⛌ bluff ⛌

[ಠ_ಠ]

"Should we call the cops?"

[MarxzVulpez]

Ask if Mikki remembers what exhibit(s) were there and which one (or more than one) Mikki interacted with, and see if it's the same one that you interacted with. Hmmm, maybe ask What it looks like from Mikki's perspective: is Arcana's current form like, 100% solid, is there any indication of what Arcana looks like normally/ prior to this (Amerveille), and does Mikki have an idea of why not everyone would be able to see the Computer Form (I'm guessing not but worth a shot)

also ask what Mikki's pronouns are ya goof

[SHIVERS]

You try to ignore your own face being stared into,
and think of every possible question that you can.

Which is far too many. Your head is swimming with them.
You try to condense as best you can,
but it's a lot regardless.



ARC:\SPEECH "I'D LIKE TO HEAR WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU IN THE MUSEUM; START TO FINISH."
ARC:\SPEECH "WHAT EXHIBITS WERE THERE?"
ARC:\SPEECH "WHICH EXHIBIT DID YOU INTERACT WITH? WHAT DID IT DO TO YOU?
ARC:\SPEECH "HOW DID YOU DEAL WITH IT AFTER?"
ARC:\SPEECH "MOST IMPORTANTLY: DID YOU DO ANYTHING SPECIFIC TO GET RID OF IT WHEN YOU WENT BACK?"
ARC:\SPEECH "ANYTHING AT ALL YOU CAN REMEMBER MIGHT BE HELPFUL."
ARC:\SPEECH "I DON'T WANT TO BE STUCK LIKE THIS ANY LONGER THAN I HAVE TO."

ARC:\SPEECH "ALSO:"
ARC:\SPEECH "LAST NIGHT, YOU SAID YOU *MOSTLY* TURNED BACK. DID SOMETHING NOT CHANGE?"
ARC:\SPEECH "YOU ALSO SAID WE WERE 'FUCKED' LAST NIGHT. I KNOW IT'S BAD, BUT WHY?"
ARC:\SPEECH "ADDITIONALLY: WHY HAVEN'T YOU LEFT?"

ARC:\SPEECH "...I'D ALSO LIKE TO KNOW HOW I LOOK FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE."
ARC:\SPEECH "SPECIFICALLY: AM I 100% A COMPUTER... PERSON."
ARC:\SPEECH "OR ARE THERE PARTS OF MY OLD BODY STILL AROUND?"
ARC:\SPEECH "I WAS AN AMERVEILLE, IF THAT HELPS."
ARC:\SPEECH "IN GENERAL, I'D LIKE TO HEAR ANY THEORIES ON WHY NOT EVERYONE SEES ME LIKE THIS."

ARC:\SPEECH "LASTLY: IT'S A LONGSHOT, BUT..."
ARC:\SPEECH "DO YOU KNOW ANYONE WHO WORKS WELL WITH OLD COMPUTERS?"
ARC:\SPEECH "ANYONE AT ALL AROUND HERE?"
ARC:\SPEECH "MAYBE AN I.T. PERSON? I'M NOT SURE."
ARC:\SPEECH "I'M HAVING TROUBLE FIGURING THINGS OUT."



ARC:\SPEECH "...ALSO WHAT ARE YOUR PRONOUNS. I USE IT/ITS."
























"That everything?"



You think.







You nod.




"Alright."
The insect spins around, beginning to walk towards the store.
You follow as they talk.


"From the top,"
They wave their claw, thinking through their answers.
"I went into the museum.
There were a bunch of fuckin' stairs, and I should've bailed out right there,
but I'm too curious for my own good.
Always have been.
Gonna curb that now,
but anyway.

There were three exhibits.
Two of them sounded really boring. Don't even remember what they were.
Third one was like... somethin' about art?
Think it was 'oddities in' like... 'art education?' Or-
'Artistic education'- That's it.
Pretty sure.
Picked that one cause,
y'know,
it's a museum, lemme see some paintings at least.

Anyway there weren't any.
There were like, three Mini exhibits in the exhibit that were like... cursed stuff,
or somethin'.
Talked about 'ohhh this one's got ghosts in it!' or whatever.
Some crank garbage, whatever.
Picked the first one I came across, pretty much, cause I was gonna look at all of 'em.

Went in and-

...weird stuff happened.

And I ended up looking, Really different.
I didn't deal with it.
It sucked.
Didn't have much else to do, so...
went back to try and figure out what the hell was goin' on.

And
I don't remember
Anything that happened. While I was there.
Nothin'.
Nada.
All gone.
Like I never even went there.

Just woke up in my bed back to normal.
Mostly, anyway. Like I said before.
Nothing stayed the same as how I looked before, exactly, but there's like...


 . . .


...It left a mark, basically.
Thing on my chest - and No I'm not lifting up my shirt so you can see it.
We just met and you've never bought me a drink, so... yeah.
You're gonna just have to trust me that it's a thing.
And it's kinda reminiscent of how I looked when I changed. A bit.
That's all I can really say.
I haven't messed with it, other than I can say: it does NOT wash off.
Didn't matter what I tried.
And touching it made me feel weird.

