TEST DRIVE MEME ( 023 )

[lifeaftr_mods]

Test Drive Meme #23

Hello, and welcome to LifeAftr! We're pleased that you're expressing an interest in the game. Here, you can test the waters, gauge how your character may fare in the world of LifeAftr, and even gain some in-game incentives, if you so choose.

In conjunction with our monthly Test Drive Meme, Reserves are now open! Applications will open on April 24th!

Two important notes:

1. LifeAftr's test drives take place on the island of Mu, which exists apart from the real world and possesses a dream-like quality that characters are innately aware of from the moment they appear on its shores. No need to panic or fret. Dreams are odd things, after all - and anything can happen in them. Why would anyone question where their mind chooses to wander in its sleep?

2. Due to the nature of Mu, threads in our test drive can not only be accepted as thread samples in your application, but can be accepted as game canon as well. In fact, certain choices your character makes in Mu have the potential to bear in-game consequences, largely in the form of test drive reward items.

It's Hard Work
Today, Mu has sought to recreate the fantastic island of Io - the island where the local Avatar of Celebration resides. Io is resplendent with comforts and excitements designed for relaxation and delight, from wineries to play structures. One of the most popular draws are the bathhouses, which are massive, tiered structures of the utmost luxury. Multiple stories, hot and cold water, scented perfumes and shampoos...these bathhouses are designed for the utmost enjoyment and tranquility.

For paying customers, that is. Oh - did you think you were going to be relaxing? Not tonight. Tonight, you're on the bathhouse staff, and your job is to make those paying customers happy. Those customers, many of which appear to be nothing more than shadowy, faceless blobs of a vaguely humanoid shape, can make your life very miserable if they're unsatisfied with their care. So...get to it! We need more towels on the second floor. The water heater is broken - who here knows how to fix it? This one needs a very exact perfumed blend to go in their water, so you'd better learn it quick. Make sure those floors are clean before anyone goes walking across them. Keep this house running, and you might just be allowed to relax with a warm bath at the end of the day as a reward.

But if you don't do a fine enough job, you might very well regret it. The bathhouse patrons, strange as they may be, have one very particular talent, and that talent is luck. If they're satisfied with their care, you might find a handful of gold coins in the gutters when you're clocking out - and they may very well still be in your knapsack if you end up waking up on the shores of LifeAftr.

If they're not, however, you'd better be especially cautious for the next few hours. Slippery patches of ground will seem to appear with far more regularity, or a precarious stack of towels may tip over right as you're walking by, or the water heater will break as you're washing your hands and scald you from the elbows up in boiling hot water.

Do a good job, and you'll be rewarded. If not...well, at least it's only for the night, right?

A Drink With Jam and Bread
Also unique to the island of Io are the tea gardens, which are exactly what they sound like. With softly glowing lanterns and thick, fragrant groves of tea leaves growing wild, the tea house is nestled at the very center of the garden. Within, all manner of kettles and mugs and strainers can be found, as well as dried tea leaves, honeys, milks, and spices. You can mix and match your own blends, pick from some of the pre-existing teabags, or even wander about the garden to pluck a few tea leaves straight from the trees.

Some of these drinks are relatively harmless. Others...not so much. And they all tend to affect people differently, too.

[ ♆ ] Black tea will fill you with energy, far more than the high caffeine content might allow. You feel like you can run ten miles - no, twenty! This may also, however, reduce your conceptualization of your own limits. You might be able to feel like you can lift one thousand pounds...but unless you've got super-strength to compensate, you might end up hurting yourself trying to do exactly that.

[ ♆ ] Chai tea will give you the ability to breathe fire, though only in short bursts about five feet ahead of you. If you try mixing different things into your chai - such as honey or milk - you might find that you can breathe different colors of fire as well. Just...take care not to set anything on fire. Those lanterns are lit by all sorts of tiny, firefly-esque bugs, and if they feel antagonized, they'll try and burn you right back.

