TDM I

[thetonmods]

The Ton Test Drive Meme I

Welcome to the The Ton's first ever Test Drive Meme!

The game will officially open on the 1st of April (lol) and we will announce this via the game's Plurk account. Applications will open on this date - please do not submit an application before then as it will be ignored until the opening date.

Please note that the Test Drive Meme does not require an invite.

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Arrival

I. WELCOME

You don't remember when or where you fell asleep exactly.

Perhaps it's the tickling sensation of a low hanging tree branch brushing against your nose or the feel of the slightly damp grass underneath you that causes you to awaken but when you do you'll find yourself lying amongst a glade of wisteria trees. You're not alone - nymphs of the trees laugh and dance about you, clearly amused at the new arrival. Along with them, your new loyal servant is here on Pheme's bidding. How this servant looks is different to each arrival. Some are saddled with short, stout butlers, others are welcomed by towering, busty maids. Regardless of their appearance, they introduce themselves with a kindness and warmth that is simultaneously reassuring and strangely impossible to resist when they beckon you to follow them from the grove and out into the city of Andovale.

The closest structure within sight is the Palace and its grounds. It is here that the Lady Pheme resides and from here that she rules over the city, your servant explains to you. You have been selected and brought here personally by her. It is she who assigned the servant to guide you through the regency-inspired city that is your new home.

Eventually, they will bring you to your new residence within the outskirts of somewhere called the "Trade Quarter". You are now the resident of a room within one of the many imposing town houses which make up the Grand Crescent. Throughout your stay here the servant will be your own personal butler or maid. This is where all new arrivals will be living for the time being you are told. Your servant will also give you a crash course on life here and the concept of Thumos - the energy or life force that keeps Andovale and all life within it going - including you now that you are here. It's generated through acts of intimacy, whether that be physical or emotional.

Once you have been shown to your room, you are given two things: a network communication device and a letter. The letter reads as follows:

My dearest reader,

Welcome to Andovale.

The delights of our fair city are yours to explore.

I do hope that you make your stay here a most interesting one. I shall be frightfully disappointed if you do not - and we do not want that, do we?

You will hear from me again very soon.

Yours Truly,

Lady Pheme

You are free to wander about and explore the house and its surroundings as you please. It's certainly spacious enough. As well as your own quarters, each of the townhouses of the Grand Crescent have large communal areas, which includes the kitchens (although why you'd like to go there when your servant can fetch any delicacies you'd like for you!), a dining room, a parlour with its own small library, two drawing rooms (somewhere you can go to chill out basically - harp music anyone?) and a generously sized garden. Strangely, unlike most accurate regency townhouses, there do not appear to be any servant's quarters - perhaps these servants don't need to rest? Or they go somewhere else entirely for that.

Why not introduce yourself to your new housemates? Or enjoy some tea and cakes that have been prepared for you personally by your retainer, which they seem to keep insisting on bringing to you?

---

II. AN INVITATION

Your arrival coincides with the beginning of spring and with it the height of the ton's social season. What kind of social event can signify the start of this better than a grand ball?

Coincidentally you won't have long to enjoy your new home in peace and quiet. Wherever you are within the Grand Crescent your house's assigned butler or maid will track you down sometime during the day. They are not empty-handed and they carry a silver tray, upon which is an envelope with a wax seal bearing the letter "P". Inside the envelope is an invitation. An invitation from your benevolent ruler, Lady Pheme herself.

Each character will receive an invitation identical in wording to the one below:

MASKED BALL

YOUR CHARACTER'S NAME HERE


Is requested to attend the ball at THE PALACE, on 25th of March current, at 9 o'clock p. m.


Do not trouble yourself - masks will be provided upon your arrival.

Lady Pheme

You have already been told that an invitation to the Palace from the lady herself is the only way in. So if you want to find out anything about the tyrant lady then you better get yourself gussied up. Your servant can help you find something appropriate to wear - or not appropriate, the choice is entirely yours after all. The ball awaits.

Masked Ball

For the first time tonight, the gates of the Palace are open. Whether you're arriving on horseback, by carriage or on foot, you must travel through those gates and down a wide sweeping roadway, lined with immaculately trimmed hedges and roses bushes.

Stone steps and huge double doors greet you at the other end. Once you go through these doors, you will enter a grand entrance hall. You will see this room and the ballroom only. All other rooms are out of bounds and no amount of physical force or magic powers will get you to them.

