[ Damn, they're just having this conversation right there in the text app, huh? Dylan laughs. Honestly, he's not entirely sure how he'd explain the whole Thing with Knull back home anyway, so he's happy to let the subject be redirected. ]
( man, eddie really wanted to enlist the whole family for this one, but venom convinced him that this is more of an AU!Father-to-AU!Son matter, so eddie is alone on the ground where he sits by the waterfront, cross-legged, comfortable. )
Yeah, man. Everything's good, don't worry. C'mon, sit down.
( and whether or not dylan chooses to remain standing, eddie continues. )
...Just seems like you might really like this Hunter kid. Am I reading that right?
[ Dylan sits on the ground next to Eddie, gazing at him cautiously. ]
Yeah... I mean, he's a good friend. I think he's really cool.
[ But why would that warrant this kind of one-on-one talk? Is this about Hunter skipping school? That doesn't seem like something Eddie would have a talk like this for. Why would he —
Unless... ]
Wait, you mean like... like a crush??
[ Dylan's face turns pink. ]
No! It's not like that! I mean, sure, he's cool athletic and... and really sweet, and puts so much effort into everything he does, and has those cute ears that perk up when he's happy, but it's not like —
[ Like the Magic 8-Ball that Hunter gave him has a special place on his nightstand?
Like he keeps having butterflies in his stomach when they talk?
Like his whole day brightens up when he gets a text from him?
Like he lies awake at night remembering the vampire bite, feeling his heart hammering? ]
( the thing that separates the good journalists from the great journalists is knowing when to talk and knowing when to listen. eddie's a pretty great journalist despite himself, so he knows the best thing to do here is keep quiet and let dylan go through the seven stages of 'Holy Fuck I Have a Crush' without judgment. he looks between the surface of the water rippling in the breeze and the surface of dylan buckling under this newfound realization, and when it seems that dylan has come back to earth, eddie nods. )
Yeah... Yeah, I've been there.
( truth be told, eddie hadn't planned for this conversation at all, so he has no idea what direction he'd meant to go with it. he'd considered warning dylan against letting hunter drag him into trouble, but dylan is a good kid, and a little trouble every now and again is far from a bad thing, so that's not what really what he cares about.
another part of him considers safety, in the most vague of sense, but, again, hunter doesn't seem like a problem in that regard, either.
maybe he just wanted to give dylan a heart attack for the hell of it— )
IF YOU TRULY CARE FOR HIM, YOU MUST DEDICATE TIME TO KNOW HIM.
LEARN HIM. INSIDE AND OUT. HIS HOBBIES. HIS FAVORITE FOODS.
WHAT HE WOULD KILL FOR. THE SNORING PATTERNS OF HIS REM CYCLE.
IF HE CARES FOR YOU, HE WILL DO THE SAME.
ONLY THEN CAN THERE BE HOPE... ...FOR A FUTURE... WITH ONE ANOTHER IN IT.
( to punctuate this, he nuzzles his head against eddie's in the grossest display of public affection to ever grace this planet. venom, geez, not in front of the kid. )
[ Dylan watches Venom intently as he speaks, and he smiles warmly at the sight of Venom nuzzling Eddie. This... is really how it should be, he supposes, seeing how much they care about each other in moments like this. Even if Eddie looks a little embarrassed about it.
He scoots a little closer to them, looking out over the pond. ]
I'm... scared, I think. Now that I know I... like him, [ just the thought of it makes his heart beat faster] I can't un-know it, you know?
If he doesn't feel the same way, what do I do? How do I make it stop?
( eddie wants to hate it but, ugh, he can't bring himself to be mad when venom is being so sincere and flooding their connection with so many lovey-dovey emotions. the most he can do in this moment is tilt his head against venom's and scratch him under the gooey chin. )
Yeah, what V said... minus the snoring thing... I don't snore. YOU DO. Uh, no... No, I don't think I do. YOU DO. LIKE A TINY BEAR. AND IT IS NOTHING TO BE ASHAMED OF.
