[ random location in clown town gets us the rides! rather, it gets lu bixing looking critically at the bumper cars like he's trying to decide if he can fix them or not.
when he spots mephisto though he gives him a little smile in greeting. ]
[ the funniest thing to me is how he really never introduced himself to anyone and has completely different names on bicker and the room directory so he's just having fun seeing what each person decides on
anyway!! he smiles back with a little nod of acknowledgement. ]
I am! I like to think of myself as something of an amusement park connoisseur.
[ ME JUST SWEATING AND ASSUMING thats what were going with i guess
anyway
he touches a hand to his chest, brightening up immediately. ] Well! I didn't know I was with an expert? Whta do you think of this one, then? What makes an amusement park amazing? Or terrible?
[ zagreus calling him sir johann has been the funniest so far, he's never correcting that ]
My rating for this one would be a solid Not Great!
[ i'm gonna say he's holding a sad melting spongebob ice cream bar here so that he can be pointing with it for emphasis and dripping all over the floor. ]
The overall aesthetic isn't bad, aside from some poorly designed and poorly placed clowns, and the variety of rides and games is acceptable for what looks to have been designed as a seasonal carnival.
But the game prizes are offensively uncute, the food tastes as if it's been left out too long (though the ice cream is surprisingly good aside from being halfway through a transformation into soup!), and everything looks like it's one strong breeze away from falling part.
[ he's nodding along to this like it is very genuine serious research tm, watching the spongebob ice cream move around with a hint of mild amusement. look at this guy... ]
Then, I have to agree with you! It's mid.
[ a mid-way
heh
anyway ] I guess that's why it's in hell, huh? It can't be perfect.
[ WHY IS MEPHISTO SO FUCKING TALL LBX IS NOT SHORT
JESUS
ANYWAY ]
Do you really? That's amazing. What's yours like? [ he gestures briefly out at the place they're in. ] I imagine not much like this! I've never been to an amusement park before.
It's much nicer than this, anyway. I'm its mascot, so of course my standards are high — I wouldn't put my name or image on anything that didn't meet them.
It has a ferris wheel, roller coaster, and carousel, among other things, and it's a very popular place for student excursions!
[ does mephisto like being thrown into holes? no? well, neither does lu bixing! especially not when they're full of memories.
the one that plays today isn't so bad, though; it could be worse. ]
[ you're standing on a spaceship, and staring at a video screen, surrounded by your students, zhanlu, your father, and of course, lin jingheng, but the man on your screen takes your entire attention.
the face of a man is reflected back at you - ares von, prince cayley. he sneers, this horrible half mechanical, half physical smile - you realize he's on a broadcast to the entire eighth galaxy, and you've tuned in just in time.
"Greetings, to my friends from the Eighth Galaxy. Have you forgotten the face of an old friend? If you have, that's okay. Let me reintroduce myself. I am Prince Cayley. I was betrayed and thrown away by you, the Eighth, a century ago, back from hell. I carry with me the sword of revenge. Are you pleasantly surprised?"
one of your students grabs your sleeve, and starts to tremble.
"My family ruled the Eighth Galaxy for more than sixty years, and fed countless ungrateful pieces of trash, countless parasites. We let you live in your Arcadia, free from the Union's invasion and exploitation. And how did you repay us, my darling subjects? You took in the Union bastards. You betrayed master for nothing but a few bones. You killed my father and brother. You made me flee to extraterritorial space. And until now, my body only exists because I'm supported by scrap metal. How did your years under the Union feel? Did the Union give you freedom and dignity? If you sobbed in pain under a countless siege of gunfire, would the great savior Union come to save you?"
you feel it - a second of utter dread in your stomach as prince cayley laughs, hysterical, bright, and crows, "Let us celebrate our return together!"
the screen erupts in cacophony - a massive set of hyperspace mach 3 mechs aim their cannons at planet cayley, the capital of the eighth galaxy. your father makes a noise beside you, and your eyes widen. that's where you grew up that's -
prince cayley whistles.
hundreds - no, thousands, thousands of missiles burst free from the hyperspace mechs and drop down through the atmosphere on planet cayley, turning a defenseless civilian planet into a a fireball, and in under five seconds - you all watch, as the capital planet is evaporated.
none of you even have time to react before cayley screams into the video, joyful, "Next one!"
and the muzzles of the mech's powerful missile cannons turn and point directly at the north tower planet - at Beijing Beta.
at home. at the starry sea academy and its students. at penny, and the bar sige - lin jingheng owns. at the innocent citizens. at the people of the eighth galaxy, at the planet you applied for citizenship on, at the place you finally settled your roots, the place where your students siblings, families, friends still are. at the cute houses. the city buses that whistle and clank. the machine garbage cans that chatter. the college domes full of pigeons. the old professor who politely waves to all the homeless people. the children who stare at the too bright sun.
