Tails: instant gratification ahoy.

[splinterself]

[Dirk had decided to be productive. Ish. (Productiveish? That ain't even something tha-...and that led to a chain of thought he decided to not climb down for the time being. His responder had better not be letting him down, though.)

In a way he had gotten the idea from Faris. If the pirate use could magic from crystals (he wasn't sure he wanted to know) and the game they were in had no problems, then there was no reason why he couldn't use puppetkind or fncysntakind. It wasn't like he had forgotten how to use either of them. No reason at all.

Well, except for not having any puppets or fancy Santas to weaponize.

He had obtained the materials through a long and arduous process which - frankly speaking - didn't really matter. It was pretty boring, as was him finding a quieter part of Mac Anu and starting work, so we'll skip to the interesting part: Dirk had gotten a little bit sidetracked and was putting the finishing touch on a plush which was disconcertedly well done considering what he had to work with. (It was pretty sad, seriously. It felt like he was trying to build a robot and only had a chisel and a rock to work with.) In his defense, the idea was fucking amusing and he was going to roll with it for now, and as he turned it over in his hands to make sure he didn't miss a spot he had to admit...it ain't his best work, but it ain't the worst he's done either.

Enter someone else. You? Why not. If he knows you, assume that if he sees you he'll give you a nod of recognition, a sort of silent broed sup. If he's related to you or you're somebody from back home, he'd give you a hey, a greeting with your name. There may be a slight amused smirk accompanying the above. Your call.]

Comments

[splinterself]

Yeah. Or maybe felt. I don't know. Whatever looks good for shades that's cheap. [And he can scout out stuff for OPERATION: Upgrade Jake's Eyewear.]

[hoperaider]

Alright. I'll take a look over here, then! [And off he goes to look through the assorted fabrics.]

[splinterself]

[And he's actually going to...chill. If he had an orange soda this was the moment he'd pick to crack one open and drink it.

No rush. He's kind of half-assedly checking out fabric, idly wondering about blanketing Mac Anu in smuppets.]

[hoperaider]

[It's actually pretty hard finding black fabric. The only thing he's found close in cotton is midnight blue and with the felt that'd be a dark brown.]

Hey, Dirk? Would midnight blue or dark brown work as a substitute for black if we can't find it?

[splinterself]

Go with the blue.

[Stil-

...

How distracted is Jake right now?]

[hoperaider]

Got it!

[Very distracted. He's still looking for black cotton/felt, but he'll probably have to fall back on the midnight blue.]

[splinterself]

[Mac Anu is a battlefield for Sbrurb players. A place where Princes of Heart, Pages of Hope, Seers of Light, and Knights of Time engage in a never ending struggle. This is a place where only the strong survive.

Watch as the wild Prince of Heart creeps towards his prey. Utilizing the natural camouflage surrounding him, he stalks slowly towards the browsing Page of Hope. Gradually he creeps closer. He freezes for a moment when it seems that the Page of Hope might spot him before continuing on his stalk.

He draws closer and closer until-

Drapes from behind: quick, friendly, affectionate-with-no-ulterior-motivations-really-stop-looking-at-him-like-that.]

That'll work. [Unless Jake does anything in the next few seconds he'll grab it and head over to pay for it. Quick, think fast!...ish!]

[hoperaider]

[Jake jumps at the sudden contact, but relaxes when he sees that it's Dirk. He chuckles and gives the other boy's hand an affectionate, friendly squeeze since he can't hug back in this position. He'll be fast on Dirk's heels when he lets go.

Any ulterior motives has gone over this kid's head.]

Shall I expect other instances in which you burst into affection, Dirk?

[splinterself]

Only when it's ironic. [BRB, paying.]

[hoperaider]

You wouldn't be Dirk Strider if it weren't.

[When Dirk's done paying, Jake is going to loop his arm around his friend's arm like a gentleman escorting a lady (even if the height difference makes it look silly as Jake is notably shorter). This is how he's going to drag the other around until they find an ice cream parlor or whatever.]

Ready to go on a quest to find ice cream?

[splinterself]

[Wait.

...

Could you repeat that last tag for a bro, just in case something was misread or something?]

[hoperaider]

[And now it is time to rewind what has just happened in Dirk's mind.]

You wouldn't be Dirk Strider if it weren't.

[When Dirk's done paying, Jake is going to loop his arm around his friend's arm like a gentleman escorting a lady (even if the height difference makes it look silly as Jake is notably shorter). This is how he's going to drag the other around until they find an ice cream parlor or whatever.]

Ready to go on a quest to find ice cream?

[splinterself]

[...alright. Thanks.

...and that's not a metaphor for something el- no, it wouldn't be. Jake's not the irony guy, not the metaphor guy...he tries, but doesn't quite deliver on them. No, that is a 100% straightforward tag without any ulterior meaning behind it.

...]

Man. Think we'll find one?

[...]

[hoperaider]

[The only time Jake ever delivers on an ironic metaphor is when it's completely on accident.]

I'm sure we will! If not, we can make it lunch instead.

[Because only the most sincere of apologies include food!]

[splinterself]

Alright. Man, if I knew faking being mad got you to buy me food I'd do it more often. [...]

[hoperaider]

Do try not to abuse it. I know it's sorely tempting.

[Ah! There's an ice cream stall!]

What flavor do you like?

[splinterself]

[...how the fuck would he know? He hasn't had ice cream before. Shitty future, remember?]

Chocolate. [Eh. Sounds legit.] You?

[hoperaider]

I don't know, I've never had it. Jane's gone on about it before, and I've always wanted to try it since then. I'll be right back!

[The other reason Jake wanted to take him out for ice cream. He lets go of Dirk, and goes over to the stand. Jake speaks with the NPC for a bit before coming back with one chocolate ice cream waffle cone and the other is strawberry. He hands Dirk the chocolate with a big smile.]

Did you want to find somewhere quiet again to sit down?

[splinterself]

[And he takes it and takes a taste.

...tastes alright.] Either's fine with me.

[hoperaider]

[Wait, he's got a good place in mind!]

Does the harbor or the fountain sound good to you?

[splinterself]

Harbor sounds nice. [...as much as he doesn't want to admit it to anyone, seeing the ocean made him feel more at home.]

[hoperaider]

Okay!

[Setting a course for the harbor now, and he's going to take an experimental lick at his ice cream, too. He's decided that strawberry is a very good ice cream flavor.]

How's the ice cream? [He'd hate to have bought something that didn't taste good for his friend.]

[splinterself]

It's good, bro. You have excellent taste in your desserts. 5/5 hats.

[hoperaider]

Haha, you flatter me! Next time I'll see about making crème brûlée. With any luck, this place has a blow torch for that purpose.

[Ironically, it's one of few desserts he can make without having it turn out weird. He just sticks to the other meals and lets Jane do dessert.]

[splinterself]

[Oh. Oh god. Jake with a blow torch. That's like high octane nightmare fuel. He's just imagining the spazzy dork tripping, hitting his head, knocking himself out, and setting Murderdeath Island on fire.

...

All too plausible.]

No rush. There's still other flavors of ice cream we have to try.