Two things, one post (Neko Atsume, reddit RP)
The "end game" (such as it is) of Neko Atsume is to get a memento from each cat. There's a small chance of it randomly happening each time they visit. It's usually small items a cat could pick up around the house or yard.
Shadow, no Ritzy Bitz for you! Take that back outside, ewww.
And, because I just don't post about this game enough, check out how wonderful the music is. So peaceful and relaxing and just makes me so happy.
---
And the RP log from the western ("You are sitting across from your most hated enemy.") storytelling thread on reddit. Though not as bad as tumblr, it's hard to access copies of your old posts on reddit, so I'll probably keep archiving them here. I wish I had coped another RP thread (a NSFW one), but it had barely gotten started before it was deleted. I had thought I had time to save it! Oh well.
TITLE: [Western] You are sitting across from your most hated enemy.
OPENING SCENE:
The cave in was devastating, creating a several meter wide blockade of fallen rock which separated the two of you from the outside world. The only way out was through the tunneling depths of the abandoned mine that led to God knows where.
Sitting at the opposite end of the wall from you was your most hated enemy, the only other survivor of the explosion. Between both of you were the four objects that got you into this mess.
An oil lantern providing your only source of light, a canteen filled halfway with water, a gun with one bullet, and a wooden crate packed with stolen gold bars fresh off the U.S. Mint.
The two of you could only stare at one another in silence, seeing who would make the first move.
Who are you? How did you get here?
ME:
I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die!
Between us are items. Those who brought them in, the reason for this mess, are buried under the rubble left by the explosion. I can smell their blood...
If my enemy sees me, I know it will be the end of me, too.
The items between us are huge. Of course, the snake is huge too, but it seems stunned by the blast; its head is directed at me, it seems to stare at me, but the blast seems to have rattled it. If I want to use the items to hide behind, it means I'm going to have to run towards my enemy...
I scan what I can see of this cave, my little nose twitching as I search for the scent of any other threats, then I run full tilt forward, beelining for the shadows of the wooden crate.
I am a mouse. I had been living peacefully before curiosity got the better of me and I wiggled into the crate in search of a new safe place to sleep. Now I'm here, in this cave, with my mortal enemy.
DM:
Being a tawny little desert pocket mouse, the list of enemies for you was long and wide; being almost certain you'll find one waiting to pounce on you behind every corner.
You ran to the crate being careful to climb over the two severed hands that still grip it and eventually find the familiar hole in which you climb in before. Quickly you scurried in as you hear the sinister shake of a rattle.
The noise was drowned out however by the sound of footsteps.
"See Ernest, I told you that there was another way into the mines." A human said.
"Blimey Hubert, it's going to take years to carve through all that rock for one stupid crate. We should leave while the rest of the place is still holding up. Don't want to end up like the other blokes."
"Wait! Hail Mary! There it is!" The one called Hubert shouted, "completely unharmed. It's a miracle."
"Not for poor Paul it isn't." Ernest said, "just a one step further and he would missed the rock that killed him. I say that box is bad hoodoo it is."
"If you don't want any gold, then just go! I'm going to be lapping in luxury while you return to the gutters."
"Don't be so mean, Hubert. I'm just saying we should be cautious."
"Just help me pry this box out of Paul's hands. We'll care about safety later."
ME:
My heart races. Humans are as big of a threat as snakes are, and their voices are so close. The darkness of the crate is safe though (so long as it stays dark, so long as the snake doesn't follow me in, so long as the humans don't reach in and grabcrusheat me). I huddle in the space between the cold metal and the rough wood.
I'm hungry -- there's no food in the crate, and other than a moment ago when the explosion knocked me out of it, I haven't been outside of it in too long. I scent the air again, but all I can smell is blood (and snake and human and threat and death).
The words themselves are meaningless to me, though I can tell by the tones that the people have no idea I'm here. Do they know the snake is close? Maybe the snake will eat the humans and the humans will eat the snake and it will be safe to leave.
DM:
The crate shook and you could feel yourself growing dizzy as the humans attempt to remove it from the grasp of the corpse.
"Damn it, rigor mortis must have set in early. Paul's clutching that gold tighter than a banker on a loan. I think I might have to break a few fingers." Hubert said. You hear the sickening crack of bone outside.
"Did you hear that?" Ernest asked, "that slinkin' sound?"
"Shut up. I almost got it."
"AHHHH, HELP!" Ernest screamed, "SOMETHING BIT ME, OH GOD!"
You hear the snake hissing before being kicked to the side.
"Oh God, it's a rattler, oh God, I'm going to die!"
"That's what you get for being such a whiner, must have lured the snake here with your crying."
"You gotta suck the venom out, Hubert! I can feel it kicking in!"
The other human reminded silent. You hear a mechanical click.
"Hubert... No... Hubert, we're friends!"
"I'm putting you out of your misery." He said, "lot more humane than dying of a rattler bite. Plus I get to keep this nice crate of gold all to myself."
"Hubert! No!"
You hear the pang of a gunshot and felt the box suddenly start moving away tucked under the arm of the human.
ME:
If the scream hadn't scared me so much, I might have thought Good! at the snake biting the man. Though the scream is one of pain, it's no relief to me -- whatever caused the pain in another could do the same to me.
Run run run run!
Instinct tells me to flee from the scream, but before I can reach the hole I crawled into the crate through, there's another explosion. Gunfire. Trembling, I retreat back deeper into the crate.
Then the world moves around me. Safe to flee? Indecision keeps me still for a moment, but my hunger is growing. It drives me back to the hole again.
At first I don't understand the world I'm seeing. I'm high up and moving, the whole box is. But there's material close by, I could scurry down it, I think. (And food? Do I smell food? Or am I so hungry I just think I do?)
I squeeze back out through the hole, my claws finding purchase in the rough wood and then the material of the shirt. The ground is far, far away, but I see a darkness (a cave?) not too far down. Does it contain food? My nose thinks it does.
Assuming he hasn't felt me thus far, I live up to my species's name and slip into his pocket.
DM:
The human was too distracted to even notice your little descent. He was still busy running, muttering to himself.
In the dark crevasse of his pocket, you found many things; a pair of shaved silver coins, a switchblade, a piece of lint, and the end of a bread crust.
ME:
Food! And darkness and warmth! Three of the most important things in life. I make quick work of the bread, then clean my whiskers and muzzle off with my paws. There's still movement, but this place would be a perfect resting spot if it weren't for the overwhelming scent of human.
I'll wait for the movement to stop, then I'll leave this warm spot. I curl up, tying to get comfortable with the hard metal things knocking against me, and wait for the world to stop moving...
DM:
You weren't sure when you fell asleep in the duration of your journey, but you did know when you were rudely awoken by the sound of pierce hollering.
"Hubert Randal, I told you a million times to never let your swine-headed two-faced yellow-bellied son'ova'bich ass within a mile of my house!"
"Baby, doll-face, angel, sweetheart, you got me all wrong!" Hubert said sickeningly sweetly as he approach the shrill voice of the harpy. You poked your head out of the pocket to get a peak of the situation to see a fizzy haired female human standing at a distance of Hubert and armed with a cast iron teakettle.
"You a lier and you always be a lier!" She sneered, "now why don't you scamper off back to your nest of crooks and mistresses; this lady is sick and tired of having to haul out the garbage every time it shows up begging for forgiveness."
"My Claudette, my beautiful Claudette! I'm a changed man and I'm ready to settle down and be serious with you. I can provide everything for us if you just.."
The teakettle flew from her hand, nearly hitting you as it bounced off Hubert.
"Stay the hell away from me!" Claudette snarled, she grabbed another object from the house, a china plate, and threw it at Hubert as he continued to approach her. Eventually she began throwing everything in her grasp.
"I swear I'll call the sheriff and get you hung on the gallows, so help me." Claudette yelled, "don't you dare test me! You're a pig, a stinken' pig. My sister was right about you, everyone was right about you! I don't need you or whatever lousy gift you got there underneath your armpit, I'll..."
Hubert cracked open the crate causing her eyes to widen, "what... Is... That.. Dear me..."
ME:
I've escaped my most hated enemy. I've eaten. I'm alive. I've been around human scent so long, other than a moment of panic when I first woke, I've almost stopped noticing it.
I poke my head out of the pocket to see where I am, and I'm almost hit by something. I retreat. The loud, angry voices continue. The pocket moves some, but not as much as it had been before. Cautiously, I stick my head out again.
