balance_logs | Field Mission 5: Il Prigioniero, Part 1

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Field Mission 5: Il Prigioniero, Part 1

	There was a theme park in Caleb Cleveland, Kid Cop #7: The Carnival Caper. Sirs, I gotta say, I liked that one a whole lot better.
	NAVIGATION

Click here for the RNG thread!

1. IL PRIGIONIERO: WELCOME TO CORMANTHOR

A. A CRASH BETWEEN TWO FERNS

Lucretia has given the orders and locale for the next Grand Relic to be reclaimed and destroyed, a task that will present itself with many new and weird dangers that the Reclaimers haven't come across before. For anyone looking to brush up on their history of Myth Drannor, the Netheril, and the forest of Cormanthor, some of you have already learned a great deal of what occurred here, in bits and pieces. Leon, the Artificer of the Bureau of Balance, had described the tale of a very unfortunate city facing a major energy crisis that was bleeding out the land. You've already met the culprit behind one of the worst decisions humanity has ever made (Spoiler: it's Karsus, a god-tier shit wizard who sacrificed himself to get some of you out of dodge back in Lyrabar), and seen the destruction, first hand, of what happened to the Netheril via the events of Vista Virs. Phew, that's a lot of lore to take in all at once.

But as history would have it, there are always a few sides to every story, and the fall of the Netheril wasn't the only mass of land that had been affected deeply by its twisted magical decay. The forested region of Cormanthor, not far from the source of corruption, did as well. Cormanthor was once home to capital of High Elves. They had resided in a city deep within, warded carefully from the outside world, known as Myth Drannor. Today, it lay in shambles, lost forever and protected by the sickened forest that surrounds it. You see, over 200 years ago, a floating city of Netherese fashion had appeared over the vicinity of Vista Virs. A battle raged on between heroic paladins and the cult that had raised it into this plane of existence. The result of that war sent the planar magics that bound the raised city into turmoil. Its target? Myth Drannor. And what didn't destroy the city from impact damage left a far deeper, darker problem among the elves that lived there. A twisted sickness, a dark corruption, it seeped deeply into the hearts of all that dwelt there. Legend has it that the Tree of Life itself, Yggdrasil, is at the heart of Myth Drannor.

But that's all ancient history at this point. No one's been able to make it deep enough into the woods to find out what really happened. Most often, they find the city of Shadowdale instead, and with that... Wonderland.

Speaking of which, you'll be blasted down to the outskirts of the forest. The entire balance of magic in this area is highly off kilter, which isn't entirely new to some of you veteran Reclaimers. When a Grand Relic is used, it often leaves behind a very distinct path of destruction that makes even the most learned scholars scratch their head. Magical interference runs nigh high throughout all of Cormanthor, which makes this mission particularly dangerous. Bubbles are not able to penetrate the canopy of Cormanthor or land directly at Wonderland. As Lucretia had said a few months ago, these missions are going to get harder and come with higher consequences. She has faith in all of you to make better decisions. You're the most amazing and stalwart people she's ever met, after all.

Blasted down to Cormanthor in parties no more than 4, you land somewhere near the outskirts of the forest. Look behind you, and you can see the yellow-hued mountains of the Netheril behind you, boasting a land of pure desert and its own uniquely cursed roster of flora and fauna.

Pitter patter, Reclaimers.

Watching a coast as it slips by the ship is like thinking about an enigma. There it is before you, smiling, frowning, inviting, grand, mean, insipid, or savage, and always mute with an air of whispering, "Come and find out."

Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

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2. THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

B. EMPTY WOODS

The woods of Cormanthor were stunningly beautiful once. Before most people who walk among these trees were born, sure — but once upon a time, this was a beautiful place. A living, thriving forest, like any other great wood.

When the Reclaimers enter, however, the first thing they'll notice is the silence. Unnatural, ubiquitous, and oppressive, silence is the single unifying factor throughout these woods. The trees themselves shift, first sparse pines, then white ash and beech, and finally towering oaks, maples, and hickory. The silence doesn't change. There is no noise but the wind rustling the leaves on the trees — and as you get further in, even that begins to fall away.

