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

[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.

[laminae]

I haven't, either. He seemed okay.

[He feels bad for not being more reassuring, but he can't. He can't just say it's all going to be okay, that Varian will get past it and it won't be a big deal. He'd be lying if he did.]

Sorry, dude. I don't know if it helps any, but you setting off that explosion means.... [He drops his hand so he can fidget with his fingers, because this is hitting some sensitive spots he doesn't like talking about very often.] It means you didn't abandon me. And that's still a big deal to me, even if you think you didn't do enough.

[droptheious]

[He appreciates that he really does. Normally the ever-optimistic promise of things being okay might help, but right now... he really doesn't want to hear them. There are no guarantees. Not here.

He sucks in a breath, considering this. He's seen some of Fern's memories- he watches his father abandoned him. That... that explained a lot, when it came to Fern in all honesty. He finally looks at Fern, offing a ghost of a smile. ]

Yeah, I know. It's why I fought so hard to try and do something so you weren't completely abandoned. I wish I could've done more than that, is all.

[laminae]

[That his attempt at making Varian feel better didn't fall completely flat is great, Fern feels a little lighter when he sees that smile. Maybe he isn't as bad at this comforting thing as he's always thought?]

Hey, maybe you'll get another chance to do better.

[And when he realizes how bad that sounds, he pauses awkwardly.]

That... that was supposed to be reassuring.

[droptheious]

[Varian's smile fades a touch as he stares off into the middle distance.]

Yeah. Yeah, you probably could have phrased that a little less ominously, there.

[He offers a shaky thumbs-up.]

But I'll take it in the spirit in which it was meant? Still... really don't want a repeat performance of- of literally any of that ever, though.

[laminae]

Th - thanks. Yeah, I don't either.

[If he could go a solid two months without falling apart, that'd just be swell.

He makes a mildly frustrated noise as he sits back.]

I was way better at this when I was Finn.

[droptheious]

[Varian would be super okay with Fern never falling apart again. ]

Eh, I get what you meant. I think I probably would have found you doing it as Finn insincere and annoying.

[laminae]

Hah, that's kinda hard to believe. Pretty much everyone back home likes him.

[Even Tiffany sort of came around before dying horribly or whatever.]

[droptheious]

[He lifts his shoulders in a half-shrug.]

Yeah, well. I prefer you. And I can say that with confidence now I've seen your memories and actually seen him. So-

[He shrugs again, in a shit you can do about it kind of way. He related to Fern so much more than he ever could some... weirdo idealist. Maybe back before he ruined his own life, he would have found Finn fascinating- the broken mess that he is though? He gets Fern so much more.]

[laminae]

[That Varian has seen his memories of Finn really only makes his confidence in this matter even more baffling. In Fern's opinion, anyways. It's Finn, hero of Ooo, the guy who knows how to talk to people without making them cry, the guy who puts himself out there on the line for people who hate him because it's the right thing to do.]

I don't think I'm ever gonna fully understand that, man.

[Self-loathing is a heck of a thing to be saddled with.]

[droptheious]

Well, that's just how it is.

[Varian sits back a little, partly because he's making a point about how very that's how it is to Fern and partly because he's still feeling kinda dizzy and he thinks he should probably lie back a little before he falls back.]

You don't have to get it. My opinions not changing on that one.

[laminae]

Okay. Your choice, I guess.

[As much as he'd like to, he isn't totally sure how he'd go about arguing with Varian on this. Not when his Finn feelings extend beyond idolization and reach into hatred, so part of him doesn't want to argue with him about it.]

I got you one more thing.

[He'll instead pull the last item out of his backpack, a music box. Similar to what Varian used for his robots, but this one is sitting upright and decorated with little bulldogs.]

I said earlier mom had this lullaby she'd sing. It's, uh, guaranteed to put anyone to sleep, and this month is gonna be real rough for you.

[droptheious]

[At the sight of the music box, Varian tenses- the memory of his own robots still very much raw. It only lasts a moment, though- he's home, and he's with Fern- he's as safe as he can possibly be. He looks again at the music box in Fern's hands. The dogs remind him of Jake- from Fern's memories, and a small smile tugs at his lips. Right, of course, Fern had been raised by sentient people-dogs. ]

You say that like I slept easy before all of... that. [But he appreciates the gesture a lot. ] But that's... actually really nice of you. How does it work?

[laminae]

[The music box's appearance is an extremely unfortunate and ironic coincidence, one that hasn't escaped Fern's notice. He's hoping it's something Varian can look past, since it's so personal to him and might be incredibly useful for the next month.]

All you do is rotate the handle and sing. Typical lullaby junk.

[No weird Ooo magic or science involved, for once.]