and you and your students watch in horror as your home, in a matter of moments, is evaporated into ash, as the screen sh
but the thing is, you have to be the adult, for the four lost children who now stare at you in realization. the four final survivors of beijing beta. the four students who remain of your beloved starry sea academy.
so, as lin jingheng and zhanlu walk away, and your dad starts to get angry, you stay behind.
in the end, you'll be their adult. (to 3:51.) these subtitles suck but prince kelet is prince cayley and the north tower planet is beijing beta ]
for a moment, he's left watching the screen even after it closes off, because - seeing his students that young makes lu bixing's heart just ache. it was so long ago, nostalgic and sort of sweet, and it reminds him of all the things they've been through, since.
he holds his hands against his chest as mephisto speaks up, exhaling out. ]
...Something like that, yeah. [ soft. ] That was a very long time ago.
...The concept of a union of galaxies is a little difficult for most of us to wrap our heads around, I'd wager. Are they all populated with lifeforms similar to your own? Did they spread out from Earth or evolve independently on planets with similar conditions?
[ me sweating in not knowing the answer to this question. im gonna make some shit up char, wherever you are, dont judge me.
anyway. lu bixing makes a little noise, moving his hand to his personal device and tapping something on the screen. a 3D map pops up, projected - the eighth galaxy, a conglomeration of many planets, and then zooming out further, the entire interplanetary union system. the eighth sits at the very edge, and there are long lines that connect each galaxy, except for the eighth, which is marked by what is clearly labeled "the heart of the rose" at the very edge, a simple black swirl where it should be connected to the seventh galaxy before it.
this is something he's terribly nerdy about so this is teacher voice time. ]
A little bit of both. The first intergalactic travel occurred millennia ago - what most of the people here seem to know as their current Earth is ancient, to us. We know it as the capital planet of the First Galaxy now, Wolto. [ the helpful map zooms in on wolto and then back out again, projecting a series of golden lines one by one that move through the traditional nine planets of the ancient earth solar system, and then outwards, to the next galaxy, and spreading out from there. ]
From that planet, the Ancient Earth scientists that discovered the concept of warp technology were able to spread outwards, where they encountered all kinds of life forms - we called that the Second Age of Discovery. Ancient Earth was overcrowded, and people took the opportunity to blaze new trails and find new places to sustain life. Humanity and lifeforms like it have since occupied the majority of the livable planets. The lifeforms that were there in the first place assimilated and combined, so the majority of the Eight Galaxies are those who are human, or something close to it.
[ HELP I'M SORRY YOU COULD HAVE JUST SAID "HE GIVES A DETAILED EXPLANATION" IN BRACKETS AND I WOULD HAVE ACCEPTED IT
anyway, this is... damn. fancy. and a fascinating explanation! he supposes it doesn't seem all that farfetched, with all the advancements he's already seen in his lifetime, though it does leave him wondering about some other logistics. ]
I see! Humans really are something.
[ ...and while they're looking at that screen, another memory starts playing up on the movie screen. certainly different from lu bixing's, but with a few echoes of similarity. ]
[ looks sweatily at that memshare i will tag that back today also
anyway!! lu bixing is set up as usual in the new bar today! he's got a total of... five drinks this time set out in front of him! one, a garish green. one, blue and a little yellow. one, brown and sizzling a little, one a red solo cup, and... the last a drink with a cherry in it! this one's just set slightly to the side.
by now this is probably routine, right? he's here working, his personal device pulled up, typing into the keyboard. he's also got something that looks like a sticker sheet.
when he glances over and spots mephisto, he offers him a smile and a wave, friendly and warm as ever. ]
Hi, Mephisto. Thinking about trying some of the new drinks, today?
Every week! What can I say? It's the duty of a scientist to understand.
[ secretly lu bixing really enjoys this part of every week. it's not a secret. everyone knows this. he is a giant nerd.
he pats the seat beside him. ]
Want to join me? I can offer compensation in the form of sated curiosity... or a cookie, or I can cook you something later this week. Or a gold star sticker, since those seem to be in pretty high demand.
[ a cookie it is! he grins, pleased, and shuffles through screens on his personal device, which pop up over his wrist, a holographic keyboard unfolding too. ]
Alright, then! It's pretty simple. Pick whichever one of the drinks you're interested in drinking, and drink the whole thing. You can chug it or go slowly, it doesn't really matter. Just tell me how it tastes, and how you're feeling afterwards, and then for the first five minutes, it'll just be an observation period, and then we'll go from there.
[ he makes a little fingergun. dingding, correct! ] I went to collect samples for the beers since last week's had a unique aspect to it, and I noticed there was something new on the menu. It's called "Nice Havin Ya".
[ with a little smile: ] I wouldn't ask you to drink anything I wouldn't drink myself, promise.
[ the only danger here is stupidity. lu bixing has his own thoughts as to what this could be, but he keeps his hypothesis to himself for now, instead adding in mephisto's notes. ]
Hmmm. Well, at least it's good. Small mercies. This place really likes lemon flavors...
he make a startled noise when this happens, and like - sticks his hand out to make sure it doesn't fall into a drink or something out of sheer instinct. ]
I - huh. Well... it should only last for an hour to three hours, if the rest are consistent...? Here, let me - I think I've got a hairband here somewhere.
[ let him go dig around in his bag for a minute... ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
week 1, monday
when he spots mephisto though he gives him a little smile in greeting. ]
Hey, Mephisto. Exploring?
no subject
anyway!! he smiles back with a little nod of acknowledgement. ]
I am! I like to think of myself as something of an amusement park connoisseur.
no subject
anyway
he touches a hand to his chest, brightening up immediately. ] Well! I didn't know I was with an expert? Whta do you think of this one, then? What makes an amusement park amazing? Or terrible?
no subject
My rating for this one would be a solid Not Great!
[ i'm gonna say he's holding a sad melting spongebob ice cream bar here so that he can be pointing with it for emphasis and dripping all over the floor. ]
The overall aesthetic isn't bad, aside from some poorly designed and poorly placed clowns, and the variety of rides and games is acceptable for what looks to have been designed as a seasonal carnival.
But the game prizes are offensively uncute, the food tastes as if it's been left out too long (though the ice cream is surprisingly good aside from being halfway through a transformation into soup!), and everything looks like it's one strong breeze away from falling part.
no subject
Then, I have to agree with you! It's mid.
[ a mid-way
heh
anyway ] I guess that's why it's in hell, huh? It can't be perfect.
no subject
Indeed! For the way this place tends to do things, it's near-perfect in its imperfection!
no subject
[ this funny little man ] I'm guessing you spend a lot of time in places like these, then - not just studying them in books?
no subject
Well, I don't really spend all that much time in them, but I do own one!
no subject
JESUS
ANYWAY ]
Do you really? That's amazing. What's yours like? [ he gestures briefly out at the place they're in. ] I imagine not much like this! I've never been to an amusement park before.
no subject
It has a ferris wheel, roller coaster, and carousel, among other things, and it's a very popular place for student excursions!
week 3, tuesday
the one that plays today isn't so bad, though; it could be worse. ]
no subject
My, you've really been living a science fiction drama, haven't you? [ ... ] I suppose I can see why you don't get around to a lot of amusement parks.
no subject
for a moment, he's left watching the screen even after it closes off, because - seeing his students that young makes lu bixing's heart just ache. it was so long ago, nostalgic and sort of sweet, and it reminds him of all the things they've been through, since.
he holds his hands against his chest as mephisto speaks up, exhaling out. ]
...Something like that, yeah. [ soft. ] That was a very long time ago.
no subject
no subject
...Twenty years? Give or take. It was the very beginning of a war that changed the trajectory of our lives.
no subject
[ there's a bit of a smile at... something there. ]
Well, wars do tend to do that.
Did it ever reach a conclusion, or is still ongoing?
no subject
[ he watches the remains of the screen even now, and then shakes his head. ]
...Things didn't really end there. It's like you said. Wars tend to do that. They rarely ever just end.
Our galaxy ended up splitting away from the Union and establishing its own sovereignty.
no subject
no subject
anyway. lu bixing makes a little noise, moving his hand to his personal device and tapping something on the screen. a 3D map pops up, projected - the eighth galaxy, a conglomeration of many planets, and then zooming out further, the entire interplanetary union system. the eighth sits at the very edge, and there are long lines that connect each galaxy, except for the eighth, which is marked by what is clearly labeled "the heart of the rose" at the very edge, a simple black swirl where it should be connected to the seventh galaxy before it.
this is something he's terribly nerdy about so this is teacher voice time. ]
A little bit of both. The first intergalactic travel occurred millennia ago - what most of the people here seem to know as their current Earth is ancient, to us. We know it as the capital planet of the First Galaxy now, Wolto. [ the helpful map zooms in on wolto and then back out again, projecting a series of golden lines one by one that move through the traditional nine planets of the ancient earth solar system, and then outwards, to the next galaxy, and spreading out from there. ]
From that planet, the Ancient Earth scientists that discovered the concept of warp technology were able to spread outwards, where they encountered all kinds of life forms - we called that the Second Age of Discovery. Ancient Earth was overcrowded, and people took the opportunity to blaze new trails and find new places to sustain life. Humanity and lifeforms like it have since occupied the majority of the livable planets. The lifeforms that were there in the first place assimilated and combined, so the majority of the Eight Galaxies are those who are human, or something close to it.
no subject
anyway, this is... damn. fancy. and a fascinating explanation! he supposes it doesn't seem all that farfetched, with all the advancements he's already seen in his lifetime, though it does leave him wondering about some other logistics. ]
I see! Humans really are something.
