video;

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji looks pensive as he appears on the feed. Maybe even a little worried, which is something for him.]

I died during that last part of the event. It was my fifth time dying...but nothing strange has happened. I feel the same as always.

[He pauses, uncertain where he's going with this, before asking:]

What does that mean?

Comments

[eatsyourscience]

Yeah. And it would be welcome, right about now.

[He sighs softly and shakes his head.]

Did you come through the event okay?

[entreats]

I also died. [ The words come out easily though - she doesn't sound very troubled about it. ] It was my first time here, but not in general, so I'm used to it.

[ If anything, this time was honestly less bad than the first time she died.. ]

All of that definitely was one of the most intense things I've seen here so far though.

[eatsyourscience]

Are you dead at home?

[That would make sense with the way she phrased that.]

It was pretty bad, as far as events go. I can think of a few that have been comparable, but this one was...yeah.

[entreats]

Hmm. Yeah. It's the last thing I remember before ending up here.

[ Even though that was already a long while ago now.. But when the thought of a long while comes across her mind, it does make her curious about something. ]

Have you been here for a long time? [ Since Souji is saying he's already died five times. He doesn't seem totally dumb, so surely he can't have racked all those deaths up in a short period of time. She doesn't voice that thought out loud though, instead just keeping it to that question. ]

[eatsyourscience]

Sorry.

[He knows saying he's sorry doesn't do her any good, but dying is terrible, and if you're dead at home, the likelihood is that Wonderland is your final stop. Unless there are witches around.]

In a couple of months, it will be eight years.

[entreats]

[ Eight years.. that sure makes the amount of deaths make a whole lot of sense. No way you could survive here for that long without a single one. ]

I'm pretty sure someone has told you this before, but that's kind of crazy. [ Not on his part as much as on Wonderland's part, really. It's more than a little obsessive to keep someone here for that long. ]

[eatsyourscience]

Crazy is one of the words people have used.

[There's a lot of doubt and confusion that goes into having been there that long. He wonders how much he's still him sometimes, and other times he really doubts he'll ever get to go back.]

People seem to be staying longer and longer. When I first got here, most people only stayed a year at most.

[entreats]

Maybe it's getting stronger.

[ There's a slight pause where that recording that Peridot had comes to mind.. ]

Or more desperate.

[eatsyourscience]

I think it's probably the latter. Or a mix. Wonderland's strength seems to fluctuate a lot.

[entreats]

Maybe that's why you didn't notice anything particular after you died either. It could be that this place is trying to make us like being here. [ Not that dying particularly helps with that cause, Ange is well aware of that. But not taking things away from people would at least be one improvement. ]

[eatsyourscience]

It's possible. But that would mean it's rewriting the rules as it goes.

[Which might prove dangerous for them in the long run.]

[entreats]

That's what it feels like it's been doing all along to me.

[ Granted, Ange is pretty biased against allmighty magical entities and expects as much by default. ]

I guess we just have to wait and see if more people turn up who have been unaffected despite having died many times.

[eatsyourscience]

You'd think there would be some, if a lot of people died this time. I don't know if anyone else has as many deaths as me, but there must be someone else with the same experience.