VIDEO

[khajidont]

[ Good evening, Mask or Menace! Jaime's back, and while he doesn't look any older, he certainly looks tired and a little sour to boot, like someone just fed him a nintendo switch cartridge real bitter pill. It was a long month. ]

So, um... hey! I'm back. That was definitely the longest I've been ported out for, but I gotta ask: what happened while I was gone? Because I got back, and all of a sudden, like, half of the people I know are gone. Dick's gone, Tadashi's gone again, Fuu's gone, Sarissa's gone, so's my Mom...

Was this just the Porter, or what?

[ It probably is - people tend to leave in waves - but it's left him feeling a little shellshocked, and it's worth searching for answers at the very least. He raises a hand to rub at the back of his neck, playing a little with the hair at the nape. ]

Um, anyway. Good to see you guys who are still here. And for all the newbies, I'm Jaime. Nice to meet you.

Comments

[beneathbluerafters]

My older sister, for one. Hers were dreadful, they weren't just tedious, they were self-righteous.

[khajidont]

You've never told me about her before. What would she even lecture you about?

[ So much of his lecturing Klarion has to do with Klarion not being from the surface world. Being lectured underground was, he can only imagine, an entirely different experience. ]

[beneathbluerafters]

Her name's Beulah. She's a pain, and she'd probably have a conniption if she ever came to the surface.

As for the lecturing, it was the usual stuff. She'd always tell Mother if she caught me planning to run away from home, and she was always nagging me about studying.

[khajidont]

Huh. That does sound like the usual stuff.

[ That sounds weirdly ordinary, even. ]

You got the best of her, though. Obviously.

[beneathbluerafters]

[ Siblings are siblings, even in weird underground puritan colonies! ]

I prefer to think that I was smart enough to avoid the worst of her.

What about you? Do you have any siblings?

[khajidont]

Yeah. Yeah, my little sister. I can't believe I haven't mentioned her before. Her name's Milagro. She's nine.

[ This is when he makes fun of her for being bratty, but... the image of the Black Beetle shooting her is too vivid in his head, still, to even joke about that. ]

She's the best.

[beneathbluerafters]

[ There is some HEAVY EYE-ROLLING GOING ON HERE ]

Of course you're an older brother, I should have known. You practically have it stamped on your forehead.

[khajidont]

Hey! What's that supposed to mean?

[beneathbluerafters]

It means you've had at least nine years practice at being a nag.

[ There's no real venom in his voice though, it's pretty obvious he's just giving Jaime shit for the hell of it. ]

[khajidont]

It's a natural talent.

Plus? I wouldn't need to nag if people obviously didn't need me to nag 'em.

[beneathbluerafters]

[ NO WORDS. JUST EYEROLLING AND EXAGGERATED GROANING. ]

[khajidont]

You have no response 'cause you know I'm right!

[beneathbluerafters]

I do not! You're just meddlesome!

[khajidont]

Nuh-uh. When you're friends, it doesn't count as meddlesome, it just counts as being concerned.

[beneathbluerafters]

You're worse than my cat.

[khajidont]

But you love your cat!

[beneathbluerafters]

He's also an insufferable nuisance.