TEST DRIVE MEME

[evercyclic]

Whet your whistle, try out the setting, and see who you want to bring to the party! IT'S A MINOR BLIP IN TIME Maybe you were showering, or sleeping, having breakfast. You might have been participating in your morning commute or fighting off a horde of zombies. Whatever you were in the middle of, a strange sensation of disconnection comes over you, as though you're watching your life on screen, a passive audience to the proceedings. It's almost like, well, being sucked down the drain like every adolescent nightmare, the feeling of disconnection replaced quickly with a pain so deep, it's as though every atom of your being is pressed too closely together, and your vision goes dark. Then, just as quickly as the pain came over it, it's gone, reality snapping back into place like a stretched rubber band. WELCOME TO NEW YORK CITY When your eyes adjust, you find yourself in a slightly spartan room, standing on a platform that seems to be made of glass or some sort of crystal. Energy currents in blues and greens swirl within it, dizzying and hypnotizing if stared at for too long. You're shocked from the vision by a cheery, bubbly voice that belongs to a petite brunette grinning at you from the base of the steps that lead down from the platform. She apologizes for any inconvenience you may have been caused, and hands you a small package, explaining that inside you'll find a phone, a directory of locations within the complex you've arrived in, a charge card with a balance of $500, and a key to a room in the dormitories which can be reached by following the green line on your directory. She apologizes again for how confusing this must all be, but assures you that everything will make sense soon! THOSE SEXY PROMPTS 01 ARRIVAL After receiving your mysterious package from the happy girl who identifies herself as Airy, she suggests you head out and explore! You find out pretty quickly, or have a lot of trouble figuring out, that you're in a vast underground complex that consists of a lot of areas the directory says are "RESTRICTED". Places you can access are listed as "Forest", "Rec Room", "Cafeteria", and "Dormitories". 02 FOREST Down a hallway across from a RESTRICTED area, a vast room filled with a living, breathing, underground forest can be found. Here, deep underground, the sun shines, a small creek flows, birds sing, and one could really believe they were outside. There's even a pleasant breeze! Weird, right? 03 REC ROOM On the opposite side of the complex, near the dormitories, one will find another vast room labeled "REC ROOM". Inside, there is a seating area with basic refreshments (water, sports drinks), board games, a more relaxed seating area with sofas and places to read, a separate room that contains exercise equipment, another with an indoor pool, and a small basketball court. In a separate game room, there are arcade machines, an air hockey table, pool table, and ping pong table. 04 CAFETERIA Across the main hall from the REC ROOM, one will find the double doors leading to the CAFETERIA. Outside, on a easel chalkboard, can be found the menu items available for the meal currently being served. Inside, several dozen tables and chairs take up most of the floor, and the din of conversation is comparable to a high school cafeteria. The older gentleman in the kitchen will come to the counter when approached to see which of the selection you'd like. We'd really recommend sticking to the offered selection. 05 DORMITORIES Situated in a wing complex near the REC ROOM and the CAFETERIA is the DORMITORY wing. Rooms are solo and very small, ten to a hallway, and contain a single bed, a small dresser with mirror, and a small standing closet. Each hall has a common room at the end with seating and a five shelf bookcase, off of which are male and female bathrooms with showers, and a laundry room with four washers and four dryers. 06 WILDCARD Start your own prompt! See what that phone can do, facilitate random encounters in any of the unrestricted areas! Go wild! Literally!

( DIRECTORY )

Comments

[theycalledmeacurse]

The question would have been no easier for her to answer had it been him doing the asking, though the answer she gave him would have been very different. Remy LeBeau had been her everything. Once she had finally stopped fighting and being so afraid of all that he offered, she had fallen head over heels for the prince of thieves; he'd stolen her heart. They had worked past their issues together and been stronger for it.

But apparently that hadn't happened with this one. The implications of those few words made her heart ache, and she frowned and turned her gaze downward, leveling it with his chest instead of trying to face those strangely beautiful eyes. "Oh."

What a disappointing response. Her own, not his. So she tried again.

Clearing her throat slightly, she raised her eyes back up, forced a hint of a smile, and held her gloved hand out to him in greeting. "I suppose I should introduce myself properly. My name's Marie LeBeau."

[playsforkeeps]

LeBeau, she said. Of course she did. Was a dream he had, once upon a time, coming true for someone else worth the amount of pain he read in her eyes? Meeting alternate versions of yourself was always strange, always disorienting in a way, and this was no different. Was it really better of the world around you was in flames? The X-Men of the world Apocalypse ruled would say no, the Rogue there would say no.

So would he. He smiled, more friendly than flirtatious, though there was always hint of it underneath, he'd never been able to shake that, and took her hand.

"Remy leBeau. De pleasure's mine."

[theycalledmeacurse]

It was a short-lived dream in her world. Too short, but there was nothing to do for it. Maybe one day in this new world she'd helped to make, but there was no way to know for sure. She wouldn't remember the love of her life or the days they'd spent together, and she had to tell herself that it was better this way, because the alternative was the end of the entire world. She could never bring herself to be that selfish in any universe.

"Of course it is," she commented with a bit more smile and a hint of amusement in her voice. "It always is, isn't it?"

[playsforkeeps]

He chuckled at her reaction, even though it was evident, he was sure, to both of them that it was an act, a curtain to conceal the differences and similarities between both of their worlds.

"Sho' nuff, mon chere." He glanced toward the menu, then back to this other Rogue. "Got a question, though. Wouldn't happen ta be Anna-Marie, would it?"

[theycalledmeacurse]

It had always been a sort of act between them, before they'd managed to both let their guards down. Why should this be any different? They knew each other, but not really, as evidenced by his question.

Giving him a somewhat confused frown, she shook her head. "Anna's my middle name, but no one ever used it like that. I'm guessin' the Rogue you know goes by Anna-Marie?"

[playsforkeeps]

He nodded, noting more and more the differences between the two of them. They were so similar, each marked by their own unique ordeals, and yet so different. It stood to reason, of course. Anna was dynamic, always shifting. Why would two incarnations be that similar?

"Sometimes, ta some." To him and a few choice others. "Anna, when she's close."

[theycalledmeacurse]

Rogue couldn't begin to guess at the differences between this Remy and her own. There were hints of things, here and there, but she would have to get to know him much better to be able to see beneath that facade.

Nodding, she told him, "No one ever called me Marie except my Remy and Logan. I was Rogue to everyone else. Everyone not in my head, at least."

[playsforkeeps]

"Logan...?" That was news. Of course, they were all closer back then, before time and life beat wedges between all of them. He had to constantly remind himself this was not the Anna, the Marie, that he knew. It was more difficult than he thought it would be, considering how often he'd been to other worlds, been visited by other alien species.

"Ain' surprised, though. You always played yo' hand close ta de vest."

[theycalledmeacurse]

Rogue couldn't imagine not being close to Logan, or having a life where he hadn't been such an integral part. But even contemplating that idea was painful, because he had been one of the friends who'd abandoned her to her fate, hadn't he? And now she'd never be able to ask him, or any of them, what she had done to deserve that.

"It always seemed easier that way," she mused, then shrugged with one shoulder. "Fewer chances for people to hurt you, right?" Was she looking for validation? It was certainly possible. At the end, Remy's opinion had been one she'd held in high regard.

[playsforkeeps]

Remy nodded, placing his hands in the pockets of his trenchcoat and looking down. Once upon a time, when he was younger, he'd thought the same way, that keeping people at a distance was the best way to move forward. Less collateral damage that way. Now? Now sometimes other people were all that held him together.

Hell, there was a whole group of students who looked up to him. He couldn't disappoint them, could he?

"Used ta be I felt dat way, chere. Now...things have changed."