imeeji_frontstage | Go Fish: Trauma Edition

Who: Naughty little fishes
Where: Game Tower
When: Day 527

[So there you are, minding your own business on a completely normal day.]

[Then you blink —

[— and find yourself, and many other idols, in an unfamiliar room.]

[The room is large and round and made of glass, like a globe. ...No, like a fish bowl.]

[On the other side of the glass walls, you can see indistinct shapes moving around, but the glass distorts the light so much that anything farther than arm’s length is just vague smears of colors and shadow blending with your own reflection. But something is there. Possibly a lot of somethings. ]

[Two formless shapes approach the glass, and as they do, their images resolve into the shapes of a pair of twins, one grinning while the other pointedly looks away from his brother. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the one who actually looks cheerful about being here is the first to speak up:]

Guess what~? You’ve been chosen to play in our very first game. Isn’t that exciting?

[He throws his arms out theatrically.]

Especially after soooo many boring games. The audience is looking for excitement and thrills here! Why not take the chance to really cement yourself as the fan favorite while you have the chance? Heck, it might even fix your little... “problem.”

[There’s a beat of silence, and he moves to elbow his brother who shoots him a “hey what the hell?” look before reluctantly facing the gathered idols.]

...Make sure you protect yourselves. Otherwise...

[He just lets the thought trail off before looking away again. His brother leans on him, resting an elbow on his shoulder as though waiting for him to continue before finally giving up and shaking his head with a sigh.]

You heard him! Give this game all you’ve got - got it?

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A carriage is good enough to make it into the portal, and I certainly have no plans to drag you all over Teyvat while you're asleep.

And how are you pulling this carriage?

Don't we have horses around? I seem to recall a horse live.

Edited 2023-01-29 19:31 (UTC)

[ HORRIFIED ]

You can't steal a horse for this. Also I'm pretty sure one of you has to store me in your dorm, which means it has to fit through doors.

...I don't want to inconvenience anyone by taking up a bunch of space and resources, either. If you insist, we'll make it a fancy case. I asked Causality to make something robotic, but I'm not sure if there's time.

Steal from who? The producers?

[you can always steal from production. it's always morally correct]

What about a wheelchair? Even Venti can push one of those.

The chrysalis needs something on all sides to grab onto. It'll fill whatever space it's in, so it has to be enclosed. The discussion between a case and a carriage is just a matter of size.

I've thought about this a lot.

Carriage then. For the feelings of those who love you, even if you don't see a difference.

-- I don't want to be more of a burden than I already am. [ She more or less blurts this out. ]

A heavy object you have to carry in a suitcase is a burden. A person in a carriage is a friend you are taking care of.

-I understand your feelings, but please try to understand that what you're proposing is worse for us.

[ A carriage, like some sleeping princess instead of a monster. She hates it. ]

[ But, she won't be the one dealing with it. ]

If you can figure something out that will fit through doors and in the elevator and that you can pull without taking any animals away from everyone else, I won't argue. [ No requisitioning horses. It's not fair to everyone still left here who might like to ride them. Animals might be too scared to pull it anyway, a slumbering threat is still a threat. ]

I'll come up with something that we can both accept, then.

[ She slumps against him. The thought of being in a carriage is sickening, like she's trying to be something she's not, though she understands that it's his way of caring about her even if it makes no practical sense. ]

I guess I have to tell Causality I don't need a case after all.

[Strokes her back gently.]

Would it bring you comfort to have around, just in case?

Wouldn't it be a waste of time and resources for him to make something you won't use?

If I truly cannot think of anything else, I will take you in the case and swallow my complaints.

[ the smallest smile ]

Fair enough. At least it'll be robotic somehow, so you wouldn't have to carry or pull anything.

I guess if you don't need it for me, it could hold stuff you want to take with you.

I'll put your plushie collection in it.

For that you really would need a carriage. I'll set aside the most important ones when it's time.

Ah, thank you very much. I'll make sure the rest go to a loving home.

[ It's difficult not to draw parallels to what she just witnessed. In her case, watching Doctor be tortured was over in a few minutes, and she knew she'd get him back in the end. Doctor is going to have to watch her deteriorate over weeks without really knowing when she'll wake, or what will happen when she does. It's enough to dampen her mood again. ]

Mm. It seems like the least I can do is pack for you, or at least make the choices easy.

'Tis simply sensible. We won't be returning for anything you forget, after all.

Right.

...Do you want to go to the hotel and lay down? I could use it.

That sounds like a good idea for both of us.

[He gently helps her to her feet.]

Bomb looked like hell too, so I asked him if he wanted to come and crash a while on the extra futon in that Chinese mountain room we like. I'm assuming he won't, but I tried.

-He had HSS clothes earlier, so - he had Heroes Never Die on?

[even with negative emotions turned on that's a big Yikes]

Re: Endgame

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