victory_road | Log: Homestuck Confrontation+Carly

Entry tags:

Log: Homestuck Confrontation+Carly

Who: John Egbert, Jane Crocker, Dirk Strider and Carly Nagisa

Where: Violet City PokeCenter

When: August 8

Summary: John and Jane run across their idiot friend(?) trying to avoid healthcare. Carly gets caught in the middle of Homestuck nonsense. Sorry, Carly.

Rating: At least PG-13, Dirk is here

Log:

It's both nice and complicated, travelling with Jane. Nice, because he likes Jane a lot and also it's a good additional distraction from himself, complicated because he has to stay switched on all the time. John doesn't much like the idea of being a hassle, or bringing things down more than they need to be. They have a goal! They're getting to Goldenrod! As far as he can tell, Jane's set up something really cool here and she doesn't need him getting all mopey and bringing SBURB back into things.

The travel itself has been pretty smooth-going since Jane showed up, but he did have a rather difficult encounter on Route 31 and Harry Stamper was knocked unconscious. So the PokeCenter isn't just helpful right now, it's a necessary immediate trip, the moment they enter the city. All of John's Pokemon are in their balls when he and Jane enter the Center, save his starter Alice, who is perched in his usual spot on top of John's head, a tuft of John's hair gently threading through his beak. Not paying very much attention to his surroundings, John walks directly over to the Nurse Joy at the counter and starts digging his pokeballs out of his bag and placing them on the counter.

"Does Alice need to be in a ball to get helped?" he asks her, reaching up a hand and placing it on the blue bird orb on his head. The orb makes a tiny peep noise in response. "I usually put them back in advance but maybe that's not a requirement?" He looks sideways, towards Jane. "I probably could have asked you, actually but I forgot until...just now, I guess."

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Jane is similarly "switched on" as she's been traveling with John - but less in a despairing way. She's been concerned for him, for in truth, who wouldn't be? To come from a tumultuous (assumingly) battle only to eventually meet your end is not really the most healthy thing to go through when you are forced to process it in a colorful, happy, smiling world of magical friend monsters. He's not a hassle, and he's not a burden. He just...needs whatever time he needs in order to process his feelings. When John is ready to talk, Jane believes he will. It's not something to be forced.

But to say she hasn't been worried would be a lie. He's family. He's the only family Jane's had around in what feels like ages. And you take care of family.

It's mostly happenstance that Jane's worked at Pokemon Centers so often, so she's quick to chuckle softly at his question. Beside her, Dinah the Audino, her faithful starter, looks pleased to be in a familiar environment. "Oh, no, the nurses can take a Pokemon in or out of their balls. You'd be surprised at how many kids carry in Pokemon for help."

The Nurse Joy, of course, is totally ready to accept any 'mons that John has need to heal.

While others are at the front desk, Carly has not-so-long-ago come charging in not unlike those worried trainers carrying pokemon in their arms. Except, instead of anything alive it was just a poke-gear.

She had then frantically searched around for the one she'd actually come in for, arms fumbling over devices and bottles and the like before the two ended up in tense conversation.

Tense, and escalating-

"Wh- Don't you blame this on TAN!" a shrill shout can be heard, the fuming woman in spectacles looking ready to just throw the syrup bottle in her hands at whoever has been laying on the couch.

Conveniently, one can only see the back of it from the front desk. The woman though? She's easy to spot- dressed almost like those reporter trainers (yet not quite), her hair partly held back by what could be a fuzzy yellow scrunchie. The light gleams dangerously off her glasses, and it seems the snowy white vulpix behind her- not to mention the rest of the team she's got out of their balls- are getting a bit worried about it.

Mom's making a Scene.

"Yer right, it's my fuckin' fault." Dirk pushes past Carly, almost uncoordinated enough to physically touch her but veering--stumbling?--around her at the last second on his way to the PC, holding himself upright as much through forcing the uncontrollable tension of fever-tight muscles as sheer determination to get to the fucking machine. His thoughts are so overcooked as to be almost numb, but he's also gotten used to Carly's shrill voice at close range--his jaw pressed tight, his hair plastered to his sweaty face, his expression otherwise hidden behind his shades. Which are slightly crooked, but he's slightly crooked. He's physically shaking, trembling like a shaky goddamn baby deer. But he will be damned if he's going to have that traitor ghost in the machine on his person one undeserved second longer.

"Didn't make myself clear enough." His drawl is raspy and raw, and overexaggerated, like he's gotten himself halfway to drunk. But no. Not drunk.

Just sick.

"Oh good...all I remember is the little machine image with the flashing balls," says John as he detaches his Swablu from his head and hands him carefully to Nurse Joy, who takes him and John's Pokeball Pokemon back to be healed. "That does make a lot of sense," he continues to Jane, leaning on the counter with one hand as he waits, "I definitely wouldn't have thought to, uh, transfer them to..." He trails off. Someone is yelling in the Center and it's really distracting, actually?

As he tries to find where he was in his sentence, he simultaneously makes an attempt to get a look at whatever is going on near the PC without making a big enough deal of it to look like he's staring at the ruckus. Of course, that fails almost immediately as the yellee stands up and it's just Dirk. A Dirk who looks like shit, actually? John is pretty sure that's not how Dirk normally looks. There is no time to confer with Jane over it. There's just time to act before...something happens. Dirk punches a computer? Unclear.

"Hey!" he says loudly, pushing off the counter and speedwalking over. "Dirk?! What the hell is going on?"

Yelling? There is yelling. Jane's immediate response is to tense at the yelling, looking over as well.

...

Oh Jesus fruitcake Christ. Is - oh that's Dirk. And. A girl? Someone stubborn enough to put up with his holier-than-thou bullshit, which, honestly, props to her. Jane's brow furrows and she follows John over. It's more obvious as she draws closer that Dirk definitely and absolutely looks like shit. Like, significantly worse than he did when they ran into each other in the Ruins. Like he's doing something very stupid and powering through...being sick?

She's just going to keep her mouth shut for now.

"Ohhh, no! You don't get to twist my words-" Carly is very needlessly jumping over the couch arm after her wayard and ill travel companion, hurriedly scooting around in attempt to head off what she knows is a PC trip. There will be no punching computers today, no sir. And-

She waves the bottle in his face, an accusatory point only barely keeping away from actual contact. He doesn't like that sort of thing, she's noticed, and as much as she can't tell if he deserves it right now she'll give him that bit of care.

Also she doesn't want to get sick, of course. "Ooof! I'm not just letting you put your Rotom in an eternal void over this! They were worried! About YOU!" she rants, and...

Deep breaths, Carly. Deep breaths is the mantra of the day before she starts pacing around on the spot. And she can't just start pacing, that'll give Dirk access. "Alright. You know what! Fine! Ground the rotom! You're already going to ignore me if you want...just like you ignored my advice before! Leading to this mess!" she accuses, shaking the bottle. "All you had to do was take it easy on yourself, stop for breaks more, but noooooo! Now you're dealing with a cold so bad, I wouldn't go to work, and I'm from JAPAN! And it's just going to get worse! So can you please just take the medicine!!"

...

...Oh hey wait a minute. "...Hey did someone say your name earlier?"

CARLY

Dirk is way more focused on reaching the damn computer than listening to whatever garbage Carly is spewing from her mouth, and tries again, ineffectively, to sidestep her. What distracts him, after a sizeable delay of 3-4 seconds during which he's heard his name but it hasn't really set in that's what he heard, is John's voice--followed by the sight of him, six foot whatever and striding across the Pokecenter like his ass is on fire. And where there's John...

He spots Jane and just about loses it right there. He is not in the fucking mood right now.

"I am not in the fucking mood right now."

What he does instead is grab a Pokeball off his belt and jam one finger over the button, releasing its contents--its large, energetically moving contents--loose into the Pokecenter, talking (rasping) before it's even resolved into something solid and grey and built entirely of bulging, striated muscles.

"Fuck it."

It's a Machoke. A very toothy Machoke with a big, uniformly sharp grin. She is very excited to see Carly.

"COS, go--yeah, go do that." COS (whose name is pronounced 'cosine'), is flexing enthusiastically at the spectacled woman and moving in for a big, demonstrative hug. The kind of hug that picks you up off the ground and pops your vertebrae. The kind of hug that's as much a flex as it is a sign of affection... you're hoping it's affection, anyway.

"John." He just sounds tired, and like breathing is hard. Which it is. It's a lot harder to breathe when you can only do so through your mouth. Talking just makes it more obvious. His head hurts and swims and feels overstuffed with the finest polyester poly-fil all at once. He can feel his pulse in his face. His eyes are burning and he's been sweating and shivering at the same time, unable to unclench his muscles--which is how he's still standing, despite it all--or keep down food.

'Just sounding tired' is probably an achievement, considering. But it's mostly that he's too fucking dead to sound like anything else.

"You picked a bad time."

This is...suddenly so much. The new woman who yells at Dirk is being wrangled by a Machoke instead of yelling at him anymore about putting something in an eternal void? Dirk clearly has some sort of death cold. At least Jane is here. She is....John's rock, in this instance.

"I didn't pick any time," he points out, "you were just doing this when I got here. Why are you attacking your friend? You seem pretty sick, actually, maybe you should sit down?" It's good advice, AND it will irritate Dirk to be told it. Dual-purpose.

Hooph, that is. That sure is a noticable change in overall being for Dirk Strider since Jane saw him last. At her side, Dinah's big Audino ears are perked and still, and her eyes are riveted on the very ill, very much older than she's last seen Dirk.

Jane grimaces. "Okay, um...let's not fight in the Pokemon Center, to start? Even if none of us has anything nice to say to each other?" She's pretty sure the Nurse Joy on duty is giving them the coldest side-eye of the century for being loud, fussy, and obnoxious. "We all just happened to be in the same area, on the same day, and that's a thing that happens. Alright? John and I - and probably your friend, too, I'd wager - aren't looking for a fight here." Because Dirk is always up for being antagonistic now. Which is. Sad. "And...crimeny, John's right, you look like a slice of pizza that someone left out on the kitchen counter for a day, are - are you not taking care of yourself?" She feels Dinah try to step forward and reaches out to her Pokemon, placing a gentle hand on the Audino's shoulder. "Ah, wait, Dinah-"

"Au-dih!" Don't stop her, Jane, that's her sick Uncle Dirk, why aren't we making him go to bed?

"Eh-" Carly doesn't get a lot out before Cos is released. She's almost insulted, truly.

This is your best Dirk? This? You really do need bed rest. Carly's currently released pokemon- Kushi excluded, given she's busy being a hair clip- watch with growing amusement from the couch. It's like a soap opera, made for them! A delightful show for a lizard, a fox, and a Sock.

But anyway a Machoke is currently hugging a 'reporter' like a teddy that was lost for three weeks and recently recovered. "Oooh-hoh! Oh! Yes, hello Cos..! It's very good to see you too..!" At least she's alright. Actually, aside from the occasional and potentially even calculating sideglance to the group, Carly seems to be completely ignoring the trio of world-mates. Instead...

She whispers... "Nehhh Cos, for now, let's stand...right over here, right in front of this box neh..? We can stay perfectly out of the way, and I'll give you lots of good berries later when we're done..."

Yes they're blocking the PC now. Not that Dirk will likely care for a bit but shhh.

Oh my god. He's not lucid enough for this.

There's suddenly so much going on and precious little of him to go around. The exact opposite of his chronic, illimitable problem of these past years. Any other time, he'd have chosen this in a heartbeat. Right now, though, it feels like this is definitely the worse of the two.

"No, fool. I know you didn't--COS, what are you doing?" He snaps suddenly, distracted by Carly for just a moment, but it lasts only a couple of seconds because that's all he can wait, like this.

"Oh, fuck it. I don't care. Or I do care, but." He spreads his hands, lets them drop like they weigh literal tonnes, turning inelegantly back to the Crocker-Egbert team.

"Right now you could take me down, no sweat."

He pauses, pressing one hand to his own face--no purposeful part of it, even, just flat over his face--and pulls it away again, regarding his greasy palm with a look of disgust.

"Scratch that. What was I fucking saying--I know you didn't track me down, because the plan--not that it matters now--was for me to intercept you. That was before I came down with malaria. Okay? I'm not... some kind of fucking slob. I'm not that... ugh. I'm not that different." He makes eye contact with Jane, which is actually apparent because he's sort of looking around his crooked sunglasses. It's almost accusatory, but his expression is too slack, too dead-eyed to be effective. If he had the narrative, he'd have to do some judicious editing to make it stick. But he still could. If he had the narrative.

He feels a little like he's going to puke. Good thing there's nothing in him right now to puke.

"I'm just fucking sick. Enjoy your schadenfreude while you can."

Who IS this other woman? Why does Dirk have a Pokemon who likes her enough to hug her? Did Dirk make a friend by accident? That's so weird. That is just the weirdest.

Anyway, he'll have to address that later, and take advantage of her distracting Dirk's distraction Machoke to basically unpack all the weird shit Dirk is saying. He honestly can't even be convinced it's because Dirk is obviously feverish, based on what little Jane told him.

"Uhhh...why do you think we'd want to take you down, or stand around enjoying you being sick? That is actually pretty insulting? I know I barely know you but I am pretty sure even with you being a total dick to Jane she is not here to laugh at your...malaria?" It ends on a question because John is validly uncertain if Dirk is being truthful or dramatic. It seems pretty unlikely that this game world would be full of deadly diseases. It's Pokemon, not Amazon Trail.

A more important thing than thinking about Pokemon Game Diseases occurs to John, and he folds his arms and makes an unimpressed face. "OK, actually, we might have to take you down if you're going to keep trying to walk around and play this game with a fever. We are literally standing in the lobby of a hospital place right now. You need fluids and bed rest at LEAST, and I think medicine if it's actually malaria? I do not actually know anything about malaria. Does it need quinine? Is that in tonic water? I can't remember. Anyway, you're not allowed to leave."

"Malaria?"

It's said perhaps a little too loudly than Dirk would like (because seriously, just announce someone's illness to an entire building full of people who would rather not get sick), but honestly? That's. That's kind of not an illness she expects to hear someone have? Maybe he's overexaggerating, maybe he's not - doesn't matter, because he's obviously sick with something and spouting more nonsense than usual. He may be rude even now, but you don't just let someone walk around when they're clearly ill. She doesn't even try to stop Dinah from hurrying over, because Jane's doing that herself, her expression not quite knowing what to do with itself. She stands there with her hands on her hips, not touching Dirk but close enough to kind of get the sense that there's heat coming off of him, the kind you get with a fever, and wow he looks worse than pizza left on the kitchen counter.

"Jesus on a Ritz, this woman is right to berate you - and even if you are an insufferable hivemind lout, John's right, and you're being put to bed immediately."

Now, instead of hovering, instead of making a concerned noise, Dinah the Audino does what Jane is keeping herself from doing: she gets on her tiptoes and places a small paw on...the side of Dirk's head, she can't quite reach his forehead despite being the size of a child. So, uh, yeah, invasion of space by the Pokemon who can also tell you're unwell.

"Good~ I think I'll ask Dirk if he wants to try my TM with you too, see if it helps-"

Rather abruptly, Carly stops her whispering as conversation continues. Dirk is talking about Malaria again. Of course he's talking about Malaria. Frustratedly she mouths 'IT IS A COLD', while doing her best to gesture with the cold medication bottle she's still holding. It's fairly difficult given that her arms are currently being viced to her sides by an overeager machoke.

Pretty soon the details of what kind of terrible disease is plaguing their friend doesn't matter however, as Dinah moves closer to Dirk than the others have so far, and- "A-AAAAH,"

S- Shoot! No!

Don't make this worse, that'll make things worse!! (She can't even shout that, because that will make it worse too!)

Why is he pizza. Why is he only a single slice of it, for that matter?

"It's more like the reverse of a hivemind," he starts, wearily--though if that train of thought was going anywhere, it's cut off immediately as the soft peachy paw of Jane's creature plaps against the side of his head. There's a beat, during which Dirk is honestly not sure how he feels about this or what he intends to do about it. He is, however, granted a disconnected and bizarrely heightened awareness of his pulse throbbing between his skull and its pressing palm. He feels it there and nowhere else, but he knows there's an echo of it somewhere in his body. A steady, solid pulsation, a sound he can't hear coming from the inside--his inner ear filled, like his third ear, only with silence.

His hands close over the Audino's pudgy arm. Wordlessly, he removes its paw from his face, his grip firm but not aggressive--just implicitly non-negotiable.

"Hands off the goods."

And Jane. He can't take a step back, even if she's right up in his business like she has no business being. That would be an unconscionable choice. Even as an unwashed, disgusting, dehydrated wreck of himself. If he can stand up, then he can keep standing. Which means no retreating. From anything. Even if it fucking hurts.

Besides.

He has something to do.

He's still reeling, dizzy, and he's not sure if his balance wobbles or if it's just vertigo.
"We'll talk about how I know how to drink water in a sec. I got business." He corrects his glasses over his eyes, pretending he can ignore his laboured breathing, the greasy slickness of his skin, how he can still feel where Jane's pet's hand was pressed against the side of his face. Despite the rictus tension of his muscles, thanks to the way his rigidity both aids and conflicts with the unrelenting effort of containing his shaking, it grants him almost an entire second of looking like he's not about to drop.

"COS. Move. Take Carly." The Machoke huffs, hesitating just a moment before opting to heave Carly over her shoulder like a sack of lanky cement.

Immediately, John moves quickly around to stand in front of the PC. He has no idea why Dirk's friend(?) was trying to stop him from getting to it but she probably had a reason for it. He hopes he doesn't have to wrestle Cosine as well. Aside from the brief and stupid Lord English battle, he's probably out of shape.

"Do you know how to drink water?" he says, quite rudely. Actually, whether or not the malaria thing is true... "You're from the crap Betty Crocker future like Roxy, aren't you. Have you had a single vaccine?"

Will Dirk even answer that? Whatever. John decides it's probably better to talk to somebody who is definitely more sensible than Dirk. This, he thinks, could mean literally anyone, but: "Carly? Hi. I'm John. Can you maybe explain the situation? I'm sorry, I know you are in a weird position right now." In multiple ways.

"Noh."

It's the closest Dinah ever gets to speaking anything remotely like understandable English, and it's only because of her species name. The other hand paps Dirk's other cheek, almost defiantly, as if she can't already tell he's feverish.

"...Oh crimeny, you're right," Jane says to John, and nearly facepalms. It's not like they could alchemize vaccines in the Medium, let alone safe ones that teens definitely know how to administer. Back to Dirk, though. "Well, regardless of the actual severity of your illness, the fact remains that you're definitely and undeniably sick. I know how difficult it is for you to descend from your incredibly high horse-slash-pony, but seriously. They have beds here. You need rest."

Carly? Where had she - oh! Was this Carly from when she posted about her overabundance of Vulpix eggs? She looks over to her curiously, thinking who - if necessary - in her team could take on COS to release the other girl. August? August, yes, he could. If Dirk's presence doesn't distract him as well.

"Ah-AAAAHH! Hey hey hey Cos!! We didn't need to change positions for that..!!" Stop it! She preferred hug mode! And-

....She's being addressed now?? "Heh?" A series of sounds- various wuffs, clicks, and Strange Hisses- come from the couch presently housing a Mimikyu, Salazzle, and Alolan Vulpix. Lookit that Jane! She got the dream result!

If only that was helpful here. "Ahh...w..well," she coughs, tapping Cos until the lovely Machoke turns her around to face the group. "First...it might be a little more polite to have someone take their paw back? Just for now?" Please Dinah, she is begging,

"Ah...b-beyond that! Mmhnm..." Oh boy. Challenge mode- how to explain Without completely undermining Dirk! It's one thing as a pair. In a group it's just rude. "Dirk's Rotom 'Tan' tried calling me about his cold with his PokeGear...They did very well actually I'm quite impressed! ...spelled my name wrong but..." Ahem.

This has answered almost nothing.

Fuckin--

Dirk grabs the Audino's other arm--but this time with only one hand, and also a little less gently. He pulls it from his face. He doesn't want to look at this thing right now.

His grip slipped for just a second, and now everything's out of control. People. Circumstances. Himself. It feels like a thousand, million, billion cracks spreading out across the surface, splintering the facade of reality and it feels like a breakdown, one he's not having but it feels like he could have, if he wasn't here doing this game of grab-hands with an auxiliary construct of a purposefully adversative reality.

Just him and this fat fucking strawberries and cream marshmallow, and he can only just keep its hands off his face. He pushes the Audino away, both hands on its chest and whether it moves or not (and in the process collides with Jane or not), it's his chance to straighten up and get away.

John's blocking the way. Jane's still talking.

He misses having a Jane who trusted his judgement. He misses having anyone he could trust to have his back. Rose would be spectacular right now. He knows he can trust her. Could trust her. Can't trust anyone. Or anything. Can't trust it's real. Can't even trust he's real. He knows everything is going to be a fight until he dies, but he misses....

What. Reality? Yeah. He misses that. How much of this is real. Does any of it even matter?

The fatigue hits him again. The fiction around him has faded to the background, just noise, colours and shapes he can't see and sounds he can't hear.

Chaos of nothing.

And it's so much louder suddenly, so much brighter, light and shadow in blinding contrast just like his fever feels.

Then he makes the mistake of actually closing his eyes, and heat so intense it's black, like ink, pitches up and out from his gut, engulfing him from the inside in a second. Bile launches into his throat and the temperature feels like it tastes, forcing him to catch it before--

"But. I told it t--" He has to swallow, and on the next try, it's that much angrier. "I told it to stay the fuck out of communicative technology." He's penned in on all sides. COS is as much in the way as out of it now.

"Just get out of the way."

So, Dirk wants to punish one of his Pokemon somehow for....getting worried about him and asking for help? Jeez, that certainly figures. Also, how dare you shove Jane's sweet daughter who just wants to help you, Dirk?! John is straight up glaring at him now

"What are you gonna do if I move?" he asks. "Use the PC to release Tan or something? Carly obviously wanted to block you for some reason." A reason she absolutely didn't explain but, sure, fine, whatever. "Maybe the Rotom broke your rule because it's a stupid rule when you obviously have no idea how to deal with being sick. You'll just ditch Tan and leave to go sweat yourself to Fake Poke Death somewhere and end up back here anyway--so you may as well just get in bed now. It will save all of us a lot of time."

Dinah stumbles, making a muffled sound, and Jane snaps slightly out of her single-minded, dogged concern when her Pokemon bumps into her. There's a moment in which the Audino looks pissed, and honestly, you'd never think a big pink marshmallow creature could make a face like - like Jane might, when she's pissed. Someone's clearly learned by watching. Jane can sense the shift in mood, though, and holds Dinah protectively before the Pokemon can move forward and do something stupid. It's some real adamant girl solidarity, here.

"Rotom sort of just - do that. Same with Porygon. Pokemon are autonomous, Dirk, if they're worried about you then they'll take action, and maybe - maybe when you're not going to keel over, you can talk it out with TAN. But shoving them in a box isn't going to solve your problems."

"Aha...hahhhhhh..." Carly is getting nervous. Very.

Very.

Nervous. "W-well, one of you got it right on the plan..." There is a very anxious cough as Carly tries to get some handle on the situation before everything goes to crud in a blender. "And anyway, really, I don't think questioning the reason for the rule is the issue here, I mean there's probably a very good reason! And it is bad that it was broken just...Well I at least thought breaking it Once wouldn't be a good reason to leave them in a box forever...uh...but! Buuuut you know what! He's got a good idea!" Carly frantically cheers as she points at Dirk. "If the issue is having Tan with you, releasing them is probably for the best then right? ...right..?"

. . .

... "K..Kushi we might need what we practiced..." She wheezes quietly, apparently to no one but herself.

They're all being so reasonable. If only anything they said could actually matter.

He takes a deep breath. As deep as possible--which isn't very, his throat hoarse, his lungs backed up with mucous. He can feel that; his raw pharynx hitches and his voice comes out sounding raw.

"I get it. You don't trust me because I'm not Rose. The feeling's mutual."

It's almost a sigh. Rose saw what he did. The inevitable future he'd set in motion. Her body's necessary sacrifice. John's, too.

So many miles and years and universal iterations removed from his personal Atlantis on Apocalypse Earth and he once again found himself alone. Until he understood that that too, was by design. Can't talk to Roxy. Can't tell Jake anything. Jane's cluelessness was an unfortunate necessity. Dave was his responsibility, not the other way around. The more he saw, the more he saw that he needed to do something. Anything. Before it was too late.

He knew how to bring Dave to him. The rest would follow.

He briefly contemplates closing his eyes again.

It's an old trick. The oldest one he knows. It started when he was just a kid, the last man on earth. Sometimes it was a fear, other times an experiment. The reality he knew was there, or the reality he doubted. Closing his eyes never made the world cease to exist. Or did it? Closing his eyes never made him cease to exist. Or did it? Was anything real? Was he real? What is reality?

He could close his eyes and test it. Again. And again. As if maybe doing so could make it all turn off. As if he could wake back up on his stolen spaceship. Or on the other side. On another page. What's been written there? Where is he then?

Or he could acknowledge what he sees in front of him now.

"But you don't really make your own decisions, do you? Other people choose a course, whether you can see the moves being made or not. There's too much depending on--" No. No, this is wrong. He can't reason with them. Either of them. What isn't real can't be changed, because the outcome is meaningless.

He glances sideways at Jane.

On some level, the fact that she didn't understand confirms his course. She confirms his course.

"What am I even trying for?"

And without another word, he snatches the glasses off John's face, snapping them in half at the bridge before dropping them to the floor and crushing them under his heel.

Edited 2019-08-21 02:23 (UTC)

John could ask what Dirk not being Rose has to do with literally any of this. Is it a call back to...them accusing each other over a week ago of trying to be Rose? He WANTS to ask what Dirk even qualifies as making his own decisions. He also wants to tell Carly to calm down and stop making excuses for Dirk because...what, she just thinks he needs someone on his side? He's being dumb, he probably doesn't need an enabler.

All of these potential conversation points get tossed right into the trash when, out of nowhere, Dirk steals and destroys his glasses. What the FUCK IS IT with assholes breaking his glasses recently?! Out of some remaining instinct his fingers twitch--but it's pointless. He doesn't have the wind. Jane and Carly are blurry masses beyond him and Dirk has smudged into blurry spike shapes around the central outline of his dumb shitty anime shades.

It takes a lot of held-back energy--vibrating, clenched fists--for him to avoid his initial impulse which is to punch Dirk's glasses into shards.

"Ok!" he says, finally, his voice rising gradually in a crescendo as he speaks until it reaches a shout. "You're right! I did not make most of the decisions here because actually? I do not give a fuck about you! I am trying to give a fuck on Jane's behalf because you used to be Jane's friend but it is really difficult! You are such an asshole! And you are really smug and justified about being one, which is worse than just ordinary assholes! Ordinary assholes are just assholes and don't invent a whole situation where they are being an asshole for 'your own good'. What am I even trying for?!"

John stops, but just for a moment to take a deep breath. He's been yelling directly into Dirk's face and Nurse Joy is getting the sort of irritated that indicates she might call a Jenny on them any second. When he speaks again, he's still obviously furious but he's back to a normal speaking level. "You need to get in a hospital bed right now and drink water and sleep and get better if I have to drag you there! You owe me now! You broke my glasses! What did you even do that for?! Holy shit!"

"Whoa-"

It all happens fast, so fast. Dirk's asserting his...Dirk-ness? And then snapping John's glasses and John's rightly pissed and holy fuck, Dirk, none of them touched your glasses? Not even Dinah touched the shades.

They're never going to be allowed in this Pokemon Center again. And that's not good, because it's not, and also Jane's absolutely not paying for Dirk's ass to get well in a hotel, fuck that, not with his attitude. And John...oh, John. You don't have to give a fuck for her sake.

"Okay...!" She's just. Going to insert herself between the boys. Dinah, still looking hurt and put-out, take's one of John's arms and holds it. "This is going way too far, especially for a public place, alright? First of all-" She snatches John's glasses from the floor. Fuck, duct tape is going to have to do until they can get new ones. "-What the absolute hell, this is childish. Second?" Here John, take your glasses, she needs both hands for what she's going to attempt to do. "He's right, and now you don't get to choose to accept our help. We're going to inflict it on you."

Or, well, she will. Right now. Jane is taking Dirk by both arms and will drag his ass across the linoleum floor if she has to.

Edited 2019-08-21 21:39 (UTC)

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i'm so late and i'm gomen

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YOU'RE MORE THAN FINE ....though let's get an f in the chat for nurse Joy

F

f

F...

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CW emetophobia jic but I PROMISE no emesis in this thread at all

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I got permission to do this; Usagi has permission to take over COS because uhhhh

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