CYOA - W3

[afflictionmods]

ic date: friday, w3
ic time: 7pm - 10pm

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[afflictionmods]

[The person manning the booth seems surprised by him just. Putting the gun down.]

Y’sure? No refunds on plays.

[As for landmarks… he can see parts of the campus beyond the bus stop - the same spot where Florence had everyone gather last Saturday. If he looks the other way, he’ll be able to see the mall, though there’s a lot of circus between him and the mall.]

[undertakings]

[He just barely spares a glance at the guy running the booth.]

Changed my mind.

[It's probably not even his money anyways? ...Actually does he have a wallet or anything on him? ...Is he even in his own clothes??

He'll consider the location info later, this is more important.]

[afflictionmods]

Well, alright, dude…

[Weird.

And, no. Shin doesn’t have a wallet and his clothes are exactly what he was wearing last, so how he even paid for those plays is a mystery.]

[undertakings]

[Hm. No real loss either way. Can't wait for this to bite him in the ass later when he has no prize or whatever to give to someone!!

Anyways, he's going to just move in the direction of the campus then. Maybe he can find someone familiar there, or figure out something more about the school they've been lodging in.]

[afflictionmods]

[How’s he gonna impress someone if he can’t give them a tacky plush that cost him hundreds of dollars in plays???

Anyways.

Is he going to hop the barrier, or is he going to head towards the circuit exit?]

[undertakings]

[If it's faster to hop the barrier then sure, why not. Let's do it.]

[afflictionmods]

[Over the barrier it is! Nobody’s going to stop you!

Even if there are a few people who give him weird looks.

And now he is free to cross the street and check out the campus! Is there anything he wants to see first?]

[undertakings]

[Meh, those people can deal with it. Anyway, the bus stop was around, right? Let's check that out first before marching into campus.

Anything noteworthy about the stop? Are there any flyers plastered nearby, or bus schedule or anything?]

[afflictionmods]

[There’s a few flyers plastered on the bus stop, that’s for sure. There’s some advertising the very same circus he just left, a few for events on campus - a baseball game, a swim meet, some conference from some public speaker he’d have never heard of. There’s stickers with logos he doesn’t recognize stuck to the walls of the bus stop, too, as well as some graffiti. Some of the graffiti is vulgar, but there’s one scribble of a swan that looks nice. Overall, it seems like the bus stop was a prime place to get people to see what you want.

And there’s a schedule, largely left free from vandalism.]

[undertakings]

[Huh, alright. He'll take the circus flyer and pocket it for reference before checking out the schedule. What do we have here?]

[afflictionmods]

[The bottom half is a chart of stops and times, and the upper half is a map of the routes. Someone has very helpfully doodled a circle around the bus stop he’s standing in right now, but something about the map… It’s hard to focus on.]

[undertakings]

[Hmm... Can he make out any words on the routes? Like the names of the stops or whatnot.

Secondly, can he take the schedule too?]

[afflictionmods]

[It does seem that he can actually kind of read the language of this place for once, but the only thing he can make out are stops for Lower University...

And Museum District.

He can take the schedule, though it might tear a bit if he's not careful!]

[undertakings]

[He'll be careful!! He does at least want it intact so he can bring it back to... wherever, assuming he's not trapped here in clowntown forever. Anyways, if there's nothing else of interest at the bus stop, then he'll wander over to the campus area afterwards.

Are there people around? Signs of students using some of the buildings?]

[afflictionmods]

[Yes. There are.

There are students lounging in the courtyard, chatting with each other even as the sky grows darker. He can see lights through the windows of the dormitories... It's getting late, so there's not a whole lot of people out and around, but there's life.

He can also hear singing, off in the direction of the fountain.]

[undertakings]

[A stray thought enters his mind that this is likely what the school is supposed to look like, unlike all the empty space they've been accustomed to. It makes him feel all the more out of place here, but he'll approach the fountain nonetheless.

Is it someone he recognizes?]

[afflictionmods]

[It is.

Though he's certainly not acting the way Shin might expect Xingqiu to be acting. He seems to be almost in a daze, singing a lullaby that's unfamiliar, but it doesn't seem like it could be anything else.]

[undertakings]

[Hm. Considering the events of last week and what he's gone through already, it makes him wonder if some of those ghosts came back to possess a few more of their number. So with some caution, he'll call out to the other.]

Xingqiu. What are you singing?

[afflictionmods]

[At the sound of his name, Xingqiu's head snaps up with a sickening cracking noise. The song fades away with a whine that sounds like microphone feedback.

Xingqiu smiles.

Or does he scowl?

It's hard to say. It's hard to make out what he's feeling, and it's hard to focus on his face the same way it was hard to focus on the bus schedule.]

You knew it was me?

[undertakings]

[He narrows his eyes at this unnatural reaction, and finds himself on guard for whatever may come out of this encounter. He can't hear anything in this place, and he doesn't even know if he'd be able to detect this particular brand of strangeness, but they know Florence exists in this world. Other machines built in the the form of people wouldn't be so unusual.]

Is there a reason I shouldn't have?

[afflictionmods]

[This Xingqiu-adjacent person looks quite pleased, honestly. He's basically preening.]

All the others said I was the worst one, but you know it was me, so that means I'm perfect.

[Which isn't a reason at all, but he seems very, very pleased with himself.]

[undertakings]

[...

There's honestly a lot he could ask, but let's start out with this one.]

Who are the others?

[afflictionmods]

Well, there's you.

[Obviously.]

The you that's not you, but it's you, but is he as perfect as you? As me?

[undertakings]

[He finds himself blinking at that, taken aback. Of course, it makes sense in some twisted way. If there was a double of Xingqiu, then there's nothing to say that there couldn't be a double of himself--a double of the person called Shinei Nouzen.

And while there's something rather eerie about the thought, he shoves it out of his mind almost automatically. That isn't something he needs to think about at the moment.]

I wouldn't know. I've never met "him".

[...]

What are you, then? Are you like Luscinia?

[afflictionmods]

Who?

[He seems legitimately confused by the question about Florence, but then he nods, brushing off the question entirely.]

You'll see him. You should see him. You'll know if you're you if you see you.