New(ish) Father Blues

[deadgirlslikeme]

Victor Brown (formerly Van Dort) looks a bit harried when he enters the Nexus -- or, perhaps more accurately, like he really needs a vacation. And about a full day's worth of sleep. He heads to a nearby plush sofa (apparently the place noted the darker-than-usual circles under his eyes and felt sorry for him) and collapses on it with a sigh. "Oh dear. . .does anyone have any tips on how to handle tantrums?" he asks, looking around with a grimace. "Because Chester. . .well, he's started getting grabby, and if you take whatever he's grabbed away from him, he just -- how do babies cry so loud?"

Comments

[deadgirlslikeme]

[he bites his lip] I'm -- I'm sorry. I wish there was more I could say -- more I could do.

[palmerthing]

Fuck, man, you're here aren't you? That's a good start.

[deadgirlslikeme]

[he smiles slightly] I'm doing my best. And it is nice to have someone new to talk to.

[palmerthing]

It really is. *He holds out a hand to the ghost again with a soft smile.*

[deadgirlslikeme]

[Victor is only too happy to oblige with whatever sensation of "touch" he can give, smiling back] I think you'll like the rest of my family too. They're good people.

[palmerthing]

They sound like it.

[deadgirlslikeme]

Mmmm -- there's a reason that, after faking my death in my old world, I wanted Doc to be my father.

[palmerthing]

I'd want the same in your place, I think.

[deadgirlslikeme]

And you haven't even met my biological parents. They were. . .well. I try not to speak too ill of them. . .but I'm glad Chester has Doc as his grandfather instead of them.

[palmerthing]

I've known people like that.

[deadgirlslikeme]

I hope not your human half's parents.

[palmerthing]

Not too bad. They were your average irritating reactionaries.

[deadgirlslikeme]

I wonder if that's better or worse than dedicated nouveau riche social climbers. . .

[palmerthing]

Both sound aggravating.

[deadgirlslikeme]

Did yours tell embarrassing stories about your boyhood to everyone?

[palmerthing]

Not so much, they just expressed profound disappointment in all of my opinions.

[deadgirlslikeme]

Oh -- yes, I know how that feels too. [knowing frown] Did yours like to berate you for not being the person they built up in their head?

[palmerthing]

Kinda, yeah. I wasn't supposed to have had these opinions, yeah?

[deadgirlslikeme]

Right. . .and when you try to express them, try to do anything except toe the line, you get slapped down. . .occasionally literally with that fan of hers. . . [sorry, Victor's feeling a bit bitter about his old parents]

[palmerthing]

*Palmer can tell, and he empathizes.* The army will make you a man, they said, and then they didn't like the man I became. I should've burned my draft card.

[deadgirlslikeme]

[he winces] Makes me glad there wasn't a war on in my world. . .though I think my father would have actually tried to buy my way out. We were rich enough.

[palmerthing]

Yeah, it's the poor who die in war.

[deadgirlslikeme]

[another wince] Right. . .I'm sorry. From what little you've said, it sounds -- absolutely awful.

[palmerthing]

As technology gets better, wars get worse. Although some people say it peaked around WWI, but if so then holy shit that must have been a horrific war.

[deadgirlslikeme]

I'm from before it happened, but from what I've heard, it was quite terrible. Mind you, I've heard and read a lot more on the horrors of the second one. . .