things that can only end well: THIS

[onlyasign]

Who: Sufferer and Bro
Where: The Plaza and then the world!
When: after the greatest rap off in history
Style: legend--wait for it!--DARY!
Status: closed

Sufferer is a nerd and arrives at 5:55 pm. What, he doesn't want to miss his meeting with Bro! He settles on a bench in the Plaza and looks around, waiting eagerly.

Comments

[onlyasign]

"Then let's take this party to the streets." Sufferer finishes his tea and stands up. "I don't know the bars in the area very well, so why don't you choose one?"

[stridercentric]

Whoops, Sufferer's a little too fast for Bro, there. He's barely even gotten started on his tea. The second Sufferer gets to his feet, though, he downs the cup's contents in one go and hops up from his chair as well.

"Leave it to me, man. I'll take you to grandest bar in town."

[onlyasign]

Sufferer picks up Monsieur Plush Rump and tucks him into his hood, so the smuppet's head pokes out. "Lead on!"

[stridercentric]

There's a small smirk of approval at that ironic handling of Monsieur Plush Rump, but it might not be quite so noticeable, as Bro immediately turns towards the door.

"There's an amazing one just two blocks from here. Great ambience and all-you-can-eat peanut bowls."

[onlyasign]

Sufferer isn't even trying to be ironic, he just wants to show off his new toy.

"Sounds good!" He trots after Bro, having to walk briskly to keep up.

[stridercentric]

But the innocent obliviousness to the irony is ironic in its own right. That's what makes it so ironic in the first place. ...Second place.

Either way, he'll just stride on with his hands crammed into his pockets, his gaze on the road ahead. "So how long you been in this bubble, anyway?"

[onlyasign]

"Quite awhile, actually! I was here for about nine months, but then I got... sent back, and then brought here again a few months later, and I think it's been over a half sweep this time around? But yes, I've been here for a long time." He just doesn't understand why some unbelievably cruel overlord would send him back to his own world to be tortured and die and then bring him back here.

[stridercentric]

Bro strains his lips to let out a low, impressed whistle through his teeth. He's not sure how long a 'sweep' is, but he's guessing it's like half a year. Probably.

"Man. You must be gettin' pretty fucking sick of this place."

[onlyasign]

"Oh no, not at all!" Sufferer is a little surprised that Bro would assume that! "Everyone I love is here, and I've made lots of new friends that I would have never met back in my own time, and it's peaceful here. It's quiet; I can hear myself think." He shrugs. "Besides, there's nothing for me to go back to."

[stridercentric]

The friends thing, he can deal with. The peaceful thing, he can deal with. It's the last bit that has Bro's eyebrows knit together into a heavy frown. Figuring out what that means isn't exactly rocket science. Sufferer's in the same position as him, plain and simple.

"Oh. Yeah, okay, that all sounds legit. I mean, personally I think peace is fucking overrated and boring, but if you wanna sit around and hear yourself think, that's your business."

[onlyasign]

"What about you?" Sufferer's voice is softer than before, and very gentle; Dave told him about what happened to Bro, so it's not hard to parse together his friend's reaction. "Peace and boring quiet aside, do you like it here?"

[stridercentric]

The gentleness is easily mistaken for pity. He knows it's prooobably not pity, but that doesn't stop the cynical thinking going on in his head. It's not like he even needs people to be gentle with him. He's totally over this death thing. It's no big deal.

He shrugs his shoulders again, staring blankly ahead. "I dunno. It ain't too bad, I guess. There's no place like home, but this is a pretty good alternative."

[onlyasign]

It probably could be thought of as pity, but of the Sufferer <> everyone in the bubble kind (that's a real ship, look it up). He's not trying to make Bro feel bad, or discuss his death if he doesn't want to. For now, Sufferer thinks it's enough that if Bro wants to talk about it, he'll always be there to listen.

