thenearshore | Operation distract Iskander

Entry tags:

suzaku kururugi | code geass

Operation distract Iskander

Who: Saber, Iskander, Suzaku, Edge and Waver
Where: Saber's temple and then somewhere on the Near Shore
What: Dinner at Saber's temple followed by Saber taking Iskander out drinking. (We do apologise)
When: May 20th
Warnings: Mentions of alcohol. I will add as we go on if applicable.

Dinner for Five

Suzaku had been in the kitchen for the last hour or so. He had been quite confident when Saber had mentioned friends coming over that he would be able to cook something. His cooking had been steadily improving and ever he could admit that his food tasted alright most of the time.

A couple of notable exceptions but there hadn't been any major disasters in at least a month. He hadn't seen how adding two more people would make a difference.

To be fair it wasn't a disaster. Yet. But there had been more things than Suzaku had thought to keep track of and he had no idea how he could look at a machine and understand how everything fit and connected together and yet a meal was so complicated it might as well be magic.

It does mean that when guests arrived it will be someone other than Suzaku who opens the door.

Drinking time

[After the meal Iskander and Saber go drinking. Try not to cause any diplomatic incidents.]

Waiting up...

[Leaving the shinki to do their best not to fret about their gods and the trouble they might get into.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Iskandar grins at the sight of the fabulous shirt Saber is wearing. Enough of the gloom now! He was invited to a feast so it's only appropriate to approach it in festive mood.
And that shirt is awesome...]

To be honest, I barely noticed them. I did notice though that you have a very nice castle. I have to say, I'm a bit jealous. My temple is not that spacious.

[It's nice to have a big place... when you have people to fill it. Otherwise, it gets very lonely very soon.]

Irony, perhaps!

[Saber waves the two of them in, leading the way to the dining room. The hallways are decorated more like a dorm room than a medieval castle. It seems that Saber has yet to meet a poster or piece of merchandise he doesn't like and he has quite a wide range of interests.]

You no doubt fill up the space you have, while I generally confine myself to the couch or the kitchen if I'm home at all.

[He nods at Waver, making sure to include him in the conversation as well.]

I promise that doesn't mean I'm in the slightest bit manageable. You probably have more luck than my shinki.

[Nerd paradise in other words.]

Only when someone feels like being manageable. [Waver bumps his hip against Iskandar as he tease-complains, because he's Iskandar and Iskandar does as he does when he wants to.] Otherwise, I'm sure you're well matched.

[He lets the comment of filling up the Temple go for now to assess Iskandar's reaction. Perhaps the tease is distraction enough from the worst of the grief.]

[One of said shinki was in the dining room by now, laying the table carefully. Dinner was at the stage where it probably wouldn't all go wrong if he left it for five minutes.

He had made some effort to dress up as well, though he had drawn a blank when he had thought about doing so. He might only remember part of three days from his past but it was enough that he didn't feel comfortable in formal or traditional Japanese clothing, which seemed to be what passed for formal heaven wear. Formal Britannian clothing... He had never seen anything like it either in the heavens or on the Near Shore.

Saber's example was probably not to be followed so he's just wearing dark jeans and a semi formal shirt that he only feels partially awkward in. Still the guests and Saber get a smile as they enter.]

[The comment goes unnoticed. Which may be for the better. Iskandar in awe by the sheer amount of stuff Saber has in his castle. More importantly, there are some things he can recognize!]

Is this a Girls und Panzer poster?

[Don't judge him on anime he watches... or games he plays... ~~because yes, there were games. How else do you think he got to know this series even exists?~~ There would probably be a lot of common ground should they sit down with Saber and discuss their tastes in contemporary culture. Which, for Iskandar at least, are pretty ... eclectic.

But it's probably for the better that they arrive at the dining room before any such discussion starts. They could all go hungry for a long while otherwise.]

It is! I admit I haven't seen much of it, but I do quite appreciate the aesthetic of young ladies and dangerous military equipment!

[Someone stop them.]

