[i want him to just go for it but unfortunately higekiri would rather see what he's in for first. so he's SLAMMING that start button before glancing at the others]
Break a leg!
[does he think they're all going to perform, does he want them to break legs in their games, who can say]
[Higekiri will get a practice round of DDR to get used to the controls, the arrows on the screen moving at a decent but steady pace.
Kagachi will get an empty course to try driving on, and the occasional popup to tell him how to drive/brake/etc if he fails to do so. There are still environmental hazards like oil slicks and obstructions in the road-- it's a Mario Kart style game.
Wei Wuxian will also get a couple popups showing how to shoot, and can practice doing so with some slow moving zombies coming at him on the screen.
How are these rounds going, guys. Are they any good.]
[Admittedly Higekiri misses the first few arrows because he doesn't actually understand the panels - but then he'll look down. And then from there if it's a decent but steady pace then... Well, it's not like Hige is an amateur to dancing?
He probably gets 100% from that point forward, like a cheater.]
[tbh the only experience kagachi has resembling this is with zephyr and playing fake mario kart is very different from riding a wolf you're soulbonded with—but the fact of the matter is that kagachi's also a cheater who picks up skills very quickly, because that comes with the package when you regularly get possessed by daemons.
so yeah, he's decent at it? with a bit of practice.]
[THREE CHEATERS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE. It takes Wei Wuxian a couple of shots to get a feel for the timing and how to angle the gun controller, but he's a fuckin top-ranking archer so his precision is stupidly accurate. After the initial fumbling, he's doing quite well!
Though he's also frowning.]
I feel like someone out there is making fun of me, somehow. [Why must he be out here returning his own tenderly undead men back to the dirt... ALSO:] They don't even bleed like that?
[When Higekiri misses the first few arrows, he'll also be encouraged to look down thanks to a small jolt from the pad at each missed step. It doesn't hurt, but it's sure a thing. Hmm.
Kagachi will also find that hitting any obstacle makes the whole seat rumble. The physics on this are pretty good! 4DX racing or something.
And Wei Wuxian will notice that if any zombies slipped past him initially, it feels a little like someone bumped into him.
These are pretty brief, though, and soon enough they'll get:]
PRACTICE ROUND CONCLUDED. DIFFICULTY ADJUSTMENT OFF.
Higekiri will be met with arrows that move much faster, hard to keep an eye on-- and a song that changes rhythm and tempo unexpectedly, along with a much more complex arrow pattern. Hard mode, basically, but with even more shifts in speed. He's going to have to work to keep up.
In the real round of Kagachi's offbrand Mario Kart, there are now opponents on the track. He does not have the ability to pick up items or attack-- but they do. Try not to get hit by those or by their vehicles... oh, and the track hazards are still there. There are more of those.
Wei Wuxian's zombie shooter has a lot more zombies, which definitely move faster than they did before, and his gun has limited ammunition. He'll have to shoot well to preserve it, and those zombies are attacking from more angles rather than coming straight ahead at him. They're sturdier, and harder to take down so quickly.
[Well - the jolts were concerning, and at least put Higekiri on higher alert. his eyes narrow when he hears about the difficulty adjustment and he just smiles a little to himself - ]
... well, maybe no broken legs this time around.
[IT SEEMS LIKE THEY'RE FACING THE REAL DEAL - and he feels that when the arrows coming. he can react to the speed easily enough, focusing entirely on the screen as his feet do their best to match them - but it's when the first and second changes in rhythm and tempo come that he missteps, pressing an arrow too fast the first time and breaking his combo, and missing one of those double-feet jump holds the second time by jumping out of it too early.
not being able to fight back is the worst? what kind of bullshit is this.
he does his best to dodge what he can and focus on the race (this is oddly reminiscent of the times he was tired of fighting enemy mobs and just zoomed past them), but eventually, he gets hit by an opponent's attack—which in turn sends him skidding on an oil slick and crashing into an obstacle. damn it.]
[This zombie flood is UNCOMFORTABLY FAMILIAR!! But at least the familiarity has him at a slight advantage, since he's not exactly a stranger to fast, sturdy dead things rushing at him with killing intent. His accuracy also helps in that he can reserve bullets - which he fortunately notices are on a counter before he tears through them all like a fool...
Still, as they keep piling in from different angles, he ends up taking a headshot at one and then getting distracted by another in the opposite corner too quickly to notice a second zombie had been right behind the first, which makes it past his firing range to his left.]
[When Higekiri breaks his combos this time-- the jolts become zaps. The first feels a little draining in general and leads to a sort of whole body ache, but when he misses the second, it specifically zaps his right leg. The game might be a bit more difficult with that; it does not feel pleasant, and likely left a burn. He'll have to check on that later.
Kagachi will find that he can feel the impact of both being hit and that crash, even though the seat barely moves so that he can keep playing. Something jolts his left wrist hard on that impact, enough to fracture (if he can tell immediately, anyway) and he too will be feeling that full body soreness from the crash. Next time he strips, he'll notice bruising from that.
Wei Wuxian, with his uno zombie fuckup, will feel teeth and claws sink into his left shoulder and side-- nothing is there, but the wounds are definitely real.]
[It does indeed become more difficult after that - and he makes a brief, short noise of struggle when he feels it.]
Is there a demon in this machine?
[he's been having a running theory that all the tech is possessed by demons - but it just means that he's going to place a hand on the hilt of his sword just in case!! he's focused on making sure that his new injury doesn't bother him too much, and manages to start racking up another combo through sheer determination alone, like he would hate to be bested by a demon???
so he continues to play, but focusing so much on his right leg and not letting it slack off manages to make his left leg a bit more compromised. his PERFECT scores on left steps turn into just a few more GOOD before he catches himself - until he misses a Right arrow entirely]
[well, ow. there's a quiet noise of pain on kagachi's end as well. he'll be feeling that for a while.]
Are you both okay?
[ignoring the pain in his wrist which surely is fine and has no problems whatsoever, he moves on from the crash as quickly as possible and continues driving, but his reflexes for that hand are dulled now—all too frustrating. when an opponent swerves in front of him, he can't react fast enough to avoid slamming into them.]
[Despite being the loudest asshole on the planet, he grits his teeth and hardly makes a sound when he feels something sharp at his side and shoulder. Look, he shoved his own guts back into a stab wound once without batting an eye, he's... fine...
But the suddenness of the pain is enough to detract his attention from the screen so another fuckin zombie gets past to his right almost immediately. He's swinging his attention back a hot second later, though, firing off a neat round of bullets to keep the nearest ones from crossing that invisible line that's apparently the only thing standing between him and being ghost vored. All are dead-hit headshots but the first, which veers slightly to the left and just knocks part of the zombie's jaw off, rip.]
Never been better—! Demons in both of yours too? Hah--
[oh yeah i forgot to mention this earlier but after the tutorial ended and the Real Game began, he'd have dropped his cursed doll on the ground to free his hands and he's just stepping on it with one foot to keep it from escaping. i hate this]
[With Higekiri missing that arrow entirely, he's faced with another jolt-- this time he feels it in his right hand, since that's the side he missed. It's essentially the same effect: painful, with a little difficulty moving it, but it's not completely immobile.
After that, it's just a few more steps for the song to finish playing, and the screen displays:]
PASSED.
[Afterward, the machine shuts off as the screen abruptly turns to static, then displays the creepy eye gif. The sounds in this section of the arcade have ceased.
Kagachi's also nearing the finish line when that second crash occurs; since he's slamming into them from behind, he'll feel an impact as if an invisible airbag hit his body. That's going to leave his torso more bruised, and it feels like he's hit his head too--
But he luckily doesn't have the chance to hit anything else before his round wraps up around the same time as Higekiri's-- just slightly after. The same thing occurs: the screen informs him he has passed, before the machine shuts off, the sound in his area goes dead, and the screen comes back on to the same animated eye.
Wei Wuxian's second miss will get his right forearm bitten, and the zombie whose jaw he clips manages to get a second swipe off on his chest.... but this appears to be the last wave for him also. Yet again, the screen informs him he's done, the machine goes dead until the eye appears, and the sound is... mostly quiet. Except for the muffled 'skin. Skinnn.' beneath his foot, I guess.
The arcade is now quiet, the lights somewhat dim, but they have a moment to breathe.]
at the very least, his hand wasn't needed for the game - and he still reacts quickly enough that when the creepy eye gif shows up, higekiri will draw his sword and move to point it at the screen like he's ready to just fucking stab it]
Are you our foe?
