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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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.]

[Jane looks...a little surprised at that. She tilts her head, really getting a good look at Dave.]

...Are you...comfortable talking about it?

[Because while this is getting to be feelings central, if you're not okay with sharing something with a girl you barely know, she's giving you the option to back out.]

I don't mind. Me and the involved parties worked it all out a long time back.

[He mulls over how to start for a moment, and then decides to just jump into it.]

I guess...long story short, I let Jade shoot me in the back with a machine gun without warning her about it and then didn't see her again for three years, which was, like, the uberdick move.

[He finally lifts his chin a millimeter to sort of meet Jane's eyes.]

But it's not like we ever stopped being important to each other. Or wanting to see each other.

[...

.......

Sorry, she's just. Staring. And processing that. And is unsure if she wants to ask for clarification, because that sounds really ridiculous, but Sburb and everything that happened in it was already guaranteed ridiculous from the moment of its inception. Plus, this is probably emotional for Dave, and...it'd be rude to probe and prod as if she were suspicious.]

...Wow. I. Uh...I did not do anything nearly as...drastic as that. But, um. I am glad you two worked it out, and...mm.

[She does get what you're saying though. Good friends, even through the tough shit, still mean something to each other. Right?]

[He can't help that his life has mostly not been normal kid problems!]

I'm just saying--if it's anything like the four of us, you guys have been friends so long, you can probably work it out if you just try to talk a little. He probably feels as much like a jackass about it as you do.

...Yeah. Probably.

[And, at least to Jane, he is a little deserving of feeling like a jackass. Just a little. Let her be selfish, dammit.]

I guess...it all depends on if I get to see him again.

I'd put down money that you will.

[And in this economy, too.]

Dunno if it applies outside our universe, but...I don't know. Follow a loose thread down long enough and it always seems to get tied back up again.

[Doomed timelines. Dead Daves. Unfinished business.

Bro's ghost flits across the room again, lingering just long enough to be seen, but Dave doesn't do more than swallow.]

[Jane sort of...senses that something moves, but she doesn't turn around. Eugh. Whatever you are, please leeeeave.]

...I'll...keep an eye out for loose threads, then.

[Does she want Jake to be at the end of one? A bit of yes, a bit of no. But eventually she DOES have to speak to him.]

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8 ∅ [Text/Action for Ecruteak Inn]

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