MSPA Fanfiction IV

[KarneWarrior]

I'm the bad kid who's been sticking all of her fics on there and pretty much spamming the hell out of it. I... have a hard time deciding what to and what not to put on it, so I just stick everything there. I probably oughta stop. X[

No never stop writing.

I mean jegus I had a dream where Bro was teaching me to flash-step using a metrognome.

Oh wow that was such a good typo I think I'm just going to leave that there. I'm imagining a little lawn gnome in a flamboyant outfit going "I'm sooo not gay, guys! Stop it!" Which is making me laugh my ass off.


Oh and also Somehow my new series keeps getting skipped. I think it has something to do with them being OCs since I think this happened with Saxx.

[SkaianRedeemer]

@Karne: Still enjoying this, keep it up!

EDIT: Karne, above: I remember playing the Infocom text game Trinity, where about two minutes into the game, depending on which way you walk, you pick up a "gnomon". I spent the entire game wondering what in crap I was holding. It was a puzzle all its own! Gnome puns. Fucking miracles.

[Sionnan]

Oh look moar Purple!Dave fic. I should note at this point that this particular AU is based loosely on AdamantApocalyptic's Red Dead Virgo, though I'm taking care not to involve her trolls too much because it's her 'verse, not mine (fanfic of fanfic..?) Also, the characterization and plot here is based on some roleplay I've been doing on Livejournal under the username fpoke_of_ftairs (along with a blue Rose, red Jade, and green John, who are all lovely people)

Anyway.

See You On The Other Side

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OPEN PESTERLOG

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- - tortileGhostwriter [TG] began pestering gaianGearhead [GG]

[TG] i think its time you consider returning
[GG] no dude you will not believe the sick fires i have been starting here
[GG] the phat lewts I have been gathering.
[GG] shit is so cash im like scrooge macduck up in here.
[GG] just
[GG] swimmin in this cash
[GG] doin the goddamn backstroke FUCKING SHUT UP CAL!!!
[GG] you didnt see that i have everything under control.
[GG] its all totally cool and rad and stuff
[TG] yes of course it is
[TG] how long has it been for you now
[TG] four months or so yes
[GG] im not so sure anymore actually?
[GG] you spend so much time shifting back and fort that it all kinda blends together
[GG] mad crazy kaleidoscope of total pwnage
[GG] and also shithead giggling orange moron
[TG] precisely my point here
[TG] the stress of this journey has begun to affect you
[GG] god damn it dave
[GG] i thought we said that youd spare me the psychobabble bullshit
[GG] thats roses shtick anyway
[TG] well rose is hardly here to do it is she
[GG] oh god ;_;
[GG] dont remind me
[TG] the point is that i daresay we have both done quite enough
[TG] or is it truly your desire to dally in this empty universe
[TG] even those aliens from beyond the veil do not pierce the void with their inane prattle
[TG] can we continue to face the silence
[GG] stooooooop!
[GG] jegus please don't do the morbid thing! ;_;
[GG] but i guess youre right
[GG] I mean its not like we can keep going
[GG] and i miss rose and john really bad
[GG] i mean rose is like my sis man and just...
[GG] but im kind of afraid of whatll happen when i go back
[TG] i would think you would have become accustomed to that sort of thing
[TG] given the number of corpses youve left around
[TG] its practically the way i track you these days
[GG] no im not worried about that
[GG] i mean we talked about the plan i got this
[GG] and i knew when rose went that
[GG] okay no point being that im cool with that
[TG] then what pray tell is the problem
[GG] you
[GG] what happens to you
[GG] i mean like the two options kind of suck
[GG] i cant take you back with me cause youd just drop dead
[GG] if i leave like
[GG] im pretty sure that this timeline will cease to exist
[GG] and so do you
[GG] and if im wrong like youre gonna be stuck here by yourself
[GG] until you die
[GG] either way like i mean i know ill see other dave on the other side but like
[TG] ...
[GG] dave
[GG] dave are you there
[GG] lofac to dave
[GG] calling all daves
[TG] ...
-- tortileGhostwriter [TG] has gone idle --
[GG] ...
[GG] i mean thx for the dippin dots dave but were kinda havin a talk here broseph
[GG] dave
[GG] david briar lalonde
-- tortileGhostwriter [TG] has returned from idle --
[TG] apologies i had to confirm something
[TG] do not worry yourself unduly jade
[TG] i will find a way back
[GG] how???
[TG] i suspect that the land of dreams lies outside the normal flow of time
[TG] i am correct am i not
[GG] yeah
[GG] so
[TG] i am going to go to sleep
[TG] and thereby merge with my main timeline self once this timeline collapses
[TG] and then i will be able to see you again
[GG] okay
[GG] if youre sure
[GG] and who knows maybe its for the best
[GG] you wont have to go through all those shenanigans to *figure out that you were awake the whole time
[GG] me i think im gonna have to punch myself a few times to wake up at all
[GG] might have to drop the whole moon or something
[TG] quite possible
[TG] for my part i will also ensure that rose awakens
[TG] once the main threat has been resolved
[GG] sounds like a plan
[TG] you should go now jade
[GG] you sure we shouldnt meet in person again first
[GG] yknow just to make sure everythings chill
[TG] i believe we have this as well as we are able
[TG] there is no sense in delaying the inevitable
[TG] see you on the other side
[GG] okay
[GG] good luck
-- gaianGearhead [GG] ceased pestering tortileGhostwriter [TG][/font][/color]
[TG] ...
[TG] i love you

He stares at the words on the screen for a few long moments before regret sets in. He knows she can’t see it. But some part of him still twists inside. He does, yes. But he doesn’t want her to know.

He doesn’t want anyone to know.

Why? He doesn’t know himself.

He cannot dwell on this. He knows. He instead curls up in the pile of pillows and blankets he has on the floor of his house and falls asleep, waking again in the deep violet of the palace on the moon.

And he waits.

He looks out the window at the sky. He almost does not wish to, but he cannot avoid it. They whisper to him there, and he can almost hear them sing, his ears ringing with it. Sometimes he almost thinks his ears will start bleeding. They never do. And the Horrorterrors always insist that they mean well. That he shouldn’t judge by appearances.

He doesn’t believe them.

One in particular seems to have chosen him as her own; and he can almost feel her presence sometimes, a low growl that echoes only in empty hallways. He can even hear her when he’s awake, now, when he’s alone in the dark.

She’s very loud, right now.

He turns back to his room and sits down on his bed. He waits. He feels like he’s waiting forever in this empty universe, alone.

He resolves.

He cannot let this happen again. When he returns to his old self he will become stronger. He knows that Jade will keep her past self from doing anything foolish (he has faith in her) but he must keep his end. He must see the whole picture; he must become stronger than he is here. He must take a different route to power.

And with power he will ensure that no one ever dies again. He will win this evil joke of a game if it means he has to call down the skies to do it. He will save everyone he loves.

He watches the blackness descend and he resolves.


He wakes to dream, and takes his waking slow.

The way you play with your words and phraseology here is phenomenal. And more of the fuckin' sweet HoL formatting, awwww yiss. No seriously, that shit made my hair stand on end. I am a seasoned veteran of /x/, and this made my hair prickle, so take from that what you will. I really like the idea that your Rose/Dave is almost meta aware of how you write the fic, and chooses a piece of literature to depict how something like the Horrorterrors affect them. As short as this was, you put a bitchload of layers in the fic, and I think that's admirable attention and skill. And each of the Daves are so well written and shades and degrees of themselves in combination with others, and I really like how it's a little disorienting trying to figure out what is what for each of them.

I'm always ridiculously pleased when you post your stuff.

[Sionnan]

I'm the bad kid who's been sticking all of her fics on there and pretty much spamming the hell out of it. I... have a hard time deciding what to and what not to put on it, so I just stick everything there. I probably oughta stop. X[

No never stop writing.

