Written on 21/9/2024
General Audiences, Jake English & GCATavrosprite Nitram
> Go back?Three years, two months, and twelve days after the game has ended, and during a particularly sweltering summer, Jake English holds a pool party at his place.
It’s been approximately three years, two months, and twelve days since the game has ended.
The surviving players of Sburb and Sgrub are reaping the fruit of their efforts, of which included the opportunity to live on in their universe. More specifically, on the beautiful Earth C.
Said players are currently scattered around the English mansion’s backyard, in an attempt to combat the heat and awkward catch-ups all at once. Because what other way to get the very distant and around twenty-three-person gang back but an awesome pool party? Jake English thought up one day. It was summer, after all. Everyone loves swimming during the summer.
Jake was swimming around in his pool, retiring from the intense splash battle he had with Jasprosesprite^2 a few minutes earlier and instead doing a few laps around, surveying the backyard. Gotta make sure everyone’s having fun.
Swimming over to the corner of the pool and sitting down on its underwater steps, Jake’s eyes fall on his best buddy and roommate, GCATavrosprite Nitram. Tavros for short. Since thats a pretty darn long name!.. If GCATavrosprite was even his first name now. Man, he should really renew his legal papers.
Tavros is seated in one of the many beach chairs away from the pool, an umbrella towering over him and phone palmthingy palmhusk in paw. He has a blank expression on his face as he struggles to type. That doesn’t look right. Even if Tavros was simply minding his business and playing Fiduspawn Master, that doesn’t explain his lonely appearance! Jake should go over there and fix that for him.
Therefore, climbing out of the pool and dripping in water, Jake walks over to the snack bar he had set up and pours himself and Tavros two glasses of fruit punch, placing a nice bendy straw into Tavros’s glass, then approaching the sombre sprite, a wide grin on his face.
Tavros, surprised yet appreciative at the sudden attempt at social interaction, smiles back at Jake. He turns off his palmhusk and sets it down on a nearby table, before carefully taking the drink Jake’s offering him into his paws, untrimmed claws clinking against the glass. Getting used to new hands is pretty hard, but, like always, Tavros manages. He's always been good at rolling with the fruit punches.
As Jake sits down next to Tavros, the troll takes a small sip, cool and fizzy fruit juice travelling up the straw. Jake, however, downs his drink in just a few seconds, hissing in satisfaction as he places the emptied glass onto a table. Together and in silence, they overlook the party together.
The Striders crowd the snack bar, rambling to one another as sunburns start to bloom on their skin.
The Scourge Sisters flawlessly push an inflatable pirate ship into the pool, cheering.
Jane and Jade are catching up nearby, sitting on chairs of their own as they laugh and complain.
Everyone’s so happy. Everyone seems to be doing better, nowadays, Jake and Tavros notice. Including themselves. Good for them.
..But it’s still odd. It’s uncanny, how everyone can be so happy for at least a moment. While the two Pages remain numb. It doesn’t feel right, does it? Neither of them were expected to get this far. Tavros wasn't expected to get out of it alive. Jake didn't expect for everything to get better. No one expected them to be rooming with an actual alien in the future, either. It’s weird, and almost crazy, to say the least.
Tavros faces Jake, smiling fondly at him, and the human smiles back. He really did mean what he said. Tavros may not have been Jake’s sprite during the game, nor did they share the same session, but they’ve always felt more comfortable around each other.
Maybe it was his ability to listen, to understand, and respect. Maybe it was how different he was. His ambitious tendencies contrasting to his relaxed nature. Or maybe it really just did come from the shared Class. To be the underdogs, people that hinge on their potential, people that have to rely on other people. To be wrong, incapable, worth damn nothing at all. To be served their Aspect so constantly, served enough Breath that possibly shedding Blood was barely a bother, served enough Hope that expressing and feeling Rage was completely foreign.
..And all of that leads up to... This. Two sad sacks moping in the middle of a hastily thrown pool party. Both left to wonder if it all mattered in the end. Both left to wonder if mattering even mattered at all. That's really confusing. Everything was really confusing.
Through compare and contrast, they naturally balanced each other out. Of course they were glad to have each other around; of course they were such good friends. Being a Page is hard, and not everyone understood. Who else would understand their troubles but them?
If there was anyone they don't feel the need to lie to, it would be each other. Tavros really did mean what he said, and Jake understands that. That's what truly mattered right now.
Jake looks back to the party. It was true, instead of shying away like he usually does, Jake had actually started making attempts at properly catching up with his friends. Old habits may die hard, but Jake’s armed with a pistol and licensed to kill. Farewell, communication issues! You will not be missed, he thought.
..But, seriously. Jake has been trying to get better lately. Trying to become a better person and a better friend. It's easier said than done, and quite the lengthy processs, but all of those childhood years spent alone and possible brain damage wasn't doing him any good. Jake has to do something to fix it before he gets worse. God knows who he might hurt if he doesn't. It might be his friends, possibly even his newfound ectobiological family.. At times like these, he can't help but feel grateful for the fact that he hasn't been rightfully abandoned after all the bullshit he's made everyone go through!
Remembering the conversation he was partaking in, and simply brushing off his own self-loathing, Jake continued recalling what his friends just told him a few minutes earlier.. A lot has happened lately, but what’s the most notable of them all? He ought to make this short but understandable for his out-of-touch and out-of-date friend. Hmm..
..Jake knew it was a lot more complicated than that, but that quick summary will have to do. Seeing Tavros’s eyes light up with recognition, it clearly does. Tavros’s fluffy face grimaces as he remembers the few conversations he shared with Hal. And Dirk. And also Dave. Striders sure are weird. Really damn weird.
As Jake replies, his tense body language doesn’t go unnoticed by Tavros, and neither does Tavros’s inquisitve expression elude Jake. As friends and roommates, this, of course, was normal. But still, to the dismay of their insecure tendencies, may it be a flaw or a feeling, it seemss that neither of them can’t seem hide something from the other.
Ah. There it is. The very problem bothering Tavros, already rearing its ugly head. A thunderous raincloud above an otherwise happy troll. What a foul thing! Jake simply nods in understanding, before turning to face Tavros. He's not well-versed in emotional talks, that's very obvious, but he should at least try, shouldn't he? Tavros deserves the respite. It's the least he can do for him.
The troll takes a long sip from his drink, thinking.. Wow. Haha. What's there to say? Where does he begin? Or, rather, where does any of it begin in the first place? Was it during Sgrub? Was it right after? What gives Tavros the right to question any of this, anyway?
Well, either way, Tavros continues to wonder, thinking back to the past. This could have started when he woke up from his Serket-induced coma, and finally joined everyone else on Earth C. He missed out on so many things, after all.. But then, going by that logic, it could have started long ago. Before Earth C, before Sgrub, before when he was the token loser of his friend group, and back when he and everyone else was created in that ectobiology lab. That is to say, that, maybe, feeling like crap was just fate, another part of the plan made up by Paradox Space.
..Now that Tavros has had time to think about it, that fucking sucks. Everything about this hurts. A lot. Tavros sighs, putting the now empty glass down, and proceeds to nervously fidget with his paws, still formulating what to say in his head.
Jake places a hand on top of the troll’s paw, looking at him with a burning fire in his eyes. No way in hell he's going to let the poor thing put himself down like that!
Jake moves his hand to hold Tavros’s tightly, only loosening his grip once the troll smiles again. There we go! Mission finally accomplished. Tavros's strange emotional problems: 0, Jake English: 1. After many years, Jake's finally doing swimmingly at this friendship thing. Thank goodness!
Jake bashfully grins at Tavros, before leaning back into his seat and silently enjoying the scene and the company around the both of them. After a few moments of comfortable silence..
As Jake turns to Tavros with the most pitiful and hopeful expression he’s got, Tavros reluctantly reconsiders.. Getting his fur wet would mean he’d be cold, extremely cold, and soggy. Tavros would look like the cat memes Dave sends him at three in the morning. That’s not very good.
On the other hand.. Swimming would be pretty fun! Maybe the other trolls would feel like talking to him, too. Tavros doesn’t talk to them much anymore, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t miss them. They’re still his friends.
Meanwhile, Jake pouts, holding Tavros’s paw in both of his hands tightly. This has to work. Jake still feels very shitty, and so does Tavros! He can’t leave Tavros out of the fun for any longer, either. This will do well in cheering the both of them up, he knows it.
Tavros simply sighs, defeated, but pretty amused, too. What’s a cat troll sprite to do?
The moment Jake lets go of Tavros and hops out of his seat in joy, Tavros practically sprints to the pool, getting rid of his button-up and unashamedly jumping into the water. Jake stands underneath the umbrella in surprise, before cheering and joining Tavros, jumping in and splashing water everywhere.
As the two Pages bond and swim, just for a moment, it felt as if their worries were lifted off of their shoulders. It was escapism, a terrible habit they both had, but this time, it worked for them. Tavros was eventually able to catch up with the rest of his friends, and Jake stood close by, satisfied with the fact that, for at least today, he’s managed to put a smile on someone’s face.
The pool party soon ends successfully, and so does the day. And so, together they went to work. The snacks bar was put away, the umbrellas and chairs set aside, and the pool very thoroughly cleaned.
Maybe they’ll never stop feeling this way. Maybe they’ll continue to feel so alienated and different, but they had each other. In this lonely, lonely universe, that surely has to count for something.