homeless/voice testing/procrastinating

[idealizing]

Are you sure about this? You haven't even finished the other game yet.

[ A pause. ]

...ah, yes. I guess the language barrier would be a problem. Well, I'll trust you for now. They'd say the same thing, right?

Comments

[tinysunbeam]

[Curious whine.]

[idealizing]

[ Blinking at. You're not a Pokémon, are you? Or at the very least one N hasn't seen. ]

Hello, little one. [ A slight smile. ] What brings you here?

[tinysunbeam]

[A bark! This person seems so sad so Chibi hops back and forth playfully, crouching down on his front legs with his butt in the air and wagging his tail. Be happy, human!]

[kingside]

Evidently, I'm meant to speak with you.

[Hint: He doesn't look too thrilled about it.]

[idealizing]

[ N's look, in contrast, is indecipherable. ]

Am I meant to respond, then?

[kingside]

If you like. If you choose not to, I'll leave.

[idealizing]

But that wouldn't be very interesting.

[kingside]

It would be more interesting than the two of us silently staring at each other.

[idealizing]

You can learn a lot about someone just by looking at them, actually.

[ And so he starts looking. Thoroughly. Enjoy the undeniable discomfort that results from being stared shamelessly at. ]

[kingside]

[He's relatively used to this, actually. Have a sarcastic look for your trouble.]

Are you quite finished?

[idealizing]

Not yet.

[ No need to be a primadonna, Lelouch. He's not sizing you up in that sort of way. Another minute or so, and then he announces his conclusions. ]

Hm... you've traveled plenty, but at the same, you haven't gone very far at all. That's a shame; the world is a beautiful place. You're particular about things, how you dress, what you eat. You might've been famous once. You're good at games, like checkers.

[ It's all fairly run-of-the-mill, traits anyone could've guessed, until without any warning— ]

When were you crowned?

[kingside]

[Traits anyone could've guessed is stretching it, but as tempting as it is to lift an eyebrow at the assertions made, Lelouch's expression remains perfectly neutral. Well.]

Answering questions defeats the purpose.

[idealizing]

You don't have to answer if you don't want to.

[ N's expression doesn't change, either, and he just continues to watch Lelouch through calm gray eyes. ]

But your face earlier... it was the face of someone who never wanted to be king.

[kingside]

That's a very specific description.

[And not one he plans on denying, considering, but even so.]

Is it a face you've seen before?

[idealizing]

It's a face I've worn before.

[kingside]

What were you king of?

[idealizing]

A cause that I regret.

[kingside]

Not a country?

[idealizing]

Ideals are much larger than countries.

[ His gaze trails back to Lelouch's face, steady, straightforward. ]

One could say they're even larger than the world itself.

[kingside]

[N gets a tiny smile for that.]

I didn't say they weren't.

[idealizing]

So is that what you fight for? Ideals?

[ N seems very interested in his answer, leaning forward a little. ]

Or is it truth?

[kingside]

Nothing so selfless as that, but I had been wondering what other evidence you were drawing from with your other conclusions about me. Elaborate, if you would.

[idealizing]

[ Ah, too bad, but all good things in time. He leans back, and his reply is immediate, too fast for most people to make sense of. ]

Well, a cynic would deduce they're all meaningless statements. "You've traveled plenty, but at the same, you haven't gone very far at all." That's a vague, empty phrase that could apply in many cases. Everyone is particular about something, and anyone can be famous for any reason. Anyone can also become good at games through practice, and checkers is one of the simplest. Therefore, the probability of one of these statements being true is high; however, the probability of them all being true is low in comparison. On that note...

[ One single, short breath, and he's off to a running start again. ]

A king is a person who travels far in a figurative sense, but generally remains bound in a literal one by the nature of his duties. The clothes you're wearing are well-tailored and well-kept, and your physique suggests you're selective about your meals. You've also made it apparent you're selective about the people you converse with. It is rather difficult to become king without becoming famous, at least on a local level. Royalty has plenty of free time, which can be spent on recreation. I don't think you're into physical activity, which is most common, so games would be the next logical choice.

...of course, I could be wrong.

[ But judging from that massive wall of words, he's pretty confident he's not. ]

[kingside]

[Most people, but not Lelouch, and he allows himself a faint smirk as N finishes.]

Right for the wrong reasons, I'd say. I have traveled extensively in the literal sense, but one might argue that figuratively, I haven't come as far as some. There are certainly those who argue that I haven't changed at all since I was younger.

I am still famous and I don't anticipate that changing, so you weren't entirely on the mark there. You're right about my clothing and eating habits, however, but those were easily observed.

I did play chess as a prince with my older brothers and while I was growing up, but I wouldn't say it was a result of free time I had as royalty. If anything, being royalty has meant that I had precious little time to waste on such pursuits. That's changed since I came here, but that has more to do with the fact that I rule over nothing in this realm and therefore have an abundance of free time, as you said.

[He seems almost as though he's finished, but something else soon occurs to him.]

I was also an emperor, not a king. There is a difference.

[idealizing]

[ That Lelouch managed to digest all of that without complaint is enough to impress him; more so that he managed to dismantle many of his arguments, though it flusters him just a little. Still, he smiles slightly, features softening from icily analytic to reserved geniality. ]

I learned a lot just by looking, and now, I know even more. So thank you for telling me.

[ That impassioned inquiry from before returns. For all his powers of deduction, his powers of tact are rather lacking. ]

But you still haven't told me what your dreams are. Are they powerful enough to change the world, I wonder?