Brofight and Aftermath

Dave: Jade is suddenly a victim of the Red Miles.
DAVE: > hey
DAVE: > so
DAVE: > guess whos suddenly sick of
DAVE: > well
DAVE: > absolutely everything hes been doing for the last for fucking ever
DAVE: > spoiler alert
DAVE: > its me
DAVE: > im bored as fuck
DAVE: > just cant fucking concentrate on music anymore and got tired of drawin pretty quick
DAVE: > wanna come over and hang out

JADE: > i didnt expect to hear from you until rose and i got a hold of you, again

JADE: > i definitely want to visit! ive been getting a little stir crazy here, too

JADE: > just give me a bit and ill be there soon!

JADE: Jade doesn't take long to get herself cleaned up and ready to go, having spent a better part of the day tending to her plants. She'd been spending a while thinking about how best to breach the subject of AR Security's sudden interest in purchasing SkaiaNet shares with Ms. Claire, but it wasn't a comfortable conversation. Between that and Aradia's situation, she needed a distraction. So to Dave's she goes!

DAVE: > cool
DAVE: > im all dressed n shit so no worries about seeing me in my undies
DAVE: > doors locked so knock and announce yourself when you get here
DAVE: > thx

JADE: About an hour or so later, there's a knock on Dave's front door.

JADE: > im here!

DAVE: There's some thumping from the other side of the door, then a pause, and then another thump before the door is quickly unlocked and held open for Jade by Dave. There's a cinderblock on the floor near the door. "Hey."

JADE: He gets a raised eyebrow for his trouble. A small bag that looks like some sort of leaf satchel is at her hip, and she's dressed in a flowy, knee length skirt and her "MAXIMUM SCIENCE" shirt. She steps in quickly, smooshing herself a little to get in. "Still worried, huh?" She gives him a sympathetic smile and holds up something she'd been hiding behind her. "I got us burritos! Hopefully, this will cheer you up."

DAVE: "No shit." He says, shutting the door quick and locking it. He leaves the cinderblock nearby- seems he's been using it to reach the peephole. Haha, he's short. At the offer of burritos, he does give a half-smile. "Shit, I don't think I've reached that level of depression yet where burritos can't cheer me up. Wanna sit down?" He meanders over to the couch, leaning against the arm.

JADE: "Yes! Catch." Jade takes out one of the fat, aluminum wrapped cylinders, checks to make sure she grabbed the right one and tosses it to him. She takes her's out as she sits on the couch, bouncing a little as she does. "I'm glad the cleaning I did when I was here last hasn't been undone super quickly."

DAVE: Dave catches the Burrito Cylinder with a bit of a fumble, then grabs the TV remote before plomping down beside her. "I guess it's easier to stay clean when it's actually clean. Thanks, by the way. You didn't have to clean my crap."

JADE: "The alternative was leaving it alone and I wouldn't have been able to do that." Jade unwraps her burrito and takes a bite, smiling at the taste. "Did I ever send you more pictures of cute ducks? I feel like that's something I should have done. Things get blurry and weird when I've been working for a while."

DAVE: "You've sent me quite a lot of cute ducks, actually." He chuckles a little, unwrapping his burribo. "I really appreciate it, never thought a bunch of ducks could make me feel so much better."

JADE: "That's because cute animals always do that. My favorite is that gif of the laughing duck! The one that looks like it just remembered a joke? I bet that duck has a great sense of humor."

DAVE: Dave snorts just thinking about it. "God, don't remind me, I'll end up spitting burrito everywhere." Speaking of, he takes a big ol' bite, and then talks with his mouth full after a little chewing. "Wanna watch something?"

JADE: "I don't have anything in mind. I've been watching this series called Marble Hornets with Rose. It was scary at first, but now it's just frustrating. Why don't they just throw something at the monster? Or buy a gun and shoot it? I'm sorry, but if it can physically interact with the world, I have a hard time believing it can't be harmed, somehow." Jade wiggles in her seat, getting comfortable as she criticizes what was probably a really scary show to other people.

DAVE: "Isn't that that thing with the Slenderman? Never really got into it. Not much for creepypasta and its derivatives." Dave shrugs. "I was thinking something more like, a movie or cartoons or something."

JADE: "Now you're speaking my language." She pronounces it 'lang-you-age.' "Let's watch something fun. Oh! Maybe Balt-" She pauses, frowning as she looks to one side. "Oh, right. Nevermind. Ummm...Maybe some Bugs Bunny stuff?"

DAVE: "Looney Toons? Alright. Gimme a sec." Beep beep boop Dave does some stuff with his Very Modern TV and soon, there are Looney Toons on TV. Classic Looney Toons. "Man, it's been ages since I watched this shit."

JADE: "They hold up very well, considering how old they are. I wonder if my grandpa ever got to see the premiere of some of these." Burrito munch is go.

DAVE: "Oh man, that'd be neat. There's apparently a new Looney Toons series now that might be alright, but I haven't checked it out." Dave shrugs, eating his burrito pretty fast between talking. Someone's hungry. Usually he's a slow eater.

JADE: "Maybe. I haven't kept up with a lot of new cartoons. If it's based on the Looney Toons, it couldn't be that bad." She giggles at how fast he's burning through the burrito. "Easy, you don't want to choke."

DAVE: "Oh, Jade. It can be bad if based on the Looney Toons." He snorts. "If you don't wanna be heavily disappointed, don't look up Loonatics Unleashed." He pauses, glancing down at his burrito, and then takes an extra large bite to spite her, his cheeks bulging. Chipmunk boy.

JADE: She pokes one of his cheeks. "With a name like that, it's probably awful. I'll take your word for it."

DAVE: "Trust me. It is." He says after swallowing at least twice. "What's your favorite Looney Toons episode? Mine's the one where they ruin-slash-improve a production of the Barber of Seville."

anonymous [??] joined chat. ~~ 639 ~~

JADE: "Oh my gosh, I love that one! The part with the flowers popping out of Elmer Fudd's head gets me every time."

??: There's a small noise at the door- very small, almost undetectable next to the sound of the television. The doorknob twitches slightly.

DAVE: Dave certainly doesn't notice anything. "Yeah! That part, and the part where he gives him that really bad shave. That's my favorite part, it gets stuck in my head all the fucking time!"

JADE: Jade giggles at the mental image, completely missing what's happening at the door. Normally, she'd be much better at noticing her surroundings, but she is weak to good conversations and funny cartoons. "The whole thing being animated perfectly to the tune of the music is probably what sells all the gags, too."

DAVE: "Yeah, I think that might be it. It just really brings the whole thing together, and makes it memorable." Dave's finished with his burrito! He wads up the tin foil and tosses it onto the coffee table.

JADE: "At least throw it in the bag," Jade says, admonishing Dave as she grabs the paper bag she'd brought the burritos in and sliding the tinfoil into it. She leaves the bag on the coffee table, grabbing a napkin to help with the little bit of meat juice dribbling down her hands. These steak burritos are worth the mess. She takes another big bite, this time puffing up her own cheeks with burrito.

??: There's a soft click behind them- the sound of the door being very carefull closed. If anyone had been looking, it seemed to have been open for just a second.

DAVE: "Nah. I'm a rebel." He chuckles watching Jade eat. Again, with the sound of the cartoons and the distraction of Jade, he just doesn't notice anything strange. "And weren't you telling me earlier not to choke? Looks who's talkin'."

JADE: That gets Jade's attention. The angle Jade's sitting at, against the furthest arm of the couch and with one leg swung up tucked under her, let's her see the door out of the corner of her eye. She looks at it directly, raising an eyebrow when she sees that no one is dare. Maybe Marble Hornets had gotten to her, after all. Shrugging it off, she swallows a portion of the food in her mouth and turns back to Dave, talking around what she's still eating. "You're right, I should be careful. If I need someone to do the Heimlich, you might not be able to reach!"

DAVE: Dave gasps in mock offense. "How dare you! I'll let you know, that is downright offensive to the vertically chall-"

??: There's a glint of metal, and suddenly the sharp edge of a long, thin blade, a katana, is held to Dave's throat. It is of course held by his Bro, who has a very serious look on his face, under the pointed shades. "Bro. Roof. Now. Bring your sword." He raises an eyebrow. "Time to test your skills, lil man."

anonymous [??] is now Bro Strider [BRO]. ~~ 639 ~~

DAVE: Dave's gone stock-still, his throat twitching as he swallows dryly, his breath held. His eyes are wide behind his shades, and at first he simply... doesn't respond. If this were years ago, it wouldn't be so hard, he'd been used to it, but now... he'd been away for too long. It was terrifying.

JADE: It takes a second for Jade to realize what's going on, but the moment she does, she's moving. All the restraint that Jade had been told to exercise when dealing with the abusive "loved ones" of the people she cared about seeps out of her, quickly replaced by the natural urge to knock the fuck out of immediate threats. The rational part of her brain barely has time to slam the brakes on her. She halts, standing with one foot on the couch, ready to jump over it and try to punch Bro out. But she's been trained better than to attack when she doesn't have a gun and there's a blade to someone's neck. One fist is clenched tight, the other gripping what remains of her burrito like it might provide some sort of advantage. "Let him go."

BRO: Bro doesn't even look at her. "This is none of your business. This is just between me, and my lil Bro." His grip tightens on his swordhilt, the blade still just grazing Dave's skin. "Still waiting on you t' accept, Dave. You know you're overdue."

DAVE: Dave swallows again, wanting to lean away from the blade, but too frozen to move. He finally breathes, a shaky inhalation at first, and he starts to tremble. "I don't... I'm, uh. I'm kinda busy here, Bro."

JADE: "It's my business because you're interrupting us hanging out."

BRO: "Not my fault your in the apartment I pay for." He says, without hesitation. "Technically, I own this place. My name's on the lease." Finally he looks at Jade. "So really, it ain't your business, and I can deinvite you if you don't feel like shutting up and mindin' your own business."

DAVE: "Bro, please." Dave's voice is small, wavering. "I'm sorry, I'll just... I just gotta grab my sword."

JADE: "...Are you expecting him to fight you!? What is wrong with you? I'm done trying to keep up some fake politeness act. You're a disgusting asshole and Dave shoudn't have to put up with this!"

BRO: "I don't recall asking your opinion." He says calmly, finally taking his sword from Dave's neck. "And what else would I be here for? It's a routine. We've been doin' this since he was small, how else would he be anything other than shit at his skills. I taught 'im, that's why, but he's letting himself go slack. So it's time to give him a reminder."

ROSE: Meanwhile, in an indeterminate but presumably islandic location, Rose was standing on a rooftop, having just pulled apart a rolled-over car with as much caution as could be derived from the act of tearing a vehicle in two. Playing jaws of life wasn't the more exciting activity, but it wasn't like she was going to complain about being useful.

DAVE: As soon as the blade is gone from Dave's neck, he practically melts for a moment, before shooting up to his legs, hesitating as Bro talks. He bites his lip, looking down at the floor. He thought he told Jade about this. Did he forget? Or was he too vague.

JADE: Jade looks to Dave, then back to Bro. She doesn't give an inch. Of course Dave was being literal about the sword fight thing. Hearing about it was different from actually seeing how it played out. "He shouldn't have to sword fight you! Your affection shouldn't be a damn contest! What did he ever do to deserve being guilted into risking his life against you?"

BRO: "Are you just gonna keep asking irrelevant questions, or are you gonna let me and my boy do what we need to do?" He puts his free hand on his hip. "You can just leave if you don't like it, I really don't care if you don't. This is for his own good."

DAVE: Dave's sidled around the couch and behind Bro, but he hesitates again, glancinging between Bro and Jade, wanting to say something, but his voice keeps dying in his throat. He'd afraid of Jade getting hurt. He's afraid of retaliation. But at the same time, he wants her help so badly. Brow furrowed, he risks a look at Jade's face, looking so badly like he wants to ask for help.

JADE: There's a long silence where Jade doesn't answer, simply glaring dangers at Bro in the mean time. Breathing out slowly, she closes her eyes and picks up the bag she'd assigned to garbage duty, dropping the remainder of her burrito into it. "Dave, do you have a spare sword or a knife?"

DAVE: "Wh-... whah??"

BRO: "Are you serious?"

JADE: "Hmmm." Jade crosses her arms, and looks to the side as if she's thinking something. "You're right. You'll need a handicap against us both, so I should just stick to my fists."

BRO: "No, are you seriously inviting yourself into someone else's duel? What the hell, girl?" Bro just looks terribly amused.

JADE: Jade's pulled out one of the hair ties she'd brought along in her bag and is starting to do up her hair into a ponytail. "I am. If you're making him do this, he's not doing it by himself."

DAVE: Dave's gone stock still again, eyes wide. He genuinely can't believe his ears. Somehow, he didn't expect this.

BRO: Bro scoffs. "So, lil Dave needs someone to come to his rescue? I knew he'd gotten weak, but I didn't realize he was this weak. But it would take at least two little girls to beat me, wouldn't it?" He glances over his shoulder at Dave, then back at Jade. "But if you're doin' this, you're gonna use a sword. That's how we do this shit. I'm sure Dave's got a spare for you."

DAVE: Dave twitches at Bro's words, and then his expression darkens, from worried and afraid to something more resembling a quietly simmering fury. He's stopped trembling. He takes a sharp breath through his nose, before turning on his heel and heading into his closet. There's some rummaging, and a minute later, he emerges holding the fold-up plasma sword, powered down, by its handle in one hand, and some cheap-looking steel broadsword in the other.

JADE: That gets him another raised eyebrow from Jade. She walks over and silently holds her hand out to take the broadsword. It's not ideal, but she was always good at figuring stuff out quickly.

BRO: "The fuck is that, Dave? You replaced the swords I gave ya with a briefcase, or what?" Bro says, gesturing at the folded sword.

DAVE: "You'll see." He just says quietly, handing off the broadsword to Jade. "Roof?"

BRO: "Yeah, roof."

JADE: Jade gives the broadsword an experimental swing, getting used to the weight. It's relatively light for her, but she's also a dogdamn amazon, so it's par for the course. Turning the blade downward, she waves her empty hand at Dave, gesturing for him to lead the way. "After you, sir knight."

DAVE: Dave leads the way, with Bro following right behind, out the apartment, not even bothering to shut the door behind him. They don't take the elevator, instead Dave marching his way up the stairs without even seemingly getting tired, until they reach the top, and the door to the roof, where Dave steps out.

BRO: Bro follows suit, taking a breath through his nose and letting it out. "Ah, man, it's been too long. Missed doin' this with ya, Dave."

JADE: Following behind Dave, Jade takes a moment to look out at the rooftop. There was certainly a lot of space up here. She doesn't say anything at Bro's comment, letting her frown do the talking. "What are the rules?"

BRO: "The rules are 'don't aim to specifically kill but don't hold back, whoever's left standing wins.'" Bro moves into a ready stance, staring Jade and Dave down. "Y'all are lucky I decided not to bring Lil Cal. Was worried Dave'd gone too soft to deal with him." He wets his lips with his tongue. "Whenever you're ready, ladies."

DAVE: Dave hasn't said a word in several minutes, and remains silent even as Bro talks. But he's clearly seething, and at Bro's last words, he shifts into a stance of his own, hitting the button on the handle he was holding, causing the blade to swiftly unfold with a series of clicks and clanks, the edge igniting with plasma. But he doesn't move, not yet. He's thinking.

BRO: The sight of Dave's new sword actually gets a reaction from bro, his eyebrows raising in surprise. But other than that, he remains at the ready.

JADE: Jade smirks at the sight of Bro reacting to Dave's sword. Despite the situation, she can't help but be proud of herself. She doesn't make a move, yet, but she knows this isn't really her fight. She's back up. As soon as Dave moves, she'll be his support. Lifting the sword to level it at her hips, she keeps it held with one hand, her other hand lifted slightly as a counterbalance to keep herself at the ready.

DAVE: Finally, Dave moves. He dashes forward, sword ready to swing, but at the last second, predicting Bro to retaliate, he reveals it was a feint and pushes to the side, swinging his sword around.

BRO: Bro had, of course, reacted when Dave came at him, waiting until Dave was nearly close enough to attack, he made his move- and for a moment, he literally vanished. He reappeared at what would have been Dave's side and almost behind him, had Dave not feinted and turned with a swing, causing Bro's katana to clang loudly against the flat of Dave's plasma sword.

JADE: Just like she'd planned, Jade sticks to her support role. Of course, she hadn't expected Bro to disappear. He was fast, too fast for a normal person. She thought maybe the light was messing with her or she blinked at a bad moment, but no. It was an unnatural level of speed. She was almost positive Dave was going to get hit until she saw him react. Even without practice, he moved like this was second nature. She'd have been impressed if she was just watching. Right now, she was more focused on the assist. Dashing in, she makes a wide swing to Bro's back. It's another feint, meant to trip him up. As she makes the swing, she's pulls the sword back in close to her and rolls out of the way of their clash to let Dave keep up the pressure.

