crau3 pc: alex

[squirt]

Comments

intro ; saturday

[squirt]

[ assigns everybody awake at butts o'clock. in the relaxation area, there is an ocean sim illuminating the gallery...

it's kind of tacky. he's still watching it. ]

You're blocking the seahorses.

[ there are some seahorses being projected on you. ]

[bxkautx]

[ she sidesteps the seahorses. then just looks at the projections for a long moment. ]

... It's kind of tacky.

[squirt]

[ he nods from where he's flopped. ]

It's not bad though.

[bxkautx]

Sure it's like... The aquarium. But worse.

[squirt]

But worse.

[ he agrees. ]

Do you think this competition is better or worse than before?

[bxkautx]

That's... a good question.

We're not starting off dead. That could be seen as an advantage. And we know a lot about the—structure of it. But it's frustrating to have finished trials and tribulations overturned.

[squirt]

...Why did so many of us start out dead?

[ this running theme ]

It could be worse that everyone knows a little about how it works already.

[ on top of how frustrating it is to do it all over again. ]

[bxkautx]

[ shrugs. ] People die all the time.

... But, nah. Knowing makes everything easier. No surprises. No reason to get distressed about uncertainties.

[squirt]

[ people do die all the time...

she's not wrong, but, ]

I don't feel that prepared, I guess.

[ even last game always managed to surprise him. ]

[bxkautx]

Why not?

[ an insane question. ]

[squirt]

...Everything changed week by week last time. Expectations were dangerous.

[ he was on his toes from week 1 to endgame ]

Even if the format is the same, people aren't that predictable.

[bxkautx]

Sure they are. People just do the same things over and over and over. Small fluctuations and details don't actually change that much.

[squirt]

You must've been disappointed a lot to think that.

[bxkautx]

Eh.

So... what sort of things changed from week to week?

[squirt]

[ don't eh him missy ]

...Mostly the stakes. One week it'd just be killing to win, the next we'd hear our world would end if our team lost.

That kind of thing.

[bxkautx]

[ she can and she will!! ]

At least this time we know that things are kind of at a maximum threat level from day... well, not day one. Day two.

[squirt]

[ he thinks about this ]

Do you think it could get any worse than everyone going back to being dead and our entire worlds ending?

[bxkautx]

It can always get objectively worse. But subjectively, we might be tapped out.

[squirt]

...Hopefully.

[ he'll just opt to go with that for now, looking back up at the tacky lightshow. ]

You don't seem that worried.

[bxkautx]

It's gonna go how it always goes.

w0 monday

[squirt]

[ he's looking over the security room cameras for something ]

Not much for entertainment here.

[bxkautx]

[ coming over to look too? ]

Maybe a lounge, next week. With regular TVs...

[squirt]

South said there's a pool here.

[ he is looking for it. IT IS OBVIOUSLY NOT ON THE SECURITY SCREENS. ]

[squirt]

[ alex your time loops ]

I don't want any surprises. But maybe you do?

[ is that better than knowing how it's going to go from the beginning? ]

[bxkautx]

Did you want to stare at it longingly...? Even if you find it on there, you can't get to it.