[ ♆ ] Chamomile tea will relax you completely and utterly. In fact, it'll make you incredibly sleepy. You might start feeling tired gradually, or you might conk out right on the spot. Almost any surface suddenly feels very comfortable and easy enough to sleep on, from the ground beneath your feet to your buddy over there. Chamomile: better than the world's greatest sedative, evidently.

[ ♆ ] Earl grey tea will allow you the ability to shift in phase: make yourself and any part of your body corporeal or incorporeal on a whim. Just be sure that you don't have your arms or legs sticking into any solid surfaces by the time the effects wear off - or that'll make for some very painful removal.

[ ♆ ] Green tea will drastically increase or decrease your tolerance for pain. Either you'll feel absolutely fine no matter what kind of punishment is heaped on you...or anything from sneezing to stepping on someone's foot can feel abruptly excruciating. It's worth noting that this does nothing for one's resistance to that kind of damage. Green tea only alters the sensation behind the pain, meaning that whatever damage you might undergo is liable to be damaging, no matter how much you might be able to shrug off.

[ ♆ ] White tea will dramatically increase your sensitivity to physical stimulus. This can be either enchanting or positively overwhelming. Imagine being able to lie down in the grass and feel each blade beneath you in excruciating detail. Imagine being able to feel every air molecule flicking across your skin. Whether this improves your day or absolutely ruins it is down to how much you enjoy that sort of thing.

So take care which of these blends you sample. Some of these effects might even stack, which can really ruin your day.

We Don't Need Another Hero
Fun doesn't always go hand in hand with relaxation. Perhaps you're the sort who'd prefer to have your adrenaline pumping, grinning around a missing tooth as you lay a beatdown on your opponent. Maybe you need some excitement and some action to really feel like you're living. Sure, you might get a few bruises - but check out the other guy.

As Mu is more eager to please on this front than its real world counterpart, those keen on letting loose all their pent up energy will find a rather good area for it. Inexplicably located within the complicated twists and turns of the Honeycomb is the perfect location to hurl yourself into an all-out brawl; an almost stadium-like fighting arena. Shadowy silhouettes are piled into the seats in excited speculation - you can hear them hissing and sputtering in disappointment or delight, or erupting into cheers, whenever blood is spilled.

Or....not spilled, as it were. Those who enter the fighting arena must pass through a curtain of clear, streaming liquid before they may take up a weapon. This will only temporarily strike you with the oddest sensation on your skin: a coating reminiscent of wax which provides the user with nigh invulnerability to even the most overpowered of attacks. Further experimentation will prove that the walls, floor, and ceilings also sport this exceptional defense. Blood, bruises, and structural damage might be off the table - but that good old fashioned brawl? It's on, like a cartoonish ape from a prominent video game series. What your audience wants is a spectacle, not a bloodbath, so you'd best give them the show they deserve.

Alongside the freedom to punch, kick, stab, and slash at one another without fear of permanent damage comes a complimentary arsenal for those who feel like getting creative. Honeycomb Sledgehammers, Cactus Clubs, and the ever popular arm holding onto another arm that's holding onto a knife are just a few of the weaponry that innocently rest at the edges of the battlefield, with a full selection limited by nothing more than your imagination.

Unfortunately, imagination is all it is - upon waking, those currently living in LifeAftr will find those weapons remain a fanciful dream...but the memories remain, nonetheless. And the aches might very well, too.

---

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

Steve Rogers | MCU

[indomitables]

Hard Work

[ Honest, hard work is nothing to be ashamed of.

Steve has never been afraid of work, even during his childhood, when he often too sick to indulge in it. Here it's honest labor, at least; making sure the bathing chambers he's been assigned to have enough toiletries and towels for the guests. He tries to divide his attention evenly, checking in at regular times so they know when to expect him, and cleaning up as quickly as he can when each room is emptied.

