Deerington inbox

[droptheious]

FROM: SUBJECT: FERN Ooo slang part the second FERN i think we just shared electrons, because i'm feeling a covalent bond between us LANCE Pidge, I need your help. I gotta send a meme to Chloe but ... DIPPER Hey Varian. You know those crazy alchemy bombs you used... PETER Hey Varian, this is Peter. Um, Peter Graham. USAGI Soooooooo~ How'd the date go? MAKO Varian— Checking in. SHIRO i think one of us put a chicken patty in my toaster EDDIE Hey. We need to talk. MELIUS 𝐻𝒾. 𝐼 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝒾𝓉 𝓁𝑜𝑜𝓀𝓈 𝓌𝑒𝒾𝓇𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒾𝓉 𝒾𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓇𝓉 EDA Hey, kid. I... owe you an apology. LUZ Valentines MAUL I have a proposition for a project I think you'll be interested in USAGI I LOVE YOU FERN DUDE you still have your bandana! BUZZ Morning. I heard from Fern you wanted to go out into the blizzard. FERN dude your profile changed USAGI Ruby told me about the breakup. GLITCH Varian, I'm gonna go live somewhere else for now MAKO A "nerd" is somebody smart... MAUL Gifts FERN heeyyyy quick question FERN Christmas is coming up!!! CHLOE god who the FUCK ever thought emojis were a good idea??? KRISTOFF Varian,It's getting colder so I thought you could use this FERN heyyyy Variable RAPUNZEL okay not to put you on the spot but... EDA Potion time NEO Dude, I can mine antidote shit here! GLITCH Got this in my basket. EDA hey smart kid TEN Hallo ADAM Hey, k-- uh, Varian. I just wanted to check in USAGI I'm sorry I worried you and fainted on you yesterday. AMARA i lived, bitch NEO Debatably good news, asshole USAGI Hey Varian! It's Usagi OSCAR I'm sorry, Varian. Tell me what you need FERN a dark past huh MAUL Varian. I am in great need of your assistance FERN Varian VARIAN I CAN EAT FOOD USAGI How much moon essence do you have? USAGI VIVI-KUN, VIVI-KUN GUESS WHAT GUESS WHAT! RICHIE well I promised FERN A TOTALLY INCOMPLETE LIST OF OOO WORDS 'N SLANG GLITCH VARIAN ARE THERE BUGS IN THE WATER?! USAGI To help with restless nights and the... VIRA-LORR Little alchemist. I have a gift for you. MARTIN Hi, Varian. This is Martin. I wanted to reach out... USAGI Hi Varian, sweetie! I have a question for you. GLITCH varian I need to talk to you. it's important. USAGI I need you not to panic after what I tell you. FERN dog you have so many vests IRONHIDE HONK HONK USAGI ... I'm sorry I couldn't help you better, Varian EMERALD Hey, V. Not that I care that much or anything... FERN tell me when you're alive FERN Varian i stabbed two people AMARA hey weirdo i have something for you FERN is the Rapunzel in town your Rapunzel? PENNY Salutations!! You do not know me, but my name is Penny Polendina YANG Hey, is this Varian? I think we've met once before. FERN hey can we talk FERN you told ruby MAUL Surviving another year is always an occasion worth celebrating USAGI Hey I wanted to apologise USAGI VARIAN-KUUUUNNN!!!! FERN birth MAUL Look what just arrived for me. KATHERINE Do you want to get paid to make more purple goo things? FERN ok i know you're good with plants but what about animals FERN dog interested in means girls or guys

TO: SUBJECT: USAGI So. Maul dropped by, he's got his memories back. ADAM I'm worried about Shiro FERN Hey handsome OSCAR You've been weirdly quiet lately FERN Guess what I haven't told you lately? USAGI Hey. I'm back from the dead and I feel like trash. FERN I made meatloaf that may or may not poison us! Emerald Hey. I know you probably don't want to talk to anyone right now... BELLA Hey Bella. You've dated someone who's a different species to you right? BILL Hi, Fern mentioned you were interested in interdimensional portals... FERN Aw, your pictures are nice! KURT Hey. Are you around? RICHIE Is it just me or is Eddie acting weirder than usual? QROW Hey. Checking up on you. EDA Hi Eda. Hope Ruddiger found you okay. GLITCH Hey. What happened between you and Maul? LUNA Luna- I uh... I think I need your help EDDIE So hey, I finally worked out how to replicate the Antidote OSCAR So, I noticed Ozpin has shown up. ROGUE Hey, I managed to replicate the Antidote KURT Hey. We're back. None of us are dead. QROW Uh... hey. How are you guys holding up? PETER You gave Ruby the haunted dolls GLITCH Hey, Bud. Sorry I tried to murder you with a robot KURT I'm probably the last person you want to talk to... JON I'm sorry I attacked you JON Stay away from Fern. FERN Hey you still haven't got me those baking ingredients FERN Okay so the Betties are upping their war... USAGI Hey. So. Update. NEO You tried to bury her alive? SERIOUSLY? USAGI Emotions are really difficult FERN OH MY GOD YOU HAVE ONE TOO FERN Okay this better be to Fern this time. WYNONNA So guess who got into the fridge and ate literally everything in there.

