maskintape | IC INBOX

Heh. If we were back home, I could get you a tape. Exclusive footage of the lesser-spotted Happy Tim in its natural habitat.

[ No four-poster beds involved or anything. ]

I'd like to see your home one day, it must be amazing coming from a place where motion capture is so freely available.

[Amestris is so technologically backwards.]

Nah. Not much different to here. Less snow. More trees. Same problems.

Absolutely nothing there worth going back to. Or - going to visit, I guess. Whatever.

You don't want to go home?

[Surprise bleeds through clearly, he hadn't expected Tim to feel that strongly.]

Wow, uh, you didn't know? Nah, man, I'm staying here no matter what. Would've thought that was, uh. Pretty obvious. Considering.

[ He's mentioned it offhandedly to people before, and honestly thought it was an easy assumption to make. Why the hell would he want to go back there? ]

[That really punches him in the gut. He knew Tim's home wasn't great, but to prefer Norfinbury of all places?]

What if you didn't have to go home or stay here?

[He's already dragging Steph to Amestris. Tim might not be his all time favourite person, but he can't just abandon someone to this hell hole.]

Ugh, okay, you're doing what Clarke did - Jay's dead. There's no guarantee that he won't just start - start corpsing it up again if we leave, no matter where we leave to. And now Brian's here too, so...

[ He's not leaving his dead friend. Or... whatever Brian is now. Neither of them. ]

[He falls into a brief troubled silence, Tim is right, he has no idea if going through to another world would cause Jay to keel over immediately.]

Then... then we'll find out, we'll make sure we understand how this works before we leave. And if it does turn out that he can't leave, then I promise that I won't leave until I know all the dangers have gone.

[He means the admin and the monsters, he can't exactly help with the snow.]

Don't be an ass. You have stuff - or people, or whatever - to go back to, so. It'd be pretty rude to keep 'em waiting. Remember your manners.

[ I-it's not like he finds that touching anyway or anything, you baka!!!!!! ]

[He chuckles, but he's not going to be swayed.]

Brother will go back and start the fight, and I'll help as soon as I can, but I'm not going to abandon anyone here in danger. I understand why you might not be able to leave, so... so there's no way I'd just walk away from that and leave you to cope.

I've been coping all my life, man, I'm pretty sure your brother will need you way more than I will. Plus, you know. Me and my guilt issues.

This wasn't an offer, Tim, it was a promise.

[Which means shut up and accept that he's not going anywhere, so shove those guilt issues aside and be friended at.]

Awesome. Be right back, I need to go grab some of those signs from that one house. The ones that say stuff about not needing a babysitter?

[ Shut up Tim you absolutely do need a babysitter on occasion ]

Don't be ridiculous, I'm not babysitting you. But you're a friend, and I'd never forgive myself if I went home and left anyone, not just you, to fend for themselves here if the dangers weren't dealt with.

[He hesitates, but:]

Besides, we don't know for sure yet that you won't be able to go someplace else, we might find information to know if Jay and Brian would be able to as well.

Al.

[ You know that one stare that Tim does that's equal measures of "you dense motherfucker" and "I am dead inside"

HE'S DOING THAT

RIGHT NOW ]

You do not want me heading on into any place you give half a crap about. Unless you like people getting sick and going nuts and being stalked by spooky tree men.

Maybe another world holds the key to a cure, or maybe that thing wouldn't be able to follow you?

[You know how Al never gives up? Guess what he's doing now.]

It's worth looking into. Maybe you will have to stay here at the end of it all, but we don't know that yet, and you shouldn't consign yourself to it without all the answers.

[ He'd like to point out that it followed him here, he's seen it, it will follow him everywhere, but for once he holds his tongue. Kinda. ]

I figure if I expect the worst then I won't get disappointed any more. Like the evil twin to your whole "there's always hope" attitude you've got going on. Complete with sinister facial hair.

I don't think that can be true, not deep down, or else you wouldn't be able to keep going. If you only think that the worst will happen, how can you have the hope and strength needed to keep fighting to live another day? You're not dead, so there's still hope.

[He has to believe that, he just does.]

You've got it wrong. I'm still kicking because I'm a stubborn asshole who knows what it's like to be left alone.

So basically I screw hope and embrace spite, it does me just fine.

[He makes a faint noise that's half hum and half chuckle. He doesn't believe it, not really, but he's getting used to dealing with Tim now so it mostly just rolls off his back.]

You haven't seemed all that spiteful to me, but you're definitely stubborn. You kind of remind me of someone else I know.

I swear to god, if the words "brother" or "short" even think about leaving your spooky ghost voice hole, I'm going to start reminding the entire network about that severe UTI of yours.

Seriously.

[He doesn't need to say it, but the burst of laughter probably does it for him.]

H-Hey, don't you dare, you know that's not really a thing at all!

[ HE IS SO UNDAUNTED BY THIS. AL IS A LIL SHIT. ]

Shhh, I'm composing my next network post. Dear Norfinbury, a friend of mine has a dong dilemma...

[He can't stop laughing, though it does edge towards nervous laughter now.]

You wouldn't do something like that.

[ CONTINUING UNABATED: ]

...a peen problem, if you will...

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