2019-12-15 - The Ring, The Dungeon, and the Smooch

Later that evening, James finds himself at Diana's place. If questioned, he wouldn't have been able to tell you specifically how they got there; they were making out in the pizza place, at some point later they found themselves outside carrying leftover and very cold pizza, then there was some more smooching on a street corner or two, and now they're back at Diana's, because James' place is still a terrible nightmare shack. When James is led inside, he's looking... a little goofy. Eyes a little unfocused, a silly little smile on his face, a spring to his step. And it's not even because of the weed this time! Every now and then, though, there might have been a tiny little hiss from James as some of the bruises and mostly healed cuts on his chest pulled the wrong way, but it's a small price to pay for love. "... hey we actually made it here!", he quips, smiling sheepishly as the door closes behind them.

"It's basically like when those short guys headed to Mordor. Never thought we'd make it," Diana quips back, and reaches out to toy with his hair. "Anyway! At least now we won't starve to death, cuz we brought home EATS." She grins, moving to take the pizza and stow it away in the fridge for now. Apparently the leftovers are all HERS, or she assumes they'll eat them later together. He gets a soft smile as she returns to the living room, and then she heads to the couch, gesturing him over. She's eyeing him thoughtfully, and why becomes apparent when she asks gently, "How badly hurt are you?"

James gladly lets her take their pizza, which they will totally share later, because unless she spritzes him with water and chases him away with a broom (which he hasn't entirely ruled out as a possibility yet, mind you, but the odds do seem to be getting lower on that, at least), he's sticking around. For a good, long time, he hopes. When she comes back and gives him that look and that question, he lowers his eyes. "Oh, it's noth-", he begins to say, before that lone neuron of common sense he has left looks up from reading the paper and clears its throat at him pointedly, in such a way as to express that maybe starting a relationship by lying to your girlfriend is not a good look. He lets out a sigh, and then licks his lips a little nervously. "... pretty bad. I mean, I'll be ok, I'm walking, nothing vital gone, still have all my livers kidneys and spleens.", he assures her. No need to mention his heart, because of course she has that safely stowed in her back pocket by now. "I'll be ok in a few more days, it's mostly just some bruising, please don't worry?"

Diana tilts her head, and can't seem to help but smile, if only softly, when he breaks off like that. She reaches out for his hand, nodding her head to what he's had to say. "Bruising is no fun at all, no question. I'll do my best not to worry if you'll do your best to take it easy for a few days, deal?" Her smile returns as she adds, "And I'm glad to hear your spleen's okay. Spleenless men are a total turnoff, just so you're forewarned and forearmed."

James relaxes at her reaction, and nods. "Trust me, I have no intention of doing anything more strenuous than laying on the couch getting stoned for the next few days if I can possibly avoid it. Maybe take a walk in the park tomorrow afternoon, I hear it's supposed to be a really nice day tomorrow, and, y'know, I gotta enjoy the good parts about this city, right?", he says, blissfully oblivious to the fact that during that walk the next day he would be stalked and chased by a giant Christmas cat the size of a Volkswagen, because this is Gray Harbor. At her last words, he gives a laugh, then winces as the laugh strains what's probably a bruised rib. ".. h-hey, it's like Wu Tang Clan says, 'Yo, you best protect ya spleen'.", he replies, stepping towards the couch while subtly making the Wu Tang Clan sign with his hand and whispering "... Wu Tang is for the children."

Of course he will be. Christmas cats the size of a Volkswagen are pretty common around here, all things considered. "A walk sounds nice. Might even do some good, as long as you take the walk easy too," Diana says with a smile. "I mean, all that greenery's good for the mind. They've done studies!" She also winces after he does, reaching out to softly touch his shoulder. Still, true to her word, she doesn't fuss about it. Though she does ask, "What's a Wu Tang?"

James drops (carefully) onto the couch, and blinks up at her as she asks that. "... wait, you don't know the Wu Tang Clan?", he asks, sounding surprised. "Enter the Wu Tang? Raekwon? Method Man? ODB, RZA? Ghostface Killah?", he asks, and looks dumbfounded. "OK, ok, no, that's fair. I mean, it's gangsta rap- no, don't worry, I'm not a huge gangsta rap guy or anything, but, I mean, Wu Tang. They're iconic." He nods to himself. "Right, right, I'll have to put together a playlist for you."

