imeeji_frontstage | 🚢 pew pew pew, you sunk my battleship.

Who: Everybody!
Where: Game Tower
When: Day 517, Morning

[ you arrive in the game tower to the sound of a deafening siren, but there's no surreal transformation this time. the interior has already changed, looking like the inside of a submarine... if you had to guess! if the hissing pipes and flashing lights haven't already started grating on your nerves, then surely all of the random beeping and booping computers will. suddenly, all of the tv screens flicker to life, ]

[ ...dⁱ_ng! it looks like the elevators have arrived. ]

I really do hope you know that I don't take even an ounce of pleasure from making you play all of these ~awful games [ she's definitely all of the sincere. ] but here we are again. [ big biG BIG sigh. ]

I would be, should be, impressed that some of you managed to solve Shi's puzzles, but I don't really think that you d~i~d~. Instead, I believe there was a lot of guessing going on! [ squints accusingly!!! ] So if you enjoy guesswork so much, then have I. got the. game. for you.

[ RULES 💀 ROOMS 💀 RESULTS 💀 MINGLE ]

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[ She pushes herself up, but finds she still can't use her legs. Damn game effects. ]

Bad. [ Her teeth are chattering. ] Don't touch me, it projects... things.

You're shivering...

[Takes his jacket off and carefully drapes it over her shoulders, avoiding touching her directly.]

[ The jacket does absolutely nothing. Of course it doesn't. She shrugs it off and curls up tighter, despite knowing it's fruitless. ] That won't help. It's one of those where you need contact to help, but it's not worth it. Trust me.

...Nothing you project to me will distress me as much as seeing you suffering and not being allowed to help, you know.

And you think seeing you suffer because of what's in my head will improve my situation?

[ She shakes her head, arranging her legs so she can sort of sit up. ]

I don't know what to do, but the things I was showing people in there are enough to make you sick.

Let me try, at least. I can always stop if it's too much for me.

[ She sighs and lets out a slow breath. Shaky breath since, freezing. ]

I'm not going to win this, am I? Just... promise you'll stop if it gets there.

[ If Doctor touches her right now, it's a nightmare -- Aliza's slaughter of that town? It's that, but all the people in Imeeji that she loves. Truly enough to turn a stomach. ]

I promise.

[Doctor wraps his arms around her and holds her close.

That thought, that dream - that is as awful as she said, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't pale at the sight of her ripping him open. But he is no stranger to nightmares himself, and it won't stop him.]

[ Well as long as he's here taking that horror show she's going to take a moment to cry into his shoulder. Both for what he's seeing and because she's miserable. ]

I couldn't do anything. I know that's not unusual, but I was in there with Lumine and Venti and Lupine and Persicaria. Thank goodness you weren't in that mess, on either side.

They do so enjoy making us helpless. It isn't your fault.

[ sniffle ]

I think you know I don't really believe it wasn't my fault. [ If not, her emotionshare takes care of that. Her feelings are dark and not all in a sorry-for-herself way. Part of her wants to snarl and thrash and tear the gamerunner to bloody scraps. And the winning team a little, too. ]

I know you don't believe it. That doesn't change the truth of the situation. You did the best you could.

[He turns on his own emotionshare, faith in her - pure and unwavering - in answer to her anger and doubt.]

[ Feeling his faith in her seems to stun her feelings into silence, for which she is unspeakably grateful even if it can't last. ]

Small comfort when my memories were making people sick.

It wasn't as if you chose to foist them on other people. Or that you decided to have a painful life full of bad memories.

[Who would even do that.]

I know. It's miserable even so. The whole thing was miserable. Is miserable.

...Maybe Alch got some of that revenge they were after, at least. [ bitter bitter bitter, but not all at Alch, some of it's at her own unit for putting them in this position (even though another part of her knows that's how games work) ]

I hope so. Then at least someone would have gotten something positive out of this.

Yeah, well. I tried every other way I could think of. Maybe making us suffer will do them some good.

I would certainly hope so. Holding grudges over games does no one any good.

Mm. [ Another series of torture-flashes, as she wonders what would be enough to get X to drop the whole mess. Apologizing and trying to make it right clearly had no effect. ]

How long do you think I'll be unable to use my legs? If you had to guess. Venti healed everything up, so I guess it's a scar tissue thing.

That or a game effect - if 'tis scar tissue, then it would be anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months.

[ She looks as dismayed as can be ]

I'm going to be useless for months?

[ Some part of her, and not a small part, feels it's a just punishment. Venti and Lupine each lost an arm, Lumine is seeing nightmares, Persi is probably miserable too. ]

I doubt they'll let such an affliction last for the usual length it should. It would limit the kind of horrible deadly activities they could have you do.

[so there's... that.]

[ But what about the horrible deadly activities she does as a hobby?!? ]

...But if I can't fight, I'm no good to anyone.

You have more worth than your physical ability.

[Quiet, but firm. She is so much more to him than just a warrior.]

[ her emotions are a squealing churn of panic ]

I'll go mad if I can't move and burn energy. I'll get destructive. There has to be something that'll make it heal sooner. [ just rambling, her words gaining speed and pitch. ]

[ Not to mention all she'll be able to do in bed is lay there. Not even feeling anything. She takes it back, this is way more cruel a punishment than she gave it credit for. ]

Re: NSFW mention

happydreamed - 2022-12-14 22:11 (UTC) - Expand

sangreine - 2022-12-14 23:12 (UTC) - Expand

🚢 pew pew pew, you sunk my battleship.

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NSFW mention

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