"You know what I miss about home?" He doesn't wait to see if Bro has a guess. "The constellations. They're different here, and I don't know what they're supposed to be."

[stridercentric]

Good. A topic change. He can roll with that. He doesn't know anything about constellations, but that's okay. There's a small gift of gab he can put to use.

"What's it matter what they're supposed to be? You can just name 'm yourself. Nobody's gonna try and stop you, I'm pretty sure."

[onlyasign]

"I know. But we used to use them to navigate, and it's strange that they're different here." Not that Sufferer really needs navigation, when there's only a limited number of places to go, but still. "It's about the only thing I miss about Alternia."

[stridercentric]

By now, they're approaching the bar that Bro has in mind, so he speeds up his stride just a bit. "Huh... I dunno if it's the same thing, but you could paint your ceiling black and then draw Alternia's constellations on there."

It's what Bro would do if he were in that position, anyway. If you miss something from your own world, try and duplicate it if it's possible. Or just replace it. There's no other choices anyway.

[onlyasign]

Sufferer actually stops walking for a moment at that suggestion, then hurries to catch up. "That's a great idea! I wonder if I could figure out a way to string up little lights too?" Sufferer no, that's a terrible plan, you should just ask Darkleer.

[stridercentric]

"Oh man. That'd be kind of amazing. You'd have your own starry sky under the starry sky."

Once he reaches the bar door, he pushes it open with one hand and stands back so Sufferer can enter. He's not even really thinking about what a gentlemanly gesture that is, he's just doing it.

[onlyasign]

While Bro might not realize he's being a gentleman, Sufferer does, and he nods at him as he walks through the door. "Thank you." He heads towards the bar itself; he doesn't drink often, but he certainly knows how, and orders a beer immediately.

[stridercentric]

Yes, beer. Good. None of those pussy drinks. Bro orders the same thing as he sits down at the bar, then slides a bowl of peanuts towards the Sufferer across the counter. Even in the semi-darkness of this place, he's still not removing his shades. He's just that good at seeing in the dark.

[onlyasign]

"Thank you." Sufferer likes peanuts, but since he's been fed already, he doesn't start pigging them down this time. No, he shows restraint and instead just takes a fistful. He sips his beer, enjoying the foam. "What's your favorite beer?"

He doesn't even comment on the shades, well aware that all Striders have vision like cats and can see in the dark.

[stridercentric]

Favorite beer? What kinda question is that? Beer is beer. If it were apple juice, that's another story. Apple juice has a variety of brands and brews and tastes. Only the true gentleman knows how to pick his AJ. But beer?

"Uh, I dunno. The alcoholic kind. I usually just grab a few sixpacks of Bootlegweiser or some shit." He picks up his own glass and swirls the contents around a little, watching the foam bubble in response. "The kind they serve at bars tastes better, but it's only one glass at a time so that's still a bullshit way to go."

[onlyasign]

Sufferer has yet to be educated on the intricacies of apple juice.

He takes Monsieur Plush Rump out of his hood and sets him up on the bar, missing the bartender's sidelong glance at the puppet. "Do you drink at home a lot then?" That sounds depressing, especially since, to the best of Sufferer's knowledge, Bro lives alone with Dave. "Do friends come over and drink with you?"

[stridercentric]

The moment Monsieur Plush Rump is set down, Bro grins widely and shoots him an ironic little wink from behind his shades. He loves free advertising. At the mention of "friends", though, that grin fades away again.

"Uh, no. Just me, back in Texas. Can't have too many loud drinking binges when you've got a kid in the apartment, you know. Gotta be responsible and set the right example and all that shit." He's totally not using Dave as an excuse for his lack of a social life. Nope.

[onlyasign]

"Ah." Poor Bro! Sufferer didn't have a lot of interaction during the first part of his life, but he more than made up for it later on. He's beginning to think these Striders have a lot more going on beneath the surface than they show the world. He lifts his beer glass in a salute. "Well, if you want to drink here, you can always call me, all right?"