It will become quickly apparent that there's no animal life here. This is a forest in stasis, certainly, but it's utterly devoid of birds flying overhead, four-legged creatures scurrying through the leaf debris. No deer, no wolves, no bears. No monsters. No insects, even, if you're paying attention. Those with the ability to speak with animals will notice very quickly that life simply doesn't seem to exist here. Those with the ability to speak to plants may be even more alarmed, because while the trees and other plants do respond, their replies are sluggish and distant, somewhat reminiscent of speaking to someone suffering with a severe fever, drifting in and out of consciousness.

Travel through Cormanthor's forest takes a few days' time, and so much time spent in silence begins to take a toll. Never mind the fact that no matter your Boy Scout badges, you can't forage for anything useful out here: nothing from the forest that is eaten provides any sustenance. Eat a bucket full of berries, and you'll still be as hungry as if you hadn't eaten a thing. The trees press in on all sides, and you know each one is different from the last, but after a while they all start to look the same.

Some will be more affected than others. Those with a madness effect (RNG'd or chosen from the list on this mission's dossier) will begin to feel it by the end of the second day. There are infinite options of how to play with this in the frozen forest, but here are a few possibilities:

○ If you have forgotten something important to you (1), it can happen quickly or slowly. Perhaps you're camping with your bubblemates, talking about someone from home. That Greg Grimaldis, was he really that bad? the Reclaimer to your right asks. Who, you ask, perplexed, brow furrowing, is Greg Grimaldis?

○ If reality is beginning to distort (2) for you, you might become abruptly certain that you're going the wrong way. Wonderland is back the way you came. Anyone trying to convince you otherwise is absolutely up to something — trying to make you look bad? Trying to hurt you? Who knows, but they're definitely up to something.

○ If you've lost valuable skills (3), they might drop out from under you at the worst possible moment. Even a forest in stasis has its hazards: pitfalls, roots that disguise holes and twist ankles, flimsy bridges that collapse and leave you hanging perilously over ravines, et cetera. Design peril to fit the skills you've lost. When you reach for your tried-and-tested knowledge, what do you know? It isn't there. You have to figure out another way out of this.

○ If you're feeling unlucky (4), guess what? The one person/thing in this whole realm that was keeping you safe isn't here right now. Everything around you is a portent of awful luck. Is that tree telling you to go die? It probably is! Paranoia creeps up on you from everywhere. Even your teammates. There's something about them that makes you certain everything's going to go to hell any minute now.

C. EMPTY CITY

Before you enter, you can see a town and only a town. Step across the border and you'll feel a barrier, something invisible and not quite permeable. After a pause, it seems to accept you, and your foot touches down in Shadowdale.

Then you look up. You can't help but look up. Stretching so high you've got to crane your neck to see to the top is a great gold tree sprung from the center of town. You couldn't see any of it from outside of Shadowdale's borders, but the town, it seems, wants you here. It wants you to see Wonderland. This could be paradise for a while, a place to stay safe from prying eyes and protected by the vastness of the forest as the Reclaimers track down this latest relic.

Except, not to put too fine a point on it, it's kind of creepy here. The whole place is empty — not everyone-got-up-and-left-in-a-rush empty, but ghost-town empty. Nobody wants to stay here, it seems. Maybe there's somewhere else they'd rather be. Regardless, it leaves you with plenty of lodgings to choose from. If you don't mind making your own fun, there's plenty to do, too: bookshops to visit, bakeries to use, butcher shops to — okay, maybe not that one. There's a courthouse, though. Who wants to play Judge Judy? Consider any shop or government building one might find in a small town to be fair game.

After a few hours, though, it becomes clear that this place isn't quite empty after all. You aren't the only ones investigating.

D. A FAMILIAR FACE (OR TWO)

○ The first face you see is a friendly one. Upon seeing the bracer on your wrist, Matthew Hollyweather walks right up to you, all the more readily if he remembers your face from New New Aspen. Despite the setting, he's clearly and genuinely pleased to see Reclaimers here. To those he's met before, he's eager to share all the positive change going on in New New Aspen: the newfound peace, the booming economy, pictures of one bajillion bouncing new spider-nieces-and-nephews. To those new to him, he introduces himself as Mayor Hollyweather of New New Aspen with just enough good-natured self-derision in his tone that he comes off as authoritative but kind of embarrassed about it.

It becomes obvious pretty quickly that he's been here a while — a few weeks, perhaps, more than long enough to get kind of lonely. Matthew's only company so far has been that kid, who's nice enough, but only showed up a couple days ago. And why is Matthew here? Well, that's where he stops being quite so much of an open book. He's looking for something, that's what he tells you. Something he's missing . . . and that's all. If you want to know more, you're going to roll for it. Everyone can get information from Matthew, but if you were present for the New Aspen mission, you'll get +2 on any DC on top of your existing class or skill bonuses.

○ The kid Matthew is talking about makes himself known soon enough. Perhaps you catch him perusing the bookstore in his fancy-boy suit and spiffy fancy cap, nose deep in a tome his thin arms tremble to hold, clearly paying no attention to you. Or maybe he's chowing down on some truly unusual-looking fried concoction (where did he get that?) in the town square by the fountain, clearly paying no attention to you. Wherever you first see him, he is clearly paying no attention to you.

Once addressed, he will brightly greet you and introduce himself as "Angus McDonald! I'm a little boy, I'm ten years old! Who are you? How did you get here? It's a really nice day, isn't it? It's nice to meet you!" Angus says a lot, actually. But other than giving off a strong vibe of needing to be noogied, nurtured, or both, he doesn't actually tell you much. Asking him anything is a good way to get the question turned right back on you. But then, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? If you can stand listening to him extoll the virtues of Caleb Cleveland, Kid Cop for a few minutes, you might level up enough to actually learn something.

Of course, you can't stay in Shadowdale forever. Literally: you can't. Every Reclaimer's feet are inexorably pulled to the entrance to Wonderland after not very long at all. The golden tree at the center of town is impossible to ignore. Step into the elevator at its base, and you might very well find yourself elbow-to-elbow with Matthew or Angus, staring as the numbers tick up . . . up . . .

Carrying you to Wonderland.

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3. WELCOME TO WONDERLAND

E. A BEARY GOOD TIME

You arrive in Terminal Square, where you can sign up for a membership with Roland and find out more about this larger-than-life amusement park. The entire theme park city seems to run on a currency known as Wunderbux- directly inscribed via magic into a stone you're handed after filling out a small precursory screening by the giant anthropomorphic bear. Gifted with some starting credits and maybe a really gaudy Roland-eared hat, depending on how much of a good Wonderperson you've been so far, he explains that certain actions in the park will add credits or remove them. He advises against owing Wonderbux to Wonderland, if you can help it. "Wouldn't it be unbearable not to be able to ride the rides!?"

Yeah. You know what this guy is all about.

Chutes and ladders will take you all over the various places of the park, all branching out from Terminal Square. The entirety of the complex is, at scale, ridiculously large. All throughout Wonderland, you'll be treated like a king if you let yourself be pampered. The sheer amount of gilded perfection that went into crafting this place is at a scale even larger than the Moon Base. Gorgeous fountains spouting golden water are not infrequent, stands selling food of every type imaginable pepper anywhere there's space, and often as you pass by, you can hear people having the time of their lives here.

F. PLAY WITH ME IN THE SPACE!

There's so much to do in Wonderland. So much. Honestly, you wouldn't be the first to say it's overwhelming. That's part of the fun! Wonderland sweeps you away with all of the fun it brings. We could fill pages with the wonders in Wonderland, but why don't we stick with a few highlights and let you fill in the rest?

○ Wonder Square: When you first enter the confines of Wonder Square, you'll notice it looks and feels sort of like a casino... minus the strong and pungent smells that usually accompany those types of areas, typically. The wide birth of the room overlooks a beautiful vantage point of the top of Cormanthor's forest; pale greens look out into a sea of leaves for miles on end, as if the rest of the world doesn't exist outside of Wonderland itself. And why would you think it does, when you're here?

Tables are set up for games, games, and- you guessed it- more games. Arm wrestle against a machine to test your strength. Shoot hoops into a basketball for 60 seconds. Engage in a few games of chance: Queen's Call is particularly abundant in this area. You'll notice this is where Maria can most likely be found, surveying the area like a snake mother, carefully winding herself around the pit and ensuring that no one is up to anything less than pure, unadulterated fun around these parts.

You can do you best to scam a few extra Wonderbux here, either through legitimate play at any number of the machines present, or otherwise through less than scrupulous means. Don't get caught, though... it never ends up quite well.

Dodging in and out of the crowds of Wonder Square, often charging forward and giving his best at a VR simulation of as snowboarding game, you might find Niel here as well. He's awfully energetic, a typical cornerstone of youth in the midst of a truly killer arcade.

One thing you might notice, or might... not notice? Every now and then you might look at someone one moment, enjoying themselves thoroughly or getting a little deep into the game they play. You blink, and suddenly they're gone. And so is the recollection of events that've happened the entire last hour of your life. Something tells you not to question it, deep down. If you could only remember what they looked like... or the fact that they were even here to begin with.

Oh well, there are games to be had. Might want to head on over somewhere else. We hear Event Square has a ton of live entertainment for you to check out. Some people are even saying that there's a cactus like creature performing Jazz tonight! Now that's something you've never seen before!

○ Round Square: How did you end up in this luxurious tram? It's truly fantastic. Wheeling around the entirety of Wonderland as night falls, you're swept away with the romance of it all. Look at those stars! Look at that moon! You gaze fondly at the person sharing this ride with you, and—

Wait, who's that? How did they get in here? For that matter, how did you get in here? You don't remember getting on this ride. But here you are, with a fellow Reclaimer and, if you're particularly (un)lucky, a native elf, too. In the latter case, it might be a good time to ask them some questions. In the former case . . . snuggle? We're not your boss or mom.

○ Speed Square: Upon entering the speed square for the first time, another Roland will ask if you got your Roland Racing Registration! Then you'll have a stamp card shoved in your hands. Going on each roller coaster gives you one stamp on your card, which you can then hand in to a friendly Roland for a beary special reward.

○ Ghost Square: While the Ghost Square has many options to take some years off your life — from haunted houses to fortune tellers to wandering workers done up in bedsheets — the main attraction here is the Hall of Mirrors. It boasts of the "longest mirror maze in Faerun!*". Inside, all the mirrors are kept polished to perfection via magic, varying between normal reflections and wavy funhouse style, but some of the mirrors might reflect something... weird. Either a friend from your home world, or a version of you from your past, or even a reflection of the person's soul. It's a fun ghost story everyone shares.

*: The poster has the tiniest print of 'that we know of'. Whoever runs Wonderland has a good lawyer.

○ Reeducation Ride™: Not everyone's the funloving sort we want here in Wonderland, but there are ways to deal with that. For anyone who cheats, is rude to carnival workers, or is a persistent curmudgeon, party pooper, or fun sponge, it's time for the Reeducation Ride™. On this disciplinary ride, you are strapped into a cart that wheels in a wide circle for three hours, during which you are hugged and complimented by a slew of Roland Replicas™. Begone, sour face! Elevate, low self-esteem! Be snuggled! Be huggled! Be happy.

Everyone gets in on the fun here in Wonderland. No matter how reticent one might normally be to do so, something about this place just puts pep in everyone's step. Nine times out of ten you might be the kind of person who finds rides, games, and having fun to be childish or beneath you, but guess what? Here in Wonderland, you're at least a little into it.

So are the few non-natives you see. Angus is here, trying to figure out the rules of all these arcade games. Matthew is here, getting lost in Ghost Square and wandering the food court. A couple of other faces, too. Anything in the dossier is fair game for your use.

But keep in mind, Reclaimers: those madness effects? They're still very much in effect. You're still in Cormanthor forest, after all. The longer you stay, the more you play, the worse it gets. Little by little, hour by hour, day by day.