I think I'd rather like to have a tank, just to try out, but I don't know how I'd obtain one or where I'd keep it.

[Richard, you may be the one of ver few who watches Girls und Panzer for the tanks.]

Oh... you might not be the only one with a wish like that on his Christmas list. [Well... Iskandar might not celebrate that and Waver is not sure he does either given the feeling of 'meh, ugh' welling inside, but it works for continuing to tease him.] ... I'm sure tanks aren't the only thing. Haven't I caught you drooling over the jets in a couple magazines?

[N O. No stopping! In fact, Waver's going to join right in.]

Hey! I was not drooling! That was professional curiosity!

[A fighter jet is nice but he wouldn't mind getting a tank either.]

I bet Lionheart can agree how useful any kind of airforce would be during sieges! I know I would be quite glad for having even one of those in any battle.

It would be quite useful!

[Was there any doubt at all that he'd agree with the idea?]

Though what I truly want is a giant robot. I'm quite disappointed that they don't actually exist yet. One would think that they would have been built by now, considering their popularity.

[During this conversation Suzaku had disappeared back into the kitchen but soon appears again carrying a large bowl of noodles. He had made everything separately so people could pick and chose what they wanted. It seemed the best way as he had no idea about what food their guests liked.]

I'm not sure this world needs knightma... giant robots, sir. [He glanced over as he put down the bowl. He mostly stayed quiet on his opinions of the very inaccurate portrayals of humanoid war machines in the anime that Saber liked, it was just fiction after all even if it jarred with his knowledge and the one memory he had of actually piloting one.

He nodded politely at both the guests, realising he had sort of jumped into their conversation uninvited.]

Sure. Professional curiosity.

[His lips curl up in amusement.

Waver nods sagely at Saber.]

The technology isn't quite there yet, though. [Sounds like what's recalled from memory and a topic Suzaku doesn't want to entertain. Waver hums as he begins to pivot the conversation.] They'd need more sophisticated AI, robotics, and a power source better than anything currently running around. Just to begin with.

Besides, they have their eyes to the stars right now. Back to the moon, and right on to Mars. So I don't see development going that way.

[Iskandar stops in place in shock.]

No way! They really don't?!

I could swear I've seen one quite recently!

Not in a combat situation, of course, but I saw it stationed on that island district not far from the city centre.
While it definitely was surprising they put it in the middle of residential and commercial area and not at some military base but I thought they must have had their reasons.

[ISKANDAR NO]

I believe that one is merely a replica.

[Alas.]

Like the small models they sell, only actual size.

[He'd tried building one of the little plastic kits for about half an hour before he got distracted by something else and forgot about it entirely. If Suzaku or Edge didn't clean it up, it's probably still strewn all over a table somewhere.]

It is sir. [Just a replica, not able to move or fight. But Japan here was not at war, so it was a good thing that the need for giant robots was just to satisfy the curiosity of those like Saber, who seemed fascinated with anything destructive. Saber's model was safely in a box, with the loose pieces, Suzaku figures he will go back to it at some point and wouldn't want any of it lost.

He glanced at Waver.] Back to the moon, sir? They have been there before?

[He doesn't know much of the history of this world, but the idea of humans in space...]

Humanity's first moon landing was July 20th, 1969.

[And well, birthdays are the same as any other day, with the exception to that right here. Iskandar's birthday falls July 20th... or July 21st. People argue about that one all the time.]

Fell right on Iskandar's birthday. There's been... six total successful ones?

[And then there's Apollo 13.]

[He immediately looks straight up at Iskandar. He barely even needs to say "are you thinking what I'm thinking?" because chances are likely that he is and if he's not, its similar enough to be an equally ~~terrible~~ brilliant idea.]

If we could --

[Please no one let Richard the Lionheart go to the moon.]

I don't think we have the capabilities of going to the moon, even if the humans on the Near Shore do. I would imagine it requires training.

[A gentle veto, but a veto nonetheless.]

