oculusriffs | ic contact for reverienet

[it's not like he doesn't understand. he's been hearing it, too, the promises that he could find the strength to either work through or destroy the thing that's probably the biggest threat to Ryuji right now: Dave himself. a repressed bullshit baby wandering around with his collective failures in tow in the Metaverse.]

[it's the promise that Dave did have the power to protect him, if he'd only realize it, and accept it from her. it's the promise that he wouldn't let Ryuji down, not like he'd let down so many other people he cared about.]

[it's remembering what happened when Rose consulted with a being who seemed to know everything, with the intentions of tearing it all down. destined to happen or not, the memory's still there.]

[it's not really understanding how an offer like that is even supposed to work.]

you do
whats gonna happen to you though

[the most important part, obviously.]

Ain't got a damn clue

And I know it sounds kinda crazy. Like. It sounds really goddamned crazy to just go ahead and do it, but. It feels kinda right. Like when I heard my persona's voice for the first time.

[It's a seriously valid question, though.]

Maybe I'll sprout wings or grow like, three extra legs or something. Or maybe my leg'll be healed altogether.

Whatever it is, she promised me that

Like

It would help me be more myself. And that it'd help me protect you, too.

[Dave's not the one who needs protecting, he'd argue. he's immortal, remember?]

[but he knows Ryuji pretty much as well as he knows himself by this point, which means that point would get them exactly nowhere, and would more than likely lead this conversation somewhere a lot more pear-shaped — but it is a thought he keeps hanging on to. and he's not above trotting it out eventually, if he thinks it'll help whatever side of this case he winds up on.]

ok but
i get you
i really REALLY get you here
but are you absolutely sure thats what you want
is that a change youre willing to live with
it wouldnt hurt to put it off and think about it

i mean
im only goin off my own experiences here
but ive seen what happens when some fucking smooth talker waltzes in promising you all the info and backflipping badassery you want
and comes installed with a side of omniscience
deep fried green sun omniscience i guess
i never talked to that guy
but i can tell you it ended in a lot of bullshit grimdark burbling and death

[He knows enough about heart thievery, and has preached it hard enough to Dave, that there's no one good way to just take a person's problems and turn them right side up. No magical cure or persona or solution that will ever feel like the right sort of way to wade through repressed bullshit babies, and all that jazz. And that's not what he's expecting out of this.

Which means he knows that Dave knows what the compelling reasoning behind this is. It doesn't make it any less salient of a point for Ryuji, though. Dave's immortal, he's not. He's already questionably died once, and he still, to this day, doesn't even know if the virus actually finished him off.

This is actually really tough, then, because on a bunch of different levels he knows that Dave is right. And it's always the people that are closest to him that manage to keep him on the right path.]

Yeah. I mean, whatever that change looks like... and shit, it's scary, dude. I dunno what to say about that, because you see what Venus looks like, right? That could end up being me.

And like, I don't feel like I'm bein' sweet-talked into it. Do you?

The things she says sound like...

God this is pretty fucking embarrassing

But it's almost like my mom talking to me?

Maybe it's 'cause she keeps saying all this shit about my dad, too. Who knows. I don't wanna be kickflipping and parkouring around like some doofus. I just wanna be stronger for the both of us, y'know? Like, shit, if there's a way to make sure that I still get to wrap my arms around you and sleep next to you and all that, then I just

Wanna be able to do that without this station trying to kill us

Or worse, trying to find a way to separate us

Shit, sorry, I'm getting super goddamn emotional over this and I said to myself I wasn't gonna

doesnt really seem all that embarrassing
then again ive never actually like
talked to my own mom
so maybe im missing the significance there

but is that what she said to you
thats something youd be able to do
the part about cramming a cork on the space station bullshit
is that a thing that can even be controlled
im not trying to doubt your thoughts here i just

[what is he trying to say, exactly? the idea is tempting — it's so goddamn tempting. maybe whatever Ryuji winds up turning into will give him the ability to make like, a protected pocket of the space station for them, or something. a place to rest, away from everything else in shambles.]

[a safe room, if you will.]

[...............]

[hey ... what if symbolically sprouting wings or legs or whatever is meant to happen somehow winds up making Ryuji even hotter?]

[hm.]

i mean
i know ive told you about doomed timelines and shit like that
all the instances where the choices people made went wrong or backfired
and in that sense
intention doesnt actually mean jackshit on a universal scale
its usually best to follow your gut when it comes to these kinda choices
walk the road you were probably always going to all along you know
but i dunno what id do if something like this backfired on you
especially if i could have done something to
i dunno
prevent it

Man... I dunno what to say other than that just sucks a big fat one. It ain't anywhere near the same, but I wish you could meet mine? I bet she'd love ya, she's got a thing to punk ass blonds

[Would he tell his mom he had a boyfriend? Absolutely. He'd be fucking proud as shit about it.

But that's not... really the matter at hand here.]

Dude, it's cool. I want you to doubt my thoughts, I got like... no freaking impulse control sometimes and it's like... yeah, exactly that. A gut feeling. Sometimes they come back to kick you in the ass, but what's the alternative? Not bein' authentic to yourself?

But if you got that gut feeling that it's a bad idea, I wanna know that too. No clue if it'll give me hammerspace magic bullshit to cram us somewhere safe to chill out when stuff goes south. Probably won't, knowing our goddamn luck. Just. I don't think it's right to make a choice like this on my own, y'know? And I know that that gut feeling is the right one to go with most, since you said it yourself.

I dunno what I'd do if something happened to you, so huh we're doin' that thing again aren't we.

[ah, being introduced to the family ... Dave is pretty sure he knows exactly how Ryuji meeting Rose would go.]

i mean ive seen her before
she was just asleep

[which reminds him, he's never really told Ryuji his origin story, has he? boy, that's. that's going to be a weird conversation. and he can only hope he wouldn't screw up meeting Ryuji's mom like he screwed up meeting John's mom — you know, he pretty much immediately called her a hot mom.]

is that your gut feeling then
taking her offer
does that sound like whats supposed to happen
like is it the correct version of events
not tryin to make that decision for you
thats yours to make you know
whether you want my opinion or not and im pretty happy that you want it to begin with to be honest
but if i were gonna put my own guts into words
id say its not that i dont think doing what feels right here is a bad move
im just worried
what if it starts off right then veers off into wholly fucking wrong territory
what if something nobody was expecting happens
what if whatever goes completely tilted cant be undone

thats all though
you know how i feel about you dude
just maybe think about it some more before you accept

[Please don't call Mrs. Sakamoto a hot mom, dude. At least not in front of Ryuji. Or to her face. Or at all, really???]

Dude, I dunno. I don't have those time instincts like you do. For me, it's just like. Feeling something's right, just at the moment before jumpin' into the water, and it kinda feels like that right now.

But there ain't no way to know if this does end up in the wholly fucking wrong territory kinda way.

Yeah, thanks. I'm gonna think about it some more.

[A few moments pass before this one comes blaring up Dave's communicator.]

Hey, dumb question but I still wanna hear the answer to it. If I did grow like, 2 extra legs or something, you'd still wanna be with me, right?

Edited 2018-10-05 23:10 (UTC)

you mean regular human legs
or are we talking something like horse legs

[Ryuji ... Centaurmoto]

nah youre fine bro

I dunno, depends on how bad I wanna hoof it I guess

Either way, aight. I'll stop horsin around and get my noggin a goin'

unless youre actually destined to become a horse
then again
if you did then wouldnt that mean that everything you do automatically qualifies as horsin around

anyway are you busy
could use your help on something

Neigh, dude, it insists it

Yeah sure what's up

[oh my god ... this isn't a watch call, but maybe Ryuji can still hear him groaning at all the awful horse puns from wherever Dave is on the station.]

im in the mess hall

[and that's the only intel he's offering, apparently.]

[It's definitely instinctual, the way he knows those puns are so deeply loved by everyone around him, completely oblivious to the fact that everyone pretty much can't... stand them. And with a cheeky grin, he looks down at his watch and fires back a casual reply.]

Be there, uh, as quick as the elevators can take me.

[On his way out, he grabs his school bag, both straps of the somewhat worn satchel placed over his shoulders, despite the fact that this definitely isn't a Jansport at all. He's got some contraband to share that he's forgot about up until Dave said mess hall.

And about five minutes later, give or take a few extra seconds for the elevator jazz music to die down a bit, he's poking his head into the cafeteria. Dave, as ever, is easy as shit to spot, and he waves as he approaches. If he's sitting, Ryuji will pull up a chair and plop his ass down.]

Edited 2018-10-08 02:16 (UTC)

[Ryuji's pretty great at standing out in a crowd himself? usual access to hair bleach or not. but nah, he's not sitting, he's just standing next to a table, a plate of the usual toast set there, as he'd apparently planned to sit himself down to eat. he lifts a hand to wave back.]

Hey.

[but then, before he could enjoy a helping of space toast, something suddenly came up. literally. his open palm closes, save for one finger pointing straight up.]

[because there appears to be clothing stuck to the ceiling.]

H...ey. [His eyes follow Dave's upward pointing gesture, not sure what he's just signed himself up for. And when he sees what's dangling up there, he's not sure he's ready to believe this hardboiled bullshit that's going on.]

Seriously? Is this forreal?

[It hits him that they're probably being actively haunted again. Which is dumb as balls, because it's been at least a week since Ryuji flushed anything completely egregious down the toilet. A WEEK.]

Oh hell no. Not this goddamn bullshit again.

[Again.]

When Hajime was havin' a movie night, I tossed a piece of popcorn up in the air to catch it in my mouth and it just started floatin' up in the air like the shit was possessed.

[He wanted to eat it so badly! Ryuji chased it around until Hajime caught his attention and he lost focus of it. Still had no idea that the only reason it was going down like that was because of Jedi magic tricks.]

[it's no wonder the ghosts are out to get them, considering all the crimes against toilets they commit, probably to the detriment of both the station itself and the other poor bastards on board the thing with them.]

Huh. Did you ever catch it?

[he needs the denouement here, Ryuji, help a bro out. did the popcorn live to float on and become a stale kernel lodged in the ceiling or what?]

[... wait, hang on. focus, Dave.]

I'm gonna go fetch whatever that is. I mostly just wanted a witness.

No...

[He looks so dejected when he says it, like he had just come up second in a race he really wanted to win. Sure, he had an entire bowl of popcorn with equally delicious treats to devour wholly, but none of them were as tantalizing as his white whale. He'll never know, either, that it wasn't the ghosts doing it. Unless Hajime told him.]

It was the one that got away.

[Speaking of getting away, this doesn't really have anything to do with the clothing just hanging from the ceiling. He should probably do the floating thing and take it down. He'll be Dave's cheer boy from the sidelines. Witness.

It's definitely more amusing than mulling over the pros and cons of accepting a contract with an unknown devilish entity.]

Anyway. I'll spot check you, dude. Like lighting weights, you gotta have a guy to make sure you don't end up like that scene in Billy Bonka where the kid starts flyin' up to the ceiling fan and has to burp to get down.

[there is something about Ryuji's sad, defeated puppy expression that somehow strikes him like a tuning fork, to the point where Dave actually starts moving to go fetch some popcorn from the replicators. like, he's pretty much instinctually drawn to fixing that frown ASAP. make up for the popcorn colonel of the SS Haunted Reverie that managed to escape.]

[but he doesn't even have time to do that, or really even consider it, before —]

Billy .... Bonka.

[before Ryuji goes ahead and lobs a copyright infringement-free dodgeball at him. and Dave does not actually make a move to dodge. it just smacks him completely square in the face. he is out. there's no tagging him back in this round.]

[..............]

[no ... don't think about this too hard!! think about ascending to the ceiling, instead, where copyright laws can't follow. he pulls two jackets away from whatever's keeping them pinned to the ceiling, dropping them down without really giving them a second look, because the "whatever's keeping them pinned to the ceiling" is as much strange as it is an old and familiar friend, and that catches his attention instantly. but the jackets are blue. they're warm and comfortably sized. you know which ones they are.]

[also, Dave seems to have found a skateboard.]

Edited 2018-10-09 21:20 (UTC)

[Did he stutter?

He doesn't think he did. Billy Bonka and the Chocolate Factory, right? That's what he was talking about here. How could Dave never have seen such a timeless classic?

And he doesn't know why Dave starts to go in the opposite direction at first, either, but boy... would he be entirely too stoked about wanting to get him popcorn just because some ghost felt the urge to deny him of the simple pleasures in life. That's cute, dude. But it comes and goes without further question, because that motion must've been a wind up to the pitch of Dave just floating right on up to the ceiling.

Ryuji still thinks it's kind of cool, even though his arms are crossed and he's trying to play it off like it's just normal, everyday stuff.]

What's up th--- ARR--- [Immediately, as the jackets begin to drop down to the floor, he tries to catch them both. One lands squarely on his face, and the other in his arms like he's just caught Ra......pun...zel... leaping out of her high tower.

Goddamnit.

[He's struggling to not let one of them hit he floor while not getting his head stuck into a sleeve, and, God, Ryuji- there's a chair right there, it's not like you have to work very hard to make that happen.]

[okay, they're going to have a long and hopefully productive conversation about everything wrong with Billy Bonka in a few minutes. assuming Dave doesn't get distracted.]

[but he certainly could answer that question, as he floats back down, skateboard that seems to have that same glitchy texture as the sord..... and that one pair of shades in tow. he could even, once he's back in range, help Ryuji out with his clothing malfunction there.]

[you know what else Dave could do? he could sit back and watch for a few, to see if Ryuji manages to literally thumb wrestle his way out of a pair of letter jackets.]

[... hm.]

[decisions....]

Dude, hold still. [he reaches forward and plucks the errant coat off of his head. there you go, Ryugenie, you're free.]

[Coming back up for air feels amazing. There are bright lights in the room again, and he's not stumbling over himself to try and treat these ghostly garments with the respect they deserve. Are they unidentifiable? Maybe a good wash in the laundromat would reveal their true armor bonuses.

And once the entire spectacle dies down, he looks at the skateboard. It's hard to make heads or tails of it, like he's looking into a piece of purely fabricated bullshit, and he's seen two artifacts that had the same qualities. And has nil patience for any of its bullshit by this point.]

... Dude... is this forreal...

[But he's also somewhat amused by the fact that Dave can hold onto it. It's like these things come with levels of fried- gently to a golden brown or blackened and willing to crumple away, begging for its own non-existence to be brought back to it. Like the shades, he's guessing this is more the former than the latter. Better to pay attention to something actually real, like the varsity jacket in his arms.]

Whatcha think this stands for?

Completely for real.

[as if to prove his point (??) Dave releases his grip on the skateboard. and as if the logistics of Unreal Air itself wasn't already a point of contention, despite the fact that it's true that the both of them are very familiar with this particular brand of bullshit, it just ... starts floating to the ceiling again. nary a care in the world.]

[It is RIDICULOUS what kind of air this thing is getting. Dude come get the ruler check this out.]

[anyway, with that subject back on the ceiling, he turns the jacket he grabbed over in his hands to get a better look at it.]

No idea, though. You're the sportsball guy in this relationship, I figure you've got a better shot of guessing right than I do.

[He's so fucking tilt over this. Ryuji doesn't exactly know why he's tilting, but he sure is, and it's written right on his expression of incredulity as the goddamn thing just happily joins the ceiling like the floor was literally made out of lava.]

Did you. Did you really just.

[With a free hand, he covers his face, index finger reaching just between his eyebrows as his palm eclipses his nose and mouth.]

You just let that thing go back up there after all that work you did grabbing it and getting its bullshit ass back down here.

[Yeah, that's probably the point of contention he has over the entire thing, to be honest.]

Uh... [Oh?

Oh.

Oh.]

Thumb wrestling... championship.

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.]

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