week 6

[airlockedmods]

[That certainly was a rude awakening. The champions may have lost their nun and their Doctor but they've gained two very important things: freedom from the simulation they've been living in for the past several weeks and a demoted Xander. Some of them may still desire his head on a plate but, like it or not, he is one of them once more.

There's no sign of life in the spaceport aside from PAL's omnipresent voice and SIS, the helpful asSIStant who has some control over certain heres and theres in the spaceport. She is available at all times and can appear anywhere if called.

The only area unexplorable so far are the double doors by the laundry room. They're locked tight and no amount of kicking or warpstriking will open them. But perhaps they'll open in due time.]


Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

(( Don't forget to check in, and check your memory regains!))

Comments

[burninglight]

[Eventually, there would be the sound of someone else coming in and sitting down on the other side of the shower stall; sorry, Church, there are only so many places you can hide. At least he gave you space for a while.]

...Have you eaten anything today?

[motherfucking_ghost]

No.

[burninglight]

...I'm not here to talk if you don't want to. I'm not going to force anything, and if you'd rather be alone then I'll say this much and leave.

But I brought you some tea and rice Choromatsu made last night, so please just eat something once I've left.

[motherfucking_ghost]

's not like it's real food. Or like hunger's real.

If you die in the game, you die for real, except I'm already for-real dead, so what does it matter if I just get myself uploaded to another VR.

[burninglight]

You think we're still in a simulation?

[It wasn't argumentative; he was far too tired for that.]

[motherfucking_ghost]

Why not. Nothing proves this is real. There wasn't real. Death just uploaded you somewhere else.

Unless that was fake, too.

[burninglight]

So you just-

[Ardyn bit back a frustrated response, taking a slow breath and trying again. Calmly.]

Yes, it's true we've no way of being certain if this is anything but yet another layer to a simulation. But does that truly invalidate all that's happened so far? Perhaps it happened only in binary and coding, but the experiences would be just as real to those who went through them even outside such a place.

[motherfucking_ghost]

They could be alive.

Or dead.

Or were never real.

[burninglight]

...you're wrong. They were as real as anyone else. I'm real, and so are you, as is every last person with us now.

[motherfucking_ghost]

How real is a character in a videogame?

[burninglight]

Leonard, stop. Please. I know it to be difficult believing...believing anything, right now. But the will that animates this body digital or otherwise is real. Ardyn Tenmyouji exists as a real, living person, and so does Leonard Church.

[motherfucking_ghost]

...Did you--

Did you remember something else? Other than...the usual.

[burninglight]

...I did.

It's as I said--if you're not prepared to talk, I won't try prying something out of you sooner than I should. I promise you that.

[motherfucking_ghost]

We talked. About a lot of...things. Things relating to Noctis' experiment? And things about ourselves.

[burninglight]

...We were talking in mine, too. I was...teaching you Lucian. And I told you about...my past. Which I suppose was the reason I was panicking so badly at the trial, perhaps there's a line of logic there.

[motherfucking_ghost]

...Wait. Wait. You don't remember telling me about that kid, uh, that guy, Noct's guy, stupid name--Prompto?

[burninglight]

Wh...no. I was telling you about my brother.

[motherfucking_ghost]

You want to kneecap the Counselor. I think you were crying, too. Or. Doing that thing where you can't cry, so you laugh instead? But in a really bad way.

Things didn't feel too real then, either. Identity crisis and shit. We don't reeeeeally have ages.

And also you orchestrated that whole thing with Quickman.

[burninglight]

I don't cry. [He sighed heavily, folding his arms.] And I orchestrated what, now?

[motherfucking_ghost]

The--fucky shit with Stupid Name.

Who I kinda relate to. Way too hard.

[burninglight]

...

[Ardyn was silent for a long moment, processing that. He must have meant the incident at the facility, with Verstael and Immortalis.]

I see. I'd not blame you for wishing to avoid me, presuming I actually told the truth about all that.

[motherfucking_ghost]

That's not--

What? No. Why would I?

Why do you remember something else?

[burninglight]

Because I did some horrendous things to a child that didn't deserve it, among other things?

[Ardyn sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose.]

I don't know why my memory is something else. I remember...telling you how I was ostracized as a daemon, my brother and Gilgamesh turning on me. You started shouting and kicking things when I told you about how many times I was executed. And you...said something that made me happy. More than that, I felt...safe. Valued.

[motherfucking_ghost]

...You didn't already? Feel that way?

[burninglight]

No, I--that's not what I mean. I did, but-

[Ardyn faltered, turning quiet for a second or two. Then:]

'There is nothing you could say, or do, or be that would make me turn on you. Not even if it was to save everyone else. Not even if it's the right thing to do.'

And I told you...that I would trust you to stop me if ever it started to go that far again.