The air is warmer than I'm used to, and I don't think I've ever smelled so much food! The smell of human is heavy in the air, but I check carefully and can't pick up the scent of any other predator. I've never seen any place like this before, but this is somewhere where living might be easier than I'm used to.
I slip out the rest of the way from the man's pocket, my claws tight in the material. At the sudden quieting of the voices, I freeze. Have I been spotted? When nothing happens, I continue down the man's pant leg, my long tail flagging to help me keep my balance.
DM:
"I never seen a gold bar much less this many, how.." Claudette suddenly clasped her hand to her mouth, "there's blood on your shirt! People died over this didn't they?! How can you say you're an honest man when you commiting a crime right in front of me!"
"Don't fret over how I got it!" Hubert insisted, "think about a bigger house, new wallpaper, your own personal maid, cook, and butler, not to mention the nursery we always wanted. Think about little Huey Jr. and Baby Dettie playing in their blue and pink room with the finest of toys and softest of fabrics."
"This is too much! I have to think about all this!"
"Don't think, don't worry! Just let me handle it all." Hubert said, "and be a doll and hook me up with some grub will ya."
You traveled down the length of denim until you reached the leather of his boot and finally the cold tiled floor. The room was massive and vast. In the distance you could smell a bowl of food just sitting there undistured.
ME:
The conversation is meaningless to me. New environment, so much unknown. Danger. I need cover, a place to run and hide if necessary, but the smell of food draws me.
Desert animal though I am, I've never had interest in water -- I get all that I need from my food. Food though, food is second only to safety in the list of things that drive me. I head for the bowl.
It's a long trip across the floor, with no cover between me and it. I can only hope there are no owls out hunting now -- it's probably too early for them; it feels too early for me, too.
When I reach the bowl, I stand on my hind legs, looking into it. Food! So much food! I drag a piece out, eating as fast as I can, keeping an eye out for danger as I do. As soon as I've eaten my fill, I'll find a safe place to sleep, and settle into my new home.
DM:
You climb over the rim of the copper bowl and began gorging yourself on scraps of mush within.
"How are we even going to begin to spend all this." Claudette muttered, "I mean we can't just take this to the bank or shop. Maybe we should pay off the landowner first, but then again, mother has been needing a stove. Perhaps..."
"This money is for us!" Hubert yelled between mouthfuls of food, "ain't no tax collector or nagging in-law is getting a dime."
"But Clara always said that family was most important!"
"And I especially mean your sister! I don't even want that old cow to even glance her buggy eyes on this gold!"
"You can be so awful, Huey."
Your eating was quickly interrupted by a drop of water hitting your head. Was it raining? No, you were inside. Then what was it?
You look up to see a beast looming over you. It was a creature disgustingly large and fat with rolls of white fur spread everywhere across its mountainous body, its smushed face glared down menacingly with bright yellow eyes and a drooling mouth, letting out a low pitch growl in your presence. Wrapped around its neck was a scarlet ribbon with a tiny silver heart dangling at the end that simply read Precious
ME:
With the bounty of food before me, I fail to pay as much attention to my surroundings as I should. But there's so much food! More than I've ever seen in one place before in my life! Different than my usual diet, but rich and delicious.
Until it starts raining on me.
Except it's not rain.
Even before I look up, I realize it's not rain. The smell of predator is all around me. I should have been paying more attention.
My first instinct is to freeze. Maybe the cat hasn't seen me. Maybe it will keep walking on. But it's staring at me. It's growling. It's going to eat me.
I leap into a run.
If I had lived here longer, I'd know where to run. But I don't. The direction I start to flee into is almost random -- away from the cat, but away from the humans as well. I need somewhere dark. Somewhere the cat can't reach me. If I can even get away from it at all right now, that is...
DM:
You ran as fast as your little legs could take you when you suddenly hit headfirst into a frilly pink wall. It was revealed to be the shoe of the human.
"Eeek!" Claudette screamed as she held up the helm of her dress and jumped on a chair, "it's a mouse! There're mice in my home! One just attacked me in the leg!"
"Jesus Christ!" Hubert said getting up on his own chair, "get that thing away from me too."
"You're the man of the house! You're suppose to deal with the rodents." Claudette yelled angrily.
"My brother died of rabies from a mouse, I ain't taking no chances in getting close to this disease-loaded vermin." He replied.
"Precious! Catch that mouse!" She yelled.
The fat cat pounced, skimming across the tiled floor on its short legs until she crashed into the foot of the table. Quickly, Precious came to her senses, and began looking around for you.
There were two choices of escape in sight, one was Hubert's jacket, the other was the chewed up hole in the wall.
ME:
If I knew what a jacket was, I'd know the safer of the two options, so it's only lucky chance that I run for the hole in the wall.
The cat (predatordangerDEATH) may have to recover from the crash, but I do not. I dart across the floor and into the hole. In another situation, say one where I wasn't being chased by deathdeathdangerdeath, I would pause and check the scents around the hole, make sure it doesn't belong to another creature. But instead I flee right into it.
The fact that there could be something worse inside (snakes, humans, owls) doesn't cross my panicked mind. Heart pounding, I move as deep inside as the hole goes.
DM:
Precious once again charges, head-butting the hole just as you dashed into it. She spent several moments growling and hissing in futile anger, swiping her paws into the opening with no success.
You were wedged between the wall and exterior brick with your only company being the lost dust bunnies.
ME:
Heart racing, I sit frozen for a time. It's not safe, not with the predator just out of reach, but it's safer. Eventually my breathing slows and I start to explore the shadows.
Everything here is foreign. No place to dig, but as small as this space is, I don't have to. My stomach feels strange; insects and worms usually make up only part of my meals, not all of it. But I can get used to this. I gather up the dust bunnies to make a nest, then settle in to sleep the rest of the day away.
No place is without predators. When night comes, I'll explore more of my territory. This time I'll keep a closer eye out for the cat. I'll watch above in case of owls. Humans are easy enough to avoid.
Being a tawny little desert pocket mouse, the list of enemies for me is long and wide, but I think life here will be okay.
THE END? (The DM offered to continue, but I haven't yet decided if I want to or not. This seems like a nice stopping point, and I kind of feel like I'm making him do all the work in the scene. Though since he offered to continue, I guess he doesn't mind it. So we'll see. Edit: I decided to let it end there. After my cat character died in the other thread, and another violent end RP scene in FFXIV last night, a nice ending for this little mouse makes me happy. )
I'm SO SO SO tired today. I was short on sleep all week, then stayed up way too late last night, now I can't muster enough energy to do anything. Which is a problem, as I have work stuff that needs doing...
Shadow, no Ritzy Bitz for you! Take that back outside, ewww.
And, because I just don't post about this game enough, check out how wonderful the music is. So peaceful and relaxing and just makes me so happy.
Click to view---
And the RP log from the western ("You are sitting across from your most hated enemy.") storytelling thread on reddit. Though not as bad as tumblr, it's hard to access copies of your old posts on reddit, so I'll probably keep archiving them here. I wish I had coped another RP thread (a NSFW one), but it had barely gotten started before it was deleted. I had thought I had time to save it! Oh well.
TITLE: [Western] You are sitting across from your most hated enemy.
OPENING SCENE:
The cave in was devastating, creating a several meter wide blockade of fallen rock which separated the two of you from the outside world. The only way out was through the tunneling depths of the abandoned mine that led to God knows where.
Sitting at the opposite end of the wall from you was your most hated enemy, the only other survivor of the explosion. Between both of you were the four objects that got you into this mess.
An oil lantern providing your only source of light, a canteen filled halfway with water, a gun with one bullet, and a wooden crate packed with stolen gold bars fresh off the U.S. Mint.
The two of you could only stare at one another in silence, seeing who would make the first move.
Who are you? How did you get here?
ME:
I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die!
Between us are items. Those who brought them in, the reason for this mess, are buried under the rubble left by the explosion. I can smell their blood...
If my enemy sees me, I know it will be the end of me, too.
The items between us are huge. Of course, the snake is huge too, but it seems stunned by the blast; its head is directed at me, it seems to stare at me, but the blast seems to have rattled it. If I want to use the items to hide behind, it means I'm going to have to run towards my enemy...
I scan what I can see of this cave, my little nose twitching as I search for the scent of any other threats, then I run full tilt forward, beelining for the shadows of the wooden crate.
I am a mouse. I had been living peacefully before curiosity got the better of me and I wiggled into the crate in search of a new safe place to sleep. Now I'm here, in this cave, with my mortal enemy.
DM:
Being a tawny little desert pocket mouse, the list of enemies for you was long and wide; being almost certain you'll find one waiting to pounce on you behind every corner.
