W5 🛸 PLAYER CYOA: FUCK IT WE EYEBALL (ALLI) 🚀 GUY, MARGARET, OWNER, SIDON

[dropoffs]

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[bossbabygirl]

[cool. she'll take that eternity, then, to gather her thoughts again. and then look back at the woman, and smile, and put her hand out for a handshake.]

Yes, that's right. Margaret Encino, it's a pleasure.

[tombtaker]

[ she will take the hand. she has a firm handshake - but one that feels like she is withholding a little secret. Just for kicks.

"It's alright if it isn't. I know this must be something of a shock. Twice, in such a short time too ... "

She pulls away and goes to sit, somewhere else other than the captain's seat. that isn't polite.

"What did you think of all that? I'm curious." ]

[bossbabygirl]

[it takes her a second to catch up to this question, put it in context. all of that? does she mean the fight with owner? (is he okay? did he die, too?)

or does she means the past few days, the whispers in her head, the journal, the obsession.

although come to think of it, if she tries and puts her finger on when it all started - isn't the fact that she was on an expedition with owner, sidon, and guy in the frozen north of a planet she has never been to in and of itself a little suspect?

her expression twists slightly.]

Are you asking me to leave a review of your dream adventure? I think there's room for improvement.

[tombtaker]

[ yeah it's weird right. the woman shuffles some cards in her hand, and looks unapologetic. the blank and unreadable expression of the moon itself.

"I'm afraid I have little power here. This is not my realm to influence. I suppose I'm merely following a project and happened to peek in at the right time."

She lays three cards down on the table (table?) between them, face down.

"If you had to the chance to start fresh, become anew, do you think you would do things differently?" ]

[bossbabygirl]

I would hope so.

[it ended so badly, so it doesn't seem at all possible for it to go worse. but she thinks about the question, too.]

...I don't know. I didn't ask to be there, and I don't know that I ever had the power to refuse.

[tombtaker]

[ she hums. and flips the first card over. A spaceship, an old mess freighter, heading on a journey.

"I suppose I meant the whole thing. Not this one part. If you could start the entire journey again, would you?" ]

[bossbabygirl]

That's a different question.

[she looks at the freighter on the card, expression growing fond but also tired.]

I don't want to change anything. I don't want to start over. I want to keep going. There's nothing inevitable about winding up here. I just want my life back.

[tombtaker]

[ The woman nods. She has no judgments either way. Maybe sometimes it is better to keep going. There is nothing inevitable about here.

She flips the middle card. Teeth and rats, pain and friendship. Flowers.

And then she looks up.

"Ah. I think we have another visitor." ]

[mansplains]

No, no, no, no, no---! Shit! Damn it all! Mary---

[ he will just be losing his shit for a moment don't mind him ]

[bossbabygirl]

[why's it gotta be rats. but then the other visitor shows up.]

Guy?

[oh, shit. she will rush over to him, but hesitate before coming close enough to touch him.]

Guy! It's Margaret!

[tombtaker]

[ BECAUSE IM NOT IN THE GRAVE I HAVE TO MAKE SOME ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF RATS

the scene seems to change without much notice - from a spaceship to a grown-over island - marble stone under foot and broken buildings around you. but it's a peaceful night. familiar constellations hang above you, the moon a half-crescent. the woman draws up her cards and shuffles them in the background.

You can talk if you like.]

[mansplains]

[ it's a good instinct! not to get too close, because guy lashes out as soon as he hears her approach, out of instinct. he swings his fist, hits nothing, and collapses to the ground again, shaky ]

What...

[ is he alive? ]

[bossbabygirl]

Take a deep breath. You're not in danger right now.

[it's not real, it's all some bullshit dream to mess with their heads. but saying so doesn't feel like it will make him less agitated.]

[tombtaker]

[ the woman continues shuffling, humming slightly.

`You aren't alive.` As if she can tell what he's thinking without him voicing it. `But you aren't dead either.` ]

[mansplains]

[ he's gazing around wildly, trying to parse what's happening, and then his eyes settle on the architecture-- his old home -- and something inside him starts to crumble ]

[ he just falls to his hands and knees, looking vulnerable in a way she's probably never seen before ]

What... what did I do, Margaret? What did we do?

[bossbabygirl]

I don't know.

[she wishes she had some sense whether reaching out to him would make him feel better or worse.]

I stopped having any perspective so early. I had that journal, and I just wanted to do what it told me.

[mansplains]

[ while he's breathing heavily, he is starting to calm down, so she could probably reach out. he definitely looks more pained than wild now ]

That journal.... the eyes... Shit. Did any of us having any perspective?

[ he looks around to see if sidon or owner are here, and finally notices (steven universe voice) this giant woman ]

Is this a dream?

[bossbabygirl]

[she will do that, then. she will crouch and put a hand on his shoulder.]

It is. I think it's one of those Thursday things. I wish I knew the point of any of this.

[tombtaker]

[ the woman looks over at them, watching, smiling slightly.

`A dream? Maybe. I'm not sure. Certainly a bit more real than a dream. A bit less real than reality.`

She stands to also come over, but she doesn't touch Guy, only kneeling down beside them.

`Perhaps the point is to understand yourself. Or to understand your friends. Even the most painful of circumstances can teach you something.` ]

[mansplains]

I don't care for this shitty lesson. I understand myself and my friends already.

[ tensing slightly under margaret's hand, but he doesn't panic the way he normally does. something about her, tangible and real -- even if maybe they weren't as close as his mind had him believe, mere minutes ago -- is calming ]

Thursday.... is that today?

[ he doesn't even know anymore ]

[bossbabygirl]

I don't know either.

[it feels like they've been here a long time, but it also doesn't make sense. the memories of the ship are clearer now. it's horrible to say but it's possible... that charthur isn't actually a thing.

meanwhile, the memories she thought she had of all their time together are something she can't seem to wrap her mind around anymore.]

Painful circumstances can teach you something, sure. Like, don't go picking up spooky journals.

[tombtaker]

[ The woman looks up again, out the door of the Inn, and into the surrounding garden. She stands politely to greet their new guest. The night is filled with the sound of cicadas, and a gentle breeze.

`Oh, there we are. Almost the entire set of actors upon the stage. ]

[discomfort]

[ hello.

owner is here now. you guys can ignore him because he sort of just walks over and immediately sits down to stare into space. ]

[mansplains]

[ owner, like guy, is reeling from the reveal that charthur isn't real... horrible ]

Owner!

[ actors on a stage. it leaves an especially bitter taste in his mouth. but he doesn't ignore owner. he looks over to him in concern ]

[bossbabygirl]

[she looks at him, too, her mouth closed in a thin, uncertain line, but not angry.]

None of us are actors.