[he can hear those thoughts, so he grins a little more reassuringly. she's not wrong, is the thing? like yeah this field trip was weird and intense and completely unlike what should have happened at this school, but weird and dangerous things have happened for so long that this is just another thing to add to the list.
and anyway if you pretend it's cool, it'll eventually be cool.]
Have a seat. I'm just...regaining my bearings, I guess.
[ yeah, the freaking teacher's pet thing isn't helping things. but.... for now, she's just going to stay here and try to help as much as he can. maybe, when it wears off, she'll be able to do more, but... she's persistent ]
...we ended up in this place called Wonderland. We were there because we wanted something and it was kind of our only path anyway. But when we got there, it turned into a game.
When we got inside the building, there were all kinds of lights and this music and then we heard people address us. "You will be evaluated through a series of tests and games to determine how much you truly want your prize."
They said that we could only find the things we truly desire by losing the things that held us back. We couldn't go anywhere, so we didn't exactly have a choice but to play along.
We had to spin for it. Manwol had to give up her phone, Malik gave up a memory from his past, Rita contracted some bad luck, and I gave up part of my sight. After that, we had another game to play. Manwol was the one who had to make the decision, but we had to pick trust or forsake against another group that was playing. If we both picked trust, we would face a challenge the way it was supposed to go. If we both picked forsake, we'd both have to take on a really hard challenge. But if we picked forsake, we would've skipped the challenge while the other group got a nearly impossible one.
...so we talked about it and we picked trust. But the other time picked forsake.
Most of us agreed, yeah. Even knowing we were at a risk of the other team hitting forsake. So...we went into this, like, factory. They called it Fear Factory. We had to roll a pair of dice in order to customize the enemies we had to fight. All of the attributes were different, and after we rolled our monsters were built.
I don't know if it's the same thing. Fear Factory, remember? Claude...had murdered Sakyou and maybe Tsuyukusa. He had Sakyou's sword and part of Tsuyukusa's staff, and he could just disappear into the background whenever he wanted. Malik's dad was poisonous and could freeze you on sight if you met his eyes. That ghost could fly and we later found out could explode. And the other version of me was on fire and could teleport.
But we didn't have much of an option. You either fight, or you die.
week 6, thursday
Taichi.... hey.
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Hey. Did the others get settled back at your dorm?
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Yeah, more or less. I'll be going back pretty soon, so.... I wanted to take this opportunity to check on you.
(You seem less rattled than everyone, but.... you've already been through so much....)
[ and she knows what taichi is carrying on his shoulders ]
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and anyway if you pretend it's cool, it'll eventually be cool.]
Have a seat. I'm just...regaining my bearings, I guess.
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[ sits down with him, offering the painkillers ]
Can you tell me what happened?
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...how much have you heard already? Did Rita say?
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[ also that thread is still ongoing but ]
... I want to hear it from you.
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...we ended up in this place called Wonderland. We were there because we wanted something and it was kind of our only path anyway. But when we got there, it turned into a game.
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[ lil on the nose, maya. ]
[ but she's listening ]
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They said that we could only find the things we truly desire by losing the things that held us back. We couldn't go anywhere, so we didn't exactly have a choice but to play along.
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[ .... ]
What held you back?
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We had to spin for it. Manwol had to give up her phone, Malik gave up a memory from his past, Rita contracted some bad luck, and I gave up part of my sight. After that, we had another game to play. Manwol was the one who had to make the decision, but we had to pick trust or forsake against another group that was playing. If we both picked trust, we would face a challenge the way it was supposed to go. If we both picked forsake, we'd both have to take on a really hard challenge. But if we picked forsake, we would've skipped the challenge while the other group got a nearly impossible one.
...so we talked about it and we picked trust. But the other time picked forsake.
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[ she mad!!! on taichi behalf!! ]
.....
I think... I would have made the same call.
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[...he does not look thrilled by that.]
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[ maya is just quiet and listening for now ]
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Claude, Malik's...dad, maybe, a ghost, and myself.
[yeah. he will let her absorb that for a moment.]
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This place loves that. Making you fight your friends, and loved ones.
[ though fighting yourself is a new one, she thinks ]
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But we didn't have much of an option. You either fight, or you die.