It's Happening Again

[tronntronn]

”Wessolf” said:

Viv (to Joe): A second ago you were up our asses trying to arrest us for picking up roadkill, why're you being nice to me?

“Why are you helping me now?”

“Because I don’t know what I’m doing with my life?”

“Tell me about it.” You get up and dust yourself off.

Feb 18, 2021 16:07:14 GMT -5 frear said:

Do you pick up a lot of girls in that... thing?

Njorunn said:

She's upset, so Joe is like "You know what'll cheer you up?"
And puts her in a kid seat with a fake driving wheel
And she's grumpier even, because she knows she likes it

“Do you pick up a lot of girls in that...thing?” You eye his tiny car with disdain ill fitting for someone in your position.

“Nah, I’m a married man.” He avoids your question and then leans back in to open the other door.

You shrug and walk around to the passenger side, but see that there’s a kid’s seat installed there.

“Ugh, that’s so humiliating. Can’t I go to the back?”

“The back seat is where I put all the meat I saved.”

You climb grumpily on the seat and it honks a little. “Are you doing this on purpose? Just because I dissed your ride?”

“I swear I’m not. It’s just my turn to pick up the youngest one from day care.” He smiles apologetically. “She thinks that it’s fun.”

“This is demeaning! I’m not a kid!”

“So you want me to take the fake wheel back?”

“Woah let’s not get carried away.”

Feb 17, 2021 10:00:26 GMT -5 thedudeguy said:

I feel like this is one of those instances where you take the ride offer and just tell them to drive. A good long drive is a great way to vent and maybe bring some perspective.

“So, where do you wanna go?”

“Just drive.”

Joe’s car rolls along with a steady electric hum. It is cramped and smells of riot gear, but it jostles less than Janice’s old rickety ride. You grip the fake wheel and pretend to drive. It feels nice to imagine that you’re in charge for once.

Joe opens his palm to you without taking his eyes off the road. “Hand me the ticket.”

You give it to him and he rips it in two between his teeth.

“Thanks…but don’t you get in trouble with your boss now?”

“Pfft, what’s the worst thing he can do, fire me? No one else is stupid enough to take on this job.”

“Why did you decide to be stupid enough?”

He shrugs. “I got a family to feed. Besides, it wasn’t like this always. Before…everything,” he gestures towards the monster haunted horizon, “this was an honest job. It’s all I know so I stuck with it.”

“Huh.”

I think in silence until you feel you have something to say.

“I had a fight with my friend. I think she was in the wrong, but I dunno. Being the winner doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“There’s no winners in fights between friends...” Joe’s voice trails off into faraway memories.

“She was trying to guilt trip me for being who I am!”

“It was about what happened at the carcass, right?” He continues when you don’t reply. “As I said what you did was brave. But it was also reckless. Don’t you think she was worried about what might happen to you?”

Wessolf said:

Viv: Also break down crying.

You feel a lump in your throat. You were angry because your fun day was ruined by the bugs, by the unfairness of it all, but you start realizing that it might’ve been by you. Your eyes start welling up, and you choke a sob that rises from your chest.

“I wish I could go back and undo everything!”

“Miss, I can’t take you back in time. But I can take you to your friend.”

“I can’t face her! She probably hates me now…” You wipe the single tear that had escaped with the back of your hand.

Joe nods. “Probably. But if she’s your friend then she also wants a chance to forgive you.”

You sniff. “Are you sure?”

“Only sure thing in this life is uncertainty.” He glances at you. “That’s a lyric from a song I once heard and it’s stuck with me all these years. It means that anything might be worth the shot.”

“Aw jeeze, now I get life advice from old songs…” You cover your eyes and wish that you didn’t remember anything.

“...I don’t think it’s a great idea for you to be alone right now.” He sighs. “I’m meeting my missus for lunch. She’s better at people stuff than I, so maybe she knows what to do?”

Feb 17, 2021 10:13:33 GMT -5 Eversor said:

D..do we wake up from our sleep?

You feel that you have been awake for quite a while now. It’s everyone else still sleeping that’s the problem.

Where do you want to go?

[BreadProduct]

The silence is killer, turn on the radio.

[adventurezealot]

Back. Back to the past. Samura- No,, wait.

Let's go back to Janice and Daniel. They still need to fix their car and there are bugs everywhere.

[Eversor]

>Beep the fake driving wheel horn, once.

[frear]

Your monster leg barbecue plan fell through. Take him up on his offer of a free lunch!

[tronntronn]

”Njorunn” said:

She should honk the little horn as a response to some question

Feb 23, 2021 9:46:17 GMT -5 Eversor said:

>Beep the fake driving wheel horn, once.

”Nemo69” said:

You know what, maybe it would be a good idea to tag along. Maybe getting an outside perspective from Joe's missus is just what we need.

Feb 24, 2021 16:30:12 GMT -5 frear said:

Your monster leg barbecue plan fell through. Take him up on his offer of a free lunch!

”Wessolf” said:

Viv: You wish you could go to Lapin, he's always been kind and understanding... but maybe it's better if you don't leave Janice hanging.

Feb 22, 2021 17:57:47 GMT -5 adventurezealot said:

Let's go back to Janice and Daniel. They still need to fix their car and there are bugs everywhere.

You think in silence for a good while, listening to the sound of your breathing.

Joe looks puzzled. “Sorry, did you hear my question? I said that if you want to come to lunch-”

“I heard you! I was having a moment!” You realize that you have raised your voice, and grimace. “Sorry for snapping at you. I’m such a BEEP.” You press the shiny red button on the toy steering wheel.

He shrugs. “Even assholes get hungry. You in or not?”

“...yeah, I’m in. I don’t want to leave my friends hanging, but I don’t want to meet them just yet either.”

“Fair enough.” He switches lanes and takes a ramp leading to the north side of the city.

Feb 22, 2021 16:27:43 GMT -5 BreadProduct said:

The silence is killer, turn on the radio.

The conversation has died out again and you need to drown out the silence somehow.

You turn off the radio.

Your car rolls in the parking lot of an old fast food diner and comes to a stop next to a big truck. A thylacine lady waves at you perkily, and when Joe rolls down his window she leans in to kiss him on the cheek. He tries to be gruff about it, but can’t help smiling.

“Hi honey, how’s your day been?” For a short woman she has a husky voice. It sounds like it would be great for a throaty laugh. “Mine’s been a doozy, I had to call an artillery strike on the 53rd & 3rd to get the residents’ mail delivered.”

Oh. She must be with the Postal Services, and is a grizzled veteran by the look of her.

“That sounds rough,” Joe says. “Alice, meet Viv. She was in trouble so I’m giving her a lift.”

“Legal trouble?” She fishes her pockets for a cigarette but finds none.

“Friend trouble.” You reach out to offer her one, but she shakes her head.

“Nah, I was trying to quit anyway but ‘preciate the offer. Join us for lunch, I made extra egg salad sandwiches. Maybe we’ll figure out something.”

You get out of the car and watch with Joe as she goes to her truck for the lunch box.

“Does this kind of thing happen often with you? She came prepared.”

Joe scratches his nose. “She says that you’ll never know when you meet someone in need of an egg salad sandwich.”

“She’s nice.”

“I know, that’s why I married her.” He starts walking towards a set of tables and benches in front of the diner. “Don’t tell her that though. She wants people to think that she’s tough.”

“She looks like that too.” You follow him.

“Oh yes, very!” He chuckles.

Joe and Alice sit next to each other and chat about everyday couples stuff. They look very comfortable in each others’ company, and you feel a twinge of jealousy. You then feel bad for being jealous and speak up to distract yourself.

“I thought thylacines were an extinct species?”

Alice snorts. “No we aren’t, you just have to know where to look.” She finishes her sandwich and licks her fingers. “That’s the problem in general, people are too happy to sit on their butts thinking instead of getting up and finding out how things really are.”

“I don’t know… I could’ve used more thinking today. I blew up at my friend when she told me that I was out of control, and now I feel like a total jerkbag.”

“Fights are good! You can’t make up without a fight first.”

“She was pretty cool back there fighting bugs,” Joe says without looking up from his cell phone. He has otherwise checked out of the conversation.

“I guess so, but,” you make an exasperated sound, “I get really anxious when I think of apologizing to her. I don’t even know if I should apologize to her! I mean, I am who I am…”

She studies you before replying. “No one likes being told that they need to change. But sometimes it’s what they need to hear. The real trick is knowing the difference.”

“Oh boy.” You sigh.

She gives you an approving smile. “A true jerkbag wouldn’t even consider being in the wrong, so you already have that going for you. Tell me, how would your friends describe you? And be honest here, no wishful thinking what you’d like them to say!”

Well, how would Vivian’s friends describe her?

[Eversor]

A sturdy and reliable trashbag, flailing in the wind.

[thedudeguy]

Her friends would say that she’s
Sixty percent Iguana
Twenty percent gecko
Ten percent luck
Twenty percent skill
Fifteen percent concentrated power of will
Five percent pleasure
Fifty percent pain
And a hundred percent reason to remember the name

[frear]

"They'd say I hide behind a shield of cynicism and sarcasm to protect deep feelings of fear and inadequacy."

[adventurezealot]

Depends on whether they are mad at me or not.

When they are, they say I'm short and short tempered.

When they are not, they say I'm lean, mean and green.

Mar 25, 2021 14:41:16 GMT -5 tronntronn said:

*Never gonna give you up plays in the radio*

What species is Rick Astley in this world?

[tronntronn]

Mar 25, 2021 23:36:22 GMT -5 Eversor said:

A sturdy and reliable trashbag, flailing in the wind.

Mar 29, 2021 2:41:53 GMT -5 frear said:

"They'd say I hide behind a shield of cynicism and sarcasm to protect deep feelings of fear and inadequacy."

Apr 1, 2021 2:28:44 GMT -5 adventurezealot said:

Depends on whether they are mad at me or not.
When they are, they say I'm short and short tempered.
When they are not, they say I'm lean, mean and green.

”Wessolf” said:

Janice: Viv is dedicated to her work... sometimes a bit too much, she means well, but she's always got her snout to the grindstone and it's stressing her out. I wonder sometimes if it's just to avoid thinking too much about the way things are in her life.
Daniel: She's pretty cool, though I'm afraid of stepping on her nerves sometimes. She's got a temper streak a mile wide and I just try to laugh it off.
Jaan: She's my best customer, always got the best horror stories from her job. She's got quite a lot on her mind.
Lapin: She's honest and no nonsense. I like that in her. People just look at me and think I'm this guy who's got everything in his paw, but I'm not. It's refreshing to talk to her, it's like I'm actually seen.

Mar 25, 2021 23:51:39 GMT -5 thedudeguy said:

Her friends would say that she’s...

You sigh. “They probably would say that I’m as reliable as a plastic bag in the wind.”

Alice looks at you for a moment, then shakes her head. “Nah, I don’t believe you. That’s just your insecurities talking. I wanted to hear honesty from you, not bashing yourself as a means to avoid introspection.”

Your temper rises.

“Wow, what insight from a lady who I just met! It’s like you know me so well!” you say with a voice dripping with fake sincerity. “Oh wait I lied, you don’t know me at all.”

“Exactly. Now tell me what others really say about you?”

You are about to say something snarky, but then something happens inside you. Maybe it’s the emotional rollercoaster that you’ve gone through in a short order, or maybe you’re just tired of being miserable, but like a levee that bursts your anger floods out of you leaving you feeling oddly drained.

“I…” you start slowly, seeking your way through your thoughts, “I think they would say that I’m short tempered, and that makes them mad at me, and I turn mean when that happens.”

“But that’s not all, is it?” She fishes a cigarette out of your jacket pocket and lights it. “Friends also say encouraging things to each other.”

“Yeah.” You inhale sharply and try to steady your hands that are suddenly shaky. “Janice would say that I work hard, but it also worries her because she can see how much it stresses me out.”

“Go on.”

“Her brother Daniel thinks that I’m cool, like a rebel, he said that to me several times while we were still dating.” You make a little heh sound. “He’s naïve like that.”

You let out a long, drawn out breath. “But I also make him feel like he’s walking on eggshells. He doesn’t like confronting people, while I like blowing up at people. His sister doesn’t have that problem. She tries to get me to deal with my issues but I don’t want to. That’s why we fight.”

She nods. “What about the others?”

“Well, Jaan is really easygoing and likes me just as I am. He doesn’t try to change me, but he also thinks everyone needs to walk their path on their own. We share horror stories about customers for a laugh, and that’s good enough for both of us.”

You look aside. “And then there’s Lapin...I really want to make him like me.”

“You can’t make someone like you. Either they do, or don’t.”

Joe looks up from his phone. “You also say that with enough explosives anything’s possible.”

“And that’s why you fell in love with me, my go-getter attitude and my half ton of high explosives.” She stops smoking for a moment to give Joe a kiss.

You interrupt them. “You know, I’m not sure I’m comfortable with all this talk about explosives while handling fire.”

“Oh come on, it’s not like I have them in my pocket.” Alice pshaws you. “I have them over there on the bed of my truck.” She points across the parking lot.

“Go! Shoo!”

She returns to the table. “So you were talking about this Lapin guy?”

You blurt out what has been rolling inside you like an ill meal. “He visits my shop every day, and we chat a lot. He has a bright future, you know? That makes others think that he’s this guy who just coasts through life, but in reality he’s worked hard for everything he has. He says that I’m the only one who treats him like any other person on the street, and that it’s refreshing to be seen who he is, not who you think he is. But...I don’t want him to be like everyone. I want him to be someone special. And even if we know each other, I don’t think he gets that at all.”

“And you’re afraid that when he does get that, the nature of your relationship changes from comfy to something else?”

“...Yeah.”

Alice finishes your cigarette.

“That’s a lot of things. Some of them good, some of them bad. All of them real, but none of them you. Get it?”

“I’m...not sure?”

“Look. You’re part iguana, part gecko right? But neither of them is all of you. Same way you’re short tempered but honest and brave but afraid. You get to choose your truth. You are the reason to remember the name. ”

“Huh.” You lick your lips nervously. You feel something strong taking shape. “I don’t have to feel powerless if I don’t want to,” you say to no one in particular.

Alice puts her hand over yours and smiles warmly. “You can feel however you damn please, honey. Never forget that.”

You stand up. “I feel I’d like to see my friends now. Thank you for everything, Mrs. Mourad.”

“Any time, Vivian. Joe’s happy to help you too.”

Officer Mourad grunts, but doesn’t say no. He thanks his wife for the lunch, hugs her for luck, and then goes to get the car.

What kind of beach and/or monster watching party Rebis has arranged for Viv and her friends?

---

What species is Rick Astley in this world?

Rick Astley is Rick Astley, universal and immutable.

[Eversor]

>Questionably legal, definitely a fire hazard, but most importantly loaded with booze of the most EXOTIC variations.

[frear]

A mutant cockroach race. Betting and drinking are strongly encouraged.

[adventurezealot]

Beach party to watch the fight between Crocodeva and Mister Bongo, complete with a salamander-powered grill!

[tronntronn]

Apr 8, 2021 11:09:31 GMT -5 Eversor said:

>Questionably legal, definitely a fire hazard, but most importantly loaded with booze of the most EXOTIC variations.

Apr 13, 2021 15:41:12 GMT -5 frear said:

A mutant cockroach race. Betting and drinking are strongly encouraged.

Apr 13, 2021 16:52:08 GMT -5 adventurezealot said:

Beach party to watch the fight between Crocodeva and Mister Bongo, complete with a salamander-powered grill!

Wow. It took you way, way, way longer to arrive here than you expected.

You blame Joe, who insisted on stopping at every crossing just in case there was incoming traffic.

Nevertheless, the party has just gotten in full swing. There’s big ice bowls filled with fruit punch in urgent need of drinking, and the grills are already sizzling with the monster steaks you brought, along with sausages and mushrooms and other kinds of gristly bits. A racing track for mutant cockroaches has gathered a large crowd of whooping and cheering partygoers on the shoreline, while others are dancing to the tunes of some kind of electronic trashcore reggae band. The singer is shrieky, sweaty, and getting everyone pumped up with his energy despite the blazing warmth of the afternoon sun. Kids are using sledgehammers to explode cherry bombs, screaming and laughing and getting mild concussions whenever someone forgets to let go of the handle and flies up with the blast.

You take a bite of your cucumber stick dipped in lemon juice and salt. You feel your body getting more relaxed as you get into the swing of things, but you still have unresolved business with Janice to sort out. You scan the crowd but don’t immediately spot her. Maybe you should seek her out, or hope to bump into someone else first?