It...seemed like a good idea at the time.

[splinterself]

[So after getting the "Where is this, who are you, what is going on?" out of his system, Dirk Strider was purposefully and boldly exploring Mac Anu and was...kind of bemused by the fact that the city wasn't done up in purple and black.

...just saying.

He had ended up at the harbor and there he paused in his wan- purposeful exploring, as...you know what's incredibly distracting? Actually only having one self (at least for the time being) that he was aware of. Also the clothes. Also the fact that he still had no idea what the hell was going on, and, more importantly, what was happening with Roxy.

There was a certain irony in him spacing out just as badly as he did when he had multiple selves to juggle, one which was lost on the guy as he was spacing out, brooding.]

...

[Yeah, this was getting him nowhere. (And shit, the lack of purple really was throwing him off.) That was when he shook his head slightly, turned to the nearest person, and said:]

Hey.

[So verbose.]

Comments

[hoperaider]

[Jake is going to switch moods for a brief moment.]

Doesn't it get tiring?

[splinterself]

Does what get tiring? [Like he's going to make it that easy.]

[hoperaider]

[If you look up "denial" in the dictionary, you will find a picture of a certain pair of Strider brothers.]

The whole poker face thing.

[splinterself]

Not really. I mean, sure, if I went from being some really emotive guy who wears his heart on his sleeve to this, yeah, I could see how it would get tiring. [Hearts on shirts don't count either.] But I'm not. And with everything I had going on, it's hard to get worked up over a lot of things.

[hoperaider]

I suppose so. [Jake's just concerned that this isn't strictly healthy for him, but he'll let it drop.]

How have you been adapting to there being actual people around?

[splinterself]

I should be asking you that! Goddamn, I've been worried. There's only so long a man can be left in the middle of the ocean with only his own thoughts for company.

[hoperaider]

Brobot's not bad company, when he's not beating the living crud out of me. And all you've got to talk to are the three of us, miscellaneous inanimate objects, and seagulls. I should expect that my inquiry on the subject makes sense!

[Still, Jake will concede the point.]

It's thrilling, but also a bit intimidating. I know there's many people in the world, but actually experiencing it is an entirely different matter.

[splinterself]

Yeah, but I did have Derse.

Man, though, that was nothing like here. I'm used to things being quieter, nothing to distract me except myself. [Says the guy who hasn't shut up since he got here.]

[hoperaider]

I may not have Prospit, but I do have you three to keep me sane. So I think I"ll be okay.

Well, now we have something other than our thoughts, right?

[splinterself]

[He made an amused noise.

...no, it wasn't a chuckle or guffaw, don't get your hopes up. Like an amused grunt or snort or something brief.]

Guess so. It's not like either of us are leaving anytime soon, right? [(OH GOD PLEASE NO HE'D BE SO LONELY IF JAKE LEFT AND HE WAS STUCK BEHIND.) Yeah. Stuck here together. Looks it. Just the two of them. It happens, bro.]

lol I'm dividing southwest into two separate rooms.

[hoperaider]

[It's something, though! He's pleased to hear it.]

That's certainly true. [This room has only one direction, which is south. So, going that way! Surprisingly, there are no monsters in this room.]

Exciting!

[splinterself]

[Uh huh.]

Huh. Anticlimactic. I don't know about you, dude, but I was expecting to get rushed by some monsters again.

[hoperaider]

I guess it would make sense to put in a room that didn't have a pack of monsters to vanquish. It makes the whole thing less monotonous, in a way!

[Doot doot doot walking down the hall.]

Are you starting to get used to the minimal damage you're dealing?

[splinterself]

No, but I'll fix that sooner or later. [Probably sooner. Fuck yes relentless grinding!] This sucks, but I can make this work.

[hoperaider]

Well, I hope it'll be fun for you. I think I shall be sticking to simple explorations and finding treasure. [Jake is probably going to take his time. He's got an endless amount of dungeons to explore, after all.

He's also swiftly running out of topics to discuss that aren't...romantically...involved. Feelings and whatnot. Okay, some things about meeting in real life suck.]

[splinterself]

[They are not going to talk about feelings.]

Yeah, this is like living the dream for you, isn't it? Endless dungeons, endless treasure, and appropriately-scaled monster encounters so you won't get your ass handed to you.

[hoperaider]

[Shot down!]

I think it helps that I've got you around as a nice distraction. [Please, take this however you please, Dirk.]

But yes, it really is! The scenes may be the same, but the different layouts and treasures you can acquire make it worthwhile.

start;

[splinterself]

[Did he jus-]

[splinterself]

[fds-...]

finish;

[splinterself]

[...no, fuck you English, no, he is not going to write out a long emoted action tag filled with what he's thinking and feeling, you're not going to get him to emote about feelings that way.]

I still gotta decide what I'm going to do if I'm stuck here longterm.

[hoperaider]

[Wow, such a rued soul you are, Dirk.]

Well, I guess we could form a guild when we hit level 10? It's kind of like a home from what I've gathered.

[The next room is also suspiciously empty with one way going west. Hmmm....]

[splinterself]

[JUST WARN THE NEXT TIME YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT. Shit.]

It definitely beats sleeping on the streets. And...

[Well shit, now something definitely is up. He's going to pause for a moment, gazing contemplatively westward as he taps the hilt of his sword.]

English.

[hoperaider]

[Yes because he's so good at warning about Freudian slips!!!

Jake was about to step into the room like an idiot, but Dirk stops him just in time with just saying his name like that.]

What?

[That's about when six goblins show up out of a blind spot, currently minding their own business.]

Ahh yes that...might be problematic.

[splinterself]

[...pfft. Just...]

English, I'm glad I'm not alone.

[Right, getting on with the epic battle even though 6-2 might be...yeah, problematic.]

Think we should retreat? [This is said utterly calmly, as if they were discussing the weather, accompanied by a broshrug.]

[hoperaider]

Please, I wouldn't have let you do your first dungeon alone regardless!

[It's proper friend etiquette.

Jake takes a moment to study the two groups before coming up with an answer.]

Well, other than a strategic retreat, I can think of a couple different options we could utilize. One is divide and conquer, since they seem to be grouped in threes. We can always jump into the other's fight if we manage to get done. Or we could see if we can stealth it.

[He tilts his head at Dirk.]

What do you think?