Test Drive Meme II

[eternitymods]

A. RETRIEVAL Dreams fade slowly, and awareness returns in increments. The hum of machinery, the smell of recycled air, the murmurs of others waking up around you. The interior of the ship has been outfitted with cots for those Biggs and Wedge retrieve from the Dream Width. Outside of the makeshift infirmary, windows set into the walls of the worn lounge area offer a view of space. It’s time to meet your fellow new arrivals who have been brought together on Biggs and Wedge’s airship. The other newly-awakened people have no idea how they came to be here, but now's a good time as ever to introduce yourself to the others on the airship and glean what information you can. B. CURTI CENTER The researchers at the Curti Center are not quite so unprepared as last time, but it is still obvious that they are struggling to understand the sudden influx of interdimensional travelers from the Dream Width. "Please step into the lobby for a quick survey. Perhaps there is some common thread we haven't discovered yet..." The staff will do their best to help the off-worlders settle in. They answer the questions they can, write down all proffered information they can about the arrivals' homeworlds, provide maps and pamphlets about Vaikuntha and the destinations within it, and even guide the arrivals to a neighborhood where housing has been provided for you. Yes, due to the strange influx of arrivals, you’ll be expected to share, but the Curti staff are doing the best they can, considering they are still housing the previous arrivals here on the island. Experiences like these bring people together. Perhaps you are the only one here from your world, but at least you are not alone in this experience. Others are right beside you, learning the same information, planning trips to visit the same new cities, checking out these Job things, and settling in to their new (temporary) homes. C. UP IN THE SKY There’s a whole new world to explore. It’s almost enough to distract from the fact that there’s one place you can’t go- home. You are on an Airship, the main mode of transportation between the major cities of Vaikuntha. While the majority are owned by airlines, perhaps you hitched a ride with a friend that has their own. You can go anywhere in a matter of hours — One can only hope you don’t have motion sickness. D. GUILDS Proud representatives of the Guild are lined up, ready to demonstrate their skills for the new initiates. Make sure to stay behind the designated line, this might get dangerous. So you want a new Job? You'll have to first travel to the Guilds, sign the papers, go through the orientation and introductory lectures, and get basic training. Afterwards, you can freely chat and practice with your fellow members, celebrating your new powers, and checking out your new wardrobe. E. LET'S BE ADVENTURERS Separated from all of your material possessions, connections, and everything you know, and really, what you’re left with is time. Better try to make the most of it. Enough expository banter. It's explorin' time. Maybe instead of spending every day in your room, you'd rather spend it living it up in the city of Lavode, or betting on Chocobo Races in Sparks Goldsaucia. Or maybe you'd rather go and explore the caves and ruins near Arito. With Airships and Chocobos at your disposal, you can go nearly anywhere! F. SIDEQUESTS Maybe you’re telling yourself, ‘I didn’t sign up for this.’ But wait, you did. At least it pays. It all started when you checked the Quest Board.  All you wanted was a few gil to spend, and here you are in the wild, hunting for a Malboro Vine. Or maybe you are in some ancient and decrepit ruins looking for an artifact. Or you could be asked to be janitor for a week. Consider yourself lucky though, at least you don't have to do that alone. G. GET A JOB (THE OTHER KIND) You’ve got a Job, but Claire keeps sighing and muttering about layabout space-people not earning their keep, so it might be time to seek out Employment as well. There are plenty of opportunities to earn some gil in Vaikuntha, no matter where you choose to settle down. Your iMog slate includes listing for employment opportunities. Hopefully you can find something you can live with so that you can start saving up for an airship or the security payment for your permanent housing. H. MOGNET *Ding!* You’ve got Mog-Mail! Thankfully, you can instantaneously chat with your friends around the world thanks to you iMog Slate. And unlike old-fashioned Moogle Letters, you can even send messages to everyone in a blink of an eye! However, despite the change in technology, the old tradition of Mognet Strikes have never gone away. Nobody knows any more whether the Moogles have legitimate reasons to go on strike or if they are just lazy. But today, Mognet is down, and to get information you have no choice but going to the public boards or risk message corruption and mishandling. I. RANDOM ENCOUNTER The ground trembles, and out of nowhere, something hostile appears! Is that battle music playing? You were minding your own business walking around, and suddenly monsters attacked you! Time to put to use the skills you've learned with your Jobs! Will you try to fight on your own or seek help? And remember, you die in random battle, you die FOR REAL. There’s no shame from running from enemies that are a higher level than you! J. CHOCOBO MADNESS You look at the giant chicken, and the giant chicken looks back at you. Could this be the beginning of a beautiful relationship? The kind folks at the Chocobo Farm have provided you with the tools of the chocobo-catching trade: greens, a bridle, and more advice than you can remember. Time to go find your new steed. Or perhaps you have already captured a chocobo, and your friend has captured a chocobo, and now you'd like to bring some chicks into the equation. Chocobo breeding may be the minigame for you! K. WILD CARD Feeling inspired to create your own prompt? The power is yours!

