animus_network | 4th Time in Text

Is something wrong?

[That's not usually a reaction to watching this movie.]

--....

[... She's not certain whether or not there is, honestly.]

Not exactly. But-- I think I know her. [She's kind of already contemplating the alternate universe-related implications of this dfjgbdkfgbdg] Or at least, some version of her.

Oh. I guess, yeah. That would be awk...ward. [Wow, that's kind of weird.]

That seems pretty cool though.

Well-- she is a good person. And very special, too. [PRINCESS OF HEART AND ALL THAT.]

I guess... maybe this is what her past was like, if this timeline is anything like the one in my worlds.

It's-- fascinating, actually.

[Now that she's gotten past the initial weirdness and can think about it more clearly. ONCE A CREEPER ALWAYS A CREEPER--]

I can see why she'd be a good person. [This is an odd conversation.]

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if you existed in another world as something else. This place seems to have a knack for that.

[Like his alternate purple self. That was weird at first.]

Mm. Beast is lucky to have her around, I think. [Very odd.] Not everyone would be strong enough or patient enough to deal with his... well, him. [Not that she thinks he's a bad guy, exactly, he's just... got some Issues.]

[Nod.] I've thought about that before. There are many people from my worlds who have met their alternate selves here. I imagine it must be very strange. [Pause. She seems to be contemplating this.] It makes me wonder if maybe there's a 'me' out there who's-- [-- Whoops, no, she... stops, then presses her lips together for a second before stretching them into a smile, and she shakes her head.] ... I suppose if I ever find out, it'll probably be here. [There's a moment of silence again, then, half-joking,] You wouldn't happen to know of any movies I'm in, would you?

Well, he seems to have a lot of problems. [This is really weird. Talking about people who he thought were fictional but are actually real in someone's world. He'll never look at Disney the same way again.]

Alternate selves isn't really all that new to me, so I guess I'm a little desensitized to it. [Although he was always kind of resigned to it. But he's not really going to talk about that because it's better left unsaid.] Not really. You probably existed in my world as a normal person or something. It's possible you could have taken on a different name completely or something. [Not that it matters because the world got destroyed, but it's kind of a bitter sweet moment to think that maybe she lived somewhere at the same time as him.]

Yes.... He does have quite a temper. [As well he shouldn't, considering how many similar cases there are in the franchise.] But-- it must be very hard, living with a curse like that.

[There's a blink at that first part; one more thing to note about him. She's content to let it pass without comment as well. That next part, though, makes her straighten slightly, apparently quite intrigued by that idea.] You really think so? [Bittersweet indeed. She relaxes again slowly, looking thoughtful.] ... Huh. That's--.... [She's not certain what that is.] ... A nice thought. Even if it is sort of odd. [A her that's whole, maybe? And free-- but perhaps even that's too much of a dream.]

Well, yeah. If someone I always thought existed in a fiction movie could actually exist somewhere else, it's possible you could have existed as someone else in a different universe. I already met an alternate version of me. I've met alternate versions of my friends. [And he's even had a hand in creating alternate versions of himself, to some extent.] I mean, meeting yourself is weird, but in most situations, it wouldn't be possible. This place just kind of bends physics.

[She nods, seeming to consider this carefully.] ... I suppose it really wouldn't be that unbelievable. I know quite a few people who have doubles here. [Her head tilts slightly, one way and then the other, her eyes trailing down toward her hands before she realizes she should probably be looking up.] I wonder what she'd be like. -- The other me, I mean.

Probably a lot like you. I mean, I think you're pretty fine as yourself. I don't think I'd like other you as much as I like you.

[Oh shit. Oh god. Please read that as platonic. PLEASE READ THAT AS PLATONIC. It's so hard to be platonic. Fuck. His life is ruined. Why did he say that.]

[She pauses, looking over at him without a word for a few seconds, then... she smiles warmly.]

