[ billy, unfortunately, hasn't experienced too much interference or misdirected texts, so he doesn't even notice, yet, that he's not messaging good ol' acidking. ]
yeah me neither not worth it, right? definitely some kind of evil scientist thing i mean even if i did take them, what am i gonna do with a bunch of money i can't even spend?
[ an exasperated, tired response from someone who feels like they must be, like, fifty years billy's senior. derek, again, considers leaving his response there, plain and simple, but he's suddenly caught by a very pressing thought. not that this is any of his business, but - ]
Wait, hold on. Are you talking about the clinical trial the city's been advertising? Are those the pills you're referring to?
Okay. Yes. No. Don't take any of those pills. This city can't be trusted. You never know what poison they're putting in you until it's too late. Granted, they're being surprisingly transparent, this time - we usually only get drugged at parties, which, by the way, don't eat the food - but. It'll be bad. It's bad. Evil scientist bad. You were right about that.
what? dude, that's fucked up. they drug food at parties? when were you gonna tell me all this? hold on, wait so that party coming up the one i slapped all those flyers up for you're telling me they're gonna roofie the whole guest list?
[ ... ]
it's like the poison test, right you gotta figure out the "antidote" or whatever, like lin did last time when i was home for the weekend is that what it is?
They do, yeah. And they will, I'm sure. It's rarely a roofie situation, though something like that has happened before. It's more that... They pump the food, the water, the medicine, everything they can get their hands on, full of aphrodisiacs. Practically military-grade, in terms of effectiveness. You eat too much, you're going to be dryhumping legs like your aunt's dachshund. So. There's that.
[ doesn't take much for derek to figure he's talking to someone new. ugh, he can't believe he's in this now - he has to actually communicate with this guy. ]
I don't know who Lin is. Just so you know, the network is going haywire. Calls are dropping out, messages are being sent to the wrong people. I'm Derek. Probably not who you meant to call.
[ okay, well. that freaks him out a little. he and marcus were just having a conversation about how they don't want to sleep with just anybody, but if there are aphrodisiacs being administered in places billy can't really catch? if the choice is more or less being made for him?
yikes. fucking... nightmare. god.
anyway. this is also kind of awkward. who the hell is derek? ]
oh uh okay. how does that even happen? how does a message just get to the wrong person? i don't have a phone like this where i come from
[ so he's unfamiliar with the technology, and how things can go wrong. ]
oh yeah i'm billy, by the way. you sound like you've been here a while you sure you don't know lin? older guy, dark hair, mean face, carries a cane
[ he can give billy a few safety tips, maybe help him acclimate to what the city has in store for him a week or a month or who-fucking-knows from now, but he's not gonna walk him through how cellphones work. there are teenagers around here for that. he's sure billy will find one. ]
I don't know anyone by that name. Or description. I'm going to assume he's not a friend of yours? Sounds like an asshole, if he poisoned you as a test.
[ well. billy only brought up lin because, until now, he was like 99% sure lin had a hand in - pretty much everything going on here. duplicity in it's entirety. but if this guy, this derek has no idea who lin is, he's either lying to cover his ass - which is smart - or billy was very, very wrong about this place.
shit. how does he backtrack? how does he fix this. ]
he didn't poison me
[ ha ha, because billy wasn't there. ha ha ha. there are already so many holes in this. ]
and it wasn't that kind of test anyway, forget that guy, huh he's nobody important super lame, actually
[ ... ]
how do you know what's safe then? to eat, drink, etc. or is everything just horny russian roulette
[ a motherfucking lie, actually - derek'll be letting his boyfriend know about this dude the second they get in touch, just because, well, who knows what information might prove useful to have one day? may as well add "there's a guy in some multiverse out there who poisons people for fun" to the long list of ultimately useless miscellanea they've filed away over the years. ]
There's an inherent gamble no matter what you do. However, food tends to be safe, for the most part, so long as it's purchased from a day to day business. Things like specials, snacks offered at galas - that's what you need to avoid. Notable food tends to be problematic. I suggest starting a garden if you're in private housing, though. Fresh produce.
Find someone willing to feed you. Either out of the goodness of their hearts, or in exchange for work. Favors. Eat those god awful cafeteria sandwiches at the dorm. Dumpster dive. There are options.
[ he's not going to suggest getting a dom, because, you know, fuck that, but. it's certainly an option. ]
doesn't seem like very many people here are doing anything out of the goodness of their hearts i tried digging through the trash out behind this fancy place on the upside and some lady tried to sic those guards on me said i was stealing like she would have taken my money if i walked in there and tried to sit down too bad those assholes are slow
you draw the short stick too then? i assume you did if you know how shitty those sandwiches are
Sorry. About her. People are like that. Even back home. Assuming we're from the same place. I can get you some food. If you're okay with accepting food from a stranger immediately after I warned you against doing something like that.
Longer stick than most. I was a Dom for a year. Designations get swapped, sometimes. I take it that's another thing you didn't know.
yeah, no. didn't know that either. what's the point of orientation if they're not gonna tell us anything other than how to be a convincing chair or whatever and that we have to bone three times or do not pass go do not collect $200? that blows though.
[ billy's... hesitant, about the food thing, though. not because he shouldn't trust a stranger, but because he doesn't want to take something from someone in the same boat as he is. if this guy has a whole list of options on how to get a bite to eat without having to sell a part of one's soul, chances are he's probably done one or two of them. hmm. ]
i'm good on the food, though. i don't want to take what's yours. my friend's got a stash, and i'm not starving just yet. but anyway, are you really a stranger anymore? i know your name's derek, that you're part of the tattoo club, you've been here for a year. we should have matching friendship bracelets at this point.
Devil's in the details. They want you to abide by their culture, but they don't want to tell you all the things they can do to you. Bienvenido.
[ he wants to tell billy that if he changes his mind on the food thing, derek has plenty of food, a house, and is in a committed relationship with a dom he trusts, but. he knows how slippery these slopes can get for him. one minute he's trying to help someone with their emotional problems, the next they're dying on a bank vault floor or turning into a lizard and killing kids. the less done here the better. ]
Just asking. If you had been thirty, or something, I could have told you to figure this shit out on your own..
[ but seventeen is rough. ]
Don't really do bracelets. Friendship necklaces, maybe. Those matching BFF ones. Two sides of the same heart.
and you think i can't because i'm 17? those sandwiches wouldn't be the worst thing i've eaten. i can figure it out if i have to i was just trying to see if there was an easier way, maybe something i didn't know seeing as there's a lot, apparently, that i don't know are you like 30?
[ billy isn't - mad, he's not particularly offended, just. maybe a little ruffled for like 2.5 seconds. and then he's over it, because he's more interested in joking about dumbass necklaces. ]
which half would you be BE FRI or ST ENDS i think it'll look pretty sweet next to the lock i already wear
Edited (idk it bothered me) 2021-04-03 01:58 (UTC)
Didn't say that. Met plenty of clever teenagers. Just think it's fucked up that you're here. Seventeen's too young.
[ he ignores billy asking how old he is, just like he ignores the sandwich comment - better not to pry, he figures, though it doesn't take a genius that if billy's cool with dorm cafeteria food, he probably hasn't had an easy life so far. either that, or he's one of those little shits who eats dirt and worms for a dollar. derek knew a kid like that in third grade, so. ]
Stends. Befri sounds like a cream for something you don't want people to know you have. Stends at least sounds like a name. Or a word. You wear a lock? Like, a padlock? Does it mean anything, or do you just like it?
how does stends sound like a name? who would name their kid stends? kids are mean mom as well slap a kick me sign on their back before sending them off to school.
mostly i just like it. sid vicious used to wear one, so i guess it's kind of like an homage to him but mostly i just like how it looks punk thing i guess
I meant more... getting your life upheaved. Being brought somewhere like this. Dark and forceful and far away. You should be at home. Figuring out what you want to do with your future. Having fun with your friends. Getting high, getting in trouble, doing stupid shit. Just sucks that you've had that taken from you.
Stends is basically my boyfriend's name. Move the E, swap the N and the D out for something else. Done. Kids will kick whoever they want to kick regardless of their names. So. Stends. Also, fuck you. You said I could choose which part I wanted. That's the part I want. Go get me my necklace.
Anyway. Didn't think I'd be talking to a punk kid any time soon. Sid Vicious, huh? Not the worst taste in the world. Sometimes just liking something is sentimental enough.
[ billy... kind of wants to laugh. in fact, he does, quiet and to himself, just a bitter exhale of air through his nose. everything this guy thinks duplicity did to him, his father did to him first. sold him off to the mob, sent him to a fucked up school, took any hope of a decent future from him, turned his home into a nightmare. sure, duplicity is fucked up, but billy can't say yet that it's that much worse than home. ]
this place isn't so bad.
