That's a great outlook to have! There's no harm while you're here.
[ none at all... they seem. okay. and more importantly, if they're with vergilius and his... then there's a chance they already know who she is, if not what she's done.
oh, well. it's been a while. ]
So. You're... pretty familiar with Vergilius? He told me he was a guide once, so I'm assuming you're who he's guiding. I was... kinda curious after your heartfelt thanks to him.
[ and ely had mentioned them as rodya's manager, so chances are dante is ishmael's, too. their familiarity with her would agree. ]
I always pay close attention when it involves him. Kind of a side effect of...
[ ... well. it'll kill two birds with one stone, and she sighs sheepishly. ]
We were involved for a while here, and my feelings for him haven't faded -- but it's history, and history it'll remain. I'm one of the few people that could get away with it, but I know he's got a little bit of an image to keep up.
[ and. maybe, still, if she hugged him, she wouldn't want to let go. definitely not wanting to test that. ]
They wish they could take the cloak down for this conversation. It feels like the sort of thing they should be showing their true face for.
It's possible she's lying. They could always contact Vergilius and ask, but... would he tell them even if it was true? It could just as easily end with them being told to mind their own business or an answer that would leave them just as confused and off-balance as they are right now.
But they've been quiet for too long. They sit down and lean forward, elbows resting on their knees.]
they're a good person. if only because vergilius wouldn't outstretch his hand to someone who wasn't, and malkuth trusts in that. the comment and posture makes her laugh though, and she pats dante's back comfortingly. ]
Well, Vergilius is one of the people I've known for closer to a year now! It only makes sense you've missed out on a lot, especially on the more "behind closed doors" things. Don't stress too much about it, but-- know that I'm not an enemy, okay? Whatever you know about me right now.
I've been careful every time someone from the future... that is, someone who's ahead of where I am, comes in. Sorry. I don't mean to distrust you, but I had a bad experience with someone off the bat -- I even hid who I was from Vergilius for a little bit, I just... kind of assume you've been told by one of them.
[ a small shrug, then turning her gaze back to the bobbers. they sure are bobbing. ]
Yesod is another one us -- but he's actually a Sephirah right now. I'm a Librarian at this point, along with Gebura.
[They don't correct her assumption, but they do nod to show they're listening.
The Library and L Corp share the Sephirot... And there's someone named "Gebura" who's one of them too. A name they haven't heard yet, but that they make note of.]
It's fine. It wasn't like I intended on telling you what I knew until you said something anyway.
[And technically they're still keeping their cards close]
And you can't get more "future" than me. Well... until someone else shows up.
But for what it's worth, I don't hold any grudges toward any of you.
... So you're like Rodya. That's good. I'm pretty different than how I was back then, so I'd like it if you got to know me as I am now.
[ a real relief, actually, and she relaxes a little more. ]
Ely let it slip you were Rodya's manager, so I was curious to know of what. An Office? They both say they're Fixers, but those usually have Directors...
[ and thus. the true nature of this fishing trip begins to peel off. she wants to know more about them, yes... but definitely more in one sense than another. ]
Sounds easy enough. Consider yourself the only Malkuth I've ever met.
[An interrogation already? A friendly one, sure, but... They're glad they started going over how to answer some of these questions in their downtime earlier.]
Not an Office, but they do have their Fixer licenses. We work for Limbus Company, taking care of Distortion-related incidents. I'm the executive manager of our department.
[ yeah!!!!! dante's a good person!!!!! great!!!!! ]
Distortion, huh.
[ ... yeah, she vaguely recalls something like that being said now. but a whole company that handles it, huh? that's interesting. ]
Um, thanks for taking care of them. I wish we could do more ourselves, but apparently we're outside of City limits... and it's not like we could leave the Library anyway, I think.
[...They're not sure they should be thanked for this. And so instead of acknowledging it, they move on to a question of their own.]
Speaking of... [Since she's asking about the company] What is the Library? You hear a bunch of stories back home, but it's different hearing about the place from the people who were there.
[ ... it's been ages, now. since she was there. but when she closes her eyes, it's easy to recall. ]
The Library is a tall, towering structure that took root right where L Corp used to be. [ hmm. she'll open her eyes again, tilting her head. ] Have you ever heard of the White Nights and the Dark Days, Dante? That's the name they gave it in contemporary history, if I'm not mistaken.
I'll be as open as I can be, since... well, whatever contract I was under before's pretty null and void now, but I'd still appreciate it if you didn't tell everyone who asked. Confidants only, okay? Vergilius knows pretty much everything too -- pretty much.
[ the whole "involved" thing sort of. kind of. made it necessary. malkuth turns her gaze to the ocean, voice quieting. ]
It goes back farther than L Corp. Back to a group of hope filled idealists, who wanted to change The City -- who were gathered by a woman that spoke the dream they held unspoken in their hearts. She, along with two other researchers, began The Seed of Light Project, which sought to free The City and its inhabitants from the "disease of the mind" that had become so prevalent. To bring about hope and equality, so that no one would ever see harming another as a viable option to rise their own ranks. Everything that makes The City, The City, they wanted to get rid of.
... But things didn't go as planned, [ softer, now, ] and she ended up dying. The Project continued on under her successor, one of the researchers who'd helped found it, but... it was different. More aggressive, in a way. And it ended with the deaths of the team that'd once followed her. One by one, those that'd been a part of that revolutionary research group were taken apart and given new life -- as the Sephirot of L Corp, the heads of the varying Departments necessary to make the Corporation function best, though we didn't have a single memory of our previous lives until we were forced to a breaking point. The goal of L Corp, at that point, was to meet a certain quota day by day, and through it as a well as a certain "script" build up Light within the walls, so that it could germinate and bloom as she'd always dreamed.
Well, it did. And then Angela, who was the assistant manager, betrayed us all and put a stop to the Project, which is why it ended the way it did. There's a lot that happened in between, but that's the short version if you can believe it! She struck a deal with us, we were forced to take it, and sometime after the seventh day the Library rose from where L Corp had once been, readying to send invites out to anyone who might seek fame, knowledge, and revenge... all to recollect the Light that hadn't been properly released. Distortions come from that phenomenon too, along with E.G.Os.
The Library itself is a towering, imposing building with as many Floors as there were Departments. I was one of the first to awaken, so I've been watching it grow since pretty much the beginning. The guests we fought didn't die the way we thought they did then, but it doesn't make what happened any less wrong... nor does it cleanse the blood we waded through to our goal from our hands and hearts. But we, as Librarians, sought a second chance to see The Seed of Light Project come to fruition, for the White Days to last the full seven they should've, and to free the minds of our peers from loneliness, despair, and violence.
[ but
obviously that didn't turn out the way it should've either, from her expression. ]
Some parts leave them feeling a little dizzy, a little distant, but the world always comes back into focus in the end.
Other parts seem... uncomfortably familiar.
And then they think of Hod's words in the Headquarters before they left. Her uncertainty and despair. The way she seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown. An unfamiliar, yet familiar sight, of despair and anguish and war with oneself.
Whether or not it's all a coincidence doesn't matter. Not really. But it's close enough that their mind begins to wander, and the question is asked before they can even think to stop themself.]
That first time, before things were shut off. Was it worth it? If things had gone as planned, would you have had any regrets?
[They stop and shake their head, getting up on their feet to lean against the railing and stare down at the bobber, watching as it's tossed by the waves.]
That's probably too personal a question to ask someone you just met.
[ because it is. but malkuth had long resolved to look her history, their in the face, and come to terms with everything without looking away or making excuses.
... though she still lingers quietly for a moment before she answers, giving it another turn in her thoughts before coming with the same answer she does every time. ]
No, I wouldn't. Not just because that project would've been The City's salvation, not just because the agents we'd employed had been those without anything left to lose... but because we would've died at the end, too. I wouldn't be standing here if it'd gone without a hitch, and I used to curse Angela every day for making us live anyway.
[ but death would've been welcome. would've been its own atonement. why was ayin allowed it, but no one else? she shakes her head. ]
I'd do it all over again. There's things I'd change, with the knowledge I have now, but I'd join Carmen, I'd keep on with the Project, I'd work until my last breath to change that city.
[It's her honest answer, and they can't fault her for feeling the way she does, but so little of it sits well with them.
The name "Carmen" for one. A name they're sure isn't a coincidence. Flashes of white and red and a kind voice like the sun peeking from behind stormclouds, offering a form of succor that nearly served to trap Heathcliff in his moment of despair. Just like the Distortions they'd faced before.
And death: the only guaranteed reward to lay at the end of the long road. The death of the Sephirot, of this "Angela," and of the countless employees of L Corp, buried beneath the ruins of every branch. Yuri, who'd never had a chance to recover her life before it was lost, who'd nearly buried beneath the ruins of her old workplace, whose coworkers beat eachother to death in those ruins in a bid to survive for just a little longer... Had she known this would happened? Had she agreed to die? Or was she swept along Lobotomy Corporation's flow, washing briefly ashore only to drown in the waters like all the rest?
All for a dream. A dream of a kinder, better world, one that they can't fault the people involved with the project for having. How could they, when they know what the City is like? When they have nothing better to offer?
They wish they knew what to say. But staying silent feels wrong too, so...]
That's the best you can hope for sometimes. A lack of regret. Finding some meaning in it all...
That's what history is all about. Accepting what happened, learning from it, and living with it. That includes any regrets you do have, Dante -- one of the biggest mistakes people make is they let their regret consume them instead of coming face to face with what happened and pushing on. Finding what they can do to avoid repeating the same things they came to regret.
[ but it's hard to do, she knows. so easy to talk about. malkuth twirls her hair, then gives the rod a little shake to see if she can attract a fish.
no... ]
Any other questions? I'm serious, I'll answer everything~. And anything I can't, Gebura can. She's nice once you get past her gruff attitude.
She's right, though. You can't live a life in "maybe"s forever.]
It's kind of hard to pick. [Not unless they want to give away something they shouldn't.] ...You said you were following someone named Carmen, right? Tell me about her.
[ being able to write your own history is a rare gift. one she knows exactly two other people can say they're able to do. at the question her gazes softens, warms, and there's nothing but affection in her tone. ]
... A smart, warm woman who would walk the streets, whether the Nest's or the Backstreet's, and speak of the dream she had for the future. A lot of people turned their nose up at her -- I mean, who wouldn't? -- but enough of us were drawn, obviously. Carmen was someone who always looked forward, determined to see things through, and never had a bad word to say about anyone at all. She saw the good in everyone, and could even turn someone's faults into something worth being proud of.
I said I was clumsy, right? She said I was extremely passionate, so much that I'd fumble over my own feet -- like it was just a side effect. She led us all without hesitation, put herself in all kinds of danger just to have a single chance at changing someone's mind, but... she was the kind of person who's light could burn so, so bright, and be snuffed out in the next moment, too.
[ memories of that day flood her mind and she closes her eyes. ]
It was an accident. She didn't want to endanger anyone, but one of the kids we'd picked up in the Outskirts had just as high potential for furthering our research as she did -- and Carmen had wanted to use herself, since she wouldn't ask anything of anyone she wasn't prepared to do on her own, but the boy -- Enoch -- insisted, because he wanted to repay her kindness. He died during the experiment and Lisa, a girl we'd picked up at the same time, hated Carmen beyond belief for it.
Carmen hadn't wanted to hurt anyone. She did everything she could to avoid that. To cause someone pain, to kill them -- they weren't part of her ideal world, which rooted out violence and hurt -- and being the cause of Enoch's death tore her apart. It sucked out the spirit we'd come to love, dulled the shine that led our way, and eventually...
[ ... a wave. ]
Anyway, she was someone worth looking up to. And I did. I wanted to be just like her, and I think I've made steps towards that while keeping true to myself, too. You might've liked her-- well, anyone would. She was easy to get along with!
[They'd hoped Malkuth's description might put things into perspective, but all it does is muddy the waters. It's not impossible for the woman she talks about to become the Voice of the Distortion, after all, even if Dante's not entirely sure how point A got to point B, even with the story of Lobotomy Corporation added to it all.
But as they grasp for examples and comparisons, they land upon La Manchaland, and it starts making some sense. Was it serendipity or fate that one of L Corp's branches would become part of that amusement park one day?]
Sounds like the kind of person you don't see very often back home. I wonder if she would have had an easier time in a place like this.
[Maybe they would have liked her. Maybe they wouldn't. It's hard to tell with memories rose-tinted by death and admiration.]
