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[laserguy]

[Quentin's still not back home.

He takes a long breath, mostly to get his feelings somewhat under control. His roommate is a huge asshole, but he's worried and everything. Maybe he should just do text, but whatever, he's going through with this.]

If anyone has seen Quentin Quire around, tell him to stop fucking around and come back. He's uh.

[Fuck, what is his normal hair color?????]

He's a dweeb with a mohawk and glasses. Usually wearing some stupid t-shirt with a slogan on it. Anyway, tell him that his room is starting to smell.

[Please don't be gone. Fuck. Did he get lost in the middle of all this bullshit? Trapped somewhere? Sent 'home?' They just went through that whole stupid thing with the alternative life and now Aldrip is a city, so he's feeling all kind of ways. He's really confused and upset and he doesn't know what he's supposed to do, but he's starting here.]

Oh, I'm calling a mandatory 'we're going to the movie theater' event to all members of TWAT club. Don't feel like going? Too bad, don't care, you're going-- that's what mandatory means. Leader's orders.

[He just wants to do something normal with his friends okay--]

Comments

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[opheliac]

Relax, Hot eyes. He's probably off doin' what he does best. Being a douchebag.

[laserguy]

[Oh... hey Jinx. Guess she sounds normal and everything? Normal as in pissy about Quentin. Maybe that's a good thing??]

Maybe, but a lot of crazy crap happened lately, you know? What if he and some others got lost in the whole... reality shift.

[How else is he going to describe this?? Maybe he shouldn't sound so worried, but too late. Maybe some remnants from how they were... orphanage friends in that weird reality.]

[opheliac]

If he's gone for good, then I'll only be bummed out, 'cause I missed the opportunity to blow him one last kiss with my pistol.

( there's a brief pause on her end, but then she continues on: )

... But really, Scott, if he got swept up in all that junk, why care? He was a jerk to you, a lousy guy to me, and acted like he was mister Know-it-all to everyone else. I might not be a cutesy or a pretty lil' nice girl like all the chicks here, but at least sometimes I care about people. — He made it perfectly clear that he didn't give much of a rat's ass about anyone, but himself.

'Sides, he said he wanted all of us to deal with our own problems. If he's gettin' ripped away by some heebie jeebie realm spacey thing, he can eat his words and handle it by himself.

[laserguy]

[Even now, he still has to wonder if that threat is an idle one or not. Just like before, it's probably best if he just... doesn't ask about that and focus on the stuff he actually can answer.]

...He was a jerk, yeah, and more annoying than not, but. [He was a mutant, he was like Scott, and the only person that at least kind of knew him. Granted, it was a different version of him that apparently went crazy for a bit and got possessed by a fire bird, but still. Not to mention that Quentin actually kind of... helped him out with that, or at least defended him. It was nice.

Helps that was one of their last interactions before things went weird. It really mattered.]

He did care, Jinx. I know that much.

[Defending Quentin Quire???? Geez, the world is going to end soon, huh. Already felt like it anyway.] Even if his head was up his ass 90% of the time, I don't want him gone.

[opheliac]

( she hums a short chuckle, but it's bitter with a dash of hurt sprinkled in if he can decipher it well enough. )

If he cared, then he only cared about you. ( there's another break there as she does her damndest to not feel anything. with this new place/world, she vowed to herself that she will no longer let anyone hurt her again. if anyone is going to feel heartache, cry, or hang someone out to dry, she is going to be the one to do it. she's never going to be on the receiving end of that pain ever again. ) — He was gone for two months before, remember? Then he popped up out of nowhere. So he's probably doin' one of those "me time" things, and then he'll turn up, and bail again.

[laserguy]

You know that's not true.

[He manages to hear that hurt in her voice. Long ago, he probably wouldn't have, but time maturing and just getting to know her has made Scott more aware. He's not just stuck in his own thoughts and angst anymore.]

He was pissed about our friends dying. And he was mad at me. [Which still stings in a lot of ways. It's not like Scott's forgotten what Quentin told him when they got back from that island, blaming him for Yosuke and Izuku dying. He never really forgiven him for that, but... he knows now that he didn't mean it either.] This is different.

[He thinks so, at least.] He'd tell me to fuck off at the very least.

[opheliac]

( this is something new. quentin was pissed, sure, but she didn't know the full extent of his anger beyond that the fact she wasn't there to help, and she got injured during her solo mission. but now seeing the bigger picture and not just from a small angle, it just infuriates her a little more. )

All the more freakin' reason to not care where the hell he is! — So he was angry about some people dying, fine, whatever. But takin' it out on you? Me? That's the most screwed up thing you can do. Even I wouldn't stoop that low to hurt someone I love like that.

You can go ahead and believe he cares about us all you want, but action speaks way louder than words in my eyes. And until he proves to me I mean something or anything to him, he's not worth the fuss.

[laserguy]

It just wasn't some people, Jinx--

[His voice rises for a moment, clearly upset by her comment, but unlike before, he doesn't lash out further. Instead, Scott takes in a deep breath, holding it in before he says something he regrets. Maybe if all that just happened, he'd be more upset, but it's been a few months, plus he doesn't want to add more to all the shittiness going on by fracturing whatever weird friendship he has with her.]

But you're right, it was shitty of him to do that. And really, I'm still upset with him about it.

[...]

I want to at least try searching for him. He'd do the same. [........Probably.] Besides, he can't prove anything to you if he's hurt and missing.

[opheliac]

( she catches the growth of his tone and, like scott, she attempts to not intensify the situation when a lot of other circumstances are colliding together. especially when there's a question lingering on her tongue about their "other life", and whether their friendship carried-forward.

they're not best friends, but... she enjoyed the feeling of having one, though. would he be interested in filling that spot for her? her lips thin tightly on the other side of the phone as her tone lowered into a hush. )

Well... don't get lost. Or something. This place is pretty jumbo, and it gets pretty confusing without a map. But count me out on the search shindig. I'm leavin' him alone, and dealing with my own crap like he wanted. ... If hypothetically, he's still hanging around somewhere.

[laserguy]

[There's a relieved sounding noise coming from Scott's end, clearly less stressed and grateful for this turn of events. Honestly, he half expected her to get mad at him, which is something extremely Unfun and still makes him flinch a bit. He still remembers her pointing a gun at his face and it will always stick with him, no matter if he's forgiven her for it.

He's fine, really.]

I'm not forcing you to search for him, but... if you do see him, can you let me know?

[Although, speaking of her crap.]

...Hey, you doing okay? [Which seems like a dumb question to ask, but Scott's starting there.]

[opheliac]

Yeahyeah, I'll keep an eye out and send him your way if I do.

( if she doesn't punch him in the gut first. but hopefully, the council will let her get away with doing something minor as a jab. especially compared to what she normally does when she is ticked off. at the question, though, jinx can't help but to smile over it. )

You mean besides bashing my head and tryin' to figure out what's real or not? That's a typical every day for me.

[laserguy]

Leave him mostly in one piece.

[Definitely a joke, right....... Scott's definitely joking, but yanno.]

This is real, Jinx. [Well, as real as any of this can be. He's not sure what this reality really is, but.] I mean, it's really weird having all these memories, but I know which one is me. Pretty easy to tell, like me being the local sandwich boy that everyone likes? That's definitely false.

[opheliac]

So... us being best friends...—

( she trails off, muttering this as low as possible, and almost half-hoping scott didn't catch all of her words in time. because what if he doesn't want to be her best friend? she can easily see that, since he seems far closer with other people in aldrip than her. and the thought of it has her heart humming behind her rib cage in jealousy.

scott really has it all, doesn't he? a steady relationship with his girlfriend, happy-go-lucky friends, she hadn't seen anyone get furious or yell at him over things (besides quentin... and... her that one time), and no enemies either. a true golden boy that would blow jayce's status out of the waters. what is he doing different from what she's doing? jinx tried to be nice numerous occasions here, and her life continues to be garbage with mud getting tossed at her face. or maybe it's something as simple as she is a curse and scott isn't damned to hell like she is. a jinx isn't meant to have nice things... no matter how hard she rebels against it. )

— I-I mean, obviously, that's all fake. Why would we be, right? So stupid.

( jinx attempts to bounce back to her aloof and nonchalant attitude. )

We're just... people who chat. And hang out sometimes.

[laserguy]

.....

