foundationmods | Dreamland (round 3)

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round 3

Dreamland (round 3)

[A strange house of some sort sits in the pitch black nothingness that exists around it. For those just now wandering in, they will be drawn to the building, finding it lit up in a way that it should not be. It's as if the whole area- house, yard, fence, and giant sakura tree- all give off their own light, and the newly-arrived are drawn to it like a moth to the flame.

Inside the boundary of the yard, the familiar faces of those who have passed on already will greet them. Depending on who is asked, they might give an accurate explanation. But even if they don't, one thing is clear: you don't want to leave this place. The area outside feels Dangerous, and it is probably best to stay put.

Fortunately, the house is built in an old style, and there are many rooms to explore. One room on the second floor seems locked, but the rest are open to explore as desired. The standard rooms are easy to find: kitchen, a W.C. and a bathroom, a sitting room of some sort, and a couple bedrooms (with plenty of futons for the dead to use). There are also several tatami mat rooms with nothing in them currently, but it seems like there might be some use for those rooms.

Around the house, perches for birds can be found. No birds are on them currently, though.

Sometimes Watanuki can be found in the house, but most of the time the dead will be left to their own devices. The question is, what will they do here?]

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[On the inside cover is written the following:]

君尋の魂

[So enlightening, I know.

But as he flips to a blue bookmark with an egg on it, he is treated to what is basically one of those recipe blogs where they give a life story about some random bullshit before you get the recipe.]

He is always such a picky eater! Any time I see him, he's always asking for more food! Not that I mind cooking it, the process is actually pretty calming. But just thinking about that jerk eating it without even smiling a little bit, it's too much!

So this time, I have a plan. If he's going to demand food from me, then I'm going to get a real response from him. That way I can at least get the satisfaction of feedback of SOME kind!

[It looks like there is a choice here, before the story continues:]

1: Refuse to cook until he shows gratitude.
2: Make the food extra salty and bitter.
3: Passive-aggressively cook the best damn breakfast ever for this loser.

Edited 2019-04-12 03:03 (UTC)

[he can't read moon runes so skipping that... but the way it's written reminds him of the way someone might write their name in a book. Maybe it's a name?

He takes the book and sits in a nearby chair to get comfy.]

What is this, a choose your own adventure cook book?

[hmmmmm. Number two is so delightfully petty.... but someone who really loves their craft wouldn't sully their art that way.]

Make the best spread ever! Wow him with finesse and artistry.

[As soon as he says that, the three choices fade into the paper, and Shadow is treated to the rest of the story.]

He's such a picky eater, so if I cook something beyond great he's bound to notice. Then he'll finally have to say 'wow, you're a good cook!'

...then again, 'picky' probably isn't the best word for it. He only eats food that he is certain of. So maybe the fact that he eats it at all is praise.

...

rrrgh! I don't need to think about this guy anymore! He's so infuriating!

[And then there is a recipe for omurice. Additionally, the bookmark will combust into blue flame, burning to ash in seconds, though the book itself is unharmed.

Hm. That may be significant.]

[!! A magical choose your own adventure cook book.

Shadow pauses for a moment to search the kitchen for a piece of paper and a pen. Judging by that bookmark, he doesn't trust the whole book not to vanish once he's done with it. Once he's done that, he makes a note about "the most delicious omelette-rice = blue fire" before moving on to the next bookmark]

[Good job, Shadow!

The next bookmark is a red one with a heart on it, and leads to the following story.]

You know, I never really liked giving Valentine's day chocolate. Making it was fine, but it's just 'friendship chocolate'. Which is alright, I guess, actually having friends is nice. But I could give them chocolate any day.

And the one time, THE ONE TIME I tried to make actual Valentine's day chocolate, it went so wrong. Not only did that big oaf eat it instead of a pretty girl, but then it got stolen by a ghost! And of course eating it meant that his soul got swiped or something. She just left us there too, with him all knocked out on the ground. He might've died, if not for what I did.

[And then, the choices:]

1: Call the ghost-police.

2: Chase down the girl and retrieve the chocolate (and soul).

3: Use magic to restore the guy's soul.

[Shadow actually chuckles at the story. He makes a note about the bookmark before humming thoughtfully to himself]

Hmmmmm... What would Kimihiro do....

[since this is his dream, this has to be his cook book]

Chasing down the girl and getting back what was stolen sounds like the most interesting story...

[NUMBAH 2. LOCK IN]

[Ding! Once again, the words disappear, and a new ending is revealed.]

Chasing her down wasn't easy, not when she could fly. But with a little help from Yuuko-san, I managed to pull it off.

You know the funny part? She did it all because she wanted to give me chocolate. ME! Can you believe that? My first time getting chocolate, and it was from a ghost.

...and of course I had to give it to that dumbass anyway, because his soul was in it.

[Shadow now has a recipe for homemade chocolate truffles. The bookmark burns up with blue flames, just like the other one did.]

That guy has certainly had some strange adventures.

[those look really tasty! But... technically difficult. He isn't sure he could pull that recipe off.

Oh well. He makes his notes and flips to the next bookmark]

[If only you knew, Shadow. If only you knew.

The next bookmark is a green one, with a star on it.]

I never understood him.

He always stayed by my side. I was so mean to him during those first few months, I don't think I said a single nice thing to him until after That One Time. And yet he did so much for me.

