Comments | the_blank_slate: A lie runs around the world.

dogbitesman in the_blank_slate

A lie runs around the world.

Sep 18, 2006 12:55

He'd showered. Twice. Then he'd washed his hands. He didn't feel any better.

Nor had the foul taste faded after he'd washed his mouth out. He could still taste the fiction. The liesThere was a board in the back of his head, now covered with notes. Every single one was a quote from the weekend. What was worse was that the newsroom of his mind had ( Read more... )

duo maxwell, veronica mars, william de worde

Comments 63

neptune_sleuth September 19 2006, 06:09:55 UTC

The sight of baked goods made Veronica feel, quite frankly, sick. She closed her eyes and waved to William, smiling weakly. "I'd say you don't look so good," she quipped, "but I'm not seeing much of anything."

dogbitesman September 19 2006, 06:17:18 UTC

He was suddenly very relieved he hadn't seen Veronica during the weekend.

It made a small dent in the guilt and dread and self-loathing. Very small. An icepick could probably have done worse to a glaciar.

"I probably look better than I feel," he said, shrugging his shoulder awkwardly. The bruises on his neck - the one that was from the billiard ball Maladicta threw at him, and the one that ... wasn't - itched. "You don't look so good either. Um. You were changed, I take it."

neptune_sleuth September 19 2006, 06:24:54 UTC

For the briefest moment, she felt the urge to hug him, eyes opening against her will -- but weekend Veronica would have done that and there was no way in hell Veronica was in the mood to actually, you know, touch anyone right now.

"Yeah," she muttered. "I'm guessing it wasn't that bad compared to yours though." Although she had woken up from a nightmare about having a tea party with Lord Voldemort and House to the sight of pink chiffon and a friendship bracelet.

dogbitesman September 19 2006, 06:38:56 UTC

He laughed, short and bitter. "No, I doubt it was. I suppose you saw the ... publication I circulated? And that was the least of it."

He sat down, putting the tray down to the side, and indicated that she should as well.

Although she could probably stand, if she wanted to; he just didn't trust his legs if he started talking about the weekend in any depth.

Thread 28

self_named September 19 2006, 15:16:29 UTC

Moist was a hard sonovabitch to find when you actually wanted to find him, though to be totally honest, he could have been looking harder.

It was somewhat more awkward to come across William. Duo tried not to pull a wince or anything resembling one. That was hard.

"...Uh," he said, slowing a bit. "Yo."

dogbitesman September 19 2006, 19:27:42 UTC

Oh. Duo.

Right.

He really wasn't sure how to deal with this. At all.

"Um," he said, Not Looking at Duo, but rather studying the tray of mango tarts as if they held the secrets of the universe, or at least the possible secret of Not Feeling Terrible About the Universe.

He couldn't find it. Maybe it had been baked inside one.

"Um," he said again. "Hello."

self_named September 19 2006, 23:01:04 UTC

Duo scratched the back of his neck a little.

"Um," he said, again, then figured oh, fuck, it can't get more awkward, so you may as well just not avoid it, and sighed, looking a little harrassed.

"Look. Okay. Look. Sorry about the whole hand job thing. It was fuckin' weird and awkward as hell and let's just, y'know. It was nothing, so let's let it be nothing. Right?" He hesitated.

"Well. It wasn't awkward as hell. You were actually pretty good at it. But it's awkward now and it doesn't even count because- Hi, crazy. So. Let's bury it. Yeah?"

dogbitesman September 20 2006, 00:49:06 UTC

Shockingly, hearing he'd apparently been pretty good at it did not help at all.

"It sounds ... reasonable to me," William said, still not looking at him. Or his hands. "I'm sorry, too. So... yes. Burying it works."

He paused, and then he did look at Duo. "...is Sergeant Perks going to shoot me?"

Thread 25

visiblewritings September 19 2006, 17:42:38 UTC

Ponder Stibbons clears his throat very, very thoroughly before speaking. Then he speaks quickly.

"HelloMisterdeWorde. IamheretoissuetoyouaformalappolgyformybehaviorthisweekendwhichIhopeyouwillaccept. TheviewspreviouslyexpressedobviouslydonotreflectmyownandIamterriblysorryifI, er, upsetyouinanyway."

He offers William a piece of paper on which the aforementioned is written in greater detail.

dogbitesman September 19 2006, 19:30:43 UTC

...that was a good idea. He should have thought of that. He took the piece of paper.

"Er, right, of course," he said. It was something of a relief to run into Ponder. While he was running into Ponder he wasn't running into any of the people he'd been truly horrible too.

Or ... not horrible to.

"I accept. Um. You were under the influence of ... something. So was I. So, um, I'd like to apologize for my behaviour and words, too. Which do not truly reflect my views and opinions, as well."

visiblewritings September 19 2006, 20:16:04 UTC

"I accept as well, although your apology is unecessary. Erm...I...this goes without saying, of course, but that is not for publication."

Ponder Stibbons has the distinct look of a man who has lost his faith. In absolutely everything. And so nothing goes without saying.

dogbitesman September 19 2006, 20:59:40 UTC

“No, of course not,” William said. Then he took out a pen and noted down nt for publ. on it, because it always paid to make sure. ‘Er. I don’t suppose you have any comments on the situation that I could publish? Being one of the closest things we have to a subject matter expert, or at least a tangentially-related-to-the-subject matter expert.”

Thread 10