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Mr. Strider, I have a request for your attention? Lil Sebastian has ... well, I can't really say he's gone missing, but I'm a bit confused. You said he had a stuffed rabbit beneath his exoskeleton, and now he seems to be wearing it on the outside. Was that some sort of "blending in to get the tactical advantage" setting I don't know about? It's bad enough that I still have to repair Poppop when I "return home", but I don't think Dad will take to a sunglasses wearing critter running about; at least with his more robot-looking appearance, I could have him hold still and pretend to just be a toy you sent.

Honestly, this entire little charade going on around me is nothing short of eyebrow-raising. I can't really have been transported somewhere when all that's happened is Lil Seb looking ready to drop the fridge; I haven't even had the opportunity to get my game yet!

[There's at least a good four minutes before the next text shows up.]

This isn't some ironic test to make me less skeptical about what I'm hearing and seeing, is it? Or is this suddenly one of the occasions where I'm being caught by a giant, squishy, foam butt and have yet to wake up from the weird dreams?

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[Though John hasn't met Jane before, this color is hardly foreign to him. And since it was his universe's version of Jane that was using it...]

[That must mean...]

[Yup, a quick glance at two of the other responses confirms it.]

jane!
i can't believe it, you are finally here! this is great! :D

That was a really nice greeting, but I'm afraid I don't know who you are?
Or were you one of the people Jake was talking about?

[TEXT IS SO UNHELPFUL IN THIS INSTANCE.]

oh! right, sorry. my bad!
i am john. it's possible that jake mentioned me, i guess.
but i guess you could say i am your grandfather/alt-universe grandson who is actually, technically your son but also your ectobiological, button-pressing father.

[Try saying that ten times fast. Or better yet, just try making sense of it.]

[Give her a minute, she's staring so long and hard at the words and things are running around her head and wow that's.]

I feel like seeing you will help me believe all of this easier, if I may?

[Well, Dirk always did say her skepticism will be the most difficult thing to get over, and this certainly is a case where it's so mind-warping to outright believe. The only thing she can think of to get her head to stop spinning is to press the camera button, watching the red light turn on.

It's only after it has started recording, that she reaches up to straighten her mustache. It's still a shitty disguise, but if this truly is her Poppop, she can think of no better way to meet him.]

alright.

[He obliges, flicking the feed on and...sure enough: he looks like her Poppop, alright. (And also kind of scarily similar to Jake? Wow, weird.) Though younger. Muuuuuuuuch younger. There's kind of this huge difference between 86 and 14, after all. Forget the mustache, this little prepubescent booger doesn't even have peach fuzz yet.]

[And isn't that a shame?]

[It's obvious that he approves of the incredibly shitty disguise though, because the first thing he does is slap his knee and laugh loudly.]

Excuse me my good sir, but have you seen a young girl anywhere around here? I was under the impression that I was having a conversation with her, but it seems I was quite mistaken!!

[It still takes a moment of staring at the kid through the screen, but the humor is instantly infectious, and Jane can't help straightening her back and suppressing the urge to smile too wide. It'll make the mustache fall off!]

Oh, not at all! She must have set this down and outright left the scene. I do hope she didn't cause any ruckus with you, young man!

[All she can think of is this old picture she wishes she had with her now; the smile he wore is most definitely the same smile as John is wearing.]

Edited 2012-11-29 00:35 (UTC)

[If there's one thing that stays constant through scratched-universe-swapping-shenanigans, it's that good ol' Egbertian goober of a smile. Or would that be Crockerian?]

[Crockbertian? Egberocker-- no this is getting stupid.]

Oh, what a shame! I was really looking forward to having a good chat with her. Alas, it will have to wait I suppose. I apologize for jeopardizing your time, kind sir.

[Crockbertian flows the best, let's go with that :B]

It's no problem at all. Oh, wait, I think she's coming back just now! [The screen simply turns up to Sebby, who is shaking his head and then staring at the kid in the screen. A moment later though, the camera is brought back to Jane and she has removed the mustache this time, smiling warmly.]

There really isn't any way I can possibly deny that you are my Poppop, younger by many years. I've heard so many good stories from Dad about you, and while I never got to meet you myself.. I'm glad.

Okay, I will wait patiently.

[He chuckles, waving to the little Buneary while waiting for Jane to come back. Gosh, where could that girl have gotten to? Oh! There she is.]