[ and that's all he has to say on that. ]
so, what. your boyfriend's name is steve? samuel? wait, neither of those work, nevermind anyway, relax. you can have stends if you want, all i was saying is it doesn't really sound any better than befri you're the one who came right out trying to make befri sound bad right before sacking me with it
you make it sound like "punk kids" are a rare breed or do you mean that like you're too good and pure to voluntarily talk to a rat like me i'm gonna be real sad if you don't want this necklace anymore
[ questioning billy is the last thing on his mind - if he had to choose between being stuck in duplicity or being back home in 2005, he would choose duplicity, despite everything. if billy's home is hell, then there's no doubt about it: this place isn't so bad. ]
No, you were right the first time. Steve. If you meet a guy going by Batman on the network, that's Steve. Tell him Derek said hi.
Rare breed where I'm from, at least. California in 2012 tends to thrive on dubstep, electropop and lacrosse games. Don't see much counterculture anymore. Haven't seen much punk around here, either. Kind of on your own, I think. Still want that necklace.
batman? seems like a missed opportunity to go by captain america
[ what does billy know, he goes by jizzledim. he hardly has room to be judging usernames. ]
2012? nah, no way. that's like 25 years in the future, dude even if that did make any sense, punk can't be dead don't tell me that i've never even heard of dubstep sounds like an old timey waltz kinda thing are you into it?
I would not date someone who liked Captain America.
[ goody two-shoes motherfucker. ]
I'm not. You might like it. It's loud. Not melodic. Thrash metal's little sister. I'll send you some. I think I can do that through chat, actually. Hold on -
[ derek goes quiet, for a minute, but -- eventually, he attaches some skrillex bullshit he once plunged from the depths of stiles' itunes library when he was backing it up onto his phone, just in case he ever went home again. he sends it without comment or warning. take it, he hates it. ]
Anyway. 25 years, huh. You from the 80s? Time isn't linear here. You're going to meet a lot of people from a lot of strange times. 2012 isn't so bad.
[ billy doesn't actually know enough about captain america to make any conversation about the man or question why derek doesn't like him - all he knows, really, is that his name is steve and he once punch a nazi or something. sounds like a not-bad dude.
anyway, he's suddenly got music to listen to. technology is fucking wild, man - and so is this song? ]
i was just gonna say this sounds like modernized? reggae but then i got to what i assume is the dubstep part of it and i can't decide if i like it or it it's definitely weird, but not necessarily in a bad way it's like synth, kind of? but like on acid or something you got any more music? show me what you like
anyway, you know that makes you sound kinda looney bin, right "time isn't linear here" i mean i'll take your word for it but that definitely sounds kind of crazy what's 2012 like definitely gotta be different from the 80's
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
yeah me neither
not worth it, right?
definitely some kind of evil scientist thing
i mean even if i did take them, what am i gonna do with a bunch of money i can't even spend?
[ ... ]
picking up a boombox shouldn't be this hard
no subject
[ an exasperated, tired response from someone who feels like they must be, like, fifty years billy's senior. derek, again, considers leaving his response there, plain and simple, but he's suddenly caught by a very pressing thought. not that this is any of his business, but - ]
Wait, hold on.
Are you talking about the clinical trial the city's been advertising? Are those the pills you're referring to?
no subject
why?
do you have other pills?
have you been holding out on me??
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Don't take any of those pills.
This city can't be trusted. You never know what poison they're putting in you until it's too late.
Granted, they're being surprisingly transparent, this time - we usually only get drugged at parties, which, by the way, don't eat the food - but.
It'll be bad. It's bad.
Evil scientist bad. You were right about that.
no subject
dude, that's fucked up.
they drug food at parties? when were you gonna tell me all this?
hold on, wait
so that party coming up
the one i slapped all those flyers up for
you're telling me they're gonna roofie the whole guest list?
[ ... ]
it's like the poison test, right
you gotta figure out the "antidote" or whatever, like lin did last time when i was home for the weekend
is that what it is?
no subject
It's rarely a roofie situation, though something like that has happened before. It's more that...
They pump the food, the water, the medicine, everything they can get their hands on, full of aphrodisiacs. Practically military-grade, in terms of effectiveness.
You eat too much, you're going to be dryhumping legs like your aunt's dachshund.
So.
There's that.
[ doesn't take much for derek to figure he's talking to someone new. ugh, he can't believe he's in this now - he has to actually communicate with this guy. ]
I don't know who Lin is.
Just so you know, the network is going haywire. Calls are dropping out, messages are being sent to the wrong people.
I'm Derek.
Probably not who you meant to call.
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yikes. fucking... nightmare. god.
anyway. this is also kind of awkward. who the hell is derek? ]
oh uh
okay. how does that even happen?
how does a message just get to the wrong person?
i don't have a phone like this where i come from
[ so he's unfamiliar with the technology, and how things can go wrong. ]
oh yeah
i'm billy, by the way.
you sound like you've been here a while
you sure you don't know lin?
older guy, dark hair, mean face, carries a cane
no subject
[ he can give billy a few safety tips, maybe help him acclimate to what the city has in store for him a week or a month or who-fucking-knows from now, but he's not gonna walk him through how cellphones work. there are teenagers around here for that. he's sure billy will find one. ]
I don't know anyone by that name. Or description.
I'm going to assume he's not a friend of yours?
Sounds like an asshole, if he poisoned you as a test.
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shit. how does he backtrack? how does he fix this. ]
he didn't poison me
[ ha ha, because billy wasn't there. ha ha ha. there are already so many holes in this. ]
and it wasn't that kind of test
anyway, forget that guy, huh
he's nobody important
super lame, actually
[ ... ]
how do you know what's safe then?
to eat, drink, etc.
or is everything just horny russian roulette
no subject
[ a motherfucking lie, actually - derek'll be letting his boyfriend know about this dude the second they get in touch, just because, well, who knows what information might prove useful to have one day? may as well add "there's a guy in some multiverse out there who poisons people for fun" to the long list of ultimately useless miscellanea they've filed away over the years. ]
There's an inherent gamble no matter what you do.
However, food tends to be safe, for the most part, so long as it's purchased from a day to day business. Things like specials, snacks offered at galas - that's what you need to avoid. Notable food tends to be problematic.
I suggest starting a garden if you're in private housing, though. Fresh produce.
[ shit, he should start a garden. ]
no subject
seems kind of rigged
[ get a dom, duh. but fuck that. ]
no subject
Eat those god awful cafeteria sandwiches at the dorm.
Dumpster dive.
There are options.
[ he's not going to suggest getting a dom, because, you know, fuck that, but. it's certainly an option. ]
no subject
i tried digging through the trash out behind this fancy place on the upside and some lady tried to sic those guards on me
said i was stealing
like she would have taken my money if i walked in there and tried to sit down
too bad those assholes are slow
you draw the short stick too then?
i assume you did if you know how shitty those sandwiches are
no subject
People are like that. Even back home. Assuming we're from the same place.
I can get you some food.
If you're okay with accepting food from a stranger immediately after I warned you against doing something like that.
Longer stick than most.
I was a Dom for a year. Designations get swapped, sometimes.
I take it that's another thing you didn't know.
[ ... ]
How old are you?
no subject
didn't know that either.
what's the point of orientation if they're not gonna tell us anything other than how to be a convincing chair or whatever and that we have to bone three times or do not pass go do not collect $200?
that blows though.
[ billy's... hesitant, about the food thing, though. not because he shouldn't trust a stranger, but because he doesn't want to take something from someone in the same boat as he is. if this guy has a whole list of options on how to get a bite to eat without having to sell a part of one's soul, chances are he's probably done one or two of them. hmm. ]
i'm good on the food, though.
i don't want to take what's yours. my friend's got a stash, and i'm not starving just yet.
but anyway, are you really a stranger anymore?
i know your name's derek, that you're part of the tattoo club, you've been here for a year.
we should have matching friendship bracelets at this point.
[ ... ]
where are you from?
and i'm 17. why?
no subject
They want you to abide by their culture, but they don't want to tell you all the things they can do to you.
Bienvenido.
[ he wants to tell billy that if he changes his mind on the food thing, derek has plenty of food, a house, and is in a committed relationship with a dom he trusts, but. he knows how slippery these slopes can get for him. one minute he's trying to help someone with their emotional problems, the next they're dying on a bank vault floor or turning into a lizard and killing kids. the less done here the better. ]
Just asking.
If you had been thirty, or something, I could have told you to figure this shit out on your own..
[ but seventeen is rough. ]
Don't really do bracelets.
Friendship necklaces, maybe.
Those matching BFF ones. Two sides of the same heart.
no subject
those sandwiches wouldn't be the worst thing i've eaten.
i can figure it out if i have to
i was just trying to see if there was an easier way, maybe something i didn't know seeing as there's a lot, apparently, that i don't know
are you like 30?
[ billy isn't - mad, he's not particularly offended, just. maybe a little ruffled for like 2.5 seconds. and then he's over it, because he's more interested in joking about dumbass necklaces. ]
which half would you be
BE FRI
or
ST ENDS
i think it'll look pretty sweet next to the lock i already wear
no subject
Just think it's fucked up that you're here.
Seventeen's too young.
[ he ignores billy asking how old he is, just like he ignores the sandwich comment - better not to pry, he figures, though it doesn't take a genius that if billy's cool with dorm cafeteria food, he probably hasn't had an easy life so far. either that, or he's one of those little shits who eats dirt and worms for a dollar. derek knew a kid like that in third grade, so. ]
Stends.
Befri sounds like a cream for something you don't want people to know you have.
Stends at least sounds like a name. Or a word.
You wear a lock? Like, a padlock?
Does it mean anything, or do you just like it?
no subject
don't say getting laid.
how does stends sound like a name?
who would name their kid stends?
kids are mean
mom as well slap a kick me sign on their back before sending them off to school.
mostly i just like it.
sid vicious used to wear one, so i guess it's kind of like an homage to him
but mostly i just like how it looks
punk thing i guess
no subject
You should be at home. Figuring out what you want to do with your future. Having fun with your friends. Getting high, getting in trouble, doing stupid shit.
Just sucks that you've had that taken from you.
Stends is basically my boyfriend's name. Move the E, swap the N and the D out for something else. Done.
Kids will kick whoever they want to kick regardless of their names. So.
Stends.
Also, fuck you. You said I could choose which part I wanted. That's the part I want.
Go get me my necklace.
Anyway.
Didn't think I'd be talking to a punk kid any time soon.
Sid Vicious, huh? Not the worst taste in the world.
Sometimes just liking something is sentimental enough.
no subject
this place isn't so bad.
[ and that's all he has to say on that. ]
so, what. your boyfriend's name is steve?
samuel? wait, neither of those work, nevermind
anyway, relax. you can have stends if you want, all i was saying is it doesn't really sound any better than befri
you're the one who came right out trying to make befri sound bad right before sacking me with it
you make it sound like "punk kids" are a rare breed
or do you mean that like you're too good and pure to voluntarily talk to a rat like me
i'm gonna be real sad if you don't want this necklace anymore
no subject
[ questioning billy is the last thing on his mind - if he had to choose between being stuck in duplicity or being back home in 2005, he would choose duplicity, despite everything. if billy's home is hell, then there's no doubt about it: this place isn't so bad. ]
No, you were right the first time. Steve.
If you meet a guy going by Batman on the network, that's Steve.
Tell him Derek said hi.
Rare breed where I'm from, at least. California in 2012 tends to thrive on dubstep, electropop and lacrosse games. Don't see much counterculture anymore.
Haven't seen much punk around here, either. Kind of on your own, I think.
Still want that necklace.
no subject
seems like a missed opportunity to go by captain america
[ what does billy know, he goes by jizzledim. he hardly has room to be judging usernames. ]
2012?
nah, no way. that's like 25 years in the future, dude
even if that did make any sense, punk can't be dead
don't tell me that
i've never even heard of dubstep
sounds like an old timey waltz kinda thing
are you into it?
no subject
[ goody two-shoes motherfucker. ]
I'm not.
You might like it. It's loud. Not melodic. Thrash metal's little sister.
I'll send you some.
I think I can do that through chat, actually. Hold on -
[ derek goes quiet, for a minute, but -- eventually, he attaches some skrillex bullshit he once plunged from the depths of stiles' itunes library when he was backing it up onto his phone, just in case he ever went home again. he sends it without comment or warning. take it, he hates it. ]
Anyway. 25 years, huh.
You from the 80s?
Time isn't linear here. You're going to meet a lot of people from a lot of strange times.
2012 isn't so bad.
no subject
anyway, he's suddenly got music to listen to. technology is fucking wild, man - and so is this song? ]
i was just gonna say this sounds like modernized? reggae
but then i got to what i assume is the dubstep part of it
and i can't decide if i like it or it
it's definitely weird, but not necessarily in a bad way
it's like
synth, kind of? but like on acid or something
you got any more music? show me what you like
anyway, you know that makes you sound kinda looney bin, right
"time isn't linear here"
i mean i'll take your word for it but that definitely sounds kind of crazy
what's 2012 like
definitely gotta be different from the 80's
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