Of course! Well-- if I can do for someone what she did for all of us, then I'l consider that goal complete. But I'm short on giving people dreams or a future.
[ haha... ha...... ]
But enough about me, Dante. Tell me a little about yourself!
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
followyourstar) wrote2024-11-04 09:27 am
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[ none at all... they seem. okay. and more importantly, if they're with vergilius and his... then there's a chance they already know who she is, if not what she's done.
oh, well. it's been a while. ]
So. You're... pretty familiar with Vergilius? He told me he was a guide once, so I'm assuming you're who he's guiding. I was... kinda curious after your heartfelt thanks to him.
[ and ely had mentioned them as rodya's manager, so chances are dante is ishmael's, too. their familiarity with her would agree. ]
no subject
You heard that, huh? I didn't think anyone but Vergilius and the guy who gave me the dare would be listening.
[Honestly, they should have known better.]
I meant what I said, though.
[And they stand by it.]
You know him pretty well too though, don't you? Enough to know whether or not he likes to be hugged.
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[ ... well. it'll kill two birds with one stone, and she sighs sheepishly. ]
We were involved for a while here, and my feelings for him haven't faded -- but it's history, and history it'll remain. I'm one of the few people that could get away with it, but I know he's got a little bit of an image to keep up.
[ and. maybe, still, if she hugged him, she wouldn't want to let go. definitely not wanting to test that. ]
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You and he were...
[That changes things. It changes them a lot.
They wish they could take the cloak down for this conversation. It feels like the sort of thing they should be showing their true face for.
It's possible she's lying. They could always contact Vergilius and ask, but... would he tell them even if it was true? It could just as easily end with them being told to mind their own business or an answer that would leave them just as confused and off-balance as they are right now.
But they've been quiet for too long. They sit down and lean forward, elbows resting on their knees.]
I've really, really missed out on a lot here.
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they're a good person. if only because vergilius wouldn't outstretch his hand to someone who wasn't, and malkuth trusts in that. the comment and posture makes her laugh though, and she pats dante's back comfortingly. ]
Well, Vergilius is one of the people I've known for closer to a year now! It only makes sense you've missed out on a lot, especially on the more "behind closed doors" things. Don't stress too much about it, but-- know that I'm not an enemy, okay? Whatever you know about me right now.
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[An easy admission, especially when it means everyone's had double your life experience.
Anyway, if she's ripping the bandaid off now, they might as well do the same.]
Is that why you made it sound as if you're from a different City at first? Because you thought I'd see you as an enemy?
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[ a small shrug, then turning her gaze back to the bobbers. they sure are bobbing. ]
Yesod is another one us -- but he's actually a Sephirah right now. I'm a Librarian at this point, along with Gebura.
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The Library and L Corp share the Sephirot... And there's someone named "Gebura" who's one of them too. A name they haven't heard yet, but that they make note of.]
It's fine. It wasn't like I intended on telling you what I knew until you said something anyway.
[And technically they're still keeping their cards close]
And you can't get more "future" than me. Well... until someone else shows up.
But for what it's worth, I don't hold any grudges toward any of you.
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[ a real relief, actually, and she relaxes a little more. ]
Ely let it slip you were Rodya's manager, so I was curious to know of what. An Office? They both say they're Fixers, but those usually have Directors...
[ and thus. the true nature of this fishing trip begins to peel off. she wants to know more about them, yes... but definitely more in one sense than another. ]
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[An interrogation already? A friendly one, sure, but... They're glad they started going over how to answer some of these questions in their downtime earlier.]
Not an Office, but they do have their Fixer licenses. We work for Limbus Company, taking care of Distortion-related incidents. I'm the executive manager of our department.
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Distortion, huh.
[ ... yeah, she vaguely recalls something like that being said now. but a whole company that handles it, huh? that's interesting. ]
Um, thanks for taking care of them. I wish we could do more ourselves, but apparently we're outside of City limits... and it's not like we could leave the Library anyway, I think.
no subject
Speaking of... [Since she's asking about the company] What is the Library? You hear a bunch of stories back home, but it's different hearing about the place from the people who were there.
