Well, yeah, there's a reason it's called Unreal Air.

[and for all the tilt Ryuji may be feeling over it, the usual subtle signs are all pointing to Dave being equally pretty goddamn pleased with himself. the way he sort of half rolls his shoulders in a casual shrug. the light smirk that sticks around a few seconds longer than usual.]

[because there are a lot of things that he likes about Ryuji — and pissing him off via Homestuck mechanics happens to be somewhere toward the top of that list.]

[— wait what.]

Thumb wrestling championship. [.................]

So ... what, the ghosts are building us up for the pay-per-view rematch?

[don't get Dave wrong, he's still going to wear the shit out of it — in fact, he's already pulling on the one he was holding. it's warm. it's a callback to how a moment that started off pretty shitty turned out pretty fucking great, all things considered.]

[it's ironic.]