So whatever. As far as I'm concerned, just got a weird tattoo thing,
but that's all.
I got off easy enough, I am Not going back in there again."

They clear their throat, the two of you having crossed the street now,
approaching the mini mart.




"As for Why we're fucked and Why I apparently didn't think to leave:
I did.
I tried.
Every way I knew how.
After I changed back I tried to bail on this whole awful place.

Nothing worked.

You're welcome to go try yourself, though, if you don't believe me.
Be my guest.
...But if you manage to,
you gotta come back for me or send help or whatever, alright?
Consider it payment for the info.

And for the record: You're all computer.
No amer-whatever.
I've got no theories, for any of it.
Nobody was able to see me like I was, and considering I don't even remember changing back,
I just assumed I got slipped somethin',
got really fucked up,
and got a bad tattoo.
Wouldn't be the worst thing that's happened while I was Indisposed.

The only thing that breaks that theory - other than not being able to leave,
which
Still could've been aftereffects of me getting slipped something, but Whatever -

point being: It's You."



The corvice stops walking,
hanging around the side of the mini mart.


"...That's how I knew we were fucked.
Seeing you, and actually being able to talk with you...

...told me that:
This is real.



And I'm stuck here."






Mikki rests against the brick wall of the building,
looking off at the treeline.








Wind whistles through the air.









You think about your camera, for the first time in a while.












The corvice suddenly claps their claws together.
They turn to you and make a wide gesture, almost a shrug,
as they back up towards the door.

"But THAT'S why cigarettes exist.
Aaaand cheap shitty alcohol.

Just for me!
Right now." They put a claw on the door handle.

"Oh, and:
No, I've barely seen anyone around here, no I.T. guy; ask around if you wanna find someone.
And pronouns; they/them, whatever, I don't really care."

They push it open.
































 

▶ SENZA CAFFEINE
vcr-classique

A chime above the door sounds.




The mini mart is about what you expect.

Tinny radio music come from some a single speaker in random corner of the building.
A few rows of shelves are laid out with various snacks, supplies, and knick-knacks.
Some refrigerated and frozen sections are located along the back and side for cold drinks and cheap ready-made food.


You have no time to take it in, though.



"Morning."
Someone speaks from the front counter.

You don't look at them.
You panic, and hurry behind one of the aisles.
A very slight crouch is just enough to hide yourself completely behind the aisle.

"How ya doing." Mikki gives a slight wave in the register's general direction.




The corvice stares at you as you hide,



then follows you over.

"...You're being weird.
Don't be weird."


ARC:\SPEECH\WHISPER *"I DON'T WANT TO BE SEEN LIKE THIS."*

"Look, you wanna figure this out, right?
That's why you asked me eight million questions?"

ARC:\SPEECH\WHISPER *"YES, BUT--"*

"Then chill.
When you go up to the counter,
either they don't see you, and you're fine,
or they Do see you, and you have another person to ask questions to."

ARC:\SPEECH\WHISPER *"IT MAKES ME FEEL... BAD."*

"Bud.
It's gonna be fiiiine."

They look at you again,

and sigh.

"I'm just gonna pick out some stuff.
Then I'm gonna go check out. You can come up to the front when I do that.
Or if you wanna hide back here, you can.
Frankly it doesn't matter much t' me.

But I'm tellin' you: Wasted Opportunity."

Mikki gives you a couple pats on the shoulder.
"Think about it."

They head to the very back aisle with a whistle,
out of your view.














You somehow feel even more self-conscious now,
especially hiding like you are.

ARC:\TR_TH *COWARD.*

You feel like a nuisance bothering Mikki about the whole thing.



ARC:\TR_TH *STUPID, STUPID, STUPID.*
ARC:\TR_TH *WISH I COULD CALM DOWN AND BE NORMAL ONCE IN MY GODDAMN LIFE.*


ARC:\TR_TH *...IS THIS POPPING UP ON-*
ARC:\TR_TH *UGH.*


You 'speak' a bunch of dashes, one per line, to get rid of the other text on your screen.

At least you're getting better at using this terrible body.











You give the aisle you're in a cursory glance,
because you have nothing else to do while Mikki shops.

It is only now that you realize you forgot your wallet in your cabin.
So, you can't exactly buy anything, anyway.

You narrowly resist 'thinking' more expletives at yourself for fear they may be show up visually.



A small display on the aisle's endcap catches your eye, however,
and you walk over to check.













GIMME POINTS!
Value Vendor

Save up your Gimme Points,
spend them on great products!
Our stock rotates, so check often!







Various items are hung in little bags along the display,
each having a price tag in points rather than cash.
It's likely just a way to get rid of items they can't sell, you think.

A few of them are cheap toys clearly intended for kids,
though you think some might be worth it, especially if they're free.



You make a mental note of each.

