exeggutorhead | IC Inbox

_{[Yeah she'd... listened to a bit of the conversations on the train, but... had felt a little bit in the dark over it all.]}

... What exactly were you guys arguing about, anyway?

I mean.

I know why you're mad, but...

_{[SHE HAS NO IDEA WHAT ENVY WAS DOING OVER THE WEEKEND.]}

[WELL SHE'S ABOUT TO FIND OUT, BECAUSE IN THIS STATE? WHEN ENVY GETS GOING HE GETS GOING.]

Well I mean, you heard him talking to his damn brother, didn't you?

Perfectly happy to show me off to laugh but then it's all oh nooo, I'm not with them.

I kept his vengeful ex-mom away from him that whole weekend and he knew it. I didn't fucking have to.

Waste of effort on my part, if that's how it's gonna be the second he gets the opportunity.

--what, really?

_{[She knows very little about Sloth as a PERSON but she has heard the general tale of her origin from both Envy and Al.]

[And frankly, even with as much progress as Envy's made, it's very surprising to hear that he actively spent a weekend trying to protect the younger Elric. That's like. Advanced progress.]}

... Well, that kind of speaks for itself.

If he's too insecure to stand up and say it like it is, that's on him.

Not you.

[At her surprise, he sort of...realizes what he's admitted and huffs in that particular way that means he's trying to distract from something he'd said.]

Well, I mean, I wanted to hang out with her too, I hadn't seen her since I got here, so all I had to do was show her around away from Al.

[He pauses again, the rest of what she said hitting him. His face does an interesting contortion of trying to still be furiously angry but also kind of happy she'd said that.]

...well. Anyway. That's what the argument was about.

_{[WELL? IT'S TRUE.]

[It is actually true.]

[Even if Al isn't impressed, she is.]

[And proud.]}

I'd be pissed off, too!

_{[SAYING THAT STRAIGHT-UP because he has every right to be upset at getting thrown under the bus after actually putting his big kid pants on and doing the right thing. Multiple motivations aside, a couple years ago on one of those weekends he was chasing Alphonse through Goldenrod like the fucking intro to West Side Story. THIS IS CONSIDERABLE IMPROVEMENT!!]}

But family members showing up is-- ... well, you know how complicated it can get.

Remember that time you and Greed had a full-on screaming text meltdown while I was in the same conversation?

Al... probably wasn't thinking too hard about what he was saying, or about who was hearing it.

[It's really not often that Envy gets to be the one to be sided with, and he can't help his shoulders straightening up just a little. Her assurance clearly had an effect on him that joking hadn't.]

[OF COURSE, THEN SHE HAS TO GO AND BRING UP THE INCIDENT. He cringes, groaning.]

I try not to remember that...

[He's still determined to stay angry for now, but now that she's starting to make SENSE, it means he has to seize on whatever part of the conversation isn't about that.]

_{[NOTED.]

[She can definitely see the shift in stance-- hey, sometimes validation is really important.]

[And you know what, now that she knows what specifically ignited his FURY SPARK, it's not as important to grill him for details.]

[So she'll let him have the other conversation thread-- he can just think about the sense-making stuff later.]}

Honestly, in hindsight, that was kinda funny. Like, you gotta admit.

_{[And maybe, MAYBE, someday they can laugh about the whole mystery brother traincar reveal too.]}

[MAYBE, ONE DAY.]

[Honestly, the FURY SPARK for Ed is still smoldering in limbo, just waiting to get set off. He can't have his proper explosion about it until he knows for sure what's going on. So in the meantime, he can explode over Alphonse and the uncertainty of it all.]

It was definitely ridiculous. I can't believe you actually wanted to move in with both of us after that.

Hey, I don't think you ever met Hal and Liquid.

Not to dunk on your family's very impressive history of drama and emotional turmoil, but believe it or not, those guys almost made you guys look tame.

_{[Not to mention... they might joke about always having to stop Envy from backflipping off rooftops, but Heather spent a truly noteworthy amount of time actually stopping Liquid from backflipping off of rooftops.]}

I had some work experience and transferrable skills built up by that point.

....nnno, I don't think I ever did.

[The fact that anyone could make the Elric family drama look anywhere near 'tame' is grounds for Envy's most incredulous possible look.]

How was anyone that bad?

_{[Aha, maybe now they're in territory where she can get him at least snickering a bit.]}

Oh, boy.

Buckle in.

_{[THE SIMILARITIES, SHE CONFESSES, HAD STRUCK HER LONG BEFORE NOW. Because like. You go through the motions enough times and you eventually start to notice a pattern. She's pretty sure that spending so much time with Otacon and the Snakes had been preparing her on a cosmic level to deal with being best friends with a bunch of undead monsters.]}

Back when I first got here, one of the first real close friends I made was this guy named Liquid.

And Liquid was... like... _{[Envy but macho and loud.]} ... well. Let's just say you guys had some stuff in common, except he looked like he bench-pressed a Hippowdon every morning and his lowest volume was a dull roar. Dude used to pick me up and carry me around like it was nothin'.

Anyway, I may have had to, several times, stop him from killing his estranged brother.

Who he hated vehemently.

And monologued about.

While doing backflips.

And I mean that he was literally doing both of those things, while trying to kill his estranged brother.

_{[IF SHE THINKS SHE CAN GET AWAY WITH IT, she will take this opportunity to pinch Envy's side playfully.]}

Sooooound familiar?

Edited 2017-08-02 04:46 (UTC)

[Welllll...]

[He doesn't snicker. But the longer the story goes on, the more a little smirk starts growing on his face. Which is pretty good!]

[She even gets away with that little pinch, even if he makes a point of squirming his side away and giving her an offended look.]

Hey. Hey.

....I haven't tried to kill anyone while doing backflips while I've been here.

That's because, believe it or not, you're a better person than he was.

I'm pretty sure the only reason he didn't successfully murder Snake is because he had a short attention span.

_{[Like SHE LOVED LIQUID, SHE REALLY DID!! But that boy was not interested in learning life lessons about family and forgiveness.]}

You actually try.

[Heather is now person number two to tell Envy that they think he's a better person than...anyone when it comes to brothers.]

[That means something. He's not sure what, but it does.]

[He's quiet for a minute, and when he opens his mouth...]

[The incredibly loud DEDEDEDE-WHOOOOOP of a Kricketune sounds from entirely too close by.]

[Which is enough to derail any meaningful comment from Envy, but he does finally snicker.]

Well...if you're sure I don't just have a short attention span. Maybe I'm just distracted all the time.

_{[She actually JUMPS at the sudden, deafening chirrup, fists coming up automatically-- like they always do when she's startled.]

[But the second she realizes what it was, she's already laughing.]}

Fuck, that scared me.

I dunno, maybe you're just super distractable. Because I haven't actually had to try that hard in this last year or so to stop you and Al from trying to drown each other in the swimming pool.

Just that one time during the Third Rise of Lapras Floatie, and I suspect the Lapras Floatie herself may have had a hand in the attempt.

Hey, I did call the Lapras Floatie and it's his fault for not respecting my claim to the throne.

If he didn't wanna get drowned, he shouldn't have been a usurper.

[He could have continued on that track, and normally he would have, but he stops himself, a weird, surly look crossing his face instead. That strayed a liiittle too close to normal for his liking when he wants to be mad. But he sighs, frustrated but still also having the Feelings from her confidence in him. There's just a lot going on right now in this emotionally stunted little green-haired package.]

But whatever. I'm not gonna go murdering 'em. With backflips or otherwise.

Let's talk about something else.

_{[She does snicker, but the look on his face stops her from commenting further. Because yeah, okay, now's not the time to look back fondly on Al Moments.]

[She claps him lightly on the back.]}

Yeah, we've covered murder and backflips pretty thoroughly.

Conversation topic is officially changed.

_{[There's still plenty of distance between here and home to cover with other, less sticky subjects.]}

IC Inbox

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject