even just drawing breath right now in this miserable world, she probably accidentally shoves Malik forward, sorry Malik you adorable waste of space.
There are tears in her eyes. Wow, if only they could have been like Denji. Except she hates him too, the little shit. ]
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it's not like she hasn't felt anger before, but it's so rare for her to feel genuine rage. she always wants to try to help make the world a safe place, to preserve it from being destroyed, but all of a sudden that's just... it's gone. it's gone and it's replaced with that seething anger, the urge to rail at everything and everyone around her. she's worked so hard, and for what? to be trapped here and surrounded by death? hugo keeps talking about tearing it down. she just wants everything to be gone. decimated. she hardly recognizes these people as ones she should care for, blinded by it.
anyway here's the extra bad news about the situation: lucretia is full of rage, equipped with poison spray, and malik and otome are right there and still fairly close together if otome didn't shove him very far.
we might need some more saving throws in this bitch.]
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Hey, hey! Ya wanna get out of here or what? Tch...gotta do everything
[he starts to walk back towards them, you know, directly back into the monster's midst but then remembers his other looted item, something about a magic cat hand...?
he reaches in and grabs the claw statue, and thinks about pushing them all out of the door and into the room with him, but he's kinda frustrated and in pain so it is not a particularly gentle thought sorry guys]
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which means a spray of bright green acid shoots out over the both of them, hissing and snapping. it corrodes and leaves disgusting acid burns wherever you'd like. and on top of that, both malik and otome are now poisoned! they feel ill, and sluggish. remind me to set a timer when y'all walk out of cyoa.
anyway!
denji uses his cat claw to yank everybody out of range of the terrible abomination, which, thankfully, gets rid of the effects. mostly. it's not as intense, but it still lingers. they can hit the wall if you want, since denji is not being gentle!
everybody in the room feels a little bit more itchy. malik in the center of his forehead. otome on her back. lucretia on the back of her calf. denji on his left palm.
but it's quiet, and the monster can't see them where it's stuck in the doorway, so it's dormant.]
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he falls to the ground, his breath hitching between his pitiful whimpers. they may be free, but at what cost?
in a very quiet voice - he doesn't mean for anyone to hear it, really - he says: ]
Just let me die.
[ there are waves of depression rolling off him now, so, enjoy that, i guess. ]
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The good news is that with the effects mostly gone, Otome no longer thinks of these three companions as little bitches. The bad news is with the lingering bits, she just. Hates herself? So much?? And all she can really think to do, with this new sickness on top of the dizziness from blood loss, is drag herself over to Malik and use her healing spell for the week. It's not enough, she knows it's not and she hates herself even more for it, but she has to at least use what she has at her disposal. ]
... No.
[ She coughs, a little raspy from All of That. ]
We're... all... getting out of here. And then I'm treating everyone.
[ In an ideal world. ]
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when the effects fade, though-- through the lingering anger, she's just Horrified. since it isn't as strong, it's more focused on the situation and her own actions now.]
Damn it-- Malik, Otome, I'm sorry, I'm-- I don't know what... I can help, after we're out of this horrible place.
[she's just holding her arm, for now, trying to ignore the extra itch.]
Don't push yourself too hard.
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Crap...uh, sorry about that. Damn...can't think with all this heartbeat pounding on my skin. [he scratches at his palm and frowns at the eye—hm gross] You guys all alive?
[he comes over and, seeing Malik still sadly laying on the ground, just sorta grabs his collar and more-or-less gently picks him up to his feet]
Come on, dude, use your smarts to help us out.
[and this is the first time that any of the psychic damage hits him, shared via Malik's open channel of depression—he lets go and takes a few steps back, the chaotic vibrancy brought on from adrenaline draining out as his face falls
he coughs up some more blood, and bumping into a bookshelf just...sadly slides down it—he's trapped here, he's trapped again and he's too stupid to save anyone here just like he couldn't save anyone from Hell...he's not smart enough and his stupid body is going to die for real...his eyes widen and he zones out]
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anyway, denji's now depressed. you took a perfectly good raccoon and gave it anxiety.
i also don't know how much malik gets healed for! hopefully the mods do.
as you're all laying here, the eyes throb more and more insistently. you can all hear a faintly irish-tinged voice speaking, soft. it's familiar, yet not. worse. more sinister.
and then there's a laugh, maniacal, almost hysterical - and then silence.]
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denji is a bro and helps malik up, and he can't even work himself up to say a mean comment. the throbbing of the eyes is bothering him, and he scratches at the one on the back of his neck again. but he has to stop, on account of the chills he gets when he hears that voice.
hm. don't like this. ]
...Punishment?
[ he's scared again, but it's nothing like his teen angst from a moment ago. ]
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What the voice says about potential, punishment, taking the reins...
She shivers, silently. (Or maybe it's the poison.) It's difficult to give this as much thought as this demands when there's the itchiness on her arm, her hip and her back-- but there's silence so she takes a deep breath and then reaches out to rip the sleeve off her school sweater. And then again, until it's in smaller strips and she can walk over to Lucretia to fashion a sling for her arm and then to crouch in front of Denji to help bind what injuries she can. She's feeling progressively worse, but it's fine, she can function.
Malik is doing better, she hopes-- so for now, Otome rests a hand on Denji's shoulder. ]
Denji... come on. We're doing this together, okay? Lucretia, can I ask for your help in finding an exit?
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I know how that sounds, but that's-- I don't think it's him. Don't mistake that.
[she sounds a little pained, considering otome is helping with her arm And she has cracked ribs, but she keeps herself going anyway.]
We can look, but I don't know if there's going to be an easy exit, here.
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before he can sink further in secondhand depression, Denji, easily influenced as he is, feels the concern and determination from Otome and pops back up to his feet, inspired, probably way faster than he should considering his injuries]
Yes, ma'am! Whatever you need you can count on me!
[he coughs out some more blood and wipes it off—it's fine! he's fine!
he's gonna leave all that paper stuff to the others, and he and his floating chainsaw (is the cats paw still hanging out too??) are going to go look at the carpet to see if there's any suspicious bumps or corners askew that indicate there's something like a trapdoor hidden underneath]
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denji specifically looks at the carpet and there's absolutely a trapdoor underneath. so good job, denji.
the chainsaw is still here but the cat's paw is gone, unfortunately.]
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She'll take the hit for the team this time and probably carefully touch papers.
We're doing great. ]
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[with reckless abandon and no degree of caution, Denji pulls up the carpet to get a look at that door and what its deal is, hope this carpet is a mimic too]
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that's the one otome picks up, and she's hit with a flash of memory. no context, no nothing, just a familiar orange haired man holding a glowing beacon up to a woman dressed in royal garb.
the bookshelves are really just the gross pulsing body parts in that same murky liquid. it's weird, though - when lucretia looks specifically, she'll find one of them is... a wood arm? an arm made of vines. there's a faint whisper of welcome - and then nothing.
the trapdoor is here! he can open it! please open it!]
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i swear to god if he get welcomed into the hivemind again ]
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