victory_road | 8 ∅ [Text/Action for Ecruteak Inn]

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8 ∅ [Text/Action for Ecruteak Inn]

[TEXT:]

currently taking your hottest exorcism tips
the top five submissions get a prize
the prize is whatever i get out of these boxes of abra jacks and if thats not your idea of a good time im sorry because theyre all i got stashed in this closet atm

if this is punishment for cultural appropriation at the festival im gomen
but can we maybe stop
onegai shimass

[ACTION FOR ECRUTEAK:]

[The great (???) thing about the ghost currently haunting Dave is that, for the most part, it stays out of sight, meaning that with everyone else distracted by their own phantasms, Dave managed to spend the whole day yesterday blatantly not acknowledging it, only twitching at its constant presence at the edge of his awareness. But after no sleep the entire night--negative sleep, probably, it's possible he will never sleep again, fuck every molecule of his being--he's just grabbed some foodstuffs, marched into the inn room closet, and settled in with his eyes shut, hugging the cereal boxes to his chest.

At least he can pretend Bro's not there, in the dark.]

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[It's not like she meant to scream. It just came out, and it's justifiable. How many times in your life do you wake up to literal ghosts in your room, on your bed, looking right at your face? Normally, not at all!!

Still, she appreciates Dirk's company as she's walking around. Dinah does, too, and she waves to him when he joins them.]

He waves to other people, or. Tips his hat. Like he always does when he's just, you know, passing by and saying hello. [Jane shakes her head, definitely looking wan. If Dirk looks, he'll see that indeed, Ghost-Dad is waving at him. Hello again young man, how kind of you to look after my daughter, she seems quite distressed.] He won't come into the bathroom either, when I'm in there, though I'm pretty sure he's figured out I'm just playing with Marnie when I go.

[ Dirk pauses and barely raises his arm to wave back at Dinah. It's short and awkward. His drops it after, like it's dead weight. Jane's Ghost Dad waving at him out of the corner of his eye too. He doesn't really feel right waving back to him. He's not entirely sure he's real at all. Fact: He's positive Jane's dad was alive. Fact: He has no idea which version of Jane this is and if she's even alive. So maybe Mister Crocker wasn't alive. ]

Well. He's not acting entirely out of character, intangibility aside.

[ Which doesn't bode well for the Not!Dead theory. She wouldn't know either way if he asked, would she? She's behind either way, stuck at a point between candy-coated nightmare and having her brain taken over. He crosses his arms then uncrosses them, a nervous fidget on an otherwise steeled off posture an expression. ]

Jane. [ He starts, looks right at her - not that shades make eye contact something she can actually know is something he's trying to make here. He can't leave this alone. ] When was the last time you saw him? [ Since game entry, right? ]

[She lets out a tired sigh through her nose.] Yeah. It's...creepy.

[It's much more than creepy, but it's hard to explain, and it keeps her from noticing any shift in Dirk's demeanor. She looks up when he calls her name, meeting his eyes - or hoping to, because shades.]

Since...entering the game. So, five months ago - over five months. [You know, if you take this place into account. She wrings her hands, not even noticing she's doing it.] But I...I was told he was dead. By. you know. A terrible source that might turn out to be true, since he was right about other things, and now there's this?

[...Is that new information to you Dirk?]

Eerie.

[ He presses his lips together tightly. No, that's not new information. No discrepancies in timelines yet. Further data needed. He picks out the right phrasing for her, because the last thing he needs is for her to doubt him on this when he tells her he definitely saw her dad without a scratch on him. Ease her mind. He's watching her hands and trying not to frown at it.

And then all that careful internal phrasing goes out the window. ]

What source? [ "He." Process of elimination: Who has told them things that might be considered reliable and could be described by Jane as terrible? And is also the only other person they were in contact with during that time period (unless the timelines are that different)? Son of a fuck. Dirk pinches the bridge of his nose, above where the shades rest. ]

Is it who I think it is? [ suffering sigh ] Okay. I have to tell you something but you need to disregard whatever that shitshow told you first.

[She nearly snaps, "Well who else could it be?", but doesn't, because she does, in fact, want to take everything that awful alien turd said and shove it far, far down into a garbage disposal and never see it again. So. You have her attention.]