[IS THIS THE DEMON POSSESSING THE TECH??]
Are the two of you alright? Did you complete your mission?
[great, hige and kagachi can match with mirrored injured hands—
climbing out of the seat and grabbing his scythe from where he left it, he blinks a few times. hope he didn't get a concussion or anything, but it's fine.]
Looks like it. [as wwx's fuckin doll keeps talking—] ... Wei Wuxian, just kill that thing.
[yay he didn't get ghost vored MISSION SUCCESS, he only got a bit gnawed on!! He eyes the... eye..... as it appears on his screen, but after a second or two he bends down to pick up his fuckin doll and move over in the direction of his matching fool wounded comrades.]
All good over here, too! [Are they really all good, though... He also looks Kagachi's way with a frown and gives the doll a shake!!]
I want to try seeing if I can figure out how our friends here have been rendered capable of movement. Some sort of hex? Another possession? [DEMON SCIENCE!! But his doll aside, he's moving in to look them both over.]
How are you two? No put-out eyes or missing fingers so that's good, haha.
[We're all good here! The blood is fine. The blood is just a feature of the room?
After they've all had a moment to breathe, though, the speakers of the machines they used crackle to life, static sounding first as a forewarning. Since you all did this simultaneously here's the wall of text that happens as each machine plays an audio clip in succession.
Higekiri's DDR machine plays the following:]
I laid with H͖̦̖̠͌̓-̦̘͙͉̹̞̠̉-̓̇ͥ̑̅͗̚҉̮̺̦̲̬̰̩-̢̲͎̘͑͛ͦ̐͠-͈̘̮̲ͨͪ͗̋̽͑̀̓ͨ̀͟͞-̠͈̯̳̯͆́̽ͪ͗́͜͞-̮̻̭̘̖̫̦̿͋̈ ̺̂̋ͯͨͤ͠t͎͓̃̐̍͗ͥ́͟h͕̹̲̃̈́̎ͅat night. Watched him toss and turn as he bemoaned the fate that had befel̢͐̒́ͤ̈l̞͍̥͈͡ͅ ̧͕̌͆̉̊̌̍ͅh̥̲̱̣͋̈̍ȋ̟̱̍̓ͫ͝s͉͜ ̩̮͚̬͉̣͍̍ͫ̓̍̋͡b͕̩̣̫̑̉́r̫͉̗̀o̯͙͙̭̮ͮt̤̺h̥͙͎̤ͣẽ͎̱̺̞̭̥͆ͦͦ̌̚ͅr for the nth time. In the morning, I asked him to accompany me. When he asked where, all I did was tell him to bring a weapon.
[After playing the message, the machine shuts off completely. Kagachi's racing game machine is next.]
We confronted C̨͕̥͖̔̏̍̎͒ͨͦ-͎̱̜̝̠̰͛ͫ-̝̀ͬ͆͗̐̉̈́-͙̜̹̼͖ͯ̅-̶ͩ̾͆̉̒̂-̢̙̝͍̘̮͆̋̐ͪ-̡̝̝͚̖̤ ͪ̐̆̾͆̈́͗in theͬ̅͂̊͐͟ ͈̘̮̞̂̈-̬̞͖̅ͅy͎̳̲͚̱m̧͈͙̟͖̬ͭ̒ͧ̚ͅ'̧̖ͮsͭ҉̼͈̱̭̮͚ ̘̹̰̀l͍̭̺͓͉̟ͤͣͥ̚ͅo̵̼̲̤̹ͩ̃̈͛̌̒̏-͌͆ͬ͝-͕̖͈̠̪-ͪͤ͢rͤͨ́ ͤr͍͊̎͆͊͂o͙͙ͦ̿̇̂̉om. Cornered him against the -̷͂-͕̮-͍̪̤̩̹̫͗̊͑ͦ̽-̛̓̐̌̐͋-̌̈́ͯ̏͗͏̫̯̟-͉͖̹̹̙ͮ̋ͬ̇̈̀̚͡-̵̘̩͍̩̜͉ͥ-̣͙̫̘̑ͥͮ̋͢ͅ-̤ͫ͆̀̓-̀͐̃̚-̼̱̪̩̟̔͊-̴̭̻͎͇̪͓̞̋ͩͩ̍̈-̧̉̿͐ͥ-̻ͦ̎̊ͯͩͪͣ-͆͏-̨̗̊͋ͫ̽̚-̜̼̥̤̊.́̌ͪ̚.
