Test Drive Meme!

[rekindlemods]

Welcome to the Rekindle Test Drive! Trying to see if a character will fit or work in the setting? Need some interaction samples? Well this meme is for you! Make a post, tag around, and most importantly, have fun! Here's the setting page for those who want to learn a little more about the city itself. Then don't forget to go reserve your character in a week when they open. Here's some prompts to help you get started, if you need it: Option 1 [While the days grow longer and warmer and the older, oriental-style of the city would normally make one think that the interiors would not be much in the way of relief from the hot sun, it may surprise the guest to see that the apartments the natives have allocated for them are surprisingly comfortable. In fact, the only modern convenience they may be missing is a television set! At least, outside the media floor on the first floor of Building One - the first of four inter-connected buildings. In fact, each apartment building seems to have at least one different amenity on the first floor. In Building Two they seemed to even spare a library in another that seems to have the basics and some information packets that are otherwise found in the Welcome Center in District 2. There are even a few restaurants and common dining areas in the Building Three that are open until late at night, and meeting areas and a ballroom on the first floor in Building Four, perfect for setting up small parties or big events. With the locals gone save those who work in the restaurants and the one librarian, leaving you to your own devices, what will you do? What mysteries could be left to discover in this place?] Option 2 [With summer coming, the water level in the river is starting to go down, exposing some of the beach. The Riverside Shack is open late, and its restaurant is pulling out all the stops and offering seafood specials (even though a river is a far cry from an ocean). The rental store, meanwhile, is finally bringing out more of its swimming supplies, inner tubes and pool noodles, and a calmer stretch of the river has been roped off with buoys for swimming. They even have lifeguards chairs set up. Clearly this sort of thing used to be an annual event. It's not quite an ocean beach (quite different actually), but there's still plenty of chance to have fun in the water. Or teach someone to swim, perhaps.] Option 3 [If you're more inclined to explore or learn, the City's Learning Center might be more to your tastes. There certainly seems to be a lot going on here - there's laboratories and libraries and workshops, and plenty of communal areas where you can meet and talk with people. The natives seem pretty absorbed with their studies and work, though they're polite in brushing you off, at least. Perhaps you'll have more luck seeing what other Guests such as yourself have discovered?] Option 4 [Whoops. Looks like you haven't taken the cautionary words of the other NPCs to heart, or maybe you just wanted to take your chances. Either way, the withdrawal symptoms have started and you need to find someone to hug quickly before you get even more sick.] Option 5 [If there's something else you wanted to play with, that you didn't see here, then have fun with that. You've just arrived in a strange city, after all. There's got to be plenty to explore out and about, not to mention people to meet.]

Comments

[paraclete]

[Kaworu keeps his hands presented; he'd be willing to hold them out forever. He isn't smiling anymore, though.] That wasn't your fault, Shinji-kun. And I'm here, right now, and I am Kaworu. I'm being honest with you.

[forevalone]

It wasn't my fault?! _{[The outburst is sudden, body trembling. If the water was truly still, there would be ripples with how much he's shaking.]} Of course it was my fault! I killed you with my own hands!

<sub>[It's hard to hold back tears. It's nearly impossible when staring down the only person who ever told him he loved him and that very same person was murdered outright by his own doing. Maybe he hadn't much of a choice then, maybe he felt betrayed, but the scene had played itself over in his mind countless times. Surely, there must have been some other way?

Regardless, his hands were still the ones left stained at the end of the day, whether he was truly at fault or not. Tears begin to spill over, despite his best efforts.]</sub>

[paraclete]

[With his hands...

Splash. It isn't the sound of a head, this time: Kaworu has let himself drop into the water. He stands before Shinji now with soaked trousers and knit eyebrows. Yes - if he looks closely - something is off. Shinji elicits a different sort of déjà vu than he should— that is, it's not that he's familiar, but that he's already occurred. Kaworu as he is now is dead, yes, but this is due to a collar and a burst. 'Hands' were a long time ago. Something wrong is taking place.]

It had to be someone, [he answers.]

[forevalone]

<sub>[It had to be someone. Sure, of course it had to be "someone" but why did it have to be him? Why did it have to be Kaworu? The splash does little to stop tears but he does find himself pulling fingers away from his wet face ever so slightly. He looks, understandably, utterly miserable.

It feels like that argument has always been used against him ever since he first climbed into Eva 01. Someone had to do it and it was just his luck that it had to be him. Furiously he shook his head.]</sub>

But why did it have to be me? Why did it have to be you?

_{[That's the key question here - why. If there's an answer, however, Shinji's not sure he'll be graced with it.]}

[paraclete]

Because it's as I said: I was a child chosen by fate. And you were the fate I wanted.

[He wades closer to Shinji. The sensation is strange.]

I'm sorry. I never wanted such unhappiness for you.

[forevalone]

_{[Kaworu draws closer and Shinji slips his fingers away from his face, resting them against his chest as he stares at the other boy. He was the fate he wanted. He had wanted to die instead of damn the human race. It was a selfless choice on the Angel's part, but not one Shinji had wanted any part in. He had never wanted to kill anyone in the first place.]}

But that wasn't the fate I wanted for you...

[paraclete]

That particular fate was inevitable. But because of that inevitability, I was able to meet you, and talk with you, and spend time with you. I was at peace, Shinji-kun. But you are gentle, and this fate has hurt you.

[forevalone]

<sub>[His legs are cold, Shinji's come to realize. So too is the rest of him that's become damp from splashing about. As Kaworu speaks he can't help but wonder if the Angel feels the chill too. It had been an inescapable fate and yet here they were again face to face. It made little sense in Shinji's mind, but then again being in this world to begin with lacked logic as well.

Maybe, for the sake of his sanity (or what little of it was left) he'd toss away logic. A hesitant hand reaches out then, slowly, fingers still quivering before gripping tightly onto the Angel's offered hand. He nearly gasps when he does so, simply from the touch solidifying the fact Kaworu isn't just a mirage. He's there.]</sub>

It wasn't enough time...It wasn't enough. I wanted to tell you things, Kaworu-kun-! I wanted...

_{[What did he want? There were a lot of things.]}

[paraclete]

[Shinji's fingers are wet with river water, but Kaworu won't let them slip away. He grasps.] I would have liked to hear them, [he says honestly.] I still would like to.

[forevalone]

<sub>[He wants to say it. He wants to say "I love you" too, to repeat the words he'd been told by this boy, this Angel, this being who had caused him so much happiness and heartbreak in such a short time. He shifts, still holding onto Kaworu's hand. It acts like an anchor, keeping him in place when he wants to flee or sink below the water's surface.

Shinji's heart may be gentle and fragile, but it's also flighty and frightened as well. He can't look at Kaworu when he speaks next, focusing on the water instead.]</sub>

...Do you remember the words you said to me in the shower that night? It was the first time anyone had said those words to me.

_{[And he still doesn't know how to deal with it. Frankly, Shinji believes he doesn't deserve it. He's not a being meant to be loved.]}

[paraclete]

They were words I was glad to tell you. I'd be happy if you never forgot them.

[Though he will. That's all right. Kaworu will try again when necessary.]

Your body will become cool. We should leave the water, Shinji-kun.

[forevalone]

_{[He's still gripping the angel's hand, wading forward as he nods. A moment passes before he's resting his forehead against Kaworu's shoulder, free hand gripping the edge of the boy's shirt.]}

I'm...I'm so sorry, Kaworu-kun. I'm so sorry.

[paraclete]

There, it's all right. You don't have to mourn for me, because I'm right here. All along, I had already forgiven you. At the cost of your own happiness, you did the thing that would protect your kind, and you did the thing that would make me happy. That's amazing. [His hands are gently at the small of Shinji's back.] That's really amazing.

[forevalone]

<sub>[It's a gentle embrace, almost on its way to a proper hug but still missing a few little things. Shinji doesn't know how to give hugs, nor does he know how to receive them. He doesn't really have much, if any, experience with them. Kaworu's touch is light, hands a comforting weight against his back. It doesn't frighten him so much as it encourages him to press closer, face burying itself against the Angel's chest. Now Kaworu's shirt is wet or will be soon - not from river water but from the frail boy's damp face. His eyes are leaking again as he clings. Caged in by pale arms there's a faint safety he finds himself indulging in, even if the feeling is rather faint.

It isn't so much sadness now that he's crying from - there's relief mixed in there now too.]</sub>

...Did I? Did I truly make you happy?

_{[All he's ever wanted is praise. All he's ever wanted is approval. If just one person could be happy because of him...]}

It didn't feel like the right thing to do, Kaworu-kun...I really, I didn't...

[paraclete]

I hope that you can also forgive me. Your happiness and health are what are important to me. I intended to take good care of them, but the circumstances...

It looks like the more I love you, the more unhappy you become.

[forevalone]

<sub>['I love you' - There are those words again, sharp and as potent as poison. They set his chest aflame, cause his ribs to constrict as he curls slightly against the other boy. Even after he'd done what he had, the Angel still loved him. Still cared. Still wanted him to be happy.

He's speechless. There are no words. Really, there aren't. What did one say exactly, to words of love? It's not something Shinji's very good at or familiar with - love, that is. It's as foreign as ever to him but something about Kaworu's words makes him feel a smidgen of hope. Maybe, just maybe, not all was lost.

Redemption was possible - it just needed to be obtained, somehow.]</sub>

It doesn't matter now. _{[The betrayal he felt? It had stung terribly. At the moment? He could care less. Sure, he's afraid. He's terribly afraid. Afraid of betrayal, afraid of being hurt again and of hurting others again...but at the same time Kaworu makes him feel safe.]}

I forgive you it...it wasn't your fault. You didn't want to do what you did, just like I didn't want to either, right? If you can forgive me then...you don't have to worry about seeking forgiveness from the likes of me. The time we spent together...you made me happy, Kaworu-kun.

[paraclete]

Your happiness is a delicacy, isn't it? I want to see more and more of it. The joy that comes from meeting one another and choosing to be kind to one another is what makes Lilin so valuable. I love it.

[Slosh. Water is beading on them. Kaworu sets his cheek to Shinji's hair.] Let's go to the shore, Shinji-kun. [He pulls back enough to make room that they might move, but keeps his hands at Shinji's elbows, like a guide.] Will you trust me to bring you out of the water?

[forevalone]

_{[A delicacy. Kaworu always did have a way of phrasing things oddly and yet it still made his heart swell. There's a nod at Kaworu's question, a silent answer. He trusts Kaworu, despite all odds, despite what he is.]}

[paraclete]

I'm glad, [Kaworu says, and really seems it, as he brings Shinji slowly up and - as promised - out of the water.

Literally. The toes of their shoes are shedding little droplets onto the river's surface. Kaworu's holding Shinji's hands, and together, they're hovering.]

What do you think sounds good right now? A meal? A bath? A sleep?

[forevalone]

_{[When Kaworu had said he'd bring him out of the water, Shinji hadn't thought he'd meant by floating. Immediately the boy's eyes widen as he stares, grasping the hands that hold his tight.]}

K-Kaworu-kun?! We're floating-!

[paraclete]

This much is within my power. I thought you could catch a chill and should go out of the water.

[forevalone]

I...I could have walked to shore! This isn't normal...

[paraclete]

Is that bad? Come. We'll go to the shore now, it'll be fine. [Floating towards sand...]

[forevalone]

It isn't bad it's just...strange.