Hehe, I could say the same about you, you know that, right? Or, I guess technically you don't but. I can. I mean, I got to talk to you while you were a sprite for a little while and while that was nice, this is definitely much better. Because somehow I doubt you will talk in silly cagey game riddles now.

[Plus you're his age! Or close to it, anyway. And that's awesome.]

Anyway, yes. I am very glad to finally meet you like this as well. Ever since Jake mentioned you, I have been waiting for you to show up here.

Hoo hoo, I'm sure I could think up some game riddles for you if you'd really like! They likely will be more like mysteries to solve, since ironic riddles are more of a Strider trade, but whipping one up will be as easy as baking a cake.

[This beaming, it will not stop.] I do hope I didn't keep you waiting too long. Jake said he has been here about a month, and I'm told Roxy arrived about a week or so ahead of me? Maybe Dirk won't be far behind myself, in that case.

[He holds up a hand and chuckles somewhat uneasily.]

Ahaha, well I have definitely had more than enough cagey nonsense game riddles for my tastes. So don't worry about it, I will not complain if you pass on those.

[Oh gosh though, she even has the hoo hoo laugh. Omg omg omg. Teen Nanna, he loves you already.]

But nah, you didn't keep me waiting too long. Not that it wasn't a suspenseful wait though! Hopefully you are right about Dirk. Then all eight of us from this...cross-universal clusterfuck of a game will be here together. Though...if I understand things right, Dirk is kind of sort of already here? The Dirk from my universe is, anyway. Dave's bro.

Yes, I did get to speak with Bro a little. From what I've been told and understand so far, he probably is indeed the same person, but different personalities due to the circumstances around him. Dirk tends to be very precise with how he types, at least, and Bro doesn't use captialization. I know it isn't a very big difference, but it's one.

[It makes it easy for her to categorize Bro as not Dirk. It wouldn't be fair to be constantly comparing the two when they are clearly in different situations.]

Hehe, yeah. I mean, for starters Bro isn't from the future or anything like that. It's only natural that things would be a little different. I imagine it holds true for all of us, to some degree.

Right! I do have a question though; a friend of mine mentioned that I wrote a note in my P -- in your copy of Colonel Sassacre's Daunting Text of Magical Frivolity and Practical Japery, and when I checked it before coming here, there was a note from "Nanna" to "John". I don't know for sure, but I would like to ask if you happen to have a copy with something like that written in it?

[Really, this is a question she thought of only after seeing it, and Poppop is the only person who could have possibly answered; now, Jane has that option.]

Colonel Sa-- oh! Yes! I do, actually. Dad kept it in the safe. The note had something to do with the game, didn't it? I know it mentioned something about the four of us and our titles or whatever. [It's been a while, Jane. He's a little fuzzy on the exact details.] And by us, I mean Rose, Dave, Jade, and myself. But yeah, anyway...why do you ask?

I wondered if there was some note from your future self in your copy. That's a little strange, because it seems like we both had this same book for our childhoods. [How is this possibllllle]

...my future self? [He quirks a brow.]

No, the note was from my Nanna, like you said initially. [He closes his eyes and rubs at his temples, clearly thinking hard about something.] I'm trying to remember exactly what it said but it's been almost two years so it's a little fuzzy.

[You understand, right, Jane?]

The you that grows into becoming my Poppop.

[She's thinking, trying to remember all that it said as well; but two years??] Goodness, that is.. a very long time.

Errr...no it wasn't from him. It was from you. Or the version of you in my universe, I guess. Aha...I am still not really sure about the logistics of how this whole thing works but somehow we all managed to get scrambled up between our two versions of the same universe.

It's starting to look that way. I wonder just how that happened..

[He shrugs.]

You would have to ask Dave or someone else further along on the timeline than me. Maybe Rose will know when she wakes up since she always knows basically everything.

I may have to do that. At least, it somewhat answers that we both have it if we both remember it. I wish I knew what Roxy did with my copy though. She was trying to show me how she could use some device to teleport things and made it disappear, before it sounded like she was having a sort of crisis and had to go?

Hmm...maybe it was the drones and red miles she was talking about when she first arrived here. She sure made it sound like she was in the middle of some kind of crisis when I spoke with her.

[That just prompts such a worried expression, but she stays quiet, thinking.]

Oh but...you are both here now! So, no worries. Everybody is fine!

{text}

text;

text; ARE YOU MY POPPOP?! LET'S TRADE MUSTACHES.

text; YES. TO BOTH THINGS.

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