MANY OF THE GREATS SNORE.
LIKE OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, NICKI MINAJ.
How??? Would you know that???
( idiots, focus. )
Dylan. Right.
Honestly, I don't think that's something you're going to have to worry about with this one. With Hunter. I think you'll both... I mean, I have it on good authority that not feeling the same way isn't gonna be a problem.
BUT... IF HE DOES NOT ACCEPT YOUR FEELINGS, EAT HIM. WHOLE. CONSUME HIS HEAD UNTIL THERE IS NOTHING LEFT BUT BONES.
[ Dylan starts to laugh, and feels his anxiety melt away. This was... so wonderful and comfortable. He thinks about maybe someday reaching his level of comfort with Hunter, to know his ins and outs the way Venom knows Eddie's, to banter with him so casually about anything like this.
The thought makes him feel... so warm. And the fluttering is back in his stomach, but its... it's not as scary as it was before. He closes his eyes, listening to them banter over the sound of the pond lapping at the shore. ]
I don't think I'll eat him. I'll have means and motive, no jury would acquit.
[ He lets himself tip to the side, leaning heavily into Eddie, resting his head on Eddie's arm. ]
Thanks, though. For the pep talk. It'd be... nice to have what you two have.
[ ripley is not well versed with teens, so he makes a few educated guesses. like a hundred dollar credit on steam to buy games and a netflix subscription.
but he also adds a card. like an iou if dylan ever needs help, no questions asked. ]
[At some point before Christmas, a package arrives for Dylan at the Brocks' Little Love home. Inside is a copy of this book. There's also a simple printed card that says "Merry Christmas - Jason"]
Oh, you don't really need to. Cleaning's one of the easy things. Power-wise. Just kind of have to — [ ripley taps on a piece of clothing and it vanishes. ] — and it goes where it needs to. Though I probably still have to fold it and all.
Weird how it doesn't get any easier. You think you're prepared for it the next time it happens, but then it does, and it leaves a gaping hole in your chest all over again.
[ And before they can wander too far into Dylan's own Tragic Anime Backstory, he shifts gears, looking Ripley in the eye with a soft smile. ]
[ Dylan barely stifles a short laugh as Ripley stutters. ]
Good. I'm glad. You should know.
[ He looks a little wistful as he continues. ]
Eddie was — he was really different from my dad back home, but they had a few things in common. Besides the obvious. Anyway, it's... it was nice to be with a version of him that wasn't so lonely.
[ How much does he want to say about the situation? ]
right now I think it'd be safer for everyone if we stuck to the quarantine. last thing you need is to get infected yourself when trying to mount a rescue.
[For this year’s Christmas, Jason got Dylan few things. One is a new guitar book for intermediate players, full of classic rock songs. The second is a musician’s tool kit so Dylan can do repairs and maintenance on his guitar by himself.
And finally, Jason promises to give Dylan shooting lessons when the teen feels ready for it. He already knows from Sleeper that Dylan had tried firearms back home so might as well refine that skill. It’ll be useful if Dylan can’t use his superpowers]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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#Dadding
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#HATERSWILLHATE?
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You really can't tell the difference between your AU!Dads at this point?
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Is four too many dads for a dad collection?
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also i guess there's a sixth one if u squint. But maybe he's more of a grandpa too? symbiote lineage is weird.
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I feel like I should apologize on his behalf. That couldn't have been great.
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from what i understand he was just an all-around asshole
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Weird question: What's your dad's name? Eddie. You know his full name?
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[ Turns out that part didn't change across universes. ]
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Cool.
Anyway.
Who's your sixth dad? We got me and V, your Eddie and his V, and Carl/Charles. Who's left?
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hey V does the name Knull mean anything to you?
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ONLY AS A MYTH.
HE IS WHAT YOU WOULD CALL A CREATOR.
BUT HE IS MUCH MORE.
THE CRADLE FROM WHICH ARE ALL BIRTHED.
THE DESTROYER OF STARS.
