towerofanimus | Glamour Failure

*It wasn't an answer, but Lucifel doesn't sound like he's handling the idea well. Not realizing Lucifel's mind was on a topic other than what he'd just said, he goes for that embrace again, trying to comfort his friend.*

No.

You only get two choices as a Life player, I guess. My admission to the game was paid in an empire's blood. That's the part where you take it, though it was never directly with my own hands.

Then there's the other choice, the one I made after that: dedicate your own life to make everyone else's better. I'd wanted to do that. I'd been so focused on that, and I guess...I guess that's still an option. Wanting to go home and lay down and and die for no reason other than stupid jealousy is, well, stupid.

And now I think about it, there's a third option, one I didn't realize, and it's one I've taken here before. Let my own - and it wasn't even my own blood, it was that of some cloned body - spill so everyone else lives. It's a shitty option, but at the time, it was the only option.

It does help. Realizing what the options are and realizing that things aren't blocked off forever. And going on.

[What had kept Edgeworth going in Animus was his desire to search for the truth - why he was here, whether or not his world was really destroyed and whether or not their 'bodies' were really fake. While he had many (mostly irrational) doubts on whether or not these things were really true, the prosecutor could not completely deny them and had to find out for himself, even if the outcome turned out to be really unpleasant.

Little did he know that the truth was even more frightening than he imagined. His soul......his soul had really been taken and....placed into this hideous thing...a thing that could make him walk and talk as if it were his real body, only that it was nothing of the sort....

But if this was true, then what did it mean? Technically, Edgeworth thought, if he was not in his real body, then he was pretty much dead, right?

Edgeworth was still in his room, having fallen to his knees and staring at the floor after being so overwhelmed by the terrifying reality of his situation.

However, a woman's voice suddenly brought him out of his stupor. Was that....Maya?

Unfortunately, even in his state, Miles Edgeworth still let his pride get the better of him. He did not want Maya to see him like this - devastated, frightened and uncertain of, well.....everything. While Edgeworth was not good at expressing his feelings, Maya was his friend and he wanted to make sure that she was all right. Even if she was not, however, he would never be able to forgive himself for letting Wright down.

Edgeworth took a deep breath and opened the door slightly ajar to see if he could catch a glimpse of the young spirit medium. Hopefully, she would not spot him.]

[Her calmness is so dissonant with everything he's feeling that for a moment, he's glad he doesn't really have a face, so he can't possibly look as taken off-guard as he feels. Honestly, he's almost angry that she's so calm while he can feel his shattered composure falling away with every step he takes. He's losing it, and she probably knows that he's losing it, which just makes him feel vulnerable on top of everything else.

He knows it isn't her fault that he's feeling this way, but he's not in any place to direct his anger in a healthy manner. He speaks before he thinks any better of it.]

You're awfully calm. [His tone isn't quite accusatory, but it toes the line overlaying his bitterness.]

Are you - that's a really dumb question. What I should be asking is how you're holding up. I - this hit me pretty hard, to say the least. Thinking about what I really want and if it's worth it to keep fighting.

...but I think I've figured out what I want.

[Lancer barely suppresses a snicker when he sees how silly the other man looks, his hair just melding into the water.]

What are you talking about, a year?

[Lucifel just made the right reference at the right time as it seems.]

Exactly. But I doubt there is much to do at this moment.

[John doesn't... know... who he is.]

[Well.]

[Uh.]

[Morty looks up at him and nods silently. If he can find a way to keep himself quiet...]

Oh. I'm actually fine with it. This isn't all that different from how I really look.

[She has less reservations about telling people her status, now that she knows they all of them don't really have normal bodies either.]

I kinda like this. It's pretty cool. And the shape is pretty firm.

[She looks at Feferi curiously.]

What is it? What do you want?

No. No one is.

[LE SIGH.]

...Well, are you alright otherwise? All of your Pokémon are safe?

The mention of the Pokemon is what finally makes Arturia look upset. They had been such adorable creatures, though she shouldn't be surprised. The Administrators had apparently not been lying when they said they could only save one being from every world.

"I suppose it is," she continues, glancing up and down the hall. Somehow, she isn't surprised Zelda had gotten John involved. There was no reason for secrecy now. The Administrators would know exactly what had gone on by now.

"The main issue is making sure no one does something stupid in their panic. We have no idea what the tower's capabilities are like this."

[He almost completely disregards the words of concern; his mind is on one track and he's only vaguely aware of the runners in the other lanes, so to speak. Only once he's taken a few paces past the other violet figure do the words register in his mind.

He stops in consideration, making a half-turn so that he can set his gaze on the feminine ghost of purple that had called out. She seems to be facing him, at least. He can't say he recognises her, but his facial recognition skills don't exactly apply here.

So England's not really sure why she spoke out to him. But he might as well address her concerns.]