Comments

[arosetowar]

How aren't you is the better question. Lying is what you do--it is almost all that you ever do. And you have given me no reason to believe that now is any different.

[likewishes]

I really don't know what you're implying, Cornelia. When have I lied to you, specifically?

[arosetowar]

Another question that's better asked in the negative.

[She attempts to pull him behind a building--a shed, maybe, something small and out of the way but hidden enough that they've likely gone unnoticed. That they'll likely continue to go unseen.]

[likewishes]

[ Unfortunately, Big Sis, that isn't going to quite work out. The moment that her hand goes to his arm in an unfriendly manner, there's one angry otter on the scene. In fact it seems to get between her and Lelouch. ]

That isn't necessary...

[ But he isn't going to complain. ]

[arosetowar]

[... why the fuck is there an otter.

No seriously, why?]

What the hell is that?

[likewishes]

Someone who doesn't like the way you were putting hands on me, apparently. I'd say her growling is worse than her bite, but that's not true at all.

[ Thank you Puppet Master class. ]

[arosetowar]

Hmn. If you'd prefer to do this while exposed, then so be it.

[Casts the otter a distrusting glance, then turns her glare back on Lelouch.]

Show me your chest.

[likewishes]

[ Nope. Jerking back and covering himself more, thank you. And looking properly scandalized. ]

Excuse me?

[arosetowar]

Was I unclear? Show me your chest, or your back if you'd rather. If you are telling the truth, then you have nothing to hide.

[likewishes]

I'm not hiding anything. It's not a thing you ask of someone!

[arosetowar]

Ordinarily, no, but when it is the only way to reveal the truth? It becomes a necessary request.

[One beat. Angry. Aggressive. Confident.]

Show me. Now.

[A second beat. Taunting. Mocking.]

Prove me wrong, if you can.

[likewishes]

I refuse. Not until you tell me what this is really all about.

[ Which she might not. He didn't expect her to think that there'd be a scar of all things. ]

While I might not have much, I still have my dignity.

[arosetowar]

Dignity? [The word almost comes out as a shadow of a laugh, dark, cloaked in so much more than Lelouch will ever be able to realise.] What dignity? You sacrificed that as well, did you not?

[likewishes]

When did I do that? By hiding Nunnally and myself? By staying in Area 11 after being thrown away by our own family? Maybe... But I hardly had a choice.

[arosetowar]

So you intend to cower from the truth even now? Hmn. How utterly pathetic you've become.

[likewishes]

There is no truth for me to cower from. The scar you're looking for exists.

[ His expression shifts into something calmer. Cool. He shrugs. Cornelia must have come across Euphemia first. Or just innately believes that any version of himself must lie. It's... Well it's true. But there's no need to keep pressing the issue when it's clear she won't take it the bait. ]

Whatever it is you seek to know, you'll not find it.

