twinArmageddons

“So,” he flopped on Sollux’s bed, devious grin on his face. He looked decidedly sinister, and that was either a great sign or a horrible sign.

“I’ve been up to something interesting.”

“And I think you might be interested in helping. If only because the end-game of this is really screwing with people. I could use a hacking partner-in-crime. Literal, not metaphorical. At least, some of this is technically illegal, but aren’t we all just floating around in some metaphysical state of being that may or may not be fully confirmed as a work of our synapses firing rapidly while we sleep in some hyperbaric chamber.”

@bliindary​

[You couldn’t help but arch a brow lightly at Houka. Of course he would come up with some sort of devious plan that could get anyone in trouble. But lets be honest- if it was anyone else, they would be getting caught- not the two hackers. That he could say with confidence, even if he was in his low state of mind.]

SOLLUX: depends 0n h0w much y0u are screwing with s0me0ne. i’m sure y0u can impress me with y0ur idea, it’s n0t like y0u w0uld let me d0wn, ehehe.

[How could he?]

SOLLUX: i can’t believe y0u w0uld assume i w0uldn’t d0 s0mething illegal? i hack the systems in this place 0nce 0r twice. i’m sure it w0uldn’t g0 bad 0n whatever rec0rd that is being kept 0f us 0f 0ur “crime”. SOLLUX: even if there was s0me rec0rd, they sh0uldn’t exist.

[You smirk  as he turn and give him your full attention.]

john really can’t tell. the guy just has some sort of monotone to him and he could guess that he actually is impressed with what he said? it wasn’t even on purpose, either. 

“no, no! that’s not what i meant. i just don’t know if you knew most of them…” he pauses. “oh, wait. i guess you did spend a whole lot of time in the dream bubbles, did you? god, it’s been so long that i don’t even remember.” he pinches the bridge of his nose, trying to think. all he remembers are pirates, a party and sollux getting flown away by two pirate girls. 

“anyways, how long have you been here?”

[Oh yeah. It was fun messing with some humans from time to time. Not that he wouldn’t warm up to them eventually. Some are just more tolerable then others. He didn’t want to list examples now because it would be way too obvious, and surely anyone could figure that out on their own if they had the right mind to do so.]

SOLLUX: even if it t00k y0u l0ng en0ugh t0 realize that, i am pr0ud 0f y0u. y0u get tw0 thumbs up f0r the eff0rt.

[And you proceed to bring two thumbs up.]

SOLLUX: 0h yeah, that was pr0bably the last time we saw 0ne an0ther. y0u sh0uld have bailed when y0u had the chance.

“It’s okay, really! I mean..I own a bakery and a lot of people come in not knowing how to pay. It’s really not a problem.” While there was a surprising amount of people around that didn’t know how to use the Spirale currency system, Mizi had no issue helping them out. He knew what it was like to be flustered and confused. He didn’t want others to suffer the same without a bit of help.

“And if it helps, um, everything concerning real currency here is electronic. So..if someone says they’ll pay cash for something, they’re lying to you.”

[You take what the other says carefully. You were wrong to try and use someone like him around here, and that just made you feel kind of sorry about it. Though he didn’t seem too bad to have around. Choose your friends carefully as others may say. Guess he really wouldn’t be bad to keep around despite being here and there for a while.]

SOLLUX: w0w. makes it pretty c0nvenient to just bot have any actual m0ney 0n y0u. g00d t0 kn0w.

[You don’t say anything for a moment before you thought it be good to know about the other a bit.]

[Text]: If you weren’t back together at the time, why would you feel bad about it at all?

This was the wrong person to have this conversation with, Sollux.

[Text]: We don’t completely share a brain, so I can’t say for sure. [Text]: But I don’t think he’d take that poorly. [Text]: I’m not entirely sure how it would come up in conversation in the first place. [Text]: Furthermore, he’ll probably just collect data on your experience, as he does.

[text]: fuck i d0n’t kn0w, it’s like kicking a puppy if he finds 0ut. i t0ld y0u it was just a feeling 0f anxi0ty. [text]: y0u never kn0w. 0ne day i walk int0 y0ur st0re and they b0th happen t0 be there and

[...Wait a fucking minute. THIS ISN’T SOME GOD DAMN ROMCOM KK FORCE YOU TO WATCH! Whatever thought process you were going to have completely stops. You want to smack yourself for being deluded by one of his stupid damn films!]

[Text]: I can’t fix an issue I know nothing about. I need evidence, Sollux, not feelings.

