Day 8

[kentucky_mcgiygas]

[ Ronald McDonald certainly seems excited today. ]

Hey, great job! The show was a big hit, and everybody did their best yesterday, or at least were entertaining about doing their worst! I'm lovin' it, so why don't you all go ahead and have a vote?

VOTE DISTRIBUTION:

Aku: 0
Ronove: 0
Sophie: 0

Everybody else: 1 each

…except those three!

However! For Aku, Ronove, and Sophie, you do have a second chance! An encore, if you will! I will offer a Hotel Pass to one of the three of you. A Hotel Pass can be played instead of a vote, and can be used on any player in the game, including yourself, to be sent directly to the hotel. It can be saved for later voting cycles, but can't be used after the votes have been calculated. No takes-backsies, kids!

Zero voters, check your tablets for more information!

((Vote here!
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Comments

[keybroad]

Wow... I'm sorry to hear that...

[THEM'S THE BREAKS...]

But none of this is your fault. Because, Mari, you were definitely a good person who cared about your friends in a past life. So I'm sure your friends should forgive you for whatever happens.

[glowshine]

Even if I don't go back, I want them to be proud of themselves.

We went through a lot, you know? We had to get our school back on its feet by working every day while I managed to keep the board from shutting it down when I became the chairwoman.

I would do anything for them.

[ Beat. ]

We wrote a song right before I left that I still remember clear as day. It's about if we ever have to be apart, we'll be together again. Just to... Smile through it.

[ and it has the dumbest name ]

I've been trying to.

[keybroad]

...

[Lotus listens quietly to all of this. It's the most depressing thing that she's heard that doesn't directly involve murder in a long time. That this girl would rather die than live with the certainty of never seeing her friends again... or kill all of her coparticipants, but Lotus will give her the benefit of the doubt.]

That's very inspiring, Mari. You and your friends have accomplished so much.

[She slowly forms a smile - with difficulty, but in the end not forced.]

I'll try to smile through it too.

[glowshine]

[ To be fair, Mari doesn't think about killing her coparticipants; if she did, she would have waaaaay worse going on upstairs than she's currently spilling. Count your blessings, Lotus.

Mari nods a little. ]

You should. It's hard to... But we all should. Even if people here have done bad things, we're all together. Give or take. For better or worse. Things might happen that we don't like or want to do... [ no don't get Sad again

She hums instead. ]

♪I won't worry about the small things. I just want to be smiling with whatever lies ahead. It might be hard, but let's make it as thrilling as can be...♪

[ Singing a line or so seems to cheer her up. She picks her head up and rocks side to side, singing a little more: ]

♪When I rode with no fear on the Party, Party Train~ I found new people by my side~ If our eyes stay shiii~iiiny and full of hope, we can see something waiting for us ahead~

Ah~ The Happy Train can go anywhere...♪

[ She giggles-- ]

It's not SO fitting here but that's what I liken all of my new friends to.

[keybroad]

Through the windows I saw ♪
Many colors that were bright ♪
The spectrum shone, red to blue ♪
In glass prisms of light ♪
It's the multiverse's... happiest... train.

[Lotus isn't even frowning so much as just uncomfortable as she tries to flatly force her barely smiling mouth around the melody and finally completely fails to imitate the meter of "the happy train can go anywhere".]

It makes perfect sense to think of the people you meet that way. If you focus on the bad things about them, you'll be way less happy... and all of us trusting each other as much as we can is important. "As thrilling as can be" is really good. [REALISTIC. KEEP THOSE EXPECTATIONS REALISTIC, MARI. AT THE VERY LEAST BE HAPPY WHILE THERE IS TIME SINCE THAT IS SOMETHING YOU'RE CAPABLE OF DOING??? Lotus may not be doing it herself, but her facial muscles aren't that weak, surely she can hold up for at least the smiling part a few more minutes.]

[glowshine]

[ Hm~~ ]

Thank you, Lotus... I feel much better now...

[keybroad]

Good!

[She gives Mari one last pat and pulls her up to look at her smiling face in the light.]

You look much better too. You are pretty darn good at this whole smiling thing, even if it's harder than you make it look.