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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[Dave blinks, then tilts his head a little, like he's trying to think back about something.]

...Do any of them talk?

[Bro hasn't, but that's more or less par for the course, really; but Gamzee didn't, either, and if Jane's Dad's the same, then maybe...okay, actually, Dave has no idea what that would imply, he's not a ghostologist.]

I...

[That is a surprisingly good question.]

I haven't a clue. Are ghosts - really real ones - supposed to talk?

Back home, the problem's usually getting them to shut the fuck up. God damn, some of them are so fucking chatty...you never met any of them in the dream bubbles?

No...I don't think I ever had the pleasure. What is a "dream bubble"?

It's...uh. Well, it's a sort of...metaphysical pocket of space-time where SBURB players with dead dream selves are active when they're unconscious, or. Uh. Dead. In real space they're located out past Derse but most folks just access them by falling asleep or, you know, getting killed and junk.

Oh.

[Sounds fake but okay.]

I...might've been in one, then, because I did actually sleep during our five months in the game, but maybe I just didn't realize it, or maybe I never ran into any ghosts?

Well, you're a Prospit dreamer like John and Jade, right? I don't think they got into those as much as we did. 'Specially since us on the meteor were flying through them for years to get to your session.

[...Has anyone told the Alpha Kids that, actually? That this all started for the rest of them when they were thirteen? Whoops, time to change the subject.]

But anyway, that all goes to show that at least some ghosts aren't known to be the strong, silent type.

- Years?

[Jane might've looked a bit wan before, but she goes absolutely pale now. She thought five months in (relatively) close quarters with the same people was torture, but three whole years?! Holy shit.]

[Dammit, Past Dave, you suck.]

We had kind of a head start on you guys, I guess.

[Bluuuhhhh, there's no real point in dragging this out.]

The beta came out around John's thirteenth birthday, so that's when we started playing.

Oh my God...so then, all that time in between, from your session to ours...

[She looks horrified.]

Prrreeettty much? I mean, being out of the session all that time wasn't the worst, really. Better than the alternative.

Well...I certainly wouldn't argue that, but...gosh, your - your situation was just as bad as ours!

Yeah?

[If not worse. But he guesses Jane doesn't know; and come to think of it, he doesn't know much about her session, either.]

What was yours like? I only caught like five minutes of it before I was here.

Ah, it was pretty bad. The four of us were hopping from planet to planet for five months, ganging up on nigh-invincible skeleton monsters for a pittance of grist. We solved most, if not all of our planets' puzzles all to find out that our job was to sit around and wait for you guys. And...things got rather tense and...stupid, before I woke up here. I'd prefer not to go into detail about that.

[Dave nods, then shuffles down in the closet until his back's on the floor and he can bend his legs to put his feet against the wall.]

...You know Karkat hated me, when I first met him?

[Quietly, he chuckles a little.]

I dated his ex-girlfriend.

[He sighs and gesticulates lazily with one hand, like a sleepy orchestral conductor.]

Three years, we were stuck on that rock. So believe me, we get it. Teen drama is bullshit.

...Ouch.

[She looks down at her hands, letting that settle in before she can...attempt to speak through the lump in her throat. She's feeling a little raw and a little safe, here, so admitting this is hard, but not impossible.]

Dirk and I...we, erm. Both liked the same person. Jake. And...I had the chance to confess my feelings, and...fucked it up...and Dirk...didn't. And Jake, bless his heart, but he could not pick up on when his relationship griping was...

[Jane's jaw clenches, she shakes her head.]

I know compared to three years, five months is nothing, but...

Hey.

[He holds up a hand and shakes his head.]

Time's relative. Also a construct. Also-also, my bitch. So if anyone's gonna say five months of shit is somehow less shitty than three years of shit, it's me, and that's not actually a thing I'm intending to say. Any quantity of shit is still shitty, is what I'm getting at.

[He shrugs.]

Like you said. Your situation was just as bad as ours. And, I mean. Some stuff got better over time, anyway.

[Jane looks up suddenly at that "Hey" and listens, not...really expecting that kind of response. Listening to someone else's troubles can be a humbling experience for her, because it puts her own into perspective, so to be offered any sort of condolences or validation is...weird.

Her head lowers back down as she looks at her hands again.]