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[ ... it's been ages, now. since she was there. but when she closes her eyes, it's easy to recall. ]
The Library is a tall, towering structure that took root right where L Corp used to be. [ hmm. she'll open her eyes again, tilting her head. ] Have you ever heard of the White Nights and the Dark Days, Dante? That's the name they gave it in contemporary history, if I'm not mistaken.
no subject
The light that shot up from L Corp some time back.
[They don't know too much about it, but that much they're pretty sure is true.]
sorry dante you asked the most talkative nestborn. lobco spoilers
[ casually. ]
I'll be as open as I can be, since... well, whatever contract I was under before's pretty null and void now, but I'd still appreciate it if you didn't tell everyone who asked. Confidants only, okay? Vergilius knows pretty much everything too -- pretty much.
[ the whole "involved" thing sort of. kind of. made it necessary. malkuth turns her gaze to the ocean, voice quieting. ]
It goes back farther than L Corp. Back to a group of hope filled idealists, who wanted to change The City -- who were gathered by a woman that spoke the dream they held unspoken in their hearts. She, along with two other researchers, began The Seed of Light Project, which sought to free The City and its inhabitants from the "disease of the mind" that had become so prevalent. To bring about hope and equality, so that no one would ever see harming another as a viable option to rise their own ranks. Everything that makes The City, The City, they wanted to get rid of.
... But things didn't go as planned, [ softer, now, ] and she ended up dying. The Project continued on under her successor, one of the researchers who'd helped found it, but... it was different. More aggressive, in a way. And it ended with the deaths of the team that'd once followed her. One by one, those that'd been a part of that revolutionary research group were taken apart and given new life -- as the Sephirot of L Corp, the heads of the varying Departments necessary to make the Corporation function best, though we didn't have a single memory of our previous lives until we were forced to a breaking point. The goal of L Corp, at that point, was to meet a certain quota day by day, and through it as a well as a certain "script" build up Light within the walls, so that it could germinate and bloom as she'd always dreamed.
Well, it did. And then Angela, who was the assistant manager, betrayed us all and put a stop to the Project, which is why it ended the way it did. There's a lot that happened in between, but that's the short version if you can believe it! She struck a deal with us, we were forced to take it, and sometime after the seventh day the Library rose from where L Corp had once been, readying to send invites out to anyone who might seek fame, knowledge, and revenge... all to recollect the Light that hadn't been properly released. Distortions come from that phenomenon too, along with E.G.Os.
The Library itself is a towering, imposing building with as many Floors as there were Departments. I was one of the first to awaken, so I've been watching it grow since pretty much the beginning. The guests we fought didn't die the way we thought they did then, but it doesn't make what happened any less wrong... nor does it cleanse the blood we waded through to our goal from our hands and hearts. But we, as Librarians, sought a second chance to see The Seed of Light Project come to fruition, for the White Days to last the full seven they should've, and to free the minds of our peers from loneliness, despair, and violence.
[ but
obviously that didn't turn out the way it should've either, from her expression. ]
no subject
A lot.
Some parts leave them feeling a little dizzy, a little distant, but the world always comes back into focus in the end.
Other parts seem... uncomfortably familiar.
And then they think of Hod's words in the Headquarters before they left. Her uncertainty and despair. The way she seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown. An unfamiliar, yet familiar sight, of despair and anguish and war with oneself.
Whether or not it's all a coincidence doesn't matter. Not really. But it's close enough that their mind begins to wander, and the question is asked before they can even think to stop themself.]
That first time, before things were shut off. Was it worth it? If things had gone as planned, would you have had any regrets?
[They stop and shake their head, getting up on their feet to lean against the railing and stare down at the bobber, watching as it's tossed by the waves.]
That's probably too personal a question to ask someone you just met.
no subject
[ because it is. but malkuth had long resolved to look her history, their in the face, and come to terms with everything without looking away or making excuses.
... though she still lingers quietly for a moment before she answers, giving it another turn in her thoughts before coming with the same answer she does every time. ]
No, I wouldn't. Not just because that project would've been The City's salvation, not just because the agents we'd employed had been those without anything left to lose... but because we would've died at the end, too. I wouldn't be standing here if it'd gone without a hitch, and I used to curse Angela every day for making us live anyway.
[ but death would've been welcome. would've been its own atonement. why was ayin allowed it, but no one else? she shakes her head. ]
I'd do it all over again. There's things I'd change, with the knowledge I have now, but I'd join Carmen, I'd keep on with the Project, I'd work until my last breath to change that city.
and then the Dante Big Thoughts...
The name "Carmen" for one. A name they're sure isn't a coincidence. Flashes of white and red and a kind voice like the sun peeking from behind stormclouds, offering a form of succor that nearly served to trap Heathcliff in his moment of despair. Just like the Distortions they'd faced before.
And death: the only guaranteed reward to lay at the end of the long road. The death of the Sephirot, of this "Angela," and of the countless employees of L Corp, buried beneath the ruins of every branch. Yuri, who'd never had a chance to recover her life before it was lost, who'd nearly buried beneath the ruins of her old workplace, whose coworkers beat eachother to death in those ruins in a bid to survive for just a little longer... Had she known this would happened? Had she agreed to die? Or was she swept along Lobotomy Corporation's flow, washing briefly ashore only to drown in the waters like all the rest?
All for a dream. A dream of a kinder, better world, one that they can't fault the people involved with the project for having. How could they, when they know what the City is like? When they have nothing better to offer?
They wish they knew what to say. But staying silent feels wrong too, so...]
That's the best you can hope for sometimes. A lack of regret. Finding some meaning in it all...
ough... i love them
[ but it's hard to do, she knows. so easy to talk about. malkuth twirls her hair, then gives the rod a little shake to see if she can attract a fish.
no... ]
Any other questions? I'm serious, I'll answer everything~. And anything I can't, Gebura can. She's nice once you get past her gruff attitude.
no subject
She's right, though. You can't live a life in "maybe"s forever.]
It's kind of hard to pick. [Not unless they want to give away something they shouldn't.] ...You said you were following someone named Carmen, right? Tell me about her.
no subject
... A smart, warm woman who would walk the streets, whether the Nest's or the Backstreet's, and speak of the dream she had for the future. A lot of people turned their nose up at her -- I mean, who wouldn't? -- but enough of us were drawn, obviously. Carmen was someone who always looked forward, determined to see things through, and never had a bad word to say about anyone at all. She saw the good in everyone, and could even turn someone's faults into something worth being proud of.
I said I was clumsy, right? She said I was extremely passionate, so much that I'd fumble over my own feet -- like it was just a side effect. She led us all without hesitation, put herself in all kinds of danger just to have a single chance at changing someone's mind, but... she was the kind of person who's light could burn so, so bright, and be snuffed out in the next moment, too.
[ memories of that day flood her mind and she closes her eyes. ]
It was an accident. She didn't want to endanger anyone, but one of the kids we'd picked up in the Outskirts had just as high potential for furthering our research as she did -- and Carmen had wanted to use herself, since she wouldn't ask anything of anyone she wasn't prepared to do on her own, but the boy -- Enoch -- insisted, because he wanted to repay her kindness. He died during the experiment and Lisa, a girl we'd picked up at the same time, hated Carmen beyond belief for it.
Carmen hadn't wanted to hurt anyone. She did everything she could to avoid that. To cause someone pain, to kill them -- they weren't part of her ideal world, which rooted out violence and hurt -- and being the cause of Enoch's death tore her apart. It sucked out the spirit we'd come to love, dulled the shine that led our way, and eventually...
[ ... a wave. ]
Anyway, she was someone worth looking up to. And I did. I wanted to be just like her, and I think I've made steps towards that while keeping true to myself, too. You might've liked her-- well, anyone would. She was easy to get along with!
no subject
But as they grasp for examples and comparisons, they land upon La Manchaland, and it starts making some sense. Was it serendipity or fate that one of L Corp's branches would become part of that amusement park one day?]
Sounds like the kind of person you don't see very often back home. I wonder if she would have had an easier time in a place like this.
[Maybe they would have liked her. Maybe they wouldn't. It's hard to tell with memories rose-tinted by death and admiration.]
Do you still want to be like her now?
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[ haha... ha...... ]
But enough about me, Dante. Tell me a little about yourself!
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[They should have seen this coming. The amount of information she gave compared to them is hardly equal.]
What kinds of things would you like to know?
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[ start easy. it says a lot, they don't know how much. ]
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