snowblindrpg | [network] @ASolomons; audio, afternoon of 347 [open]

Entry tags:

[network] @ASolomons; audio, afternoon of 347 [open]

[The recording starts up and Alfie says in a rough, no-nonsense voice:]

Where are you? You're alive?

[There's a brief pause, and then he continues, his tone markedly different - it's a bit softer, but also more tired. Less guarded.]

Where are you? I'm in one of the newer areas; I'm in a funeral home I've never been in. Fucking cultist markings all over the walls-- answer as soon as you can, mate; please.

[Another pause, and then:]

Hello.

[He almost sing-songs his words, but only enough to just barely hide the hardness that lurks underneath.]

Do you know who I am?

[Once upon a time, this disjointed, confusing post was several separate messages. Unfortunately for Alfie, once he hit send, all privacy filters were removed - a consequence of his current death loss. For a guy who prefers private conversations over public ones by a large margin, this will not be fun.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[... Motherfucker.]

[It doesn't take a genius to piece together what must have happened, not with Alfie mentioning a funeral home and asking after someone who can only be Royce. They'd both died, somehow, and it'd... what, happened unexpectedly enough that they hadn't been able to warn Karkat that it would be a possibility? So probably an anomaly, whatever, he doesn't have the patience to check anyone else's responses yet, so—]

What the fuck did you do?!

[He's just going to start there.]

Karkat - don't start.

[He barely has enough energy to inject a note of warning into his tone.]

[Uh, fuck. There's a beat of silence, then in a slightly more restrained tone, Karkat continues.]

I didn't see this coming, okay? And you both got wiped out! Like if it was just one of you, sure! That makes sense even if it's fucking stupid. But...

[Shit, this is pretty much the exact opposite of not starting, isn't it? Not that Alfie is likely to do anything too severe because of it (Karkat hopes), but he's taking another moment to try and contain himself. Self-control is hard and he doesn't like it.]

Have you heard anything from Royce yet?

[Instead of answering, he snaps:]

Do we need to have this fucking conversation? Eh? Tell me, do we need to go over the many fucking ways one can die here that are not the result of stupidity and carelessness, and do not require lectures?

If you can't be fucking civil, then you can fuck off, boy; I'm not in the fucking mood for it.

[Sorry Karkat, the f-bombs have reached critical mass.]

[In all the time he's known Alfie, he's never been snapped at like this. Or... okay, maybe he has, but it feels different this time, somehow? It's probably because of the multitude of similar conversations they've had in the past, the feeling that Karkat should know better, and despite his lingering urge to protest (he hadn't meant it like that), the outburst effectively silences him anyway because he doesn't know how the fuck to deal with it. Had he really screwed up? Should he just not have said anything? But he really hadn't meant it like that; doesn't that count for anything?]

[He doesn't say anything for several seconds, just standing there with his tablet in hand, shoulders hunched and eyes directed elsewhere. Alfie's not even physically present, so what the hell, but...]

[But.]

I just wanted to know what happened.

[His voice isn't small by any conventional measure, but for Karkat? Yeah. Alfie's not quite as terrifying as an adult troll would be, but he's still a fucking adult.]

[And just like that, his energy is sapped again. He grunts quietly in response, and it's a moment or two before he says anything more.]

I can't send private messages.

[And this... whatever it is with Hannibal isn't something he wants the whole town knowing about.]

I have not heard from Royce.

[That... really doesn't answer his question, but Karkat isn't inclined to point that out even if Alfie's no longer yelling at him. Maybe he should leave it alone? Especially if it's too painful to talk about or whatever, and god does he feel like an asshole for not considering that sooner.]

[He takes a deep breath and releases it in an equally deep sigh. Yeah, he should probably just back off already.]

Okay. Yeah, I get it.

[Kind of? Or not even remotely, but that just makes this situation that much harder to deal with.]

I can message him if you want. I mean, I already did, but I can let you know what's up if he doesn't see this first. You can still get private messages, right?

Mm, yeah. I can't respond properly, that's all.

[A beat, then:]

Tell him, but don't badger him.

Edited 2018-04-09 03:19 (UTC)

[Yeah, thanks he's wincing now (even though he probably deserves it).]

Right, I got it.

[Oh look, another beat. Fuck.]

Sorry.

Mm.

You were gone a while, yourself. You and Davesprite.

[Is that a peace offering? It sounds kind of like a peace offering. He's perking up a little regardless.]

Yeah. I mean, we were, for like two weeks? But we're back now and we've been around.

[Wait, shit. Another wince.]

Uh, sorry I didn't say hi sooner. I got... sort of distracted.

[You know. With things.]

I didn't say hi either, did I.

[So no harm done.]

I guess? But you probably had your own shit going on, I don't know.

[He'd talked to Royce about a fragment of it, perhaps, but he doesn't want to bring that up if the other man hasn't revived yet. God, this is such a mess.]

So, uh, how've you been? Since we're not talking about the other shit.

There's a lot I'm not gonna want to talk about like this. We'll have to come up with a code.

[That's as close to joking as he's going to get right now.]

We've been eating better. Gabriel's been making fires and cooking us food.

Oh.

[Oh. Yes, that's finally clicking, guess who's occasionally slow on the uptake.]

Yeah, okay. The big stuff can wait. Anyway, that's... fuck. Is it stuff out of the grocery store or just heated up rations?

[He's jealous either way. Goddammit, Alfie.]

Grocery store things, I think. I don't know where he got all of it.

It'd have to be the grocery store, right? The rest of the food here is shit.

I think there's a spot or two in the new areas with different sorts of food.

[He's not positive of that, though. He's a little out of touch.]

Yeah, but we're still basically fucked when it comes to getting anything served hot.

[Which is... okay, it could be worse, but like the cold, it wears on him. Everything about this place does.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[network] @ASolomons; audio, afternoon of 347 [open]

@carcinoGeneticist; audio

@ASolomons; audio

audio

audio

audio

audio

audio

audio

audio

audio

audio

audio

audio

audio

audio

audio

audio

audio

audio