[That machine shuts off as well, and Wei Wuxian's zombie shooter continues:]
"You have a -̝̻͖̐̍̊͜-̣̰̫̯̫͋͒͂̔͘-̦̤͒ͮ́ͤ̇ͫ̀-̨ͪ͋ ̻̻͓͉͕̾̿ͫͯ-̭̪̬̮͍͔͗̋̄̒ͩ-̰ͪ͊g̸̞ͣͭ̓̄h͎̹͓̳̽̕ͅt͕̭̪̠̗̮̓̏̌ͅ? You're one of the 13."
[That machine also shuts down.
Once all three audio messages have played, the lights in this area of the arcade dim further. Deeper in, there is a flashing red light.]
[ . . . . it's always something about brothers, isn't it? higekiri blinks, because when you hear the same voice recite the same word enough times, it actually starts to stick. his brow furrows before he turns in the direction of the other two.]
Minor damage - nothing worth caring about.
[aka he can still fight and that's what matters. but he looks around before his eyes narrow at the red flashing light. he walks forward as a means to lead the way, pulling out his clamshell again to help illuminate just a little bit more]
... It's the same voice as all the messages thus far - but I wonder what the 13 means... In the first message when I entered a room with Junpei, there were only 12 remaining. But they keep mentioning these same people.
[hate hige's functional memory for missions and missions only]
[He listens as the messages roll out, gaze drifting from machine to machine as it pingpongs from one to the next. There's a careful, thoughtful look on his face, but he'll leave the braincelling to Kagachi here, following after him as they all collectively decide that it's a good idea to walk toward the red light for some reason.]
It's fine, it's fine. What is it - minor damage? I like that phrase!
[He's not missing fingers or chunks of flesh so hey, good enough!]
I'm wondering about that myself, though... Quite a puzzle of a diary we have here. [And then because he listens to no man and has no sense of dangerdar, he's moving to overtake Kagachi so he can walk alongside Higekiri at the front, squinting into the dim lighting.] See anything yet?
[The clamshell light definitely helps a bit! Good job writing things down also, Kagachi. Wei Wuxian you're a twink don't go to the front.
They'll be able to make their way through the aisles of inactive arcade games, following the source of that light until they finally enter a slightly more open space. They step onto something that feels like plastic, and there's a faint sound above them: whirr.... click-click-click-click--
As they all step into this area, the lights will come back on, and they'll be able to see the noise is coming from a circle hanging above them, spinning too rapidly to see what each wedge of it says. They're standing on a plastic mat covered in brightly colored dots.
A mechanical, text-to-speech style voice from the spinner says:]
THREE ROUNDS REMAINING. PLEASE TAKE YOUR PLACES.
[Three sets of footprints light up: a pair each on the west, north, and south sides of the mat.]
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fullthottle) wrote2019-10-22 09:40 pm
no subject
[i want him to just go for it but unfortunately higekiri would rather see what he's in for first. so he's SLAMMING that start button before glancing at the others]
Break a leg!
[does he think they're all going to perform, does he want them to break legs in their games, who can say]
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Considering Wei Wuxian's record so far, that's going to be literal...
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Hey! What's that supposed to mean? I haven't done anything!
[Amazing how he manages to sound so offended when he's still holding a cursed doll.]
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Anyway! They'll all get a new message:]
PRACTICE ROUND ENGAGED. DIFFICULTY LOWERED.
[Higekiri will get a practice round of DDR to get used to the controls, the arrows on the screen moving at a decent but steady pace.
Kagachi will get an empty course to try driving on, and the occasional popup to tell him how to drive/brake/etc if he fails to do so. There are still environmental hazards like oil slicks and obstructions in the road-- it's a Mario Kart style game.
Wei Wuxian will also get a couple popups showing how to shoot, and can practice doing so with some slow moving zombies coming at him on the screen.
How are these rounds going, guys. Are they any good.]
no subject
[Admittedly Higekiri misses the first few arrows because he doesn't actually understand the panels - but then he'll look down. And then from there if it's a decent but steady pace then... Well, it's not like Hige is an amateur to dancing?
He probably gets 100% from that point forward, like a cheater.]
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so yeah, he's decent at it? with a bit of practice.]
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Though he's also frowning.]
I feel like someone out there is making fun of me, somehow. [Why must he be out here returning his own tenderly undead men back to the dirt... ALSO:] They don't even bleed like that?
1/2
Kagachi will also find that hitting any obstacle makes the whole seat rumble. The physics on this are pretty good! 4DX racing or something.
And Wei Wuxian will notice that if any zombies slipped past him initially, it feels a little like someone bumped into him.
These are pretty brief, though, and soon enough they'll get:]
PRACTICE ROUND CONCLUDED. DIFFICULTY ADJUSTMENT OFF.
GAME START IN 5... 4...
no subject
[So here's what their games are actually like.
Higekiri will be met with arrows that move much faster, hard to keep an eye on-- and a song that changes rhythm and tempo unexpectedly, along with a much more complex arrow pattern. Hard mode, basically, but with even more shifts in speed. He's going to have to work to keep up.
In the real round of Kagachi's offbrand Mario Kart, there are now opponents on the track. He does not have the ability to pick up items or attack-- but they do. Try not to get hit by those or by their vehicles... oh, and the track hazards are still there. There are more of those.
Wei Wuxian's zombie shooter has a lot more zombies, which definitely move faster than they did before, and his gun has limited ammunition. He'll have to shoot well to preserve it, and those zombies are attacking from more angles rather than coming straight ahead at him. They're sturdier, and harder to take down so quickly.
It's just a game, though? Have fun!
Oh, but let me know how bad they fuck up now.]
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... well, maybe no broken legs this time around.
[IT SEEMS LIKE THEY'RE FACING THE REAL DEAL - and he feels that when the arrows coming. he can react to the speed easily enough, focusing entirely on the screen as his feet do their best to match them - but it's when the first and second changes in rhythm and tempo come that he missteps, pressing an arrow too fast the first time and breaking his combo, and missing one of those double-feet jump holds the second time by jumping out of it too early.
he frowns when his combo disappears again :( ]
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[yeah, this is
concerning.
not being able to fight back is the worst? what kind of bullshit is this.
he does his best to dodge what he can and focus on the race (this is oddly reminiscent of the times he was tired of fighting enemy mobs and just zoomed past them), but eventually, he gets hit by an opponent's attack—which in turn sends him skidding on an oil slick and crashing into an obstacle. damn it.]
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[This zombie flood is UNCOMFORTABLY FAMILIAR!! But at least the familiarity has him at a slight advantage, since he's not exactly a stranger to fast, sturdy dead things rushing at him with killing intent. His accuracy also helps in that he can reserve bullets - which he fortunately notices are on a counter before he tears through them all like a fool...
Still, as they keep piling in from different angles, he ends up taking a headshot at one and then getting distracted by another in the opposite corner too quickly to notice a second zombie had been right behind the first, which makes it past his firing range to his left.]
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Kagachi will find that he can feel the impact of both being hit and that crash, even though the seat barely moves so that he can keep playing. Something jolts his left wrist hard on that impact, enough to fracture (if he can tell immediately, anyway) and he too will be feeling that full body soreness from the crash. Next time he strips, he'll notice bruising from that.
Wei Wuxian, with his uno zombie fuckup, will feel teeth and claws sink into his left shoulder and side-- nothing is there, but the wounds are definitely real.]
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Is there a demon in this machine?
[he's been having a running theory that all the tech is possessed by demons - but it just means that he's going to place a hand on the hilt of his sword just in case!! he's focused on making sure that his new injury doesn't bother him too much, and manages to start racking up another combo through sheer determination alone, like he would hate to be bested by a demon???
so he continues to play, but focusing so much on his right leg and not letting it slack off manages to make his left leg a bit more compromised. his PERFECT scores on left steps turn into just a few more GOOD before he catches himself - until he misses a Right arrow entirely]
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Are you both okay?
[ignoring the pain in his wrist which surely is fine and has no problems whatsoever, he moves on from the crash as quickly as possible and continues driving, but his reflexes for that hand are dulled now—all too frustrating. when an opponent swerves in front of him, he can't react fast enough to avoid slamming into them.]