Really--...? I don't know about that, but--... thank you. That's very sweet of you, Dave.

[Fortunately for him, she reads most thinks as platonic.]

[That's a good thing. Because he'd die if she figured it out.]

I'm just being honest. I mean, that's why we're hanging out or whatever.

I suppose that makes sense...!

[That warmth is still very much in her eyes, even as she lowers them, still considering that statement. They raise again before too long, her smile growing shyer but no less sincere.]

Thanks, Dave. I like you, too.

[Platonically, of course. c:]

And I like hanging out with you. I'd be happy to do this again some time...!

[Even if there's still plenty more time to watch movies together and such today, too! This is a very good thing, as far as she's concerned.]

What? Shit, you don't have to thank me.

[His heart is full of dokis, oh my god. So much dokis. Senapi noticed him.]

We can do this however many times you want. Whenever you want. I don't do a hell of a lot here.

[Well, he does keep himself pretty busy, but that's not the same thing.]

I'm sorry. [(She doesn't look sorry. As far as she's concerned, he deserves the gratitude.)]

[Hey, he's a very noticeable kohai, okay. Fortunately or otherwise, senpai is however oblivious to those dokis.]

I'd like that...! After all-- there are plenty of movies to watch, right? More than we could get through in one day. [By the looks of things, anyway. The idea seems to be a pleasant one, for her.]

Yeah. It'd probably take awhile to get through all these movies considering you've never watched a movie before this. [But he can make sure she only watches the best movies obviously. Although he might throw a Nic Cage movie in there for the sake of her being able to say she had seen one.]

Well, other than the first one. [Which, ironically, DID have Nic Cage in it. Oops?] But-- good. I'm glad to have something like that to look forward to. I can hardly wait. [Not that she doesn't appreciate the movies they're watching today, of course.]

First one? What was that? [Oh god.] We have plenty of other stuff too. Like video games. You ever play video games? Because I'm going to make you a champ before you know it. You'll cream everyone else at SquiddleKart or something.

It was called Con Air. It--.... [... She's. Trying to find a nice way to say this.] ... It was kind of... violent. [Her poor, innocent eyes. ;;] But I could understand why people would like movies, after I saw that. [--!] Video games...? No, not really. [She pauses, considering this for a moment. ... Well, if it means getting to hang out with Dave more often,] But that sounds like fun. Okay, then...! Teach me everything there is to know about them. [All the things! (An exaggeration, of course.)]

Con Air. You watched that with John, didn't you. I know no one else who would actually like that movie and make everyone else watch it that isn't John. [No one can escape Con Air. Not as long as John is around. Christ.] Well, it's a really shitty action movie, so it requires like fifty explosions at least.

I will. You'll be the master of Squiddle Kart and you can play with me and Jade.

...! Yes...! How did you--? [-- Oh. There's her explanation right there.] You're right. He organized something for that a while back, one of the times he was here. I was curious. [Pause.] I didn't exactly have any way of figuring out whether it was good or not. [Relatively speaking, she means.]

Oh...! Thank you. That sounds like a lot of fun. But... I guess first I'll have to find out what a Squiddle Kart is.

He's my best bro. It's basically a subject that constantly gets brought up in conversation. [He doesn't sound annoyed though. He likes John and talking to John. Even if it's about dumb things like Con Air.] If John recommends it, you can probably just say it sucks. He has shit tier taste in movies.

Most people probably don't know what a Squiddle is. That seems to be something special from my universe.

[-- Wow, Dave, so rude. Except she can't help laughing.] I'll keep that in mind. But-- I'm glad that you two are friends. He seemed nice.

Well, then, what is it? Teach me, please.

Yeah. No. He's a total asshole, but like he's a really great asshole. Shit, does that even make sense?

I think he's just an asshole to me though.

It's a squid. It looks like an octopus, honestly. Maybe it's an octopus. God, there's a reason I didn't get into these fuckers.

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