code by cawaii

Comments

[droptheious]

[He's lapsed into silence, partly because his head is aching partly because he feels weird and it might not be anything to do with the deathflu, and quite frankly that's terrifying. It's a good thing that Fern is paying attention to their surroundings because Varian sure isn't- deep into his own head as he is. He's sure it's just post-death... whatever. Just feeling weird. He's never died before. It's probably that.

He only looks up when Fern speaks, blinking a few times before clearing his throat. Right. Right. ]

Fluids, probably, I think?

[He's so helpful, the most helpful.]

[laminae]

[It's less awkward all around that Fern hasn't noticed. He's assuming that he's simply won the argument, and that Varian is too exhausted to do much else aside from get carried. After he can back from being dead it was always a ton of effort just keeping himself together, so this has to be the human equivalent of that.

Trying to dig up old memories from ages ago is hard enough, trying to do it when they aren't even really your memories anymore is even harder. Thankfully, Varian's suggestion helps.]

Right, yeah. Fluids. [Aha, that makes the gears in his head start turning.] Soup. I'll make you soup. Mom always did that. She always had juice around, too. [The memories are coming back in full force now, and he grins a little.] Pretty much the only time she let me eat in bed.

[droptheious]

[That's absolutely what it is. Just feeling beat up from coming back from the dead. As Fern continues to speak, a small smile flickers across his features. Quirin always tried, but he wasn't exactly the most nuturing type. There was some sort of comfort only a mother could give, he thinks. As much as he has no experience of his own to pull from.]

Yeah? She sounds like she was pretty amazing. But, sure, soup and juice. Sounds good.

[laminae]

[Even he can handle soup, thankfully. There's no skill needed in opening a can and heating it up, so he's pretty sure he's got that covered, as they approach Varian's home.]

Hah, yeah. She was pretty much the best mom ever. She'd read me stories and she had this lullaby she'd sing, even when it was the middle of the night and I couldn't sleep. She'd even rub my back when I was barfing.

[Oh, memories.]

Okay. You got any traps that need disabling?

[droptheious]

[That's a good thing because Varian for sure can't handle cooking even soup right now. His breathing has evened out, but there's still a raspy quality to it- he really shouldn't have been wandering around the town like this. ]

Yeah? That's... nice. Really nice. What a mother should be, right?

[He's... genuinely asking, he doesn't know. He shakes his head at the question.]

Nah, disabled them. It... took a while. I put way more up than usual this month.

[laminae]

Cool.

[Great, no traps for him to worry about springing. Normally he wouldn't care, but right now he'd prefer to get Varian back in bed without getting an ice bomb to the face. He heads up the front steps, a vine slithering out from his arm to open the door. He gives one last glance behind them, and peers into the house carefully before stepping inside. Just to be safe.]

Yup. She was always putting me and Jake and Jermaine first. She always knew how to make us feel better.

[He goes straight for the stairs to head up to Varian's bedroom, even though he hasn't seen it before he's assuming it's on the second floor. As he does his voice turns a little bittersweet.

Memories are rough, sometimes.]

She was the first person to make me feel better after Martin ditched me.

[droptheious]

[No traps at all! The house is blissfully trap-free. For once, Varian's bedroom looks like he's actually slept in it- if only because he woke up in it when he came back to life. His bed is very much unmade as if he just flopped out of it like a half-dead fish and dragged himself outside. Which is exactly what he did.]

I'm really glad that you had her. You deserve that much.

[laminae]

[It's also robot bear-free, which is a relief. The last thing he wants to do is destroy the place fighting another one of those.]

Uh... thanks.

[He's... a little pensive when he answers, knowing that Varian didn't get to have his mother around like he did.

Once he's found Varian's bedroom (and wow, does it ever look like a normal human bedroom with a science aesthetic), Fern will set him down in bed. He rubs the back of his head.]

Okay, I'm gonna go make you soup. Assuming you've got some downstairs. Try to just rest for now?

[droptheious]

[It's so good to not have any more robo-bears. If Varian never sees another ever again, it'll be too soon.

