reality_crossroads | (no subject)

Oh, it depends. There are so many of them, after all.

Have you got any stories to tell?

[that gets another laugh] Changes each time you have to pick one?

[he nods with a sigh] Oh, plenty. Just a lot of them are rather depressing.

Something like that.

I suppose you don't have to tell them, then.

[Doc nods] I don't think anybody here wants to hear about Arcadia. It's a -- horrible place. [he glances at the gears in his hands] I was lucky to get out with my mind intact.

There are many horrible places out there, I'm sure. Luckily, we are not in one today.

[Doc nods again, much more emphatically] Oh, trust me, I know. Try an alternate Chicago with aggressive angels and demons warring around you sometimes. The Nexus and its various environs is much friendlier, even with the LOLs.

Cheers to that. *He holds out a glass currently holding something orange and sticky.*

[Doc clinks his own emptied glass against it] Cheers. I mean, if it wasn't for the Nexus, I wouldn't have my family.

I bet that story would take a long time to tell. At least if you wanted it told properly.

Sure you don't want another drink?

[Doc smiles] It is rather complicated. . .and involves a lot of people moving from one universe to another. Let's see -- my nephew, Marty, is my best friend from Arcadia, who decided that I could be his honorary uncle once we got out; my son, Victor, is another friend we met here, who decided he wanted to be my kid as officially as possible when we had to use my last name on his marriage certificate to his wife, Alice -- he already existed in her world, married to another woman; and my daughter, Dee -- well, she's the human version of a DeLorean sports car another me turned into a time machine. [pause] I -- think the full version of all that would likely take the rest of the day to explain properly.

[he studies his glass] Hmmm. I'm trying not to get too drunk. . .but maybe one more wouldn't hurt. [So long as he can still make out the door without a noticeable lean]

. . . I imagine it would, yes. My life seems downright boring in comparison.

[Doc raises an eyebrow] I don't know about that. . .you've got a good chunk of time and experience on me. [then, tilting his head] Though, admittedly, none of your stories have yet needed a flowchart to make sense.

I don't generally time travel, unless the cliffs at the beginning of the world count. A lot of my stories are set a long time ago, but that's mostly because I'm an old old man.

[Doc shrugs] Not having been there, I don't know. [small smile] And that's fair enough. What's the most recent story you've got?

An Anansi story? Well now, there was the time that my sons tweaked Tiger’s tail. It started when they got into an argument . . . *And he’s off again.*

[Doc's only too happy to listen -- Nancy's an excellent storyteller, and it saves him the trouble of continuing to explain his overly-complicated family situation]

*Mr. Nancy is happy to tell. He's rather proud of his children, in his way.*

[They seem to be as mischievous as -- well, maybe not quite as much as Nancy, but pretty close.]

*They are, especially Spider Nancy. A real handful, that boy.*

[Sort of thing that makes Doc glad that Dee is pretty well-behaved. Though he supposes, in his case, it helps that she's actually a car and is probably mature enough to be an adult -- she just likes the kid form.]

*Whereas Spider Nancy looks like an adult these days, but is very much a child at heart.*

[Nothing wrong with that.] Your family sounds like quite the handful.

Well, they would be. Ah, my turn to sing again.

*This time it's "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" with a tip of the hat at the appropriate line.*

[Doc chuckles, then grins as Nancy goes up to the mic to regale the masses. Maybe it's the second Bailey's talking, but he thinks he might give it a try himself once Nancy's done (and if the machine isn't immediately claimed).]

*Once the masses-regaling is over with, Nancy returns to his new friend.* Wherever he laid his hat was his home . . . good song, that song.