Test Drive Meme - December - Merry Christmas and a New Year!

[bestmomever]

December has arrived! And it's a festive, very festive time for the people of Alola. You'll find that many local businesses are doing well this time of year as there's brilliant lights being strung up, in preparation of people, both tourists and people. The doors are open, the Christmas Spirit is in the air, and Delibirds have arrived to start taking letters to Santa! Mallow in particular has been a chief advocate of getting your letters into Santa, as this is the second Christmas Vacation coming up for the Fallers, and soon you'll be off school for Christmas Break which starts on the 18th.

You'll have lots to do, but soon, there'll be a aura of business as Christmas begins to loom closer and closer, as a sense of urgency starts pushing forward as the Delibirds seem more and more urgent...




A. Arrival

Another wave of Ultra Holes have opened up over the Island, alarms have appeared and the Ultra Guardians as well as Bewear has come into play. This time, the Fallers have been asked to intercept the literally Falling people who are coming out of the holes and brief them and bring them to the Pokemon Center, ie Immigration to get checked in. Wicke is there to answer questions but a few volunteers may be there as well. The experienced Fallers can get you up to speed.


B. The Alola Community Visitors Plaza

A venue usually for tourists, new Fallers are given a chance to see the main tourist area for Alola, in order to orient and familiarize themselves with the nature of Alola and Pokemon in general. A far cry from the disorganized mob that was originally there, this time, there are people set up in the stands, ready to receive tourists and Fallers alike. Pamphlets, interviews with locals and tour guides, Ride Pokemon to take you around the island, and various other places are available. Please look around, the choice is yours. This month it is decorated for the Festival of Lights, aka Christmas.


C. The Hau’oli City Markets

This is where the marketplace stands, full of fresh fruit and food. Those who are hungry can be treated to a delicious taste of Alola. Not once, not twice, but more times than they can imagine. Your coin is good here, even if it’s alien in nature. Even if you don’t have coin, you’ll be fine. Ohana. No one is left behind or forgotten. We’re not about to let people go hungry in this world. Nature’s bounty is for everyone, humans and Pokemon alike. There’s no need to steal, just ask the marketplace for some food if you are very hungry. Even if you’re shy, Miss Anela will offer you a snack. There's a lot of holiday treats.


D. Job Board

Odd Jobs have been posted here right now, thanks to the efforts of the people who have decided to help the Fallers out, and it’s also a help wanted board for those who want to earn some coin in the middle of the week before the beginning of the school year. Tasks such as bucking crates of Juice off a truck, to doing some simple paperwork in an office for a few days, and even tending Pokemon in a farm on Akala Island. The choice is yours. Get out and explore. There's a lot of decorating jobs right now.


E. Exploring the entire island chain

If you wish to explore Melemele, it is a big island, and there is plenty to see. There are Forests, Honey Fields, Hot Springs, Beaches, and many other places. Melemele boasts one of the biggest cities Hau’oli City, and is the capital of Alola. Here, up at the top of a large plateau is the challenge area where Hala offers the Grand Trial. The caves are full of Pokemon, and your Pokemon are eager to prove themselves in a Trial. There's plenty to see now, with Akala island, Ula'ula Island and Poni Islands also opened up for tourism.


F. Grand Trials

The Four Kahuna are accepting challengers once more. Those who wish to participate in the sacred trials are allowed to participate in the Grand Trials once more, to earn the right of the Z. With the goals in mind, you may undertake a Trial to earn a Z-Crystal first, and then take on a Grand Trial for a Z-Ring and a Z-Crystal. The choice is yours which to tackle first.


G. Festival of Lights

There's actually two Festival of Lights this time around! The Boat Festival where there will be several boats on the water displaying gorgeous lights which shine on the water, and the festival where the land shines with twinkling lights on the seventh. The first is on the 13th. There seems to be a wonderful time coming up.


H. Melemele General Hospital

Even Angela is working extra hard to make sure everyone's prepared for the winter, and that makes time for checkups, and other such things. If you've got the sniffles, this one is for you. But also, come chat with Angela, and meet some of the more colorful visitors from Overwatch Earth.


I. Aether Labs

Come review the brand new information that makes the Ultra Guardians go on the offensive. Which means, Aether Labs is open to the science community! The scientific community heads can now access the labs, and the resources within. Under the guidance of Wicke, Faba and, Burnet, you're allowed access to Aether's resources to build and invent and upgrade and repair your own equipment.


J. Alolan Steel Guitar Festival

Come listen to the native music of the people, leading into the city. You can listen, try out one of the steel guitars, dance, the choice is yours! Your world is yours to explore!


K. Lighting of the Banyan Tree

In the middle of the city there's a massive tree being erected. This is the Banyan Tree, and on the seventh during the Festival of Lights, it will be lit up! Come check it out!


L. Wildcard

If you haven’t found a prompt that suits you, make it up!

Comments

[perpetual_underdog]

It might not have seemed like it on the surface but Joey had been through his fair share of growth emotionally and as a duelist. He was by no means perfect and he had a ways to go but he was much improved from his earlier days. Again, in comparison to her Jou... it was likely a moot point. This Joey still had a love of life, and that presented itself in a variety of not-so-mature ways.

"Nothing but..... Hey- dat kinda sounds.... insulting." Debating whether he needed to step up to defend his buddy's honor here. It wasn't the pharaoh he knew though, but still!. There was a lot more to the pharaoh than that! Though having a sense of justice and honor wasn't exactly negative? He was having a tough time getting a read on this girl. Or- not girl?! "Dan...... what are you?" Because his eyes were telling him otherwise.

"Yeah- course." Like it should be the most obvious thing in the world. "What's da laughter for? Did I miss a joke or something?" The uneasiness he felt from before was resurfacing. It was so weird to be getting these kind of vibes from someone who resembled one of his closest friends. "......................." That question actually did the impossible. It stunned him to silence for a hot minute.

"What d'ya mean?! Of course I'm a duelist!" Not to boast or anything but," I was a finalist in Duelist Kingdom, Battle City... AND one of the three duelists dat dhose Atlantean hero guys trusted with one of dheir legendary dragon cards."

[bloomingdespite]

On the one hand, Zahra could give Joey a long lecture on gender and identity that would almost certainly go through one ear and right out the other. On the other, they could just not and instead say, "Neither," shrug their shoulders, and hope that'll be enough to satisfy him. Which is exactly what Zahra does. They can give him the whole spiel later, when they aren't already getting a proximity migraine.

Zahra stares at Joey as he lists off his achievements, equally dumbstruck. "You know, I could accept one outlier. One universe where your little sister didn't hog your whole family's dueling talent. But two? Two?. Now I'm wondering if I'm the one that's dreaming, because there's no way that there's more than one world out there where you somehow stole Shizuka's—or what would you call her, Serenity?—place."

On a logical level, Zahra could understand it. It's only because the Pharaoh stripped away Katsuya's ability to duel for almost a year that Shizuka entered Duelist Kingdom when Katsuya had fully intended on using the prize money to get her surgery. But it was still mind-boggling that any version of Katsuya managed to achieve so much as a duelist.

[perpetual_underdog]

In all likelihood it would. Joey never really had to think about gender identity in any sort of detail, the concept was a new one for him in that sense. He was a guy, and he knew he was and he was very much interested in those of the opposite sex. "I guess...... dat makes sense since one of you was a guy and one was a girl..." He fought the urge to ask of she had all the parts and if they all worked. Mercifully he managed it. He didn't really want to make her uncomfortable, even if he/she wasn't real.

"My sister? What's Serenity got to do with all this?" Bristling a little, as he felt a greater need to defend her if needed. Again nothing was said in the negative so he relaxed. "I didn't steal anything. Serenity has never taken much of an interest in da game- cept.. well... when she keeps up wit my duels and dat one time she had to." Recalling the adventures in the digital world. "Don't get me wrong- it would be cool if she had but I don't think of her any less because she didn't." In fact Joey very much adored his little sister and couldn't find any fault in her at all. "It's not everybody's 'ting."

"So.... she really makes a go of it in your world?" Sounding a bit impressed actually. "What sorta cards does she use?" It would be kinda interesting to share that intell with his own sister.

sorry my keyboard was being stupid

[bloomingdespite]

"She's amazing. There's a certain fondness in Zahra's eyes as they talk about Shizuka, a unique tenderness with implications that are likely to make a whistling sound as they fly high above Joey's head. "She started out with nothing and still managed to beat Atem during Duelist Kingdom... she even managed to destroy Ra three times all by herself and- right."

Zahra shakes themself out of their reverie. "Shizuka uses a power deck on steroids, basically. It's primarily Fusion and Ritual based; most of the monsters in her deck proper aren't incredibly powerful, but her Fusion summons are like nothing you've ever seen before. Same for her Ritual monsters too, she draws everything she needs for them with kind of disturbing regularity." Zahra snorts. "Kaiba hit her with Card Crush once and she still managed to pull out a win.

"...I'm glad you're still proud of her in your world, though. You're a good brother." Joey has one good point in his favor. One.

No worries my fingers are stupid sometimes XD

[perpetual_underdog]

His own sister complex prevented him from reading too much into those tones. Let's face it... his sister in any iteration is amazing. Having Zahra corroborate softened his opinion of her. Beating Atem would have held more weight for him, if he knew who that was. Still- it sounded impressive. "She figured out how to defeat the Winged Dragon of Ra?!" That really got his attention as he clenched a fist and leaned forward hanging on every word. "I always knew she had it in her...... ya know.. if she wanted ta take up dueling dat is." Dialing it back a little. "Sounds like it was no small feat taking down dat Atem guy either."

"Ritual and fusions huh?" Looking thoughtful as he tried to envision the monsters themselves. "Hey- I'm no stranger to fusion monsters myself so maybe she got that from me." Sounding hopeful, but then he remembered something Zahra said earlier. "Er.... or I guess not in your world since..... I... don't seem to be in da picture." It was a little sobering actually. "she beat Kaiba?! Before me?!" Should he be proud or jealous? Proud right? This is his sister... but... he'd been working so hard and even he hadn't pulled it off yet!

"Course I am! I couldn't be prouder." Beaming at that. They had apparently found some common ground. "Serenity.... she's always been da better Wheeler, ya know?" It felt a little weird admitting it to this odd Téa but there you have it. "I mean.. as a person and everything. She encourages me to want to be a better person myself..... "

[bloomingdespite]

"...oh, right. You don't know his name yet, huh? The Nameless Pharaoh's name is Atem." Zahra's known it for more than half a year at this point. It's less of a world-shattering revelation and more mundane trivia that made internal conversations a bit easier to keep track of now. "It might be different in your world, but since Yugi is named, well, Yugi in both of our worlds, I doubt it."

There's that fond smile again, glowing adoration clear in Zahra's face. It's probably a good thing that Zahra has the presence of mind to not let slip that they're dating Joey's sister in their world. That's bound to go over about as well as a sack of bricks. "Yeah. It took a lot of work, and that dirty cheater used his Shadow Game to knock her out before she could beat him, but... if it wasn't for your sister, I wouldn't have been able to beat him in the finals.

"And... Shizuka did the same for me. For all of us, really." Zahra lets loose a short, jovial laugh. "Even if she had to drag me kicking and screaming, she made me and Anzu so much more than we could've otherwise. Even when she was being possessed by Malik or the Seal or whatever, she was always there to challenge me, to bring out the best in me when I was at my peak and to drag me out of a pit when I was at my worst."

