imeeji_frontstage | (no subject)

[He's even got a new outfit and backpack for the occasion! Though he's just holding a bag of donuts in his hands.]

I brought some snacks ♪ How's everyone doing?

[ boy that outfit sure is A Lot ]

Better now that we've got donuts, I'm sure.

[ It's not a complete evasion, but there's a tailflick to go with it. ]

But not so much otherwise?

Help yourself, by the way.

[He got a variety of flavors!]

[ The tiniest irritable crease between his brows before he smooths it out with a sigh. ]

We got a win on that game, we're fine.

[ It's. The previous one that's still bugging him. ] [ Opening the box, his eyes flicking between donuts thoughtfully. There's a big part of him that just wants something very simple, but the fancy ones are intriguing, too. ]

[Holding out the bag patiently for Lupine to make his selection.]

You win some, you lose some. You did give it your all, right?

[ ...Expression souring a tiny bit more. Lupine shuts his eyes for a beat, then snags a chocolate glaze. ]

Yeah. Guess we do.

[ Bites off a chunk of donut, chews twice, swallows, then: ]

It was the first 'trauma' game we actually lost since I got here, and it was practically her first game.

[ Aster and WWX... ate plenty of shit after Yuletide, but that wasn't like this. They didn't win or lose as a unit. ]

Ahhh, no wonder the sting is so harsh.

Well, it might not be much of a comfort - but you know? The last time sensitIV lost at an emotions-based game, it's because I got mad and didn't play along. There wasn't even a limit to how many units could win - we just had to deal with the punishments afterwards because I couldn't get over myself.

...

Sometimes, it really is impossible to protect your unit. But to me at least, it seems easier to accept than if you couldn't even try on their behalf at all.

[ ...Well, that does get you a briefly startled glance. Lupine has another bite of donut, letting it sink in. His tail's still flicking, but less in a giving-away-his-agitation way now. ]

—Smart play's talking it through ahead of time, obviously. What you are and aren't willing to do, what you are and aren't willing to risk.

[ Smallest beat. ]

'Course, sometimes you can't know that until it's actually happening to you. And probably thing wouldn't be such a sticking point if you even felt like you could talk it through with your unit...

[ Mostly, he thinks, what he appreciates is Izzy's willingness to talk about this at all. He knows the emotion-sharing thing hasn't gotten all that much easier for him. ]

Yeah, so it turns out we, uh...

Well, the current sensitIV really goes all in on spite. So that just turns into a free for all memory share just to see how far we can get, rules be damned. But somehow it turned out to be a winning strategy?

[ Lipquirk. ]

You didn't think it would? Because we were definitely trying to double and triple up as much as we could.

[ No contest, of course, against fifty memories in one go. ]

They put a lot of emphasis on what kind of emotion should be involved, but our tactic was less about the type and more about steamrolling everything under a giant wave of whatever we came up with. It feels kind of like cheating?

Mmm. We just tried to match things.

[ And the 'you fight fire with fire' bit makes his player think that was the wrong way to go, but who knows if that narration was something they could perceive.

No comment on 'cheating'. He doesn't begrudge sIV their win, however it came about. Someone has to lose these games. ]

Edited 2022-04-30 06:01 (UTC)

Some of ours matched, but we made a bunch that was the opposite, too. ...I guess we had the option of choosing since we put out so many.

Yeah. Most of us didn't have a lot of memories to work with.

[ Another bite of donut. ]

But there were other ways to win, too. Could've got a win for 'cool' or 'creative'. I was too hung up on making sure we had things that seemed... usable, of course. I'll know better next time.

[ Or maybe they'll change the rules next time. ] [ He's not really tasting this donut, sorry Izzy. ]

I think our newer ones just used it as an opportunity to get memories back for free, too...

[Haaaaaah............]

Well... hopefully next time you guys have a better shot at it.

[ A flickered smile. ]

We were probably due. [ He doesn't mind losing sometimes. His ideal is still... that they pass the shit-stick around, since they can't just all evade it forever. ] Just — wish they hadn't had to be there for it.

What, your newbies?

[ ...More donut, but his gaze slides elsewhere. ]

Yeah, yeah. Totally futile, I know.

Sucks, doesn't it?

That game in the arena, where we all had to kill each other? That was Kitsu's first game. He even died protecting me and everything.

[He laughs in a very "haha so that happened" way.]

[ Finishes the donut. Licks a fleck of chocolate off his thumb, because his manners are impeccable, but doesn't go back in for a second donut with the hand he just licked, because they're not that bad. ]

—Mine, too, actually. But I had a weird time in that game. Only died once, my fifth session, to that clown. Even made some friends.

You enjoy fights, don't you? Did you find like-minded people at the time?

[ Heh. ]

Yeah, I set up some dates. [ Eyes flick to Izzy's face. Crooked smile. ] Mostly didn't actually get to fight any of them, but that's what the post-game live was for.

[ Back when he knew you 0%, instead of the current... like... 20-30%. ]

It's probably more fun if everyone knows what they're doing, right?

In more ways than one.

[ His mouth twists a little higher. ]

Plus, fully consensual. Kind of important. Might even say vital.

[ The producers' opinions notwithstanding. ]

I can't really relate, but as long as you're having fun.

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*THE thing, sigh

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