He kept me from falling off of a building. He stayed in the rain for hours on end so that I would know the way home. He fought tooth and nail to keep me from wasting away to nothingness. He gave up part of his eyesight so that I wouldn't be blind in my right eye.

He gave up some of his blood, his LIFE, so that I wouldn't bleed to death.

And I never appreciated it. I never said 'thank you' or 'I'm sorry', not at that time. I've never been good at saying what I mean. Even now I never really say those feelings to him, not with words.

But fortunately, there is one language I can use to speak freely with him, and he understands it perfectly.

[And just like before, he gets a set of three options.]

1: Cook him food that says "Thank you for all that you do".
2: Cook him food that says "I'm sorry, you deserve better than this".
3: Cook him food that says "I love you".

[Shadow frowns as he reads over the choices. This one is harder.]

These two... they sound very close. This other man must care for Kimihiro a great deal.

[he thinks about Watanuki, but he also thinks about Syaoran. Syaoran has so much love in his heart, and it was easy to see. And Watanuki, he was cut from the same cloth, wasn't he? Rather literally, actually.]

There's lots of different kinds of love, after all.

[NUMBER 3, GO]

[That...might not have been the best choice there. Because when the options fade and the text appears, it leads to a rather descriptive few paragraphs about the ways a man can love another man.

But, after all of that, there's this:]

...but I guess it works for us, since food is just another way to communicate.

[And then Shadow gets a recipe for Inari Sushi.

And this time, the bookmark burns up in normal grey smoke.]

[Shadow frowns. Great. He played himself. Gayed himself, if you will. He skips down to the bottom, his cheeks turning a bit red]

Euugggh... maybe it was the first answer after all....

[he scribbles his notes and takes a deep breath before moving to the next bookmark]

[Before he can read the next one, or even flip to the next page, he's going to hear a voice behind him.]

That's not how I remember that happening.

[Guess who was reading over Shadow's shoulder.]

!!!

[Shadow turns BEET red this time, nearly jumping out of his skin, like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He slams the book shut and sends his notes flying. He picks up the cookbook and as he whirls around he looks ready to wield it like a weapon--

but then he sees who it is]

You...!!! Don't sneak up on me!!

[For his part, Watanuki seems terribly amused by all of it. He's not really mad.]

How can I sneak up? It's my dream, I can go wherever I want here.

[Shadow just growls like an angry little cornered dog and shoves the cookbook at Watanuki with a pouty frown]

Who uses a cookbook like a diary, anyway?!

[Why thank you, he's just going to take the cookbook and look at it. Though as soon as he sees the writing on the front cover, he frowns.]

...Shadow, where did you find this?

[Shadow collects his notes from the floor. Then he gestures to the counter before folding his arms defensively]

It was just sitting out on the counter. You didn't leave it there...?

No, I didn't.

[He's going to offer it back to Shadow, though.]

Show me what you did?

Um... well....

[Shadow flips through to the omurice story and recipe]

... At first, just the beginning of the story showed up... then there were choices. Like a choose your own adventure book. I guess with this one I chose the right one, because the bookmark that was here burned up with blue fire. I was doing well until the sushi recipe!

And that one burned up with grey fire.

[He saw that one, at least.

He's also reading through the omurice story, which is still there, exactly how Shadow answered it.]

Well this one is correct, this is what actually happened. I am guessing 'blue' means 'right', but it begs the question of why it's multiple choice anyway.

[Watanuki will reach over and flip it open to a pink bookmark with a feather on it.]

I might be able to see what magic is at work. Try doing this one.

Yes. It was disappointing. [and lewd.

Shadow seems a bit incredulous that Watanuki doesn't know what's up with this book and he suspects the witch is playing dumb to mess with him... but he'll play along for now]

Let's see...

[how does this story go?]

It's disappointing because what really happened is that I said 'thank you' through my cooking and the two of us became friends. The truth is always better than fiction.

[There. Might be a touch of pink to his cheeks too. Because he sure read those paragraphs over Shadow's shoulder too.

But anyway, here's the story!]

She's just like me. Her name has a double-meaning for an actual date, like mine does. She sees ghosts, just like I do. She wants to be liked, just like I do.

She has trouble expressing those feelings, just like I do.

...she's all alone, just like I am.

No, just like I WAS. And it will be her past too, I'm sure of it.

[While reading that, Watanuki suddenly looks sad.]

Ah...it must be about that time with Kohane-chan.

[Here are the three options that Shadow has to choose from too:]

1: Bring her food so she can have home-cooked meals and feel that familial feeling for once.
2: Teach her how to cook, so she can express her feelings through cooking.
3: Leave her food on her doorstep, but don't interact with her unless she comes looking for me, to respect her shyness.

It's not like I know your life...! [WE'RE JUST NEVER GOING TO SPEAK OF IT AGAIN]

[Shadow reads the story, then hums thoughtfully at the answers. Then, he peers at Watanuki from the corner of his eye]

You're not going to give me any hints, are you.

If the pattern holds true, option 1 should get you blue smoke. But option 2 is a thought I had at the time, though ultimately I did not go for it. Someone else taught her how to cook.

I have no idea what option 3 is even going on about. Kohane-chan was shy, but not that shy.

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