Diana just blinks as he says all the names. "...Ghostface Killah? I-- okay. I don't mind gangsta rap, but I also can't say that I've really listened to any, so it's neither an insult nor a compliment to the genre." She smiles, though, at that last bit. "Oh, please do. I like music, I just often don't follow up on it. I mean, I'll hear something really great on the radio, but so often they don't even announce what the song's called, let alone who wrote it."

James grins. "Well, just don't expect much that's recent from me. I'm all about the 90's and the double-0's when it comes to musical tastes. And I refuse to apologize for liking Matchbox 20.", he says, then leans back a little, letting out a slightly pained sigh. "Mmf. Quick bit of advice, when your old high school friends come asking for your help retrieving a cursed ring from a crazy-ass dungeon, maybe consider saying no next time.", he says.

Diana pecks his cheek. "I don't know who Matchbox 20 are, but I suppose I'll forgive you, anyway." She grins, and then tilts her head as he leans back, watching him without comment. She nods to what he says, though, frowning slightly. "Sounds interesting, at least. Why did they want the cursed ring? And... don't keep me in suspense! Did you all manage?" A pause, then she adds, "Also, your high school friends sound like a LOT more fun than the kids at my school were."

James gives her a look as she fails to recognize the second band in a row. This will have to be a long mixtape, but it's important, as James sometimes falls into speech patterns reminiscent of Star Trek's Tamarian language, so full of references that it can be impossible to decipher without knowing where the reference comes from. And he wants her to understand him.

Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra.

He takes a breath, chuckling softly at her questions. "Alright, hang on to something, this is gonna be a bit of a doozy. And, in my defense, I had to get pretty high while they were explaining all of this because it was a bit too fucked up to deal with otherwise, so, some of the details might be off. But... there's this ring, right? Byron and Lilith came into possession of it after some misadventure. Well, apparently, this ring has some... interesting effects, that build over time. It sort of makes you.. obsessed with it. It makes you want it, it makes you want to take it from whoever has it, and it makes you think everyone around you wants to take it from you. They both touched it, not knowing, right? So it started affecting them both... shit got pretty bad."

Diana shrugs sheepishly at that look, having the good graces to at least try and look apologetic. The question is, would she reply to 'Darmok and Jalad' with 'Shaka, when the walls fell'? These are the important relationship quizzes that they really should have taken care of first, instead of rushing into things at the pizza place! Tch. At any rate, she listens to his story with interest, jaw dropping just a little as she does. "So basically the one ring. ...wow. That's-- well, I'm sure it must've been terrible for Byron and Lilith and the rest of you, but-- fascinating! The mind boggles. What happened next?" If only she had popcorn!

Or maybe James knows her well enough by now to trust she'd get that reference, no problem. He nods in agreement as she compares it to the One Ring. "Well, most of this happened before I even got into town. Apparently Lilith kept the ring at her pawn shop, Byron was plotting to steal it from her- mind you, they were a couple while all this was happening, just as they are now. So she found out he was coming to take it, and she put it on and ran off. So Byron hires two of our other friends, Magnolia, and by extension Kevin- now, Kevin was our DM back in the day, which will become important later. Anyway, so Magnolia manages to track her down, and Byron chases after her, and there's, like, this stand-off at a bridge, shots were fired, people got hurt, and the ring, it got lost."

Diana stares as the story goes on, absolutely enthralled by all the details and twists and turns. Her jaw drops at hearing the ring was lost, her eyes widening. She's generally being a Very Good Audience by accident, as it turns out. Still, this time she doesn't ask any questions or try to interrupt, just seeming, well, fascinated.

James settles back into the couch, gathering his thoughts. "Things get a little fuzzy at this point, but, apparently Kevin, Magnolia, and I think Isabella, they got dragged or went exploring or something across the Veil, and they ran into this... dude? Thing? Spirit? I don't know... a being. Calls itself The Collector. Apparently they somehow ended up in debt to it, and in order to pay that off, it wanted them to bring them the ring, which had also I guess fallen through the Veil or something like that."

Diana blinks at hearing the name The Collector, even though it's obviously not a being she's familiar with. She frowns after a moment, and admits, "I'm dying to find out if it was given to the Collector in the end. And what it wanted with it! But... spoilers!" She rests a hand on his leg lightly, gesturing for him to go on, adding, "...despite my interruption, I'm definitely interested!"

James grins at that, and places his hand on hers. "Oh, interrupt at will. I can't possibly mind it when you have that look on your face.", he replies, and chuckles, squeezing her hand. "When they told me all this stuff I was freaking out, you know. And then I tell you, and... look at you." He sighs happily, thinking to himself that she must be protected. At all costs. "Anyway... they managed to track it down- I think they found the box it was supposed to be held in and somehow used that to track it to a specific spot across the Veil. But when they got there, it turned out to be like this... dungeon. With traps and chanting cultists and like fire tunnels and poisonous gas. And this is about where I come in."

To be honest, Diana looks positively delighted to hear about all this-- including the cultists, traps, fire tunnels, and poisonous gas. Still, she says, "I'm so glad you got out okay!" And he gets SUCH a warm smile at both that happy sigh and some thought she doesn't share.

"Now, you remember when I mentioned Kevin, right? He's Magnolia's boyfriend- and he used to be our DM back in the day. So, y'know, he takes one look at this place,", James explains, gesturing as if to an invisible dungeon around them, "... and he realizes it's just like one of the D&D adventures we used to do. So, in a stroke of what I can only assume is that particular madness that afflicts those of us who willingly choose to live in this madhouse of a town, he gathers the rest of us from the old Adventurers Club. I mean, as soon as Byron and Lilith heard the ring was involved, they knew they had to be part of it. Tobin and I joined up after a bit of convincing- ok, actually, I was the one that needed the most convincing, but, they were certain we all needed to be there for it, and I couldn't leave my friends hanging even though I sincerely believe they're all insane."

Diana smiles fondly as she listens, nodding her head. "Well, to be fair, insane friends are far and away the most fun," she teases, and then tilts her head. "So you used to do D&D? How far back? What edition? ...and what did you like to play?" That last part is almost certainly one of those relationship quizzes. Careful, James!

"... for certain values of 'fun', I suppose.", James replies with a rueful smile. "And yeah, that's how we all met, playing D&D back in high school. My parents were nerds too, so they were my dad's books. 3.5 mostly, though my dad, he played in college a lot, mostly AD&D. So, I brought the books, Kevin ran the games, and the rest of us played. I mean.. I liked playing gnome illusionists mostly, but, I did have a penchant for a good bard.", he says, grinning. "You play?"

"Oh, how was AD&D? I never did play that version. Mostly 3.5, myself. And... bards for the win. Bards are the BEST. Sometimes I did play rogues, though. It's fun to steal things!" Diana pauses though, blinking. "Oh! But go on with the story! I'm sorry. Don't you dare keep me waiting!" She grins.

James gives her a little #TeamBard fistbump, while falling just a little more in love with her. "Heck yeah. Okay, so, they convince me to come along, and, well, cue last night. Byron got us gas masks because he apparently just has all the money in the world, though some of the guys made their own, to deal with the gas inside. And we get there, which was all kinds of fucked up. My first time going all the way through the Veil, and I was not a fan. But I guess they've done it before, they weren't fazed at all. And we get there to this weird dungeon and there's like this... weird slime shrine to Byron, which, uhm, I don't know the story on and I'm kind of afraid to ask. Apparently he's got an admirer over there. And so there was this fire tunnel trap thing, with a big red button on the other side of the fire. So, Kevin, who apparently has telekinesis because everyone has cooler powers than me, and also like everyone has powers which is weird, I mean, isn't it weird? Anyway, he clicks the button, flames go off, we rush through the tunnel and I almost tripped and fell which would have sucked balls because the flames started up again right after."

Diana returns that fistbump with pride. Go Team Bard! "It's definitely weird," she confirms with a nod. And then pauses before shaking her head. "Though, also not? Areas where the Veil is thinner tend to attract-- or maybe cause!-- more people with Glimmerbits. And I still think your power's cool, if needing to be controlled for your own peace of mind." She leans over to kiss his cheek. "I'm so glad you didn't trip, though! I mean, tans are okay I guess, but I get the feeling you'd have ended up barbecued instead."

"... huh. I guess that makes sense. Like we're infected with the weirdness of it all, a bit.", James murmurs, then gets derailed off of that train of thought by the kiss to his cheek. He leans a little closer, and smiles ruefully once more. "I'm glad I didn't trip too. That fire was crazy hot. So, at that point, we had a few tunnels to choose from, a couple of traps and whatnot. Pretty standard dungeon fare, right? No monsters or anything though, at least, not yet. We eventually get to this, like, door. While we're kinda debating what to do, Isabella just... basically kicks it down and rushes through, because that woman is... well, I don't know what she is, but fearless is part of it. In the room beyond it, though, the theme changed. It was basically a Christmas-themed cottage."

"Right? I don't know if the thinness of the Veil causes more people to Glimmer, or if people are drawn to these places. I really couldn't speculate." Diana leans a little closer, too, the better to kiss his nose. So THERE. She blinks at the door kicking, giving a soft whistle to show her surprise. "Doors are pretty solid, especially older-style dungeon doors! I'm impressed, honestly. She must have one heck of a leg!" Still, the Christmas-themed cottage bit surprises her most of all. She blinks. Twice. "What happened next?" She is literally sitting at the edge of her seat.

James crosses his eyes a little at the nose-kiss, blushing a bit, but happily snuggles closer after. "Maybe she used powers- I was a little panicky by that point, I admit, because, I mean, I'm not used to this shit yet. But, yeah... the cottage. It was a bit of a tonal shift, took us all by surprise, but I guess stuff beyond the Veil has even less of a reason to make sense than stuff on this side does. The ring turned out to be under the tree, but, ah, there was this giant gingerbread man. And giant, sentient, fruitcakes." He sighs, shaking his head. "The gingerbread man and the fruitcakes attacked.", he says, which is a sentence that he never expected to have a reason to ever say.

Diana arches a brow, even while snuggling up yet closer and wrapping her arms around him. "Fruitcakes are bad enough when they're not sentient. I can only imagine. Did they say anything, or just rush at you? I'm curious how sentient. And... you know, it's okay that you got panicky. I'd have been panicky too, I bet!"

"I vaguely remember the Gingerbread Man saying something before all hell broke loose. It was... insane. Like, people had guns, and were, like, throwing freaking fireballs around, and force lightning, and there I was, no gun, no magic sword, useless powers, and one of the fruitcakes had taken an interest in me. They kept throwing exploding cherry bombs at us. It didn't take long before the gang took them down, but Isabella went down hard, tag-teamed by a couple of the fruitcakes, but they managed to patch her up. But that's what being fearless gets you. Not that it went much better for me, one of the fruitcakes got me straight in the chest with one of those bombs. Hurt like a motherfucker, still does. Left me with a few cuts and a lot of nasty bruises."

... says James.

"...fireballs? That's so cool. And force lightning, too. You're not the only one jealous, for either of those. I'm glad Isabella's okay! And doubly glad that you are. I mean, nothing against Isabella, but I don't plan on smooching her anytime soon." Diana smirks teasingly, and kisses his cheek. "And... getting hit by a bomb, cherry bomb or no, sounds awful. I'm triply glad you're okay."

James gives an amused laugh at Diana's words. "Well, good, because she's a lot hotter than I am, so I don't think I could compete.", he replies, then sighs. "Yeah, getting hit sucked hard. It still sucks, I'm actually in a lot of pain. But, it'll heal, nothing's broken, just need a little time.", he explains. "Anyway, after that, they tried to get the ring, but this, like... Mimic type thing, a chest with a mouth and teeth, rushed up and ate it. And then like a representative of the Collector showed up, thanked them for their assistance, and disappeared again, leaving us like a portal thing to get back. And we did, and I still haven't quite processed it all, and so tonight instead of getting properly amused by half-naked girls jello wrestling, I was more freaked out when I felt more weirdness happening."

