Fortress of Meropide - Group Chat

[loupmorque]

MEMBERS:

{ A group chat made for people living in Meropide or for its regular come-and-go visitors. }

Comments

[droptheious]

No kidding? I do like the idea of a baking competition. That sounds like it can be fun. Sounds like it could result in a lot of disasters, there's so many ways things can go wrong in baking.

Okay, next date night, we can do that. I'll bring some snacks, and we can cuddle on the couch and watch it.

[whiteshroud]

Oh, it definitely has plenty of disasters! Especially since they aren't baking in ideal conditions. Like when they do ice cream cakes on a hot day.

That sounds perfect! I'll supply the drinks.

[droptheious]

[There's a longass pause as Varian tries to come to terms with the absolute insanity Jun has just typed at him. ]

Why- why would they make ice cream cakes on a hot day? IN A TENT???? That's CRAZY!

Then it's a date.

[whiteshroud]

The challenge! It'd be too easy if they were working under ideal conditions.

Also they never get enough time to bake.

[droptheious]

But- but no??? Like there's a difference between less than ideal conditions and impossible ones!

WHY? You need time to bake- if you rush it, nothing will bake right. It's a SCIENCE.

[whiteshroud]

[ Heh ]

Oh yeah, this is going to be fun.

[droptheious]

[This is what you wrought, Jun. Look at what you did. ]

OH, see, when you SAY that, I know it means it's gonna make me mad. How mad on a scale of 1 to screaming? I need to prepare.

[whiteshroud]

Oh, it'll depend on the episode. Some are quite good! While others...

Well, I don't want to spoil it.

[droptheious]

...

Yeah, please just make sure I've got a cushion nearby to scream into, okay?

[whiteshroud]

Of course! I'll even let you use one of my squishmallows, for gripping and screaming.

[liberios]

Experience life for myself? I've experienced the worst kind of hell and I can't just pretend it never happened. The people I knew back home lived in ignorance of the outside world. They were afraid of the unknown but I hated living like that. I didn't want to live my life in ignorance like everyone else.

I hated it so damn much that I became a soldier just for a chance to see the world. Have you ever seen the ocean? I've only learned about it in books before. I have a friend who's great at reading. He'd probably tell me to go to school so I can learn more about the ocean.

[whiteshroud]

[There is a pause from Jun. He has to draw in a breath, because ohhhh boy he does not want to get into his own past and what experiencing hell is like]

We're at the bottom of the ocean right now, Eren. So yes, I have. [Fortress of Meropide is an underwater fortress Eren]

You don't want to live your life in ignorance? Go to school. Learn about the world instead of staying in your own lane. Just because you've experienced a difficult life doesn't mean you're exempt.

Trust me, I've experienced my own kind of hell. Experiencing life outside of that hell is what saved me.

[liberios]

Books about the outside world were forbidden where I'm from. They'd call you a heretic.

There were laws in place to prevent people from knowing too much.

At least you won't get in trouble for learning about the world here.

[droptheious]

You are so good to me.

[droptheious]

I mean, I was definitely called a wizard more than once for my science experiments. You learn to live with it.

Well, look at it that way. Those laws don't exist here- so why not use them to your full advantage? Learn everything you want to learn, there's so much out there to discover!

Private

[droptheious]

[Oh shit, oh fuck. Varian can see that trigger a million miles away. ]

Hey. You want me to come over?

[The "are you okay?" is absolutely there, but he's not going to press the issue. ]

[liberios]

No, not that I mean in your own world. Of course we're under water this place is massive. The ocean must be different in your world too.

Look, I can't just show up to school in combat gear. They'll freak out seeing me wear the scouting uniform.

I'll need something more ordinary. I don't know if I'll be saved like you but it can't hurt to try.

[liberios]

I get that you're trying to help, but it's not that easy for me. It’s not just about learning—it's about surviving. And I've spent too much time fighting just to stay alive. It’s a little hard to shift gears into thinking about... books and experiments.

[droptheious]

Nothing's easy, it takes time to adjust to something new. But you'll never have a chance to learn to adjust to it if you don't start.

[mstitel]

Oh, yeah. That shouldn’t be a problem at all. There’s a lot of different problems in the world and I’m not naive enough to think they can all be solved with a good attitude and positive thinking, don’t worry.

I can... elaborate on that offline, if you want. But I want to help. Both the people in the city who have no one else to turn to and the Duke- living here has been really nice, he shouldn’t have to worry so much about keeping it going.

[mstitel]

Riiiiiiight I see, it’s stage fright, isn’t it?

There was an entire few hours of dog shows on TV over Thanksgiving, people may like seeing cats but they PAY to see dogs!

[droptheious]

No, it's not wanting to make a fool of myself. Two very different things.

...Really? People are weird.

Private

[whiteshroud]

[There's a pause as he considers. It's tempting but]

Thanks, but I'll be alright. It's not like he knows my past.

[whiteshroud]

We can get you other clothes. There's plenty of shops in the city that sells clothes of any kind.

It's probably a good idea to have multiple outfits anyway, so you don't wear out your uniform.

[liberios]

My uniform's already in bad shape because of all the fighting I've done. It's seen better days.

I'll figure something out. It's what scouts do. It might take some time to set everything straight. Standing around all day won't change anything.