Cheap Speakers (for Headphone Jack) - 5 points
Phone/Touch Screen Stylus - 4 points
Small General Toolbox - 3 points
Multi-Purpose Pocket Knife - 2 points
Pocket Notebook & Pen Set - 2 points
Eight-Hour Phone Battery Pack - 2 points
Erasable Pen - 1 point
Pocket Radio - 1 point
Cheap Earbuds - 1 point





You fish around in your pocket,
pulling out three of the Gimme Points coupons,
each worth a single point.

[ಠ_ಠ]

If the toolbox comes with tools in it, get that.
Otherwise get the battery pack and a radio.

[Lilium Mortem]

Ask Mikki to spot you a point for the stylus since your hands don't work with your phone. If that fails ask the cashier. If *that* fails just steal it.

[knux400]

Buy the erasable pen for one point, then erase the price tags of the speakers and stylus and rewrite them to be one point each! It's genius!

Okay, but seriously. You get three more points every day, right? If Mikki isn't willing to spot you any for the stylus or the speakers, you can always come back tomorrow. Personally, I would prioritize the speakers here, since we can get around the lack of stylus by just having someone else use our phone for us. It's not great, but not being able to speak out loud is a far bigger issue here IMO.

[SHIVERS]

The toolbox could come in handy, or maybe the battery pack and radio instead,
but ultimately you want to save what you've got.
The speakers would, theoretically, let you actually speak out loud, which would be a godsend right about now.
And the stylus would allow you to use your phone yourself, without needing anyone else's help.

Both seem too good to pass up.

Given you received three coupons today, it's fairly safe to assume you'll receive the same amount tomorrow,
so you could get it then, regardless.








You consider stealing them.

The items here very likely are not anything the store cares about;
they're essentially giving them away for free.
Not to mention,
it's a chain corner store,
who cares what they Do and Don't want taken?



But


getting caught would be humiliating.

You aren't risking that.









You could ask Mikki.
If everyone gets these coupons every morning, they might have some leftover.

You really
really
don't want to bother them again.

But
hopefully it's the last time you'll need to.




You peek around the aisle at the corvice,
watching as they pull several chilled drinks off the shelf.

Sports drinks, from the looks of it; all of them bright red or pink.

ARC:\SPEECH\WHISPER *"PSST."*
ARC:\SPEECH\WHISPER *"MIKKI."*

They only notice when they turn around, drinks bundled in both arms.

ARC:\SPEECH\WHISPER *"DO YOU HAVE YOUR COUPONS?"*
ARC:\SPEECH\WHISPER *"THE ONES FOR HERE. THE POINTS."*

"Nah.
Pretty sure the lady at the front desk stopped giving 'em to me.
She was refilling the snacks in the vending machine and saw me toss 'em.
Got the other ones still, but those're for me."
The bug walks by, idly glancing at the little point display.
"What d'you want with that junk, anyway?"

ARC:\SPEECH\WHISPER *"...I CAN'T USE MY PHONE ANYMORE. IT HAS A TOUCHSCREEN."*
ARC:\SPEECH\WHISPER *"SO THE STYLUS WOULD BE HELPFUL."*
ARC:\SPEECH\WHISPER *"AND I WAS THINKING THE SPEAKERS MIGHT HELP ME TALK OUT LOUD."*

"Huh...




 . . .




Welp.
Wish you luck with that.
You comin' up to check out?
Last chance."



They don't wait for an answer from you,
already on their way to the front.


















You




don't know what to do.











Even through the filter of this new body
you find yourself properly panicking,

wracked with indecision.













You find your legs moving.


Some portion of you apparently making the decision for you.











Peeking around the front aisle,
you watch as Mikki dumps all their various items across the counter.

There's a delay before the person starts scanning.

"This everything?"
"Pack of Southfields."






Your fans spin faster

as you make your way up beside them.






The cashier-



You recognize the cashier.
The person staying in the cabin adjoined with yours.

A brown raccoon with yellow-orange eyes.




The one you accidentally pointed your camera at.










Luckily for you,
they aren't looking in your direction, for the moment,
too busy scanning and bagging all of Mikki's items.

You debate whether or not to sneak away.










You can't decide.
You can barely process your own thoughts.





The cashier slides the bag over.
Mikki already has their card out.

"That'll be--"

They flinch and back up a step,
bumping into a case full of cigarettes and lottery tickets,
causing it to rattle.

The cashier's face runs through a plethora of emotions,
but seems to settle on 'apprehension' as best as you can tell.





"...Masks aren't allowed in here.
Take that off or get out."

You're too afraid to move.



You wish you weren't here.



"Nah, not a mask."
Mikki swipes their card.
There's the tiniest of smiles on their face,
apparently deriving some amount of enjoyment from the whole predicament.

They reach a claw up and knock on the side of your monitor.
"This is Arcana.
It's a computer."
The cashier eyes you carefully.
"...Construct?"
"Computer."





You still can't move.

"...Arc.
Bud.
You're freaking them out;
don't be weird, say hi."


ARC:\SPEECH " . . . "
ARC:\SPEECH "...HEL LO. ? ."
ARC:\SPEECH "S ORRY."

"Hear that buzzing? Means it's talking.
Look at the screen."

They do so, directing the occasional wary glance at Mikki.





"There, see?" Mikki puts a claw on your shoulder, hanging off of you.
"Friendly computer."

You can hear just how loudly your fans are running.






You are probably going to die.
You are probably dying.

Your processor must be melting.





The cashier glances between you and the bug as Mikki types in their pin number.

Their demeanor is surprisingly calm after the initial shock.
Or perhaps they only don't want to Look worried.

"...If you two are pulling some shit, and you screw with me,
it won't go well for you.
I've got a gun back here."

You are going to get Shot and then die.

"Cool.
Good for you.
Anyway, d'you know anything about the weird museum thing around the corner?

You know,
the one with all the stairs and the big white room.
That place."
"...It's nothing like that, but I know the museum.
It's a shitty tourist trap.
What of it?"
"Well,
Arcana went the other night
and came back like This."
They gesture to you.



You pull back some, more self-conscious than ever.



ARC:\SPEECH "IT-"
ARC:\SPEECH "I"

"...Like what?"
"A computer."
"What abou--" "As in it wasn't before.
Was an amer-
It was a Normal... species. Whatever.
Point is, it got turned into a computer."





The raccoon looks at you both

as if you'd just told the worst joke they'd ever heard.





ARC:\SPEECH "I'M-"
ARC:\SPEECH "I'M SORRY ABOUT THIS."
ARC:\SPEECH "WE'LL- I CAN- I'M LEAVING. I CAN--"

Neither party looks at your screen.
The conversation continues around you.

"...This is a prank."
"Not a prank, it-" "A very stupid prank."
"Promise you it's-" "Do you know when I started work today?
How early I-" "I get it, I get it.
Chill.
Believe me, don't believe me-" "Why would I believe you?"
"-But!" They raise a claw.
"But.
You can always go by and check for yourself."

ARC:\SPEECH "/DON'T/ TELL THEM TO DO THAT!"
ARC:\SPEECH "MIKKI, YOU KNOW WHAT HAPP-"

"I've already been there.
More than once.
I don't need to go back."
"How long ago?
It might be Different now.
So,
IF you go back-"

ARC:\SPEECH "YOU SHOULDN'T GO."
ARC:\SPEECH "DON'T-"

"-and something Bad happens,
you can find me at cabin 11.
And Arcana here is at..."

You move for the exit.

"...which cabin were y-

Arcana?"



You push through the door, walking outside.






















You take many aimless steps,
ending up back around the side of the building, near the fountain.





You sit on the fountain's edge, facing towards the solid wall of the mini mart.












You don't bother to worry about what would happen if you fell in.
































Mikki emerges.

You aren't sure how much time had passed since you exited the mart.



"Hey."
They pull out a cigarette and put it in their mouth.
Instinctively, they shield it from the wind as they flick the lighter.

Once.

Twice.

It lights.

"You uh... good?
Somethin' happen?"

Mikki draws in smoke.
They finally look at your screen.










You must've cleared it already.

You don't remember doing so.






ARC:\SPEECH " . . . "
ARC:\SPEECH "I DON'T KNOW.
ARC:\SPEECH "IT DOESN'T MATTER."

You could say more.

You don't want to.
You don't exactly feel present.

ARC:\SPEECH "...WHY DID YOU TELL THEM TO GO TO THE MUSEUM?"
ARC:\SPEECH "YOU KNOW WHAT COULD HAPPEN."




The bug blows smoke away from you,
but it drifts to you regardless, thanks to the wind.

You can't smell it.
You can't smell anything.





They hold their cigarette between their claws.
"If they get turned into something, I tell 'em how to fix it.
Or you tell 'em.
Either way, they fix it. No big deal.
They're the only other person besides me, that we know of, that saw You.
That's gotta mean Something.

It's like uhhh...
bigger sample size, right?
To help you figure this all out."

ARC:\SPEECH "...WHAT IF IT DOESN'T WORK?"
ARC:\SPEECH "WHAT IF THEY DON'T CHANGE BACK?"
ARC:\SPEECH "WHAT IF /I/ DON'T?"

"Why wouldn't you?
I'm sure you will,
and they would, too--"

ARC:\SPEECH "BUT WE DON'T ///KNOW/// THAT!"
ARC:\SPEECH "NOT FOR SURE."





Mikki puts their thumb and palm against their snout,
looking at the ground, thinking.




"...well.



Was just trying to help w-







...yeah.

Yeah maybe not my best idea.
I'll swing by after I finish this and tell 'em not to go.
No sweat."



ARC:\SPEECH "...I GUESS."
ARC:\SPEECH "JUST DON'T... BOTHER THEM MUCH."
ARC:\SPEECH "THEY SEEMED PISSED OFF."

"Who's bothering?
They're fine. Not gonna die."

ARC:\SPEECH "...AND-!"
ARC:\SPEECH "DON'T TELL THEM WHAT CABIN I'M IN! PLEASE."