...Okay?

[ Dirk turns so he's facing her completely. He has no idea if Caliborn was accurate in any version of events but he isn't about to take that guy's knowledge over his own. And what he knows is that Jane's dad was safe and alive for months where he was and he should have been in either timeline. ]

We were with your dad right before I got here.

[ Here we go. ]

[Caliborn's accuracy is questionable and only decipherable through various filters of alien anthropological know-how that Jane decidedly lacks. She's aware his perceptions are...skewed, but they are also cruel and supplied with accurate knowledge of her actions, and when left alone to fester with her own self-loathing for her mistakes, it's hard not to take those things as truth when everything else seems just as miserable. Still, she wanted not to believe them, and wanted to listen to what Dirk had to say, so while there's a lump in her throat and a twist in her stomach that's certain he's only saying this to cheer her up, to keep her spirits from dropping, she clamps down hard on the feeling. No advance, no abscond.]

...Do you...know where he was? Before you - before you were with him?

[ He should have this information. He wants to have this information. Dirk actually hates that he doesn't know. He doesn't know a lot of things. He has no idea when Roxy switched places with one from another timeline. He has no idea what 99% of the plan was. He has no idea where Jane or Jake where or who anyone else was fighting, outside of the group that went to assassinate the Empress. He doesn't know if anyone besides him actually died in battle. He has no idea why the fuck a frog makes a universe. He didn't even know Calliope was alive again or how until the last second.

Information was filtered through Hal, who suddenly wanted to discuss milk and horse schlongs, and then Dave, who he spent more time discussing personal matters with.He figured out some things but there is a second timeline to consider and since he's the only one that knows what he actually does know, nothing he knows is correct for the rest of their group. Except John. Hopefully Jane. This is all good and fucked. Trying to grasp control of something he has very little information about is endlessly frustrating. ]

[ The best he can give her is a fucking guess. He's thought about this. ] Derse. [ He's hopes any uncertainty on the doesn't reach her. It shouldn't, they always did claim he didn't emote enough. Prospit doesn't really have it in them to hold hostages. And they throughly explored all of their worlds. So, Derse. Unless he was on Her Royal Hair's ship or something. A place they missed. He feels like such a failure for not locating this guy all that time they were there. Should have looked harder for her. ]

He was fine, Jane. I wouldn't lie about that.

[Derse.

Derse is vague. Derse is an entire planet in and of itself. But Derse lines up with what she'd been told, and she has to bite back a self-chiding remark when Dirk asserts that he wouldn't lie about this.

Because he wouldn't. He's right about that. For all the faults in their little group, Jane knows that none of her friends wouldn't lie about the important stuff.

Ghost-Dad is starting to look a little pale.]

...Did he. Did he look - injured, or like someone had hurt him at all? Like someone had t-tor...

[She can't even say it.]

No.

[ He's quick to shut that idea down. Serious. Stern. No, he did not look tortured. Jane's Dad looked like he was perfectly safe. Lacking all injuries. He got a better look at him than most, considering his sudden urge to lift John off the ground in a dramatic embrace momentarily became the center of everyone's attention.

Unfortunately the answer to the question, "Was he tortured?" is also something he doesn't know for certain. Another gap in knowledge. (He hates this.) Any lack of of mark on him could be chalked up to Jane using healing powers on the man or Old Sprite!Jane doing that, assuming the ability carries over. But Derse has never bragged about torture in their tabloid and the agents and the Empress had made it clear they seemed far more interested in going directly to murder.

Might have something to do with him being part of the Crocker lineage, like how there was an attempt to corrupt Jane instead of remove her from the picture. Prior assassination attempts pre-game aside. ]

I don't think he even had a wrinkle on his shirt.

Edited 2016-08-28 16:48 (UTC)

["Was he tortured?" is still a question on the table, but Jane doesn't ask it. Just knowing that he looked like he was alright, even for whenever Dirk had seen him, is enough for now. She sniffs, eyes dry, but wiping at them with the heel of her free hand regardless, in case there might be something there.

Ghost-Dad has pointedly moved back a ways, so as not to catch anyone's attention, but he's still there.]

...Good. Because...I'd have to tear myself back into the game and find that old witch myself to sock her in the face if he did...!