THE ANTHESIS OF LIGHT.
STORIES TO PUT YOUNG SYMBIOTES TO SLEEP AT NIGHT.
Those are your bedtime stories?
Explains a lot, realldszfWE DO NOT ALL GET MARY AND HER TINY LAMBS, EDDIE.
IT IS NO WONDER THAT HUMAN CHILDREN ARE WEAK AND DEFENSELESS.
Because of the... bedtime stories we chose?
PRECISELY!!
( eddie and venom are just sort of like this all the time. sorry, dylan. you were saying something? )
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anyway i'll take out the trash in a sec. :D
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You can't just spring Eldritch horror talk at us and then dip off??
How do you know Knull? Is he more than a ghost story in your world?
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[ It feels... weird to type that out. ]
Dylan is typing...
Dylan is typing...
ok im honestly having trouble cracking jokes about this. he was bad.
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Alright.
Don't worry about the trash; we'll get it.
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i wasnt trying to wiggle out of chores or anything.
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We gotta talk about Hunter.
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Sure. What's going on?
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Actually, this might be more of an in-person sorta conversation… Can you meet me out by the pond?
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Sure, be right there.
[ He heads out there, finding Eddie by the pond ]
What's up? Is everything okay?
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Yeah, man. Everything's good, don't worry. C'mon, sit down.
( and whether or not dylan chooses to remain standing, eddie continues. )
...Just seems like you might really like this Hunter kid. Am I reading that right?
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Yeah... I mean, he's a good friend. I think he's really cool.
[ But why would that warrant this kind of one-on-one talk? Is this about Hunter skipping school? That doesn't seem like something Eddie would have a talk like this for. Why would he —
Unless... ]
Wait, you mean like... like a crush??
[ Dylan's face turns pink. ]
No! It's not like that! I mean, sure, he's cool athletic and... and really sweet, and puts so much effort into everything he does, and has those cute ears that perk up when he's happy, but it's not like —
[ Like the Magic 8-Ball that Hunter gave him has a special place on his nightstand?
Like he keeps having butterflies in his stomach when they talk?
Like his whole day brightens up when he gets a text from him?
Like he lies awake at night remembering the vampire bite, feeling his heart hammering? ]
2/2
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Yeah... Yeah, I've been there.
( truth be told, eddie hadn't planned for this conversation at all, so he has no idea what direction he'd meant to go with it. he'd considered warning dylan against letting hunter drag him into trouble, but dylan is a good kid, and a little trouble every now and again is far from a bad thing, so that's not what really what he cares about.
another part of him considers safety, in the most vague of sense, but, again, hunter doesn't seem like a problem in that regard, either.
maybe he just wanted to give dylan a heart attack for the hell of it— )
IF YOU TRULY CARE FOR HIM,
YOU MUST DEDICATE TIME TO KNOW HIM.
LEARN HIM.
INSIDE AND OUT.
HIS HOBBIES.
HIS FAVORITE FOODS.
WHAT HE WOULD KILL FOR.
THE SNORING PATTERNS OF HIS REM CYCLE.
IF HE CARES FOR YOU,
HE WILL DO THE SAME.
ONLY THEN CAN THERE BE HOPE...
...FOR A FUTURE...
WITH ONE ANOTHER IN IT.
( to punctuate this, he nuzzles his head against eddie's in the grossest display of public affection to ever grace this planet. venom, geez, not in front of the kid. )
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He scoots a little closer to them, looking out over the pond. ]
I'm... scared, I think. Now that I know I... like him, [ just the thought of it makes his heart beat faster] I can't un-know it, you know?
If he doesn't feel the same way, what do I do? How do I make it stop?
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Yeah, what V said... minus the snoring thing... I don't snore.
YOU DO.
Uh, no... No, I don't think I do.
YOU DO.
LIKE A TINY BEAR.
AND IT IS NOTHING TO BE ASHAMED OF.
MANY OF THE GREATS SNORE.