[ ...and while they're looking at that screen, another memory starts playing up on the movie screen. certainly different from lu bixing's, but with a few echoes of similarity. ]
w4, monday
anyway!! lu bixing is set up as usual in the new bar today! he's got a total of... five drinks this time set out in front of him! one, a garish green. one, blue and a little yellow. one, brown and sizzling a little, one a red solo cup, and... the last a drink with a cherry in it! this one's just set slightly to the side.
by now this is probably routine, right? he's here working, his personal device pulled up, typing into the keyboard. he's also got something that looks like a sticker sheet.
when he glances over and spots mephisto, he offers him a smile and a wave, friendly and warm as ever. ]
Hi, Mephisto. Thinking about trying some of the new drinks, today?
no subject
Not as hard as you are, apparently. Trying to figure out all the new mystery effects?
no subject
[ secretly lu bixing really enjoys this part of every week. it's not a secret. everyone knows this. he is a giant nerd.
he pats the seat beside him. ]
Want to join me? I can offer compensation in the form of sated curiosity... or a cookie, or I can cook you something later this week. Or a gold star sticker, since those seem to be in pretty high demand.
no subject
[ takes the seat!! ]
All right, let's do it.
no subject
Alright, then! It's pretty simple. Pick whichever one of the drinks you're interested in drinking, and drink the whole thing. You can chug it or go slowly, it doesn't really matter. Just tell me how it tastes, and how you're feeling afterwards, and then for the first five minutes, it'll just be an observation period, and then we'll go from there.
Sound good?
no subject
[ he looks at the sizzling one for a moment, then glances over to the one with the cherry. ]
Was that one on the menu here?
no subject
[ he makes a little fingergun. dingding, correct! ] I went to collect samples for the beers since last week's had a unique aspect to it, and I noticed there was something new on the menu. It's called "Nice Havin Ya".
no subject
no subject
[ so that kind of makes sense. ] I wonder if that's a pattern we'll start seeing next week, or a random occurance?
no subject
[ it's just so his aesthetic... ]
I'll have to remember to check back at all the old places next week.
no subject
Mmm, definitely! Hey, if you want to help me test things out next week, too, I definitely wouldn't complain.
[ i guess like as long as we're both alive. you know how it be. ] Maybe they're trying to keep things interesting.
no subject
For us or for them, I wonder?
no subject
Both? [ a little dryly. ] Probably both.
no subject
[ anyway... looking back to the drink lineup. ]
Well, maybe I'll pass on that one for now so I have an excuse to go back to that bar later. So...
[ he will grab..........
the green one, actually, because sour gummy worms rule. ]
no subject
[ mr amusement park master. but! with a grin, he nods, popping open his notes document and tapping open an empty page. ]
Okay. The green one is just called "Stop", apparently? Short and sweet.
no subject
[ ...eats a gummy worm first.
and then takes a sip. ]
...Tastes like a standard hard lemonade, honestly. Not that exciting, but pretty good.
no subject
[ the only danger here is stupidity. lu bixing has his own thoughts as to what this could be, but he keeps his hypothesis to himself for now, instead adding in mephisto's notes. ]
Hmmm. Well, at least it's good. Small mercies. This place really likes lemon flavors...
no subject
[ suddenly, poof, his ahoge is like, three feet tall, and just kind of. bends over. ]
...hm.
no subject
he make a startled noise when this happens, and like - sticks his hand out to make sure it doesn't fall into a drink or something out of sheer instinct. ]
Wha - what?
no subject
[ tries to stand it back up???
fails ]
no subject
I - huh. Well... it should only last for an hour to three hours, if the rest are consistent...? Here, let me - I think I've got a hairband here somewhere.
[ let him go dig around in his bag for a minute... ]
week 5, tuesday
Guten Morgen! ☆ If you happen to be free and in the area, Mepphyland is currently on display in the "Home Biome" on the latest island! ✺◟(＾∇＾)◞✺ Yay!
I thought you might be interested in seeing it and expanding your amusement park horizons. I'll be sticking around here for a bit to keep it open.