You ran to the crate being careful to climb over the two severed hands that still grip it and eventually find the familiar hole in which you climb in before. Quickly you scurried in as you hear the sinister shake of a rattle.
The noise was drowned out however by the sound of footsteps.
"See Ernest, I told you that there was another way into the mines." A human said.
"Blimey Hubert, it's going to take years to carve through all that rock for one stupid crate. We should leave while the rest of the place is still holding up. Don't want to end up like the other blokes."
"Wait! Hail Mary! There it is!" The one called Hubert shouted, "completely unharmed. It's a miracle."
"Not for poor Paul it isn't." Ernest said, "just a one step further and he would missed the rock that killed him. I say that box is bad hoodoo it is."
"If you don't want any gold, then just go! I'm going to be lapping in luxury while you return to the gutters."
"Don't be so mean, Hubert. I'm just saying we should be cautious."
"Just help me pry this box out of Paul's hands. We'll care about safety later."
ME:
My heart races. Humans are as big of a threat as snakes are, and their voices are so close. The darkness of the crate is safe though (so long as it stays dark, so long as the snake doesn't follow me in, so long as the humans don't reach in and grabcrusheat me). I huddle in the space between the cold metal and the rough wood.
I'm hungry -- there's no food in the crate, and other than a moment ago when the explosion knocked me out of it, I haven't been outside of it in too long. I scent the air again, but all I can smell is blood (and snake and human and threat and death).
The words themselves are meaningless to me, though I can tell by the tones that the people have no idea I'm here. Do they know the snake is close? Maybe the snake will eat the humans and the humans will eat the snake and it will be safe to leave.
DM:
The crate shook and you could feel yourself growing dizzy as the humans attempt to remove it from the grasp of the corpse.
"Damn it, rigor mortis must have set in early. Paul's clutching that gold tighter than a banker on a loan. I think I might have to break a few fingers." Hubert said. You hear the sickening crack of bone outside.
"Did you hear that?" Ernest asked, "that slinkin' sound?"
"Shut up. I almost got it."
"AHHHH, HELP!" Ernest screamed, "SOMETHING BIT ME, OH GOD!"
You hear the snake hissing before being kicked to the side.
"Oh God, it's a rattler, oh God, I'm going to die!"
"That's what you get for being such a whiner, must have lured the snake here with your crying."
"You gotta suck the venom out, Hubert! I can feel it kicking in!"
The other human reminded silent. You hear a mechanical click.
"Hubert... No... Hubert, we're friends!"
"I'm putting you out of your misery." He said, "lot more humane than dying of a rattler bite. Plus I get to keep this nice crate of gold all to myself."
"Hubert! No!"
You hear the pang of a gunshot and felt the box suddenly start moving away tucked under the arm of the human.
ME:
If the scream hadn't scared me so much, I might have thought Good! at the snake biting the man. Though the scream is one of pain, it's no relief to me -- whatever caused the pain in another could do the same to me.
Run run run run!
Instinct tells me to flee from the scream, but before I can reach the hole I crawled into the crate through, there's another explosion. Gunfire. Trembling, I retreat back deeper into the crate.
Then the world moves around me. Safe to flee? Indecision keeps me still for a moment, but my hunger is growing. It drives me back to the hole again.
At first I don't understand the world I'm seeing. I'm high up and moving, the whole box is. But there's material close by, I could scurry down it, I think. (And food? Do I smell food? Or am I so hungry I just think I do?)
I squeeze back out through the hole, my claws finding purchase in the rough wood and then the material of the shirt. The ground is far, far away, but I see a darkness (a cave?) not too far down. Does it contain food? My nose thinks it does.
Assuming he hasn't felt me thus far, I live up to my species's name and slip into his pocket.
DM:
The human was too distracted to even notice your little descent. He was still busy running, muttering to himself.
In the dark crevasse of his pocket, you found many things; a pair of shaved silver coins, a switchblade, a piece of lint, and the end of a bread crust.
ME:
Food! And darkness and warmth! Three of the most important things in life. I make quick work of the bread, then clean my whiskers and muzzle off with my paws. There's still movement, but this place would be a perfect resting spot if it weren't for the overwhelming scent of human.
I'll wait for the movement to stop, then I'll leave this warm spot. I curl up, tying to get comfortable with the hard metal things knocking against me, and wait for the world to stop moving...
DM:
You weren't sure when you fell asleep in the duration of your journey, but you did know when you were rudely awoken by the sound of pierce hollering.
"Hubert Randal, I told you a million times to never let your swine-headed two-faced yellow-bellied son'ova'bich ass within a mile of my house!"
"Baby, doll-face, angel, sweetheart, you got me all wrong!" Hubert said sickeningly sweetly as he approach the shrill voice of the harpy. You poked your head out of the pocket to get a peak of the situation to see a fizzy haired female human standing at a distance of Hubert and armed with a cast iron teakettle.
"You a lier and you always be a lier!" She sneered, "now why don't you scamper off back to your nest of crooks and mistresses; this lady is sick and tired of having to haul out the garbage every time it shows up begging for forgiveness."
"My Claudette, my beautiful Claudette! I'm a changed man and I'm ready to settle down and be serious with you. I can provide everything for us if you just.."
The teakettle flew from her hand, nearly hitting you as it bounced off Hubert.
"Stay the hell away from me!" Claudette snarled, she grabbed another object from the house, a china plate, and threw it at Hubert as he continued to approach her. Eventually she began throwing everything in her grasp.
"I swear I'll call the sheriff and get you hung on the gallows, so help me." Claudette yelled, "don't you dare test me! You're a pig, a stinken' pig. My sister was right about you, everyone was right about you! I don't need you or whatever lousy gift you got there underneath your armpit, I'll..."
Hubert cracked open the crate causing her eyes to widen, "what... Is... That.. Dear me..."
ME:
I've escaped my most hated enemy. I've eaten. I'm alive. I've been around human scent so long, other than a moment of panic when I first woke, I've almost stopped noticing it.
I poke my head out of the pocket to see where I am, and I'm almost hit by something. I retreat. The loud, angry voices continue. The pocket moves some, but not as much as it had been before. Cautiously, I stick my head out again.
The air is warmer than I'm used to, and I don't think I've ever smelled so much food! The smell of human is heavy in the air, but I check carefully and can't pick up the scent of any other predator. I've never seen any place like this before, but this is somewhere where living might be easier than I'm used to.
I slip out the rest of the way from the man's pocket, my claws tight in the material. At the sudden quieting of the voices, I freeze. Have I been spotted? When nothing happens, I continue down the man's pant leg, my long tail flagging to help me keep my balance.
DM:
"I never seen a gold bar much less this many, how.." Claudette suddenly clasped her hand to her mouth, "there's blood on your shirt! People died over this didn't they?! How can you say you're an honest man when you commiting a crime right in front of me!"
"Don't fret over how I got it!" Hubert insisted, "think about a bigger house, new wallpaper, your own personal maid, cook, and butler, not to mention the nursery we always wanted. Think about little Huey Jr. and Baby Dettie playing in their blue and pink room with the finest of toys and softest of fabrics."
"This is too much! I have to think about all this!"
"Don't think, don't worry! Just let me handle it all." Hubert said, "and be a doll and hook me up with some grub will ya."
You traveled down the length of denim until you reached the leather of his boot and finally the cold tiled floor. The room was massive and vast. In the distance you could smell a bowl of food just sitting there undistured.
ME:
The conversation is meaningless to me. New environment, so much unknown. Danger. I need cover, a place to run and hide if necessary, but the smell of food draws me.
Desert animal though I am, I've never had interest in water -- I get all that I need from my food. Food though, food is second only to safety in the list of things that drive me. I head for the bowl.
It's a long trip across the floor, with no cover between me and it. I can only hope there are no owls out hunting now -- it's probably too early for them; it feels too early for me, too.
When I reach the bowl, I stand on my hind legs, looking into it. Food! So much food! I drag a piece out, eating as fast as I can, keeping an eye out for danger as I do. As soon as I've eaten my fill, I'll find a safe place to sleep, and settle into my new home.
DM:
You climb over the rim of the copper bowl and began gorging yourself on scraps of mush within.
"How are we even going to begin to spend all this." Claudette muttered, "I mean we can't just take this to the bank or shop. Maybe we should pay off the landowner first, but then again, mother has been needing a stove. Perhaps..."
"This money is for us!" Hubert yelled between mouthfuls of food, "ain't no tax collector or nagging in-law is getting a dime."
"But Clara always said that family was most important!"
"And I especially mean your sister! I don't even want that old cow to even glance her buggy eyes on this gold!"
"You can be so awful, Huey."
Your eating was quickly interrupted by a drop of water hitting your head. Was it raining? No, you were inside. Then what was it?
You look up to see a beast looming over you. It was a creature disgustingly large and fat with rolls of white fur spread everywhere across its mountainous body, its smushed face glared down menacingly with bright yellow eyes and a drooling mouth, letting out a low pitch growl in your presence. Wrapped around its neck was a scarlet ribbon with a tiny silver heart dangling at the end that simply read Precious
ME:
With the bounty of food before me, I fail to pay as much attention to my surroundings as I should. But there's so much food! More than I've ever seen in one place before in my life! Different than my usual diet, but rich and delicious.
Until it starts raining on me.
Except it's not rain.
Even before I look up, I realize it's not rain. The smell of predator is all around me. I should have been paying more attention.
My first instinct is to freeze. Maybe the cat hasn't seen me. Maybe it will keep walking on. But it's staring at me. It's growling. It's going to eat me.
I leap into a run.
If I had lived here longer, I'd know where to run. But I don't. The direction I start to flee into is almost random -- away from the cat, but away from the humans as well. I need somewhere dark. Somewhere the cat can't reach me. If I can even get away from it at all right now, that is...
DM:
You ran as fast as your little legs could take you when you suddenly hit headfirst into a frilly pink wall. It was revealed to be the shoe of the human.
"Eeek!" Claudette screamed as she held up the helm of her dress and jumped on a chair, "it's a mouse! There're mice in my home! One just attacked me in the leg!"
"Jesus Christ!" Hubert said getting up on his own chair, "get that thing away from me too."
"You're the man of the house! You're suppose to deal with the rodents." Claudette yelled angrily.
"My brother died of rabies from a mouse, I ain't taking no chances in getting close to this disease-loaded vermin." He replied.
"Precious! Catch that mouse!" She yelled.
The fat cat pounced, skimming across the tiled floor on its short legs until she crashed into the foot of the table. Quickly, Precious came to her senses, and began looking around for you.
There were two choices of escape in sight, one was Hubert's jacket, the other was the chewed up hole in the wall.
ME:
If I knew what a jacket was, I'd know the safer of the two options, so it's only lucky chance that I run for the hole in the wall.
The cat (predatordangerDEATH) may have to recover from the crash, but I do not. I dart across the floor and into the hole. In another situation, say one where I wasn't being chased by deathdeathdangerdeath, I would pause and check the scents around the hole, make sure it doesn't belong to another creature. But instead I flee right into it.
The fact that there could be something worse inside (snakes, humans, owls) doesn't cross my panicked mind. Heart pounding, I move as deep inside as the hole goes.
DM:
Precious once again charges, head-butting the hole just as you dashed into it. She spent several moments growling and hissing in futile anger, swiping her paws into the opening with no success.
You were wedged between the wall and exterior brick with your only company being the lost dust bunnies.
ME:
Heart racing, I sit frozen for a time. It's not safe, not with the predator just out of reach, but it's safer. Eventually my breathing slows and I start to explore the shadows.
Everything here is foreign. No place to dig, but as small as this space is, I don't have to. My stomach feels strange; insects and worms usually make up only part of my meals, not all of it. But I can get used to this. I gather up the dust bunnies to make a nest, then settle in to sleep the rest of the day away.
No place is without predators. When night comes, I'll explore more of my territory. This time I'll keep a closer eye out for the cat. I'll watch above in case of owls. Humans are easy enough to avoid.
Being a tawny little desert pocket mouse, the list of enemies for me is long and wide, but I think life here will be okay.
THE END? (The DM offered to continue, but I haven't yet decided if I want to or not. This seems like a nice stopping point, and I kind of feel like I'm making him do all the work in the scene. Though since he offered to continue, I guess he doesn't mind it. So we'll see. Edit: I decided to let it end there. After my cat character died in the other thread, and another violent end RP scene in FFXIV last night, a nice ending for this little mouse makes me happy. )
I'm SO SO SO tired today. I was short on sleep all week, then stayed up way too late last night, now I can't muster enough energy to do anything. Which is a problem, as I have work stuff that needs doing...