⛌ bluff ⛌

[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.