In the short time that Andovale has been in existence, Lady Pheme has already built herself a bit of a reputation for being rather erratic when it comes to the Palace's interior. She seems to change it on a whim whenever she feels like it. She does so hate being bored after all. The colour scheme she fancies on this particular evening is black, white and silver. The many servants and attendants milling around are dressed all in white and are of course, wearing masks themselves. Every free surface is covered in grand flower arrangements, also in white.

Upon arrival, you are handed two very important items. The first is your dance card, the second is your mask. You will not be able to enter the Palace ballroom without both of these items.










The delight that is the dance card is key to every regency ball experience. Traditionally held by young women, at this ball everyone gets one. The dance card is used to record the names of those with whom you intend to dance each successive dance with at a formal ball such as this.

Got cold feet? Dancing not your thing? You might find that card being magically filled out for you. One second it's completely blank, the next you look down and find yourself with a list of delightful individuals with whom to show off your dance moves. (You have Pheme to thank for that - she's just looking out for you!)

Curiously, there is no sign of your generous hostess herself. Just a throne sitting empty at the top of the ballroom.

As for the masks, well... they're not quite what they seem too. It isn't as though you'll have any choice but to find that our for yourself. As previously mentioned, there's no entering the ballroom without one on. You might be able to persuade someone to swap masks with you or ask a member of the Palace stuff for another one - but they're all about as chaotic as each other.

Hey, at least the drinks are unlimited.

A typical regency ball usually ends around 5 in the morning so you might be here a while.

Note: The images below are just a guide, you can decide exactly what your mask looks like as long as it fits within the colour/animal category described.

Silver Mask

Simple and classic - unless you go for one of the more elaborately patterned ones.

The wearer of this mask will find themselves experiencing only the most pleasant of hallucinations. We'll leave the interpretation of that up to you.

You're also hungry. Really damn hungry.

Blue Mask

Masks of this hue will leave the wearer with an overwhelming sense of sadness. You're just plain bummed out.

Unless that is, you get yourself someone to dance with. In fact the only way to feel remotely normal or cheerful while you're wearing this mask is to dance the night away and you will feel compelled to do just that. Otherwise you're just going to be a giant sad sack all evening and nobody wants that.

Peacock Mask

Wow, so you like to make a statement, huh? Or maybe it was the only one within reach. Either way, nobody's going to fail to notice you in one of these.

Seriously. No, seriously, is it just you or is everyone staring at you? You know the mask is pretty garish in comparison to the others but this seems like an overreaction...

The truth is this mask makes you irresistible to others. So you have the personality of a shovel? Your problems are over, my chum. All of the ton will now be dazzled by your sparkling wit and the positively flawless way in which you conduct yourself. Everyone's laughing at your jokes, even when you didn't make one. Everyone wants to be the first name on your dance card. You might even find yourself with a couple of marriage proposals by the end of the night.

You lucky thing you.

Pink Mask

Two words: MEET CUTE.

Come on, it's everyone's favorite trope! You know that romcom hero or heroine who is delightfully and cutely clumsy? Always bumping into their future love interest? Well, this mask lets you become just that.

You know, after your third spilled drink of the night this could actually get really annoying.

Harlequin Mask

There is no such thing as privacy for those who end up with a harlequin mask. It may take you a while to realise (unless someone else takes pity enough to point it out to you) but this particular mask projects the wearer's innermost private thoughts onto the front of it for anyone else to read.

Let's hope you're not thinking anything too insulting. Otherwise, we might have a fight on our hands.

Cat Mask

This mask causes the wearer to start acting... well, like a cat.

Chasing shiny objects, randomly knocking glasses off the drinks table, rubbing yourself against somebody else's legs... all of that. You weirdo. What will it take to ward you off? A spray from a water bottle? A laser pointer? If only those had been invented...

Golden Mask

This mask will really amp up your Thumos production. When we say really, we mean really.

The slightest touch from another will suddenly feel like ecstasy to you. Even something as simple and bland as someone tapping you on the shoulder is liable to have you feeling weak at the knees.

Naturally this could get a little awkward if you've never even met the other person before. Oh well, at least they can't see your face properly.

Red Mask

Red is the colour of passion. That must be why you're passionately angry at that person. Specifically the first person you lay eyes on once you enter the ballroom. You might even say that they are your nemesis.

Does this person even know that they're your nemesis? Probably not. (Unless they just happen to also put on a red mask and lay their eyes on you at exactly the same moment!) It doesn't matter. Clearly they must be stopped.

Now no decent, upstanding member of the ton would condone actual violence of any kind. Particularly not at a high society soirée such as this. Your fighting must be sneaky, subtle - make them feel like they're simply not welcome here! Throw thinly veiled insults at their attire, literally throw one of the vol-au-vents at them when their back is turned, accidentlly spill your glass of lemonade in their lap... Do whatever it takes. Well, within reason.

