#famlog

[tatougunarchy]

DIRK: *Dirk's already outside of the door system thing, so he chooses to go for the other Lalonde first. Once he figures out the right dial, he knocks on Rose's door with a few pretty loud knocks, hoping that she is in fact in her room at the moment and not sleeping.*

ROSE: *She had actually just been lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling for hours since she last woke up, and looks up at the sound of knocking. Despite her curiosity, it doesn't take long for her to answer the door.*

DIRK: *I hope you ordered a tall glass of Strider.* Hey, you're not sleeping, good.

DIRK: Come on, we're doing a thing.

ROSE: *raises an eyebrow at him* How do I know you aren't leading me to my untimely demise?

DIRK: Because I always have perfect timing. *He gestures for her to come out, stepping back from the door.* Roxy is talking to Karkat so we can actually try out on playing one of the games.

DIRK: Because apparently we require permission from him first.

ROSE: *She's tempted to say something sarcastic in response, but knows where that landed her the last time and steps out of the room* Fine.

DIRK: *Hey good, someone who actually listens to him. He gives her an appreciative nod and then moves to get the door closed in order to change the dial thing, probably.*

DIRK: *Okay, Dave's room is up next. Dirk knocks maybe twice before just trying to open the door, since that counts as fair warning, right.*

ROSE: *kind of shuffles to stand behind Dirk*

DIRK: Dave, are you naked? If you are, please let us know before our corneas are burned.

DAVE: *he jumps up at the knock and shuts his laptop quickly.*

DAVE: im not naked

DAVE: your corneas are safe

DIRK: Okay good. *The doors opened, success. Dirk doesn't really try getting inside very much.* We're doing one of those family bonding things.

DIRK: Except this time, with games.

DAVE: okay lets roll

DIRK: *Nods and turns, Rose c'mon let's go you're in front of me now*

DAVE: *dave has been prepping himself for this all day. he rubs his hands together and joins dirk at the door.*

ROXY: *and once the door closes, that's about when Roxy emerges from her room*

ROXY: *almost bumps into dave*

ROXY: whoa we havin a conga line

DAVE: looks like

DAVE: you in the mood for a dance

ROSE: *Don't do this to me, Dirk, I don't know where to go*

DIRK: Pass. *Dirk flashsteps out of the way for that. Now he's in front and leading the way, it's okay Rose*

ROXY: was that rly necessary

DIRK: Yes.

DIRK: *Out to... the general waiting room thing I guess??*

ROXY: *we already in it*

ROXY: ok dirk so last time all u did was put in ur info and it gave u a door ???

DIRK: *Oh ok good.* Yeah, there are a few portal-departureways that are given. The one we went towards was the only one with a board and scanner kind of object, if I remember correctly.

ROXY: oh oh oh ok good *wobbly scurrying to the terminal, overlooking the keyboard* who wants to go first

[The terminal screen merely says: "All first stage games - Unlocked. Players 1-4, proceed."]

ROXY: o:

DIRK: *moves over to see the terminal screen for himself, then nods a little and whoop, to the escalator we go because that IS happening I think.* This leads to the whole start-up area.

ROXY: *in a row like ducks, childrens*

[The escalator behaves just the same as before, loading message and all. Here, have another fun stretch of time in which to do some family bonding.]

[You're welcome.]

ROXY: *purses her lips* welp

ROSE: ...

DIRK: *Just kinda silent. Wow, would you look at that beautiful emptiness up there. Huh.*

DAVE: *hums the jeopardy tune.*

ROXY: i was just about to do that *wags finger at dave like you got me bro*

DAVE: *finger guns at roxy*

[When you do finally haul your blonde keisters to the game area you will find it much the same as before, only this time every portal has a keypad and scanner. Pick your poison!]

ROXY: *grins at dave, before looking around at the portals once they reach them* humm

ROXY: which one was mushroom land??

DIRK: *Sweet release of slow escalator time, thank any gods out there. Dirk is quick to stroll over to look around, frowning lightly when he sees all the new keypad-scanner combos.* Uh. The one on the left, maybe.

DIRK: *Don't they have the name above them?*

[They aren't named, but they are numbered. Mushroom Kingdom was 5.]

DIRK: *Too bad Dirk didn't think to take note of the number at the time. Still, he's pretty sure it was the one on the left. He goes to it and taps at the keypad experimentally.*

[The screen for the portal you have chosen reads: "Kingdom of Mushroom: Enter again?"]

DIRK: *Oh shit lucky guess, good. Is there a Y-button on here for yes? Or does he type out "yes"? Either way, let's do that.*

[Well that didn't work. Now it just says "Urn Temple: Enter?" And hey look, a button that reads Enter. You know what to do.]

DIRK: ... *Irritation. He's frowning a little more now, but you know what, he doesn't really care at this point. Enter it is, and so he presses that button.*

ROXY: *just kind of lookin at him like u ok*

["Player number?" Press 4, yo. And then start scanning yourselves in. The portal is already slowly whirring into action before your eyes.]

DIRK: *Yeah, he presses four then does the scan-y thing and steps aside to let the others do the same, while simultaneously getting closer to the doorportal that's starting up.*

ROXY: *just following dirk's lead at this point, glancing at the other two before stepping to mimic him*

ROSE: *steps up behind her to follow suit*

DAVE: *watches the others curiously and then Player 4 scans himself in too.*

[Yes, you are all smart/fast/strong/durable enough for this game... Hopefully. Go on in that there portal. The blue light beckons.]

DIRK: *Ok cool. Dirk is the first to kinda. Hop on through with a wave of his hand for the others to follow.*

ROXY: *just awkwardly and quietly following along sob*

DAVE: *steps through after 'em.*

ROSE: *following again*

[In you go, and then down you fall through the dark and the strange lingering prickling sensation. When you emerge from the portal, you find this time that rather than being tossed into the sunshine you are instead simply heavily deposited into another almost pitch-black place. It is murky and dusty, and smells (for lack of a better description) old. At least you're not falling anymore! And good news: In the gloom you can just about make out the light of an exit ahead. Will you feel your way along the stone wall towards the way out?]

ROXY: *Well THAT was the last thing she expected. She gasped slightly at the sensation of falling and landing somewhere so vastly different from the place she had just been standing. She stumbles a bit and reaches out for (hopefully) Dirk's arm*

DIRK: *Oh yes, that lovely feeling again. Dirk's stomach drops a little less this time, he swears. The landing is a bit rougher for him than before thanks to the darkness, but he still manages to land foot-first.*

DIRK: *Yes hello that's a Dirk arm you're holding onto. He almost sways at the unexpected tug.*

ROXY: (what the fuckerooni is this shit is this normal)

DIRK: No, this is different.

DIRK: Or maybe it's normal for this game.

DAVE: *he lands hard and rocks back on his heels, squinting around in the gloom.*

DAVE: uh this place is gross

DAVE: lets go into the light

DIRK: *Cue Dirk reaching out to feel along for the side of the wall nearest to him.* Sounds good.

ROXY: *spooky voice* dont go into the liiiiiiiiiiight *fake crying* cept yeah lets

DIRK: *He can barely see. The one fatal downfall of wearing shades.*

ROSE: *barely manages to land on her feet and just blinks in confusion*

ROXY: *glances around* rose u with us????

ROSE: Yes.

ROXY: phew

DIRK: *Starts heading for that dim light that's probably there. Yeah, let's go towards the one thing Dirk can see I think.*

[Approaching the exit you begin to notice the way the walls and ceiling are intricately carved in designs you do not understand, and how humid it is out there. When you do finally step into the sunlight the heat descends over you like a fog. The view is spectacular; You appear to be at the entrance to a grand temple built of yellow sandstone high high up on pillars of stone above a tropical rainforest. Far out in front of you there is a pathway that seems to lead from this entrance for miles, zig-zagging to goodness knows where. You can see that occasionally the path is split asunder in jumpable chunks, and sometimes is obstructed by the branches of enormous trees that will need to be ducked under. You can also make out the occasional glint of some sort of treasure upon the path, more rings laid out neatly like a bread-crumb trail to follow. Then of all the things to hear you are gradually aware of the sound of animalistic hooting and shrieking coming from the direction you just left. It sounds like… monkeys? Some kind of ape. And boy do they sound angry. You've got about thirty seconds before they catch up with you and start getting all up in your grill, and something tells you you do not want to try and stick around to fight them. Maybe they'll be smelly monkeys and throw gross things at you if you stay? Whatever the case may be, running to live another non-smelly monkey day seems like the best option.]

ROXY: o__________________o

ROXY: nobody smuggled any bananas in here rite

DAVE: i think this happened in the hunger games

DIRK: Well fuck.

ROXY: *unhappy sound*

DIRK: Time to go the other way then.

ROXY: was there another option even?? *glancing wildly between the impending APES*

DAVE: *dave wastes no time and sprints in the opposite direction of the monkeys.*

DIRK: *scooping up some of those coins would be nice, but then there's those ape noises and NOPE. Dirk is fast in following his brother.*

ROSE: *run run runs as fast as she can*

[Good choice! Soon enough those crazy primates, at least fifteen of them, emerge from the temple behind you and they are simply going ~bananas~. Still screaming fit to burst they start after you, running on all fours at a pretty alarming speed. There's a break up ahead in the path you'll need to jump over - If you can clear it that might give you some time. Make sure you don't fall!]

DIRK: *RINGS. Rings. They're rings.*

ROXY: *the second they move, she turns to run with them, already wincing at her hardly-waning pains. Shit!*

ROXY: ohmygodohmygodohmygod

DIRK: *Well SHIT son, those are some apeshit monkeys. Dirk puts his speed to good use and crosses the gap pretty easily, assuming nothing reaches up to catch him mid-leap.*

DAVE: *adrenaline is lending dave wings. he jumps the gap a second after dirk and slows on the other side, peeking over his shoulder at the lalondes and the monkeys at their heels.*

ROSE: *jumps once she's at the gap and hopes for the best*

ROXY: *There's no time to be a wimp; she steels herself to let her sudden panic fuel her own gait, ignoring every instinct to stop as she attempts to leap across the gap. She's totally behind everyone though.*

[Success! You all just about make it. The simians screech to a halt before the gap, but they're not giving up by any stretch of the imagination. Initially looking as if they intend to form some kind of monkey-ladder before mercifully giving up on that plan, they hastily begin to climb down the pillar towards the ground. You probably have a minute or two to get a head-start while they make their way to the other side.]

DIRK: *skids a little in stopping some to look back, and then Dirk swears when he sees the monkeys doing that weird ladder thing.* Anyone think we can fight them, or should we keep going?

DAVE: not all of them

DAVE: better wait for some of them to trip and break their necks first

ROXY: *skids a bit, too, whipping around to look back* its fuckin temple run incarnate what do u think

DAVE: can you keep up though

ROXY: *she is panting, and looks vaguely distressed, but she waves a hand and nods* ill tell u if i cant

DIRK: *Looks over at Roxy with a frown.* It'd be better to fight them rather than let you get chomped by a fast one. *Nonetheless, he's starting to take a few steps towards the path that they were following.*

[Distant monkey screeching intensifies]

ROXY: somebody make a CALL

DAVE: lets go

ROSE: We need to keep moving.

DIRK: Okay, let's go.

DIRK: *With that, it's back to the running thing. Dirk's not running QUITE as fast though, to keep track of the whole group. He doesn't want anyone falling behind.*

ROXY: *wordlessly starts to jog again for now, until their established pace as a group takes root*

ROSE: *still running, she glances back to check on the monkeys*

[As you run, you notice the line of rings scattered along the ground. You'd have to stop to pick them up, and of course that's inadvisable when being pursued by a horde of angry apes. Decisions, decisions. Don't forget to dodge the occasional root or branch though - And oops yep, there's the monkeys again. They've reached the other side and they are in hot pursuit.]