Have fun, kids. Be yourselves. Don't do anything Lucretia wouldn't do.

4. OOC

In order to keep to our goal of providing the most personalized Wonderland experience for all of you, we're setting a limit of 3 RNG attempts per character this log. Additionally, please be aware that while more mundane rolls will have standard-level DCs (for this log, anyway), any RNG with the potential to uncover plot information is high-risk high-reward and will have a very high DC along with steep penalties for failure. As always, we will let you know of this before we roll, and you have the option to decline any roll at any time.

Other than that, this is your story to write and your setting to play with! Anything on the OOC post is fair game, and if there's something you'd like to try, please don't hesitate to let us know on the RNG thread.

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blurb code by photosynthesis

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Wonderland

A. Games

[Of course the games are going to attract Kokichi's attention. He's just a big kid after all. He's also very, very good at them. He can be seen going from game to game, playing each one to earn Wonderbux or win prizes. Between each game though, he pauses to roll up his sleeve and write something on his arm, and then off he goes to the next. Weird.

He doesn't just play the single players though. He'll join anyone who's on a two player game that doesn't have a partner, or he'll wave down people nearby to invite them to play with him.]

Come onnnnn, I'll go easy on you! Oh, but that could be a lie, nishishi!

B. Pranks

[Whenever you're relaxing in the park, you may feel a very light tap on your shoulder. Should you turn around, nobody will be there. But there will be...another tap on your shoulder. Turn around again and there's still nobody there...this can go on for a long time if you're willing to put up with it, before you may catch the sound of snickering from behind something nearby. A garbage can, a bench, a Roland...Kokichi's small, he can hide behind a lot of things.

Or maybe you just felt something touch the top of your head? If you reach or look up, you'll knock whatever it is off, and the item can be a variety of things. Harmless stuffed toys won at the games or other smaller prizes, various foods (that have cooled down if they were fried at any point), things like that. They're never anything that could hurt someone or make too much of a mess. Though you may be subject to a glass of water spilling all over you. Again, the source could possibly be tracked back to Kokichi, if you hear his nearby laughing.

You could also possibly catch this happening to elves as well, a very spooky looking purple hand - Mage Hand for those familiar - picking on anyone with in range.]

C. Investigating

[There are times where Kokichi isn't going a million miles a minute with all of the fun too, seemingly just taking leisurely strolls around the park enjoying a snack or a drink. But he's absolutely following people during these times. Just nonchalantly, happen to be going that direction style following. He's trying to pick up what people are talking about, trying to keep track of things...with only moderate success. But now's a good chance to approach him if you aren't looking to be forced into a long round of games.]

D. Mirrors - V3 spoilers

[A spooky mirror maze absolutely needs a little gremlin sneaking around, trying to spook unsuspecting people as they try to enjoy(?) it themselves. He'll keep himself just out of sight of the mirrors his target is looking in, waiting until they seem sufficiently distracted before creeping up and shouting a loud, "HEY!"

Right behind them. Meaning, possibly, right behind you. Or maybe you're catching him in the act.

However, you could also catch him as he stares at a mirror himself with a look of confusion and vague discomfort as he stares at a reflection of what appears to be himself. He doesn't look any younger but he does appear...far more dead inside, an empty expression on the reflection's face, and fairly beaten up.]

Weird...

Wildcard

[Anything else is free game too, save for the casino since he's underage. He loves rides and will absolutely go on the roller coasters, he loves junk food and will eat nearly anything you could find in a carnival, and as suspicious of everything as he is he's also easily caught up in the fun of the park. Prompts A-C can also involve Niel, Kokichi running around with him a lot of the time, too. Feel free to comment here or hit me up at

knittybitty for specific plotting!]

[The silence was getting to be a bit too much for him, and he was glad to see that at least Kaede was feeling that too. It didn't make him look too weak for being so affected by it.

But it also doesn't stop him from being loud and annoying to try to fill the empty silence. It started with just harmless chatting as they walked, but by the time they set up camp he's pulled out some cheap toy he probably bought at Fantasy Costco and is enjoying the clapping sound it makes.]

