TEST DRIVE MEME #8

[fairyfoes]

TEST DRIVE MEME

Considering apping to EACHDRAIDH? Why not give the setting a test run here! OPTIONAL SCENARIOS 01. ARRIVING IN THE DRABWURLD. The Seelie and Unseelie courts welcome you not with mirthful revelry, this time around dear friends. There is a seriousness in the air, though the food is still hearty and the imps still mischievous. After you have been briefed on your purpose here, you will find an endless feast and a night filled with entertainment to placate your concerns. Mingle with new arrivals, sneak down the castle halls and make sure your eyes are always on your glass; fairies and imps have no bias when it comes to tricks! 02. THE STATION. Looking for a little slice of home? The Station gives you all that and more. Take advantage of the wifi, have a cup of fairy-brewed coffee (the one they didn't spit in) or sit back and relax on the patio. You can even move your things into one of the available rooms! 03. WILDCARD. Your own scenario! Explore the Drabwurld or simply take advantage of your Locket! Be mindful, though -- the monarchs are watching and cross court communication should be done with the utmost secrecy.

Comments

[andallbite]

[ After a few beats: ]

Getting all the shards we can from the other side.

[ To put it simply. It's a task easier said than done, and one many don't have the constitution to pull off. ]

There's a thing out there eating away at the world called the void, too. There's a lot of people out there trying to find ways to stop it—or at least slow it down enough to buy us some time.

[ragnarock]

Shards from the other side? [ she echoes, and for a minute she fixates on that -- if the shard has been growing in her, does it do the same for people on the other side? Her eyes go wider in genuine surprise and a bit of alarm, and her voice shifts upward half an octave. ] Hold on, we're supposed to cut it out of them?

[ It reminds her too much about Salako's story -- That is the truth of the war you've risked your lives fighting. Our people are killed in order to sustain your world's energy. Their hearts are torn out, their crystallized dracunium extracted... ]

[andallbite]

Yeah.

[ Her surprise doesn't go without notice, but he answers easily. Eren isn't normally one to mince words. ]

That's what they want us to do. The Seelie will do the same thing to you if you're not careful.

[ragnarock]

[ Her jaw set fiercely as she digested this new piece of information. Well. It was better to learn she would be fighting humans right off the bat than to learn that the enemy was human after months of massacring shapeshifters for cash... but it would be easier if the targets were something monstrous and different. ]

I'll survive. [ Kill, and survive. Her voice was completely assured now. Even if it was humans, she'd long since cut away the pampered princess who thought killing to survive was selfish and barbaric. ] Especially against any bastards who want to destroy worlds.

[andallbite]

[ It's a hard thing to accept, for a lot. No one ever truly wants to kill another human—sticking one's blade into something monstrous is much, much easier—but it's a necessity if they want to live. And Eren's never taken kindly to people who are so willing to let others die. To know there's a whole other side fighting for that cause sickens him.

It seems to do the same for her, and there's a relief in that, truth be told. To know that despite whatever anger she has of being here, at the very least, she's willing to do what it takes to keep living. ]

I won't ask you to do anything right now. [ The circumstances are a lot to take in. Back home, he'd be a lot more forceful about persuading someone to fight. It's different here. ] But as long as you're here, you can't run away from this war. If you're willing to fight, you should.

[ragnarock]

Of course I'm willing. It's my world on the line, after all. [ And my chance to see that world again. There wasn't any hesitation in her voice at that moment, only easy confidence and conviction -- but then she raised her hands to her head, and began pulling on her hair in a completely undignified display of irritation. ] Aaaah, it still should have been someone else with the stupid magic rock in them! I'm tired of putting up with this "chosen" shit!

[andallbite]

[ Eren shifts on his feet as he watches her, more agreeable than most at first, and then... puts on a show of being fed up with it. It's a bit contradictory, or maybe she just realizes battling for their lives is more important than personal feelings. ("Chosen shit" gets another raised eyebrow, but he wouldn't guess getting knocked off her pedestal as princess and being forced into a life of fighting dragons is the reason behind her words—far from it, really, so he doesn't think much of questioning it.)

But he does give something of a wry huff, because he doesn't quite share those frustrations. Eren's purpose is far too focused on these sorts of matters to ever think about complaining about it. ]

Griping about it isn't gonna get you anywhere. You have the chance to save your world. That's not something to get angry about.

[ragnarock]

[ She looked up sharply and took her hands out of her hair -- though it still looked ridiculous and undignified. ] I can gripe and save the world and be angry all at the same time, [ she informed him loftily, her abrasive tone somewhat undercut by the fact that she had hair sticking in all directions. ]

[andallbite]

[ It is, just a little. Eren levels her a flat look, and if he were the type to roll his eyes, this would be the time to do it. Sheesh, talk about a real complainer. ]

Suit yourself, but it sounds kinda pointless to me.

[ragnarock]

If it's such a problem, you can go out and fight right now.

[ She'd like to get some more direction about how one goes about acquiring some Seelie shards, but she's not sure whether she's willing to put up with someone who can't handle her usual level of fussiness to get it. ]

[andallbite]

[ Sorry Ange, but it's true he's a solemn kind of guy who doesn't deal with fussing too well. ]

This isn't about me. [ Hey, if you asked him, his priorities are in line, thank you. ] There's nothing to go fighting on a day like this, anyway.

[ragnarock]

There's a war going on; I'm sure you could find something. [ She turned, waving a hand at the vast expanse of Dorchadas. ] It's not like you're stuck here. [ Or are they? Well, his response will solve that question. ]

[andallbite]

[ Like it's that easy. ]

Only a dumbass would go walking into Glaschu by themselves. You think I'm asking for a death wish?

[ Despite his reputation back home—which thankfully hasn't followed him all the way here—he's not so keen on getting himself killed. ]

[ragnarock]

Glass Shoe?

[ That brings her to a halt. She has no idea what it is. ]

[andallbite]

Glaschu. [ He says, with more enunciation to it. ] It's what the Seelie territory down south is called.

[ragnarock]

South? Shouldn't you have invaded Achoo by now, if you need their gems?

[ She says it slightly dismissively, like duh that's the obvious thing to do. Ange may be a natural pilot and good at inspirational speeches, but she's not much for strategy. ]

[andallbite]

[ Yeah, he'll let this one go. ]

We have. [ It's gone both ways many times, by now. ] They have their own armies to fight back with, y'know.

[ragnarock]

It's stupid, fighting for your own world to die, [ she said, firmly but dismissively, glancing in the direction she thought was south based on the way the moon was moving. But, then again, Embryo had convinced Salia and her Diagonal Row knights to fight for the end of their own world, at least for a while. If the people fighting for Ass Chew were just being idiots, winning this war would be easier than she'd expected. And if they weren't -- well, it would be difficult, but she'd do it and get home anyway. ]

[andallbite]

[ Eren lets out a wry heh, likewise turning his sights toward the landscape ahead. Those have more or less been his words for a while now; fussy as she is, they're at least on the same page about the important things. ]

I don't understand it either, but I don't care what they're thinking, either. It's fucked up no matter how you put it.

[ragnarock]

"I don't care" sounds like they can't be talked out of it.

[ It was light, caustic, almost flippant -- but her small frown belied her attempted indifference. The impossibility of getting people to just see that their homes were at stake really was disappointment, since even the First Troop had been able to come back together. ]

[andallbite]

If it worked that way, none of this would be a problem in the first place.

[ If only. This world doesn't deserve this kind of war, nor does it deserve to be at risk. ]

Lots of people ask and even try, but it's more complicated than that. We're past the point where talking it out's an option anymore.

[ragnarock]

[ She hopped up to sit on the edge of the balcony, resting her chin in one hand. Her body language, from the curve of her spine to the way her legs dangled she sat -- was more relaxed now that she was less antagonistic. But her eyes were still fixed on him, her brows still narrowed in concentration. She might not be actively irritable anymore, but she was still tightly focused on him. ]

So, what took you "past the point"?

[andallbite]

[ Meanwhile, he doesn't move much from where he stands. Eren remains leaning against the railing, shoulders hunched and head tilted only enough to see her better from the corners of his eyes. Come her question, his gaze falls to somewhere down below. ]

I found out what they were trying to do. Then I saw for myself how much they're willing to kill just to get their way.

[ Enough to spark a battle that went on for days, left hundreds upon hundreds dead, and—somehow—turned Caer Scima into nothing but a pile of indistinguishable rubble. They fought like they did not because they wanted to save their lives, but because they want to destroy it all.

He can't forgive anyone who'd do something like that. ]

[ragnarock]

[ This was something, the intensity she'd seen in Jill and Hilda and Salia's eyes. This was what happened when people were hurt badly. This was a passion she enjoyed working alongside, so long as that passion didn't try to control her.

She leaned back with a grin, the almost-feral confidence of a woman who won every fight eventually. ]

Then let's crush them and their bullshit.

[andallbite]

[ Eren doesn't quite radiate the complacent demeanor she does, but he holds a strong sense of conviction that's difficult to miss. Although he doesn't win his battles often—Eren's faced failure more than he's grasped victory in his lifetime—he's much too fiery to ever stay down for long, because true defeat doesn't exist so long as he still lives.

And so help him, he's going to see to it that he and everyone else everywhere else stay that way. ]

Yeah. [ There's no smugness in his voice, but all the certainty one could have is there. ] That's what I plan on doing, no matter what.