Have to say I've been better. And you, ma'am?

Uh, I... I don't know. Not really?

[He shrugs. Yes, you were, but Equius is also well-known among the people who know him for being a spineless paranoiac. That makes it kind of hard to tell if someone was Really That Bad or Equius was just having a shitty day, which it could be easily surmised he was.]

[It startles Feferi just a little, seeing a figure sitting right next to her, but she manages to pull her composure together enough to not jump up right away.]

H-hi...you look like you got pretty shaken up, too. I mean, I think it's like playing with a goldfish only to find it's got shark teeth in its mouth...

She shouldn't be surprised someone would have questions. There's no point in secrecy at the moment so she might as well answer them. Hopefully it'll keep him from panicking and he can try to calm others.

"All right. I don't see how it could hurt."

[The wireframed girl leaned in close and looked at her, squinting. After a moment, it quirked its false lips into a smile. It had taken a minute or two to recognize her, it seemed.]

Feferi...

Think of it this way. You have not killed me once in this place. This body... is just a toy, a shell they tease us with. You're right. It's a lie, and a game. Perhaps it is exhausting to see the truth now. but, if it means anything, I don't think you've ever failed anyone or hurt anyone here.

You've just broken dolls that can be repaired.

[She giggled again, shaking her head.]

But you do realize that it isn't the only game in town by now, don't you? What if you could escape to another of these worlds. One less... cruel?

[Even though the topic on his mind wasn't the same as the one Enoch spoke about, the topics weren't so far off. For the moment Lucifel was taken aback by the - to him - sudden embrace, as well as slightly confused by the other's words.]

...

[His hands soon rested on the scribes back, but he wasn't moving much aside from that.]

No?

No.

[He doesn't even bother to hide it as he slides down next to Tavros. He's clearly not doing well at all, and if Tavros thought that Equius was going to be somebody that took this nicely, he was either way too optimistic or way too dumb to live.]

Is your batshit matesprit around, because I don't want to deal with him right now.

"If I panicked I wouldn't be able to stop others from panicking," she pointed out.

To be fair, she had expected panicking, just not on this scale. It was strange to realize how detached she had become from the average person, how this place had made her treat death so callously. For all she knew they were very mortal right now. With the power out that could very well mean Jason could not revive them at all.

[Which was something that Tohko liked, since doing so in her world had helped her to keep a girl from committing suicide.]

What?! There's plenty to do right now! Calm down everyone else and make sure that they're alright! It helps if you yourself are calm, but if everyone else isn't, no one is going to listen to you or help you out.

I refuse.

[It hurts, seeing him like this. Broken, defeated. For the first time since this happened, she questions if this truly was the right thing, she questions if going against the Administrators in such a manner was the right path.

She kneels before him. And she had thought being summoned as a Servant the first time had been the strangest, most unearthly experience of her life. No, this, seeing Lancelot in such a state, only the shade of a man with his soul shining brightly from within, has to be it. Seeing the man she had--and still--gladly called her friend so broken is what makes her question her judgement.

And yet....]

I will not leave you alone like this. Not again. Not when this is partially my doing. If you need to be upset at someone then hate me for it.

[He's angry.

Of all the people to show displeasure with what she's done, it had to be him.

It hurts, she won't deny that it does. Where her heart should be - where her soul is - she feels a twisted pain that almost makes her want to cry out I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen, this wasn't what I wanted.

But that would be a lie. The "smile" fades, her lower "lip" trembles, and she swallows her pain with a throat that isn't real.]

... I caused this. I do not have the right to cry, or panic, or show disgust.

[So... if this is how things must be, so be it. But she still needs to take a steeling breath before continuing.]

I will face the consequences of my actions with dignity. Whatever... they might be.

Oh, I'm sure there's a reason for everything they do.

[Ion agrees lightly, because there's always a reason. Always, even if it's something worthless like 'because the Score said so' or 'they just did.']

I'm just not sure if it's a good reason.

If I were to be honest, I'm not sure what to think of anything right now, truly.

No. I wouldn't be happy if it were to end. Part of me does want it, badly, but...it's only a desire for the pain to end, isn't it? That can happen without leaving you. Without forsaking the worlds and everything that comes with them.

*They must look so strange, creatures of metal and shimmering film standing before the mirror this way.

But Enoch holds him anyway. These bodies aren't the ones they originally had, and no longer looked like them, but that didn't make them their bodies anyway.*

Edited 2013-06-02 17:57 (UTC)

Then she's getting cradled on his lap like she was his own daughter. However odd it may look in these bodies, like dolls posed.

"It's all right. Don't worry, everything's fine. Yotsuba, look down. Do you see that glow through your clothes?"

Glamour Failure

no subject

no subject

Since she wanted to know where he was.

no subject

no subject

E

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

let me know if you want me to delete this

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject