theairlock | Beep Beep we're going to Sparby's

Once everyone's in the dick limo and they've watched the Fantasy Sweet burn down behind them (dodging the flaming debris once the pressure builds up enough inside to make the whole thing go nuclear), it's off to the nearest fast food planet.

Which...is about five lightdays away.

Luckily for you, you have your very own Personal Artistic License to keep you entertained. So PAL bounces around the back of the limo, sitting in every lap that will have him, as he tells the story of Kip from the day he hatched as a tiny, impressionable smeet to present.

Sparing absolutely no detail.

Especially about the part where Kip failed his navigator's exam because he stopped at Then-Foodcourtia and crashed the ship into one of the greasy pustules that had sprouted on the planet's surface, destroying the aircraft and boiling his instructor alive in the fiery grease of hell.

So now there's a dick limo parked in the Sparby's parking lot. For anyone who had Arby's or Arby's-adjacent restaurants on their home planet... The menu's not much different. Everything meat-based is 100% beef, the milkshakes look delicious, and of course there are turnovers (apple, cherry, and chocolate).

Which... well, catch Kip and PAL in the corner shoving milkshakes and turnovers in their faces tbh.]

Welcome to Sparby's, Survivors.
You earned it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I didn't take it personally. I know that we're not remotely all near the same amount of knowledge in a technological sense--Arianna, in particular.

...Some things she mentioned remind me of someone we knew, actually. Particularly about the...Tree thing. But Ricky was from an equivalent of my time, so...

...You may want to discuss that with her. I'm afraid I don't know much of where she comes from, only that it sounded to be in dire circumstances.

Then I suppose that's something I'll do.

We'll likely have a considerable amount of information to exchange in general soon enough; I've no idea what might have been edited that you haven't seen yet, and clearly all of you hold a perspective we know nothing of.

Honestly, I'm sure quite a bit was edited. The Network really liked its musical stingers and dramatic head turns.

...

[Ardyn came close to asking if the network managed to broadcast their memories, and immediately decided that was not a conversation he was equipped to handle out in the open like this.]

It sounds quite the dramatic affair. Perhaps I should not be so surprised.

[Hah, well, that'd be...interesting if they had? But I'm gonna go with no, they didn't, if Ardyn ever asks.]

Well, how else are they going to make sure people "stay tuned"? It's...really disgusting, whether they stuff people in a simulation or not.

That, I am less surprised by. It seems that the kind of things humans find entertaining applies to species across the universe as well.

I mean...I understand the concept of bloodsports in terms of ancient civilizations? But the audience knew those people were putting their lives on the line, whether they cared or not. This whole universe thinks we're just really good actors. That none of the pain any of us went through is real.

[And if that doesn't just make a girl wanna wring an alien's neck then what will]

Even if they did know, I fear it would not change very much. Most people love having evil to hate and heroes to cheer for, no matter how much the true situation may not be in black and white.

...Still. That doesn't make any of this less messed up.

[She really is not fond of the Network, but the idea of people learning the truth and not caring...it does make her stomach turn.]

No, it doesn't. In fact, that might only make it worse.

So we'll just have to make sure we put a stop to it regardless.

[A firm nod. She's a teenage girl, but she sure is hella determined, that's for sure.]

That's the goal. Save our friends, make it stop. Beyond that...well, I don't expect the stuff before "after" to be easy, or fast.

Nothing is ever easy, my dear. But we're going to get through it all the same--and when an 'after' comes, we'll put ourselves back together and be able to enjoy it.

Mm, I know that well enough. Shockingly? The hardest thing I've encountered is boys.

[At least with the Network there was something to fight, mysteries to solve. Boys don't make any fuckdamn sense.]

But the after is...still too far for me to dream about. I want to stay rooted in the present as much as possible.

The most difficult thing to handle that I can imagine right now is 'relearning positive emotion', so I think I can understand what you mean.

[He's. He's trying.]

I think it better to remain in the present as well. When something does come along, it will be dealt with whether easy or difficult.

[She gives him a thumbs up.] So far, I think you're doing pretty good.

I can hardly be doing worse than I was, but I'm flattered all the same.

I wouldn't say it if I didn't think it was true! You've got a good group at your back, you know? They'll help heaps.

...I do. [He glanced over to the rest of them, smiling faintly.] I'm really...very fortunate to have them.

[She nods once, firmly.] I don't think we'd have made it this far without each other, either. These places may be hell, but...you sure do come out of the fire on the other side with a lot more strength than you realized you had, just because of the bonds made.

I understand completely. They may be mostly idiots, but they're Kingsglaive and family alike. I'd not trade them for anything.

And I wouldn't trade mine. Maybe...wish it could have included a lot more people, but...[She shakes her head.] Mm. I can't change the past. Not a Time player.

I think by now most of our side would agree trying to change the past is vastly overrated.

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