[OPEN] I guess that I don't need that though

[chronomancer]

Characters: [AU1] Eridan Ampora and OPEN!
Setting: Workshop.
Format: Starting with Action, but I'll match you.
Summary: Nearly fifty years later and Eridan still sucks at this sewing thing.
Warnings: Heavy handed sexual innuendo, attempts to make your characters uncomfortable, lewd bad jokes, Eridan being as trigger-happy with that gun as ever. Also Eridan being the troll-equivalent of a vampire, so expect him to glow if startled and shamelessly ask if he can bite your characters.

[There's a jadeblood sitting on a workbench, struggling with thread, needle and a really long, red coat. He's grumbling at it, squinting between each stitch and occasionally growling ferally at it. Sunglasses stuck on his hair, which is still black and green, Eridan seems to be slightly absorbed with his task. The short sleeve tshirt he's wearing is not very well suited for the cold, at least not without his coat, but he doesn't seem to mind. He's no longer wearing his sign on it, as it's just plain black with a small detail in yellow lines near the hem. His sign is now on his pants, black as well, stitched in jade along the lower part of his right leg. Shame the whole thing is dirty and slightly stained by blood and things you probably don't want to know the origin of. Rifle is, as always, resting by his side, an easy snatch away.]

Every fuckin' time, I swear...

[He shakes the whole thing in frustration, as he's once again, stabbed the underside of a claw with that needle. You'd think he'd be better at this, given how long he's been here. But nope. Some things just never change.]

Comments

[geometry]

Well, there was the whale.

[It's kind of ridiculous how much of the Tower's shenanigans he remembers, and there was quite a lot of it that had been done on accident -- by, say, the admins slipping up. Or a giant whale. You know. There were giant whales too.]

But if it seems organized enough to be intentional, then I suppose we have no reason to disbelieve that it is.

[He just nods at Eridan's complaining. Bluh indeed. It certainly seems like a big goddamn mess, though perhaps Eridan only has one half of the story.] It affected me strongly as well, remember. Do you think you would benefit from me returning with you and seeing what I can sense?

[chronomancer]

Oh god, let's not talk about the fuckin' whale.

[Eridan shivered. So many not nice things associated with the whale. He frowns though.]

Perhaps. I'm not sure if I can get us to the precise moment it happened though. But we could try.

[geometry]

[Another shrug.]

If you find it necessary... and think you can do it.

[chronomancer]

[Eridan nods.]

's gonna be a bumpy ride, is all.

[He offers a hand.]

But let's try.

[geometry]

[Without a word, Equius takes Eridan's hand, trusting him completely.]

[chronomancer]

[Taking passengers along for the ride is a delicate art. He's not even sure if his powers were ever meant to be used that way, but then, Eridan has always used Time powers as a glitch to be exploited in the game. Even outside the game. He held on tightly onto Equius' hand, refusing to let him go, and flung them back. The sensation that he should be flinging them less back and more forward returned, which was something that Eridan had been feeling since he awoke in this mess. Like driving on the wrong lane in the highway, he would say, if he knew what driving, a lane or a highway were. He probably did, he'd watched enough human movies at that point.

They moved through Time, outside of Space, so they were unaffected by anything that happened while they were moving, but once they got then, neatly sliding back into reality, Eridan let go of Equius hand to grab at his head.]

Son of a grubfucking bitch.

[Yeah, they got there the second the grubfuckery started and Eridan might have been downplaying the size of the migraine he got when he woke up. Because it felt that whatever they did to the timeline, they were doing to his head.]

...ow.

[geometry]

['Son of a grubfucking bitch' was a really good way to describe the things that were happening right now. Equius made a low, pained noise in the back of his throat, which threatened to turn into a choke more than once. Oh god. He wanted to scream, he really did, but there was no way he'd allow himself to do that. It was bad enough waking up to this thing, but being conscious for the entire thing was somehow worse than that. Now that he felt it once again, the only thing that really came to his mind was that Eridan was right; being assraped with a rusty chainsaw, or something bigger, was really the only way to describe this 'anomaly'.]

[He ran a finger through his hair once he was sure enough that he could do it without having a muscle spasm and ripping the whole chunk out, and took a few deep breaths. He had planned, after that, to say something reasonable and sane and maybe a little bit snarky about the whole thing, but all that came out was:] Oh. Oh god. [Whoops.]

[chronomancer]

...okay, okay, hang on a second.

[Let him just. Sit down. A moment. Oh god. He kind of wants to tear off his horns now, holy shit.]

Ow, ow, okay. I lied, another second.

[This is going to the list of bad ideas, Equius. This is going straight to the top of that list.]

[geometry]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Equius folded his arms to stop them from clawing at his face and leaned against a nearby wall. Deep breaths, eyes closed. Ow. Ow. Ow. He was having a spot of déjà vu here, back to a time long ago that he preferred not to dwell on, primarily because it was literally the most pathetic display of worthlessness that the Tower had ever seen, but this? This was very close to that.]

[This is so much on top of that list that Equius will develop negative numbers so he can put it higher.]

[chronomancer]

So.

[Eridan stumbles back to his feet, swaying a little to get himself upright. He flicks invisible lint off his clothes.]

All in favor of never doing that ever again, whimper miserable with me.

[Excuse him while he whimpers miserably.]

[geometry]

[Insert miserable whimpering here.]

[chronomancer]

[Eridan walks over to where Equius is trying to commune with the wall and hugs him.]

Someone needs to die for this. Like yesterday.

[geometry]

That doesn't even make auuuhaaahauuuguhsense.

[...Wow.]

[chronomancer]

[Let him try to snuggle you a little and soothe that ketsmash. It's a bit awkward what with you being that fucking tall, I mean really, but then, snuggling.]

I'm irascible and in pain, I don't need to make sense.

[geometry]

[Just going to brokenly sling an arm around your shoulders, Eridan. You're a good matesprit and a good person.]

True.

[chronomancer]

[There, there. Let him hug the hideous away. At least while he's in too much pain to reach out and grope you.]

I think you should sit down, love. For a little bit.

[geometry]

No, I'm fine.

[ ... ]

[A second later, he quietly sits down.]

[chronomancer]

[Just gonna keep rubbing your back in small circles. It's soothing for you and it gives him something to focus on that isn't his throbbing temples.]

[geometry]

[It is. WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU WHEN HE WAS HAVING A SPACEY-WACEY BREAKDOWN THE LAST TIME?]

[...oh.]

[Right.]

[chronomancer]

[...being a piece of shit, as usual. D'uh.

Eridan brushes his lips against Equius' temple, soothing without once brushing the line of actually shooshing him. Outright, anyway.]

Better?

[geometry]

[He finally opens his eyes, looking at the ground and taking deep breaths. Eventually, the wave passes and he gets up again, and Eridan is back to straining his neck just to look his matesprit in the eye.]

Yes. Thank you.

[He dusts off his clothes.]

Let's finish this.

[chronomancer]

Alright.

[Eridan steps back enough to give Equius space to stand comfortably, and stuck his hands into the pockets of his coat.]

So... aside heartfelt death threats upon the asshole responsible for this shit, do you have any insight on this?

[geometry]

Well. [Equius took a few more breaths.] You were certainly right about the chainsaw.

[And then...]

[ ... ]

[ ... ]

Something has definitely been changed. Something quite significant. [Like, you know, the appearances of about half the tower, but he doesn't quite get that yet.] Near the dormitories...?

[chronomancer]

Let's go check them out then, maybe we can see what's wrong there.

[He's grinning a little wryly, because he might just curl up and die for a few hours otherwise.]

[geometry]

[Curling up and dying is a bad thing, Equius' goal is to avoid that.]

Are you sure?