[droptheious]

[He lets out a soft 'hmmm'. Lullabies aren't exactly in his wheelhouse- Quirin sure as hell never sang any. Maybe his mother did before she... didn't any more. He doesn't remember them regardless. ]

I don't really have a frame of reference for 'typical lullaby junk'. Can it really make anyone fall asleep?

[laminae]

[Fern just tries to not give Varian a look that scream that is the saddest thing ever. He's probably well aware of that.]

Think so. At least, it always worked on me, Jake and Jermaine. And it did a number on Wildberry Princess and her guards.

[droptheious]

[He is very aware of that and is grateful for the effort on Fern's part. That... for sure sounds like magic to Varian. Or at the very least, it must have some mild hypnotic properties. But he's also feeling like crap and sleeping even worse, so it's not like he's in a position to turn this down. He leans back a little.]

Okay, sure. Hit me with it.

[laminae]

[Ironically, there's no hypnotism or magic at work here. It's just a great song.]

Um, okay. But no laughing.

[He did get some practice singing in with Martin, but it still isn't something he's used to with this voice. At any rate, he'll start turning the handle, and with the very slow tune from the music box sing a lullaby that is absolutely meant for small puppies and not human children.

But it's totally the kind of song that's easy to fall asleep to, and by the end of it Fern's kind of nodding off himself.]

[droptheious]

[Varian raises a hand, putting the other on his chest, a solemn oath that he will no, indeed, laugh. The tune is very nice, even if it is, indeed, blatantly meant for small puppies and not human children. Regardless, his eyelids feel heavy- probably a combination of exhaustion, sickness and the fact that it's a really nice tune.]

Hey- your voice is pretty good, you've been holding out on me.

[He says it a little muzzily as his head droops, drifting off to sleep. It would probably be a lot cuter if he didn't sleep with his mouth open but that's just how it goes.]

[laminae]

[He'd love to argue that he's barely above tone deaf but, well. Varian's falling asleep, and that's great. Fern is aware how hard that can be when you're recovering from the deathflu, and he doesn't want to ruin that.

He is also falling asleep, which is a little less great. He may have played himself here, because when has Margaret's lullaby never not made him pass out? He at least manages to get through the entire song, though the last few words are more mumbling than singing as he starts tilting sideways. Once he hits the bed he's out like a light.]

[droptheious]

[Fern absolutely played himself. And Varian at least gets about an hour of good, solid sleep in before the other side effect of the deathflu starts to seep in.

Varian's no stranger to nightmares, the red rocks only brought to the waking world what he experienced on the regular anyway- but this was not that dream. The lullaby had lulled him into a dreamless sleep- right until it stopped being that. That bear's horrible cackling leaked into his sleep, and he suddenly found himself trapped in the amber again- struggling but unable to pull his arm free. Panic set in as his own robot lumbered up to him, arms raised before coming crashing down-

Varian jerks awake with a yell, eyes wide and unfocussed- not quite back in his room safe and sound quite yet- trying to gulp down air as the panic overrides his other senses. ]

[laminae]

[It's a good nap, all things considered. Fern isn't in the most comfortable position but when you're grass you don't need to worry about things like spines and muscles, so he doesn't really move from where he is aside from shifting a little to get cozier. All the stress from the last few weeks have been building up, and he needs the rest.

Unlike Varian, he only has his usual bad dreams, ones that aren't enough to wake him up. He, however, is not immune to yelling, so when Varian's breaks the silence of the bedroom Fern starts, his eyes snapping open and a grass sword forming in his hand. He slices at the air once or twice as he fully wakes up, and once he has the sword retreats back into his hand. Then he's pushing himself up, alarmed, his brain processing what just happened. That's when he sees Varian, apparently in the midst of some kind of panic.]

What - Varian?

[He moves closer, to gently grab his shoulders.]

Hey!

[droptheious]

[Varian isn't aware of the sword, or Fern, immediately. His eyes are still wide, staring out at nothing, still trapped in the nightmare. He vaguely realises something isn't right, that he isn't there - but trying to crawl back to wakefulness isn't easy.

His breath catches a few more times until he feels Fern's hands on his shoulders. He blinks, his eyes clearing, his breathing still quick and uneven. He can't push words out yet, but he reaches out with one hand to grasp at Fern's arm- just to fee something solid and real there as he tries to even out his breathing. ]

[laminae]

[Oh, oh geez. Fern catches onto what's happening quick enough, having gone through this himself twice already. The nightmares have to be even worse than the flu symptoms, honestly, and he's a lot less prepared to deal with these.

He squeezes Varian's shoulders a little, worried, his mind racing to come up with something that will help.]

You were dreaming. It was only a dream.