[ normally invested person Dokja here, got it. got the message! loud and clear,
Abel's swallowing the urge to chuckle - this is... cute? this is cute, endearing, to see the other man's eyes lighting up in this way, and he's nodding along. ]
Mm, I do enjoy reading! And, funnily enough... one of the reasons I like going to the Valley is because it reminds me of somewhere I used to go to read and relax back at home.
[ it isn't a lie; the flower fields of Milan where he had spent halcyon days with Caterina are one of his favorite places to be. it is the majority of the motivation behind returning here. ]
But... I think I might like it if you were to tell me a bit about some of your favorites? Maybe even stories from home? I can only imagine there are tales I'll never be able to read from where you're from, don't you think?
[ Reading in this peaceful valley does sound better than reading in a dark, cramped room. Ideas are now being put into his head and for once, they are not dangerous.
There's only one story that comes to mind at Abel's prompting and normally Dokja would be jumping at the chance to talk about it, but he hesitates now.
A story that had kept him alive for over ten years, a protagonist he'd come to rely on in more ways than one, and then its ending that had brought about the destruction of his world. He remembers as a child how much he'd wanted to be a character in that story, and then it had sprung to life just like he'd wished for.
It... wouldn't hurt to talk about it, right? Just a little? He misses it more than anything else. ]
... I do have a story from home that I read for a long time. It was titled Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World, but it could be shortened to Ways of Survival.
[ the story sounds grim on its face, but... Abel can hear the attachment, something a little more animated in Dokja's voice as he speaks of it. well, his curiosity is absolutely piqued; he has to know what this is all about, of course... ]
Is it one of those stories about, um-- like, a post-apocalyptic world? What was it like?
[ Ways of Survival. The keywords he'd searched up on the hospital's computer when it had finally been his turn to use it.
The hospital he had been taken too after he'd jumped out of the third story window of his classroom. ]
Yes, that was its setting. It was an unreasonably long story at over three-thousand chapters. [ It's like he comes to life as soon as he starts describing it. ] Not to mention it was hard to understand at times and it ended up losing all of its readers besides me, but...
[ He smiles. There's an unbearable sadness to it. ]
I kept going. A story about not giving up. It felt like it was written for me.
[ He can't help but huff out an amused breath at Abel's dismay. That's the sort of reaction he's used to receiving when he talks about WoS, very quickly followed by loud declarations that no one should ever have the patience to read something that long.
But Dokja had. For thirteen years. ]
It was a webnovel. I'd catch the chapter updates on my phone or the computer.
[ He lived for those updates. Quite literally. ]
I wish I had it with me. [ His sad smile turns a little more playful. ] I wonder how far you'd get if you started reading it.
[ It's totally normal to hyperfixate on one story for over ten years and desperately try to push other people to read it only to get flamed in the process.
Imagine liking something and having zero fan content for it because there is only one fan and he can't create fanworks because he's untalented and bad at it. ]
I started reading it when I was around fifteen, and now that I'm...
[ He trails off, expression twisting in confusion as he tries to remember how old he is.
T-twenty-something...? He's not in his thirties, right? ]
this is the second time he's stalled out or hesitated when they discussed his age, and Abel's giving him the arch of a brow in a mixture of concern and perplexity. b-bro? you good? ]
Um... it's been a while, I take it? When is your birthday, anyway?
[ yes, because struggling to remember your birth month is a common occurrence...
...Abel's silent for a moment, and maybe there is a deepening of some Concern that ripples through their shared connection as Martyrs. hm. just-- perhaps? y-yeah, ]
I see... and what did you do to celebrate your last one?
[ Abel's asking for a reason, here, seeing if being more specific might jog memories for his friend... or, maybe, gauging just how Concerned he needs to be about his swiss cheese brain, ]
[ His last birthday?? Well, he spent quite a few of them alone, that's for sure.
Abel's concern is honestly warranted because Dokja is blanking on these personal questions. It could be that it's been too long or it could be that he gave those memories away to the other half of himself. He's not quite certain.
But he does know one thing, ]
I don't celebrate my birthdays.
