CYOA: Ace, Jolyne, Lillium

[becomemod]

Comments

AI RULES

[unsync]

You are free to control your own AI and how they interact with your character. If you have a query that is discoverable by AI, I will give you your findings.

COMMUNICATION

• Your AI is able to project themselves into the left side of your vision in their proper humanoid form.
• Only you can see your AI projection.
• Your AI can project itself visually to others via screen.
• You can communicate with your own AI telepathically or out loud.
• You can communicate with fellow investigators and their AIs telepathically as long as you are in the same location.

POWERS

• As long as your AI-Ball is in your head, you can have night vision, x-ray, thermal vision, and telescopic sight.
• Sadly, laser eyes is not included in this edition.
• AI sight can give you enhanced reaction time and aiming capabilities that you would not normally have.
• Your AI can hack into most technologies.
• Your AI can send an electric shock to zap you at any time. This does not benefit you as a person. This is for trolling reasons.
• If your AI-Ball is powered down, you still have vision from both eyes, but you will lose access to any special abilities or enhancements and your AI buddy cannot be reached.
• If your AI-Ball is busted, you lose sight in your left eye.

OCTOBER 16TH — DAY 01

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TEXT THREADS

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[ For all of your phone- and AI-based cross-communications. ]

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From Boss:

Remember to stay in touch with each other where you can, it pays to have everybody on the same page.

Your AI-Balls can access the database, so use what resources you have.

[selfimmolation]

Beat up a guy setting up balloons. Can someone come pick him up?

Here's what the card said.

Guy was wearing a jacket from Naixatloz. Sabo says it's also known as NAIX, that it's a global ideological society with its main headquarters in New York, USA, and they have a Japan Branch in Tokyo.

Think we might wanna visit those guys after we get those balloons?

I'm taking lunch now! ☆

[perennation]

found this at the department store.

so they're a big church or something? weird to come out of New York of all places. is there a reason to visit them?

DAHLIA BOAT

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This world is a game

and I want to play with you.

Video

[ Epilepsy warning, and also just kind of general kinda freaky warning. ]

OPEN INVESTIGATION

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[ I don't have a cool mystery icon to CYOA runner tags with, you can just have the back of his head.

Anyway good morning! On your usual Thursday, you'll come to and realise that you're not standing in Oceanside anymore. Probably? You're in an immensely cluttered office with far too many trinkets. The air is somewhat stale, and you somehow understand that it's because you're several floors underground. Of course you'd know, you took the elevator down after all.

You understand that you are rookie agents of the organisation known as ABIS, a special sector of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. And you also understand that the woman in front of you, snapping her fingers and waving her hand in front of your face to get your attention, is your Boss.

Boss

Hello? Are you listening?
Did you get enough sleep last night?
You better have, because we're going to need you today.

You have some memory of your life in Oceanside, but it's very distant and you don't feel too attached to it or disoriented being here. Maybe you just had an odd dream? No matter, right now you're being assigned something and that takes precedence.

Boss

So, as I was saying...
As you know, a corpse was discovered in Studio Dvaita last night.
I know you three are still rookies, but I think this could be a great chance for you guys to try taking the lead and grow into your own a little bit.
You can't just stay ugly ducklings forever, after all.

To the right side of the room are three figures you will recognise as your superiors -- Hung, Luffy, and Iris, who give you a little wave of acknowledgment. They're just there to talk to, exchanging trading cards, taking snacks from Hung's pockets, etc.

Boss

While I can give you pointers on where to start, since this is your case, I want you to figure it out between yourselves.
You can head out once you have everything ready.
And I don't need to tell you this, but don't forget your AI-Balls. You're going to need them to keep in touch.

On the table are six things, two for each of you -- a standard issue weapon, and a weird little thing that looks like an eyeball encapsulated in a transparent material. See Aiba for reference. One is green-eyed with a form that seems phytoplankton-like, another is blue-eyed with a silhouette that somewhat mimics aristocratic clothes complete with a gooey tophat, and the last is black-eyed with a nebulous but perhaps almost feline shape, the eye stem white like a ribcage underneath. You understand that you had your left eye replaced with this thing ages ago, and it is your investigation aid. Their dialogue + interactions can largely be up to you to decide; see the AI Rules TL for what you can do with them.

Ace and Jolyne also get some neat gloves, which when activated has cool blue wiring and also turns into fists for punching. Lillium gets a little innocuous tube-looking thing that can flip out into a knife or extend into a baton as necessary. It also has cool blue lights when activated.

So, what do you do? Chat around a bit? Go right ahead to start discussing your investigation options? ]

[floridas]

[ well. first of all, flatly: ]

I resent being called an ugly duckling. [ she kind of lifts a hand to pat at her... left eye? hello? there's some concern in her brow, but she just tries to navigate as best she can. what do they need right now: (eyeballs) information. ] But... I'd be down for pointers. A briefing thingy? Is that what they call 'em?

[ she also glances over to where the three... superiors are standing and squints a little like? you're not the boss of me? what? since when did i fucking have any superiors or bosses? HUH!? she doesn't say it, it's just showing in her dumb face. anyways, jolyne will just approach? one of the little eyeball friends, in particular the phytoplanton-looking one and just kind of crouches down to have a look at them. she will reach over and just gently poke? poke poke? hello? softly: ]

Hey... you... are you ready to work too, I guess?

YOYAGI PARK

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[ Welcome to Yoyagi Park! It's bright and it's very pleasant, the green is alluring and naturally imbues you with an odd sense of calm.

In the distance, you can see trees, the fountain, some vending machines... a storage building of some kind. You see two people also skipping stones over the lake, which you're pretty sure is probably not something you should be allowed to do here, but who cares because --

Hana

D.va, one.
Wanna bet another dollar on one more try?

Rita

Ugh, whatever.
Skipping stones is for loser kids who're just bored, anyway.

Anyway, what to look at? Or how to look at? ]

TOKYO NATIONAL STADIUM

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[ Welcome to Tokyo National Stadium! It sure is a stadium. Looks like it's closed today, so no one is here.

It's open, spacious, and almost a little ominous when it's like this. You see empty rows upon rows, and the track/field has been recently repainted. It all looks very crisp.

Where do you want to look? Or... how do you want to look? ]

MISETAN DEPARTMENT STORE

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[ Welcome to the Misetan Department Store! Your one stop shop for anything and everything you need, from the grocery stores below to multiple boutiques, a fantastic food court on the upper floors, and of course, the biggest allure: a rooftop amusement park, though it's seen less and less guests in recent years.

You find yourself drawn here, finding nothing of interest or suspicion on any of the inside floors when you inquire security. It's pretty sparse, but there's a few people hanging around...

In the distance, you hear some kids yelling. One of them looks kind of familiar, a bushy-haired kid with a weird split mouth, accosting a carnival worker in an Adorabbit costume who's putting up balloons. ]

AIOEN ORPHANAGE

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[ Lillium can next head on over to Aioen Orphanage. He can have his nice Vegas car as his method of transport, which he can manually drive or his AI-Ball can do it for him. Isn't that convenient? Anyway, this place looks nice, has a kindergarten kind of energy to it. The large field is the playground, and has lots of playground-type things.

There are a few kids playing around. For a moment, you think two of them look familiar -- a boy with black hair, and his white-haired friend with a small tuft of white -- but one blink or a squint and it's obvious it's not them.

Alright, what're we looking at here? ]

IKUME SHRINE

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[ It's already the afternoon by the time Jolyne arrives here. The shrine is very peaceful, and also instills you with a latent sense of odd calm just by being here.

You're surrounded by trees on the perimeter of the shrine, and you see the fountain where you cleanse your hands to the left. There is the shrine up ahead past the path.

Where do you want to look? F.F. is looking up tour guide info about the Shrine meanwhile. ]

LATE LUNCH HOURS (DISCUSS?)

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[ I guess you can hang out or rejoin here if you want to. ]

OCTOBER 17th — DAY 02

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TEXT THREADS

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[ For all of your phone- and AI-based cross-communications. ]

OPEN INVESTIGATION

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[ Welcome back. You're back at the ABIS main office.

You don't have any memory of what happened after you watched the video.

So, wanna continue your investigation? ]

[selfimmolation]

[ huh. he doesn't remember what happened at costco after he watched the video.

he must've fallen asleep while eating again oh well :) ]

... Alright, so, the last thing we got was that thing about the Nirvana Massacre. And something about a Dahlia Boat? Right? Any clue where to go next?

[ this is to both his fellow investigators and the ais ]

OCTOBER 18TH — DAY 03

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OPEN INVESTIGATION

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[ :o

Welcome back to the NAIX office. The time is just before midnight, but it may as well count as the third day, right? It will soon enough.

You come into the office, and learn that this place really does not let light in, since it looks nearly the exact same now as it did when you visited during the day. Just a shade darker at best. The colourless lights are on, giving the entire place the same dim wash of desaturation.

There's still nobody here, but something is markedly different. One of the walls to the side, formerly covered by ceaselessly trickling water, has opened up into a secret passageway revealing a heavy set of closed doors.

It's uncomfortably quiet. ]

[selfimmolation]

[ he does not reflexively press the hologram button this time, though he is looking at the doors like. hm. that's fucking suspicious.

ace is going to look around to the book to see if it was replaced by a better, cooler book first ]

So we're clearly meant to let ourselves in, huh?

????? ??TH — SOMNIUM

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NIHILIST'S INDECISION

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[ The screen shuts off in front of you. It's like you've watched these events replay a thousand times, looking for that seam. Which one, of an infinite amount of decisions you could've made differently to reach a different conclusion.

You are alone in this strange and empty room. There is only an ambient light where you are, and a chair like a throne behind you, waiting to be seated upon.

The other two are not here. You are without AI.

You are completely alone. ]

[selfimmolation]

[ okay well he is just going to collapse on the ground. not even on the chair. on the ground. and he is putting his head in his hands and he is staying like that forever.

thanks. ]