imeeji_frontstage | (no subject)

[ Gentiana skips over looking surprised at the last piece and goes straight to sympathy which softens his demeanor considerably. ]

Ah. I won't ask you to expound on that. [ It's a very clear way of saying he's sorry without having to actually say it. ]

[ Immediately shakes his head. ]

Don't be ridiculous. You need to know. Games can happy any time, with no warning, and if you don't know — then you get blindsided.

Mm? [ This sound is more of a courtesy than a question, a very 'if you're sure' type thing ]

If I need to know, then go right ahead.

[ And yet Lupine still draws a breath, bracing himself a tiny bit, before murmuring, ]

Which games are worse for you... that's gonna depend, of course. Some people probably prefer the straightforward kill-or-be-killed games to the ones where we're hooked up to each other, feeling each other's feelings.

[ Beat. ]

And some games are gonna mess with your head. Like — we had that one game where we, uh. ...Ate each other?

[ Just taking all that in, with more aplomb than one might expect but not nearly so much that he's nonchalant. ]

All right.

And what happens after those? [ Anything that her the power to lock away their memories for purchase doubtless has the power to heal any injuries or even revive a death, but would they? Do they? ]

[ Noted. ]

Well... that depends. If we won the game, then we get healed back up by the production itself. [ Airy little gesture to take in... all of Imeeji, ] And if we didn't, then pep and sIV'll help us out.

[ He figures he'll learn about who pep and sIV are, and indeed a visitor will explain as much so no need to get into that. ]

Some winners get healed up, some less lucky people get treated, everyone parts as friends? [ He's not thinking it's quite that simple, but sort of hoping it is. ]

That definitely depends.

[ Rubbing the back of his neck while he tries to think of how to put it. ]

The way I look at it, this place? It takes away a lot of our choices. Most of the time just figuratively, but sometimes very literally — there're games here that'll really mess with your head.

[ Hand through his hair. ]

So, they can coerce us into killing each other. They can even force us into killing each other.

But you know what they can't do? The one thing they can never control?

[ Smallest beat. ]

How we handle things afterward.

It was one of the first things I decided when I woke up here, eighty days ago.

That I wasn't gonna let the production decide who I could be friends with.

[ A light shrug. ]

But that's me. Other people are gonna feel differently, and that's okay, too.

[ His gaze lingers on the newbie now. ]

[ Pushing a hand through his hair, less because he needs a moment to think than because it seems respectful to take a moment before replying. ]

I suppose that's something I won't be able to truly understand until it happens, but despite my ignorance I'm inclined to say that I don't want to let anyone or anything control any more of me than I absolutely must. Holding against people what they have no choice in seems to pile cruelty on top of cruelty.

[ And he has no interest in that. What people choose to do, however, that's fair game. ]

Any other devious little manipulations by "Production" that I should know about? [ like game effects or irremovable earrings that make you horny? ]

[ Relaxing just the tiniest bit. ]

Heh. Probably a million.

[ Hums quietly. ]

Well, let's start with: losing a game doesn't just mean we might still be dead at the end of it.

[ 'What more could they take then our lives?' seems the apt question, but he can, unfortunately, imagine quite a lot. ]

Oh?

Yeah.

[ Beat. Again he's thinking. Then: ]

The most mild one I've had was probably the one where I spent the next couple of days struggling to stay warm unless I had someone else's body heat.

That could be anywhere from pleasant to bothersome, depending on who was around.

But if that's a minor one, I'm guessing most of them are intense.

Most is overstating it, but... the trauma games tend to leave a lasting impact on us when we lose, or if we break the rules.

[ Thinking. ]

Worst was probably... [ Hums. ] Well, I didn't like being sick for almost a week. But the thing that killed my sense of taste and smell was probably—

Edited 2022-07-25 03:59 (UTC)

[ Cut off by being abruptly aware that his tail is lashing, and thereby being reminded that it... exists. ] [ Offers up a very crooked smile. ]

Heh. Worst one's technically this, I guess. [ Turning to show off the very demony tail. ] Doesn't bother me most of the time, but it's what they call a corruption. Didn't have it when I came here.

Edited 2022-07-25 03:59 (UTC)

...So some of them are permanent.

Yes and no. There's a way to get rid of corruptions, but it sounds like kind of a pain? We've gotta go to this special fountain... or maybe it's any fountain up there, but there's one closer to the stairway than the others?

[ A shrug. ]

Either way, getting there hurts if you're 'corrupted', so you need someone else's help, and this just isn't worth the hassle to me. I'll go if I get something more obnoxious.

Edited 2022-07-25 04:03 (UTC)

I see. It sounds complicated.

[ He looks at the tail, having never considered it unusual in the slightest until Lupine brought up that he hadn't always had it. ]

And that doesn't seem so troublesome. [ Aside from possibly announcing his mood. ]

[ A tight shrug, tail swishing more rapidly for a moment. Yeah, it does Do That. ]

I think it is, yeah. But I don't actually know, since I haven't tried. It's definitely possible — we just need help.

[ Note to self, find out what that method is so he can try to Rules Lawyer his way around it (and fail because this is not that sort of situation) ]

It's good to know there's at least an option if someone gets an intolerable one.

[ Well, now he needs to see that. ]

—Yeah.

[ Ugh, this is making him really feel like he needs to talk to Persi more. ]

Better than being stuck with 'em for sure.

[ hum dum ]

Anything else I should be aware of before you let me out into the world? It sounds as though I need to be on my toes in a place like this.

[ It does not sound like he'd struggle with that, or mind in the slightest. ]

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