[ In fact, he's pretty sure he just ended up crying at the last one he remembers. ]
[ ...oh, Dokja; Abel is humming softly in response to that, and don't mind him if he is fixing his friend with a steady look of that Concern. yes, a big hearty helping of it, in fact - the sort that just radiates "bro? you good bro? no? ok" energy, yeah, ]
Hm. I'm not sure what month it is here in Horos considering the calendar, but... it seems like your birthday would've been coming up shortly if we were going off of where time was left in my world. So, maybe we ought to have a little get-together, one of these days?
[ a nice reason to get the gang in one place... to enjoy some relaxation in good company. that wouldn't be too bad, would it? ]
[ He is fine?? Not in the conventional sense of the word, but he is Existing as well as he can.
... Which is very poorly.
Dokja's very much taken aback by the offer, though. No one's ever suggested they do something for his birthday before, not after his family had splintered apart when he'd been too young, so this is... Weird. It's weird, right? ]
You don't have to do that. [ SERIOUSLY. ] Really, I should be asking you if you want to do anything for your birthday. It feels like you're always so busy taking care of others.
[ ah. deflection again; he sees this, and he's waving his hand in the same way he must have at least a dozen times thus far as they continue along through the flowery fields of the Valley. ]
Of course I don't have to do that, but it would be nice! Don't you think so...? Do you have a restaurant or bar you like to go to in particular, Dokja? Or maybe we could get together in Greentruth somewhere a little more private and low key, just a little group of us... mm? What do you think?
[ clearly he isn't going to accept 'no,' so. you know, perhaps it's best to pick his poison? is he sure he wants to leave it in Abel's hands...........
because they both surely know where that might lead to, right, ]
[ They're going to get to this campsite eventually.
And GOD, okay, fine. He just has to rip this off like a band-aid. Abel is too persistent for his own good, but that's also how he's managed to get Dokja this far, so. ]
I guess I would prefer private and with a smaller group.
[ Because what about him screams "party guy"? Take one look at him and anyone can see he's a shut-in. But if it's just a few people, then he doesn't see any issue with that... ]
[ i might be drawing it out to see how long it takes for you to say something 🥰
okay whatever they're coming up on it now, because this thread will take literally 80 years if i keep trolling you. which I'm fine with bc everything else is suffering rn but you know,
Abel's "campsite" isn't... conventional; there is no tent or shelter - but there doesn't truly need to be considering that, oddly enough, the weather in the valley is always pleasant and temperate and does not suffer the pitfalls of other regions of Horos. there's a clearing a bit from the edges of the wildflowers' bloom, one that leads directly into the fresh, clean stretch of river. it's peaceful; it's quiet.
and the priest is hauling the pack off his shoulder, settling it down right into the grass... and flopping to sit right there without further preamble. ]
Private and with a smaller group... mm, mm, that's definitely doable~! So, Ernesto would definitely be in for sure... hm. Who else would you say is on your shortlist to invite? Who are you chummy with, anyway?
The long awaited campsite is literally camp-less and Dokja is not even a little bit surprised by this. He follows suit in dumping his own pack on the ground before taking a seat, all the while looking around and taking in their surroundings.
It's... nice? He hasn't been here since escaping the suffer cave and he'd never really paused to admire how beautiful the valley is, so this is almost brand new for him. Maybe he really should come by here more often and he's so deep in thought he almost misses Abel's question. ]
Oh. [ Is two people not enough? Three including Dokja? That's a whole group right there! ] What about Dextera?
[ He likes Dextera... And that's about the whole group right there. He's been working his damned hardest to keep people at arm's length. ]
Dextera! Yes, of course, I'm sure he would be more than happy to come with...! Especially if there's food involved, naturally.
[ but as Abel says this, he is fixing Dokja with an expectant, happily patient look. as if he is, indeed, waiting for the rest of all Dokja's friends to come pouring out of his mouth any second now, haha. just wait for it!! the list has GOT to be huge, right? enormous!! you can fit so much friendship in this bad boy,
...
okay he's only getting like one more name tops isn't he, ]
Dokja....... stares back. Like he's not sure what Abel is waiting for. D-does he want more names?? Well, he can think of a couple of others, but they're, uh. They're Kenoma.
But Abel looks so expectant so he might as well say one more name. ]
Why is Ciel even on it?! Are you two suddenly... friendly? Did something happen I'm not privy to?!
[ he huffs this petulantly while digging into his pack; Abel is pulling out two surprisingly cutely wrapped pastries - some kind of honey rolls - and passing Dokja one. ]
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Abel's swallowing the urge to chuckle - this is... cute? this is cute, endearing, to see the other man's eyes lighting up in this way, and he's nodding along. ]
Mm, I do enjoy reading! And, funnily enough... one of the reasons I like going to the Valley is because it reminds me of somewhere I used to go to read and relax back at home.
[ it isn't a lie; the flower fields of Milan where he had spent halcyon days with Caterina are one of his favorite places to be. it is the majority of the motivation behind returning here. ]
But... I think I might like it if you were to tell me a bit about some of your favorites? Maybe even stories from home? I can only imagine there are tales I'll never be able to read from where you're from, don't you think?
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There's only one story that comes to mind at Abel's prompting and normally Dokja would be jumping at the chance to talk about it, but he hesitates now.
A story that had kept him alive for over ten years, a protagonist he'd come to rely on in more ways than one, and then its ending that had brought about the destruction of his world. He remembers as a child how much he'd wanted to be a character in that story, and then it had sprung to life just like he'd wished for.
It... wouldn't hurt to talk about it, right? Just a little? He misses it more than anything else. ]
... I do have a story from home that I read for a long time. It was titled Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World, but it could be shortened to Ways of Survival.
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[ the story sounds grim on its face, but... Abel can hear the attachment, something a little more animated in Dokja's voice as he speaks of it. well, his curiosity is absolutely piqued; he has to know what this is all about, of course... ]
Is it one of those stories about, um-- like, a post-apocalyptic world? What was it like?
cw: suicide mention
The hospital he had been taken too after he'd jumped out of the third story window of his classroom. ]
Yes, that was its setting. It was an unreasonably long story at over three-thousand chapters. [ It's like he comes to life as soon as he starts describing it. ] Not to mention it was hard to understand at times and it ended up losing all of its readers besides me, but...
[ He smiles. There's an unbearable sadness to it. ]
I kept going. A story about not giving up. It felt like it was written for me.
[ And it was. ]
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[ Abel openly gawks at this - three THOUSAND chapters is more than just unreasonably long, and he can't quite believe he hadn't misheard. ]
H-how on earth-- how many books was it?! Good Lord, that's... an entire library in and of itself! Dokja, you really followed along that long...
[ a story about tenacity, then? enduring...
...ah. ]
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But Dokja had. For thirteen years. ]
It was a webnovel. I'd catch the chapter updates on my phone or the computer.
[ He lived for those updates. Quite literally. ]
I wish I had it with me. [ His sad smile turns a little more playful. ] I wonder how far you'd get if you started reading it.
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[ """lost technology,""" whatever,
but... that brings up an interesting question to Abel. ]
So if you were following this one chapter at a time-- how long were you reading it? It had to have been years, right?
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Imagine liking something and having zero fan content for it because there is only one fan and he can't create fanworks because he's untalented and bad at it. ]
I started reading it when I was around fifteen, and now that I'm...
[ He trails off, expression twisting in confusion as he tries to remember how old he is.
T-twenty-something...? He's not in his thirties, right? ]
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this is the second time he's stalled out or hesitated when they discussed his age, and Abel's giving him the arch of a brow in a mixture of concern and perplexity. b-bro? you good? ]
Um... it's been a while, I take it? When is your birthday, anyway?
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He's even struggling to remember his birthday. ]
... February.
[ That month sounds right. ]
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...Abel's silent for a moment, and maybe there is a deepening of some Concern that ripples through their shared connection as Martyrs. hm. just-- perhaps? y-yeah, ]
I see... and what did you do to celebrate your last one?
[ Abel's asking for a reason, here, seeing if being more specific might jog memories for his friend... or, maybe, gauging just how Concerned he needs to be about his swiss cheese brain, ]
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Abel's concern is honestly warranted because Dokja is blanking on these personal questions. It could be that it's been too long or it could be that he gave those memories away to the other half of himself. He's not quite certain.
But he does know one thing, ]
I don't celebrate my birthdays.
[ In fact, he's pretty sure he just ended up crying at the last one he remembers. ]
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Hm. I'm not sure what month it is here in Horos considering the calendar, but... it seems like your birthday would've been coming up shortly if we were going off of where time was left in my world. So, maybe we ought to have a little get-together, one of these days?
[ a nice reason to get the gang in one place... to enjoy some relaxation in good company. that wouldn't be too bad, would it? ]
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... Which is very poorly.
Dokja's very much taken aback by the offer, though. No one's ever suggested they do something for his birthday before, not after his family had splintered apart when he'd been too young, so this is... Weird. It's weird, right? ]
You don't have to do that. [ SERIOUSLY. ] Really, I should be asking you if you want to do anything for your birthday. It feels like you're always so busy taking care of others.
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Of course I don't have to do that, but it would be nice! Don't you think so...? Do you have a restaurant or bar you like to go to in particular, Dokja? Or maybe we could get together in Greentruth somewhere a little more private and low key, just a little group of us... mm? What do you think?
[ clearly he isn't going to accept 'no,' so. you know, perhaps it's best to pick his poison? is he sure he wants to leave it in Abel's hands...........
because they both surely know where that might lead to, right, ]
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And GOD, okay, fine. He just has to rip this off like a band-aid. Abel is too persistent for his own good, but that's also how he's managed to get Dokja this far, so. ]
I guess I would prefer private and with a smaller group.
[ Because what about him screams "party guy"? Take one look at him and anyone can see he's a shut-in. But if it's just a few people, then he doesn't see any issue with that... ]
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okay whatever they're coming up on it now, because this thread will take literally 80 years if i keep trolling you. which I'm fine with bc everything else is suffering rn but you know,
Abel's "campsite" isn't... conventional; there is no tent or shelter - but there doesn't truly need to be considering that, oddly enough, the weather in the valley is always pleasant and temperate and does not suffer the pitfalls of other regions of Horos. there's a clearing a bit from the edges of the wildflowers' bloom, one that leads directly into the fresh, clean stretch of river. it's peaceful; it's quiet.
and the priest is hauling the pack off his shoulder, settling it down right into the grass... and flopping to sit right there without further preamble. ]
Private and with a smaller group... mm, mm, that's definitely doable~! So, Ernesto would definitely be in for sure... hm. Who else would you say is on your shortlist to invite? Who are you chummy with, anyway?
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The long awaited campsite is literally camp-less and Dokja is not even a little bit surprised by this. He follows suit in dumping his own pack on the ground before taking a seat, all the while looking around and taking in their surroundings.
It's... nice? He hasn't been here since escaping the suffer cave and he'd never really paused to admire how beautiful the valley is, so this is almost brand new for him. Maybe he really should come by here more often and he's so deep in thought he almost misses Abel's question. ]
Oh. [ Is two people not enough? Three including Dokja? That's a whole group right there! ] What about Dextera?
[ He likes Dextera... And that's about the whole group right there. He's been working his damned hardest to keep people at arm's length. ]
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[ but as Abel says this, he is fixing Dokja with an expectant, happily patient look. as if he is, indeed, waiting for the rest of all Dokja's friends to come pouring out of his mouth any second now, haha. just wait for it!! the list has GOT to be huge, right? enormous!! you can fit so much friendship in this bad boy,
...
okay he's only getting like one more name tops isn't he, ]
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Dokja....... stares back. Like he's not sure what Abel is waiting for. D-does he want more names?? Well, he can think of a couple of others, but they're, uh. They're Kenoma.
But Abel looks so expectant so he might as well say one more name. ]
... Ci... el...?
1/2
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That's where my list ends, Abel.
[ Eustace would definitely not join. ]
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[ he huffs this petulantly while digging into his pack; Abel is pulling out two surprisingly cutely wrapped pastries - some kind of honey rolls - and passing Dokja one. ]
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He'll take it but he'll give it dubious looks the entire time it's in his hands. ]
Weren't you the one who told me there's something about her? Well, I saw it. Some of it. Back at Venera.
[ When everyone was sick. ]
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the way i literally CACKLED
dismantles ur eustace cr
dismantles ur face...???????
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