recollé ic inbox 3.0;

[parodeity]

DAVE STRIDER

consider this your warning about stairs. itll just keep happening bro. im telling you man

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[windeity]

...what even defines a good person at this point? Like besides me, supposedly, I mean in general. [And through a house of mirrors they go.]

[parodeity]

It's not "supposedly". You're... [ he doesn't want to say you were because he doesn't think it's past tense. ] Like...you're not a perfect person, but you are a genuinely good guy, Egbert. It's comforting.

[windeity]

[...given what he can infer from Dave's nightmares and his own memories, it makes sense.]

...thanks. [What else do you say?] I mean. You know I think you are a good person too, don't you? You skipped school to come with me to a dumb haunted house just because I wanted to. That's awesome.

[parodeity]

Yes, Egbert, I know you think that. [ doesn't mean dave does. he knows the opposite is true. but it's always been easy to smile and be flippant and never admit to the things he knows to be true about himself.

it's the reason he recognizes when people pull the same shit on him. ]

I'm pretty sure that more falls along the lines of bein' a kickass best friend?

[windeity]

[He's busy staring at himself in one of those stupid mirrors that makes a person bendy and like 10 feet tall, and he's also busy trying not to laugh. Their mirror-house is a confusing maze.]

What makes you think the two are not mutually exclusive?

[parodeity]

And did I say they were?

[ dave seems more at ease around the mirrors, oddly. he doesn't quite look at himself but he's good with mazes and it's less jumpscares.

(he does think they're not connected.) ]

[windeity]

[He'll follow Dave's lead through the mirrors then.]

I might be using that phrasing completely wrong, so maybe?

[parodeity]

New topic, [ dave says which is all the warning before he segues into ] Opinions on walkie talkies?

[windeity]

[He bumps into one of the mirrors but he's quick to recover.]

I had a set as a kid. I thought having them made me like some sort of secret agent or something. I always had one when I was in the treehouse and my dad would have the other? [There's a small laugh.] He used to send me on missions around the house and I had to make sure I wasn't caught by the enemy spy...Nanna, usually.

[...] So. Cool nostalgia factor?

[parodeity]

[ dave absently reaches out to grab john’s wrist so he doesn’t walk into any further mirrors. he can lead them through this without that?

he thinks it’s the first time John has mentioned something he and his dad did together in this life, aside from music. ]

I still have a set somewhere. Maybe in the attic? I used to use it them to talk to Rose when we were supposed to be asleep.

[windeity]

[He steps closer to Dave to let him lead. Unfortunately there is also a fog machine in the room so that's fine.]

You guys were still really close in this life, weren't you? I would not be surprised if you had walkie-talkies and, like, a record player and other cool old stuff.

[parodeity]

[ yeah okay dave drags John a little closer so he doesn’t wander off in the fog, and treads lightly. he could just try to hold john’s hand but no it’s just a light but firm grip on john’s wrist. there’s a certain tension as he scans the area, his free hand on his camera, before he proceeds. ]

We do have an old record player. No real room for it in a college dorm, though. There’s a lot of stuff that had to get left behind.

[windeity]

[The fog gets his attention, too, and it's enough that he even stops walking. The jumpscares haven't gotten to him, but this is putting him a little on edge anyway. He's not stopped for long though before he follows Dave again and sticks close.]

So whenever we move into the new apartment or house or whatever we will go collect stuff from your parents' house. That is what I am getting from this.

[parodeity]

[ don’t stop, john. dave tugs his wrist and watches his step, fairly certain something is lurking in the fog. he reminds himself he can’t draw his sword on dumb haunted house actors and that’s the thought that has him let go of john’s wrist to grab his hand. the other he drops and shoved in his pocket, trying to forestall a bullshit response.

- wait, what? ]

House?

[windeity]

[He should not be this concerned about the fog, but he's also grabbing Dave's hand anyway and immediately pulling to head forward and try to avoid people lurking in the shadows and whatever else may be in there

But, a distraction.]

Maybe. The Narukamis are renting that house, remember?

[parodeity]

Not that way. There’s someone -

[ there’s no indication if you aren’t good at spotting people lurking, and dave’s voice is a whisper as he pulls on john’s hand to course correct. but yes, a distraction. ]

You want to maybe rent a house with me?

[windeity]

We should be out of this section soon. [He pulls back and okay. Fine. Let Dave lead. The mirrors are gone and now it's just fog.]

And maybe. Unless you had something else in mind or if something huge happens between now and then.

[parodeity]

Something huge like what?

[ he’s frowning but it’s more about trying to figure out what john’s talking about or what the parameters are here than the navigation. That’s done by intuition. ]

[windeity]

I don't know. I am just saying it would need to be really big, whatever it is. [Like forgetting, maybe.]

[parodeity]

Like wanting to move in with someone else?

[ like...okay he can’t think of any options. rose???? look ]

But you want to maybe rent a house?

[windeity]

Or whatever. But yeah. We...talked about the front porch and trying not to fuck up a small garden, remember? Did you think I was just thinking about apartments?

[parodeity]

Well...yeah? [ and now he feels kind of stupid ] - this isn’t a no by the way.

[windeity]

An apartment would be fine, too. We have a while, why did you ask me about walkie-talkies?

[parodeity]

Whichever you want. [ no need to give an opinion here - although he shrugs, sheepish, at the question. ] ...because I was thinking the other day they could be fun? But we have cellphones, so.

[windeity]

Did you know they have an app to turn your phone into a walkie-talkie? [Even in the dark, it's apparent he's grinning again.] Like you hold the button and record messages and they get sent to other people who have the app and you can talk in real time.