LIKE OUR LORD AND SAVIOR,
NICKI MINAJ.
How??? Would you know that???
( idiots, focus. )
Dylan. Right.
Honestly, I don't think that's something you're going to have to worry about with this one. With Hunter. I think you'll both... I mean, I have it on good authority that not feeling the same way isn't gonna be a problem.
BUT...
IF HE DOES NOT ACCEPT YOUR FEELINGS,
EAT HIM.
WHOLE.
CONSUME HIS HEAD UNTIL THERE IS NOTHING LEFT BUT BONES.
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The thought makes him feel... so warm. And the fluttering is back in his stomach, but its... it's not as scary as it was before. He closes his eyes, listening to them banter over the sound of the pond lapping at the shore. ]
I don't think I'll eat him. I'll have means and motive, no jury would acquit.
[ He lets himself tip to the side, leaning heavily into Eddie, resting his head on Eddie's arm. ]
Thanks, though. For the pep talk. It'd be... nice to have what you two have.
Text
( christmas gift )
but he also adds a card. like an iou if dylan ever needs help, no questions asked. ]
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Voice | UN: Venom
I love you.
…Feels like I should say that more often.
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[It's facetious; There's a soft chuff from his end, and a smile audible in his voice. ]
I... I love you, too. These past few months have been great. Thanks for just... being there. And doing all the stuff you do.
[ He pauses, then adds: ]
Both of you, in case that's not clear.
( text )
So if you want to talk or just. Hang out. I'm here?
Re: ( text )
I'd like that.
Where are you?
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[ stress cleaning. ]
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[ He doesn't take long. When he arrives, he knows what this is about. Probably. Definitely. What else could it be?
But Dylan wasn't sure how to broach the subject. Or if he even should. Maybe Ripley had something specific he wanted to say?
Finally, Dylan decides to follow Ripley's lead, taking another corner of the room and starting to sort and clean on that end, too. ]
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[ ripley breathes out. ]
So. Uh. How are you. Holding up.
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I'm just... —[ really struggling. ]— taking it one day at a time.
How about you?
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[ ripley exhales. ]
But I guess I'm sort of used to hiccups?
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[ He leans in, eyebrows arched in surprise. ]
Does this... [ He gestures vaguely ] sort of thing happen a lot back home?
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Weird how it doesn't get any easier. You think you're prepared for it the next time it happens, but then it does, and it leaves a gaping hole in your chest all over again.
[ And before they can wander too far into Dylan's own Tragic Anime Backstory, he shifts gears, looking Ripley in the eye with a soft smile. ]
You made him really happy. I could tell.
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Oh, I mean. Good. Not that I wasn't sure, I was kind of sure, but. Good.
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Good. I'm glad. You should know.
[ He looks a little wistful as he continues. ]
Eddie was — he was really different from my dad back home, but they had a few things in common. Besides the obvious. Anyway, it's... it was nice to be with a version of him that wasn't so lonely.
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Eddie wants to take care of people, not just the symbiote. And community's made up of all kinds. Not just friends, but family too.
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Yeah. That's probably how it should be.
text
Re: text
[ How much does he want to say about the situation? ]
right now I think it'd be safer for everyone if we stuck to the quarantine. last thing you need is to get infected yourself when trying to mount a rescue.
Re: text
Are you alright? Do you need anything? I can still send things over.
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did you do extractions back home, too? like was this a regular thing for you?
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Group text for Dylan and Sleeper
Diana's here. She's different from the one you two knew but it's definitely a version of her
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That's great!
I mean I'm sorry it's not the same one but that's still cool!
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This one's older and seems closer to the one I know but you'll definitely recognize her
I already told her about you
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We can meet her again though if you're wanna be sure she's being truthful
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cute I guess
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Happy Ooze-mas
And finally, Jason promises to give Dylan shooting lessons when the teen feels ready for it. He already knows from Sleeper that Dylan had tried firearms back home so might as well refine that skill. It’ll be useful if Dylan can’t use his superpowers]