Emotionally reading between the lines was, and never will be, Iori’s forte.

[Text]: Is this an ‘I slept with him’ something stupid or an ‘I killed him’ something stupid.

Rather than give a response, his eyebrow raised in a ‘yeah, okay’ gesture.

[Text]: Rather not meet in an “they’ll both be annoying” way or a “that would be dangerous” kind of way.

[Text]: For the record, I liked Eridan. The fact you two were black-flirting with each other didn’t really come to mind as a business decision. [Text]: You don’t even work here.

“Even a lack 0f teeth can be a lisp if y0u try hard enough.” He laughed, but there was part of him that didn’t find this amusing at all. That must be the other part of Sollux he’d talked about back then. That there was half of him alive, that cared. And half of him that didn’t at all. It was jarring to feel, but at the very least he could keep a bemused look on his face for now.

“Despite the accusations of being a demon, no fangs to be found in there. Not even sharp canines to match my dog nickname. Just human teeth.” Rolling over on the bed, he cocked his head to the side a bit, observing Sollux in his own body. Between the glasses and the sweater, it was pretty easy for him to hide his expression.

Which, really, was the point of dressing that way, but still, he was curious.

“So…How does it feel? Being me. Since I have a bunch of…Not so fun memories jumbled in my half dead head over here - how does it feel to be alive? Having fun in there?”

SOLLUX: ha ha. i’m laughing my ass 0ff as we speak.

[No you weren’t.]

[But despite the weird anatomy you were use to on yourself- it felt kind of strange... in a good way. You weren’t dealing with so much with yourself as before. You still think you aren’t the best human ever, but that was something you two seem to share, yet put up a front of being good with it. Though thinking about how you two handle your own situations is pretty different. It’s kind of like a refreshing start to see- an idea of how Houka actually thought, how he thinks, you can kind of grasp what is usually on his mind.]

[In a way.]

SOLLUX: well f0r y0u it may be b0ring, but f0r me, it isn’t s0 bad. i mean, we don’t have anything in common with 0ur anat0my.  SOLLUX: s0 it feels like y0u want t0 try and see whatever results y0u can get while y0u’re in my b0dy.

[Well don’t you dare think he won’t take advantage of that. You’ll do the same as well anyway.]

[Though the question lingers for a moment before you walk up to him. Looking down at yourself is really unsightly... but with what Houka thinks, he likes it.]

SOLLUX: it’s different. i d0n’t kn0w if i hate it 0r n0t. at least y0u d0n’t hear the inevitable d00m 0f 0thers ar0und y0u. i guess that’s n0thing t0 be w0rried ab0ut. SOLLUX: it’s... well, i miss being alive again. like fully alive.

[You sit down on the bed to express what you are feeling.]

SOLLUX: it just feels oddly satisfying. like a mini vacati0n fr0m my usual th0ughts. it’s n0t always nice where my mind w0nders t0.  SOLLUX: s0 y0u’ll at least understand it? maybe?

…How interesting~

[Text]: And why is that, Sollux?

The winter was both kind and cruel for a man like Galekh. It made him feel even colder, chilled to the very bone by blood and air, a frozen icicle amongst the world, but it also made him feel strangely at peace. The winter made him feel alive, crisp and alert, a wakeup call to shove the world into his face. And the aesthetics of winter, the warm clothes and hot drinks, the children playing in the frosty white, wasn’t bad too.

That being said, despite his love for the season, he’d… rather not deal with the cold. His hands were clammy enough as it is.

He had opted for a more interior event, inside a warming bookstore combined thankfully and cozily with a local coffeeshop. There he could warm, and there he could relax, in the sort of environment he was a little more used to compared to the outside Winterfes activities.

Though amongst the patrons of the soft little world, there was… a troll he didn’t know, a not-so strange stranger amongst the sea. That was an unfamiliar sight. Suppose Galekh had gotten used to the situation him and Tagora were in for a while, solitary within the world so unused to trolls and their ways, that the idea of seeing another of his own species aside from his rampant teal was so… alien, to him.

It was a little breath of fresh air, in all honesty. He knew he had seen glimpses of his candy corn brethren along the streets, but it was nice to have a bit more static proof of the revival.

He decided to take his seat nearby, curious and inquisitive about the one he’d never met, his own cup of coffee to warm his blueblood hands.

“Pardon my intrusion on what seems like such a solitary moment for you. We haven’t met before, have we?”

[You don’t usually go out. You don’t exactly like being out, and the cold doesn’t really help your case. Though you don’t feel the cold as much as other cooler blood trolls do, it’s still a bother. You rather be back in your hive, getting back to making some codes and preparing future codes to send to others that may or may not have their phones explode. or contain some virus. Who knows, at this point, it’s a mystery.]

[Today you came out to have an idea of what people are actually doing out of their homes; are they hanging out with others, or are they staying home and watching funny tik tok videos all day. Whatever the case may be, you conclude that majority of them prefer to be out and doing activities then indoors.]

[You dig through your phone to see if there is anything worth reading before you sense someone sitting close by, his speech directed towards you.]

[With your good eye, you were able to note out the obvious features. A troll, and a blue blood. You almost were surprise that he just suddenly spoke to you, as you thought about another troll that was in your circle- well, just on the edge of that. You really can’t stand Equis half the time. Though you’re in the mood to give this guy a chance or two.]

[You hadn’t really climbed anything since you got stuck a few times during the apocalypse this world had dropped you in. Or, not anything high, at least. You don’t exactly count hoisting yourself into the dumpsters you’ve begun to frequent as climbing.]

[So now was your time to shine, you supposed. Maybe you could make a friend along the way here.]

CHARUN: Wasnt expecting you to

[With that, you were off. The security camera was near an awning that you could very easily hoist yourself up onto once you got a bit of leverage - and so, using a nearby bench as a stepping stool, you gripped onto the top of the doorframe, pulling yourself up and maneuvering your way onto the awning. It wasn’t the most sturdy thing in the world, but it could surely hold your weight for a little bit. You weren’t exactly heavy or anything.]

[You reach out towards the security camera, gripping the pole holding it in place before realizing you may have made a… little bit of an oversight here.]

CHARUN: .. CHARUN: You wouldnt happen to have a screwdriver or anything like that

CHARUN: Things fastened in CHARUN: I dont know what you want it for so i dont wanna just CHARUN: .. CHARUN: Yank it out

SOLLUX: ...

[You don’t say anything. Only because bringing tools never came to mind. You could always just use your powers to get it down, loose and screws, undo any nails, all that stuff without the actual tools. Now that someone was there to help out- they aren’t going to have the same powers as you do.]

[And there they say that proving something you should have foreseen a long time ago.]

SOLLUX: sadly i d0n’t. i wasn’t really thinking 0f bringing t00ls. 

[You rub your temple to think this over. Is there really no other way to get it. You would be the one that has to get them and the camera down. Probably. Please you hope they say something along the lines of ‘don’t worry i can get down’ or other.]

“Ah…right, okay. I’ll be quick about it then.” Mizi looked back down at his phone and pulled up the Spirale Bank app; now that it seemed like he had a time limit, he was sweating a bit. “Here, see?” He held his phone up for Sollux to view. 

“It’s really simple to use. Every store in Spirale has a machine that will scan your phone so you can pay for stuff. Even uh– food carts! Easy peasy!”

[Oh my god now you REALLY felt like a complete asshole. trying to troll someone to getting you something and they just act like... like that! That just made you feel like an idiot. But you don’t say anything as you watch him do his own thing. The least you can do is...make up for it?]

SOLLUX: 0h yeah. super simple. SOLLUX: ... SOLLUX: thanks f0r sh0wing me. SOLLUX: and i’m s0rry i s0unded like such an ass. i l00k like a m0r0n in fr0nt 0f y0u, and here y0u are sh0wing me s0mething i sh0uld have kn0wn. SOLLUX: s0 thanks.

“hey! i know a lot of the trolls! in fact, more than half… i think.” he holds up his hand and starts counting them with his fingers. it all comes down to… well. six or seven. he doesn’t know if he should count the ones in the dream bubbles but they’re all iterations of their different selves. sure, he’s seen the other half… maybe. but he hasn’t really talked to them. 

“i mean. i know six or seven of your group but i think i’ve only met meenah from her group.” he scratches his head, trying to remember. god, everything is a mess and there’s far too many trolls to remember.

SOLLUX: if i didn’t kn0w better i say y0u were trying t0 get 0n my g00d side with that half j0ke. well guess what. SOLLUX: y0u did. c0ngratulati0ns.

[Your expression doesn’t change but you really do mean it. It’s up to John to figure it all out. You can’t always give away the answers. But good to know that he knows at least half or possibly more of them. No doubt there are a few lurking around that you don’t even know about. Well, that shouldn’t bother you.]