How do you like them apples?

The bustling market of Andovale's Trade Quarter is known for having only the finest produce. This week there is a new stall that has never appeared before and it does not specialise in your run of the mill fruit and vegetables.

This particular stall is selling golden apples. In appearance they appear to be literally made of solid gold yet the beautiful woman minding the stall demonstrates that they are perfectly edible. In fact, they're downright delicious - you just can't stop yourself taking a bite. We would venture to say that they are probably the most delicious apples you have ever tasted.

They also come with side effects.

The legendary Golden Apples of the Garden of Hesperides were a wedding present to the goddess Hera from Gaia, the ancestral mother of all life. The apples promised immortality and anyone who ate them would never again experience hunger, thirst, suffering or illness... well, these apples are but a pale imitation of that. No, you won't become immortal but for exactly twenty-four hours after you've taken your first bite you will find that you don't need to eat, drink or rest. Your strength and stamina will increase tenfold and things that would normally cause harm to you cannot. Optionally, you may also be feeling extremely concupiscent, as the locals would put it - aka horny to you and me.

Somehow there's always a bad apple in the bunch though, right? Or several.

Unfortunately some of these apples are Apples of Discord. If you happen to pick one of these, one bite will still give you all of the traits mentioned above but for the next twenty-four hours you will find that unluckiness and chaos seems to shadow your every step...

So maybe you're passing beneath an open window and a maid accidentally empties a vase of water and some dead flowers on your head. Maybe you're in your local inn just trying to have a quiet drink but find that others are constantly trying to start a fight with you. Trying to get lucky with that special someone? Maybe certain parts of your anatomy just will not get with the program. And we advise you to maybe avoid carrying anything delicate and breakable for the next short while.

Wildcard

To assist you with inspiration our full list of Andovale's locations can be found here.

Want to play something that isn't listed here? Go ahead!

Please note that TDMs are considered game canon.

Both prospective and current characters who are already in game will be permitted to top-level on TDMs.

As your first port of call, we would recommend having a read of the premise page, as well as our rules. For any general game questions you may have which are not answered by the FAQ then please leave a comment on the FAQ page - for any questions specific to this TDM then please respond to the questions comment below.

Most importantly - have fun!

Comments

Zack Fair | FFVII

[promissory]

1. Arrival

[There are definitely worse ways to wake up. In comparison to being on the run for who knows how many months at this point and fighting your own coworkers at any time, being asleep under a really pretty tree is honestly one heck of an improvement.

Too bad Zack can't let himself enjoy it.

Sure, it's nice to be led along by a really pretty woman, too - listen, Zack is a young guy who can appreciate attractive women, especially after said months of being on the run - but he's not comfortable with any of this.

Andovale? Where on Gaia is that? And where's Cloud? That's the more concerning matter.

So he allows this maid woman to fuss over him, though she offers no real answers, only a foreign wardrobe that Zack hopes he can disregard, and encouragements to get out there and have fun!

Yeah, right. He has bigger things to worry about.

Instead of going out, he explores the house and finds himself in one of the drawing rooms with some of his new housemates.]

Hey, question. We all showed up here around the same time, right? Did you happen to see a guy, little shorter than me, with spiky, blond hair? He woulda looked like he had a really rough night at the bar.


2. Masquerade: Pink Edition

[Never in his life has Zack been to a fancy dance. Hell, he's never been to a casual dance, even back in Gongaga. If someone were to poke and prod, maybe he'd say his mom danced with him around the kitchen of their little house when he was a toddler, but that hardly counts. And then being in SOLDIER meant he was simply too busy going on missions for Shinra to make an appearance at some social gathering. That was always going to be more the President's area than that of his employees.

Which was always fine with Zack. He'd rather approach situations head-on instead of tiptoe his way around them or say things no one actually means. Which also means he has no training in dancing of any kind and even if these clothes weren't so tight he'd still feel so out of his element.

And, seriously. He feels like his arms are going to bust out of this jacket if he moves the wrong way. And he can't even do squats to make himself focus! Just the worst!

At least wearing a pink mask doesn't hurt his feelings too much, considering everyone else looks just as weird as he feels. Small wonders or something. Until someone else "accidentally" knocks into the back of him and he ends up knocking into someone else, solid chest to...possibly not as solid chest.]

Shoot, sorry! You're not hurt or anything, right? That keeps happening to me tonight. I don't know what the deal is.