[perpetual_underdog]

"Can you .. did you just?! Should you be telling me dis?!" Joey's jaw dropped in surprise and he ducked a little as if something from the heavens might randomly strike him down for acquiring this knowledge too soon. Nothing happened however so he righted himself and looked sheepishly at her. "Wait.... so dat means dat Serenity beat da pharaoh?!?!?!" There was only one person who ever pulled that off and it was only because Atem shot himself in the foot by succumbing to temptation. The power of the orichalcos had been too much to ignore. "The pharaoh and Seto Kaiba..... man are 'tings really different in your world."

Oh yes, that was wise. being a protective sort of brother he would have hit the roof to hear that. In his opinion Serenity wasn't old enough to be dating and it wouldn't matter if she was, NO ONE would be worthy of her. He was always trying to dissuade interest in her. "... I'm still hung up on the idea dat anyone could beat dat guy."

"Wow, so it's like everyone finally got to see for themselves what I've seen in her since we were kids." Pleased with this idea. Joey even found that he could chuckle at what she said next. "I know what you mean... I mean I don't feel like I made some changes in my life all dat willingly either. Between her and Yugi... I'm really grateful." Not to undervalue Yugi's assistance in that process either. "Ok.... mayyybe dats too many details. I'm starting to get antsy about this brainwashing stuff in combination wit my sister.... "

[bloomingdespite]

"Honestly, knowing Atem's name early will shortcut a lot of problems down the line. Trust me on this one." All the stuff that happened with Zorc would've been a lot less harrowing if they'd had the Horakhty button at their convenience. "As for the wins... well, Anzu and Atem weren't really taking the whole thing seriously until Shizuka jumped at the first Duel Spot. We had no skin in the game except for maybe an easy way to dance school, and she destroyed Atem before ripping both Anzu and Atem a new one for not taking the competition seriously when everyone else had everything on the line for it. That's when we met her, actually. And Kaiba just underestimated her in the Battle City runner-up duel. Thought that Crush Card Virus would destroy her deck... but it didn't work on Fusion monsters. You should've seen the look on his face when she swung in with Invoked Cocytus for the win."

Zahra hisses through their teeth. "Yeahhh. Just. Yeah. For what it's worth, she broke out of it on her own both times."

[perpetual_underdog]

'.. I dunno... I mean.... it seemed kinda important for him to be a part of finding it out." Not that he wouldn't love to cut out some of the leg work for his friend. Heck knows the pharaoh agonized over the things he just couldn't remember sometimes. "Nothing on da line..... I mean.... didn't she care about Yugi's grandpa? I mean I would have thought helping Yugi would have been enough for Té-Anzu....". The pharaoh wouldn't have had time to forge those connections then. "Also I'm not sure why my sister would have felt da need to teach you a lesson .. er them.. at all since like you said they just met." There was probably a lot more too it that he just was missing. ".... other dan being the decent human being dat she is."

"Invoked Cocytus..... I'm not familiar wit dat one." Still it sounded like an epic battle to have missed. "I can just bet rich boy was seething afterward."

".............................. I can't boast da same." Placing a hand to the back of his neck. "I mean... without Yugi's help to remind me I wouldn't have been able to get free of Marik's control." Weird... so it's like everything he did in his world, Serenity did instead. Well- with some variation.

[bloomingdespite]

Zahra winces. Right. That. Definitely not Anzu or Atem's proudest moment. "Well, er. On my world, you were kind of a creep towards all the girls in class. Like, normal teenage boy creep, but still a creep. It really got on Anzu's nerves, and after a certain incident... you know how when somebody hurt A- or I guess Yugi or his friends in the early days, Atem stepped in to mete out punishment? He, er. Did the same to you. Anzu tried to stop it but it went wrong and-"

Rubbing their arm, Zahra looks away from Joey. They still felt guilty about it, even now. "You weren't able to touch a Duel Monsters card for a year without getting sucked into the Penalty Game again."

Zahra shoots Joey a confused stare, twisting their eyebrow upwards. "Of course Anzu cared about Sugoroku! She worked for him—hell, that's still my dayjob even now. What does that have to do with getting invited to Duelist Kingdom? Did something happen to him? Was he in an accident and needed to get surgery or something?"

[perpetual_underdog]

".... Uh... how is that different from reality?" Cough. Joey can admit that he might be a bit of a pervert and he might have creeped on most of the student body. Well the female portion of it. "Téa really didn't put up wit' it no. I mean she really let me have it sometimes..." Not saying he didn't deserve it. Those teenage hormones were hard to argue with. Somewhat ironically some of the things he attempted were exactly the sort of things he would pummel another guy for trying with his sister. Guess that should be a lesson to him to tone it down. He kinda had actually, since Duelist Kingdom was so long ago. "Yeah sure, I remember dat." Although it was a little eerie to think about now. The pharaoh hadn't been so approachable then. "Ya mean... he took me out. Just like dat?!" The notion was a grim one because although he hadn't had that experience it sounded awful. He could still envision what it would be like.

He looked hard at her.. stunned. "Well.... gee.... I mean.... I guess it's no wonder dat I wasn't really in da dueling scene den......"

"I'm surprised Atem didn't subject grandpa to a penalty game da way he creeps on female customers..." Maybe a little bitter at the thought that he could have been a victim himself. ".. Er.. I mean.... you do?" Strange. "What about your job at Burger world?" Which Téa tried to keep a secret and hated. "You really don't know...? I mean.. I guess it didn't happen there." Rambling a bit to himself. "I guess... Pegasus woulda had no reason to steal Grandpa's soul if Yugi wasn't in possession of the Millennium Puzzle...... so just dat little difference must have changed everything."

[bloomingdespite]

"Oh, Mr. Mutou learned to take Anzu's threats seriously. I think her exact wording was," Zahra affects a terrifying, chilling demeanor, and says with words like tombstones, "'Look up my skirt and I break you, Mr. Mutou.'"

Zahra's tone immediately returns to normal. They smirk a little bit, remembering the early days at Kame Game. "Anzu is honestly scarier than me and Atem combined when she wants to be. And thankfully, none of those damn teenage hormones were in play to make him think about crossing me after that."

"Burger World? Anzu walked after waking up covered in the blood of some idiot who tried to take her hostage." Zahra shrugs. "Yeah. As far as I can tell, the difference between my world and the one that the Kaiba here comes from comes down to about... five seconds, max. Anzu snuck into the school to get some dance practice in, and it just so happened that she saw you diving for the last piece of the puzzle instead of just walking past. So she dragged you by the ear to Yugi's room instead of just leaving it with Sugoroku like you'd planned, Yugi thought his wish had 'already been granted,' whatever that means, and decided to let Anzu complete the puzzle and keep it in his place. If she was five seconds earlier or later... well, my world would look exactly like Kaiba's."

[perpetual_underdog]

The change that washes Zahra chills Joey to the bone, he recoils instinctively as if the words were being leveled at him and not the old man. Even after she reverts to normal it takes a few moments for him to recover from the experience. "No wonder.. a 'ting like dat is liable to make a man swear off women entirely!" Except not really.

"I'm still pretty confused on dis Atem/Anzu 'ting. So you guys are like.. one person now right? Yet sometimes you keep talking about them as if they exist separately." Maybe he shouldn't ask this..... " So.... is... are... are the pair of dem essentially...... gone for good?" Joey grew quiet and looked at her seriously. I mean they weren't his friends - not really so why should he be so worried that they could be gone forever? At least in a sense.

"............Dat's horrible." All of it really. The blood and the attempted abduction. "...... " Kaiba. Oh joy. Joey's favorite person in the whole wide world. Sarcasm is real. "Huh- dat kinda sounds like da plot of one of dem movies. Like... those... what do ya call-ems. You know the ones that explore the "what ifs" and the main characters end up trying to fix the timeline so they can survive by the end of it?" There had to be a dime a dozen of those. "Really makes ya think... in a way. That you really need to make sure dat every moment counts...." Joey didn't often get philosophical but there it was.

we did all of these tags in a day holy shit how

[bloomingdespite]

"They're still here." Zahra's hand instinctively moves to the puzzle as they look down, pondering how to explain their existence to Joey. Even after all this time, Zahra hardly understands themself, let alone how to communicate their state of being to other people. "We first started merging after the duel with Pegasus. Mind Switch took a toll on Atem and Anzu; although I imagine it was easier for Yugi on your world since he and Atem were meant to be partners. Things just got worse and worse after that. They lost track of who was who sometimes, and I came into being for... brief moments. When they weren't paying attention, when they were fighting for their lives.

"But what sealed the deal was the Battle City finals. Getting hit by Ra so many times, all that power, it... permanently fused them. I was confused and scared and then the world fucking," language, Zahra, "ended for a year and I was terrified about what everyone else would think if they knew I was me and not Anzu and everybody did freak out when Rafael proved it to them and-" They choke back a hoarse laugh. "Shizuka is what saved all of us, in the end. Because of her, I figured out a way to unfuse, and I was willing to let go, but... Anzu and Atem liked being me. It feels... like I'm 150% of Anzu and 150% of Atem and 200% me, entirely separate from both of them. They're still there, and I'm still me, and they can unfuse but they just don't want to.

"I know that doesn't make sense, but it's the only way that I can describe it."

because magic XD.

[perpetual_underdog]

Following the motion Joey looks to the puzzle too, thoughtfully so. Then he looks back to Zahra's face as an answer is cobbled together. ".... Yeah dat mind switch 'ting was something else from what I learned about it." The similarities between Yugi and Atem likely did play some role in making them more compatible. "Geeze.... I can't really guess what's dat would be like. I mean da closest I come us when I was under da power of the Millennium Rod... and I could just hear da nagging of Marik in the background.. er.. sometimes da foreground." It was no where near to becoming a new being or new consciousness.

If the language bothered him, he didn't show it. Really- he'd heard worse but hearing it from the Téa look alike made it strike deeper. "It ... ended?" They lost? "So... how did the world get renewed or restored or.... you know.. you don't have ta answer dat." He could tell this was taxing on her to have to recall it. When she started throwing out percents he started using one index finger to tap the other fingers on his other hand. Clearly he was debating how 150 + 150 could ever equal 200. At least he sparred her by not voicing it. "Well... I mean... if dis is what dhey want.... that's all dhere is to it." He wouldn'd say more about it. Téa and Atem had gotten along all right.... but to the point that they never wanted to be separated? That was something beyond his comprehension.

" Té-ah.. Zahra- dhere are a lotta tings in dis world dat don't make sense and ya know what.... maybe dhey don't have to." Reaching out to place a hand to her shoulder. Or their shoulder? Sheesh he was having a devil of a time getting the terminology straight.

[bloomingdespite]

"Remember the big eye that appeared over Domino City when Dartz was making his first move? I tried to destroy it with Timaeus, but the dragon... something about its spirit reacted. Weird. To our souls." Zahra shudders, recalling the image of Timaeus twisting and warping and ultimately exploding over the city. And the chaos that followed. Covered in ash, covered in glass, covered in all their friends. They still remember those that stayed. "Dartz didn't win that day, but he got damn close. That eye was hanging over Domino City for a year straight, covering it in crystal. And the monsters didn't go away either - although it turned out to be a good thing in the end, seeing as how they stayed after we beat Dartz and the Leviathan. But that was a long year. At least the company made it bearable: Jounouchi, Shizuka, Noa, and... wow, even Yami Bakura managed to worm his way into my heart."

Looking down at Joey's hand on their shoulder, Zahra smiles. Even if this one was somehow dumber than Jounouchi, Joeys or Jous or whatever would always be their friend. "Yeah. Yeah, maybe they don't.

"Thanks, Joey."

[perpetual_underdog]

"How could I forget it?" One doesn't really forget something that massive and ominous. Well- I guess they could if something more massive and daunting showed up to take it's place. "Weird? How do'ya mean?" Listening carefully as Zahra spoke. Sit this boy in a classroom and he likely won't hear a lick of the lecture but something like this was relevant to his interests. "Dat sounds nuts!" Imagining what it must have been like to have that lingering literally over their heads, and with the monsters roaming about never knowing when the next shoe would drop. The anxiety from it had to be ever-present. "Dat's not how it went down in my world at all." Marveling at the peculiarities. He was with her on the company... until she got to Noah and Yami Bakura. "....Eh- look.. I know dat Noah had a change of heart and all.. but I can't say I woulda been able to trust him right away after....... wait! How was Noah even still in the picture at all?! Also... er... no offense since you guys had some kind of friendship and all... but if you're talking about the spirit of the Millennium Ring..... er..... I would suggest picking your friends better. Dat guy can't be trusted and he's using a pal of mine..."

That seemed to be a universal truth at present. "No problem." Returning the smile and retracting his hand after a reasonable amount of time.

"...... I'm really not gonna like.. wake up in a minute am I?" The denial starting to ebb, yet somehow he didn't sound freaked out by the prospect. Their talk was to thank for that.

[bloomingdespite]

"Oh, yeah. He's a terrible bastard who would and did stab me in the back as soon as it was convenient. But the real Bakura got his soul stolen at the beginning, and since the spirit needed his human counterpart for his schemes, we had to work together to take down Dartz." Zahra shrugs, thinking back to the nightly Monster World games and the acerbic barbs they traded with the spirit that ever-so-slowly turned good natured as time wore on. "...there's still something human in him, though. I wish I had been able to draw it out in time." My, that's ominous.

"As for Noa... I wasn't going to let a depressed twelve year-old kill himself in a grand heroic gesture and give Gozaburo the pleasure of not dying alone." Zahra taps the puzzle, smiling. "He's renting out a room in here, so to speak. Noa was able to manifest corporeally once the world of Duel Monsters intersected with our own, and hoooo boy he's real grumpy he can't do the same thing here." His sullen temper tantrums are already giving Zahra a headache.

"If you do, that would have terrifying existential implications for me," Zahra half-jokes, smiling back. They realize that word is probably too big for Joey, but they don't really care.

[perpetual_underdog]

Nodding to that. "Well- least you're aware of dat." It would be worse if she was getting herself mixed up with this guy and didn't have the low down on him. I mean- how could Zahra not since it sounded like she had experienced a lot of the same things the gang had in his own time? "Bet dat as-.... er... jerk loved that." Not really sure why he bothered censoring himself since Zahra seemed perfectly fine with a little swearing. "I can't say dat I'm convinced of dat. Da way he's so eager and willing to sacrifice anyone in his path ta get to his aims..... I mean.. it's not really his best selling point if you know what I mean."

Joey fell silent at this subject. I mean, it could have been argued that Noah had already died in that car crash and whatever remained of him in those hard drives wasn't really representative that the kid that was lost. He didn't though, because a part of it felt too callus to say. Especially when Zahra thought she was doing a good deed here. ".... Dat whole 'ting.... was kinda a mess..." That is all he got out about it. At least the brat kid managed to live on in some timelime but was there really anything that could have been done for him in his own situation? "Oh.. I can imagine. being inside dat puzzle .... I mean it's roomy but it's a labyrinth..."

"Ha ha yeah.... I guess it would," Whatever that means.