Perhaps had you been focusing on the conversation at hand instead of your secret little conspiracy with Ariane, you could have seen this one coming. And had you seen it coming, you might have been able to prepare an actual answer. That would have been very nice, and could have saved you from your horrible fate.
But as it is, under the expectant stares of your friends, you fold without any resistance. "S-sure…" you stutter out the words leaving you before they have even truly registered in your mouth. It's very different to what you're actually feeling about the suggestion, and you have to fight down the urge to scream, "Noooooo!" at the top of your lungs.
There also emerges a certain sinking feeling in your stomach that keeps growing with every passing second from you letting out the word. Your impending doom grows nearer, and you could have prevented this!
"Huh, that's great!" Evelyn declares, a surprised tint in her voice. "Pretty bold, though, considering how it went the last time. Are you looking to get even with it."
You nod silently to the question and offer a weak smile, but the gesture is without any meaning or substance. You're just going along for the ride now, unable to stop this from happening. The best you can do is fear and pray that nothing too bad happens. It's a vain hope you have, but it's the only thing you can latch onto.
And so you present a strongish front to your friends, seemingly accepting the suggestion with only minor anxiety.
But inside, you keep screaming while the break comes and goes, and the chatter dies down as everyone starts moving towards the next game.
You arrive in front of the all too familiar shooting simulator. You can feel your heart start drumming louder and louder at the mere sight of the unholy abomination. But you keep it down, you signed up for this already...
The lots are drawn, and once more you find yourself going through this with Kishi and Evelynn by your side. Both of them appear to be looking forward to the experience. How anyone can enjoy those evil, cheap jump scares is beyond you, as you try to steel yourself for what's coming.
'You can do it... You can do it, Tamiko; you already know what's coming,' you repeat the mantra to yourself in your mind. You've tried this before, you just need to keep your guard up.
The game begins, and you're immediately forced to fight down a shiver running across your spine from the howls and screams of the undead monsters. But this time you manage to endure the first phase of the map. You don't scream a single time, despite constantly being on the edge of breaking down into hysterics from the constant surprise appearances of enemies.
Although, you do yelp in panic every now and then, but those tend to be accompanied by a rapid hail of gunfire towards the source.
You almost collapse from relief when you make it to the manor and the doors close behind you to seal you off from the horde of enemies. A smile breaks on your face as you watch the empty area before you.
You did it… You made it. A-ha, you knew you could do it! You've finally beaten-
"Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh!" a pair of screams echo across the hall, the first one from the machine, the second one from you. Before you have even realized what's happening, you have already leaped over the railing face and frantically crawled away. And so you find yourself huddled against the wall, shivering from head to toe and bobbing your head wildly in horror.
"No, no, no! I can't do this, I caaan't…" you moan pitifully, staring at the abandoned, gun-shaped controller on the floor of the shooting stage. On the screen is a screaming face of a blood-red spectre that glided in through the floor when you weren't looking.
"Uhh, T-Tamiko are you alright?" you can hear Kishi ask from the stage over the few giggles you can hear right next to you. Mariko is also crouching next to you, looking mildly concerned.
What do you do?
[] Cry in terror.
-[] Complain about all this.
[] Hugs!
-[] Pull Mariko in.
-[] Rise up and glomp someone for safety!
[] Try to gather yourself.
-[] Suggest plead for a different game
[X] Try to gather yourself.
-[X] Suggest plead for a different game
--[X] Something more relaxing, like a Claw Crane.
---[X] There was a Stuffed Dino! Stuffed dinos are good, right?
[X] Try to gather yourself.
-[X] Suggest plead for a different game
--[X] Something more relaxing, like a Claw Crane.
---[X] There was a Stuffed Dino! Stuffed dinos are good, right?
[X] Try to gather yourself.
-[X] Suggest plead for a different game
--[X] Something more relaxing, like a Claw Crane.
---[X] There was a Stuffed Dino! Stuffed dinos are good, right?
[X] Try to gather yourself.
-[X] Suggest plead for a different game
--[X] Something more relaxing, like a Claw Crane.
---[X] There was a Stuffed Dino! Stuffed dinos are good, right?
This is good. It gets Mariko used to physical contact (very useful when dealing with someone as huggy as Tamiko) and it pulls her in closer as a friend, both physically and emotionally. It's emotionally fufilling.
As opposed to getting a stuffed Dino, which gets you material goods that won't ever come up again in quest.
[X] Try to gather yourself.
-[X] Suggest plead for a different game
--[X] Something more relaxing, like a Claw Crane.
---[X] There was a Stuffed Dino! Stuffed dinos are good, right?
[X] Try to gather yourself.
-[X] Suggest, I mean plead, for a different game
--[X] Something more relaxing, like DDR.
We need to start a tradition of going to the arcade before every witch fight. That way we get our bad rolls out of the way while only suffering emotional trauma, not physical.