3. Dumb Apples

[Reconnaisance. If Zack is going to be stuck here for the foreseeable future, then he's determined to learn as much about this place as he can. He listens to what his maid tells him, but also goes about the town when he can to simply soak it all in. Listen to the other inhabitants, talk to shopkeepers, just look and connect what he can.

He just so happens to pass by a certain stall selling golden apples. The vendor gives him the spiel and makes these apples sound as if they're the gods' gift to man or whatever. Zack listens politely, but then shakes his head with a little smile.]

Sorry, no thanks. I've had my fill of apples for a lifetime.


Wildcard!

[Hit me up if you're feeling something different! You can find me at LadyotRings if you'd like to work out any specifics.]

3

[zemnianjoy]

[ Caleb Widogast had been watching this particular vendor for the time being, conversely he was taking note of all of the effects that the apples were having on the people who took the stall-keeper up on the offer. One lady had immediately latched onto her gentleman companion and hurried away, hand sliding to his rear to squeeze.

Another, after a single bite, had managed to ran himself face first into the little kiosh that sold an assortment of fine flavored ices, quite without thinking or clearly looking.

When there was a refusal, he pushed himself off the tree to weigh in on the strange things that he had seen. ]

That was probably a good thing that you did so; it seems that the effects either air to unmitigatably frisky or irrepairably unfortunate.

[promissory]

[When someone else pops up to speak to Zack, he half expects them to try and sell him something, too. He already has a polite decline on the tip of his tongue when this guy starts talking, but he soon realizes he hasn't been accosted by another salesman.]

Wait, seriously?

[He glances back at the apple seller he's just passed and lowers his voice to continue the conversation.]

They're just apples, though.

[zemnianjoy]

((ooc: small world, but I was checking your plurk and your muse list, and I saw that you were using on your muse list, an icon that I made of Ukitake Jyuushirou; I'm a big Ukitake stan so I had a very big and excited squeak))

--

[ Caleb Widogast would never be good at selling anyone anything. So thankfully the other man disabused himself of that notion very quickly, he motions for Zack to come very quickly away from the seller, with a murmured 'it's alright, nothing to see here'. But already the vendor was finding another person that was quickly approaching. Caleb made a quick motion for Zack to come over and then he folded his arms across his chest and nodded toward the seller, murmuring in a softly accented voice ]

Watch this.

[ A man in riding gear came by, the vendor offered an array of apples and the man delighted, settled his riding crop between arm and side, selected an apple from the assortment ]

I would have fallen into that trap if I had been alone.

[ This man could not resist taking a bite out of the apple; immediately a look of pure bliss came over him, his cheeks flushed in a way they hadn't been previously and then he all but leaned against the apples and made coy and almost obscene eye contact with the vendor. ]

That is a bit awkward, ja? Conversely, I also beheld someone take a bite of an apple and then minutes later upset an entire shaved ice cart--

[promissory]

[ooc: Holy cow, that's so funny, I last played him ages ago, too! But what excellent taste we have~]


[Zack allows himself to be led far enough away by his new...friend? Acquaintance? Fellow observer. And watch he does, unsure at first of he's really going for see anything of note.

Except, of course, he does. He can't help but make a face at how forward the man suddenly turns after taking a bit of the apple. Zack is no stranger to being a flirt himself, but surely he never acted like that, even when he was a teenager, right?]

...Man, this town's got it bad, huh.

[zemnianjoy]

[ ooc: coincidentally, I stan Zack too which is why I made it a priority to tag out with you! ]
-

[ Caleb had watched all of this with a combination of awkward horror coupled with an inability to look away from this scene. The Exandrian equivalent of a train wreck was probably 3 kobolds in a trenchcoat fighting a Moorbounder in a ball gown; that had absolutely nothing on this ]

This is my first day here and I am very much at a loss of how to do anything here.

[ a wry smile, slightly pained because from a scholar's perspective-- it meant that you did not know what could be trusted; anything from food to people could potentially be under suspicion ]

From a stand-point of pure self preservation, I recommend not jumping in when offered things; and warn people when you are able, like I was able to do with you.

[ There was something of a puppy about this guy, and though Caleb Widogast was not a dog person-- he sort of reminded Caleb of his friend Beau, and thus it had been natural to warn him ]

[promissory]

[ooc: hfjshfh again I say, what excellent taste we have!!]


[Zack just keeps watching the scene, unable to look away from how the man all but climbs over the table to get to the woman. The woman who seems to have no problems with any of this. Zack frowns and crosses his arms over his chest.]

Yeah... Well, first of all, I'd stay away from her. She's obviously in on it.

[A pause.]

I mean, unless you like trouble. Don't let me stop you.

[This guy doesn't give off the impression that trouble is what he's after, though, and not with the way he looked after Zack just now.]

Thanks for that, by the way. I don't always use my head when I should.

[zemnianjoy]

Oh, undoubtedly-- I know there was mention of Thumos in the letter I recieved and it is hard not to wonder what our purpose here is. When someone gives you a room, clothing and food free of charge, I am usually very suspect of what they want in return.

[ Caleb shrugs and glances over at Zack, there was no one who knew that gift horses came with prices and ill-hidden vices. It was why he was conversely a very 'look-before-you-jumped' type ]

Think nothing of it, I am very wary of what is happening so I am attempting to make heads or tails of it. Ah, my name is Caleb, Caleb Widogast-- I am probably from a different world than yours, that seems to be the running case with each person I have met this day.

[ The fog in his mind was still there and it was hard to go back to the palatial mansion where they all stayed without feeling some sort of tense air squeezing even happening within lungs. So far he'd been able to get his bearings enough within each of the alternate quarters of the city ]

[promissory]

[Zack's face darkens a little.]

Yeah, that Thumos stuff. Maybe I'm paranoid, but it feels like we're being made into science experiments, which is...super cool.

[It is, in fact, not super cool and Zack can attest to that personally. So if he's going to end up being some other person's plaything, he's going to be pretty pissed off. But they don't know that for sure, yet. They just have to be vigilant.

And with that introduction, he lets himself smile. No need to get too dark on this guy he's just met!]

Good meetin' ya, Caleb. I'm Zack Fair. But let's test it. You ever heard of Midgar?

[zemnianjoy]

[ Caleb was about has excited to be a science experiment as Zack, for reasons that were not so dissimilar to the SOLDIER's. However, Caleb kept up his poker face, which was much easier now then it had been; he'd already collected a few notes and was at the standby to collect more as they occurred to him. He was a wizard, being viligant was what he did best-- of course, coupled with all of the trauma.

Neither here nor there ]

I have never heard of Midgar-- is it a place where everyone in your world would naturally have heard of it? If you've never heard of Rexxentrum, Ank'harel or Emon, then it is safe to say that we both have absolutely no idea where the other is from.

[ He glances over at Zack and then motions for them to start walking ]

Have you noticed anything else odd that has happened since you stepped foot in this plane?

2 with a side of pain

[floresco]

[ The clatter of glassware and the sounds of a familiar voice apologizing profusely is more than enough to get Aerith to turn from her out-of-the-way vantage point watching the dancers on the floor and look toward the source of the noise.

That's... But the writing on the front of her mask doesn't get any further than that. The tall man is masked, but that voice, that familiar silhouette - they strike a certain chord, evoking feelings she had to make herself let go of a long time ago. Wait... replaces the first unfinished sentence writ across her forehead, her feet moving of their own accord, bringing her closer to the tall not-so-strange stranger while they make their apologies to the person they bumped into.

She waits, her mind going a mile a minute, and the writing on her mask scrolls rapidly to keep up with the cadence of her thoughts - No! Yes? It really can't be. What is this place trying to do to me? Her chest aches enough that she forgets that she's staring right up until the man lifts his head and she catches sight of the remarkably blue eyes peering out from behind his mask. ]

Zack?

[ It can't be. He's dead, I felt it happen. ]

[promissory]

[Aw, dammit. Not only has he been bumped into someone - a young woman, he notices, who doesn't seem too perturbed by this interruption to her night - but it seems he jostled her glass of champagne in the process. And caused it to spill over her gloved hand, then fall and shatter on the floor.]

Man, I'm so sorry.

[He takes he randomly without thinking and starts to wipe the liquid away that hasn't already seeped into the fabric, as if that's going to do any good.]

Hold on, I'll get you another drink, okay?

The woman just giggles and makes no effort to help Zack, but he still turns around to look for one of the help making their rounds with drinks or finger foods. Maybe his height is the problem tonight. It's not his fault he's just really tall, though! Or he's just used to taking up more space as a fighter. Kind of stupid, but it makes sense.

When he spots a traveling tray of drinks, he's about to head in its direction, but a voice stops him in his tracks. Rather, it's a voice calling his name.

A familiar voice. He thinks. Unless it's just wishful thinking on his part.

When he focuses on where the voice came from, he realizes there's a woman who had been in front of him. When he gives himself two seconds to think, he realizes she's of a similar height and build to the woman on his mind. And that hair color...

No way.