"I dunno. I think you're BOTH doing just fine on the Relative Hotness Scale," Diana teases, and rests her head on his shoulder while he talks about being in pain. "Have you taken anything for it? I mean, pain pills, or-- are you bandaged up, at least? ...sorry, trying not to worry, but it's hard." She frowns deeply at the talk about the chest and the Collector, shaking her head. "A ring as powerful as that one is, is it wrong of me to worry why this 'Collector' wanted it? I mean, I suppose it could be collecting it, but I can't help but wonder about some more sinister purpose." That last bit of what he has to say, though, that makes her frown vanish, replaced by warmth and affection. "It's okay to be freaked out by things. Especially given how your powers mess with you. You didn't get the 'nice' intro to this kind of stuff." Which requires that she kiss his shoulder, naturally.

"You tell the nicest lies.", James quips back, as she says he ranks anywhere near Isabella on any kind of rational Hotness Scale, but he smiles and nods at her questions. "Yeah, don't worry. I'm bandaged up, nothing required stitches, just... lots of bruises and one hoodie I can never wear again. I promise I'm ok. Especially now, I wouldn't lie and say I was ok if I wasn't. I mean... I gotta stick around for you, right?" He nods his agreement at her worries on the Collector. "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, but.. not like folks had much of a choice, it seems. Still... might be worth digging more into it, right?" At her last words, he sighs and nods. "... oy, tell me about it."

Diana grins at that quip, shaking her head. "I'm glad you're all bandaged up. I hope it wasn't one of your favorite hoodies." Her expression softens considerably when he says why he's got to stick around now, and she leans in to give him a very gentle hug, careful of his chest. "Yep, you do," she says with a warm smile. "And yes, we should definitely look into that at some point." She pauses at that sigh, and then straightens up. "Well, it began when you were very young, and--" She's clearly only teasing.

James gives an amused snort, and turns to look at her. "... how are you so ok with all of this?", he asks, softly. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm glad you are, it makes this a lot easier, knowing I have you to talk to about it, and that you won't think I'm crazy. But... this is all so fucked up and terrifying to me. But it's not to you. How?"

Diana tilts her head at his question, and then listens to what he has to say before ... still not answering. She's quiet for a bit, actually, eyes somewhere off in the distance. And then she smiles softly, looking back to him. "If you were to fall off a cliff, even with a rope attached to you, you'd be terrified. But people do that all the time-- they go bungee jumping. The difference, I think, is in the mystery, and in how prepared you are. I never had any powers until long after I knew about powers. I never saw a ghost before seeing people that had the Shine. I did more reading those few years when I was discovering this than even the years before-- and I was no slouch in reading habits to start with. I know what the Veil is, even though I've never directly passed through that I know of. You and I are both hopping out of a plane, at this point-- but I had years to prepare, and you got pushed out before you were ready. It's not that I'm so much braver. It's that you've been traumatized, your powers coming too early to prepare for. You weren't an adult when the weird stuff started happening. And kids-- they process things differently than adults. We have minds that can make sense of what we've seen, and try to integrate it into their wealth of knowledge. You didn't get that chance." She squeezes his hand.

James listens intently to her answer, his eyes widening a bit the more he hears. "... wow.", he finally says as she completes her explanation. "You... has anyone ever told you you're pretty freakin' brilliant?", he says, and smiles. "'Cause you are. And you're so far out of my league that it's not even funny.", he admits, and his smile softens. "You're probably right, about all that. You... think it'll get better in time?"

Diana beams and blushes heavily at being told she's brilliant, though her smile fades when he says she's out of his league. Still, she doesn't speak up until his question, reaching out to tuck a stray lock of his hair behind his ear before answering, "I think it will, yes. Especially if we do some studying on the side about what all of this means and how it all fits together, maybe figure out how to not have your powers flare up when you don't want them to. And if something scary happens and we're both there instead of you by yourself, I can't help but think that could help. And hey, you have friends that care about you that you've known for so long, and they can help, too. I wasn't the only one offering to help with the hoarding issues left over by your uncle, you know. You're a cared about person, James. You just have to learn that for yourself. ...and for the record, I'm not out of your league. We're both firmly in the same one-- and I'm glad of it." Before he can speak, though, she moves to try and cover his lips with hers. Oops, smoochin' time.