#àinle

[ask-the-jsegos-archived]

Chase... You seem so distraught for someone who didn't even try their hardest. It's your fault that Marvin ran off. You could have kept him with you, distracted him. Like everyone else does when you.... Hm. I'll be quiet now, but... think on it. -Cloud Anon

Henrik- Hen? Chase hasn't found a good name for him yet, but it doesn't really matter, because their Henrik is still puppeted. Henrik had finished talking about how parallel universes work- with a lot of side-tracked rambling- and Chase had sat down for a minute to breathe.

This was a lot.

Again.

Their phone went off, startling them, and their irritated glare slipped into barely-contained guilt as they scanned the ask.

Right. Yeah, he'd...

He'd let this happen, hadn't he? He watched when they all fell, and now he was watching it happen all over again.

"Fuck..."

Henrik and BA were deep in conversation, Henrik absorbed in xir phone. Something about the anons being odd, knowing too much, but they couldn't focus into the conversation properly.

"Hey. Hey, Chase?"

"Mh? Oh, hey."

Áinle grabbed the phone, glaring at it, hissing slightly.

"Jesus fuck."

Chase withers into themself, taking back their phone.

"It's nothing, Áinle, just- just leave it."

He frowns at that, but doesn't press. Chase sighs, turning the phone screen off and placing his head in their hands.

This person... however brutal they are... They're right. He could have prevented this. He could have sat with Marvin, kept up conversation...

He could have been useful.

But he wasn't. He did the bare minimum, then stepped back. He shouldn't have let Marvin be alone! Based on the state he was in when they found him, Chase should have done so much more. But he didn't.

He's never been useful in his life, have they? Always the one being helped, never returning the favor.

His thoughts grind to a halt as he looks over at this new Henrik and BA, musing over the phone Hen is holding. He stands up, looking over BAs shoulder.

Seeing the mention of the other person who was with Henrik... He mumbles a name under his breath, then turns away, sitting back down and contemplating again.

[ask-the-jsegos-archived]

They're in the living room, at Áinle's insistence that being locked up is a bad thing. Áinle himself is wandering around the kitchen, opening cabinets and the fridge and muttering unhappily about something or the other. Bro Average and Chase are on opposite ends of the couch making small talk. The topics vary, from interests to jokes to heavier things, but the scene is quiet.

Despite being out in the open, the house feels safe, for once.

Then Marvin comes downstairs, clearly angry, and the peace is broken. Bro Average put himself between Marvin and Chase without a thought, and Àinle looks over and freezes.

It's... him.

A different version, clear enough, but it's still Marvin. He breaks out of his fear and snarls, launching himself at Marvin, only to be held back.

"LET ME GO! GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME, BRODY!"

"No! You can't just- that's not your Marvin, he's not malevolent-!"

Bro Average grits his teeth, trying to pull a still-screaming Áinle further away from Marvin. This Marvin looks shocked, but not scared, and starts to speak, before being cut off by Chase's quiet mumbling.

"He's kinda the reason Jackie's a mess, so, Áinle isn't... entirely wrong."

Bro Average lets go, and Marvin is pinned to the wall by a growling, glitching Áinle.

"You're supposed to be better than him... Bastard."

There's a crunching sound, and Marvin crumples to the floor. Blood drips down his face, the nose of his mask shattered, and Áinle wipes his bloody fist off on his own jeans, stepping away.

"Get your fucking shit together."

Marvin stumbles to his feet and goes back up the stairs, not saying a word. The silence is thick, and Áinle sighs.

"Sit back down. I'm gonna make something for you fuckwads to eat."

[ask-the-jsegos-archived]

Áinle, what are you?

"Yeah, sure, weird asks from nowhere questioning my existince," Áinle snaps, "none of your fucking buisness."

He pauses, tugging at his jacket sleeves before continuing.

"Doesn't matter what I am, anyways. It's not like I'm sticking around."

Chase frowns at that, but Àinle doesn't notice, and the room returns to silence.