[She breathes, long and slow, and tries to settle this information in her mind.]

[ Fuck. He has no idea what to do if Jane starts actually crying. She's not, right? She's not. Jane's strong as hell. They would be some sort of relief tears anyway, right? Because Jane's Dad isn't dead. Look at him back there, taking a step back. What if he is real and Dirk just ruined his chances of getting something across?

He should do something more comforting. Roxy would already be hugging her. Roxy's so fucking good at comforting people. He's the worst.

Dirk puts a hand on her shoulder, hoping that conveys some sort of support. ]

I don't doubt your capabilities on that. [ Jane Crocker is not to be fucked with. ] You actually did attack her with your spoon-fork but not for that reason.

[She's really not all that strong. She's just one person. But, deep down, she wants to believe what Dirk is telling her and not let this ghost demolish her spirit. If Ghost-Dad wants to get something across, he can come over later when she's feeling more confident in herself to not, at some point, break down.

Jane looks up at the hand on her shoulder, and then meets Dirk's gaze, her brow furrowing.] I did? Why? What was happening?

[ Should he be saying anything about this? What if it's wrong for her? But he already told her about her dad from his point of view and let that detail out. It's not lying, is it? It's true but it's not at the same time. Perhaps.

He really hopes she's on his end of things. ]

We were fighting the bad guys. Final big battle. You and Roxy beat the shit out of her.

[The way Jane's eyes widen is with unmistakable disbelief - but the good kind, the awed kind that leaves you breathless for a moment and wondering if you misheard what was just said.

And then...a laugh. Soft, quick, more like a puff of air, followed by another, and another, until Jane's ducked her head to chuckle into her hand. Dinah looks worriedly between the two humans.]

Really? We - we really get to do that?

[ Please be the right timeline. She probably doesn't fully believe him on this one but she's laughing about it. That's better than focusing on the possibility that her dad may have been tortured. ]

Sure do. Killed her too. I sadly didn't have the honor of being a witness to it but I highly doubt sharing that detail would have been a collaborated prank on your part.

[Heh. Yeah. If only they were so lucky as to both be from the timeline that gets the best end.]

Pfffhoo hoo! Oh no, I - I wouldn't joke about something like that! Oh my goodness...

[Does she believe him fully? She's not sure. But it'll be something to keep in mind when they finally have The Timeline Talk.]

I know. The badass levels went impossibly high. You still need a fucking medal for it.

[ Like twenty medals for saving everyone's asses with her healing powers too. And putting his head back on. ...He'll leave that last part out for good. Timeline talk or not. It's not really something anyone should speak about ever.

Now what do they do about Ghost Dad? ]

[She just shakes her head, bashful, and waves it off.] Goodness, let me catch up to you sometime before you start handing medals out, alright?

[What do they do? Well...it looks like for now he's flown the coop. Jane happens to glance back, surprised.]

Whoa...he's gone!

[Not gone for good, but for now.]

That's just going to take forever.

[ Not that he's actually badass. What good has he done? He got them all in the session and hasn't really done anything else to earn badass status, outside of looking the part. He still looks awesome.

He puts his eyes on the spot, previously occupied by Ghost Dad ]

Good. If it's a permanent departure, questioning their existence apparently does the trick. But he might simply be too polite to eavesdrop on our conversation. Fake or not, that man is a god damn gentleman.

[Shush, he's badass enough. They all are. Medals for everyone. You get a medal, and you get a medal, it's a goddamn Oprah show here, there's medals under your chairs and everything. Hey, at least it's not bees, right?

Jane scrunches her nose, smiling fondly.] Yeah...I'm grateful for that, at least.

[ Don't knock the bees. Maybe bees are awesome. Dirk has never seen a bee.

He nods. It might be the guy's most prominent feature, his gentlemanly attitude. That's some sort of universal constant, it has to be. Or... multi-universal constant. ]

Pretty sure we all are. You're okay, right?

[Tell Jane that and she'll catch him a Weedle. Beedril are the closest things to bees out in these parts.]

...Yeah. I'm. I'm okay. And if not, I will be.

[There is some hesitance in her voice, but the set of her jaw makes it seem that she's determined to make that statement true.]

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8 ∅ [Text/Action for Ecruteak Inn]

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