Hey, hey, can the rations they give us be cooked on a fire? Or are they just cold rations we have to eat as is? Does Fantasy Costco have food? I want to get stuff to make over a fire next time. We could get a pot and bring some rice. I packed some of the magic cookies though, I'll share if you guys want! They're still warm, obviously.

[Setting his toy down, he moves to unpack those cookies. Because now they sound delicious and he did just offer to share.]

Have you guys ever gone camping before? Well obviously Akamatsu-chan probably has by now, so I guess she doesn't have to answer. No wait, do we have to catch food to eat if we eat all our rations out here? And all of the cookies?

[Shuichi, on the other hand, doesn't mind the silence. He's the kind of guy who can appreciate that sort of thing. Though he's not surprised at all to see that the same can not be said for Kokichi. He is...clearly having trouble with the never-ending silence, judging by the clapper toy and incessant babbling.]

[Poor guy.]

Um...no, I've never been camping before. [Does he LOOK like the outdoorsy sort to you? He glances over at Kaede as he pulls his sleeping bag out of his BIAS pack, curious to see if there's any indication that she's similarly bothered by the silence. He kind of gets the feeling she might be...maybe not to the degree that Kokichi is but she's a pretty talkative person herself. Not to mention, a pianist.] Ah, but...I don't think we'll be able to catch anything if we do run out of rations. I haven't seen or heard signs of any animals since we entered the forest... Though I...guess we could go foraging for berries or mushrooms, if it comes to that?

[Sure, a lot of the plant life they've passed so far seems to be dying but this is a huge forest. Surely there are SOME plants that are okay somewhere in it?]

[The silence had been bad, but that clapping sound is even worse. Kaede truly wishes she'd asked Minato if she could borrow his mp3 player for this mission; she knows he never takes it with him on missions so it doesn't get broken, but that's not the point! She doesn't trust her skill with violin enough to be able to play it and walk at the same time, and even her Cloak of Accompaniment is no help, since it seems to think that the appropriate mood music is "spooky pipe organ." This is the worst.]

Just don't eat all your rations at once! [she jumps into conversation immediately to fight the silence, making more noise than necessary as she shakes out her bedroll and starts setting up her things.] Madame Director would have told us to bring more food if she thought we'd need it.

[Kaede? Foraging? Absolutely not, she has friends to do that kind of thing for her.]

Okay but what if she underestimated it! What if I need more food than the average human? I mean, I am an alien from space, my body consumes way more nutrition than you carbon based life forms do.

[He pauses to bite into a cookie, talking around it out of the side of his mouth.]

Tha'sh a lie! Really I'm a demigod learning how to live in a meat shack like you guysh. Oh but tha'sh a lie too!

[Here, do you guys want cookies? He's offering one out for each of you!]

We could go foraging. My body ish immune to every kind of poishonish berry and mushroom, sho I can eat whatever you guysh can't.

[Shuichi holds up a hand and shakes his head. No cookies for him, thanks.]

You know...it's hard to consider that lie for even a moment when your idea of "nutrition" is mostly junk food... And you shouldn't talk while you're chewing.

[That's gross, Kokichi.]

But if it does come to foraging, we won't have to worry about eating something poisonous...I can tell the difference almost immediately now. [Thanks, Herbalism skill!]

You're really short, too...

[There's no way he needs more nutrition than anyone else... he's just so small.

But yes, she'll take a cookie, assuming her comment hasn't made him rescind his cookie offer. Either way, she brightens up at what Shuichi says.]

Really? That's really cool! I took a few classes on plants, but it was pretty hard to tell what was what... I bet you have a really good eye, huh?

[Did that poisonous plant have three leaves or four in clusters... there was just so much to memorize!]

[ Usually Minako would be all over this. She loves games! She went to the arcade all the time back home! But she's had such an incredibly weird jittery feeling about her ever since they were in that forest, and it makes her feel incredibly wary of playing these games, no matter how much fun they look.

Which is why she's just.. kind of wandering around aimlessly at the games area. Half looking like she wants to play, half looking like she doesn't.