It's been four years. Longer now? It feels like yesterday. His feet carry him across the short distance and Zack immediately reaches out for her hands. He glances at the mask, catching words spelling something about someone being dead, whatever that all means, and just shakes his head, mouth parted on so many sentiments that don't find their way into the open. In the end, there's only one thing to really be said.]

...Aerith?

[floresco]

[ The way he says her name pulls on her heartstrings, and despite the incredulously phrased it can't be scrolling across the forehead of her mask, Aerith takes a few steps closer, reaching up without a moment's hesitation to lift the stranger's mask off of his face.

Zack... ]

Zack! [ There's so much joy and hope, but grief too hanging in the way she says his name, her eyes filling with tears as she draws her hands away and pulls off her own mask, staring at him in complete, thunderstruck wonder. ]

Have you been here all this time?

[ She thought she had been sure that afternoon when she felt him return to the Lifestream, but, maybe she was mistaken, maybe that sudden, gnawingly raw empty space in her heart was because he'd been lifted out of their world, and dumped into this one.

Stranger things have happened, as their current predicament might suggest. ]

[promissory]

[As soon as Aerith reaches up toward him, Zack leans in and makes it easier for her to reach for his mask. Whatever she wants to do, he'll let her. It's only fair, right? He disappeared on her without a word. And after he promised he'd see her again after the Nibelheim mission...

Man, what a piece of crap he is.

But then she removes her own mask and Zack just takes her in. Some of the other partygoers whisper to themselves at the audacity of these two to go bare-faced, but he doesn't hear any of it. He just sees her beautiful face, her bright eyes, this woman he's missed so much in such a short amount of time. All Zack wants to do is take her into his arms and never let go, but he remembers how that last letter of hers said that it would be the last. It's possible she moved on from him, found someone else.

Again, that would only be fair. So he holds himself back, though it makes him ache at the same time.]

Hey. Um. Yeah, I showed up here earlier today.

nelson muntz going haha

[floresco]

[ She's imagined this reunion so many times over the years Zack's been missing, but it's never gone quite like this. The hug she's dreamed about doesn't come, leaving her standing there, looking over his face (the best face, her favorite face in the history of all faces) and mirroring the hesitation she finds there. ]

Did...

[ The word comes out awkwardly like she isn't sure of what she's asking, even as the questions roll rapid fire in the forefront of her mind - a thing he's spared from now that the mask has been pushed off of her face. Did you get my letters? Are you going to tell me what happened?

Aerith doesn't know how to feel, but she knows how to act like she feels just fine. The tension hanging in the air between them is broken by the sound of her laughing quietly, her hand lifting to flutter at him while she shakes her head, carefree and amused. ]

Long time no see!

[ Somehow, it's harder to fake her way through this than it was to keep a level expression while Hojo salivated and raved on the other side of her cell, then, she could lean on the anger he invoked to fuel that defiant spark of hope in her. Here, in a strange world, confronted with something she's worked so hard on accepting was unthinkable, all she can do is feel the woeful twist in her chest. ]

Do you want to go for a walk outside?

[promissory]

[Zack has had no time to prepare for this, not seriously. Of course he had planned on getting back to Midgar - and somehow staying out from under Shinra's nose; he still has to iron out the kinks in that one - and seeing Aerith again, even if she had moved on. If that is the case, the least he can do is give her some closure. Just a peek inside that church that had become such a sanctuary to him, if mostly because of the woman who inhabited it most of the time, and a quick, 'Hey, sorry about that, I'm not dead or anything, just got a little hung up!' And then he could figure out what to do after losing the woman he -

But what can he reasonably say to her in so many words and without making her worry? Well, worry more. He has been gone for literal years. That's still a shock to him. He's lost so much time. But he still doesn't know what to say. Aerith deserves an explanation and the truth because he isn't sure he can brush off being missing for over four years with a simple excuse like, 'Things didn't go to plan.' No shit, they didn't go to plan; he left and never came back! But neither can he just say he got caught up in a messed up science experiment and he's even more of a screwy cocktail now than when she met him.

What a disaster.

He watches her, though. He watches her because there's nothing else he can do and he sees the emotions flit over her face and it makes Zack feel even more guilty. But she's trying and he has to do the same. So when she starts to laugh, it does something to him and he opens his mouth to say something - ]

It's been a while, huh?

[- right at the same time she quips long time no see and he can't help but laugh a little after realizing their little stumble. It doesn't feel great. It doesn't even feel particularly good, but maybe they just need to get back on the right foot again. It's been over four years. It's only natural they've gotten a little out of sync, right?

He hopes so.

Then, a few - awkward? - moments later, Aerith suggests a reprieve of sorts. Zack exhales, his shoulders slumping a little in relief.]

Please. Let's get the heck outta here.

[For a second, Zack considers waiting for Aerith to lead the way, since this was her idea, but something makes him reach for her hand and start making a (civilized) break for the nearest exit. Maybe it's a test, too, to see if she'll still let him touch her or if she'll pull away at the contact. He has to know.]

[floresco]

[ The way their words trip on each other makes her heart feel heavy and light like she can see a spark of their former selves in the way they edge around one another now.

More than anything, Aerith wants to be overjoyed by this. It's a gift; even if he really did ignore all eighty-nine letters at least he was safe, at least he was somewhere, possibly being happy, at least that terrible certainty she felt that afternoon was some cosmic mistake rather than the worst thing she could imagine coming true.

That doesn't feel like the truth though, at least not the whole truth, but before she has a chance to start mulling it over he takes her hand and knocks the wind out of her completely. Her heart leaps in her chest, and without thinking twice she tightens her hold on his hand, letting him lead the way out of the party and into the gardens beyond, grateful for the way his height and boundless energy aid them in cutting through the crowd.

By the time they're outside she's sped up enough to fall into step beside him, stealing glances at his profile as she tries to work out what, out of a million things, she wants to say to him first.

It isn't until they're far enough away from the other clusters of people who've gone out for fresh air that she finally convinces herself that starting with the biggest thing will make everything else they probably have to talk about seem easier. ]

What happened to you, Zack?

[promissory]

[He feels a spark when the skin of their hands meet and when she grips his tighter, it's like something reaches inside his chest and squeezes it. But in the best way. She doesn't pull away. She keeps holding his hand. It feels good. It feels right.

Zack doesn't pay attention to anyone they pass by. Not the people gawking at their unmasked faces, not the betrayed girl to whom he had promised he'd get a replacement drink, no one. He just has to get out, he has to be alone with Aerith and try to make things right again.

The fresh air hits him square in the face and he feels himself relaxing a little. Maybe he's been away from crowds for so long that he doesn't know how to function anymore. Maybe he's just overwhelmed by this pleasant surprise of seeing his old - current? - girlfriend. It doesn't really matter. Soon enough they find a secluded area in the garden, with hedges and plants tall enough that they give some semblance of privacy. They're still holding hands. He never wants to stop.

Now that they're here, though, Zack still doesn't know how to start up the conversation again. There are so many things he needs to tell her, but which should come first? It's as he's contemplating this that Aerith beats him to it, once again. Zack looks at her, but exhales again. Man, she doesn't pull her punches, huh.

Zack has always been pretty tight-lipped when it comes to his life as SOLDIER. A part of it was because what he experienced at any given time simply couldn't get out to the public. SOLDIER and the Turks weren't too dissimilar in that way, though they definitely operated under different approaches. So he simply never confided in Aerith very much when it came to such details. And even if he could have divulged, it's not like what he had gone through was really suitable for date talk or just pleasant company.

But now it's a little different. The company he gave almost half of his life to wants him dead. Even if he did turn himself in, he's not content they wouldn't just kill him anyway. He knows too much. Or, worse, they'd just stick him right back in a mako tank and he'd probably wish for death. All of his work, all of the loyalty he gave to Shinra and to SOLDIER, and for what?

He doesn't owe them anything anymore. But he owes Aerith an explanation, even if he may not go into the gnarly details.

Zack looks at their joined hands, runs his thumb over her knuckles and tries to keep himself calm.]

It all went wrong.

[That's so vague and won't be satisfactory. Zack lifts Aerith's hand to his forehead and he keeps it there for a moment, keeps her close while he has her.]

I'm okay. You see that, right? I'm okay. Before I say anything else, just know that.

[He lowers her hand and continues.]

The mission went wrong. It was supposed to be routine, but things got out of hand and... Shinra...has a lot of skeletons in the closet. I've known for a while, but it's really bad. Anyway, a friend and I got caught up in it. We...became test subjects. For four years.

[...There really isn't a nice way of conveying all of that, is there.]

[floresco]

[ Those first four words weigh on her like stones, making her hold her breath without thinking. He guides his hand to her forehead, and she can't help but twist her wrist enough to slip free, enabling her to touch his cheek, his jaw, the side of his neck staring at him gravely as some woeful, bitter part of her psyche laments over how it was only inevitable that something involving Shinra would go wrong.

She was too young to know how to articulate it at the time, but Aerith never really understood Zack's devotion to Shinra. His pride in being SOLDIER First Class practically lit him up from within, and she was happy just to see that light, not yet brave enough to question what fueled it. ]

I see it, I almost can't believe it, but I see it, Zack.

[ Her hand slips back into his, heart aching at the warmth she finds there.

He died. She could practically feel him say goodbye Aerith was as sure of it as she is that it is him standing here now, answering the question she had worked so hard to give up on having an answer for.

The more Zack tells her, the worse she feels before the color drains out of her face and she draws away from him, sitting down hard on a stone bench situated in their little corner of the gardens. ]

Hojo isn't very nice to test subjects.

[ The music that threads its way through her words at the best of times is gone completely when she says it. Her expression is grim as she looks at him from her seat, deciding in an instant that though she's shocked and miserable now that she's begun to learn the truth about his disappearance, he's reappeared, and she can't waste that.

Aerith shakes off some of the sadness darkening her expression, raising her eyebrows at him hopefully as she pats the spot on the bench beside her, hoping he'll sit down so that she can take his hand again. ]

So what happened to your friend? Did they escape too?

1

[prozaic]

A short, blond man...? [that's quite subjective! especially when this man practically towers over shalem-- a lot of people would be shorter than him, the serpent thinks.

his black-scaled tail flicks as he places his hand parallel to his eyes, palm down to compare heights. of course he has to help this man, shalem thinks he's rather well-equipped to do so, when he's observant and is capable of remembering a lot of features and details about those around him.

only fortunate that his butler is patient, even if the man wanted to hustle him to his room earlier to start preparing for dinner.]

That's a little difficult to say. Shorter than myself? Or taller?

[promissory]

Uhh...

[Zack joins in with the hand-measuring, holding his at just around the top of this person's head. Cloud is about a head shorter than Zack is, he thinks, so...]

You're pretty similar, I'd say. He might be just shorter than you, but not by much.

[Similar in height, anyway. Last Zack checked Cloud didn't have a tail. But, he's seen weirder. It's just another one of those things.]

[prozaic]

[that narrows the pool of possibilities immensely, but shalem will have to give him a negative answer. the serpent shakes his head, making his fringe fall into his eyes and make him brush it away. that clip is definitely not helping him at all right now.]

Unfortunately, I've not seen anyone like that just yet. [then he taps at his chin, looking over his shoulder at his taller butler, an unspoken question. the man shakes his head, which tells shalem that his memory is not being faulty, he definitely didn't meet a blond, tired-looking man about his height.]

However! That doesn't mean he might not be around. When I'm still exploring, I may just come across someone who could fit your description. Is there anything more I could use to identify him with?

[promissory]

[Zack nods, a little disappointed, but not too surprised. As the day wears on, it seems like only he got snatched away to this place. Which might be good for Cloud as it means he doesn't have to deal with all of this while being severely poisoned, but it still makes Zack worry.]

Thanks, I appreciate it. But uh, his name's Cloud. Not that he would respond to it. He's in pretty bad shape, so he doesn't respond to anything, really.

[Zack wishes he could help his friend more, but being on the run really puts a limit on his options.]

I'm Zack, by the way. So if you do manage to run across him, let me know.

1.

[tragedic]

[ At the question, James looks up from the book he's been engrossed in, a tome about agricultural practices in rural communities, clearly written by someone who has never set foot in farmland anywhere, least of all in a rural community. As it is, however, these sorts of books would never have found their way to his mother's home's meagre shelves, heavy-bound and expensive, a luxury item. They were lucky if the wheat lasted them all winter. So, he's been enjoying the sudden excess - and amused himself a little with some duke's explanation as to how you milk a cow.

News: dukes don't milk cows, evidently. ]

I haven't encountered anyone with spiky hair. [ James isn't even certain what spiky hair looks like. More to his interest, though, he follows up with a question of his own - ] What would a really rough night at the bar entail?

[ Asks the man who never drinks outside family functions and always in moderation, thanks. His mother would murder him otherwise. ]

[promissory]

[Well, if Cloud's most distinguishing feature doesn't ring a bell for this guy, then Zack doesn't hold out much hope. Of course, there's always the chance that Cloud did show up here and his hair just got, like, completely squished down somehow.

Still unlikely. Zack has seen it survive trooper helmets and been fine.

He sighs, though, and chews his lower lip, clearly at a loss as to what has happened to his friend.]

Man...

[But he can't dwell too much on that! He has to stay in the moment and worry about what he can actually deal with. Which is, apparently, describing to this guy what a bender is. Except Zack can't say he knows what that entails, either. Kind of hard to get drunk when your body has been enhanced to such a degree, after all!]

Oh, you know, a little too much here, a little too much there...