BRO: Bro was actually used to one-on-one duels- that was his main failing here. He had it in mind that he was facing two opponents, and yet the change failed to register in his tactics. So he was almost taken off guard when Jade came up behind him, and he reacted, almost about to push away from Dave to dodge- only for it to have been a feint. But he'd already let up just enough.

DAVE: Dave took full advantage of that, pushing as soon as any slack was given. Bro of course pushes back when he can, but it's too late, and Dave has the upper hand for the moment, finally breaking Bro's guard and pushing his blade away.

BRO: But that didn't last long, and as soon as his guard was broken, Bro vanished again for just a second, easy to miss in a blink, and he was suddenly behind Dave, swinging at his back.

DAVE: Dave yelped, having turned as soon as he realized Bro was gone, and for a moment he moved too fast to be normal- not as fast as Bro, but fast enough to turn and push himself away, instead taking the swipe at his shoulder, a light cut through his sleeve.

JADE: That was enough of an opening for Jade. She's back to her feet and moving in to try and lay a kick into the little area of rib cage that Bro has left open on the downswing.

BRO: Bro just barely dodges the kick- he'd forgotten to account for Jade again, but once he saw her coming, he moved away, but that interrupted any asault he could have had on Dave.

DAVE: That gives Dave an opening now, and he rushes forward, swinging his sword up an over, down at Bro with a furious shout

JADE: Jade brings her leg down, kicking back to give room between them, again. She immediately manuevers to cover Dave's back, preparing for Bro's little teleport trick.

BRO: With Jade at Dave's back, Bro can't counterattack, but he can block, meeting the plasma edge of Dave's sword with his katana. And for a moment, he realized though he was sure his katana was near-unbreakable, he'd never brought it into contact with something like this before.

DAVE: Dave pushes as much he can, but this time he just can't break Bro's block. And as time goes on, with Bro pushing back, he's the one being forced backward, close to Jade. He grunts, breaking it off and in the brief span of time between he raises the flat of his sword, braced with his other hand, counting on Jade to cover him.

BRO: As soon as Dave let up, Bro moved to the offensive, his sword meeting the flat of Dave's again, but with Dave bracing it, he has less ability to break it. He makes sure to keep an eye on jade this time, as his first instinct was to go for where Dave would have just left himself open in order to block like this.

JADE: Pressing a little into Dave, Jade uses her hip to try and signal Dave to turn away from Bro. She was going to bring the sword around in a wide arc as they swapped places, forcing Bro to either teleport or clash with her. Either way would by Dave enough time reorient himself.

DAVE: Dave takes Jade's signal, pushing backward so that their backs were pressed together and he takes his hand away from the flat of his blade, instead reaching around himself to grab at Jade's upper arm. Suddenly, everything might seem to Jade like the world around her has gone into slow-motion. The birds flying by, the people moving in windows across the street, the feeling of the wind, the movement of Bro's sword as he tries to follow Dave's movements. All except her, and Dave, the two of them twirling together as they switch places in the span of a tiny moment, leaving Jade in front of Bro once time comes back into sync.

BRO: Bro is genuinely surprised by that- when he saw that they were about to swap places, he began to move for a parry of the coming attack from Jade, but he didn't account for this speed. And now Jade was in front of him and his sword was already in motion. He'd throw himself off-balance and leave himself open if he moved now, but his parry was now far too late.

JADE: Jade's almost taken off balance by the sudden change in speed, but she's always been good at adapting to a situation. She follows through with her original plan of attack, continuing the wide of arc of her swing with the added force of the spinning momentum.

BRO: Bro takes the hit to the shoulder, his own swing uncompleted, and he only pushes away just in time to make it a gash through his sleeve in the same spot he'd done to Dave, blood now dripping down both of their arms.

DAVE: Dave takes advantage of their actually catching Bro by surprise, and he turns from behind Jade, using the momentum of his movement to help him swing his sword in a sideways arc. And with the length of it and his position, and with Bro having left that side of himself fully open from that dodge, the edge of his sword crashes hard into Bro's side.

BRO: The attack to his side makes Bro grunt loudly, and finally, he vanishes, reappearing a few feet away and with his balanced recovered, in a defensive stance this time. They had him on the defensive.

JADE: Moving with the momentum of her swing, Jade had slipped to one side, backing up away from the fight between them. She's not worried about Bro getting hit with the blade she'd made for Dave. It was design so the cutting part would shut off it's current if it contact human tissue. It would sting alright, but it wouldn't cut throw a person. Still, it's heavy and has just enough of a point to it to mess someone up pretty hard. When Bro backs off, Jade glances to Dave, as if asking for direction.

DAVE: Dave's breathing quickly, his eyes trained on Bro, sweat on his face. He doesn't rush in just yet- Bro's on the defensive, but that means he has all the advantage to react, so going in wildly would be stupid. Instead, he starts to circle Bro, watching him. Ordinarily this would be a stalemate, a game of chicken until someone's forced to go in first. But this was two against one.

BRO: It certainly was two against one- Bro started to circle in response to Dave, until he realized the direction Dave had stirred them in would have had Bro sidling right up to Jade. He refused to show his back or side to Jade, but Dave was still circling, so he was going to have one of them behind him regardless. Dave had all the potential in the world, and with that fancy new sword and what appeared to be latent abilities awakening in him, he was a lot to be reckoned with, but Bro at least knew what he was facing. Jade was a wild card. Eventually, he decides to continue circling, while moving in closer to Dave- turning his back to Jade, but keeping some distance while moving closer to the other Strider.

JADE: There were a ton of attack options here. Jade could get in close, force Bro to teleport. Lots of places to give Dave an opening, but they all risked getting Jade in trouble. Unless she was out of range. With a smile, she turns the sword in her hand, grabbing it by the blade and lobs it at Bro like a pointy, sharp baton. "CATCH!" To add to the confusion, she's already running at him as the sword sails his way.

BRO: Bro had been expecting Jade to come at him. He was expecting her to come up behind him, but take time due to the distance put between them, leaving him plenty of time to dodge and move away before Dave could do a double-team. But that was if Jade had attacked normally. He hadn't expected her to chuck her sword at all. Who the fuck throws a sword?? In a swordfight?! He hadn't heard any footsteps from her first, so the sword was already well on its way by the time her shout gave him warning. Caught by surprise, he actually turned away from Dave in bewilderment- she threw a fucking sword!! He was able to flash step away, but the direction he lunged in before he vanished gave away the direction he was moving to.

DAVE: With that tell, and years of experience with Bro's movements, Dave is able to predict where Bro is about to appear in his rush. And though Jade's sword clattered on the ground and she was now running at blank air, Dave was already rushing up to meet Bro at his new location- Bro's back turned. He only spots Dave when it's too late, and the plasma blade crashes into his side yet again.

BRO: Bro's hit on the same side as before, where his shirt was already singed and his body aching. He makes a loud noise of pain through his teeth, and is forced to flashstep away again, unable to counterattack at the angle Dave had gotten him at.

JADE: Jade had expected that. This asshole was predictable. He'd likely been so used to bullying Dave into fighting the way he wanted him to that he'd never learned to fight outside of that little fantasy space where he was clearly in control. Still, it was satisfying to know that Dave had gotten another good hit in. She dashes to her sword, scooping it up and moving to join Dave in the fight.

BRO: Bro's gone into a defensive stance yet again, just like before. His shirt where he's been hit with the plasma edge twice is badly singed, starting to come apart, with burnt and bruised skin underneath.

DAVE: Unlike before, Dave doesn't just circle around. They've got Bro on the run, and the realization of that, that they actually have Bro on the run, something he's never, ever been able to do before, has his blood pumping hard in his ears. He yells and rushes forward, swinging downward at Bro, putting as much strength into it as he can.

BRO: That forces Bro into a full block, bracing the blade with one hand against the unsharpened edge while Dave's plasma edge bears down on the katana. But that leaves him completely open as he remains locked against Dave, mirrored and opposite to the situations from earlier before Jade and Dave had swapped places.

JADE: With Bro completely on the defensive, it gives Jade a chance to lay in. She rushes toward them, her sword held in her off hand. Yelling a warning for Dave to duck, she aimed to time it so that Dave lowering himself leaves Bro open to a haymaker like the one she'd laid into him at the gallery.

DAVE: Dave ducks, taking away the pressure and his sword from Bro as he does so. Technically, that leaves him open, but...

BRO: Bro's first instinct is to take advantage of Dave giving up and moving away, but before he can, a hard punch slams into his jaw, sending him reeling and off balance.

DAVE: Dave takes full advantage of this, straightening right back up and bringing his sword up and over once again, down on Bro, slamming into his shoulder.

BRO: Bro's not even got time to just dodge or parry, and the blow hits him hard, furthering his loss of balance from the heavy blow and he stumbles.

JADE: Jade had carried her weight through the punch, letting her step around Bro. As soon as she sees Dave bring the sword down, she takes advantage of the stumble, to sweep her shin into the back of Bro's knee with the intent to get his legs out from under him.

BRO: It works- Bro had gone to flash step even through his stumbling, expecting to have to roll across the ground but at least at a high enough speed that he could right himself far away. But just as he vanishes, Jade catches his unseen leg, and the momentum sends him skidding hard into the ground, scraping up his back and side pretty hard.

DAVE: Dave follows with a snarl, his plasma sword's edge suddenly buried in the ground beside Bro's head, and Dave standing directly over him, foot pressing down on one of Bro's legs. Bro could still turn things around with a good move... if Dave didn't have backup.

JADE: Bro's katana had knicked Jade's upper thigh when she'd swept him down, purely on accident. Compared to the beating they'd just laid into him, though? It was nothing. She joins Dave, pressing her foot on Bro's other leg and mirroring Dave's stance. She doesn't say anything, merely taking this moment to physically look down on Bro the way she did metaphorically.

BRO: Bro stares up at the both of them, his shades dislodged and falling sideways off his face and exposing bright orange eyes with a strange look in them.

DAVE: Dave is breathing heavily, sweat dripping off his face, and when he speaks, his voice is low and rough, so much negative energy pushed out with only two words. "You. Lose."

BRO: Bro pauses, looking directly into Dave's eyes through his shades, before smirking. "Alright, alright, I yield!" He says, dropping his katana and raising his hands, palms up. "You got me."

JADE: With that, Jade pulls the sword and steps back. She'd done her part here.

DAVE: Dave takes several seconds longer than Jade, just needing to absorb this moment, with Bro at his mercy, for a bit longer, before he finally yanks hard and pulls the sword from the ground, leaving a decent indent. With the press of a button, it all goes folding back into itself, powered off. Dave returns to silence, merely staring Bro down with a hard glare.

BRO: Bro is up on his feet with his katana in his hand as soon as he's allowed, brushing off his backside with his free hand. And then he laughs, scoffs, even, as he brushes a hand over the wound in his side. "Heh. Goes to show, I was right. Took having some amazon girlie come to his rescue and some fancy new toy that's more of a power tool than a real sword in order for Dave to beat me." He looks up at Dave, smirking still. "Think you coulda done that on your own, with a real sword, lil man? Be honest with me."

DAVE: Dave responds only with silence and anger in his eyes.

JADE: "The advantage of having a friend is you don't have to do stuff alone." Jade walks over to Dave and places a hand on his shoulder, squeezing a little.

BRO: "So what happens when he is alone?" Bro says, looking over the both of them. "What happens when he's on his own against a force like me, or worse, and no one can come to his rescue? Too far, too busy, or worse? What happens then? I want you to think about that, what happens then? When Dave is outclassed and doesn't have the convenience of someone at his side, what happens then? Unless you can promise me his friends can literally always be at his side and every single moment, I want you to think about that. What happens then?"

DAVE: Dave remains silent, though he flinches at the touch to his shoulder. As Bro talks, his gaze moves down, to the ground, but he doesn't say a word.

BRO: Bro steps forward and lays a hand on Dave's other shoulder. "I expect you to keep working on yourself, Dave. But I've been away from home too long, gotta get back. Hope this was enough of a reminder." He gives Dave's shoulder a pat. "I'll be back again later, Dave. Seeya then." And with that, Bro heads for the door to the stairs, leaving Dave and Jade behind.

JADE: Jade watches as Bro walks off, sighing a breath of relief once he's gone. She doesn't give his words a single thought. "I think that's the most combat exercise I've had in a while." She looks down at the sting from the shallow cut on her thigh. "Ugh, there's going to be blood on my skirt! I like this one, too."

DAVE: Dave finally speaks up, his voice small and quiet. "'M sorry. I can help you get that cleaned up." He mumbles, head still down. "Got a first aid kit under my bathroom sink."

JADE: "You need your shoulder looked at, too." Jade smiles at him, waving the sword around a little. "That was so cool, though! I can't believe I got to see the sword in action! How did it feel? Did it work how you thought it would. You were all swoosh, swoosh! Zap, bang! The noise it made when it clashed with your Bro's sword was unexpected but was still crazy! You were awesome."

DAVE: Dave bites his lip and leads the way to the stairway door as Jade talks, asks him how it felt, what it was like using the plasma edge sword she'd made for him. How did it feel? He pondered on that for a moment. And he just didn't have the energy in him to be anything but honest. "I hated it."

BRO: Elsewhere, Bro is examining the blade of his katana. At at least two places, the blade was irreversibly damaged, warped and partially damaged. It could possibly be straightened out, but it was likely that those spots would always be brittle thereafter. He'll have to look into getting a new one after he gets home.

JADE: That immediately drains Jade's enthusiasm. She had her hands clasped together, pressed against her mouth and barely obscuring her grin. But the moment those words left his mouth, the corners of her mouth sank in unison with her shoulders and hands. "Oh." She answers, looking down as she followed him. "...Was it not balanced well? Was it too heavy? I need to know how to fix it."

DAVE: "That's not what I meant, sorry." He mumbles, heading down the stairs. "It handles really well. It's the right size, and weight, and it's easy for me to use, and it obviously packs a punch. It's not you, or the sword, or the craftsmanship, I just..." He groans a little, biting his lip again.

ROSE: Behind them, on the roof, there's the sound of a muffled impact and a clanking noise. It's stealthy, but nowhere near stealthy enough to not be noticed if they're listening for someone like Bro.

DAVE: Dave, surprisingly, isn't. Earlier, that had an actual sense of finality to it. He didn't feel that constant sense of looming dread. Bro actually felt gone. That isn't to say he's relaxed, but he's allowed his mind to become preoccupied.

JADE: "What is it?" Jade asks. She's not used to not being able to fix things and she's finding, more and more, that not everything can be solved with an all nighter. Some things just keep you up at night with no steps taken closer to a solution. It's not an easy lesson for her. She is, unfortunately, definitely still on edge so when she hears the impact, she turns around, eyes darting up to look at the stairwell entrance. "Did you hear that?"

ROSE: There isn't even an effort to remain hidden. Rose steps into the stairwell, hood and scarf up and a bag over her back, and yet all the fabric in the world couldn't hide her complete lack of restraint in coming in. "Dave?"

DAVE: "I just, I hate fighting. And I extra hate swords. Even though I'm really good at them, but no amount of fuckin'... bells and whistles and amazing handling can make me not hate-" He pauses, looking over his shoulder. "No? What is-" Suddenly, Rose. Dave's sweating like a pig and with an open gash on his shoulder. "Oh. Hey."

JADE: Jade's got a more minor cut on her hip and, while not as sweaty, she's definitely looking a little ragged. The dark circles under her eyes from her uneven sleep schedule are usually pretty well hidden by her glasses, but the odd angle and the lighting in here makes them obvious. She adjusts her glasses by the arm, smiling a little when she sees Rose. "Hi, jellybean."

ROSE: Rose gives a tense sigh, moving down the stairs hastily and pulling her hood down with her free hand. It's obvious from her expression that she's completely on edge, but she doesn't let her silent fury show. As soon as she gets close enough, she pushes her rattling bag into Jade's arm and looks over Dave with clear stoic concern. "Are you alright? Besides the obvious."

JADE: "Oof." Jade takes the bag, raising an eyebrow at the sound. She hopes it's not more guns, but she wasn't going to be surprised if it is.

DAVE: Dave glances down, and shrugs. "I just wanna get back to my apartment." He says, turning to head down the stairs again. His floor is a few flights down.

ROSE: Rose stares at him for a moment, before gritting her teeth a bit. "Dave. If all you need is time to rest, then I'm not going to impede you, but just. Tell me if you need anything, or if I can do anything of substantiality to help." Her expression was a mixture of worry, anger, and stressed indecision.

ROSE: Thankfully, the bag is not guns. Just all the grenades and explosives from earlier.

DAVE: Continuing down the stairs, he replies, "If there was an issue, do you think I'd wanna talk about it out where any of my neighbors can eavesdrop from their front doors?"

JADE: "First we need to get his wound looked at," Jade starts following, carrying the bag of not at all dangerous explosives with her. "We can talk about what happened in his apartment."

ROSE: At that, Rose deflated a bit, making a silent noise of frustration and waiting for Jade to go before following.

DAVE: Dave keeps moving until he gets to his floor- his door had been left open. He heads inside and makes a beeline for his bathroom, throwing open the cupboard under his sink. Fishing out the first aid kit, he pops back out of the bathroom and calls to Jade. "You wanna do this in the bathroom, or kitchen, couch, or what?"

JADE: "Kitchen. It's less crowded and we won't stain anything." She sets the bag down near the door and heads for the kitchen. She undoes her skirt and lets it slip off. Thankfully, she isn't going to flash anyone. She's wearing some athletic shorts under her skirt. The bit of blood and the slice on the cut on the skirt get a frown from her. If Bro hadn't flashstepped right into her kick, the sword wouldn't have done as much damage, but the added speed gave it's edge the necessary oomph to make even a passing glance result in a cut. She sighs and tosses the skirt aside. "We should get your shoulder first, let me see the kit."

ROSE: Rose immediately closed the door once they were all in, moving over to Dave's window on instinct and making sure it was closed. She didn't say anything else until she got back around to Jade. "Tell me if I can help."

DAVE: Dave heads into the kitchen and sets the first aid kit on the counter, pointedly trying to ignore that Jade just took off her skirt in his kitchen, regardless of the fact that she has shorts on. "Uhm... you could try and clean up Jade's cut while she cleans up mine?"

JADE: There's no response from Jade as she pops the kit open and gets out all the materials she'd need. Disinfectant, bandages...medical thread? Suture needles? Not exactly standard for a first aid kit, but Jade was pretty sure this wasn't a standard kit. She motions for Dave to sit on the counter, silently getting everything ready.

DAVE: It takes some effort from a short potato, but he manages to wriggle his way up onto the counter, legs dangling.

ROSE: Rose watched Jade work; when no response came, she lowered her hands, sliding her hand to her face to pressing her fingers into her temple. A moment later, she turned, silently looking down and moving back to the window.

JADE: "Rose?" Jade calls out, turning her head only a little as she applies disinfectant to Dave and start checking the wound to make sure nothing is in it. It's not so deep that he'll actually need stitches, but he's definitely going to need to take it easy if he wants to keep it that way. "You um...You can help. By talking. Your voice helps. Me, at least. I've got Dave covered."

DAVE: Dave hisses as Dave applies disinfectant. Bro keeps his sword clean and terribly sharp, but Dave was sweaty and it hurt. He bites his lip, looking away. "Is it gonna need to be stitched up, or...?"

JADE: "No stitches. It looks a lot deeper than it actually. Definitely needs bandages, though. Honestly, I think he's going to need more First Aid than either of us."

DAVE: "Okay, good. I don't like stitches." Jades comment has Dave give a small laugh, though it's just a bit forced. "Heh. Yeah, no shit. 'Specially his side. He got a bit cooked."

ROSE: Now it's Rose's turn to not immediately respond, although after a moment she turns halfway and nods, still looking down. "I'm sorry I wasn't here. I know Jade was with you, but you shouldn't have had to go through the ordeal regardless." Her voice is clearly bitter, and she paces a bit. "I don't care how many times you've been through it, or how normal it might have seemed, but this is beyond idiotic. He spends more than a week putting you in a state of constant paranoia for your own safety as a individual and he still succeeds in getting what he wants. You can be as mad as you want at me for expressing the sincere degree to which my opinion of him as an individual is plummeting, but at the moment I'm significantly more concerned about this not becoming a regular occurrence."

JADE: "If it's any consulation, we did beat the crap out of him. That punch felt good. And his face when I threw the sword was priceless, hehehe."

DAVE: "I'm not. Mad. At you." Dave says quietly, his sentence a bit halting. He bites his lip, reaching a hand up near his face, only to run a hand through his hair instead. "Not mad at you. It's okay."

ROSE: She pauses at that, before nodding. "I'm mad at him. For putting you through all of this just to end up hurting you anyway, let alone for hurting her." It might be the first time in a while she'd referred to Jade so bitterly, although it's clear she isn't the focus of her stoic anger. "If he comes back, I refuse to let him drag you through this again."

DAVE: Dave goes a bit quiet, just nodding a little, and letting Jade clean up his shoulder. That sleeve would be a loss, he wasn't good at darning, but he could always convert it into a tank.

JADE: "I'm fine. This isn't the worst I've gotten. Besides, I volunteered to step into this. Rose is right, though." Dab dab pat. Jade squints at the cut, as if that will let her see the microscopic bacteria that might be in it. Satisfied with her work, she gets to bandaging him up. "Is it okay if I tear the sleeve off? I'll need to be able to wrap the cut."

DAVE: Dave just nods quietly. Rest in pieces, short sleeve.

ROSE: "I still have every reason to be upset at him for it." Still, she relaxed a tiny bit, moving to sit on Dave's computer chair and run her hands through her fluffy hair with a long sigh. "Do we have any idea of where we're going from here? Should I stay for a while longer, on the off chance of an immediate recurrence?"

DAVE: Dave appears to have withdrawn from responding at the moment, keeping his head turned away from his injured shoulder. Please leave a message after the beep, and we'll get back to you. Beeeep.

JADE: "You should stay because it's nice to have you around. Unless you absolutely have to be somewhere, right now?" Jade tears off the sleeve in one quick motion and then proceeds to start bandaging Dave up.

ROSE: "Not as long as you don't tell him about the bag." She's too exhausted to pretend she isn't worried about his reaction to her not telling him to ask about the bag.

DAVE: After a minute or two of being quiet... "I hate him." Dave whispers, before saying a little louder, raising his voice a bit more with every word, "I hate it, I hate him. I hate him, and I hate that I hate him and I hate it, I hate this!" He lifts his free arm, curling his fingers in his hair and clenching his eyes shut. His entire body stiffens, like he's trying to hold himself back from doing something.

JADE: Jade's stay silent throughout this. She just focuses on wrapping his arm. "He's a jerk. Just because you're related to him doesn't mean you have to love him."

ROSE: "Dave." She looks up at him. "You don't need to keep yourself from hating him. We aren't going to judge you, even if it feels wrong to feel like you do." She was trying to give him the most encouraging look without actively getting up and hugging him. "It's okay."

DAVE: "It doesn't feel okay, and it's not just 'cause he's family!" He said, his voice a bit high and strained. "I hate him- I hate that he does fuckin' nice shit and goes overboard being good to me but then he does all that other shit an' I hate it, I hate him, but I hate hating him I feel like a fucking brat, I hate that he makes me feel like this but I can't fucking help it!" Dave sniffs loudly, followed by taking a sharp breath through his mouth, body still incredibly tensed.

JADE: "You're not a brat, though..." Jade finishes off the bandaging, stepping back to push herself onto the counter nexto to Dave. She gets to work treating her own wound, adjusting her glasses so she can get a good look at it. Truthfully, she wasn't sure what to tell Dave. This was out of her depth.

ROSE: Swallowing, Rose stood, before moving over to Dave, shamelessly using her antigrav field to sit on the counter next to him. "Listen to me. You're not wrong in feeling that he deserves your gratitude for everything he's done for your sake. By most metrics, he's been excessively charitable to you in allowing you to pursue your personal ambitions. But that doesn't diminish the fact that his personal relationship to you is and has been veering directly towards toxicity for years. I'm in no position to attempt to understand his actual opinion of you, and for how black and white it would make this situation, I can't say with any confidence that he isn't feigning his genuine appreciation for you. But you are under absolutely no obligation to reciprocate any sentimentality he might have to a man who routinely physically injures you and holds you to such a damaging level of expectation. I'm the polar opposite of experienced with abuse, but Aradia thinks this is an utterly unhealthy situation, and she's someone who would know. I'm not telling you you need to completely discard him. But you have that choice, and you have the right and the ability to distance yourself from him if and when you come to feel that way."

DAVE: Dave listens to Rose, or at least tries to. Everything she says make sense, but his feelings about his guardian remain complicated and strange and full of mixed emotions. He wanted so many different things at once, and felt like he could have none of them. Bro's affection, approval, even love. Being free from Bro entirely, able to damn him and forget about him. But he couldn't have either of those things, at least not yet, and it hurt. Finally, Dave failed to hold himself back, and the tension broke. It was slow at first, a high-pitched noise as he struggled to hold it in, keep it together. But finally, it fell through, and he started to let out ragged sobbing, the tension of his body falling away to his shoulders shaking as he hunched over. His face screwed up, even with his shades still on, and though it was faltering as he occasionally tried and failed to gather it all back in, Dave was finally just... crying.

JADE: All that Jade can manage is a sympathetic pat. It didn't make any sense to her, but she knew when all you could do let someone do was cry. She slides her hand off his back and goes back to tending to her wound, finally getting to bandaging it up. "I'm sorry."

