echidna | ❄ tenth reminder

[ action ; 1338 benny ; morning ]

[ so the previous day you likely noticed that Jade was a happy, cheerful drone! fortunately, today she is back to her normal self, up bright and early and just a little confused, all things considered. but for now, she's settled herself down at the breakfast table, humming and working at a bowl of cereal.

everything seems pretty normal, save for the pair of dog ears she's now sporting. ]

[ phone ]

Hi Mayfield, it's Jade! [ wow she sounds super excited! breeeeathe! ] I have so much to tell you!

I went home! I'm not really sure how, or if that kind of thing happens a lot but I went home and I don't think I remembered being here or what but it's really weird! I'm also not sure why I'm back but I guess I'm kind of glad because now I can tell everyone-- or maybe I'm not supposed to say anything! Does anyone know anything about that, I mean, I don't want to spoil anything for my friends who don't know what's going to happen.

Timelines are getting kind of difficult to keep track of, maybe I should make a list.

Anyway, does this going home thing happen a lot? Because I keep getting pulled out at kind of inconvenient times!

[ action ; around mayfield ]

[ Jade is quite active around Mayfield today, once again having donned her girl scouts uniform, but without the wagon of cookies in tow. She's chopped some holes into her hat to accommodate her newly regained ears, and is approaching just about everyone, be they girl or otherwise, with the intention of recruitment. ]

Hi, did you know that you look like you would make an excellent girl scout?

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The best company.

[He leans back thoughtfully.

Except.

He's on a swing.

So he actually nearly topples over.]

[ Jade's gaze remains locked on him while he speaks,though it softens from a glare to something between bewilderment and sympathy as he continues. It reminds her of the conversation she had with him months ago, where he had surprised her and-- she notices he's struggling not to cry, and her instinct is to hug, but she firmly stamps that out. Not now. ]

I'm sick of death. A lot of my friends have died here, and back home, and I don't want anything to do with it. I want to make things better here, but I don't think it's as simple as finding who's in charge and killing them. If we don't stay dead, why would they? You can say that the police thing was stupid, but it wasn't too me. Yeah, it might have been silly to think they would actually pick me, but I couldn't let that stop me from trying.

I know I'm not doing stuff that will get people out of here, and you probably don't see it, but what I do is try and make people happier. When they smile and laugh because I'm selling them cookies and have dog ears, maybe I'm making them feel a little bit better, or stronger, or cheered up, or anything! I think that's important too.

Well.

[Fidgeting, looking very awkward.]

I really did need to go over to Kanaya's before schoolhive.

Gosh. That's kind of...

[Lucas trails off a bit.]

I guess it doesn't matter so much how you were made. I mean, you're still people and everything. ...I wonder how they knew to make you so much like humans that already existed.

[pause]

Aside from the ears.

Says you. Now put that pea-shooter away, kid. Little girls shouldn't play with guns if they know what's good for 'em.

[Pokey just crosses his arms across his chest, struggling to maintain composure. The snobbish appearance of doing this, however, lets him build his control back up. He smacks his lips once, trying to coordinate himself, before speaking again.]

We could change the system. We could find out what they're doing and change it so it doesn't do this ridiculous reincarnation pig-crap all the time. We need to do something to them. They need to be punished.

[They're so like him. He'd have thought the things that happen to people here were hysterical if he could have found a way to just watch them instead of being forced into them himself. And now that he does have to go through them, it almost makes him sick to his stomach. How he used to have been. And he just can't imagine letting people still doing shit like this get away with it.]

Look, the idea of trying for it was nice, in a stupid way. It's not really fair to have pissed on you so much for it considering you were so new and didn't get how crap here worked but...sometimes things are just futile. That's all it is.

.....Happiness is....

[Something he doesn't really understand. Something he came to a weird little understanding with during July 4th, but still confounds him in general. He just shakes his head.]

Maybe you do. I don't really get the idea. So maybe you do.

That will do, I suppose. I trust your capacity to sort this endeavor safely then.

[Oh she's going to regret this later right?]

Traditions are in place for a reason. There is nothing inherently positive about progression.

And they are incredibly filly, the hat I could accept but those socks are far beyond acceptable daily wear.

You can consider your game officially up on the echeladder. What sort of shady favors has a brother gotta do to get a straight answer about official goings-on, though.

[ She shrugs. ]

I don't know if they actually designed our world.

[ Jade laughs, touching one of her ears idly. ]

No, I'm pretty sure I'm the only human with ears like these.

Everything about progression is positive, that's why it's called progression.

What do you have against these socks?

[ why would she ever!!!! ]

Great! I'm so excited, Rose!

Put away your knife first and then maybe I'll put this away.

What? That actually sounds really good. Maybe I should be a candy scientist.

[ Jade gasps, squirms as though to stand up before they can fall-- but that ultimately makes things worse because yep. They are definitely toppling over now. ]

How have you been, Nepeta? I feel like I haven't seen you in a long time!

[and down they go! The Doctor takes most of the hit when they land, still holding tightly to Jade. He lands on his back and groans.]

Right. That hurt. Never doing that again.

[welcome to the universe of klutziness that is your new dad, Jade.]

Okay. [ she's starting to feel a little awkward too now. ] I'll see you at school.

[ aaaand dashing off. ]

You didn't remember being here before?

...Creating isn't the same as designing? So... did you pick the ears for yourself, then?

[They just... look silly give him a minute to figure out why.]

Now you're just trying to confuse me with your human linguistics.

[Now he's got it.]

...Mostly the height but I am not a fan of the cuffs either.

They smell... cuddly!

[ Jade listens intently, looking incredibly interested. ]

Yeah, sort of. So you've got a whole particle accelerator in that thing? That's incredible.

I can't argue with you there. [ Just because she's looking for silver linings doesn't mean she wants to resign herself to constantly being tortured by their captors. It occurs to her that maybe there is more that she could or should be doing, she's just not sure what. ]

You mean you don't- [ wait, seriously? ] You don't get happiness?

...I get bits and pieces of it. Little scraps.

But I have a hard time-

[He knows what he wants. And he knows that in a lot of cases, by this point? He can't have it. He clenches and unclenches his fist, thinking about how to phrase it. Because he doesn't know how to deal, realizing he had what he wanted in grasp but didn't recognize it for what it was when he had it. And now that he recognizes it? He hates he didn't see it to begin with.]

...I just don't get it. And I really don't want to. It's a lie, for the most part.

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❄ tenth reminder

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it's ok i will just never forgive you

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;n; Oooooooooh noooooooo

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weeps why did I type note instead of know

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I didn't even notice! ...Probably for the same reason I always mess up my small tags, though.

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