engineers | pc catchall | superhell

[ 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. ]

Hey, Mephisto. Exploring?

[ 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 ]

Edited 2023-03-01 01:24 (UTC)

[ 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?

[ sliding into lbx's dms ]

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.

week 1, monday

week 3, tuesday

w4, monday

week 5, tuesday