#even if everyone else including waluigi himself probably just thinks of his emblem as an upside-down L

[duckapus]

Deep Drive: Station... Γ?

As the light dies down and her eyes adjust, Tulip finds herself in a forest of all places, the light and crackle of a fire noticeable nearby. She walks towards it.

Hold on, the door won't open just yet.

She pushes past the trees and underbrush, finding a campsite in a circular clearing, a purple tent on the opposite edge and a tall, lanky figure sitting on a log and tending to a fire. It all feels very familiar, when it really shouldn't. Her family would never be caught dead in the woods, and during her time on the road she hadn't seen much point to sleeping under the stars when she lived in an RV, especially after the Twilight came and made it downright unsafe, especially alone.

Maybe if she'd ever had any real friends she'd have thought differently, but...well. Maybe was the key word.

First, tell me more about yourself.

Not seeing any other choice, Tulip slowly approaches the camper and sits beside him, the log having more than enough room for two. She takes the chance to get a better look at them, finding a tired-looking man with long, angular features. He wears a purple shirt and matching cap (with a yellow sticker of what seems to be the Latin letter Gamma pasted on the front), black overalls, white gloves with the same emblem as his hat, and light brown boots with pointed toes. His hair (or what she sees of it) is slightly curly, and the same brown as his boots, and under his pointy pink nose is a long, thin mustache sticking out to the sides and bent nearly straight up halfway through in a way that seems to defy gravity.

He never once looks away from the fire, even as he finally speaks, "What do you want out of life?"

She thinks hard about this, somehow certain that what she says now will hold someday grave importance for her in the real world, "...I ...want to be known for my own accomplishments. Not just my family's name and drama."

The man nods, "Getting out from under another's shadow, and carving your own path. A noble ambition... so long as you don't let it consume you.

...What are you afraid of?"

"...Being alone." Strange as it sounded, given her life choices.

"And yet you struck out on your own, and at such a young age, too. You're a brave one."

"Yeah, well, I was practically alone already when I was with them. At least this way I'm in charge of my own destiny."

The man hums, and for a time they both simply sit and watch the fire.

Eventually, she hears him speak again, though she's too caught up in her own thoughts to catch it, "Sorry, I didn't quite-" her breath catches when she looks back up at him.

While she's been looking away, he's moved his intense gaze away from the fire and squarely onto her. His eyes, once normal apart from beady black pupils and lavender eyebags, are now coated in an ominous blue glow that seems to bore into her very soul. The world seems to darken and close in around them, the branches of the surrounding trees almost clawing at the ink-black sky like gnarled leafy hands

"I asked; what is most important to you?"

She can't look away. She almost thinks she won't be able to answer, but the words come bubbling up as if dragged out by the camper's power, "Freedom. Freedom to go where I want to go, do what I want to do, be who I really am, no matter what anyone else says."

And the spell is lifted, the moment ending as quickly as it began, the man's eyes returning to normal, though not moving away from her, and he nods.

"You wish to carve out your own place in the world. You fear solitude. You value your freedom.

Your journey begins in the dead of night. The path will be long, and rough, with many twists and turns, but I imagine you're used to that by now. Just keep your eyes on the road and follow your Heart, and a shining new dawn awaits."

As she's processing this, the voice speaks up once more.

You are nearly complete. There is one final lesson before the journey can truly begin..