imeeji_frontstage | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Who: Exael and the Unlucky Contestants
Where: The Game Tower
When: 86, Evening

[ Between one step and the next the walls (or streets, or open air) around you changes. The sight before you is a room inside the game tower, a new pressure at your neck. Reaching up or looking at the people around you reveals it to be a collar, titanium with a small green blinking light set in the center. ]

[ the screen flickers on, on your cellphone. It's a half-second, blink and you miss it— Exael, chewing on a nail, looking uncharacteristically nervous— then the moment's gone and she waves both hands and smiles for the camera. ]

"Ladies, gentlemen, honored guests! Units of all stripes and sizes! I come offering you a game and a few familiar words, rearranged for the occasion!"

Her carnival barker demeanor shifts for a moment as she lowers her head to say: ] "Glory to the highest, and on earth peace—" [ her head snaps up, her pigtails bouncing with it, and she's grinning again, all pomp and energy ] "even if we're not getting much down here! So let's kick up a ruckus, put on a show, and see how much good goodwill alone can manage! If you wish to save your fellows, now is the time speak!"

[ The rules appear on your phones. ]

[ Rules ] [ Rooms ] [ Results ] [ Endgame, Revivals & Winners ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You're gonna pop one day.

What would you suggest then?

[ Shrugs a little. ]

I don't think Aries would tell Zrael if you told him.

...I'll consider it.

You know him better than I do, so your call.

It's been long enough that I don't think he'd do anything. Still, I've worked mostly through it.

Mmm, as long as you're comfortable. Or close to it, anyway.

As close as I can be, I think.

[Reaches down to try and brush away a scuff on his shoe]

... Anything else on your mind?

Lots of stuff, but it's your turn.

I've only got the one thing, so you're gonna get stuck talking a lot more, sorry.

Aa...that's fine.

... You don't need to push to try and help Avante during games.

All right? I'm still going to.

I'm saying please don't.

Why not? I want to.

It makes things more complicated for your team during games, doesn't it?

So? This whole place is complicated. If trying to protect you is a complication, it's one I'm willing to deal with. I won't always succeed, but that doesn't mean I'm not gonna try. My feelings are just as important as anyone else's on Wild City, so it's my right to fight for them.

It's a complication that you don't need to even have. Neither of us can ever guarantee we'll be able to help the other, and it's a really shitty feeling trying to tell your new unitmates that maybe a unit will help us because of one connection or two connections and none of them do.

I can't do anything for you with the way my unit is right now either and no, that's not fine.

There are no guarantees in this place! That doesn't mean roll over and just let people important to me fucking die though. Just because I can't guarantee it, doesn't mean I'm not going to TRY.

Wild City understands my feelings. They don't resent me for wanting to protect you and voting to protect you. They don't make me feel bad for having someone I want to protect or that my feelings are less important than theirs or that I'm being selfish! My feelings are important to them!

So I don't see how it's a problem? I'll feel worse NOT doing what I can to keep you safe. So if you're actually concerned about MY feelings, then know it would be harder on me to NOT try to protect you!

And if you're worried I expect my feelings to be returned, I don't! I don't expect anything! I don't want to protect you expecting you to protect me!

[ GOD, why are you like this!! ]

Fine, I'm saying it's a problem for me, you ass! I can't have your back, I can't even try to argue and save Wild City because no one else on my unit cares and have their own priorities and also our stupid units broke an alliance most of us didn't even know about! Avante's an absolute shithole hell to navigate politically and not even being able to get my own brother's unit on the table for saving makes me feel useless and I hate it!

You might not give a shit about being on equal grounds but I do, and the fact that you don't expect me to have your back makes me feel worse, not better, you shitty selfish self-sacrificing shit pig!

[What am IIIIIII like this???? Why are YOU like this!!!! Chucking a fucking volleyball at his head]

So stop feeling bad and do something about it then! Fucking TELL THEM THAT! I know you wanna keep the peace, but no one on Avante wants you to hurt! SO WHAT if they have their own priorities? You ALL have your own priorities because you're ALL different people, NO SHIT! And yours are JUST AS VALID AS THEIRS, DUMBASS!!!!

They're not gonna kick you off the unit for having feelings! You wanna do right by your unit, but you're not letting them do right by you! They're not psychic, you fuck! Stop putting other peoples' feelings before your own! Be a little selfish! Avante won't collapse just because you're not a God damn robot, you sad excuse for a piss stain!

[ Where the fuck did you even get a volleyball from!! Throwing it back!! ]

Don't call me a dumbass, dumbass! Every unit's different, dipshit, but your blind ass doesn't see how different your team is and the stark as hell difference in how they treat you compared to every other damn person in this place!

You have no damn clue what it's like for Avante during games and how fucking rough it is during games for us- we barely even talk with each other outside of games! Does your dumb ass really think it'd get better when you toss in more complications to a mess like that!

You think I don't fucking know!? You think I didn't see how uncomfortable you and B and C are???? Why the hell do you think I kicked B and C out of the party?! I'm so God damn SICK of everyone treating me like I'm some delicate flower that'll break because you don't like my team! Boo fucking hoo!!!

[FUCK fhdjkfha Kicking at him!!!!]

You wanna know what, turd monkey? I don't like your team either! Ace gives me the fucking creeps! He's an asshole! And Cardigan really fucking sucks at looking after you! Cardigan can't get over their Aries hate-boner long enough to see what's actually best for the team! Cardigan is the reason people are weird about Avante! Nobody fucking HATES Avante though, so stop acting like everyone is out to get you! Everyone is just out to save what matters to them, you dumpster fire fuck face!

[ GRABBING HIS SHIRT to shake him, don't kick me you ass!! ]

Maybe if you fucking talked about yourself instead of pretending you don't have anything you need to talk about all the time people wouldn't treat you like the spit gobbing whiny toddler you are! Boo hoo my unit got hit once when no one knew us and Aries did a dumb as hell thing once, time to carry around a stupid fucking knife all the time because I think some crazy murder-happy person is going to jump me for no damn reason!

And newsflash, people might not hate us but they sure as hell don't like us! Raijuu was killed in a game where the only two deaths to other players, not the dumb ass game mechanics, were both Avante! Nemesis was fucked up to royal hell after that stupid murder tournament because of SensitIV and that Taisho asshole again! Nemesis is the most likeable person on our unit and even she gets in fights with people, my fucking team live is fighting and that's all anyone on my unit seems to want to do, so of course there's people who don't like us for that you ass slurping shit monger!

And Cardigan may not be liked by most people but Cardigan is always doing their best to help this dumb as fuck community that would rather kill each other just because someone tells them to than even try to work together so don't give them shit when you're just feeding into this stupid as fuck selfish system!