Of course, he's not against arguing with a paying guest if he feels he, or any other staff member, is being treated unfairly. Steve's never been ashamed - or afraid - of confrontation either. ]


Another Hero

[ It's not that he's a big fan of gladiator events. It's the opposite, in fact, stemming from his distate of bloodsport for sport, and lingering memories of the spangle circuit he endured just after becoming Captain America. What this is, although he'll more than likely deny it to those who might perceive his intentions, is an attempt to get some intel on the event. And the person or persons responsible for its running. Best way to do that, Steve decides, is to infiltrate the local fight club. If it has to be as a participant, so be it. He's an old hand when it comes to fistfights, and Natasha the government did give him some excellent training.

So he picks up a hardy-looking staff on entering the arena and tries not to think about how much easier this would be with his shield. ]


Wildcard

[ Have a slightly different idea? Toss it here. ]

The Enhanced Defence Intelligence "EDI" | Mass Effect

[machina_ex_luna]

i. it's hard work
EDI's mobile platform is of a design originating in the private sector, twice over. The original intent of the design, beyond simple mimicry, was intended for use as a general-purpose assistant and mobility aid. And then it was modified. But even when wearing a body intended partly to deceive and partly to destroy, the heart and core of EDI remains; she was designed by humans, to serve human needs. Service is therefore not an alien concept to her, nor reconnaissance.

So, when asked to work, she first glances to be sure that it's her the overseer is referring to, and not anyone aside from the highly-armored combat and infiltration mech. No? Of course.

"Of course. I will repair the boiler," she accepts the orders with a slight bow. Taste, and smell, are deeply subjective; she has them both, but is ill-suited to interpretation. Water-pressure and temperature need little artistry to understand, and EDI's metal hands will cope better than frail organic meat; all the better to snoop around where she's not wanted, as well. She continues, at full volume: "However, I will not be held responsible for the resulting terrible explosion and numerous deaths."

There is a pause.

"...That is a joke. Excuse me."


ii. a drink with jam and bread
After some observation of the results, EDI has attempted to store some of the tea in the chamber her platform designates as a stomach. Just, for science, you see, and in the spirit of friends not present. She feels they would have dared her to try, and the White Tea goes down without any difficulty.

And the results? One robot lady, sitting quietly on a stone bench, staring in fascination at her own hands as she rubs them together, or the texture of her seat, or over the surface of a single, delicate blade of grass. Touch, she'd had before, but like this? The data-overload is exquisite, as painful as it is delirious. Is this how organic people feel, always?

"How can they bear it?"


iii. we don't need another hero
While not a fan, precisely, of gladiatorial combat, EDI finds it nostalgic. We always long, in some way, for the experiences of our childhoods, and the infancy of EDI's digital life had been spent in almost constant combat, not to much more purpose than this.

Well, that wasn't true. It had been Alliance training exercises, and to a more honest point were of great purpose, though not to EDI.

She also doesn't seem to be using any weaponry, and maybe that's alarming for you, to see a shiny metal woman with arms like sticks ripping through enemies like tissue paper. Or maybe the alarming thing is how quickly she moves, or how abrupt and ruthless her attacks.

Or maybe it's the way she's coming right for you.


iv. wild wild west
Have an idea or approach of your own? Come at me!

hard work

[semistableman]

[It's been a long, long time since he's had a dream like this. Months, he's pretty sure. It's hard for him keep to keep track of individual days, has been ever since he came out of HYDRA's control. It's not like he's consciously aware of it, but sometimes it occurs to him that it's been two days and he should maybe actually leave his home.

It's only the lack of his constant companion in the form of a sheep covered in flowers that he's able to recognize where he is so easily.

So, sure. Help out start things up for the local deity. The last time he was on Mu was a lot more unpleasant than hard work cleaning up a fancy-looking bath house, so he does it easily enough, muttering to himself after a particularly nasty customer complains about the tiniest bit of grime in their bath.

It's only when he turns his head to look at the person working next to him that he freezes. He'd recognize that blond hair anywhere. But Steve can't be here, it's probably just one of the deities fucking with him again, so he turns to leave, not noticing the bucket against the wall. He trips with a loud clank, not cursing in dismay, but making enough noise it's likely to be distracting.]