I mean jegus I had a dream where Bro was teaching me to flash-step using a metrognome.

Oh wow that was such a good typo I think I'm just going to leave that there. I'm imagining a little lawn gnome in a flamboyant outfit going "I'm sooo not gay, guys! Stop it!" Which is making me laugh my ass off.


Oh and also Somehow my new series keeps getting skipped. I think it has something to do with them being OCs since I think this happened with Saxx.

Awesome typo. But I think Decker would be a little dismayed if I took credit for that awesome fic he did with the metronome. ;P

But I really do appreciate that you like my stuff, and took the time to tell me. And that goes for everyone, it really is you guys you keep me writing.

[Decker]

I'm the bad kid who's been sticking all of her fics on there and pretty much spamming the hell out of it. I... have a hard time deciding what to and what not to put on it, so I just stick everything there. I probably oughta stop. X[

No never stop writing.

I mean jegus I had a dream where Bro was teaching me to flash-step using a metrognome.

Oh wow that was such a good typo I think I'm just going to leave that there. I'm imagining a little lawn gnome in a flamboyant outfit going "I'm sooo not gay, guys! Stop it!" Which is making me laugh my ass off.


Oh and also Somehow my new series keeps getting skipped. I think it has something to do with them being OCs since I think this happened with Saxx.

Awesome typo. But I think Decker would be a little dismayed if I took credit for that awesome fic he did with the metronome. ;P

I was gonna say...

I will also admit that I have NO IDEA how that fic got as popular as it did compared to my other ones.

[Kassiopeia]

@Seraph I have no idea why this hasn't got more attention :O It's beautiful - I always thought the fate of alt-timeline Dave and Rose was particularly poignant (alas poor Davesprite) so it's nice to see another angle on it. I love red!Jade as well - this whole AU really interests me actually, it's almost as if you've taken the syntax/speech patterns of the original kids and mapped them onto their counterparts' personalities. (Then again, purpleDave is more than just a Dave who speaks like Rose. IDK.)
Also I am SUPER INTRIGUED by the bits with the Horrorterror who is particularly interested in Dave. Are you going to expandon that?
The final line in particular is really striking, also. Lovely work as ever

@Altum that was really good. You have a good handle on Karkat and Terezi's relationship, and it's nice to see some Gamzeecentric stuff :3 (my patron troll may be the most important character in Homestuck but he doesn't see a lot of fic action, woe). My only criticism would be that the ending seems a little abrupt - this is something I'm very guilty of myself, but a more satisfying conclusion would round it off nicely.

SO ANYWAY, how 'bout some of that Hussie/Picasso kismesissitude???

[Decker]

@Seraph. I forgot to mention in my last post. Your fic is excellent. Your Purple Dave is a very interesting character.

EDIT: @Sionnan: I think you should keep writing.

@Wigmund: I like a majority of your fics, and I'm not saying that they shouldn't end up on AO3 eventually. I was just concerned about so many getting posted in such a short period of time.

[SkaianRedeemer]

SO ANYWAY, how 'bout some of that Hussie/Picasso kismesissitude???

I'm considering putting it on my Pailday art exchange request list, does that count? :P

Today's a working day so I can't really spend time working on fanfic but I came up with the dumbest idea just a few minutes ago and don't know how much time I should waste on it.

[Decker]

Go for it Skaian. One mans trash and all.

[Altum]

My only criticism would be that the ending seems a little abrupt - this is something I'm very guilty of myself, but a more satisfying conclusion would round it off nicely.

Yeah, it's the beginning of a story and it doesn't stand alone as well as it could. I probably should've kept going with it instead of breaking it up. Maybe it will motivate me to actually write the next part, though!

[lucidSeraph]

@Seraph I have no idea why this hasn't got more attention :O It's beautiful - I always thought the fate of alt-timeline Dave and Rose was particularly poignant (alas poor Davesprite) so it's nice to see another angle on it. I love red!Jade as well - this whole AU really interests me actually, it's almost as if you've taken the syntax/speech patterns of the original kids and mapped them onto their counterparts' personalities. (Then again, purpleDave is more than just a Dave who speaks like Rose. IDK.)
Also I am SUPER INTRIGUED by the bits with the Horrorterror who is particularly interested in Dave. Are you going to expandon that?
The final line in particular is really striking, also. Lovely work as ever

YES I am going to expand on her. There's. So much. with her. holy shit. If you don't mind spoilers I may just PM you / tweet you shit about her because she's really interesting on multiple levels, practically a character in herself

i have a fan horrorterror lol...

The last line, btw, is a reference to a poem called The Waking by Theodore Roethke, which I shall reproduce here:

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I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go.

We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.

Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?
The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me, so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.

This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I learn by going where I have to go.

[Katrika]

A little late, but...

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I'm glad I could help get you into fanfiction, Doodled! I can't wait to see what's going on in your fic. I have a few theories, heehee!

[KarneWarrior]

I'm the bad kid who's been sticking all of her fics on there and pretty much spamming the hell out of it. I... have a hard time deciding what to and what not to put on it, so I just stick everything there. I probably oughta stop. X[

No never stop writing.

I mean jegus I had a dream where Bro was teaching me to flash-step using a metrognome.

Oh wow that was such a good typo I think I'm just going to leave that there. I'm imagining a little lawn gnome in a flamboyant outfit going "I'm sooo not gay, guys! Stop it!" Which is making me laugh my ass off.


Oh and also Somehow my new series keeps getting skipped. I think it has something to do with them being OCs since I think this happened with Saxx.

Awesome typo. But I think Decker would be a little dismayed if I took credit for that awesome fic he did with the metronome. ;P

I was gonna say...

I will also admit that I have NO IDEA how that fic got as popular as it did compared to my other ones.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF FFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-


My accidental pun still stands.

[Graven_Image]

Indystuck

Chapter 10

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The first thing The Kid noticed about the world was the sky.

It was yellow. Not blood-red, like it should have been, but yellow. What kind of a pansy death world was this, if the sky didn't even have the decency to be red?

Any and all criticisms of his land's appearance vanished when he saw the spikes. Glorious spikes were they, monolithic in size and worthy obstacles to attempt circumvention thereof.

Sometimes it got ridiculous, though. Some of these were the size of skyscrapers. He could just go around them, in any case. Forget jumping them. But there were more reasonable-sized hurdles to vault around these parts, in no short supply.

So vault them he did. He got up a reasonable speed, expertly jumping and double-jumping his way across the sulfur-hued sand that covered the planet. He took vague notice of a dark-stained skeleton draped across one of the many jagged outcroppings of metal.

This was a Land of Death and Spikes.

But mostly spikes.

OPEN MEMO

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craftyMiner opened memo on board MUTUAL SKIN-SAVING SOCIETY

CM: alright so this is a general dont-get-meteored howto of sorts
CM: anyone not already in the game is highly advised to get yourself on here

mischeviousRobot joined the memo

MR: I think I might be next
MR: What's the plan?
CM: hang on whos your server player
MR: Uhh
MR: The Kid I think
CM: yeah let me get him on here

newGuy was invited to the memo

RM: whats all this
RM: CMON man i got spikey dead sulfur plains to explore
MR: Um.
MR: I'll never understand what you just said.
CM: quotes up next to get in
CM: stop BSing your way through whatever deathtraps youve got going on
CM: get to your computer
NG: aww
NG: but
MR: No buts young man
MR: You're not getting out of paying up that easily
CM: wait he said epic again
CM: dang it kid i thought we cured you
NG: man BACK OFF
NG: if you had seen it you wouldnt be able to help it either
NG: man WHATEVER imma get off this board and go save quote
CM: no sirree youre staying right here
CM: im helping you pull both client and server duty
NG: WHYYYY
CM: because you cant be trusted not to bugger it up on your own
CM: someones got to keep an eye on you
MR: He's got you there
MR: I don't really trust you not to fail either
NG: man SHUT UP
NG: how about i just keep doing this and dont get you in at all HMMM

neckwearAficionado joined the memo

NA: Then I will have to slap you with a fish.
CM: PFFFT HAHAHA
CM: excellent timing tim as usual
MR: Well played, sir. Well played.
NA: Thank you, thank you.
NA: As for The Kid here.
NA: I have done too much to ensure this session's survival.
NA: I will not let some petty feud ruin our chances at victory.
NA: Is that clear?
NG: yeah sure i guess
NG: meh
NA: Glad to hear it.

neckwearAficionado left the memo

CM: alright so ive made some observations
CM: and ive come up with some interesting parallels
CM: this is incredibly important so listen up

Off came the Brownie gloves. They were nice, but punching imps with hands covered in semisolid waste was kind of gross.

He needed something heavier. Harder.

Cleaner.

Near him, a sawblade that had broken off one of the imps' shoulders lay. And ideas once again intruded into a skinless boy's brain.

Meat Boy: Alchemize Gloves && Sawblade

You got the SAWSERHANDS.

And once again, the status of Meat Boy as "slow" was cast into serious doubt.

OPEN MEMO

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MR: So wait
MR: What do I prototype with?
CM: heck if i know
CM: preferably something you wouldnt mind alive and fighting beside you
NG: yeah man dont you have like a whole magic city up there
NG: ask around im sure something this LEGENDARY must have heard tell somewhere
MR: You know what
MR: I think I know just the person to ask
MR: Be back later, guys
MR: Don't start without me!
NG: hey no worries there
NG: i wanna look around some more

mischeviousRobot left the memo

CM: dont think i didnt see what you did there
NG: what
CM: you said legendary
CM: we all know what you meant
NG: YOU CAN PROVE NOTHING HAHAHA
NG: yeah call me back when its time to get crackin

newGuy left the memo

[Douhneill]

Oh dear, is the kid thinking what I think he's...

Oh.

[Kassiopeia]

YES I am going to expand on her. There's. So much. with her. holy shit. If you don't mind spoilers I may just PM you / tweet you shit about her because she's really interesting on multiple levels, practically a character in herself

i have a fan horrorterror lol...

The last line, btw, is a reference to a poem called The Waking by Theodore Roethke, which I shall reproduce here:

show spoiler

hide spoiler

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go.

We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.

Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?
The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me, so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.

This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I learn by going where I have to go.

YES YES I WANT TO KNOW MOOOORE and you know I am on Twitter pretty much 24/7, spam away

also that poem is fantastic. I feel like I've heard it before, but I'm pretty sure I haven't.

[lantadyme]

I've mostly been lurking around here, but I thought I'd pop in and share.

Them's the Breaks

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Being a sprite is different. Maybe the endless kick-snare-kick kick-snare-kick drumbeat of time has faded out of his mind, but now he sees numbers and shit. Like the goddamn Matrix code scrolling everywhere outside his shades. It's annoying as hell because it's so damn lame. He can see the game code. So original.

He tries not to focus on it. Yeah, it's coded into his very being now so it never really disappears entirely, but he doesn't look at the specifics. No, he doesn't want to know how close to the end they are. He doesn't care about Dave's exact to-the-decimal progress along his dumbass quest of victory. He's got his back, but Dave knows what he's doing and he doesn't need his sprite riding him every second along the way.

So Davesprite spends most of his time floating in the background, craving birdseed like a motherfucker and kind of hating himself for that, but what is a guy supposed to do when half of him is a dead crow?

To be perfectly honest, he's tired. He wouldn't admit it if anyone asked him, but no one does. Everyone is too busy with the game, up to their eyeballs in playing it because it's what's keeping them alive. He's alone in only giving the game half of his attention, but that's because he's the one it fucked over royally the first time through. Him and Rose, though she doesn't remember every detail. She doesn't remember knowing where John's body was but not being able to retrieve it, or reading Jade's last green words as the meteors rained down. She didn't live those months of nothing but killing imps and coasting on pent-up emotions, his fingertips twitching every time they brushed over rough vinyl grooves and itching to just spin back back back forever—

He's had enough of playing this damn game.

He's not sure if the numbers are worse than the breakbeat metronome in the back of his head, but if he squints hard enough he can still make sense out of the timestream. He's always had a gift for melody and this is just another flavor. He tries not to look too hard at the code but on occasion some shiny snatch of data just catches his eye and it takes actual effort to rip himself away.

That's what happens now.

A tidbit of information from the future slips in sideways behind his shades. It stings his eyes a little and he winces, feeling like he's been kicked in the gut by what he suddenly knows. He'd been floating around knocking imps into the lava out of sheer boredom, but this snaps him to a halt and leaves him hovering over the burning landscape, his orange ass cooking as the data sinks in.

Shit.

He doesn't even hesitate for a second. Dave is off somewhere talking with his BFF Terezi, John's fucking murderer, and it doesn't take long for Davesprite to find him. He floats down from the phosphorus sky and gives his alternate-past-self a nod to get his attention.

"Sup?"

"Lemme borrow your tables for a second."

He cocks an eyebrow but doesn't argue. They both know a second means a second when Daves are involved, no matter how long it'll take. The tables come out and Dave hands them over, and it surprises him a little that it's so damn calming to feel the vinyl under his hands again. But he doesn't pause; he spins, not back like Dave was probably expecting, but forward.

It's freezing when time stops spinning, a fucking slap-in-the-face contrast to LOHAC's neverending heat. Everything is white, even the ash, and it takes Davesprite a long moment to realize it's not ash; it's snow. Land of Frost and—something. He doesn't feel like staring at the world code long enough to learn the name. Better if he doesn't know everything that's happened since he spun those tables. He's here for one thing and one thing only, and he stretches his wings and sets off into the wind.

Jadesprite, brought back from the dead; though how she died he doesn't want to know. There's a lot of things he doesn't want to know, but what he does know is that she isn't thrilled to be stolen away from her daisy pushing. And who can blame her? This shit gets damn exhausting after so long.

He finds her on a snow covered hill somewhere, sitting curled into herself on a rock and frosted with the white stuff, and even from up in the sky he can tell she's crying. It's just the inward slump of her shoulders and the subtle way they shake. That and the laid back doggy ears. He swoops in from behind, flapping his feathers loudly so that she'll hear him and he won't startle her too badly.

"Hey." It comes out more softly than he'd intended.

She sniffs and doesn't even look up until he floats over to her rock seat.

But then she does look up and he sees the tears spilling down her green face, entirely unattractively, and the sheer soul-breaking grief in her eyes. She looks like she's been gutted, or that everyone she knows has been killed and she's been left behind in the sea of their fucking corpses. It makes him pause. It occurs to him that he's never even met Jade in real life before, and maybe she wants to be alone.

But it's also been so damn long since he's spoken to his Jade; so long since he'd screamed at her chat window after her countdown had ticked to zero, just clinging to hope that she'd come back and talk to him. That despite it all she'd be alive.

He doesn't even realize he's done it until he's sitting on that rock next to her, one wing curled around her protectively and both arms pulling her into the biggest goddamn hug of her life.

"Sorry this game is so shitty," he whispers into her hair, and he's too cool to cry but she's practically bawling into his shoulder. She just sobs for a while, her whole body shaking and Davesprite not going anywhere. A green-on-orange blur in the middle of a blizzard.

"Oh Dave, you're not supposed to be here," she says eventually, wiping at her eyes and her furry face and not looking any happier than when he got here.

"I jumped forward in time, don't worry."

"Oh, everything has gone wrong. This is terrible!" She shakes a little, his one wing still wrapped around her to cut down on the wind. "I can't stop remembering things, Dave. It just keeps coming! Why won't it stop?"

He guesses that maybe she's just entered spritehood and the game is still doing its massive data dump on her brain. He remembers how that felt. It felt like it was trying to take over and force him to do crap he had no desire to do. And he has no idea how long she's been dead, but learning about the things that went horribly wrong after that has got to be pretty emotionally crippling for a girl as sweet as she is.

"Calm down. It's okay."

"It's not okay!! How could it ever be okay? I'm stuck here and people keep telling me I have to help, and all I want is to go back. I can't fight him! I can't do it! Why is this happening?!" she sobs, and she sounds as close to panic as he's ever heard anyone before.

"Stop it." He grabs her shoulders again and shakes her to try to get her attention. "Jade, stop it."

"I can't do this! Oh, why?! It's all so horrible!"

Something snaps in him and all of a sudden he's talking:

"Yeah, it's fucking horrible. It's a motherfucking world-ending sky-rending tragedy, in the classical Shakespearean sense of the word where entire nations fall because of the colossal fuck-ups of one asshole who thought he was so flawless that nothing could touch him. Or, shit, I dunno. I only read half of Macbeth." God, what is he even saying? "Guess what, Jade? The game is that asshole and it's gonna ride us for every mile we've got and then some, because I've been through the Sahara Desert four fucking times by now and I can already feel the sand coming up on the horizon again. It's hot and it's in my goddamn eyes and it's not gonna stop until we're all dead and broken on the ground and then it's just gonna find some other world to fuck with afterward. Because that's what it does. That's what it—"

Damn.

Jadesprite is just looking at him and somehow he manages to reel in the directionless stream of words. He's got thousands more flailing against the floodgates but he holds them fast and shuts his eyes, shaking his head and trying to push it away.

He's got so much shit inside his head and it's not like he's ever been a stranger to expression, but he's sure as hell not going to tell his crapass life story to Dave or John or someone. It's his own business. They've got a game to play and his now-pointless trauma of dead friends and cold abandonment has no place in that.

Doesn't stop it from building up and wearing on him, though. Feels like a goddamn hangman's noose half the time.

"You don't want to be here either," Jadesprite says, amazed and a little hurt that she'd forgotten her friends' feelings while so wrapped up in her panic; or maybe that's just what her face does now that she's dead. "And you've got things you don't want to think about, too. How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"How do you keep all the thoughts and all the scary things from overwhelming you?"

He shrugs. "I dunno. Don't think about it. Do something else to distract yourself. The scary crap you can't do anything about. You just gotta stand with the rest of us and trust we'll have your back."

She squeezes her eyes shut and for a long moment she doesn't say anything. "I'm just so scared, though."

"You think John and Rose aren't scared? We're all up against the same exact thing you are."

"Are you scared, Dave?"

His coolkid nature kicks in and he tries to say no, he's never scared, are you kidding? Only wusses get scared and he's no wuss. But the words stick in his throat because that's a boldface lie. Yeah, he's scared. He's damn near terrified of getting stuck in some doomed reality again with John and Jade dead and Rose asleep ninety percent of the time, fucking abandoned with that goddamn puppet laughing at his misfortune every step of the way.

Jadesprite looks down at her hands and he knows he doesn't need to voice it. She changes the subject instead.

"I see numbers everywhere, Dave. Any time I look at anything they fill me in on the terrible things that have been going on."

He can't help but smile a little at that. "Yeah, it's really obnoxious isn't it?"

"I don't want to be here!!" she suddenly explodes. "I was happy where I was! Everyone was happy and I didn't have to know how wrong everything went!" She starts sobbing again, her fuzzy face buried in her hands and her shoulders shaking.

As down as he feels, Davesprite shakes his head. "I'm glad you were happy."

It comes out so quiet and soft and with a hint of a smile; totally foreign in his mouth, but he means it. It had really torn him up, back in his own timeline, knowing the exact moment when she died and then the gigantic void of her smiley green text afterward. Knowing his Jade was happy even then helps.

The soft tone catches her attention, and she keeps sniffling to herself but she does look up and meet his gaze. She looks a bit guilty for the explosion, but at the same time almost seems worried about him.

Shit, way to open up, dude. She's the one falling apart here. He's supposed to be comforting her. And, yeah, the spritecode wants him to tell her to man up and serve her purpose as a guide, but he's pretty good at ignoring its word-for-word advice at this point.

"Look, I know it sucks being yanked out of that clouds-and-angels bliss. I'm sorry about that. You don't deserve it. But the game's still playing and as much of a goddamn drag it is, maybe eventually we can pull a win. After that you'll probably dissolve back into wherever you were before this. But you gotta help. You do. I don't know where the hell I am at this point, but I can only do so much. I don't want this to last another four months of headache-inducing impossible timeloops and dead friends left and right."

He can't do that again.

"You gotta be strong, Jade. We need you to help us do this. I—" Say it man, say it. "I need it."

Her eyes are filling up with tears again, but at least she's looking at him this time. "Oh Dave," she says quietly as she throws her arms around him and holds on to him like he's going to fall apart. Which he totally isn't. He's totally chill here. As chill as the snow settling down all around them.

Okay, maybe he's not that chill.

"You won't have to do this alone again."

Ouch. Way to kick him in the heart, there.

All he says is, "Thanks," though, as composed as he ever is. Flustered or not, he's too cool to show it.

She smiles at him with those sad doggy ears and as freaky as it is that she's one of her beloved furries, she's adorable at it. He has no idea why whoever prototyped her sprite after she died would have chosen a dog to add to the mix, but he can't help but enjoy the irony of how fitting it is. She wipes at the tears on her face and takes the first deep breath in what's obviously been forever. "I'm so scared and sad. I don't want to do this. But I can try. I know all of you need me and I do remember being brave before I died. I can try to be brave again."

That sounds more like the Jade he knows.

"Chin up, Lassie."

Past-Jade would have giggled but it at least nets him a tiny smile. "Oh, I should probably go look for my house. Get back to doing my sprite job. Oh my." She gets up slowly, looking off into the distance and turning, getting her bearings in this endless white blizzard.

Davesprite shakes snow off his feathers and gets up too. He moves a bit closer to her and holds out a fist, because like hell he's just letting her wander off without a goodbye. "You ever want to talk again, send me a note through the game code. I'll pick it up eventually."

She looks back at him, at the proffered fist, and she doesn't move at first. There's something sad in her eyes, sadder than a second ago. She watches him and he has no idea what she's thinking until suddenly something clicks in his head and he just knows. For that long moment he struggles with the need to ask what's happened to him. Where is he? What has he missed that current-him isn't here now, and that he had to jump forward in time to make this meeting possible?

"Good luck, Dave," she says sadly, bumping her fist to his.

"Yeah, you too."

The silence hangs again, so many words left unsaid, and then Jadesprite turns into the whirling snow and starts on her way back home. Davesprite stretches his wings and takes out Dave's tables, his fingers hesitant on the vinyl and his eyes stuck on that slowly disappearing smudge of green in the distance.

-----------

His sprite pops back into reality a second later and Dave sees how crestfallen the guy suddenly is. He sees it, but he knows better than to ask questions.

[Graven_Image]

Holy crap.

HOLY CRAP.

Where's that firstpwnst.gif when you need it?

[raequiem]

Lantadyme.

You.

God.

, so very much.

You are getting art for this.

This deserves illustration.

[lucidSeraph]

@lantadyme - ... jegus kicking christ on a goddamn spring operated transportation devvice.

That. That was. Fucking. brilliant Good god brilliant on so many levels, holy shit. Every bit was perfect, every phrase and every ounce of characterization. I think I am going to go baww like a Jadesprite now because godDAMN.

First. Fucking. Pwnst. Indeed.

[Decker]

Wow.
Definitely stick around lantadyme.

[crash826]

*glues lantadyme to the fanfiction thread*

[SkaianRedeemer]

Wow, this stupid fic of mine feels even more stupid now. Though I suppose that may be the point, but very, very nice lantadyme.

[Kassiopeia]

WHAT THEY SAID

that was sweetsauce

[Wigmund]

Excellent first post...I can't wait to see what you do next...I just hope my horn pile survives it...