September & October Catch-All

[spiritwalks]

Who: Vyng spiritwalks and YOU
What: Catch-All for September + October. See comments for prompts!
When: Various
Where: Various

Note: Style veers wildly between prose and brackets. Just choose whatever style feels good when responding, and I'll match it ♥

Content Warnings: Listed in subject lines when applicable

Comments

[bardbarous]

[ He listens without interruption, still focused on the wet sand between his feet. If it had been anyone else, Tuck would have cut them off, too upset and deep in his self-pity to hear what he needs to. But he respects Vyng. He loves Vyng, so he keeps his mouth shut until his friend has run logic circle around him. ]

Yeah, but—...

[ Even without eyes on him, he knows what face the half-elf is making. His eyes are wider, head leaning in to emphasize the point he's made. Like a wife who knows she's right, but needs her stubborn husband to get there on his own to make the lesson stick. ]

Yeah.

[ It doesn't make it hurt any less for him, because at the end of the day it's not so much about Billie, but himself. Billie will be fine without him—he's survived centuries on his own. But Tuck needs that self-imposed responsibility of taking care of his child. It gives him purpose, it makes him seem dependable, relatable.

Neither of them really need him, but goddamn does he need them. He's not whole without the other two pieces. ]

It's not fair.

[spiritwalks]

It's not, no.

[Life seldom is. They're both painfully aware of that fact. Vyng's grasp on Tuck's shoulder tightens, as if it were the only thing keeping them tethered to one another.]

Your flower isn't a loser, either. Your feelings are just at a different place than mine. [Their flowers wouldn't look so radically different, otherwise.] ...And that's okay. Those emotions aren't wrong, Tuck. Most people would feel robbed in our shoes. We both were, in a lot of ways.

[Of the boy they'd grown to care for like a son. Of the years they were going to spend together. Of the chance to help Billie rediscover who he is. Those privileges belong to somebody else now — separate iterations of themselves that may as well be different people.

Another wave of loss washes over him, like the tide rolling onto the shore in front of them. He briefly closes his eyes.]

But I get why you're frustrated, too. You probably feel like I'm accepting our new lives too quickly. Or like you aren't keeping up. Or maybe...it's a little bit of both.

[Emotions can be tricky — and messy — like that. A metaphorical stopped-up toilet that's overflowing with metaphorical piss and shit, and now it's all over the floor, and who's going to clean all of this up? (He might have non-metaphorical toilets in the back of his mind, though, so maybe it's not the best analogy.)]

[bardbarous]

Yeah, you have friends! And, and... They probably like you! Do... Do they ever talk about me? Do they think I'm cool, too?

[ Yeah, now they are getting to the meat of things. Tuck is feeling left behind, and it's not a surprise. He's been a sad sack and depressed since they left his dream bubble together with nothing but a giant arctic wolf. ]

[spiritwalks]

Shiro likes you. He sat on your lap, remember?

[bardbarous]

Yeah I guess. He didn't mind my boner, so...

[spiritwalks]

[Vyng snorts. Wow, way to make somebody sound like a consolation prize. Granted, Shiro likes everybody, so befriending him isn't necessarily a huge accomplishment. But that's a good thing for a couple of ding-dongs like them.]

What about Michael? And, and Amara? [A beat, and then a wince.] ...When she was, you know. Around.

[Fuck.]

Point is! There's a whole town full of weirdos like us. Trust me, plenty of people are gonna accept you for you — shit vase and all.

Hell, most of my friends already like you. And Billie too, even though they've never met him. They know about us and our weird shit. They know what they're getting into. Kind of.

[bardbarous]

[ Amara's a sore spot in his heart. She was an exceptional chick who took him for who he was—an awkward, stunted manchild with a heart of gold. But the sea has yet to spit her back up like the rest of them. ]

I wonder why the sea didn't bring everyone back. So stupid. [ He kicks a clot of sand into the water like a petulant toddler. Then he gets an even better idea. ] Let's piss in it!

[spiritwalks]

[If Tuck wants to piss in this world's living embodiment of the Spirit World, Vyng isn't going to stop him. Mariana is too vast, too far beyond the scope of mortal concerns, to care about anything so petty. Besides, there are far more destructive ways a 7-foot barbarian could take his frustrations out on the world.

Of course, he could pee on every corner of the city, and neither of them would feel much better. At the end of the day, Billie's little bread-drawer bed will still be cold and empty.

They need to grieve. But they need to move forward too. Even if Trench is a shit hole, that doesn't mean they can't carve out some happy memories of their own. So Vyng comes up with an idea of his own.]

Wanna see something cool?

[He offers a pale hand out for Tuck, palm facing upward in a clear invitation for him to take it.]

[bardbarous]

... Are you gonna fart again if I take your hand?

[spiritwalks]

That wasn't the plan. But I can't make any promises.

[bardbarous]

[ With sus eyes, Tuck slowly extends his arm and carefully grabs his best friend's hand, waiting for the inevitable toot. ]

[spiritwalks]

[But Tuck isn't met with a shock-fart. Instead, Vyng gently guides him across the shoreline.

Once they cross the threshold, however, something strange happens: Rather than allowing them to sink, water and air combine beneath both of them to form a cushy padding. It moves with the both them, granting Vyng and Tuck the ability to traverse the shifting, rippling surface the same way they walked across the sand.

They're walking on water.]

[bardbarous]

[ It's a strange feeling to look down over the water, watch it shift under his boots and him along with it, but not sink into its murky depths. Actually, Tuck feels a little dizzy at first. It takes Vyng's suggestion to keep his eyes up to stop the lightheaded sensation. ]

Ohhh, this feels so weeeird!

[ He likes it, though. ]

[spiritwalks]

[He keeps a steady, secure grip on Tuck's massive hand. The closer they stick together, the easier it is for Vyng to maintain the safeguards keeping them from taking a dip with the fish.

At his friend's enthusiasm, Vyng's mouth splits into a grin.]

♫I'm walkin' on water, wo-oah!
And don't it feel good!♫

[bardbarous]

HEY! [ Tucks screams with perfect timing. ] A fish.

[ It's long and predatory like a barracuda right under their feet. But soon enough it darts away farther into the water. ]

[spiritwalks]

Hahahah! [Vyng can't help but laugh at that smooth transition.] Cooool...



[Suddenly, the reason for the barracuda's hasty retreat becomes clear. A hefty air bubble reaches the surface with a quiet ploop — and the stench of rotten eggs soon mixes with the salt-water air.]

[bardbarous]

[ It takes Tuck a moment to understand what just happened. As he's squatting down to watch the last flashing scales of the fish flicker away, the waft of a heinous Vyng fart singes his nose hairs straight to the roots! ]

Holy shiiit! Vyng! What the hell do you eat to make that smell?!

[spiritwalks]

Whoops, got a little saucy there — pasta saucy, I mean.

[This is what love is, clearly. And Tuck isn't wallowing in his own self pity anymore...for now.

Vyng's still smiling when he catches sight of some ocean glass, somehow managing to glint from its bed on the cloudy sandbar. Luca showed him something similar awhile back. He knows they're highly sought-after back in town. But he can always search for more another time.

He's too content with enjoying their stroll to do anything else.]

Hey, there's a little fishing spot not too far from here. Wanna go check it out?

[bardbarous]

Oh my god, yes! Anywhere that isn't where you farted!

[ He's ready to be led away by the hand to fuck with some more fish. Even if it's empty, he can always piss in it. ]

[spiritwalks]

Ahahahah. Well, you're in luck, pal. We've got a whole ocean in front of us.

[With a quick squeeze of Tuck's hand, Vyng turns toward their destination. He knows exactly where the nearest fishing zone is, because he remembers it's one of the few places Luca can catch fish. But even if they miss it, they've got plenty of space to explore.

Vyng knows this doesn't mend Tuck's broken heart. But at least they can form some fun memories together during the spaces between one crisis and the next. So, he gently guides his friend along their rippling, churning path.]