[This is definitely nearing the top of his list of things that he doesn't want to get into. It's not like he didn't enjoy being best friends with Jinx, far from it, but all of those memories were fabricated, right? He's not an orphan, he never grew up in an orphanage. He may not have the closest relationship with his parents, but he'd never wished them dead. Not to mention his brother being written entirely out of his life. Like he didn't matter or exist.

It's fucked up.

Scott buries his face against his knees for a moment, glad that he's sitting down and making this call. He... he liked being friends with her in that world and he likes being friends with her here, well, usually. It's just.

He doesn't know. Is he supposed to fucking know?? For now, Scott manages to muster up some energy, wanting to at least try for Jinx.]

Come on, Jinx? Really? We do more than just chat and hang out, we're totally friends. And if you want to continue calling me your best friend, I won't complain.

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[opheliac]

... Are you sayin' that just to make me feel better? Because the "others" are telling something else, and I promised them that I'll start listening to them more.

( she feels as if she owes it to her voices to at least hear them out since they helped her "wake up" from the other reality they were in. )

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[laserguy]

[There's just a whole lot to unpack here.]

Seriously? Do you think I'm the type to say whatever just to make people feel better? I don't make stuff up.

[He's confident about the friend thing for sure. As for best friends? It's... just a term, right? Who cares about getting into the nitty gritty about stuff like that.]

Who are the 'others' anyway? They saying crap?

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[opheliac]

I... y'know. "Others".

( the difference between this version of herself and café version is jinx isn't as confident and open about her voices. she tends to dance around the subject and keep it as vague as possible. if people are able to piece the puzzle together on their own, more weight is lifted off her shoulders. )

The... same "others" in the other life we were in. Tellin' me things weren't right...

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[laserguy]

[......]

Are you talking about those voices in your head?

[It has always worried Scott when Jinx mentioned this sort of thing to him. She talked about hallucinations in this world before and combining that knowledge with the stuff he learned from being her 'best friend' in that Other Aldrip, he can put two and two together. But what is he supposed to say-- Other Scott, the one that only existed in Fake Aldrip, sort of knew what to do and he tries to draw on that.

First time he ever wanted to.]

...What are they saying? You know I'll listen.

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[opheliac]

Yeah.

( admitting that feels so damn hard for her, like she is confessing to something she should keep within her even beyond the grave. but the chosen aren't all idiots (despite her thinking so), and many have caught on about her not being right in the head -- whether they voice it or not. and if several kept their memories like her and scott, then they know about mylo, claggor, and the rest. )

Just... a lotta "I told you so"s and how I oughta listen to 'em because they were right before. ... It's mostly about Quen these days, but I should still keep my distance from everyone. People are good at lying when they need to be.

[laserguy]

[Whatever is going on... Scott thinks that she shouldn't be alone, even if she is kind of crazy and everything. Maybe that's more of a reason not to push her away-- at least to Scott. He's her friend.]

Just because they've might been right about one thing doesn't mean they're right about others. I don't want you to keep your distance, okay? That sort of thing sucks.

[Being alone and isolated from everyone really sucks. Maybe he's only experienced it in the context of his old high school, but he really felt that way. Probably why he ditched class often and felt so aimless back then.]

[opheliac]

( she hums an amusing chuckle, her teasing smirk oozing through their call as she grazes her boots against concrete and loose pebbles. )

Oh, really? Can't have the puppy whining and scratching on doors, huh? — That'll keep everyone up at night.

( a little rude to say, she knows, but jinx tries to bring some humor into this whole conversation, even if it's dry and not at all funny. well, only to her anyway. )

[laserguy]

[Puppy......

Scott sucks in a breath, mostly to stop himself from being pissy at the comment.]

Jinx, I'm serious.

[opheliac]

( thank goodness he can't see her rolling her eyes, but her groaning is inescapable. now whose the one whining? )

I knooooow you're serious. You're serious about eighty percent of the time. But fine, whatever, jeez. I won't zip off and shut everyone out. But I'm not going to be Miss Chatterbox, either. ... Haven't been in the mood.

[laserguy]

[He protests that comment! He's not serious eighty percent of the time!]

Yeah, well, didn't ask you to be Miss Chatterbox.

[Guess some of that attitude has finally leaked out on his end. Partly because he got what he wanted from her, hopefully.]

[opheliac]

Ooo, aren't we feisty all the sudden?

( she hums a light chuckle on the other side of his line. )

You gonna tell me how I need to check in with you next?