[ It's easier than confronting certain realities. He can't just walk down the hall and ask for a cup of sugar. ]
A machine on the boardwalk gave me a pack of glitter gel pens. I'm focusing more on the randomness and not on how old they make me feel. I might drop them by Elena's later.
[ Is their pantry even stocked? Jenna's making scrambled eggs (there's been this surplus lately??) when she gets the text, the all familiar ping from where the watch rests on the counter.
It's...a surprise. It shouldn't be. Ric's there: she knows this. ]
It just...gave them to you? Why? I mean. Yeah, Elena might want them. [ Or her. What you got against glitter pens, Ric? ] By the way, you don't have to ask before you come over. As long as you knock first.
[ It's only a surprise because Ric checks on Jenna through Elena. Being in person hurts, and not because there's a twinge of mistrust coming from her side. A twinge he and Elena earned. But, Elena is family. Alaric's the person who lied about his wife. About everything. The scars lay beneath the surface, covered with Meredith, and the Darkness, and dying. But coming back to life brings it all back. He saw it from afar, how Elena's guilt exponentially grew.
It's his turn, apparently.
She relents, throwing out the first olive branch, and what follows is an Emoji that mimics the face he's currently making. ]
I'm on the other side of town, but when I get back, I'll knock. The Boardwalk's as abandoned as the rest of the city, if not creepier. If you were wondering about what the boardwalk in the dimension we've been kidnapped would be like. It might have been a claw machine before, but it dispenses riddles. I'm good at riddles.
[ Scramble scramble, lest the eggs stick. Jenna doesn't want to remain oblivious, not to anything, and yet there's already a boulder of strife on her shoulders. Forgiving Elena comes naturally. Forgiving Ric for the lies, the secrets, the stuff she knows he kept from her, that's tricky. She knows he's aware that it is. That all three of them do. Not that Elena should be in the middle of their woe. She really should not, won't be.
What's a bit of casual texting as she leans against the counter? ]
That's all I could really ask. My lack of awareness probably makes it pretty obvious that I haven't been down there. So it dispensed pens for answering a riddle.
Was the riddle hard? How many pens are there? Is that how we get certain stuff in this place? Seriously?
[ Ugh, see, she does want to talk to you, you lying liar that lied. ]
[ But, you asked for it. And already, settling back into this is comforting. He types back. ]
What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years. It's a pack of twelve in a plastic sleeve. I don't think it's how we get everything. Or, anything. I... think it's supposed to be a game.
[ Texting creates comfort, diminishes ache. It's probably a facade, but she doesn't care. She wants to talk to Ric. ]
I think we've known each other long enough for you to realize that instead of answering trick questions, I just like the whole story. So tell me the answer, smarty pants.
So, you...could've gotten an action figure or stuffed animal? I mean, isn't that more reminiscent of what a claw game would offer? The pens seem almost...useful. Unless they're dried out. You didn't check, did you? Why would you. ;)
Do you want the pens? [ You seem curious about them. ] I wasn't able to choose what was given to me. I answered the riddle, slid the card back in and it gave me pens. Next time, I'll be sure to annotate a stuffed animal, or an action figure. Maybe it will spit out Sailor Moon. And the answer is M.
I'd need a journal first to really take advantage of them. Or, I mean, I'm an adult but maybe. If one of them's my favorite color, or something. Now you're just thinking of things that you can give away to people. Unless...is Sailor Moon one of your heroes and I just never knew, Ric? See. Trick question. I wonder what would happen if you got the answer completely wrong. Which is probably what would happen for me. Dejection would be the only prize.
Dejection, courtesy of the man or woman in the box. Maybe they'd write a frowny-face on there for you. One of the pens is purple. You could call dibs. Jenna. I'm more of a Tuxedo Mask [ Mamoru ] guy. I thought that was clear. [ Usagi should not be anyone's hero. She's whiny. And a reluctant hero at best. Shut up, he's a nerd. You know he's a nerd. Old episodes (or new to the US) aired early in the morning in the early 90's. Shut. Up. ]
People in Mystic Falls know that pens are used for more than jorunaling? I'd remember you inviting me to a town-wide writing celebration. Maybe it just runs in the family.
What a job. Wonder how someone manages to get it. I mean, I could do that. Jot down smiley and frowny faces as appropriate. Purple and sparkly? Alaric. Did you see those pictures from my teenage years with collages all over my bedroom without me realizing? I thought I'd burned them all. The pictures, not the collages. Art defamation is a crime, after all. He's the one in...the...tuxedo. No, Ric. I didn't know. Now I do. The more you know. [ Way more of a nerd than she's ever been, but she still likes you.
Or. She. Yeah, no, she still does. Like him. ]
I think you swung into town right after our decade tradition of that, actually. Are you insinuating there's something wrong with our journals?
I'm not sure art defamation is a crime when it's your art. You burned the pictures but spared the collages. I'm picturing cut outs from magazines. You were a Nirvana girl, weren't you? The more you know
Coming from the woman finishing grad school. Were you spending those weekends on campus writing in your journal, no wonder your thesis took all year.
[ This is familiar. This is pain. Even light teasing hurts. He hopes it doesn't hurt her. He hopes he doesn't hurt her. ]
A crime against my former self! And it's dangerous to squash your inner child's spirit. Speaking of! The dramas and scandal live on even to this age. And Pearl Jam!! Were you NOT into them? If so, how? Nirvana is amazing. A testament to their name. You need to teach me how to do that when you come over... [ the emoji ] A girl needs some catharsis every now and then! Journaling and wine, come on. Who needs therapy when you have, well, that sounds bad coming from the psych major, doesn't it? I won't take it back.
[ She's zero percent hurt, from the conversation, in that moment. A plus, right? ]
Who needs therapy when you have that dirty shame we both know so well. I may have liked my early morning anime, but I'm hurt you think I wouldn't like Pearl Jam. Show me someone who didn't like Pearl Jam. Or, tell me about them. They're probably not here with us. And, for the record, Kurt Cobain was a musical genius.
Exactly! And embracing it continues to work out in my best interests. I wasn't sure if I ever knew you with even an inkling of consideration that you didn't like Kurt Cobain OR Pearl Jam. But, I'm relieved. And this makes me wonder...what finding music here might be like. Stuff we'd actually know. And? Everyone liked Pearl Jam. Anyone who says otherwise is a liar. Sorry, anyone who isn't a baby boomer and before. You watched anime in the morning rather than sleep in? Huh. I mean, I believe it. Was it better than regular cartoons?
[ So, about that purple pen... Why is talking to you over text so simple to her, Ric? ]
fuck a duck, i forgot about this, i'm shipper trash
oh a domino effect of smiles. look at what you've done. :) or maybe it's just contagious. or maybe that's the same thing. in this context. either way. :)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
gradstudent) wrote2017-03-19 09:46 pm
text ]
A machine on the boardwalk gave me a pack of glitter gel pens. I'm focusing more on the randomness and not on how old they make me feel. I might drop them by Elena's later.
[ If you didn't want to be there, when he is. ]
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It's...a surprise. It shouldn't be. Ric's there: she knows this. ]
It just...gave them to you? Why?
I mean. Yeah, Elena might want them. [ Or her. What you got against glitter pens, Ric? ] By the way, you don't have to ask before you come over. As long as you knock first.
[ And a few seconds later... ] :)
[ Is the awkward apparent? Is it? ]
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It's his turn, apparently.
She relents, throwing out the first olive branch, and what follows is an Emoji that mimics the face he's currently making. ]
I'm on the other side of town, but when I get back, I'll knock.
The Boardwalk's as abandoned as the rest of the city, if not creepier. If you were wondering about what the boardwalk in the dimension we've been kidnapped would be like. It might have been a claw machine before, but it dispenses riddles. I'm good at riddles.
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What's a bit of casual texting as she leans against the counter? ]
That's all I could really ask.
My lack of awareness probably makes it pretty obvious that I haven't been down there. So it dispensed pens for answering a riddle.
Was the riddle hard? How many pens are there? Is that how we get certain stuff in this place? Seriously?
[ Ugh, see, she does want to talk to you, you lying liar that lied. ]
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What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years.
It's a pack of twelve in a plastic sleeve.
I don't think it's how we get everything. Or, anything. I... think it's supposed to be a game.
no subject
I think we've known each other long enough for you to realize that instead of answering trick questions, I just like the whole story. So tell me the answer, smarty pants.
So, you...could've gotten an action figure or stuffed animal? I mean, isn't that more reminiscent of what a claw game would offer? The pens seem almost...useful. Unless they're dried out. You didn't check, did you? Why would you. ;)
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I wasn't able to choose what was given to me. I answered the riddle, slid the card back in and it gave me pens. Next time, I'll be sure to annotate a stuffed animal, or an action figure. Maybe it will spit out Sailor Moon.
And the answer is M.
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Or, I mean, I'm an adult but maybe. If one of them's my favorite color, or something.
Now you're just thinking of things that you can give away to people. Unless...is Sailor Moon one of your heroes and I just never knew, Ric?
See. Trick question. I wonder what would happen if you got the answer completely wrong. Which is probably what would happen for me. Dejection would be the only prize.
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One of the pens is purple. You could call dibs.
Jenna. I'm more of a Tuxedo Mask [ Mamoru ] guy. I thought that was clear. [ Usagi should not be anyone's hero. She's whiny. And a reluctant hero at best. Shut up, he's a nerd. You know he's a nerd. Old episodes (or new to the US) aired early in the morning in the early 90's. Shut. Up. ]
People in Mystic Falls know that pens are used for more than jorunaling? I'd remember you inviting me to a town-wide writing celebration. Maybe it just runs in the family.
no subject
Purple and sparkly? Alaric. Did you see those pictures from my teenage years with collages all over my bedroom without me realizing? I thought I'd burned them all. The pictures, not the collages. Art defamation is a crime, after all.
He's the one in...the...tuxedo. No, Ric. I didn't know. Now I do. The more you know. [ Way more of a nerd than she's ever been, but she still likes you.
Or. She. Yeah, no, she still does. Like him. ]
I think you swung into town right after our decade tradition of that, actually. Are you insinuating there's something wrong with our journals?
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The more you know
Coming from the woman finishing grad school. Were you spending those weekends on campus writing in your journal, no wonder your thesis took all year.
[ This is familiar. This is pain. Even light teasing hurts. He hopes it doesn't hurt her. He hopes he doesn't hurt her. ]
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Speaking of! The dramas and scandal live on even to this age. And Pearl Jam!! Were you NOT into them? If so, how? Nirvana is amazing. A testament to their name.
You need to teach me how to do that when you come over... [ the emoji ]
A girl needs some catharsis every now and then! Journaling and wine, come on. Who needs therapy when you have, well, that sounds bad coming from the psych major, doesn't it? I won't take it back.
[ She's zero percent hurt, from the conversation, in that moment. A plus, right? ]
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I may have liked my early morning anime, but I'm hurt you think I wouldn't like Pearl Jam. Show me someone who didn't like Pearl Jam.
Or, tell me about them. They're probably not here with us.
And, for the record, Kurt Cobain was a musical genius.
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I wasn't sure if I ever knew you with even an inkling of consideration that you didn't like Kurt Cobain OR Pearl Jam. But, I'm relieved. And this makes me wonder...what finding music here might be like. Stuff we'd actually know.
And? Everyone liked Pearl Jam. Anyone who says otherwise is a liar. Sorry, anyone who isn't a baby boomer and before.
You watched anime in the morning rather than sleep in? Huh. I mean, I believe it. Was it better than regular cartoons?
[ So, about that purple pen...
Why is talking to you over text so simple to her, Ric? ]
fuck a duck, i forgot about this, i'm shipper trash
Early classes mean never having to sleep in. That sounds more sentimental than it should. I was going for a cliche that didn't quite make it.
:') I too proudly wear the badge of shipper trash
I guess you just didn't realize how much fun sleeping in could be back then.
[ ER ... why would it be fun in Jenna's present day, pre-Ruby City? Or, it was. A handful of times. With Ric. Er... ]
And take more pride in your words, Ric. Cliche it might've been, but I still smiled.
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and I think we both know what my endgame is here.
And I guess I'll just have to prove my assumptions when I see you. I wouldn't wanna be an ass, Ric.
:) [ Is that even what he meant? Who k n o w s? ]
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YES I want the purple pen.
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:) OK. then bring it over. or, something less demanding.
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