hotel: bradley

[shaft]

is our bradley back?

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week 0, monday, ? room 2

[shaft]

[ Claude stares bleakly at the paintings that stretch out in the gallery ahead of him, sighing and shaking his head. ]

What sort of nonsense do you think this is going to end up being?

[battling]

[He stares at the paintings and frowns.]

Might hear 'em start screaming or might get covered in blood.

[shaft]

That's a good guess. Mine is that they crawl out of the paintings and try to kill us.

[ He stops first at a portrait of a young lady. ]

[battling]

Sounds about right.

Who's this?

week 1, monday, prism / anime store

[shaft]

[ ... Okay.

Claude just looks around in confusion. ]

This is interesting.

[battling]

[Picks up an anime figurine of like... a gundam.]

What's up with these?

[shaft]

[ He stares at it. ]

It seems to be a toy replica of a robot?

week 1, Monday

[shaft]

Hey.

What's up with Rupert?

[battling]

Do I look like his keeper?

[shaft]

What's with the attitude? Relax.

I thought you might've spoken to him.

week 2, monday, ? room 4

[shaft]

[ Today, Claude and Bradley wander into...

4. You open the door and find yourself among a crowd. There is a festival of some kind going on - there's bright lights, smiling faces, food, music, dancing... it's almost possible to forget you just came through a door in a murder hotel. The longer you spend here, the more you forget what brought you to the hotel, and the more convinced you become that you have always been a part of this world, where the festival is. Eventually, someone you recognize from the hotel appears before you and asks if you wan to go back. If you say yes, you will return to the hallway, completely unharmed. If you say no, you will become completely immersed in the festivities, and will continue taking part in them until you drop dead from exhaustion, at which point you will find yourself in the hallway, extremely worn-out for the next half an hour. In either case, only four minutes have passed.

Claude looks around, on edge. ]

A festival?

[battling]

It... looks like one?

[It's not his party, all of these doors have been terrible in their own ways.

He is expecting a monster to burst forth and eat them.]

[shaft]

[ Claude is also waiting for something to appear to kill them. ]

We probably shouldn't lower our guards.

[ Uh, the food looks pretty good though. ]

W3: Monday

[battling]

[I didn't realize I made you do all of these starters??

Anyway Bradley has been put into the sprummer tunnel and looks particularly lost. He didn't even know this was here?]

How long did ya have this?

[shaft]

[ Claude is looking around the tunnel, fond. ]

I think near the end? Maybe around week 5. It was pretty fun to sneak into my old dorm.

[battling]

Didn't even know it existed.

[But he was fall dorm and so he'd never have a reason to check this place out.

He turns to look at him, and a memory starts to play.

It's freezing cold, winter, ice, and snow. You're in Northern Country, your homeland. You're with a younger Nero, looking exhausted from wherever it is you've just robbed. You pick him up and start carrying him back home. With one hand you offer him a ring with a dark black stone set into it.

"Here, it's that ring ya nabbed. You found yourself a real treasure. This right here's the Good Luck Ring. The savin' grace for us social outcasts. It'll protect ya no matter when or where, so it won't let its owner die."

Nero repeat it back to you, with wonder, "... The Good Luck Ring."

"Yeah." You figure you should tell him what kind of treasure he managed to find. It's his loot, despite him being part of your bandits.

A tired laugh from Nero, "Good to hear... If that's so... Then it's yours, Boss."

Of all the things you'd think to hear from him, that was certainly not one of them. There's a momentarily stunned silence as you continue getting back to your hideout.

"Please... make it out of here alive."

That's ridiculous. Nero absolutely doesn't need to give you this ring. You have no plans of dying anytime soon, and you're far too stubborn to need a ring like this. "Don't be a dumbass. I ain't got no need for someone else's luck."

Now it's Nero's turn to go silent.

Right, you should say something, make your thoughts clear. "If ya really wanna put that ring on my finger so bad, then ya better make it outta this alive, bend down on your knees and present it to me yerself. Selfless fools ain’t got no business bein’ bandits. Be greedy and cling to that life with all you’ve got. Don’t matter who condemns you. I’ll always have your back. Tell me ya don’t wanna die. Or, at the very least, tell me ya don’t want me to die." These are the things that matter to you. A bandit is somebody who selfishly clings to life, and takes for themselves and their own. It's that simple to you. Nero is yours to protect, and you mean every word of it. You will always have Nero Turner's back. No matter what happens in the future. It's not a promise, but between the two of you, it may as well be.

It takes him a moment to speak up, "I...I don't want you to die..." You feel him cling tightly onto you.

"Ahaha!! Then I guess we better make it back in one piece, yeah? You go an’ put that ring on my finger every time yer up for a big challenge, got it?!"]

week 3, friday

[shaft]

[ Claude's avoiding most people, not in the mood for conversation, but he does halt when he sees Bradley. ]

... Hey.

[battling]

[He is just sitting there in the lobby, generally pissed at the circumstances. His leg is currently splinted to his rifle like it's not a safety hazard.]

Hey.

[His kids AND his lizard.]

[shaft]

[ hello?

Claude will sit next to him. Think about grabbing the rifle and just going ham. ]

w5: Monday

[battling]

[ Might as well check out what's out there this week. He looks up at the castle like "huh, never seen that before." ]

Anythin' look familiar here?

[shaft]

... Never a pink one, but it does remind me a little of home.

No castles where you are?

[battling]

Eh. None that mattered to me.

week 7, tuesday

[shaft]

[ hey bradley! claude is standing outside one of the doors, his hand just passes through. ]

This is interesting.

[battling]

That's what bein' a ghost is like.

[Just watching him do this.]

White does it sometimes.

[shaft]

White?