[red and roses]

[bloodand]

 His plans for the afternoon were simple; stop in, see a few friends, go back in time to hitch a ride in the Albiore to Malkuth to testify in Dist's inevitable trial. It's not the beginning or end of the trial, by any means; the court probably won't come to a full decision until after the New Year, still a month away. And even as the trial progresses, Malkuth's court system is getting an overhaul, as the Score can no longer be used as evidence. 

And since he's the only other God-General left alive, in addition to his own involvement in fomicry, that means Asch's testimony will form the bulk of the official record of the last seven years. Spending most of a week answering questions in front of a room full of Malkuth officials is not the ideal use of his time.

With all those thoughts bouncing around, it's no surprise that Asch manages to misdirect his door into an unfamiliar place; a round living room, seemingly built underground, from the smell and the tree roots poking out of the ceiling. There's a comfortable, floral scent as well, with a buried hint of mechanical oil that reminds Asch, faintly, of getting off the Tower's elevator to step onto the floor made in the image of a mountain meadow. Now that he's had true open air to breathe again, his mind has filled in little mechanical gaps in his memories of the Tower; at least this reminder isn't one of the ones that puts him on edge, like so many of the lifts between Baticul's upper levels.

The room itself helps, too, plush chairs and couch that are incredibly tempting to take a seat in, but Asch ignores them. There's a certain protocol to worldhopping, and that usually involves finding whoever's world you stepped into, first, before you go making yourself comfortable in their things. That goes especially for when you're not sure who's world you've stepped into, and even more when you appear inside their house.

That thought in mind, he tries to make his way discreetly to the door. Just pretend you appeared outside in the first place, Asch, yes, that's the way to go.

Comments

[spare_parts]

"None of you get it." For a Dist tantrum it's very subdued; he actually lowers his voice for it. "I'm real to you? Mayfield was real to me. And look how that turned out."

[amourtician]

Jay pats Dist on the shoulder, very lightly.

"It's all right, darling," he says, his tone long-suffering and almost pointedly patient. "Reality is ... ah. Rather subjective."

[bloodand]

"One of the very first friends I made at the Tower was a replica." Asch's tone remains even, though with a faint of stubbornness. Jay wouldn't understand the meaning of the comment, but Dist will; Dist knows that Asch doesn't do friends at all, much less replicas or anything of the sort. "I don't care anymore. You're not different enough for me to treat you any differently except that you picked up some idiot idea of what it means to be a real person. You're here and your memories are at least enough in order that you know our common history, so what, exactly, makes you any less real than any other version of you I could stumble across?"

This is, without a doubt, the first time that Asch has actually cared enough about Dist to give him a lecture.

[spare_parts]

Dist is actually struck speechless, at least for a few moments. There are several things to take in over the course of that lecture; Asch having friends, getting over his distaste for replicas, actually giving a damn about Dist himself... it's a lot to take in. When he finally does answer, it's a bit small, especially for him.

"...I'm over Jade?"

[bloodand]

It's Asch's turn to look boggled for a moment, his mouth going through the motions of a silent "oh." Then he goes back to looking grumpy and pointedly leans back a bit in his seat.

"Well, about time."

(Dist has gained +5 tolerability points.)

[spare_parts]

"Yeah, yeah," Dist grumps, crossing his arms defensively. "It wasn't easy, you know. But..." He looks back at Jay with a small smile. "Jay has helped tremendously."

[amourtician]

Jay smiles, like a cat that's gotten into the cream, and puts an arm around Dist's waist, a gesture of affection and, in a small way, possessiveness. He hates hearing Jade's name mentioned, hates even thinking that Dist had been hung up on someone else before him, no matter how long ago and far away.

[bloodand]

Asch makes a brief face - the romantic life of Dist was not something he planned on dealing with today - before starting on a second cup of tea for himself so that he has somewhere to look besides the gushy couple.

Not that he isn't glad that Dist found something to give him happiness. This incarnation seems so much more stable than the Dist he's used to, and it's actually a bit refreshing, to feel like they can actually talk on an equal basis.

(Some bitter part notes that to make such a change, whatever place Dist was in before can't have been a good one.)

"Was that before or after you came here?" is the gentlest way he can think of to prod at the issue. While Jay is obviously not of Auldrant, he's not from a world Asch recognizes, either.

[spare_parts]

"Part of it was before, part after. In a bizarre way, it helped to find out I'm not real; sort of the last nail in the coffin of that particular obsession." He winds his arm around Jay's shoulders, kissing him on the temple. "Here is where I stopped mourning it."

[amourtician]

Jay closes his eyes and leans his head against Dist's chest, still smiling. He's feeling a little self-satisfied, but genuinely happy to have helped Dist, too. And he's showing off in front of Asch, even if he doesn't know him at all. It's the principle of the thing.

"But, ah," he says, once Dist brings up the not real thing again. "As I keep saying, reality is relative, dearest. And Jade was never worth your time." He doesn't know the full story in the least, but he's hazarding a guess that anyone who rejected Dist isn't worth much.

[bloodand]

Show off in front of the Actual Most Awkward God-General, four for you, Jay. Asch is very definitely not watching. Eventually, someone should probably explain that this is an Asch thing and it's nothing personal.

"I can't imagine Jade involved in any kind of romance," is all he says on the matter, his gaze still mostly in his teacup. "I doubt he understands love in any way that's comprehensible to the rest of us."