ROSE: Rose just lowers her head a bit, slowly sliding her own arm over Dave's shoulders.

DAVE: Dave cries hard, even as he struggles with even letting himself cry, sucking in breath after every string of several sobs. His face goes red up to his ears from the strain of it, cheeks wet as tears spilled over. He cries himself absolutely ragged for quite a while, until eventually it starts to fade, with more whimpers and sniffles in place of sobs. Eventually, he takes a long, shuddering breath, rubbing his temple with the heel of his hand, jostling his sunglasses, and making a pained face. "My head hurts."

JADE: Jade cleaned up the First Aid Kit during Dave's much needed release. It sucked, not being good with this sort of thing. "That might be the burrito. Or the antiseptic. Or both."

ROSE: Rose nodded, gently rubbing Dave's back. "Do you have any aspirins?"

DAVE: Dave sniffs, lifting his shades to rub around between his eyes- his eyes are bloodshot, the whites almost as red as the irises. "I've got-" He makes a small sound, almost like a muffled hiccup. "I've got ibuprofen. In the mirror-cupboard in the bathroom."



DAVE: As soon as he could, Dave had grabbed a change of clothes and vanished into his bathroom to take some painkillers for his head, and then take a very long, very hot shower. Partially to clean off all the sweat from the fight, and partially to flush out all the grossness from crying so hard. When he finally opens the bathroom door, hot, humid air puffs out like it'd been the inside of a particularly heated sauna. Dave's wearing a tank and some boxers, a bit too warm for anything else, and with a towel over his damp hair. He takes a deep breath of the comparitively cooler air of his apartment and lets it out in a ragged sigh. What a fucking day.

JADE: Jade, meanwhile, had opened the window. Dave had said that he was sure Bro was gone, now and she needed some air. She didn't want to leave him alone, though. Something about just leaving him alone so quickly after what they'd done felt wrong. She stares out the window, sighing a little at how this didn't feel like a victory. They'd fought hard, Dave especially. Everything had gone right. So why wasn't everything fixed? Jade stomps a foot. She knew she was being petulant about it, but this feeling annoyed her. And it worried her that this was a feeling she might have to get used to. Some old words echoed in her mind, half-remembered and spoken by an old man slowly cleaning a gun out of routine more than out of necessity: There is no lasting glory in battle, Jade. All the rush of a hard fight can get snatched from with a few words. Remember that. At the time, those words hadn't meant anything to her. After this, though...
Jade looks up at Dave stepping out of the shower, curious if he's okay but unable to vocalize anything that didn't feel forced or clumsy.

DAVE: Dave pauses when he sees Jade, his sunglasses held in one hand and still fogged up from being left in the bathroom while he showered. He turns his eyes away, brow furrowing slightly, and lifts his other hand to rub at his hair with the towel a bit. "Hey... uh. Sorry. About earlier. That was kinda... fucked up."

JADE: "It's fine. I'm glad you're...not okay, that's not right. Alive sounds morbid. Glad you're..." Jade lifts one hand, looking away and toward the ground as she turns her hand as if she were trying to grasp an idea out of the air. "Why aren't words as easy as numbers?"

DAVE: "I dunno, I kinda find that the other way around. Math is fucking shitty." He gives a small chuckle and moves to plop into his computer chair. "But no, really, not about the fight, but earlier, that was fucked up of me. I shouldn't have done that, and I'm sorry."

JADE: "You mean the crying? Why would you apologize for that? Other than I was about to start crying if you didn't slow down, but that would be because I'm a big baby who doesn't like seeing people hurting." It wasn't entirely true. She still like the mental image of Bro on the ground. Something tells her that Rose and Aradia are rubbing off on her.

DAVE: "No, it was messed up, I shouldn't have. It was weird and wrong and I should've held it in, it was fucked up to do that, 'specially in front of you and Rose." He frowns, finally pulling the towel off his head. His thick hair is still slightly damp and in dire need of brushing and styling, sticking out every which way. "Sorry."

JADE: "I don't..." Jade sighs, dropping her hands and turning to look at the shelf by the window, one lifting to tap at it rapidly as she tries to organize what she wants to say. "Why are you apologizing? It's not fucked up. I don't understand." Jade turns from the shelf, bringing her hand around to take her glasses off and give them a look. Without them on, it's more clear that she has bags under her eyes. "Why is crying fucked up?"

DAVE: "Because I'm not supposed to cry. It's stupid and weak and fucked up. Only babies do it, because theyre weak and stupid." He huffs, running a hand through his messy hair. "Grown dudes ain't supposed to cry it's gross and fucked up."

JADE: "I cry." Jade says this very simply.

DAVE: That makes Dave look uncomfortable, and he clearly doesn't know what to say, as if realizing the first thing that'd come to mind would be an assholish thing to say.

JADE: "Do I look stupid and weak to you? No. Because I'm not. And neither are you." She's more animated as she speaks, gesturing at Dave with her glasses and a tinge of annoyance in her voice. Another sigh and she shoves her glasses back on. "...This isn't something I can fix, is it? I need to just focus on being here for you when you need me." She rubs at her inhibitors, scratching slightly at the skin between them.

DAVE: Dave just nods a bit numbly, pulling his legs up to rest his feet on his chair, hugging his knees with one arm. "Bro fucked it all up."

JADE: "Is this what it was always like for you? This...weight?" Jade gestures at nothing. "He's gone, we beat him. But this doesn't feel like a victory."
Monday 07 September 2015

DAVE: He nods again. "Never beat him before, though. But it doesn't feel much different than the usual."

JADE: "This is wrong." Jade says, squeezing slightly at her inhibitors. "We were awesome! He didn't stand a chance and it..." She seems to be struggling with reconciling everything. "What do we even do with this? What do you do with this?"

DAVE: "... Try not to think about it, mostly." He says with a shrug. "At least he won't bother me again for a while."

JADE: Jade groans and flops on to the couch, somersaulting on to it in a way that makes her look like she's melting on to it. "How's your cut?"

DAVE: "It's fine, doesn't hurt too much." He says, dropping his legs. "At least it's the same arm as my off-hand."

JADE: "Good, that means you won't be flailing it around like a loon! Don't pick at the scab when it starts healing shut, either. Unless you want a scar, then I guess it's okay."

DAVE: "I'll try not to." He shrugs again, moving to stand up. "Not like another scar is that big a deal, though."

JADE: "Heh, same for me. This would be my first sword fight scar." She sits up a little to look at Dave over the back of the couch. Jade's quiet for a moment before asking. "Are you going to be okay?"

DAVE: Another shrug. "I dunno." He turns to head into the bathroom, leaving the door open as he stands in front of the sink. Finally, he starts combing his hair after applying some product. "It's whatever."

JADE: Jade watches him with a frown from her spot on the couch. Dave can probably see her in the reflection of the mirror. She is concerned. Finally, she lies down and settles back into looking up at the ceiling. "You and Aradia are so hard to talk to, sometimes." It's not an accusation. "And I think it's because I want to help and understand, but I have nothing to grasp on. Your problems are literally so big," She pronounces it 'litter-ally.' "And so complex, that I can't figure them out. I wish..." Jade sits back up, turning so that her arms are over the back of it and her cheek is rested on it. "No. I want to help. And I'm trying. And...I'm sorry if it feels like there's places I'm trying to force my way into that I shouldn't."

DAVE: Dave is quiet while Jade talks, and quiet a few minutes longer as he styles his hair. Soon it's in its usual style, though he missed the back as always, giving the back of his head a bit of a duckbutt. He turns and heads out of the bathroom, looking down at the carpet. "It's okay. You're just trying your best. Just don't push me to do shit I ain't ready for, okay? That's all I'm askin'." He sntaches his shades from the desk, now de-fogged, and lips them on over his eyes. "I'm bad at talking about this kinda crap, anyhow."

JADE: "Heheh, you are." Jade gives him a grin. "Oh no. Should I close the window? Ah, I didn't even think about how you might not be ready for that!"

DAVE: "Nah, it's fine. He's probably already packing up to leave." Dave shrugs. "He got what he came for. Besides, my apartment's stuffy as hell, it's fucking nasty, I was borderline about to give up and open it myself even before Bro showed up."

JADE: Jade sighs in relief. "I was worried I was going to end up dying from suffocation by microwave pizza smell. Everyone I know has such terrible diets, gosh!"

DAVE: "Hey, it fuckin' tastes good, okay?" Dave rolls his eyes, and heads on over to plop down on the couch beside Jade. "Nice to get some fresh air, though. Maybe I can go for a walk again, later."

JADE: "I can come with. Oooor, we can even go for a drive! It'd be fun. It'd also be nice to get my mind off of...well, stuff. Either way, the world is your oyster now!" Jade excitedly pumps the balls of her feet against Dave's leg, having pulled them up to make room for him to sit down.

DAVE: "Mmmh, maybe later. I think I still need a bit." He crosses his legs on the couch, thinking for a moment. "Hey, uh... Jade? Can I talk about something weird."

JADE: "Sure!" She sits up, crossing her legs as she does so. "I'm all metaphorical ears."

JADE: She pronounces it 'metap-horical'

DAVE: "Okay, um... I know it sucks bringin' up old news, but, uh..." He clears his throat. "Do you... remember when I got really, really mad at you and Rose and Aradia at your shooting range...?"

JADE: "Oh. Yeah...that was um. Hm." She looks away, frowning at her memory of it. "Go on, sorry."

DAVE: "Did I, um... Okay, I know I made a lotta noise about it, but did I ever actually explain to you..." He scratches the back of his neck. "Where I was coming from? Exactly?"

JADE: "Uuuh. You really didn't have to? I sort of got it. We were being gross and it wasn't right."

DAVE: "Okay, but I mean, it was a lot more personal than that? Which is why I was kinda more mad at Rose than you or Aradia, 'cause she already knows." He pauses, chewing his lip slightly. "Did I tell you what my Bro does for a living? I swear I did, but I can't remember."

JADE: "Isn't that the whole reason you were shooting the smuppets? Because he makes them for a living?"

DAVE: "Well, he also makes porn out of them, as in videos." Dave squirms slightly. "And, some of his videos that he'd put up on the puppet porn site he ran, were videos taken by hidden camera. And like... they weren't inherently sexual by nature? Out of the context, at least. But he'd set up traps or temptations for me, like he knew I was gullible and curious, so he'd set it up so that I'd pull a string and get a shitload of smuppets dumped on me, or see one in a blender and get the uncontrollable urge to turn it on. And all of it would be caught on film. And put online. And like I said, out of context it's just stupid pranks and it's not like I was being put in actual sexual situations, but he was making videos of me with these fucking things with the intent of having people pay to jack off to 'em. But since I wasn't in an actual sex situation, it was probably still technically legal and he found it fucking hilarious and I guess saw nothing wrong with it, and-." Dave pauses and takes a breath. "Sorry. I was rambling again. But. Yeah. That's just... Bro fucked it all up."01:30:26

JADE: As Dave goes on, the realization about what he'd gone through slowly dawns on her. Her frown deepens more and more until the look of disgust and frustration on her face is impossible not to recognize. Tears start to well up in the corners of her eyes and she seems tense all over, her powers responding to her mounting anger by letting a spark go off near her eyes, immediately evaporating the tears and leaving the distinct scent of burnt atmosphere. She balls her fists up and clenches her eyes shut, like she's fighting the urge to leap from where she's sitting. It would be so easy to hunt this man down. For just a little bit, she felt like she understood where Aradia's actions when she was a vengeful spirit. Taking a breath, she holds it for a beat before slowly letting it out, getting herself back under control. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea," her shoulders sink and her eyes don't come back up from her upturned palms in her lap.

DAVE: Dave had been looking elsewhere, but as his story wound down, and he smelled something odd in the air (through some remaining boogers) he realized it'd been really affecting Jade. He... somehow hadn't expected that? Guilt welled up in his gut, and he bit his lip, nodding as she offered her sympathies. "Y... Yeah. Sorry. I don't know. I guess I just. Wanted to give an example? Of what shit was like? That's just... one of teh things about growing up with Bro." He clears his throat a little. "And also, I guess now you get why I was so overboard mad? Maybe. Sorry."

JADE: "Stop apologizing," Jade says this a little more sharply than she means to. "That came out too harsh. What I'm trying to say is you don't have to apologize for this stuff. I'm impressed with you. You're really tough."

DAVE: "Sorr-.... Sorry. Wait, fuck. Ngh." Face -> Palm. "I can't help it, I guess, I dunno. For things like that. It's a habit, I mean, for that grody shit. Feelings."

JADE: She gives him a sympathetic smile and extends her injured leg, pressing her foot against his leg. "You'll get better. You don't have to tough this stuff out by yourself anymore."

ROSE: Having successfully dropped off the bombs to Roxy, Rose was im the process of immediately making her way back to Dave's apartment. With the implicit activities of Bro fresh in the minds of all involved parties, she opted not to make the full walk in costume; instead, she got within a block or two, swapped out of her robes, and began making the rest of the trip of foot, slowly coming down from her frustrations and hoping Jade and Dave were okay.

DAVE: "Yeah... I know. It's just difficult. There's mental barriers 'n' shit, kinda, I guess." He flinches a little at the nudge, and playfully paps her shin. "Sorry if you thought I was insulting your sword earlier. I wasn't... I didn't mean it like that."

JADE: "And I thought I was the one who was bad at words." She giggles at the shin pap. "Let's just start working toward getting you outside, again. When you're ready, I mean."

anonymous [??] is now Bro Strider [BRO]. ~~ 642 ~~

DAVE: "I'm bad at feelings words." He snorts. "I updated SBaHJ the other day, by the way, did you see?"

JADE: "Yeeeeeah, I didn't want to say anything. Even I got where you were getting the source material for that one."

BRO: There was a hotel pretty near to where Dave's apartment was, and standing outside of it currently was none other than Bro himself. He was already packed, a small wheeled suitcase beside him as he leaned against the wall and tapped at a phone. He's had a change of clothes, some bandages just visible from under his right sleeve. Apparently he's waiting for a pickup to the airport.

DAVE: "Yeah... honestly, a lot are pretty obscure and not all of them are this, but... a good number of those are actually an expression of my reality? Some of 'em kinda subconscious, y'know. Some on purpose, but the older ones without realizing what I was illustrating was fucked up in real life. I dunno, hard to explain."

ROSE: Rose's eyes briefly flicked over to the hotel entrance, and her pace immediately slowed on realizing who she was looking at. Already, she was bristling, and her expression instantaneously hardened as she let herself glare at him, slowly walking. Every small piece of her that wanted to attack him earlier was fighting against her rationality in not hurting Dave by proxy by picking another fight, but there was no way she couldn't show her defiant, silent anger at his presence, straightening up on instinct and keeping an eye on him as she walked.

BRO: Bro doesn't seem to notice her right away, but as Rose approaches, he suddenly speaks up without turning his head towards her. "Lil busy here, missy." He says, a bored tone in his voice. "Gonna have to bother someone else."

ROSE: "I don't recall making any particular effort to communicate with you." Her tone is distant, and she shot him a more direct look out the corner of her eye as she passed.

JADE: "That sort of makes sense? I think?" She scratches at her head, more out of just reaching an itch than confusion. "Do you want to pick up where we left off and watch some more cartoons?"

BRO: "Think I'm stupid?" He says, finally lifting his head. "I could see you stridin' up to me like you got all this purpose 'n' shit to do so."

ROSE: "I believe this area constitutes a public road." She meets his eyes as best she can. "If you happen to exist in a spatial position analogous to my predetermined pathway, I fail to see how that at all approaches the realm of being my problem. If I had any desire to talk to you, I would be significantly more proactive about doing it at the moment."

BRO: "Then leave."

ROSE: She only stares at him for a moment before continuing on. "Kindly do the same for the rest of us."

BRO: "Yeah, the suitcase is just out here for show, obviously."

ROSE: "It's hard to unquestionably discern sensibility and common correlation when it comes to individuals as truculent as yourself."

BRO: Bro yawns and returns to tapping at his phone. "You know, a famous man once said brevity is the soul of wit." He says, not even looking at her. "It's usually people who can't communicate effectively that have to resort to humping a thesaurus in order to communicate and seem clever."

ROSE: Rose gave a sharp huff through her nose, continuing to walk "

DAVE: "Yeah, sure. At least for now." He says, straightening his legs out and resting them on the coffee table. "We were talking about the Rabbit of Seville, right?"

BRO: Bro gives a small snort through his nose, before returning to what he was doing, occasionally glancing down the road for his ride.

ROSE: "If it would make you more comfortable on an intellectual level for me to reduce my vernacular to more immediately manageable terms, then consider the following to be my sincerest efforts at linguistic reconciliation: I don't give a fuck." She took her eyes off of him, looking ahead. "If you deign to return, consider it imperative to refrain from repeating your recent stunts."

BRO: Bro doesn't reply, apparently already deciding Rose is no longer worth his attention.

ROSE: There's a silence between them, before Rose turns away fully and keeps walking. Fuck this guy.