Their eyes narrow, head tilting to the side as they look at you.
"Wwwwhy?"



ARC:\SPEECH "THEY-"
ARC:\SPEECH "THEY'RE... IN THE CABIN RIGHT NEXT TO MINE."
ARC:\SPEECH "AND I DON'T WANT TO CREEP THEM OUT."
ARC:\SPEECH "I DON'T KNOW."
ARC:\SPEECH "I DON'T WANT THEM TO FIND OUT 'BY THE WAY, THE SCARY COMPUTER MONSTER?'"
ARC:\SPEECH "'YES THAT ONE. IT LIVES RIGHT NEXT TO YOU.'"
ARC:\SPEECH "I DON'T WANT TO MAKE ANYTHING WORSE."

"Why would you make anything worse?"

ARC:\SPEECH "I'M-"
ARC:\SPEECH "LOOK AT ME."

"...What's your point?"

ARC:\SPEECH "I'M SCARY!"



Mikki blows out more smoke.

"Uh-huh."

They reach over and tap your screen with a claw.

"Reeeaaaal scary."

ARC:\SPEECH "I SCARED THEM EARLIER."

"They got over it in... what, ten seconds?
Thirty?"

ARC:\SPEECH "I'M JUST-"
ARC:\SPEECH "...I'M GOOD AT IT. MAKING THINGS WORSE."



"Uh-huh.

Well, whatever.
You goin' in There now?"
Mikki nods past you.


You turn to look at what they're looking at.







The museum.


"No way in hell I'm goin' in again.
But if you go, I can wait out here.
...Little while, anyway.

If you finish quick we can touch base.

You wanna stop being a computer, right?"



They gesture to the strange, wooden building.



"Now's your chance."

[MarxzVulpez]

Mikki, how long have you been stuck here?

[MarxzVulpez]

aside from that...
from every indication Arcana's given, Arcana Does Not want to be a computer, it should go back to the museum. even without the mortal panic of being seen like this, a whole bunch of stuff is seemingly cut off while in this form: can't eat, can't drink, probably can't swim without dire consequences, don't know who can or can't see the computer form until meeting them, can't use the phone or maybe even the camera, and while the like, guaranteed amount of sleep is admittedly kind of nice that's like a partial perk in a sea of discomfort. Sure there are a couple what ifs to worry about, but there's no way to know unless we go down there and see

[knux400]

...Might as well go in. Assuming the layout is the same as last time, we know exactly where the TOLA exhibit is, and hopefully we can go in and hit the undo button on whatever all this is.

[ಠ_ಠ]

some questions for mikkie:
- did you try to leave while you were changed?
- how are you staying in a cabin this long? don't you have to pay for it?

Then, two things to do. Go talk to cabin 8, see what happened, then try to leave while you're still like this. See if you can.

After that, go to the museum before the day ends.

[SHIVERS]

You're hesitating.

You hate that you are but
you aren't exactly thrilled to go back in again.







You do have other options.

You could experiment by trying to leave now, just to see what happens.
Or maybe you could finally check with the person in cabin #8.

But,
attempting to drive like this probably isn't a good idea, given how unwieldy your head is now,
and that you aren't really used to this body yet.
And you are Not really ready for more socializing with strangers after the mini mart.







You do have some potential questions for Mikki.
That's something to kill time.


ARC:\SPEECH "DID YOU TRY TO LEAVE WHILE YOU 'LOOKED DIFFERENT'?"

"Nope.
No way in hell was I leaving like that."

ARC:\SPEECH "HOW LONG EXACTLY HAVE YOU BEEN STUCK HERE?"

Mikki looks skyward, rubbing their chin.
"'Bout... a week and a half?
Maybe a week? Maybe two weeks? Somewhere in there.
Haven't exactly been keeping great track of time."

ARC:\SPEECH "HAVE YOU BEEN PAYING FOR THE CABIN THIS WHOLE TIME?"
ARC:\SPEECH "I IMAGINE THAT WOULD GET EXPENSIVE."
ARC:\SPEECH "IF WE'RE STUCK, THEN I'M WORRIED ABOUT MONEY."

"Yeah, I have been payin' for it.
Pretty much.
Money's not really an issue for me right now, is all."

ARC:\SPEECH "...WHAT DO YOU MEAN?"

"Means I'm payin' for it and don't worry about it.
Now are you going in or Not?"

You shoot up from your spot on the fountain.

ARC:\SPEECH "YES, I'M GOING. SORRY."








You walk around the fountain
and make your way up to the door.



The same two-story shack-like building,
the same light bulb outside - now off, with the sun up -
the same little wooden sign.

The outside still isn't imposing in the slightest






but you know what's in there.








Sensing your trepidation,
Mikki walks over by you.

"It'll be fine.
Probably.
Bet you'll figure it out. I apparently did.
And if anything bad happens, you probably won't remember afterwards, anyway."

They pat you on the back, as if that was somehow supposed to be reassuring.

"I'll wait around out here a little while.
After, I'm headed back to my cabin to pass out.
Just knock anyway if you really need me.
It'll wake me up."



