ROXY: *stepping back outside the common room, she turns to Rose when the door closes* should we try dirk or dave first what u think
ROSE: *shrugs* Who do you think is less likely to come up with an excuse to back out of this?
ROXY: im afraid i dont know dave well enough 2 answer that *thinks* we could get dave first since ive met him already and the sheer pressure of us all waitin at dirks doorstep would make it so he literally cant run away
ROXY: (i also need ur presence as a cushion so he doesnt flip a tit aboot clown things so the more the merrier tbh)
ROSE: *nods* Then we'll talk to Dave first. *turns the dial to Dave's symbol and knocks on the door*
DAVE: *after a moment, he opens the door a crack and peeks out suspiciously, looking like he hasnt slept in days. how can that be? what else is there to do but sleep? this is a mystery.*
ROSE: Good morning, sleeping beauty.
ROXY: we are makin rounds and have a request 4 u
DAVE: ask and you shall receive
DAVE: which may be yes and may be no
DAVE: and may be shutting the door in your face
ROXY: no no no u see this question can only be answered if u step out here w/ usss
ROXY: *come hither hand wave* cmere cmere
DAVE: *looks at rose suspiciously, but steps outside and shuts the door behind him*
ROXY: *high pitched voice* scooooore
DAVE: i just know im gonna regret this
ROSE: *turns the dial to Dirk's symbol* One down, one to go.
ROXY: ok rose do u wanna get a head start or r we gonna do the one of us one of us thing
ROXY: ok one of us one of us then
ROSE: There's no time like the present.
DAVE: what are you guys doing
DAVE: is this a family reunion
ROSE: I wonder what gave you that impression.
DAVE: you should have told me two weeks ago
DAVE: i would have dressed for the occasion
ROXY: ur dressed perfectly
ROXY: *knocks on dirk's door*
ROSE: What else would you have worn?
DIRK: *It takes a minute, but eventually the door swings open to reveal a Dirk with nothing out of the ordinary in his appearance. He does, however, smell a bit like oranges probably. Hopefully it's not too strong a scent. His eyebrows raise with slight surprise at the people gathered at his door.*
DAVE: *looks away like "i have nothing to do with this"*
ROSE: *quietly* Aren't you two just two beautiful rays of sunshine today?
DIRK: I think someone forgot to forward the "Family Fun Time" memo to me.
ROXY: *just beams at Dirk with probably the biggest smile since they've gotten here*
ROXY: *like 'look what i brought u'*
DIRK: *Wow ok he can't really stay apathetic at that. His lip quirks upwards just a little bit.*
ROXY: *reaches to just grab his wrist and pull him outside with them* cant fight the family distri
ROXY: quick rose get the door *drama; activate*
ROSE: *closes the door and turns the dial back to the common room*
DIRK: *Aaand his sanctuary is gone. Hidey-hole sweet hidey-hole, oh how Dirk will miss you. He gives Roxy a halfhearted glower at the yank.*
ROXY: idk to ensure no escape??
ROXY: im tryna be funny here
ROSE: There really aren't that many places for you to escape to, but we would rather not waste time chasing you down.
ROXY: pls do not shit ur pants with fear we aint gonna murder anyone or nothin
DIRK: I'm pretty sure that strife isn't exactly out of the question within this kind of "family" you know.
ROXY: and why must u always have strife on the brain
ROSE: Except you hardly know two of your family members.
ROSE: Likewise, we don't know you.
ROSE: Hence the family reunion.
ROXY: so why dont we all just sit on the couch and get to know each other
DIRK: Battle always lets you learn about your opponent.
DIRK: *Dirk's kinda just bullshit grumbling at this point.*
ROXY: so do ice breaker games but i aint gonna make u play those
ROXY: we could play hobarn
ROXY: *its a threat dirk dont talk about FIGHTING*
DAVE: *staaaaares at rose.*
ROSE: *smiles innocently at Dave*
DIRK: *It's the Striders staring at Lalondes right now honestly*
ROXY: *hey look the door opened! time to pull dirk into the common room by his wrist, trying to still not be limping haha oops*
ROXY: quit ur moping and humor us at least
ROSE: *looks at Dave expectantly*
DIRK: *Cue eye-roll that nobody sees because of shades. Why is Roxy even dragging him. Also it's hard to NOT notice an abnormal gait.*
DAVE: *slouches into the room without being dragged.*
ROSE: *caboose Rose coming through, choo choo*
ROXY: *she's just dragging him because she's obnoxious and he obviously is resistant let us all sit on these couches yes* dirk why do u smell like citrus
ROXY: like more than usual
DIRK: Because there was a lack of citrus-based scent on my physique, clearly. *Whenever Roxy lets go of his hand, Dirk's gonna plop down on one of those couches.*
ROSE: *also sits down on a couch* Are you particularly taken by citrus scents?
DAVE: *leans against a wall, folds his arms*
ROXY: *let go when she sat; dave WHAT WALLS THERE ARE NO WALLS*
DIRK: *He's leaning on space clearly. Only coolkids can do that.*
ROXY: *i ROLLED on space. B)*
ROXY: he likes orange soda *shares fun facts about dirk*
DIRK: Yes, oranges in particular. *His gaze focuses on Rose.* Orange soda also works.
DIRK: *Roxy you fell INTO space too.*
ROXY: *i did. and made space angels. also quoted a meme using space. ive done a lot w/ space.*
DAVE: *so have rose and i. ;) ;) ;)*
DIRK: Also it's better than the stench of fungus. *mutters the last sentence under his breath as he leans back on the couch.*
DIRK: Have you seen the game that was available to play up on that holoboard?
DIRK: Yeah, we tried doing that.
DAVE: did you get some sick loot
DIRK: Firstly, it was Jade, Feferi and I.
DIRK: *He lifts his left hand to expose the shiny gold ring on his ring finger.* I got engaged.
ROSE: *raises an eyebrow*
DIRK: Not really but that seemed the best place to put the ring.
ROSE: Was the ring a prize from the game?
DIRK: We laid down the metal law of bullets, blade and tridents to the turtle baddies who were utterly child's play.
DIRK: Seriously, a two-year-old could have beat those things.
DIRK: Only a total of six rings were dropped, although there were roughly thirty or so amphibians.
DIRK: *The second ring he collected is promptly fished out from his sylladex as he speaks, and then he holds it up for the others to see.*
DIRK: As there were three of us and six rings, we decided to split them evenly.
DAVE: do they do something
DIRK: So far they have shown the ability to do fuckall nothing.
DIRK: They may be used as currency, though.
DAVE: so you have two bucks
DIRK: Still richer than your broke ass.
DAVE: *spreads his hands in a placating gesture* fair enough
DAVE: what are you gonna buy with it
DIRK: I think that the bathroom facilities supply an infinite amount of that, Rose.
DIRK: At least, it has so far. *Shrugs, putting the ring back in his sylladex.*
DIRK: Oh, also I took one of the turtle shells from the game.
ROSE: You took something from the game?
ROXY: so we CAN bring shit out of them
DAVE: wheres the ultimate shopping 3 game
DAVE: im ready to play that level
ROXY: so far we got corn and turtles
ROXY: WELL im just makin an educated guess on that one im sure theres other veggies involved
ROXY: u looked at the first game activated on the board yeah
ROSE: The one Gamzee is in?
DIRK: Is that what Feferi mentioned about him?
ROXY: whats feffa sayin bout him
ROXY: that hes a crazy mofucka?? bc yes
DIRK: She said something about him starting mayhem or something.
DIRK: Also that I should ask you about it.
DIRK: *Narrows eyes on Roxy.*
DIRK: *I know that kind of laugh what has happened.*
ROXY: *goes to kick her feet up on the round coffee table within the rings of couches, wincing slightly* mighta got my butt kicked a lil
ROXY: u know till i threw back
ROXY: *blows on her knuckles like yeeeeeah pls believe my badassery*
DAVE: *raaaaises an eyebrow* well youre here and hes not so congratulations and thank you
ROXY: *clicks her tongue and makes double pistols at dave* nottaprob
DIRK: *By Dirk's unchanging expression, it's fair to say he doesn't wholly buy that.* Would you mind clarifying on the butt-kicking part?
ROXY: *saw this coming, but it is better to explain now rather than keep brushing it off*
ROXY: so i was showin him the board right
ROXY: bc u know gotta keep everyone informed
ROXY: on the same keyring all that jazz
ROXY: flips the mothafuck out
ROXY: im p sure he tried to kill me or somethin bc he punched me right off the platform lmao BUT get this
ROXY: bein vague aint helpin is it
DIRK: *His eyebrows raise further with the sudden almost-rambling of information, although by the end theyre drawn down in a furrow. Also he's silent for a good few seconds.*
DIRK: ...What do you mean, you "memed" him?
ROXY: he gut punched me right off the edge into space
ROXY: so i crawled around to the other side and popped up and was all witty like
ROXY: "surprise bitch i bet u thought youd seen the last of me"
DIRK: Okay. Kudos on that.
DIRK: I'm still going to break him in half.
DIRK: But probably later.
ROXY: his nose breaks tho
ROSE: I don't think violence will solve anything...
ROXY: also he has the ability to fall into portals so theres that
DIRK: I can still break his bones.
DIRK: If he doesn't die, then so be it. *shrugs*
ROXY: *frowning* dirk dont go nuts over it alright
DAVE: *looks dirk up and down skeptically*
ROSE: Good luck trying to break what's practically indestructible.
ROXY: i broke his nose *waves hand* he can probably break idk
ROXY: he landed like two hits on me and i still feel like absolute cow patty so lets not go pickin fights
DAVE: *sits on the arm of the couch next to rose*
DAVE: actual fights will probably end up happening anyway sooner or later
DAVE: especially when that clownfucking asshole is involved
DAVE: and also trolls in general
ROXY: so he rly is just a universal "no" isnt he
DIRK: *Gives Dave a sideglance at that.* Do they actually have a tendency of being that bad towards teammates?
DAVE: by the time we showed up half of them had killed the other half
DAVE: with no help from the game by the way
ROXY: *makes such a face*
DIRK: Wow, that's impressive.
DIRK: Highly suicidal for their session, but impressive.
DAVE: theyre really into deathmurdering
DAVE: and their weird rainbow colored blood
ROSE: It seems to have been a part of their culture.
DIRK: *He looks equal parts displeased and intrigued.*
DIRK: I wonder why Caliborn never took as much an interest in them compared to his sister, then.
ROXY: baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarffffffffff i dont even wana hear about that lil freakpod
ROXY: we gotta find out about callie
DIRK: Here's to hoping she didn't get sucked into this shithole of a "game" we've been coerced into.
DIRK: *He would raise a glass right now but oops no glass.*
ROXY: if thats the case tho we could maybe find her
ROSE: *looks at Dirk like "Are you expecting a toast"*
ROXY: i dont wanna imagine shes just
DIRK: *Raises an eyebrow and shrugs at Rose's look to say "Eh, worth a shot."*
DIRK: *The pun was unintended but amusing*
DIRK: Rox, she didn't come with us.
DIRK: If she IS in this game, there's a high chance that it won't exactly be of her own will.
ROXY: i KNOW that i just??? id been with her not too long before and *puts her face in her scrached hand, sighing*
ROXY: i found her before im gonna try again
ROSE: *doesn't really know what to say since she never knew this Callie they're talking about*
ROXY: *glances at Rose past her hand, then at Dave, and sighs again, shaking her head* sorry sorry
ROXY: ok so we have this friend
ROXY: she aint a human or a troll or nothin shes a cherub
ROXY: which is this big confusing thing ill just stick to the basics
ROXY: she played the game w/ her bro and he tried to kill her somewhere in the middle he was basically the biggest douche in the universe
DIRK: Apparently he was successful at that point, too.
DIRK: He hired a Derse assassin to kill her dream self over on Prospit.
ROXY: i spent a long time tryin to find her in the void and *looks at rose* thats when u flew in and scared the bejeezus outta her
ROXY: and we got faces full of glitter remember
ROSE: *nods in understanding* I do remember that brief meeting. She seemed alarmed by my presence, though.
ROXY: u scared the bejeezus outta her
ROXY: she was hiding from her bro and i guess u bein there mighta been a huge giveaway somehow
ROXY: i remember she flailed about u bein a light player
ROSE: I'm sorry for potentially endangering her.
ROXY: u couldnt have known
ROXY: what were u doin there anyway??
ROSE: *sheepishly* To be honest, I don't quite remember what I was doing there in the first place...*avoids looking at Dave because that just seems like asking for trouble at this point*
ROSE: *hopes someone else changes the topic*
DAVE: it was a pretty confusing time
DAVE: wasnt that right before john appeared everywhere
DIRK: *Dirk's kind of just sitting quietly, lounging on the couch while the others talk. He throws Dave a questioning look at the last comment.* He did what, exactly?
DAVE: he appeared everywhere all of a sudden
DAVE: he appeared everywhere at all times
DAVE: it was pretty fucked up
DAVE: i dont think ill ever be the same
DAVE: gotta sleep with one eye open
DAVE: the universe is a much crueler place
DAVE: if a dork in a windsock can show up during your most intimate moments
DAVE: like "whats up doc"
ROXY: i met him in prison
DAVE: and have no universal repercussions for both teleporting and time travelling into a private event
ROXY: im a p bad bitch yea
ROXY: i was in there bc of ur friend jade
DIRK: *Slight finger-twitch on the couch. Hopefully nobody saw that.*
ROSE: *looks at Dirk**I saw that*
DIRK: *No you didn't. How could you see something THAT NEVER HAPPENED?*
ROXY: ayyy no hard feelins
ROXY: *elbows dirk bc she too sees the unseeable*
DIRK: *He lets out a quiet huff at the elbowing and raises a hand to rub the spot. Bony elbow.* Harley seemed to be extremely remorseful when we talked earlier, anyways.
ROXY: i like her better minus the scary doggy attributes methinks
DIRK: It turns out that imprisoning Roxy and transporting me into the empty Void were not a part of her agenda until she was mind-controlled.
ROSE: She has always been one of the kindest people I know.
DAVE: yeah jade only does evil things unintentionally
DIRK: Yes, always comforting to find out that the only ones with an elevated possibility of psychomurder tendencies are the trolls.
DIRK: Some of which have powers that borderline on the supernatural, too.
DAVE: no some of them definitely crossed that line
DAVE: definitely supernatural
ROXY: i heard a lil bit about the stuff they can do and i can safely say i am royally freaked out by some of it
ROSE: It may seem intimidating, but some of them are not as hostile as their culture suggests they should be.
DIRK: Sounds like too bizarre of a phenomenon to be true.
ROXY: hey stfu i know a couple already
ROXY: and scarfy aint too bad hes plenty polite
ROXY: the other one w/ the cute weird fins
DIRK: Okay. I don't think I've seen that one yet, but I did see Feferi.
ROXY: *thumbs up* yes the fishy ppl i approve of
DIRK: She's a much less threating version of a young Condy than that other one had been. In appearances, at least.
ROXY: *looks at dave and rose* who would u recommend for top troll in the nice dept
ROSE: *tries to sound casual* Karkat and Kanaya are among the most tolerable in my opinion.
DAVE: yeah were tight with them
DAVE: also terezi i guess maybe
DAVE: *wrinkles his nose*
DIRK: *Notices that nose-wrinkling.* Is Terezi one of the somewhat problematic ones?
DAVE: how exactly are we defining problematic in this scenario
DAVE: i mean a little but not really
ROXY: ok only a LITTLE murderstabby
DIRK: *Raises an eyebrow.*
DAVE: try not to make any sudden movements or endanger everyones lives around her
DAVE: because she will kill a motherfucker if she thinks she has to
ROSE: If she licks you, I would try to not take that personally.
ROXY: gotcha gotcha *nods* wait wh
ROXY: wow we got a bed eater and a people licker
ROXY: we should start a circus
DIRK: Oh I know that girl.
DIRK: That's the one that kept sniffing me in the dream bubble.
DIRK: She couldn't keep her snublike proboscis away from my half-real self.
DIRK: I'm still not really sure how she saw me before I became corporeal.
DIRK: Wow, you just can't escape irony.
ROXY: *slaps knee* thats beautiful
DAVE: yeah yeah its all part of the vast joke or vast croak or whatever
DIRK: ((back hello sorry))
DIRK: So that was the plan, as usual. *sits up a little and glances at Roxy, trying to convey a "look I've participated in social interaction here, can I go back to my room now" look to her*
ROXY: *looks back at him like i will smack u upside the head if u move ur butt from this couch*
ROXY: *puffs her cheeks up and exhales like a deflating balloon* soooooooo
ROSE: *doesn't know how to stop the awkward*
DAVE: *raises an eyebrow at rose*
ROXY: we gotta start thinkin of playin actual games soon probably
ROXY: aaand they let in up to four playerss
ROXY: anybody wanna think about givin it a go sometime???
ROSE: I don't see why not.
DIRK: *shrugs as he slumps back on the couch.* Anytime, sure.
DAVE: i can think of some reasons why not but ok whatever
ROXY: arent u a negative nancy
DAVE: how about because we could die
ROSE: Dirk came back from his game alive.
DAVE: have you ever played a video game
ROXY: rather die havin done nothin but sit here eatin fruit salad?
DAVE: every level is harder than the last one
DAVE: *he considers this.* yeah
DIRK: Do you think you'd be unable to beat the game?
DIRK: If comparing via the level I participated in, our mode was Easy.
DIRK: You should be able to handle it at Normal.
DAVE: *he raises his eyebrows veeeery marginally at dirk.* if you say so
DAVE: its not that i love fruit salad i just hate dying
DAVE: *examines his nails critically.*
DIRK: *shrugs, his expression not changing.* If we want to get out of here, we're going to have to do more than sit on our asses and let other people do the shit we could take care of.
DIRK: *looks over at Roxy.* When were you thinking of taking these games on?
DIRK: *Please say you meant now. Dirk would much rather beat things up than sit around and talk.*
ROXY: id say maybe when i can walk right but tbh im ready whenever yall are
ROSE: I have no prior obligations to anything, so I am willing to play whenever the rest of you want to.
DIRK: Great. No time like the present, then.
DAVE: boy arent we in a hurry
DIRK: *There's a slight eyebrow-raise at Dave, and then Dirk lets out a quiet snort.* The last game wasn't exactly equitable towards the players, i.e. Jade, Feferi and myself.
DAVE: what does that mean
DIRK: It means we beat it. We had that shit locked on, ready to bag and tag for the first set of trophies set over on the fine wood cabin wall, except then the game was all, "Nice try bro, try again later" and decked our asses with a tsunami of biblical proportions.
DIRK: Any attempts to continue were wiped away by a similar torrent until we had to call it quits.
DIRK: So I'm hoping that with the difficulty dragged up a few rungs, we won't get wiped.
DAVE: or well get wiped out harder
ROXY: can u stop bein davey downer omg its making my heart weep
DAVE: *he holds up his hands in defeat.*
ROXY: *dramatic expression of relief*
ROXY: if ur rly that concerned about it why not think of it this way
ROXY: maybe we can gain experience or somethin
ROXY: grinding almost always possible
DIRK: *Dirk's expression is a brief mixture of amusement at Roxy's behavior and exasperation at Dave's, but then he manages to get that under control and nods at the Lalonde's words.* Exactly.
DAVE: i hope they have super mushrooms in this game
DAVE: *well concealed dick joke from dave.*
ROSE: *inward sigh from Rose*
DAVE: *also he feels insecure about being shorter than someone for once.*
DIRK: *It's okay, I'm sitting right now.*
DIRK: There were actually no mushrooms of any kind that I saw. But we kind of had a quick level, so that might have just been a tutorial round.
ROSE: That could explain why you weren't able to move on.
DIRK: *Slight frown.* Yeah. But that would also mean that playing it again would allow us to continue.
ROXY: plus theres those rings u had
ROXY: youd probs be able to pick up where u left off they might be like tokens or somethin
DIRK: Oh, right. *Casually remembers to take the one off his ring finger and captchalogue it. Don't want too many people thinking he's a taken man, y'know.*
ROXY: *No one thought that, Dirk.*
DIRK: *You know what I don't need to TAKE this from you guys.*
ROXY: *We ain't dishin' out jack shit NONE OF US ARE TELEPATHS.*
DIRK: *Then why are we DOING THIS.*
DIRK: *Dirk just wants to go hide in his room right now anyways.*
ROXY: *LE SIGN* ok dirk ur apathy and teen angst is like saturating the air around me
ROXY: do u wanna run away
ROXY: who wants to run away just spit it out
DIRK: *Raises a hand as if to say "I."*
DIRK: The family reunion has been nice and all but I do have some things that need to be done.
ROXY: did u find a shitty art program on ur craptop
ROSE: *really wants to sarcastically ask if it's about his hair*
DIRK: Not yet, as unfortunate as it is.
DIRK: I'm sure I can figure something out for that though. *He's gonna try standing now, so long as Roxy doesn't yank him back down. Which probably won't happen, thankfully for him.*
DAVE: *claps hands* great meeting team
DAVE: it was really awkward but we got a lot done
DAVE: way to break the ice
ROXY: *pouting on the couch* yeah yeah just get outta here ya wet noodle
DIRK: Yep. Let's do this again sometime. Really.
ROXY: *kicks dirk's leg lightly*
DIRK: *He gives a mock-salute to add on to that sarcasm, then turns to abscond. Although Roxy gets a hint of a smirk at her chastising kick.*
ROXY: *sticks her tongue out at him shamelessly*
DIRK: *His eyeroll probably goes unseen. And hey isn't flashstepping great? Strider: Exit.*
ROXY: DICKTURD *calls it*
ROXY: what a bozo amiright
DAVE: *he glances down at rose.*
ROSE: *looks back up at Dave*
ROSE: You can return to your sulking if you want to.
DAVE: *we need to talk rose. we need to have A TALK.*
ROXY: should i be skedaddlin
DAVE: *glares at rose and then shakes his head at roxy.* nah but im gonna
DAVE: i have important things to do
DAVE: business to take care of
ROSE: Are you building another can town?
DAVE: there are no cans here
DAVE: you dont have to rub it in
ROXY: there was a can town the first?
DAVE: can town was a miracle of modern architecture built by the best and bravest of us all
DAVE: but the mayor is no longer with us
DAVE: *he stands up and heads towards the door.*
ROSE: *bites her lip* I think I may have crossed a line there.
ROXY: did he love the mayor
ROSE: I think it's safe to say so.
ROXY: *pulls her knees up and sighs loudly* that was a bust
ROSE: I'm sorry it was more awkward than anticipated.
ROXY: no i knew it was gonna be mad awks but i was hoooopin maybe theyd love us enough to power thru
ROSE: Perhaps it will be better after we play a game.
ROXY: aint no better bondin time than kickin virtual ass w/ someone
ROSE: *shrugs* Who knows what the outcome of that will be?
ROXY: one way to find out *shrugs back, letting her head fall back on the back cushion* if u wanna dip u can too
ROXY: sulky sally looked p sad about his mayor
ROSE: *shakes her head tiredly as she leans against the arm of her couch* I spent years distancing myself from the people I care about. If you don't mind my company, I'd like to stay with you a while longer.
ROXY: *can't help but smile a little despite it all, turning on the couch to face her a bit better* i dont mind at all
ROSE: *gives a small smile in return* Thanks, Roxy. *literally can't think of anything else to express herself with*