JADE: "Yes! And the part where Bugs Bunny gives Elmer Fudd a shave."

DAVE: "Yeah! I swear to God, that part gets stuck in my head all the time. And the following bit with Buggs dressed as a girl again." He snorts. "I can never get over the way he says 'señoriter'."

JADE: "I was always in awe of the fact that he just bends two pieces of metal like they're putty. I know it's a cartoon, but when I saw that as kid, I wanted to do it. My grandpa never let me try, though. Pfft. Party pooper."

DAVE: "Honestly, I'm willing to be actual cash you could do that now. Buuuuut I don't got any metal to sacrifice."

ROSE: There's a knock at Dave's door.

JADE: "Oh my gosh, you're right! I've never even though about it. And I have a spare shotgun. I know what I'm doing when I ge-" Jade looks up at the knock. She gets a little defensive, at first, but then she realizes Bro wouldn't knock. "Think that's Rose?"

DAVE: Dave's having a bit of a giggle at the mental image of Jade bending metal, when the knock comes to the door. Dave pauses, but Jade's right. It's most likely Rose. Buuut... just to be sure. Dave gets up and heads over to the door, hefting up his cinderblock and dropping it in front of the door so he can climb his short ass up to use the peephole. "It's Rose!" He says, before quickly getting down and pushing the cinderblock out of the way, throwing the door open. "Hey."

ROSE: "Hey." She sounds and looks tired and bitter, but swallows it as best she can as she enters, moving towards the couch and dropping her costume bag by it.

JADE: Jade was still on the couch. The bag ends up landing on her torso. "Ooow, that was my boob. Why do you keep throwing stuff at me?" She looks up at Rose with a sorrowful frown. It's obviously played up. She's not actually hurt.

DAVE: "Uh, you okay?" He says, shutting the door behind Rose.

ROSE: Rose sits down on the couch opposite Jade, not responding to her and running her hands through her hair. "I had the misfortune of having to walk past your brother on the way back. He remains as agonizing as ever."

DAVE: "Oh."

JADE: "Oh." Jade straightens up.

ROSE: "Nothing in particular happened other than him continuing to be as deliberately infuriating as possible, as much as I wish I had the excuse to cause otherwise." She flopped back against the back of the couch, arms folded and eyes downturned and cold. "He's leaving, at least."

DAVE: "Yeah... I figured he'd be leaving." Dave wanders back over to the TV nook and plomfs into his beanbag.

JADE: "We were just going to pick back up watching some cartoons that got interrupted. Want to join in?" Jade reaches over the back of the couch and drops Rose's stuff there.

ROSE: Rose shrugged. "It isn't like I have anything better to do. Sorry for abruptly leaving, by the way, but I had to make a delivery."

DAVE: "It's okay. I needed to shower, anyways."

JADE: "Hehehe, he really did."

ROSE: Rose doesn't immediately respond.

DAVE: "I was all sweaty and my face was disgusting."

JADE: "It's true."

ROSE: After another moment, Rose just sighed. "I'm starting to wonder if I'm the one dragging down the room's emotional positivity at the moment."

JADE: "No, I'm just trying to be relentlessly optimistic because guess what? Bro's gone! Maybe not forever, but now we can focus on more important things. Like getting Dave outside so he doesn't match you in paleness."

DAVE: "Do you really think I'm at risk of that? Damn."

JADE: "Hey, that sort of thing can sneak up on you! Besides, you're more in danger than anyone of it. Your favorite fruit is ap-pales, after all." :D

ROSE: "You have a point." She looked over at Dave with a weary look. "I need to continue my unopposed monopolization of the unnecessarily pale individual market."

DAVE: "Jade... that was bad. And I don't mean in the inherent badness of puns, I mean that barely worked." He snorts. "But nah, I don't think skin like this has to worry about getting THAT pale."

JADE: "Pale doesn't really work in many words, plus I'm tired." She leans back into the couch and blows some strands of hair out of her face. "Today has been really strange, though. At least it's one more uncomfortable thing out of the way." She pronounces it 'un-calm-four-table'.

ROSE: "If we're fortunate."

DAVE: "Okay, I've been meaning to ask and trying to find like... a non-asshole way to ask this, but I gotta ask-" He pauses. "What even is that accent?"

JADE: "Accent? What accent?" Jade raises an eyebrow at Dave. She does have an accent, but it's never that clear or apparent until she tries to pronounce certain words. "What did I say?"

ROSE: "Uncomfortable. Uncomfortable." The second time, she says it as Jade did. "You have an odd method of enunciation. It's kind of endearing." She's resting her head on one arm on the arm of the couch, looking away.

JADE: "...Wait, it's not pronounced...I've been saying it wrong this whole time??" She seems genuinely confused by this. It doesn't help that she says 'pron-ounced' instead of 'pro-nouns-tuh'.

ROSE: "Pronounced."

DAVE: "Yeah, you pronounce" He enunciates that, "A lot of things kinda really different? Not a bad thing, Rose is right. I'm just wondering where you got that? It's like an accent."

JADE: "...Oh! Ooooh. Uh...Ehehe, well." Jade reaches up and scratches the back of her head. "Uuuumm. Soooo, you know how I said I can't remember a lot of stuff from growing up? And how I was basically alone for most of my life after my grandpa died?"

ROSE: "...Ah."

DAVE: "Ohhh, is it from teachin' yourself? That's kinda cool."

JADE: "Heh, yeah. I knew how to talk and read, anyway. But there are a lot of words I didn't have experience with and I only learned about them from reading them. I'd never heard a few of them and the ones I did hear, I'd forgotten about because of my condition growing up." She pronounces it 'con-dit-eon.' "And that combined with my teeth, well. I had a lot to figure out. I've been working on it, but certain words still mess with me. If you think I'm bad now, you should have heard me when I thought all C's and S's were interchangeable. And don't get me started on how angry I was that the Disney logo had a D on the front and not a G."

ROSE: That at least got a smirk out of Rose, and she side-eyed Jade. "I feel that a lot of people made that precise mistake."

DAVE: "No way! I thought it was a fancy G. Gisney. Hehe."

JADE: "See!? But you guys probably had someone to help you figure that out. Do you know how hard it was to unlearn that G's and D's weren't interchangeable? I'm glad I figured out something was wrong with it when I actually started thinking about how it worked." Jade places her hands against her face. "Gisney."

ROSE: "I can only imagine the grammatical adventures you've been through."

JADE: Jade gives a little snort before whispering "Drammatical agventures..."

DAVE: Suddenly, Dave starts giggling. "Hehe! Cisney."

JADE: "Gicneyworlg."

ROSE: Rose gives a muffled noise os amusement and facepalms a little.

JADE: Jade's grinning as she gives an example of exactly how fucked she could make a word when she was younger.

DAVE: Dave's still laughing about Cisney. This is the highlight of his day, literally.

JADE: "I'm glad it's not annoying. I was actually told that I should keep my sentences short and concise in board meetings because of it. Well to heck with those jerks! Just because I have trouble with a few words doesn't mean I couldn't think and run circles around them At the same time."

DAVE: "Wow, fuck those assholes. What a buncha pricks, seriously." Dave snorts, looking a bit peeved at that. "I like the way you talk, Rose is right, it's endearing."

ROSE: She nods in agreement. "Granted, I may be somewhat biased, but I stand by my assessment."

JADE: "Thank you! You know what else those jerks are doing? They're selling shares to AR Security. That's a weapons development company! Can you believe that?"

DAVE: "Wow, damn. That's kinda fucked up." Dave frowns, stretching his short legs out.

JADE: "It is. I'm still trying to figure out how to get up the nerve to tell them off." Jade sighs. "But it's fine, I'll figure that out. In the mean time, did you still want to go for that walk?"

ROSE: "It might do you good to get some air if you're feeling better."

DAVE: "I dunno. Maybe? Sure." He pauses. "I'd have to get dressed first."

JADE: "Is there someplace nearby we can walk to?"

ROSE: Shrug. "We could simply walk for the sake of walking."

DAVE: "I kinda wanna go to this one video store I found but that might be kinda far. Plus I'd just go to harass the clerk and y'all don't need to see that." Snort.

JADE: "No, let's do that! It'll be hilarious."

DAVE: "What? Oh, sure." He shrugs. "Okay."

ROSE: "I can't think of much else." She nods at him, shrugging.

JADE: "Not if you don't want to, though. I'm sort of just up for anything right now."

DAVE: "Yeah, I want to, if you wanna come along." He shrugs, getting up to head to his closet. "Gimme a sec to get some pants on!"

ROSE: "Alright." Rose watches him head to the closet, before sighing a bit and folding her arms.