ROXY: *ARE THE RINGS EVEN WORTH IT AHHH*

DIRK: *Avoiding tripping stuff is pretty easy, and goddamn, Dirk still wants to pick up those rings. He takes a fraction of a second in a flashstep to pick at least ONE up for good measure before he's running again.*

DIRK: *THEY MIGHT BE??*

DAVE: *running, not at full speed but not slowly either. he glances down at the shinies and ignores them. rings have only been bad for them in the past.*

ROXY: *Roxy is having some trouble navigating, expending most of her effort to jump clean over as much as she can. Better to hurt later than BE EATEN BY MONKEYS NOW*

DIRK: *Excuse you, rings are great when they don't transform you into huge monsterdogs.*

DAVE: *i want to pay for my bling in cashmoney not my LIFE*

DIRK: *Bo-ring.*

DIRK: *Dirk's trying to keep an eye on Roxy, in the meantime. He's belatedly remembering that she's not at her best right now, and if she stumbles, he's going to defend her from those apes.*

ROSE: *notices the rings but ignores them as well as she keeps running*

DIRK: *You guys just don't know how to have fun ok.*

[Up ahead there is a tree literally growing up through the path. Someone many years ago carved out a thin gap of a passage through the center, and it looks like it might /just/ be big enough for you all to squeeze through. The apes not so much - Too many bananas. There's still quite a stretch of path to run between there and where you are, however.]

DAVE: oh my god is that the reason theyve only been feeding us fruit

ROXY: *The running is starting to wear on her -- why did it have to be running? -- and she turns her head to look back at their pursuants* probably yeah just so they can aACK-- *there she goes. tripped on a root. what a ballerina.*

DAVE: *skids to a stop, casting a frantic look back at roxy, and then at the apes. he dashes back to her and grabs her arm to pull her up.*

DAVE: we do not have time to nap

DIRK: *Dirk nearly stumbles himself at the loud "ack" and then flashsteps to her other side, sword flashing out into his hand while he tries to help Dave with getting Roxy on her feet.* No, we definitely don't.

DIRK: Rest later, okay Rox?

ROXY: *well, that hurt. While she's down, though, she reaches her hand out to snatch a few rings off the ground, getting a fistful of probably dirt too before she's yanked back to her feet* nobodys sleepin GO

DAVE: *he lets her go and runs off again, motioning at rose to hurry as though she needs any motivation besides the killer apes at her heels.*

DIRK: *Nods at Roxy's words and starts up on the jogging once more, slowed down a little to make sure the slightly injured Lalonde is able to keep up. He looks back at the apes. How close have they gotten by now?*

ROSE: *She had faltered when Roxy fell, but she's running at full speed again at Dave's gesture*

[The monkeys are close enough now that you can smell their charming monkey aroma, but they are not quite in attacking range. The tree is closer now too.]

DIRK: *Fuck, okay. He's just trying to push for getting Roxy to that tree right now.*

ROXY: *thank you, young whippersnapper*

DAVE: *thanks to roxy's accident, he reaches the tree first and bends down to peer inside with trepidation.*

[There's light on the other side, you can tell that much. Get wiggling, Davey.]

ROSE: Either go through that tree or get out of the way.

ROXY: *damn mama*

ROSE: We don't exactly have much time here.

DAVE: *he casts an annoyed glance back at rose and then gets down on his stomach and starts to crawl/wiggle through the tunnel, fighting claustrophobia the whole way until he pops out on the other side.*

DIRK: *Arrives after Rose and Dave, making a noise of mild irritation like "why are we stopped here." He's gonna let Rose go first though, Roxy too.*

ROXY: *Roxy's getting good at army crawling this is gonna be easy peasy*

ROSE: *She would have rolled her eyes if she had time. Instead, she just wiggles her way in and crawls after him*

ROXY: *And she heads in after Rose*

DAVE: *he stands up on the other side and fixes his hair.*

DIRK: *He doesn't wait long once Roxy's in, what with the horde of approaching angry primates. Dirk gets down and crawls through, biting his lip hard and ignoring the limited movement. Fuck claustrophobia, that's dumb.*

[You make it though, the peculiar and singular sound of chimps slamming into wood resounding behind you. One monkey arm reaches through the gap and takes a sad little swing at you all, but other than that the danger is passed. You have ape escaped. On the other side of the tree the path continues on and on without visible end. What you /can/ see is more rings, all laid out on the path.]

ROSE: *Once she's out, she moves away from the tree to give the others room*

DAVE: *dave starts picking up rings.*

ROSE: *also starts collecting rings*

ROXY: *Once she's on the other side, she scrambles to stand, dusting off the rings she'd grabbed before to just put them on before gathering more; she'd grabbed three.*

DAVE: *whispering....* my precious

DIRK: *Ah, sweet unrestricted air. Dirk's pretty quick on getting up, checking to make sure his hair is okay too. Then he dusts off the dirt on his clothes and hey, rings. He walks a bit down the path of rings and starts picking up quite a few.*

ROSE: *looks up* What was that, Dave?

DAVE: hm

DAVE: what

DAVE: nothing

ROSE: *gives him a skeptical look before sighing and returning to the ring collecting*

[As soon as you have sixteen coins total between you the sunlight flares brighter and brighter until even the shaded amongst you are forced to screw your eyes closed. And then as soon as /that'/s done the ground beneath you crumbles away, leaving you once more falling into nothingness.]

ROXY: *there is a small screech*

DIRK: *He's just collecting rings and then DAMN, bright. Oh yeah and then falling again. Isn't that spectacular.*

DAVE: aw not this alice in wonderland bullshit again

DIRK: Roxy are you okay?? *He tries to call out without sounding alarmed.*

ROSE: *holds on to her rings in a clenched fist, mostly at a loss for words*

ROXY: i am fallin into an abyss NOT constructed or conjured by my own reliable science after bein chased by frothy apes

ROXY: im fanTASTIC

[The impersonal robot voice boops out an echoing "Game complete." accompanied by a muted equally robotic trumpet fanfare, and then you find yourselves somehow running again, quite fast, forward and out in single file back through the portal. Whoah there.]

ROXY: gneeeeek

DIRK: *RUNNING okay fuck, let's try to control motor movement. Dirk manages to do the stop-skid thing again and does not collide into anything.*

DAVE: *slams into dirk's back.*

DAVE: whoops

ROXY: *bonk*

ROSE: *unfortunately is unable to do the stop-skid thing and runs into Dave*

DIRK: ...I think I speak for everyone when I say, what the f--*dAMMIT. He stumbles oh god this is the worst traffic jam*

ROXY: *yep she bonks into rose and just. slides like a loony toon*

DIRK: *THEY'RE ALL FALLING ON HIM THERE'S NOTHING HE CAN DO.*

ROXY: *WELL roxy is rolling to the side to clutch at her leg so its ok you have one less person on you dirk*

ROSE: *just kind of flops off of them to the other side*

DIRK: *Dirk probably makes an awkward squawking noise at being so very crushed on the fall. Then he flashsteps out from under Dave to be sitting at the side.*

DIRK: *I hope Dave falls face-first on the floor.*

ROSE: *sits up and looks over at Roxy* How's your leg?

DAVE: *dave would fall face first on the floor, but luckily catches himself on his forearms. he sits up and dusts himself off.*

DIRK: *Damn. Dirk's kinda busy leaning back and trying to catch his breath anyways, so he probably would have missed the moment.*

ROXY: *frowning massively, she sits up enough to rub at her shin, still having neglected to roll up her leggings at any point to check for a bruise beforehand ladies and gentlemen theres an idiot in the house* im fine im fine

ROXY: why did it have to be damn dirty apes

DAVE: do you have something against monkeys in particular

DIRK: *Upon hearing Rose, he looks over at the Lalondes. He mutters under his breath* Dirty stinkin' apes.

DAVE: like would damn dirty rhinos be better

DIRK: No, that's true.

ROXY: ok fine why did it have to be a running game

DAVE: because the universe hates you and life is hell

ROXY: okay

ROXY: *kind of curled up she doesn't feel so hot no mo*

DIRK: Although to be fair, anything that was not in the primate family would not have been able to chase us for so long.

DIRK: *After a bit of shifting, Dirk hauls himself to his feet only to squat down at Roxy's side.* How you holdin' up, Lalonde?

ROXY: *sturgeon fish face*

ROXY: ill be ok just gimmie a hand *juts out her elbow its time for the chicken dance*

ROXY: *cept not rly*

DIRK: *Eyeroll. He's kind of tempted to just pick her up, honestly. For now he takes the offered bony elbow and assists her in getting up, trying to guide her as gently as can be managed.*

ROXY: *my elbows aint BONY you tit*

ROXY: *Yeah, Grandma Rox in the house. The ruse had been going so well.*

DIRK: *Uh huh. Dirk's still watching you carefully.*

ROXY: *smiles tightly* well ok we gonna get a move on or what

ROXY: how are u guys

ROXY: *looks between the betas*

DIRK: *Snorts and looks at the other two.* Anyone break bones or skin?

ROXY: *i did NOT scrape myself dont look at me IM A CAPABLE ADULT I /SWEAR./*

DAVE: i dont think so but wheres the drycleaners because i am covered in mysterious temple grime that will probably end up infecting me with a voodoo curse

ROSE: *She hasn't taken a good look at herself yet, but nothing hurts enough to be bothered* I think I'm alright.

DIRK: I'm sure that a suitable replacement for your clothes can be found, bro. *he gives them both a look-over, then sighs a little.* Well, that game was a bitch but at least we beat it.

DIRK: How many rings did everyone manage to acquire?

ROXY: *looks at her hand* three

ROSE: *looks at her own hand* Also three.

DAVE: *he stiffens a bit and side-eyes dirk, but he supposes it should be natural for them to call each other that. he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a handful of rings.* four

ROSE: *notices the subtle change in Dave's posture and makes a mental note to talk to him later*

DIRK: *His own amount of ring-loot is pulled out, then counted pretty quickly.* I got six.

DIRK: So, sixteen total.

ROXY: ok now what do we do with em

DAVE: trick ourselves out in style

DIRK: Yes.

DIRK: Until we figure out what they do, at least.

ROSE: *fails to hide an amused snicker*

DAVE: so i guess we passed

ROXY: guess so

DIRK: Yeah, as bizarre as that was. *He casts a frown in the direction of the portaldoor they had left.*

DAVE: what was it not like the other one you played

DIRK: Well the one I played was basically like Mario Brothers but on the first level.

DIRK: Calling it easy would be an understatement.

DIRK: It's nice to see that the games will get harder, though.

DAVE: *looks into the camera like he's on the office*

ROXY: *looks to see what hes lookin at*

ROSE: *sighs and shakes her head in disbelief*

DIRK: *Scoffs quietly in dry amusement, then turns towards the exit.* Okay, well it was fun playing family games with y'all, but it's getting late and I should head off.

DIRK: *It's probably getting late. How do you judge time around here.*

DAVE: its getting late

DAVE: what are you talking about

ROSE: How would you know that?

DAVE: that was such a bad excuse

DAVE: just go

ROXY: dirk needs his beauty sleep

DIRK: *Dismissive hand-wave.* Yeah, whatever.

ROXY: *looks at him like im very serious go the fuck to sleep*

DIRK: Excuse you, I'm always the most beautiful.

DIRK: I will win all the beauty pageants. I am the star. It's me.

ROXY: ok sure

DIRK: *Yes he sees the look and chooses to ignore it but HE'S GOING TO SLEEP OK.*

ROXY: *stands there... kind of not willing to take a step... HRM.*

DIRK: *Looks over at Roxy* You comin' with, Lalonde?

ROXY: *gulps here we go* yeeeeeeep

ROXY: iiiiiiimma comin

ROXY: anydaynow

ROXY: *shuffs*

DIRK: ...

DIRK: Okay no.

DIRK: Just.

DAVE: *checks an imaginary watch*

ROXY: *dont make me stumble in front of my KIDS*

DIRK: *Moves pretty quickly to sweep Roxy up off her feet to carry her bridal style, he ain't takin' this shit, Lalonde.*

ROXY: *eep*

ROXY: ow

DIRK: Well at least you don't have to walk now.

ROXY: *mutters something like flibber flapjack frickernutter mumbo jumbo just a bunch of frustrated nonsense*

ROSE: *waves goodbye* Sleep well.

DIRK: *gives the other two blondies a nod and a bit of a wave with the hand that's on Roxy's knees.* See you two later. Don't get into trouble, don't stay up late, drink your juice, etcetera.

ROXY: *waves kind of sheepishly at Rose*

DAVE: i always drink my juice

DAVE: night

DAVE: i think

DAVE: lets say its night

DIRK: Yeah. *And with that, he turns to go for the exit thing and take Roxy with him.*

ROXY: *face in hands*

DIRK: *Such majestic.*

FTT, CTT ceased responding to memo.

ROSE: *decides it's probably time she gets off the floor* Well, that was quite the experience.

DAVE: yeah i guess thats one day to motivate a guy into daily exercise

DAVE: chase him with screaming murder onkeys

DAVE: *monkeys

ROSE: ...*offers a hand to help him up* Are you okay?

DAVE: *takes her hand and gets to his feet.* yeah are you

ROSE: *nods* I was asking more about your wellbeing than your physical condition, though.

DAVE: my sudden wealth has been really emotionally draining for me

DAVE: thanks for asking

DAVE: *he's bouncing his rings from palm to palm.*

ROSE: That's certainly an improvement.

ROSE: ...I'm sorry for bringing up the mayor last time.

ROSE: You've been through a lot recently, and that was an inconsiderate thing to say.

ROSE: *Please say something. I don't like this rambling business that you so often do*

DAVE: *nods slowly* thanks

DAVE: the mayor was a good guy which is probably why they chose not to deposit him here in the second circle of hell with us

DAVE: its fine probably

DAVE: whatever

ROSE: At least he was safe the last time we saw him.

DAVE: yeah but now hes alone and his people are dead and we dont even know if that universe exists anymore or if it just folded up like a fancy napkin and ate itself and disappeared

ROSE: *frowns* Could we at least try to convince ourselves he is okay?

DAVE: *purses his lips* ok sure

DAVE: youre right he has probably rounded up a bunch of johns salamander friends and is building a massive can town the likes of which the universe has never seen

ROSE: *smiles faintly* That's the spirit.

DAVE: so what do you think

ROSE: I think we should go take showers before our stench resembles that of the monkeys.

DAVE: ok good idea

DAVE: but i mean before that

DAVE: what do you think of them

ROSE: Being around Roxy feels like having the supportive sister I've never had. I like her already.

ROSE: I can't draw conclusions about Dirk, yet. He seems alright so far.

ROSE: What do you think?

DAVE: theyre not terrible

DAVE: i mean its weird

DAVE: i dont have beef with them its just weird

ROSE: *nods* I can definitely see what you mean.

DAVE: *he starts to walk towards the door, and then turns back to rose on a second thoughts.*

DAVE: hows kanaya

DAVE: i havent seen her around a lot

DAVE: i mean ive mostly stayed in my room

DAVE: no i dont want to talk about that

DAVE: but i havent seen her

ROSE: *stiffens a little and tries to will herself to relax* I actually haven't talked to her for a while.

DAVE: oh

DAVE: really?

ROSE: Really.

DAVE: okay

DAVE: *squints at her*

ROSE: *can't tell if he's squinting behind the shades*

DAVE: *tilts his head at her*

ROSE: *avoids looking up at him, mumbling more than speaking* I broke up with her.

ROSE: She...She doesn't deserve to put up with me the way she did for so long.

DAVE: wow

ROSE: I would appreciate it if you didn't bring that up often.

DAVE: ok

ROSE: Thanks.

DAVE: well thats enough conversation for the next few days

DAVE: lets go shower

ROSE: Agreed.

[tatougunarchy]

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: would that be mean

ROXY: :c

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.*

DAVE: ..................

ROXY: :3 *waves*

DAVE: sup

ROSE: Good morning, sleeping beauty.

ROXY: we are makin rounds and have a request 4 u

DAVE: ask and you shall receive

DAVE: an answer

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

DAVE: that sounds sus

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

DAVE: what are you guys doing

DAVE: is this a family reunion

ROXY: noooooooyes

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.*

DAVE: why quick

DAVE: whats the hurry

DAVE: *shifty eyes*

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: less u wanna

ROXY: we could play hobarn

ROXY: *its a threat dirk dont talk about FIGHTING*

DIRK: *eyebrow-raise*

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.*

DAVE: *leans on space*

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.*

ROXY: say whut

DIRK: Have you seen the game that was available to play up on that holoboard?

DIRK: Yeah, we tried doing that.

DAVE: howd that go

DAVE: did you get some sick loot

ROXY: whos we?

DAVE: power ups

DIRK: Firstly, it was Jade, Feferi and I.

DIRK: Secondly,

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: Yes.

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

DAVE: nice

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

DAVE: bed insurance

ROSE: Hair gel?

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: nice

DAVE: wheres the ultimate shopping 3 game

DAVE: im ready to play that level

ROXY: so far we got corn and turtles

DAVE: borig

DAVE: *boring

DIRK: Corn?

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?

ROXY: mmhm

DIRK: Oh.

DIRK: Is that what Feferi mentioned about him?

ROXY: eh???

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.

ROXY: ha ha haaaa

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: he sees his intel

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: i memed him

ROXY: SB) ?

DAVE: ???

ROXY: B(

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"

ROXY: ha HA

ROXY: i

ROXY: i memed him

ROXY: ;-;

DIRK: ...

DAVE: lol

DIRK: Okay. Kudos on that.

DIRK: I'm still going to break him in half.

DIRK: But probably later.

DAVE: good luck

DAVE: the guy doesnt die

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: but seriously

ROXY: he landed like two hits on me and i still feel like absolute cow patty so lets not go pickin fights

ROXY: ACTUAL 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

ROXY: o gr8

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

ROSE: Unfortunately.

ROXY: *makes such a face*

DIRK: Wow, that's impressive.

DIRK: Highly suicidal for their session, but impressive.

ROXY: ugh

DAVE: theyre really into deathmurdering

DAVE: and killmaiming

DAVE: and their weird rainbow colored blood

ROSE: It seems to have been a part of their culture.

ROXY: so ive heard

ROXY: *glances away*

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: but 8( callie

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

ROXY: gone

DIRK: *Raises an eyebrow and shrugs at Rose's look to say "Eh, worth a shot."*

ROXY: *aw ur bonding*

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

ROXY: *scratched**

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: exactly

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: aint ur fault

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*

ROXY: ???

DAVE: *side-eyes her*

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: also all the time

DAVE: he appeared everywhere at all times

DAVE: it was pretty fucked up

DAVE: i mean

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

DAVE: what

DAVE: you were in prison

ROXY: yep

DAVE: wow thats hardcore

ROXY: im a p bad bitch yea

ROXY: cept no

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: shes super sweet

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

ROXY: good 2 kno

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: fefs a doll

ROXY: and scarfy aint too bad hes plenty polite

DIRK: Scarfy?

ROXY: uhh

ROXY: eridan

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: indeed

ROXY: *looks at dave and rose* who would u recommend for top troll in the nice dept

ROXY: owo

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

ROXY: murderstabby???

DAVE: ok then not really

DAVE: i mean a little but not really

ROXY: O_o

ROXY: ok only a LITTLE murderstabby

ROXY: that helps

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

DIRK: Okay, noted.

ROSE: If she licks you, I would try to not take that personally.

ROXY: gotcha gotcha *nods* wait wh

ROXY: she licks ppl???

ROXY: wow we got a bed eater and a people licker

ROXY: we should start a circus

DIRK: Licking?

DIRK: Oh I know that girl.

ROSE: You do?

DIRK: That's the one that kept sniffing me in the dream bubble.

DAVE: she does that too

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.

DAVE: she didnt

DAVE: shes blind

ROSE: She's also a Seer.

DIRK: Oh.

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: ((whup brb))

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

ROSE: *glares at Dave*

DAVE: yes

ROXY: why not then??? :(

DAVE: how about because we could die

ROSE: Dirk came back from his game alive.

DAVE: so what

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: well

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: fuckin sue me

DAVE: *examines his nails critically.*

DAVE: but yeah ill play

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: okay okay sorry

DAVE: *he holds up his hands in defeat.*

ROXY: *dramatic expression of relief*

ROXY: too kind too kind

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.*

ROSE: *No one cares*

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.*

DAVE: yeah totally

ROSE: *looks back up at Dave*

ROSE: *Can I help you?*

ROSE: You can return to your sulking if you want to.

DAVE: *we need to talk rose. we need to have A TALK.*

ROXY: *that face...*

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: people to see

DAVE: business to take care of

ROSE: Are you building another can town?

DAVE: shut up

DAVE: there are no cans here

DAVE: you dont have to rub it in

ROXY: ANOTHER can town?

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

ROXY: D:

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: ohhhhh nooooooooo

ROXY: :'(

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

ROXY: too soon too soon

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*