[ 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
[ derek supports the nazi punching. it's the not-being-batman-after-his-boyfriend-made-him-only-care-about-batman thing that he has issues with. ]
I'm not going to send you music that I like. I'm going to send you the hits.
[ this brand of shitposting is more stiles' style than his own, but that's kind of why he's doing it - the excuse to go through stiles' library and link some of the more stupid shit from the past twenty years is a fun way to spend his time, he thinks, and giving a billy the worst possible insight into the future's state of music probably isn't the worst thing he's done to a teenage boy since becoming an alpha. he lines up a few songs.
one, two, three, four, five... what else. oh, duh. can't forget this one. or this. derek floods billy's inbox without comment, then only speaks up again when he's done. ]
Those are considered some of the best pieces of music in our time, so. Hope you like them. Music doesn't differ much from songs like those anymore. Anyway. Yes. 2012. I don't know where to start. Cities are bigger? Ask me something about the future, I guess.
[ oh, holy fuck. if this is what music is like in the future, billy should have just - let his father beat him to death.
... alright, a little dark. but jesus, literally all of these songs are fucking terrible, with the exception of maybe one, but he'll never admit which one it is. it's not good enough to admit it. ]
if punk really did die and this is what took its place, i don't want to live to see the future holy shit what happened to the world that this is what's considered the best let's start there, i guess
[ ... ]
actually, first is reagan still kicking it i mean there's no way, right, he'd be like over 100 so i guess i'm asking when he kicks it
[ you know. might as well see if marcus ever follows through on his big ol' plans. ]
I'm just fucking with you. Punk's still a thing. Slightly departed from The Ramones, but as aggressively anti-authoritarian as ever. I'll find you some songs you might like. Reagan died in '04. Alzheimers, I think. Why?
[ derek was a linkin park, limp bizkit, evanescence kind of kid, but he thinks if anyone can appreciate bands like blink-182 or mcr or fall out boy or whatever, it's a kid from the 80s. he'll start billy off with some green day and work from there - he attaches a file, american idiot.mp3, then focuses on reagan again. ]
I get it. Fuck that guy. Well, this might not help, but I should tell you that history isn't really linear around here, either. The guy's dead for me, but for you, he might end up being - I don't know - some Robocop cyborg creep hoovering around town kicking grandma's legs out beneath her while she's trying to walk her dog. Nothing you learn here is gospel for your own world. So. Basically, embrace being in a perpetual state of sexually-charged chaos, and you'll do just fine.
[ american idiot is fucking lightyears better than all the other bullshit derek has sent him so far, so derek earns a little of his credit back. billy listens to it the whole way through, struggles for a good minute or two trying to figure out how to save it from his messages to his phone (because there's gotta be a way), gives up. he'll ask somebody else, later. ]
see, this is what i'm talking about i can dig this you're telling me stuff like this isn't popular anymore?
are you kidding? perpetual state of sexually-charged chaos is my middle name easy ha ha
[ he fuuucking wishes. perpetual state of lowkey anxiety about his life and his family, more like. but whatever. ]
so you've got a boyfriend in a place like this lucked out, didn't you did you meet steve here?
No, it has a following. Just wanted to mess with you a bit. Wasn't lying about dubstep being popular, though. Kids these days.
[ there's a pause, as derek tries to decide if he feels like being open about his relationship with stiles any more than he has been, but - honestly, he's not even telling billy his fucking name, so like, he's not exactly tearing open his chest in an extreme display of vulnerability here. may as well answer. ]
No. He's from home. Spent the last few years with him. Didn't really end up together until we arrived here, but. Always thought we'd get there in the end.
Either way, it's good to have someone. This place thrives when it isolates you. Low points can make you feel like you need to lean on the structure the city provides, and that's never a good place to be. So. Lean on your pack. Find good people. Not that you asked for my advice, but. There it is.
More than that. Sex is weaponized, here. Aphrodisiacs in your food, drugs in your system, public enforcement. Citations. It's easy - especially if this is something you've dealt with before - to think, when you're alone, that your self-worth is related to sex. Between that, and being told as a submissive that your entire existence is to serve someone in a higher caste to you... It's just easy to lose sight of yourself sometimes. Staying close to people who love you for who you are - that's what keeps you from spiraling.