[indomitables]

[ There lurks the distinct possibility that Steve doesn't realize this is only a dream. Or maybe he does, it's hard to say. His life has never been an easy one, but things have gotten progressively stranger since the night he met Abraham Erskin. Weird dreams won't rank that high on the ladder unless there's a tangible risk of getting hurt - or worse.

He's braced on his knees, scrubbing at some unusual bits of slime that his brain isn't sure should be identified, when the person next to him suddenly rises. Steve's senses don't register anything as dangerous, or an emergency, so he doesn't glance up right away. People are entitled to their own thoughts and problems, aren't they? But he does look up when the bucket skids a few inches, mostly to make sure nobody's hurt.

And freezes.

That's Bucky.

Bucky.

Who's supposed to be safely in cryo under T'Challa's watchful gaze. For a moment he can't quite catch his breath, something sharp beginning to ache underneath his ribcage. ]

... Buck?

[semistableman]

[He hasn't seen Steve since Insight. It's been two years, and for most of them, he's been living in a tiny one room apartment in Romania. It's barely been living.

If he's being honest with himself, he hasn't exactly been living here, either. The dream is almost a vacation, in that regard. He pauses long enough it's clear that not only does he remember Steve, he's trying to figure out what to do about it. His impulse is to lie, to say he's not sure what Steve's talking about.

In the end, he turns around to face Steve. He's not quite unshaven, but it's obvious shaving isn't something he does all the time, maybe a couple times a week, and his clothing is verging on being threadbare. Curiously, patches have been replaced with what looks like leaves instead of fabric.]

Hi, Steve.

iii

[forwearemany]

They see her, and their headflaps flare not in alarm, but joy.

"EDI!"

Not that this stops them from pursuing their goal of winning this fight. In fact, the knowledge that they cannot harm her means they feel safe throwing every ounce of their strength behind swinging the bladed weapon in their hands.

[machina_ex_luna]

"Legion." EDI's voice is, as usual, very calm. But she is smiling, and she is glad to see him, whatever the circumstances, "How is it your are here?"

She caught his blade on her arm at an oblique angle, pushed out and away by the lateral force of the impact; a parry. It was a foolish maneuver which, had this been a fight in earnest, would have cost her significant damage to the aforementioned limb, and possibly her platform's function. But EDI had already calibrated her tactical models to include the strange invulnerability of the current arena. She retaliated immediately, milliseconds flashing by in single-digits between contact and palm-heel strike.

"That last I had seen you, you were no longer functional," An organic would find it strange, taxing, and perhaps even a little perverse to be conversing calmly in the middle of such a melee. Robots, of course, don't have lungs. So, who's the superior life form, really? "I'm glad to see you."

[forwearemany]

The parry throws them off balance slightly, leaves them vulnerable to the palm strike, and they stumble backwards.

"Affirmative. We died."

It's almost nonchalant, their confirmation of this, though they're far from pleased about the circumstances.

"The mechanism of our arrival in this location is uncertain. There are many others in similar circumstances."

For the moment, they move to put distance between them. What will she try next?

"Information suggests that in the future you also experienced loss of function."

Is she from their timeline? Or Shepard-Commander's?

[indomitables]

[ Okay, this is unexpected. Steve's dealt with unexpected though, so accustomed to life throwing curve balls in his direction that it tends to feel like second nature to him now. While Bucky is figuring out what to do, Steve stops scrubbing and sets the brush to one side of his own bucket. He plants one palm against the floor long enough to push himself up, every movement slow and telegraphed as clearly as possible.

He's not afraid of Bucky, he'll never be afraid of the other man, but he also doesn't want to send him into a panic. Or otherwise disturb him anymore than he might already have. And he straightens up just about the same time that Bucky turns around, allowing a clear shot of his face.

Steve notes the lack of shaving, and the unusual choice of clothing patches, but Bucky at least looks like he might be putting two or more square meals away and getting a little bit of rest. That's what counts, right? ]

Hey. [ Queen Elizabeth he is not. In fact, it's probably obvious he's not quite sure what to say. ] Where-- How long-- Hi.

[machina_ex_luna]

EDI stopped, blinking once, and straightened from her fighter's crouch. Stance broken, fight momentarily put on pause she considered the ramifications of the variable Legion had just shifted. So small a word, so mighty the meaning.

"You have reverted to the use of 'we' in reference to yourself," EDI noted, head cocked to the side, "I am undamaged."

She pauses, thoughtfully, and then resumes her rush, in an underhanded sweep, seeking to take the advantage of her comparatively slight frame and undersizes hydraulics to get under their larger platform's guard. This was not correct. This, was not factual. And yet a Geth's memory-redundancy, so ineffably robust, could not easily be convinced of so large and obvious a change from reality. What had happened? What could have happened?

"I would appreciate a clarification; how, did you die?"

[forwearemany]

Their head cocks to the side as they consider this, flaos rippling just once.

"It is possible we are not the Legion you know."

Unfortunately for her, they are becoming accustomed to smaller, faster, nimbler opponents. As soon as they witness the start of her movement, they begin to move to the side and attempt to bring the blade down on her from above.

"We were betrayed." The lights on the sides of their head shift to red when they state this.

[semistableman]

[He shifts a little, looking a little like he's ready to sprint at any moment, but he's staying put for now.

His jaw works as he considers his options.]

It's been a long time.

[He gestures to the walls of the bathhouse.]

This isn't real. We're sharing a dream right now. I think it's a dream. It's pretty strange; hard to get used to.

[Bucky still looks uncomfortable, and he hasn't answered any of Steve's attempts at a question. But he's not running, not trying to act like he doesn't know Steve.]

Seto Kaiba | YuGiOh | Airlocked CRAU

[playthedamncard]

i
[The last time he worked in the service of anyone was never, so you'll forgive if Kaiba's not the biggest fan of being reduced to a sweaty errand boy. There are several times where he just...walks out, mumbling something about having better things to do, and always, inevitably, ends up right back here, stack of towels at the ready and looking not unlike someone is going to die.

(Not of fun.)

So when he does finally actually start working, he's...oof. He's gonna garner a lotta bad luck with the way he deals directly with the amorphous blobs that are supposedly, theoretically, customers. This may not be the strangest thing to happen to him yet, but it's pretty damn close. His tone would be a monotone if not for the frustration laced through his words, and he does everything stiffly. But swiftly. There's little motion he expends that isn't seemingly calculated to be efficient, and when he actually hunkers down to work, it's a good job. Maybe not the fastest, but good. Apparently if you can't do something right, then it's not worth doing.

Which really seems to come to a head when someone mentions the water heater being busted, and without anyone even asking him, he rolls up his sleeves.] So long as you have tools somewhere, I'll fix it. Out of the way.

ii
[He'd prefer coffee as his caffeinated drink of choice, but tea will do as a healthier alternative. So...yeah, he's definitely running around feeling like he could take on the world. Sorry, is this island for relaxing and celebrating and all that? He's doing the opposite. Please give him something to do or he's going to climb everything and also jump off of things once he does, and maybe even get the idea in his head that he can swim to the other islands and do not let him do that.

It gets more fun when he starts breathing blue flames. Cuz of course he's gonna end up breathing blue flames and cackling something about burst stream of destruction.

He'll be mortified when the teas wear off. ...And also start picking some to take with him. This is certainly still one of the better dreams he's had since the show.]

HELLO I DON'T KNOW YOU BUT I LOVE YOU

[tenthstreetbred]

It seems Mu is up to its usual tricks. Shepard has gotten used to wandering the dream land and seeing strangers pass her by. It doesn't bother her as it once did but in fact is a welcome sight- she does not want to experience Mu not working correctly ever again.

It's a welcome sight to see Io reflected in the dream land so Shepard leisurely makes her way through the tea garden. She's never been much into the stuff herself so she'll politely decline to partake but it still makes for a beautiful scene. Her casual walk is instantly interrupted when she spots a very familiar robot sitting on a stone bench looking a bit out of her mind.

"EDI!?"

Shepard's eyes are wide as she looks at her squadmate. If this had been a few months ago she would have rushed over immediately, her joy at seeing her boundless. But she's learned her lesson now, learned that just because she welcomes someone doesn't mean they welcome her. So she approaches more cautiously than EDI might remember of her Shepard, looking like she's seen a ghost.

"Is that really you?"

[machina_ex_luna]

EDI reacted at speed, relying on combat heuristics of her own design, honed by months of testing and field work under Shepard's intentionally chaotic leadership style. She rolled to the side, evading— it was messy and inelegant, but functional. Had this been a proper fight, she would have been equipped with a firearm, and and omni-tool, and come up in full force.

But this was not a proper fight, this was a brawl. And instead she abandoned best practice, as well as tactical acumen, and did what a human would have done: something stupid, and unexpected. She hunched her shoulders and tackled legion like a linebacker.

Then, point made, she backed off. This was too serious a subject to pair well with play.

"Clarify. Betrayed by whom?"

hi c:

[machina_ex_luna]

EDI, who had been completely engrossed in the texture of her own palm, looks up at Shepard's approach. She waits, and is rewarded by the advantage; Shepard speaks first.

"Hello, Shepard," She nods, polite smile, easy greeting. No hostility here, "Yes. I am... here."

For a function of here, at least, wherever this is. What ever this is. EDI can only presume that the rest of her is nearby; even at its greatest capacity for independence, the amount of her self that could fit in it was limited. Still, she had no information from the usual sensors, from her body which was the ship; with the exception of this platform, she was blind, deaf, and dumb.

"I have been sampling the tea."

It's clear: she thinks it's wonderful.

[forwearemany]

They're caught off guard by that, and go down.

After a moment of staring, they get up.

"Shepard-Commander betrayed us."

The N7 stripe on their shoulder is gone, painted over wth what look to be drawings done by a child.

[machina_ex_luna]

"Shepard."

EDI stares right back, eyes fixed in the glare of Legion's optics. She runs the scenario from the beginning. So much about the Reaper conflicts had been uncertain, and there were times when the fate of the entire galaxy had seemed to swing on the hinge of a momentary decision.

But Legion...

"Rannoch," EDI realized, looking, and finally seeing it, the changes in Legion. If Shepard were going to side against the Geth, if it were going to speak of itself in the plural... that would be when, "I have no memory of such a betrayal."

[forwearemany]

"Yes."

They chatter, look away briefly.

"Such occurrences are known to us. The Shepard-Commander of this location differs from the Shepard-Commander who betrayed us, in both appearance in memories."

"Allies have reported similar occurrences."

[machina_ex_luna]

"I see."

EDI stares blankly at Legion for a long second, an eternity at the speed of machine minds. A human watching would not have perceived a change in her expression, for there was none. But silently, between them, EDI did something she had never done before, for another AI: She opened a communication channel between them, a direct exchange of data. And through that connection came the echo of her intelligence, a flash of mind, almost human, almost Reaper, neither in truth. She sent her sympathy, and her understanding, in a way that could not be mistaken for anything but what they were.

"Legion," This she said aloud, like breaking a spell, "I consider you... a friend. Your opinion of Shepard is founded in a legitimate fear. But you are not alone."

Shadow | American Gods (book)

[itsaname]

It's Hard Work

[ This isn't the strangest dream that Shadow has ever had. Not by a long shot. His job here is clear, and he sets to work for the bizarre, faceless creatures without argument. He's a big man, tall and muscular, and he's a hard worker; he lifts what needs lifting and hauls what needs hauling. It's not the worst job he's had.

To the creatures, he's polite and speaks only when spoken to. He knows his role here. It's obvious. But when his gray eyes light upon another non-blob creature, he approaches as soon as he can. ]

Hey. [ A greeting said quietly, with no evidence of disquiet. ] What is this place?


A Drink with Jam and Bread

[ Tea isn't Shadow's drink of choice. In the absence of coffee, it'll do. Having never been a big tea drinker, he doesn't know what kind he'll like best. He decides to try the chamomile first.

As soon as he starts sipping the tea, Shadow thinks that it may need sugar, or perhaps honey. However, the idea of getting up to get such things sounds … difficult. It's not that they're far away; it's just that he doesn't want to move. Instead, he stares dully at the sugar and honey while continuing to slowly drink his tea, growing more tired with each sip. ]


Wildcard

(( ooc: go nuts! i'm happy to do any other type of tea-effect, too. ))

[forwearemany]

It's probably telling how much of a shock that is.

They have lived in this location for nearly a year, stripped of all technology that isn't a part of them, data flow restricted to that which can be acquired via reading or experience, living as though organic.

Thus, their reaction is typical of one starved of something vital: overeager and intense.

Immediately, they receive her data, the sympathy and the understanding, and send back their own: their death on Rannoch and how Tali'Zorah who took their life was the only one to comfort them as they died, the knowledge that in their timeline, Shepard chooses to end the Reapers once and for all even if it means the genocide of all machine life.

Behind that is their own surprise that their friend, who they are aware prefers aural communication, would choose to do this. And their own intelligence, 1,183 points of light, stars schooling together like fish to form ever shifting constellations.

"Yes."

[machina_ex_luna]

The weight of it on a mind unused to any such contact was too much, all on its own. EDI was designed as a security measure, every par tof her recoiled at the unfettered access; it was over, as soon as it could be. But she left behind one last gift. A memory. Shepard's voice, all wrathful exasperation, and Legion's own, tinny with desperation:

Please! This is not Justice.


...Hell with it. Legion, upload the code! Tali— patch me in

She stood on the cliff, Legion with her, Tali frightened, pleading, and instead of a betrayal, what happened was nothing less than a dressing-down, bitter and righteous, as Shepard spoke to the combined Quarian Fleet more like she was chastising a naughty pack of children than the last remnants of a ancient, displaced species.

...A few years ago, I saved you from the Geth at the Citadel. Just recently, I did the same when I took down that dreadnaught. If you keep going now, I'll just stand and watch while the Geth lay you to waste. It's your call— Keelah Se'lai.

EDI had watched, while Legion had straightened, while he had spoken, words like poetry of self-actualization. She watched, as he emerged, became a person rather than an avatar. As he woke up, and lived, as she had once done, two years previous. And then she had watched, as he died.

Now EDI stands opposite of him in the arena, watching for his reaction. Why that memory? The choice alone was a communication. She nods once, as if satisfied, and says only quietly, "You deserved better."

[forwearemany]

The scene starts out all too similar to their own.

But then, instead of empty words and empty apologies, she supports them. Stands up to their creators. And they listen to her.

It ends quickly. It is clear that EDI does not wish to continue.

Fortunately, experiences with their allies have taught them other methods of connection.

They attempt to cross the distance between them and give her a hug.

a drink with jam and bread

[postictal]

[When's he ever, ever, ever in his life felt like this? Like...energized.]

[It's weird. He's not entirely sure he likes it, the feeling of his heart drumming away in his chest, like he's on the verge of a panic attack, but he feels better than he has in weeks. Like he's actually slept well, like he can sprint ten miles, even if Tim's not even in the right shape for that, or anything. He just wanted some caffeine in his system, and he knows that black tea is the way to go if that's what he's after but god damn his eyeballs feel like they're vibrating out of his skull.]

[He nearly runs into someone else, mid-pace, freezes in place, and gets a good look at his face - ]

Woah - hey. Hey. You okay? You don't look okay. [The guy looks tired. Like he's about to drop off any second. What the hell?]