...I'm glad. That it got better, I mean. And...thanks.

...It'll get better for you guys, too.

[As far as he knows, anyway. And it's the right thing to say either way.]

You're cool with Dirk now, right? He's a pretty all right dude.

[His chin lifts minutely as his eyes flick past her; the shadow he's expecting doesn't dart past, but he crosses his arms over his chest in what is certainly not at all defensive posture in any way, no sirree.]

...I hope so.

[The way Dave's eyes flicker makes Jane's neck prickle. Is...something behind her? Is it her Ghost Dad? She grips her hands tightly, not sure if she can find it in herself to turn around.]

Oh, uh, yes. Of course. We were able to talk about it, briefly, but...even before that, I didn't hold it against him. He's my friend. And...my frustrations lay more with Jake, anyway.

[Dirk didn't ping her whenever it struck his fancy to unload all his deepest fears and concerns and then subsequently ignore how her answers might hint to how she was feeling about all of this. For better or worse, he had some sense of privacy.

Plus, they're both part of the "Horrible Taste in Boys" Squad.]

Right, the John-looking kid.

[Man. These alt future kids really oughta get their taste in dudes checked. Dave guesses Young Grandpa Harleybert has some of Jade's charm about him, but seriously, guy isn't THAT hot.]

What's he like? I saw him a couple times, but I never got a chance to introduce myself properly to the dude. Always seemed to catch him at awkward junctures.

[Like when he's calling a dead sea troll Hitler. Or shouting strange old-timey catchphrases in his panties while he glows like an anime. Not moments to interrupt a bro, obviously.]

Does he really look that much like John? I mean, I can see a little of it, but not enough to immediately link the two...

[Though eugh, let's not...think about how Jake and John look similar, shall we?]

Ah, well, he can be sweet and gentlemanly...definitely silly, too. He sincerely loved his island, despite the dangers he'd describe, and I don't think there was a movie he met that he didn't like. And, um...he is rather dashing and charming, but...

[Ugh, why is she smiling and feeling her cheeks heat up? Jane shakes her head and sighs.]

He really can be quite thick-headed, too! Oh, I know he doesn't do it out of malice, but he couldn't read the atmosphere if it was presented to him in bold, underlined, large and clearly printed font - he'll just barrel right through everything to yammer on about his problems until you can't get a word in edgewise, or maybe even let him know that some of the things he keeps pressing further and further on are actually bothering you!

[Dave snorts softly. It's obvious how aggravated Jane is with this dude's shenanigans, but it's also...really sweet, kind of. Normal kid problems. Way better than thinking about the ninja elephant in the shadows of the room that he's not going to address, ever.]

I guess at least John comes by it honestly, then.

[Well, okay, that's not entirely fair. Dave bobs his head to one side in a silent apology to his BFF.]

I mean, John's not completely like that. He's a really great friend. Like, the actual best at friendship, probably, and he'll always listen if you've got something on your plate because he's just a nice kid. But he can be a total jackass, too. Like, unintentionally insensitive and stuff.

[Jane, if you want stories, Dave can get you stories, damn. John won't even listen to his raps! What a cad!]

But we keep him around for some reason anyway. I guess 'cause we love that corny fucking dickhole. [Casual shrug. But he's smiling, very faintly.] Same with you guys and Jake, maybe?

[Normal kid problems are hard, though. They're hard, and no one understands. (But let's be real here the ninja elephant is, in a twisted way, a Serious Normal Kid problem in and of itself.)]

Goodness, well, we all can be intolerable at times - I'm far from an exception myself. I...suppose it just got to be too much, on top of everything else.

[She sighs.] Maybe it is. I don't know. I...I still like him, and not just in that way. He's...I hope he's still my friend. I would like to just be friends again. But after the way I spoke to him, I don't think he'd want anything to do with me, and honestly? I wouldn't blame him.

[He looks at her, then looks out the closet door, rubbing absently at a fold of his sleeve.]

I'm thinking about telling you something kinda hideous, but maybe it'll help, I dunno. Something I did where it turned out I really screwed the pooch. If you want to hear it.

[He shrugs. He's easy. Even when he's being serious, like now.]

8 ∅ [Text/Action for Ecruteak Inn]

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