[ if there's anything billy agrees with, it's that last part. while he's never really experienced anything like duplicity before, and he's never found his self-worth in sex, he's had... plenty of other reasons to spiral. his friends - lex, petra, maria, saya, marcus, willie - they're what's help him keep his head above water.
he can't really imagine what this place would be like without marcus around. ]
citations? those douchebag guards write tickets or something? for what?
Anything, really. Disobeying your status. Position. Engaging in practices unbecoming of your designation. Toe the line, or willingly surrender yourself to re-education. That's the approach to law enforcement here.
[ except, you know, don't tell steve he said that. he'll fuck with certain sheriffs, even when they arrest him for burying his dead sister on his own private property. or get involved with a manhunt for him when he's declared a national fugitive. on more than one occasion. man, derek's life is a whole thing. ]
Sorry. For all of this. Can't be easy to learn all of this from a stranger. But. You'll be okay. You seem funny. Funny's good. Gets you through things.
better to learn it from a stranger than to not learn it at all or rather, learn it all the hard way you don't gotta apologize, i genuinely appreciate it i messaged you a lot about dumb stuff thinking you were someone else, you definitely didn't have to keep talking to me
anyway, don't flatter me like that you'll make a girl think she's special
[ mooore humor, more dumb jokes, though billy genuinely is kind of flattered. most people don't think he's funny, they just think he dumb and annoying, so. that's neat. definitely going to get that dumb STENDS padlock thing for this guy for real now. ]
It's fine. I liked talking to you. I don't make friends very easily. So.
[ kind of nice to make one. if that's what this is. he's not going to actually assume that billy will talk to him again once their conversation is over, but derek's also not the kind of person who feels awkward about putting his intentions on the table every now and then. it'd be cool if he had someone sane in this city to talk to, that's all. ]
Special is a strong word. Anyway. Going now. Don't have those pills. Message me if you ever need food.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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
no subject
I'm not going to send you music that I like.
I'm going to send you the hits.
[ this brand of shitposting is more stiles' style than his own, but that's kind of why he's doing it - the excuse to go through stiles' library and link some of the more stupid shit from the past twenty years is a fun way to spend his time, he thinks, and giving a billy the worst possible insight into the future's state of music probably isn't the worst thing he's done to a teenage boy since becoming an alpha. he lines up a few songs.
one, two, three, four, five... what else. oh, duh. can't forget this one. or this. derek floods billy's inbox without comment, then only speaks up again when he's done. ]
Those are considered some of the best pieces of music in our time, so. Hope you like them. Music doesn't differ much from songs like those anymore.
Anyway. Yes. 2012. I don't know where to start. Cities are bigger?
Ask me something about the future, I guess.
no subject
... alright, a little dark. but jesus, literally all of these songs are fucking terrible, with the exception of maybe one, but he'll never admit which one it is. it's not good enough to admit it. ]
if punk really did die and this is what took its place, i don't want to live to see the future
holy shit
what happened to the world that this is what's considered the best
let's start there, i guess
[ ... ]
actually, first
is reagan still kicking it
i mean there's no way, right, he'd be like over 100
so i guess i'm asking when he kicks it
[ you know. might as well see if marcus ever follows through on his big ol' plans. ]
no subject
Bad taste.
I'm just fucking with you. Punk's still a thing. Slightly departed from The Ramones, but as aggressively anti-authoritarian as ever. I'll find you some songs you might like.
Reagan died in '04. Alzheimers, I think.
Why?
no subject
i'm into like
depeche mode, agent orange, bad brains if you know any of them
so anything with a similar sound to them would be rad
also no reason, just curious
kind of a shithead, so i just wondered
[ :) ]
no subject
[ derek was a linkin park, limp bizkit, evanescence kind of kid, but he thinks if anyone can appreciate bands like blink-182 or mcr or fall out boy or whatever, it's a kid from the 80s. he'll start billy off with some green day and work from there - he attaches a file, american idiot.mp3, then focuses on reagan again. ]
I get it. Fuck that guy.
Well, this might not help, but I should tell you that history isn't really linear around here, either. The guy's dead for me, but for you, he might end up being - I don't know - some Robocop cyborg creep hoovering around town kicking grandma's legs out beneath her while she's trying to walk her dog.
Nothing you learn here is gospel for your own world. So.
Basically, embrace being in a perpetual state of sexually-charged chaos, and you'll do just fine.
no subject
see, this is what i'm talking about
i can dig this
you're telling me stuff like this isn't popular anymore?
are you kidding?
perpetual state of sexually-charged chaos is my middle name
easy
ha ha
[ he fuuucking wishes. perpetual state of lowkey anxiety about his life and his family, more like. but whatever. ]
so you've got a boyfriend in a place like this
lucked out, didn't you
did you meet steve here?
no subject
Wasn't lying about dubstep being popular, though.
Kids these days.
[ there's a pause, as derek tries to decide if he feels like being open about his relationship with stiles any more than he has been, but - honestly, he's not even telling billy his fucking name, so like, he's not exactly tearing open his chest in an extreme display of vulnerability here. may as well answer. ]
No. He's from home. Spent the last few years with him.
Didn't really end up together until we arrived here, but.
Always thought we'd get there in the end.
You have anyone from home?
no subject
[ since derek is calling people "kids". ]
oh.
that's cool, i guess.
[ kind of like - really romantic, actually, in a weird sort of way. ]
yeah, i've got someone
i mean he's not my boyfriend, we're just friends
but he was here for a little bit before i got here
no subject
[ so, you know. ]
Either way, it's good to have someone.
This place thrives when it isolates you. Low points can make you feel like you need to lean on the structure the city provides, and that's never a good place to be. So.
Lean on your pack. Find good people.
Not that you asked for my advice, but. There it is.
no subject
didn't ask for it, yeah, but i'll take it
marcus is good people
best guy i know so i guess i got lucky too
when you say structure do you mean like the dominant/submissive thing
no subject
Sex is weaponized, here. Aphrodisiacs in your food, drugs in your system, public enforcement. Citations.
It's easy - especially if this is something you've dealt with before - to think, when you're alone, that your self-worth is related to sex.
Between that, and being told as a submissive that your entire existence is to serve someone in a higher caste to you...
It's just easy to lose sight of yourself sometimes.
Staying close to people who love you for who you are - that's what keeps you from spiraling.
[ that's been his experience, at least. ]
no subject
he can't really imagine what this place would be like without marcus around. ]
citations?
those douchebag guards write tickets or something? for what?
no subject
Disobeying your status. Position. Engaging in practices unbecoming of your designation.
Toe the line, or willingly surrender yourself to re-education. That's the approach to law enforcement here.
no subject
sounds like home, honestly
maybe with less weird kinky shit
but the cops back home suck too
[ one of them especially, but maybe he's just biased. ]
no subject
[ except, you know, don't tell steve he said that. he'll fuck with certain sheriffs, even when they arrest him for burying his dead sister on his own private property. or get involved with a manhunt for him when he's declared a national fugitive. on more than one occasion. man, derek's life is a whole thing. ]
Sorry. For all of this. Can't be easy to learn all of this from a stranger.
But.
You'll be okay.
You seem funny. Funny's good. Gets you through things.
no subject
or rather, learn it all the hard way
you don't gotta apologize, i genuinely appreciate it
i messaged you a lot about dumb stuff thinking you were someone else, you definitely didn't have to keep talking to me
anyway, don't flatter me like that
you'll make a girl think she's special
[ mooore humor, more dumb jokes, though billy genuinely is kind of flattered. most people don't think he's funny, they just think he dumb and annoying, so. that's neat. definitely going to get that dumb STENDS padlock thing for this guy for real now. ]
no subject
I liked talking to you.
I don't make friends very easily. So.
[ kind of nice to make one. if that's what this is. he's not going to actually assume that billy will talk to him again once their conversation is over, but derek's also not the kind of person who feels awkward about putting his intentions on the table every now and then. it'd be cool if he had someone sane in this city to talk to, that's all. ]
Special is a strong word.
Anyway.
Going now.
Don't have those pills.
Message me if you ever need food.