She turns her head when she hears someone call out, and at the very least he seems familiar, so she knows he's a fellow Reclaimer. .. Oh, right, that guy from that time with the dinosaur, isn't it?

Minako walks up to him and the game, but rather than immediately accepting the invitation, she instead frowns. ]

Are you really sure you should be playing these things? [ Let alone "we"! ]

Yep! [The cheer in his voice and overall demeanor doesn't fade even a little. He just fishes out his gem, rolling it between the fingers of one hand.]

I have it on good authority that Wonderbux are something we should be investigating. There's no way to do that unless we actually use the stuff, right? Pluuuuus it's pretty hard to ignore the pull of Wonderland, isn't it? Why not kill two birds with one gem?

More like it's really hard to ignore how suspicious everything here is! [ It's not as if she realises that her own suspicions and paranoia are being driven up - to her it just seems as if everyone should be feeling this way, and that he's the odd one out for being so nonchalant about this. ]

What if this is the one game that's going to make something really weird happen to you? Or to me?

Oh for sure, everything is crazy suspicious here! Like. Have you seen the Rolands? Never, ever just an animatronic bear. You're just asking to be forced to kill your friends with that.

[Trust him. He knows.]

But don't worry, I've played this one thirteen times. It's totally safe!

[ For better or worse, Minako is just assuming that he's using some sort of hyperbole there. Little does she know that is an actual situation he's been in... ]

...

[ She still looks suspicious of the machine though. But.. she really wanted to play, even if it's just once..

She's so weak. ]

Fine.. what's this game like then?

[Let's be really, it's probably better that she think that. It's an awful thing to know that it's true.]

Skeeball! Have you ever played it before? This one is set up for multiple people to compete with one another for the most WonderBux!

[He gestures to the two machines behind him.]

Edited 2019-09-20 17:16 (UTC)

[ she notices what he's doing, and it's pretty interesting. she makes a note of it to ask later, but..... one good gremlin deserves another. ]

[ her eyes sparkle. ]

You'd go full out against this adorable face? [ she's a little shit. ] Well, let's see what you're made of!

[He's immediately excited that someone's taking him up on his challenge. Hello fellow gremlin.]

Hey, with a face as cute as mine, I already know that you can't cut people any slack just because they're adorable!

[He grins and offers her one of the water guns used for the game. It's those racing games, where you squirt a target with water to try and get your racer across the finish line first. Look at those happy little...uh. Roland horses.

He's picked the white one out of the four color choices.]

Winner gets to keep the prize!

[As if that's?? Not how it usually goes???]

[ fellow gremlin... and possible cuteness rival. hmmm. ]

Unless you're a really super adorable girl.... like yours truly.

[ but she's into it. it's wonderland, plus her normal playful instincts. maya's gone for black, because there's no purple. ]

You're on!

[ that is exactly how it normally works, but maya just agrees as if this is a special caveat or something. ]

Super adorable girls are the most dangerous.

[It's pretty sad that there's no purple, right?? But once they're settled in, he gives the carnival operate the okay and on the count of three, the game starts!

Kokichi hits the target most of the time, but just enough to keep up with Maya. Once or twice he starts overtaking her-!!! Only to fall back behind, neck and neck!]

That's completely true!

[ maybe it's for the best, since they're both purple..... they might have fought over it. ]

[ maya is pretty into this, but her aim's not always great. she makes up for it with enthusiasm!!! but it's a tough race.... which gremlin will prevail? find out next time on taggin ball z!! ]

[They would have probably fought over it.

But now, for the thrilling conclusion of the battle between Maya Buu and Tagouma!!

Which is actually pretty exciting, since it's neck and neck up to the finish, and the winner is---

Maya, by a nose! Did she win with skill? Did he let her win? Who knows! But apparently Kokichi bet enough Wonderbux on this game for one of the big prizes, so enjoy that big stuffed Roland horse, girl. You earned(?) it!]

Aw man!! How are you so good? I trained my whole life to play this specific carnival game! How could the Supreme Leader of Evil lose?!

Kokichi Oma | will match styles!

Closed to forest party

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wildcard tram ride

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