[That's so much of the modern history that he hasn't acquainted himself with that the Moon landing hasn't even blinked on his radar. Yet to hear it happened on his birthday it's something entirely different altogether. Because you all know what it is ...

It's a SIGN!

He looks back at Richard with exactly the same look.]

Hm, I wonder if my bulls can go up there.

[Iskandar really... Somebody stop them.]

Now that I think of it, I have never tested exactly how high they can go.

[Yes, the chariot has a protective field but it's not exactly suited to protect you from the cosmic void. Or the temperature. Or the lack of oxygen. It's not impermeable. Has almost crashing at the volcano taught you nothing?]

[WELL THERE'S THE MOON CELL...

But Waver can't recall any mention of that.]

Not without protection. For you and the bulls.

[Arching an eyebrow.]

Iskandar, do you know what hard vacuum up there is like, though? Or how far the Moon is from the Earth? That's 384,400 kilometers of distance. I know I brought Apollo 13 into the Temple. Guess you haven't seen it yet. The resources needed to conquer such a task are vast.

To say it requires an army is a sheer understatement.

[Or we summon Neil Armstrong from the Throne. There's that.]

[Iskandar scratches his beard. He may not know what a vacuum is but he can understand distance.]

That's indeed far.

[Still not very convinced. It maybe too late to get it out his head. He really likes the idea. The fact that it's difficult if not nigh impossible is exactly what makes challenges fun!]

But the mortals are doing it, right? So how do they do it? If they can than why the gods can't, hm?

Quite true, quite true.

[He's nodding along enthusiastically because this is exactly his kind of bad idea.]

Come to think of it, do we need to breathe? I suppose we might, but I haven't really thought to test that sort of thing. If we don't, that's many of our problems solved already!

How?

[Waver's sighing, feeling a mix of resignation-exasperation that he's really trying to tamp down because there it is. RIGHT THERE. Iskandar's hooked and is going to take this as the most extreme challenge and everyone romanticizes it so he's going to fall even more in love with the idea. So while he brings up this clip for Iskandar and Saber (pretend this movie came out in 2017) and then this one and lastly this one, he's plotting to at least make sure Iskandar doesn't run up there half assed.]

I'm not saying they couldn't. I'm saying they shouldn't impulsively.

Space is not a battlefield where you can go seeking victory. Rather you must guarantee victory in every way before even stepping into the fray. That is the only way mortals can even approach conquering it, and if it's an environment unknown to the divine, then that same attitude must be taken.

[S A B E R.]

Yes. You need to breathe.

Yes I believe even gods need to breathe. [Or at least, even if they don't they probably shouldn't test how far that goes by going into space.

He glances interested at the videos but then remembers he still has food in the oven, he should probably go check on that.]

Would anyone like anything to drink?

[Don't go spoiling his magnificent plan with your logic... Iskandar sounds at least a bit wounded.]

I don't just go seeking victory, I ensure it. It's true that I may be impulsive at times but what I definitely am not is stupid.

[Says the man with some really idiotic ideas on his record.]

I do not intend to barge there without a plan!

[He turns to Suzaku smiling as if he wasn't just being mortally offended by Waver suggesting his reckless. ~~which wouldn't be wrong~~]

I'd love to. What are you proposing?

[And back to Waver. To... err... be mortally offended... or something.]

Here I had this grand vision and you're just bogging me down with practicalities. That's no fun.

[Iskandar is barely holding back. He's not Hibiki to be able to keep up that level of drama for too long without bursting into laughter.

But that's a good thing...

You dragged him out of his foul mood...finally.]

Hmph.

[... there's an undercurrent of rippling amusement as Waver rises on his toes to kiss Iskandar's cheek in the most yes dear move on the Far Shore.

Then just relieved joy as Iskandar holds back his laughter, perhaps failing in that.]

Then I have to show you how the practicalities can be fun.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Operation distract Iskander

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

wow I did not realise it was my turn I am sorry

... and I lost the notifications for this thread ... again... arghh

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject