[ she laughs and he smiles at her, pleased and amused. happy to hear it. then he's thinking. There's a pause where he yawns and covers his mouth before answering. he picks his head up after doing it and starts picking at his nails out of some habit to wake himself up. ]
I keep collecting these pages and stuff? You know. I'm up all night so I just read everything I get my hands on. One said one of you, one of the killers, used to be on our side. So I keeping thinking, why not the other way around?
[ He raises his brows at her, expression hopeful. ]
[ it takes longer than she'd like to parse what quentin's saying, partially because of the alcohol, partially because of the noise in the back of her head. it's obvious when she's got it, her eyes widening for a brief moment before her expression settles into a thoughtful frown. ]
[ there might be something to it if the entity wants her to stop listening this badly. ]
Maybe... [ she presses the heel of her palm to her eye as the noise dies off, trying to focus. ] Going that way's probably harder than the other though, right?
[ Quentin's watching her going from picking to biting one of his nails. ]
Maybe! Does your head hurt? [ She looks like she's having a harder time being awake than he is suddenly, he thinks. Maybe she was the lightweight the whole time. If he weren't drunk, he'd probably be thinking harder about it. ] Well, yeah. Going insane and snapping would be way easier than reeling in murderous impulses probably. But not impossible.
I guess you don't know since you-you...- [ He points at her. ] Haven't really tried.
I'm fine. [ she shakes her head. could a person with a headache do that!? ]
[ she pulls a bit of a face at his finger though, a frown of deep offence like one might at being told off by a parent, but relaxes and looks at his face with a bit of a shrug. ]
Yeah. I'm not really interested in switching sides.
Susie says that all the time. [ He's not thinking hard about it but he blurts it out. Because it's true. ] Liaaaar. [ He sighs, switches the nail he's biting before he chews it off. ]
Thas tuh- [ Nail out of the mouth. ] That's the problem though. That's why we don't have proof it works. Nobody would be interested in this. Why would any of you guys want to switch sides? You get power, a place to sleep that's not a cheap tent, and pizza. I get murdered sometimes up to twelve times on a daily basis, I have two shirts which often have buckets of blood dumped on them, and then there's every time I-
[ He shakes his head, rocking in his seat and yawning again. Then patting his pockets like he's looking for-- Oh right. He emptied those. Second time he's forgot. ] Who the fuck would wanna come to this side? It's awful. [ He covers his face with his hands. ] I'm not enough to convince anyone to do that.
[ oh, is she gonna have to reassure him? julie kind of stalls for a second — being nice isn't exactly natural for her, and right now it takes some active mental processing to remember how to do it. ]
I don't know if that's true. [ she leans her head against the back of her chair, frown back on her face as she thinks about her words. ] I wasn't joking when I said she'd skin me if I hurt you.
[ back to picking at her jeans, there's a lot of thoughts that won't fully form. won't connect. little fragments based on things she knows or believes, but they don't mean anything on their own. ]
[ julie sighs. ] Anyway. Not like any of us even know where to start with that kind of thing.
[ his hand moves down his face enough to look at her over the tips of his fingers, looking utterly confused she's reassuring him on this. He rubs his arm then, hanging his head but looking at her still. ][ He trails off, having difficulty formulating his thoughts. ] The um- Protecting someone else is good on our end so that- Maybe. It tallies up? [ Does that make any sense? Sounds like it does to him. He thinks for a moment, ends up mirroring her by picking at his own jeans. He shrugs. ] Thanks. [ For trying. ]
Can you guys go in the hatch? Maybe she can jump in with me. See where it goes. I know there's a block for the, uh... the... exit. It gets those spikes. But that never has any.
[ huh. julie pats down her pockets while she considers that and pulls a pack of cigarettes out of her hoodie — sorry quentin she's reached the point of drunk where smoking sounds great — and lifts one to her lips, leaving it perched there at the corner of her mouth. ]
[ The guy that tends to run on bottles of pills and needles full of expired adrenaline isn't about to scoff or make a face at her vices. He just raises an eyebrow, because he wasn't aware she smoked at all, and then goes back to picking at his jeans. ]
Maybe? Why not? It just drops you back at camp so it's worth trying? ...Do you have a lighter for that? [ He pats his pockets for a third time and oh right. Man he's drunk. ]
Hm? [ oh. right. yeah that's why she was checking her pockets again. it's a little awkward getting in her jeans pocket but she manages to pull out a lighter and light the cigarette. a brief look of concentration and then she reaches over to the coffee table to grab an empty mug, that'll do for an ashtray. ]
[ ... what were they talking about again? the hatch? going through the hatch, that's right. ]
I dunno. It feels... Different to everything else in the trial.
Hm. [ He's watching the lighter click and then following the smoke up and blinking v e r y slowly while he does. The fear instinct is to be awake and he briefly contemplates trying a cigarette. He then thinks of a few other methods of waking up like burning his hand with her lighter or drinking ash from the mug once it has some in it. ]
Different how?
[ She doesn't know and he still asked. ] I think it feels not Entity, if that makes sense. It has this sound that's very... [ There's an attempt to mimic it. He hums a high note, surprisingly not off-key though he does squeak in the middle of doing it. ] Like hymns.
[ julie tilts her head back to exhale a plume of smoke toward the hole in the ceiling. there's an amused quirk of her lips at the crack in quentin's voice, but otherwise she's nodding in agreement. ]
Yeah-- yeah. Not Entity.
[ she knows the noise pretty well. granted, she's more one to slug for that sweet 4k but sometimes the hatch opening can't be helped. ]
[ He clears his throat, a little embarrassed but then hums again like it’ll help him figure it out. It doesn’t. ]
Maybe someone made it. [ He sings it out then waves a hand while he talks. ] Like… that isn’t here anymore because they got out. But now it’s route is cut off…
[ He lulls his head to one side, barely keeping an eye open. He outright punched himself then blinks a few times. ]
Do you remember when the- you could get out through it earlier? But now you can’t find it anymore until everyone else is gone. I think it hides it because there’s a way out in those tunnels. Or used to be anyway.
[ oh. here comes the noise again. julie frowns down at her lap, trying to focus in on quentin enough to drown out the entity's yelling. what she gets out of it is enough to make her scoff and shake her head. ]
Yeah, I remember having to patrol the fucking place just in case all two of you decided to take the trash chute out of the trial.
[ Quentin, slurring a little, keeps digging his nails from one hand into the palm of the other so he doesn't fall asleep mid-sentence. He shifts his sitting position again so his legs are folded up on the seat. He gives her a look for frowning. It wasn't that bad, was it? ]
Yeah, it was easier. Now the keys are a waste of space and don't really do anything. And I think it all changed because it really could've did something. So I thinng- I think that it was made by someone that got out and the Entity covered it up. Literally covers it until the last second in a trial.
[ she has no idea if quentin's close to the truth of it or not, but julie knows for a fact the entity wants her off this topic. it gets louder, more insistent, she looks up and sees a crow staring right at her from a perch on a splintered beam. ]
Do you need to sleep?
[ it's a sudden shift in topic, sure, but it's also a fair bet that at any given time quentin probably does need to sleep. even without the alcohol. ]
[ Quentin's thought process gets pulled away from the topic at the question and he just stares at her. His eyebrows very slowly go up, eyes locked on her face while the question sinks in. He opens his mouth to say something, closes it, narrows his eyes a little and then goes to say something again only to burst into hysterical laughter. ]
Do I need to- [ He snorts, giggling between words. His fingers turn to point at himself. ] Me? Yeah. Fucking probably!
[ Seemed funny to him. He lets the laughing die out pretty quickly. Oh, she’s serious. He rubs at his eyes, looking dejected like he just got asked to jump off a bridge instead. It’s basically the same association and the stupor he’s in has him wearing it all over his face. ]
Yeah… Don’t leave if I do. [ He leans back again, sinking. ] You said you wouldn’t. I need one of you here.
[ she leans over to put the vodka bottle on the table even, no more drinking! though she does think about texting susie to come take over when she can, just in case. ]
[ there's a kneejerk "no you wouldn't" that wants to come out, but julie's not going to argue with him right now. she's tipsy and he's going to sleep. julie just curls back up in the chair and pulls her phone out to harass frank into keeping her occupied so she doesn't fall asleep too. ]
[ He'd probably argue back if she argued. It'd be a whole thing. Luckily, they're drunk. So fuck that. He's completely zonked out in a deep sleep the second he stopped fighting it and going to remain there for hours, limp and completely still. Probably be mistaken for dead if he didn't snore a tiny bit in the middle there. Still breathing? Yup. 👌 Thanks. ]
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I keep collecting these pages and stuff? You know. I'm up all night so I just read everything I get my hands on. One said one of you, one of the killers, used to be on our side. So I keeping thinking, why not the other way around?
[ He raises his brows at her, expression hopeful. ]
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[ there might be something to it if the entity wants her to stop listening this badly. ]
Maybe... [ she presses the heel of her palm to her eye as the noise dies off, trying to focus. ] Going that way's probably harder than the other though, right?
[ hm ]
Or maybe not. The fuck do I know?
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Maybe! Does your head hurt? [ She looks like she's having a harder time being awake than he is suddenly, he thinks. Maybe she was the lightweight the whole time. If he weren't drunk, he'd probably be thinking harder about it. ] Well, yeah. Going insane and snapping would be way easier than reeling in murderous impulses probably. But not impossible.
I guess you don't know since you-you...- [ He points at her. ] Haven't really tried.
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[ she pulls a bit of a face at his finger though, a frown of deep offence like one might at being told off by a parent, but relaxes and looks at his face with a bit of a shrug. ]
Yeah. I'm not really interested in switching sides.
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Thas tuh- [ Nail out of the mouth. ] That's the problem though. That's why we don't have proof it works. Nobody would be interested in this. Why would any of you guys want to switch sides? You get power, a place to sleep that's not a cheap tent, and pizza. I get murdered sometimes up to twelve times on a daily basis, I have two shirts which often have buckets of blood dumped on them, and then there's every time I-
[ He shakes his head, rocking in his seat and yawning again. Then patting his pockets like he's looking for-- Oh right. He emptied those. Second time he's forgot. ] Who the fuck would wanna come to this side? It's awful. [ He covers his face with his hands. ] I'm not enough to convince anyone to do that.
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I don't know if that's true. [ she leans her head against the back of her chair, frown back on her face as she thinks about her words. ] I wasn't joking when I said she'd skin me if I hurt you.
[ back to picking at her jeans, there's a lot of thoughts that won't fully form. won't connect. little fragments based on things she knows or believes, but they don't mean anything on their own. ]
[ julie sighs. ] Anyway. Not like any of us even know where to start with that kind of thing.
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Can you guys go in the hatch? Maybe she can jump in with me. See where it goes. I know there's a block for the, uh... the... exit. It gets those spikes. But that never has any.
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[ huh. julie pats down her pockets while she considers that and pulls a pack of cigarettes out of her hoodie — sorry quentin she's reached the point of drunk where smoking sounds great — and lifts one to her lips, leaving it perched there at the corner of her mouth. ]
Do you think she could?
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Maybe? Why not? It just drops you back at camp so it's worth trying? ...Do you have a lighter for that? [ He pats his pockets for a third time and oh right. Man he's drunk. ]
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[ ... what were they talking about again? the hatch? going through the hatch, that's right. ]
I dunno. It feels... Different to everything else in the trial.
[ she doesn't know how exactly, it just is. ]
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Different how?
[ She doesn't know and he still asked. ] I think it feels not Entity, if that makes sense. It has this sound that's very... [ There's an attempt to mimic it. He hums a high note, surprisingly not off-key though he does squeak in the middle of doing it. ] Like hymns.
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Yeah-- yeah. Not Entity.
[ she knows the noise pretty well. granted, she's more one to slug for that sweet 4k but sometimes the hatch opening can't be helped. ]
Dunno what that means though.
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Maybe someone made it. [ He sings it out then waves a hand while he talks. ] Like… that isn’t here anymore because they got out. But now it’s route is cut off…
[ He lulls his head to one side, barely keeping an eye open. He outright punched himself then blinks a few times. ]
Do you remember when the- you could get out through it earlier? But now you can’t find it anymore until everyone else is gone. I think it hides it because there’s a way out in those tunnels. Or used to be anyway.
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Yeah, I remember having to patrol the fucking place just in case all two of you decided to take the trash chute out of the trial.
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Yeah, it was easier. Now the keys are a waste of space and don't really do anything. And I think it all changed because it really could've did something. So I thinng- I think that it was made by someone that got out and the Entity covered it up. Literally covers it until the last second in a trial.
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Do you need to sleep?
[ it's a sudden shift in topic, sure, but it's also a fair bet that at any given time quentin probably does need to sleep. even without the alcohol. ]
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Do I need to- [ He snorts, giggling between words. His fingers turn to point at himself. ] Me? Yeah. Fucking probably!
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[ wow okay. ]
You should, uh. Do that.
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Yeah… Don’t leave if I do. [ He leans back again, sinking. ] You said you wouldn’t. I need one of you here.
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[ she leans over to put the vodka bottle on the table even, no more drinking! though she does think about texting susie to come take over when she can, just in case. ]
I'm an asshole but even I'm not that bad.
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[ He unfolds his legs on the chair to turn on it sideways again, pulling his beanie off his head and putting it over his face. ]
Yeah, you’re pretty cool. I’d hang with you.
[ He jerks himself awake after letting his eyes drop under there for a minute then pulls the hat off to eye her. Okay. Eyes closed. ]
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