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But the suddenness of the pain is enough to detract his attention from the screen so another fuckin zombie gets past to his right almost immediately. He's swinging his attention back a hot second later, though, firing off a neat round of bullets to keep the nearest ones from crossing that invisible line that's apparently the only thing standing between him and being ghost vored. All are dead-hit headshots but the first, which veers slightly to the left and just knocks part of the zombie's jaw off, rip.]
Never been better—! Demons in both of yours too? Hah--
[oh yeah i forgot to mention this earlier but after the tutorial ended and the Real Game began, he'd have dropped his cursed doll on the ground to free his hands and he's just stepping on it with one foot to keep it from escaping. i hate this]
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After that, it's just a few more steps for the song to finish playing, and the screen displays:]
PASSED.
[Afterward, the machine shuts off as the screen abruptly turns to static, then displays the creepy eye gif. The sounds in this section of the arcade have ceased.
Kagachi's also nearing the finish line when that second crash occurs; since he's slamming into them from behind, he'll feel an impact as if an invisible airbag hit his body. That's going to leave his torso more bruised, and it feels like he's hit his head too--
But he luckily doesn't have the chance to hit anything else before his round wraps up around the same time as Higekiri's-- just slightly after. The same thing occurs: the screen informs him he has passed, before the machine shuts off, the sound in his area goes dead, and the screen comes back on to the same animated eye.
Wei Wuxian's second miss will get his right forearm bitten, and the zombie whose jaw he clips manages to get a second swipe off on his chest.... but this appears to be the last wave for him also. Yet again, the screen informs him he's done, the machine goes dead until the eye appears, and the sound is... mostly quiet. Except for the muffled 'skin. Skinnn.' beneath his foot, I guess.
The arcade is now quiet, the lights somewhat dim, but they have a moment to breathe.]
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at the very least, his hand wasn't needed for the game - and he still reacts quickly enough that when the creepy eye gif shows up, higekiri will draw his sword and move to point it at the screen like he's ready to just fucking stab it]
Are you our foe?
[IS THIS THE DEMON POSSESSING THE TECH??]
Are the two of you alright? Did you complete your mission?
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climbing out of the seat and grabbing his scythe from where he left it, he blinks a few times. hope he didn't get a concussion or anything, but it's fine.]
Looks like it. [as wwx's fuckin doll keeps talking—] ... Wei Wuxian, just kill that thing.
[GET RID OF THE DOLL]
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All good over here, too! [Are they really all good, though... He also looks Kagachi's way with a frown and gives the doll a shake!!]
I want to try seeing if I can figure out how our friends here have been rendered capable of movement. Some sort of hex? Another possession? [DEMON SCIENCE!! But his doll aside, he's moving in to look them both over.]
How are you two? No put-out eyes or missing fingers so that's good, haha.
[As blood drips down his forearm, god.]
no subject
After they've all had a moment to breathe, though, the speakers of the machines they used crackle to life, static sounding first as a forewarning. Since you all did this simultaneously here's the wall of text that happens as each machine plays an audio clip in succession.
Higekiri's DDR machine plays the following:]
I laid with H͖̦̖̠͌̓-̦̘͙͉̹̞̠̉-̓̇ͥ̑̅͗̚҉̮̺̦̲̬̰̩-̢̲͎̘͑͛ͦ̐͠-͈̘̮̲ͨͪ͗̋̽͑̀̓ͨ̀͟͞-̠͈̯̳̯͆́̽ͪ͗́͜͞-̮̻̭̘̖̫̦̿͋̈ ̺̂̋ͯͨͤ͠t͎͓̃̐̍͗ͥ́͟h͕̹̲̃̈́̎ͅat night. Watched him toss and turn as he bemoaned the fate that had befel̢͐̒́ͤ̈l̞͍̥͈͡ͅ ̧͕̌͆̉̊̌̍ͅh̥̲̱̣͋̈̍ȋ̟̱̍̓ͫ͝s͉͜ ̩̮͚̬͉̣͍̍ͫ̓̍̋͡b͕̩̣̫̑̉́r̫͉̗̀o̯͙͙̭̮ͮt̤̺h̥͙͎̤ͣẽ͎̱̺̞̭̥͆ͦͦ̌̚ͅr for the nth time. In the morning, I asked him to accompany me. When he asked where, all I did was tell him to bring a weapon.
[After playing the message, the machine shuts off completely. Kagachi's racing game machine is next.]
We confronted C̨͕̥͖̔̏̍̎͒ͨͦ-͎̱̜̝̠̰͛ͫ-̝̀ͬ͆͗̐̉̈́-͙̜̹̼͖ͯ̅-̶ͩ̾͆̉̒̂-̢̙̝͍̘̮͆̋̐ͪ-̡̝̝͚̖̤ ͪ̐̆̾͆̈́͗in theͬ̅͂̊͐͟ ͈̘̮̞̂̈-̬̞͖̅ͅy͎̳̲͚̱m̧͈͙̟͖̬ͭ̒ͧ̚ͅ'̧̖ͮsͭ҉̼͈̱̭̮͚ ̘̹̰̀l͍̭̺͓͉̟ͤͣͥ̚ͅo̵̼̲̤̹ͩ̃̈͛̌̒̏-͌͆ͬ͝-͕̖͈̠̪-ͪͤ͢rͤͨ́ ͤr͍͊̎͆͊͂o͙͙ͦ̿̇̂̉om. Cornered him against the -̷͂-͕̮-͍̪̤̩̹̫͗̊͑ͦ̽-̛̓̐̌̐͋-̌̈́ͯ̏͗͏̫̯̟-͉͖̹̹̙ͮ̋ͬ̇̈̀̚͡-̵̘̩͍̩̜͉ͥ-̣͙̫̘̑ͥͮ̋͢ͅ-̤ͫ͆̀̓-̀͐̃̚-̼̱̪̩̟̔͊-̴̭̻͎͇̪͓̞̋ͩͩ̍̈-̧̉̿͐ͥ-̻ͦ̎̊ͯͩͪͣ-͆͏-̨̗̊͋ͫ̽̚-̜̼̥̤̊.́̌ͪ̚.
[That machine shuts off as well, and Wei Wuxian's zombie shooter continues:]
"You have a -̝̻͖̐̍̊͜-̣̰̫̯̫͋͒͂̔͘-̦̤͒ͮ́ͤ̇ͫ̀-̨ͪ͋ ̻̻͓͉͕̾̿ͫͯ-̭̪̬̮͍͔͗̋̄̒ͩ-̰ͪ͊g̸̞ͣͭ̓̄h͎̹͓̳̽̕ͅt͕̭̪̠̗̮̓̏̌ͅ? You're one of the 13."
[That machine also shuts down.
Once all three audio messages have played, the lights in this area of the arcade dim further. Deeper in, there is a flashing red light.]
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Minor damage - nothing worth caring about.
[aka he can still fight and that's what matters. but he looks around before his eyes narrow at the red flashing light. he walks forward as a means to lead the way, pulling out his clamshell again to help illuminate just a little bit more]
... It's the same voice as all the messages thus far - but I wonder what the 13 means... In the first message when I entered a room with Junpei, there were only 12 remaining. But they keep mentioning these same people.
[hate hige's functional memory for missions and missions only]
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First, let's focus on getting out.
[he starts following higekiri, before glancing at wei wuxian.]
We need to deal with our injuries—Wei Wuxian's especially, I think.
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It's fine, it's fine. What is it - minor damage? I like that phrase!
[He's not missing fingers or chunks of flesh so hey, good enough!]
I'm wondering about that myself, though... Quite a puzzle of a diary we have here. [And then because he listens to no man and has no sense of dangerdar, he's moving to overtake Kagachi so he can walk alongside Higekiri at the front, squinting into the dim lighting.] See anything yet?
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They'll be able to make their way through the aisles of inactive arcade games, following the source of that light until they finally enter a slightly more open space. They step onto something that feels like plastic, and there's a faint sound above them: whirr.... click-click-click-click--
As they all step into this area, the lights will come back on, and they'll be able to see the noise is coming from a circle hanging above them, spinning too rapidly to see what each wedge of it says. They're standing on a plastic mat covered in brightly colored dots.
A mechanical, text-to-speech style voice from the spinner says:]
THREE ROUNDS REMAINING. PLEASE TAKE YOUR PLACES.
[Three sets of footprints light up: a pair each on the west, north, and south sides of the mat.]
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