As much as Varian tends to be anti-bed (there's always too much science to do) he's so very glad for it right now. He flops back onto the pillow with a grateful sigh. Okay, yeah, fine, he can understand the merits of a bed right now. He'll close his eyes for like... a minute.]

Hmmm. Think there's some in the cupboards. Thanks, Bud.

[laminae]

[Great, okay. He'll pick Ruddiger up off his shoulder and put him down on the bed too, so he can keep an eye on Varian, just in case. Then he heads down to the kitchen to cook up some soup. Thankfully it's extremely hard to mess up soup, so once he digs a can of chicken noodle out as well as a pot he gets that heating up on the stove. Once he's found a bowl and spoon and glass and some juice in the fridge, all that's left to do is wait.

He hops up on the counter while he does, picking through his own memories of coming back from the dead. What it had been like. What had made it worse, and what had helped. Those, along with his memories of Margaret, give him some solidified plans by the time the soup starts bubbling.

He hops off the counter and plates everything up. It isn't fancy by any means, but it should help. With soup and juice in hand he heads back upstairs to Varian's room.]

Heyyy, so I gotta run to the treehouse for some junk. I'll be back real quick, can I trust you to stay put?

[droptheious]

[Varian had been partly dozing on the bed when Fern walks back in. He pulls himself up in a sitting position, groaning a little as a new wave of dizziness takes hold. Ugh, he hates this, he's already so bored of it. There's a brief flicker of panic as Fern says that he's leaving- only settling when he assures he'll be back. As much as Varian usually relishes his solitude, he'd rather not be left in his own company at present.

And so, he offered a tired smile, crossing a finger over his chest. ]

Trust me, I'm not planning on going anywhere any time soon. Thanks for the soup and... literally everything, actually.

[laminae]

[Fern notices that momentary panic and really only cements in his mind that this needs to be a brief trip. Brief, but necessary. He nods, setting the soup down on the nightstand.]

Don't worry about it. I'll be back before you know it.

[Thank Glob the treehouse isn't that far from Varian's place. Once he's out on the street he's moving fast which... is probably not the best idea, overexerting himself with the poison air and all, but whatever. What's one more burst of energy when he's already put himself through the ringer this month?

He gets back to the treehouse lickity-split and gathers everything up, at the last second deciding to bring Hazel along, too. He's probably going to be spending a while at Varian's and he doesn't want to neglect the poor fire pup. Plus, maybe Ruddiger will enjoy the company.

Once he has everything he makes his way back, deliberately avoiding any signs of robotic bears so as to not get into a fight. His backpack is feeling heavy by the time he arrives, and he's pretty sure he's going to need a long nap after this whole day.

Hazel follows him back up the stairs, scurrying past him and into Varian's room when he peeks in.]

Hey, I'm back.

[droptheious]

[While Fern has been away, Varian has managed to kick off his boots and get into bed proper. Still full clothed, but he has not got the energy to go find his non-existent sleepwear right now. He does eat the soup and drink the juice Fern prepared for him, and feels marginally less like death warmed up for it.

He's tapping away at his Fluid, reaching out to people he wronged when Fern returns. Ruddiger hops off the bed to chatter at Hazel, ready to race around the house and do important animal stuff. Varian offers him a small, tired smile- it doesn't quite reach his eyes, but it's there.]

Hey, welcome back.

[He's a little curious about what Fern has lugged here with him, but he's honestly more glad that the other boy returned. He had no real doubt that he would, of course, but it still provides comfort. He's not alone. Which... is much less than what he gave Fern when he died. ]

[laminae]

[Hazel is more than happy to follow after Ruddiger, if only because the poofiness of his tail is clearly something he needs to practice him pouncing skills on.

Fern briefly returns the smile, moving to drop his backpack onto the edge of the bed before sitting down next to it.]

I brought you some stuff. [A lot of stuff, and when he realizes what that sounds like he hurriedly adds:] Uh, not that this means I'm gonna go back to the treehouse or anything. I'll be here as much as you want me to be. I can get you groceries and sleep on the couch, doesn't matter.

[He reaches up, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.]

The first time I died I wound up living at Will's house for the whole month after. [He's just going to go ahead and not talk about the second time he died.] Not being on my own helped a lot.

[Downsides to living on your own, amirite?]

[droptheious]

All of that's for me? And Fern, there's like, three bedrooms in this place. You don't have to sleep on a couch.

[To be fair, this is already the longest he's been in his own bed since he got here.

Varian's smile, small as it already is, fades. Fern might not bring up the second time he died, but Varian sure will. He looks down at the bedclothes, picking at them a little. ]

...That's more than I did for you when you died the second time around. You're well within your right to just leave me to it, you know. No grudges held. I was... a pretty terrible friend.

[He still IS, all things considered.]