Another pat, this time to your shoulder.

"Good luck and all.
I'm gonna stand back while I still have the chance."
They hurry past the fountain, leaning on the side wall of the mini mart.

Apparently content to stand there and watch you go in.
















You grab the door's handle



and swing it open, stepping--











































into the inside of a shack.












It looks about like what you'd expected to see the first time you came in:

It's a fairly cramped, single room with a handful of scattered exhibits around.
Cheap-looking rugs have been hung along a large portion of the walls, likely to hide the worn state of the walls themselves.

Even from here, you can see that the 'exhibits' on display aren't much to write home about:

A newspaper is propped up on a stand. An article is displayed,
one detailing a slice of toast with Wax - a high god of Taverne's - face supposedly on it.
From the picture, it doesn't look convincing at all.
There's also a glass case in the corner with a clearly-faked dried corpse of a "skritchimus";
a patchimus upper body with a skritter lower body. It looks to be made out of paper-mache.
Additionally, there's a plaster mold footprint of a 'real mothman footprint'.
It's just a pretty normal-looking footprint.

And those are only the ones you can see.

You don't exactly feel the need to look at more.



There's a tiny corner just by the door where you find a few shelves,
each lined with various knick-knacks labeled with the museum's name.
A cash register sits on a stand just next to them,
and a wooden sign labeled 'GIFT SHOP' hangs on the ceiling above the shelves.

The items themselves have surprisingly expensive prices on their tags.











You're still processing






everything

when you hear a noise from the back,
like steps being descended.



A black curtain behind the exhibits labeled 'EMPLOYEES ONLY'
is pushed back,
revealing a tall, white rat in a cheap, colorfully-patterned suit.
You can't quite pin down their species.
They look to be a corvice, like Mikki, but their striking purple eyes have visible yellow pupils.
Likely a hybrid, you guess.







They spot you, and practically run to greet you.

"Well, hello hello! Welcome in!"
They outstretch their arms to their sides with a little flourish.

You feel like you're talking to a birthday party magician.

"Tell me:
Is this your first time delving into the terrifying depths of modern mystery?
Or are you an experienced veteran of the unknown?"



You forget where you are momentarily

and realize just how long you've been staring at them.

It doesn't help that Tall seems to be an understatement;
they're taller than You, and given you're over six feet -
likely more, with the new, bulkier head -
that is NOT at all something you're used to.

It throws you off more than you would've expected.



They don't even seem thrown off by your silence.

They're wearing the same little smirk they walked in with.
"...Don't you worry, I get it!
Already awestruck by what's here, aren't you?
You must've taken a peek before I came down.
I can't really blame you for being eager; there's Lots to see!

Well, don't mind me!"
The rat gestures to the exhibits.
"Be my guest."




Before you even move,
they stop you.

"Oh, whoops.
Before I forget..."

They move over to the register,
and tap a stack of tickets just next to them.

"Only for the low low price of twenty-five cash.
Normally it's thirty-five, but you happened to get here during a rare Sale event.
Consider yourself very lucky, my friend."


ARC:\SPEECH "OH. I HAVE..."

You fish the free museum ticket you received out of your pocket,
and hold it up for them to see.


"Unfortunately, the free tickets are Night Tickets, specifically,
while these-" they tap the stack of tickets "-are premium, Day Tickets.
Different tickets for very different experiences."





You don't remember anything about that.



You hold your ticket up to your screen and do your best to examine it closely.

Sure enough, the ticket is light blue and says 'FOR NIGHT ONLY' in small text on it.
It has a picture of a moon, but
you must've thought that was just for theme purposes.
Truth be told, you aren't sure you even looked at it that hard.

The stack of tickets the rat has are light yellow, and have little suns on them.



You feel very embarrassed.

"Don't blame yourself, it's an easy mistake to make,
happens all the time!"





You

put the ticket back.





They wait for the cash,
watching you expectantly.





You know you don't have your wallet,
but you make a show of tapping your pockets regardless.

ARC:\SPEECH "...HA HA. I-"
ARC:\SPEECH "I MUST'VE--"

"Leave your wallet at home?
Or did you lose it?"

They give a fake sigh and scoot out from the register,
and retrieve a ticket,

stepping over to you.



"How about this:

Since you're new around here,
we can just say you owe me one,
and I'll spot you a ticket.
On the house."

They hold it out.

"Deal?"

[knux400]

Uh. I mean... sure? Surely there's no harm in owing a favor to a museum manager who's way too into their role. See if they know anything about the real museum. You know, the fucked up one. Not this thing.

[Lilium Mortem]

How about this? I don't *care* about the stupid exibits, I went to this museum last night, *and got traumatized*. There's no way you don't know *something* about the supernatural bullshit going on here so rather than a favor to see you dinky little tourist trap how about instead I get some goddamn *answers*

[ಠ_ಠ]

Is there something different about the night exhibit?

[MarxzVulpez]

huh, I guess you could say the museum experiences are about as different as
night and day  c(^ :

I say go for it, this person either knows exactly what's going on or not at all and I don't think answers are gonna come easy...or cheap if those ticket & gift shop prices are anything to gauge by. Might as well see what's here. plus, we know where Mikki's headed if we need them later.

[SHIVERS]

Your thoughts are jumbled to say the least.

Notably,
thinking about how Mikki came in and changed back,
but you feel your chances of that are growing slimmer.

ARC:\TR_TH *OF COURSE IT WOULDN'T BE THAT SIMPLE FOR ME*


ARC:\TR_TH *...THERE'S STILL A CHANCE*
ARC:\TR_TH *MAYBE*

ARC:\TR_TH *PLEASE*




Ultimately,
you know you need answers, and owing a kind-of-weird museum manager a favor isn't that big of a deal if it means getting some.
You're sure More answers likely won't come cheap, though.

You're still wary -
you know there's a decent chance they know what's going on -
but you can keep your suspicions to yourself.

Hopefully something will come to light.
Anything, at this point.








"All decided?"

ARC:\SPEECH "...SURE."



"Deal?"





ARC:\SPEECH "DEAL."










You reach out your claw






and take the ticket.






































You


















You reach out your claw,



























You reach out













and take the














You reach out and









You take






























You reach out














and clasp your claw with theirs.



A wave of dread rushes through your circuits.

You can't pull your hand away.

You feel a crushing pressure
all over


that's slowly dissipating.







"Perfect."




You gaze up at the creature holding onto you.

You don't recognize their species.



You have no idea what you're looking at.



Long and slender,
almost serpentine in an S-shape,
but with short arms and legs
protruding at about the first and second thirds of the body.

Two ears - you assume they're ears -
thin, and flicked upwards from their head.

Bright purple, though it transitions to a light blue closer to the tail,
creating a gradient effect.
Bright yellow eyes with a jack-o-lantern grin.
Scars the same color, but turning orange and then red the further along they are down the creature's body.

Tall.
Taller than the rat.
Several heads taller than you, at least.

Their imposing head grins down at you.










"You really should be more careful.

Making deals with anyone you meet?"



Their long neck leans in,
eyes and jagged mouth lighting up your screen.



"WHO KNOWS WHAT COULD HAPPEN."









They let you go;
snickering,
as if they'd just told a joke too funny to contain.

"That friend of yours drove a much harder bargain, you know.
I didn't even have to turn you back yet!
And for,
well..."

They reach into your pocket, and pull out your ticket.
Then, they take a ticket from the stack the rat had set by the register.

They hold both up in front of your screen.



The two tickets are identical.
Same light blue color.
No moon, no sun, just the title of the

"...not much of anything.
Parlor tricks, really."

They put one back in your pocket
and toss the other.

"But, a deal's a deal."
They smile.






You realize you can move again.






Instinct kicks in.

You turn around to leave.



The door is gone.









"Done already?
And here I thought you wanted answers.
You were fairly adamant about your little investigation before.

And,
to change back,

of course."



You find yourself facing the creature again,
although you're certain you hadn't turned back around.




"How about we stay focused, hm?
All that worrying of yours is impeding progress.
Here."

The purple creature reaches
into your screen.



You feel their claws

rummaging around In Your Head.
Your display flashes and glitches.



You



suddenly feel


calm.

"There we go.
Simple enough."

Their claw recedes,
pulling you forward somewhat as it pops out of your monitor.



"Better?"

You can't exactly disagree.
You know you SHOULD be scared,
or extremely Wary at the very least.

But you aren't.



"Good!
Let's talk."

The creature snaps their claws.
























 

▶ Safe Surface
corru works

You find yourself
sitting in an admittedly-comfortable red armchair
in a black void.

The creature sits across from you, in a chair just like yours.

A single, warm light with no apparent source illuminates the both of you.







"You want to know about the museum?"

You hadn't asked a question.
You aren't even sure what you were Thinking.

"Yes, it is different at night!

VERY different.
You knew that already.

Afraid I can't tell you more than that!

If you want to know more,
why not go back?
You've only been Once, after all.
Maybe you could try bringing a friend this time.

You already know what could happen to you.

So what's the harm?
You want a new look, don't you?"
They raise their claw to their mouth, stifling a giggle.



"As for during the day,
it's normal. Just as boring as it ever was.

The only difference is: Me!
Couldn't exactly leave that old man here to run things, could I?
He'll be back when it's all said and done, anyway.
...I think."

They shrug.

"Regardless,
if you want to come see me,
I'll be here anytime during the day; feel free to drop by!
And don't worry about a ticket.
You should be using those, anyway.

Oh, but don't try and bring any friends along.
And don't try to tell anyone, either. It won't work."

They tap the top of your monitor.

"You're the only one that gets to know about me.
I can't exactly remove your memory with those guardian angels of yours, can I?
And what a privilege!

I'm sure you feel very lucky."








You

finally


work up the nerve to speak.

ARC:\SPEECH "YOU'RE... THE ONE THAT DID THIS TO ME."

They make a face and point at themself, as if to say 'Me?'
They're still grinning.

ARC:\SPEECH "YOU ARE, AREN'T YOU?"
ARC:\SPEECH "YOU DID... /ALL/ OF THIS."



A buzzer sounds,
from nowhere,

as a large red X flashes over your screen.

"Nope!
I didn't, if you can believe it.
I played no part in that Update of yours,
though I won't argue with the results.
Certainly an interesting choice!"

You don't see them stand up,
but they're suddenly lifting you up entirely by the monitor,
claws tapping about on your new head.

"I can't imagine why you'd want to go back.
This body is SO much more interesting than that old one.
And you've hardly experimented with it at all!"

You feel them playing around with knobs and switches on the back of your head
that you didn't even know you had.

You feel every click and turn,
every subtle shift,
every little change to your display.

Every sensation is alien.
Your limbs jolt reflexively on occasion, as if expecting pain.

No part of it hurts at all.

"You don't even know what all your buttons do yet,
or how to get that cassette loader of yours working."

They sigh quietly,
sounding legitimately disappointed. Somehow.

"What a waste."

The creature gently sets you back down in the seat,
leaving you marginally dazed, yet MUCH more present, now.

They sit back down, shaking their head.

You don't have words.
You're still processing how that felt.
And that part of you really does not want to think about it.








"You know,
if you want to be technical,
you did this to You.



You entered the museum.



You chose the exhibit.

That particular fascination of yours really backfired, didn't it?
That's one way to look at it, at least!

I suppose
it's all about perspective."
Their smile is back.


"Either way,
I didn't do this to you.
But I can change you back.

Sort of!"

ARC:\SPEECH "...WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?"

They tilt their head at you.
"You saw what happened to your old body.
It rotted away.

Into practically nothing.



I could put you back in the rotten sludge that's left,
but you'd effectively die along with it.

None of us want that, do we?





However,
I Can make a new one!

Just like the old.
More or less."

ARC:\SPEECH "MORE OR LESS?"
You feel as if you're speaking automatically.

"This new body is your REAL body.
It's woven into your being.
Quilted together.
Allllll the way down into what makes you You.
Not even I could remove it if I tried, at this point.

So, even an entirely new body will have some
bleed
to this one.

Like a blueprint at its core.

And it will try to pull back to its natural state," They point at you,
the computer.

"...if you allow it to do so.



Just don't pull at it too much,
and everything will stay relatively 'normal'.

Even if the reminder will Always be there."






You stare.

Dead silent.



Even with the calming effect, from whatever they did to you,
your thought process feels sluggish;
like a residual effect from the stress you Should be feeling.



"So, how about it?
Would you like to be an amerveille again?
Nearly the same body as before; myopia and all.

You'll owe me again, but you've already come this far.
What's another deal?"

They reach across to you,
holding out a claw to shake,
grinning, as ever.

"And, of course, if 'you' have questions,
I could indulge some.
For a price, of course!

And I don't take money.
Luckily for you,
you won't even know what my payment is until after it's done!
A lot less for you to worry about that way.

Don't you agree?"

[knux400]

"...I don't think you know how anxiety works. The uncertainty is the worry. I'd rather find out what your favor was for the ticket before I let you have any more, sorry. You said you'd be here during the day, so it's not like this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I'm perfectly fine waiting."


"Thanks for reaching into my face and fiddling with shit, by the way, that made me feel a lot better. Please don't ever do that again though because that was freaky as hell."

[Lilium Mortem]

Ok now that I know that we're doing deal-with-the-devil type shit I'm gonna have to say noooo way buster I'm not making another deal with you. You've been creepy, rude, and don't forget the part where you violated my body to have an easier conversation . No way in hell am I trusting you after that.

I'd rather try my luck at the night musuem, hopefully find a body that works, thanks for that tip by the way. you can't even really change me back, so why bother selling my soul or whatever.

[ಠ_ಠ]

Hm, the ability to change back and forth between forms? How can I lose??

No, seriously. Before saying yes  ask if the inability for Mikki to leave is because of their outstanding deal or something else.

What's this person know about the person who did this?

Why are they here?

Are they doing this because they're bored?

Does this happen to everyone who goes here or just some people?

Why me?

What kinda stuff would you want me to do in return? You gonna make me kill a dude? Or erase my dad from existence? Are you gonna steal my soul so I become a puppet?

You know, I could probably get a lawyer out here, who can invalidate your deal since you misled me about the terms.

J/K I know you're some magic bullshit and you don't obey the laws of god or man.

What happens if I call the cops, though?

[palencorgi]

I think you need to decide if the current, anxiety-ridden situation will be worse with the risk of snapping back into Computer form and out of a new body.

Yes, the current one is clunky and scary and new. But it's consistent with what it does. The idea of having a sword hanging over your head that if you push yourself too far, you'll snap back to this and have to deal with that, all again--

What's the worse choice?

I think I'd lean towards trying to understand this body first. Even if you choose to accept a new one- and owe who-knows-what- you'll at least know what you might snap back to in the future.