rivalsweetscent | 012// [Video/Action]

012// [Video/Action]

([Narration of sorts])
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[The video feed clicks on, and oh hey it's the student kitchens in the background. There's two big pots on the stove and a really big rice cooker over there on the counter and oh hello there's a Bulba in the feed now. He's given up on the effort of trying not to seem really tired, and he seems pretty distracted on top of that.]

In case you were wondering um... Kirby had to go back to Dreamland for a while. Something came up...

[He frowns, looking like he really doesn't want to talk about it and makes a motion towards the stove with his head to switch the subject.]

Oh, uh, if anyone's hungry or whatever, I made some curry and... kind of made too much out of habit... There's both spicy and mild so. People are welcome to it so it doesn't go to waste. It's down here in the student kitchens.

Uh... that's it. Thanks.

[And then the feed cuts off.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Uh, that's sorta not really enough protein to count.

Yeah, not really.

So. Bulba. How've you been feelin' lately?

Got anything you need to talk to a guy about?

~~Murders to confess?~~

Uhhhhhhhhh... [BULBA YOU LOOK LIKE CRAP.] I've been uh... getting by, I guess.

Not really. [He looks at Max's plate.] Did you want anymore?

More of the meat one.

And, you're sure you ain't got nothin' that you need to talk about? You look like death warmed over.

::Gosh, Max, that's supportive and nice of you.::

[Wow thanks, Max, that's cool and true. Bulba sighs and gives a shrug.]

Having some issues sleeping is all. I'll get it sorted out.

[Here is more of that meat one.]

Why ain't you sleepin'?

::Max isn't going to stop. He will never stop.::

[Bulba is sensing this, because this is Max. And Max never stops.]

... Bad dreams.

[He's going to awkwardly stir this curry.]

What're you dreamin' about?

I don't... really know. Things I think I forgot. I can't really remember what they are but I know it's nothing very good.

When did you start havin' the nightmares?

... A while ago. Sometime last month.

Before or after the crazy week where everyone went crazy?

[Why so many questions, Max.]

Uhhh, it was after that I think.

::BECAUSE HE IS MAX::

Do you remember what you did durin' that week?

[Okay now he is giving you a funny look, Max. A funny look and also a slow shake of his head.]

Listen, Vinnie told me not to tell you nothin' but I think I know why you're havin' nightmares.

And it's got to do with what you did durin' that week. I dunno, maybe most of you forgot but part of you remembers but don't wanna remember.

And I think it's meaner to not say nothin' than to just let you have nightmares all the time without you knowin' it. If you don't know how are you ever supposed to get over it and face what's got you messed up? You can't.

::Max you should probably just come out and say it.::

[There is a really unpleasant feeling growing in his gut but oh man. This is a very serious Bulba staring Max down. He's been trying to figure this stuff out for weeks and was getting the feeling that other people knew but weren't telling him because no one ever tells him these kinds of things. Why did Max know? WHY DID VINNIE KNOW?]

...

What did Vinnie tell you, Max?

Listen I ain't known about this for long, but it slipped outta Vinnie a few days back and I've been thinkin' about how I was gonna try and talk about it with you but I couldn't come up with a good way to do it.

::Deep breath.::

That week Vinnie was an ivysaur, and he ruined a bunch of people's cars and stuff. He was livin' in the forest all wild. I ended up catchin' him tryin' to ruin my tank. I beat him up some. Alright, I beat him up a lot.

::Deeper breath::

So, when Vinnie let it slip that he died durin' crazy week I thought maybe I'd killed him by beatin' him up too much. I sorta went crazy; I tried to take him to a pokecenter but he just bit me and shot me fulla some sorta powder that made me vomit all over the place so I left him in the forest without gettin' healed. But he told me it wasn't me that did it.

::And here is the most serious looking face you have probably ever seen on Max::

Said it was you that killed him.

[Bulba was listening very carefully, though there were multiple points where he wanted to interrupt.

He certainly explained the hows and whys of Vinnie joining Orange Star because he wrecked Max's tank but... He had been an Ivysaur? Bulba had gotten caught up on that detail as Max spoke. Something about that seemed very crucial for some reason and...

...And he had died. What. Bulba only vaguely heard the rest of what Max was saying. The more he said the paler he got. No, it hadn't been from punches gone crazy. It had been--

He met Max's very serious face with wide eyes, looking completely dumbfounded and kind of like he was going to be sick. This wasn't a joke. Max wasn't about to start joking about this kind of thing. Not when he looked like that.

When he finally found his voice it came out very small.]

...What?

Listen, it ain't easy to say this. But Vinnie said that when everybody was actin' crazy, he said that you... turned into someone else. Someone like you but who ain't you.

He said the guy you were pulled his petals off and then left him in the forest to die. And he died a few hours later.

But Bulba I want you to know that ain't you. Not the you who you are. Alright? You care too much to be that guy. Jake and Rachel? Jake and Rachel turned evil that week, too. Knuckles turned into a giant, evil douchebag. People turned into guys who they ain't.

And I know I promised Vinnie I wasn't gonna say nothin' but you've been. . . like this for weeks now.

::This next big comes out a little sheepishly::

You... uh... you want a hug?

[He pulled his petals off and left them scattered on the ground and...nnnnghiufdghf.

Bulba covered his mouth with one hand and slowly shook his head no.]

Edited 2011-04-10 05:57 (UTC)

Bulba, you gotta understand that I'm tellin' you this 'cause I think you need to know. You can't deal with a problem unless you know what the problem is. And keepin' you in the dark just. . . it ain't right.

Vinnie and Green'll probably have my hide for tellin' you but I just had to tell you.

[So Green probably knew too. Of course he did.

He nodded, and once he was sure that he wasn't going add to the sick piles the school had been accumulating he shakily lowered his hand.]

... Thank you for telling me.

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He's going to say it unless you stop me

I am okay with this. He'll just. Come after Vinnie.

I AM NEVER TELLING YOU ANYTHING EVER AGAIN

VINNIE YOU SUCK AND YOU CANNOT RUN AWAY FROM PROBLEMS

COME ON YOU GUYS

VINNIE SUCKS, GET OVER IT, BULBA

DAMN

DAMN. SHIT.

SHIT. NOW WE'RE GETTING GRTTY.

GRITTY HAS AN "I" IN IT, DEAR.

... BALLS. AND SHIT. AND DAMN.