[laminae]

[Fern just shrugs a little. Look, if the air wasn't currently trying to murder them all his first preference would be to sleep on the roof. Beds and couches don't really matter to him.

He'll open his backpack up and start pulling stuff out, starting with a bunch of books. Several more of those Choose Your Own Adventure novels Kurt had brought him after he died, as well as a book on Billy, Champion of Ooo's adventures.]

I want to help you, you dummy. What you chose to do isn't a good excuse for me to get a free pass to be a bad friend.

[He is so, so unimpressed with that argument, Varian.]

[droptheious]

[Okay but books are the best thing ever and Varian would be lying if seeing the fact Fern owns so many now didn't give him a whole lot of joy. The power of reading!!!.

...And yeah, he can't really argue with that. He clears his throat, offering a fleeting smile. Sorry, Fern, his self-loathing is maxed out today. Give him a day or two to accept he might be worthy of people's affection again. ]

Okay... that's fair. Sorry. And you're a great friend, seriously. I mean, look at all the books!

[laminae]

[He should really thank Kurt for all the reading material.

Fern is just glad they aren't going to argue over this. He knows what it's like recovering from the deathflu alone, and it makes everything about a hundred times worse. Staying at Will's, even though he had felt like crud and couldn't even keep his body together, had been nice. Staying at Will's had felt more like home than any other place in town, and despite the disparity in their feelings Fern at least wants to try to help Varian in that same way.]

Yeah, you're probably gonna get bored being stuck in bed for a week, right? And - [The next thing he pulls out of his backpack is a wreath made of antlers. He stands and goes over to a wall, and apologies, but he's stabbing a large thorn into it so he can hang the wreath.] - this should keep any robots from busting in.

[droptheious]

I will definitely get bored stuck in bed for a week. I can't even stay in bed for a night. Or... go to bed at all. Whichever.

[Aside from his awkward message to Kurt apologising for trying to murder him with a robot, Varian's pretty sure they should not be conversing all that much.

He really does appreciate the effort- as much as he feels it's undeserved. He eyes the antler a little, because oh hey, that's - that's a thing. ]

Did it come from Sodder? [There's another pause, because... well. He shouldn't bring this up but he needs to know.] How did you get out of the junkyard? Talking about... robots and all.

[laminae]

They'll be handy, then.

[Even he got bored being stuck in bed for a whole week, he isn't surprised Varian is the same way.]

Uh, yeah. [To his first question. The second question causes a wave of discomfort to overtake Fern as he sits back down on the bed. The junkyard had been an awful time all around, and he'd been pushing all that down so he wouldn't have to think about it.] Some spooky guy helped me out. No big deal. I wasn't dead or anything.

[Just in a thousand pieces. It's fine.]

[droptheious]

...A spooky guy?

[That's... not comforting. He kind of figured Fern didn't die, what with the trial and all, but it was close enough. Too close, in all honesty. Varian has seen Fern fall apart more times than he's strictly comfortable with. Once is too much and now he's seen it three times in as many months and it's starting to give him a bit of a complex. ]

That's... something. [His gaze is still down, brow furrowed.] I tried to make sure someone could find you. It was- it was like trying to swim through fog. I couldn't fight it. If I could have, I would have, but that's all I could do before it sucked me under again.

[laminae]

He kind of reminded me of Marceline.

[One day Varian will learn what a goth is.]

You helped. [He scoots closer, so he can rest a comforting hand on Varian's shoulder.] I'd probably still be a pile of grass in the junkyard if you hadn't set off that bomb.

[It wasn't great and he isn't going to even try to deny it, but it was more than Varian just ditching him.]

I know what feels like. [Drowning, fighting for control but only being able to sink even deeper.] You did what you could, and it was enough.

[droptheious]

...The vampire who drinks colours?

[He rolls his shoulders in a shrug. It doesn't feel like enough. Nothing feels like enough. He should have been stronger. He should have fought it better. So many people nearly died because he didn't. ]

I wish I could have done more. I should have been able to do more.

[laminae]

Yeah. I mean - his style. [Similar spooky styles.] I think he said his name's Gerard.

[He should probably reach out with a 'thank you for helping me when I was a pile of grass.' That might be warranted.

Fern shifts uneasily. Varian, your guilt is palpable.]

I wish I hadn't picked a fight with Kurt. And not had my stabilizing gem where it was. That was just - a huge mess, and neither of us can go back and change any of it. We gotta live with it. You, me and Kurt.

[droptheious]

Don't think I've come across him before.

[Not unusual, Varian isn't exactly a social butterfly. He lets out a soft noise, almost a laugh if it wasn't so bitter and hurt. ]

Great. I'll add it to the ever-growing list of things I have to live with. No problem.