[arosetowar]

[No, she won't. There's no faith to hold in the truths that spill from a liar's tongue, no matter how close they flow alongside Cornelia's own suspicions. What do his motivations even matter when as far as she knows, Lelouch is the only other person here from her world? He does not care to cooperate with her; she cannot find the motivation to make the attempt to understand him. Not like this. Not in the wake of his attempts at manipulation. Not in the face of his arrogance.

His life, however, bears new meaning. If he is alive here, then it stands to reason that he may not be dead at all. That he may be like their uncle. Immortal. A persisting threat against a world that can bear very little more. She has to know the truth.]

You don't need to tell me that. You will, however, answer me one thing: How are you still alive?

[likewishes]

So that is what you want to know. Why should I be inclined to answer? Considering how you tore me away from my own research, I should think I don't owe it to you.

[ Again he shrugs. Cornelia can continue to think what she will of him. It may be true. It may not be. But whatever her opinion, Lelouch can't afford to let her know the truth. No one can know the truth.

So he gives a mock bow then turns on his heel. His otter? She follows after him diligently. ]

[arosetowar]

[She is so much faster than Lelouch that she's in front of him before he manages more than a couple of steps. He can sic the ridiculous fucking otter on her. He can point a gun at her head. He can do whatever the hell he wants to try to remove her from his path but she will not relent.]

So, you would still flee from the truth with your tail between your legs? Why? What do you fear happening?

[likewishes]

[ Lelouch sighs. Somewhat put off by the behavior. ]

I'm not fleeing from the truth. What I'm doing is refusing to answer you to satisfy some sort of need. How did I survive... Are you not capable of finding that out yourself?

[arosetowar]

[Well maybe if he'd answer a single question without turning it into a fight...]

... but he's not going to, is he? She's wasting her time, her energy, what lingering patience she has.]

Then leave. But know that I don't share your dedication to silence. There are some secrets that shouldn't be kept.

[And she steps aside. Yes, that's a threat. Can't just have lying demon kings running around unchecked.]

[likewishes]

[ Just for a moment, as he goes to move by her... Lelouch's arrogant smirk falls. Instead there's an apologetic look about him. Just for a brief moment. ]

Sometimes there are secrets that should be kept. The lie is better for everyone than the truth.

[ But then he's going to keep walking! ]

[arosetowar]

[Lets him go if that's what he wants, even as she clutches the viciousness of his hatred in fists so tight that they ache. He had cost -- Geass had cost -- the entire damned world so much that she knows his reign, both as Zero and as Emperor, will continue rippling over them for years to come like ocean debris brought to the shore, rotted away but no less capable of causing grave harm. Her grasp on that isn't so overwhelming as to allow her own hatred to creep up and blind her, though; she has spent too much time wondering into both his and Suzaku's motivations to abandon that all now and assume that one is simply demonic, that the other is simply dead, or that this new Zero is a random vigilante capable of an act so impossible that even miracle is too weak of a word to describe its outcome.

It is as Lelouch had always told her. He fought for Nunnally. He died for Nunnally. He isn't a danger here insofar as she knows he won't rise again as either a terrorist or as a tyrant, but that doesn't diminish how well she understands what he is capable of doing, always in the name of some greater good held so close to his chest that even those near enough to him to hear his heartbeat will never know its full extent.

She can't draft a warning against him yet. She knows too little to proceed. But as she had said, there are secrets that can't be kept and truths which people have the right to be able to defend themselves against. She won't make the mistake of being quiet about Geass again.]

[likewishes]

Lelouch is really hard to figure out, kupo.

[ Just in case Cornelia thought that, perhaps, the conversation is over. Someone fluffy and hovering around on tiny wings had been listening in on them. Now Mogya will catch up with Lelouch. But later. ]

He's trying to find a way back, but says it's not for himself.

[arosetowar]

[Scoffs. Why are all of Lelouch's fluffs doing his grunt work?]

Did he tell you to say that, moogle?