flexrat will be real

[escardos]

[ or maybe it won't. stay tuned to find out. ]

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[third_alternative]

Happening? What, like you were in the middle of dying?

[escardos]

Yep.

[third_alternative]

So you showed up here while dying, and then...stopped dying? How'd you already know about your whole...other-you thing if you stopped dying before you actually...died?

[escardos]

I’ve always known, sort of. Like I said, you can’t be asleep and awake at the same time… but sometimes you can daydream or lose focus, right?

[ he taps his temple with a finger. ]

Besides, I’ve always known I was different. I’m… well, it’s kind of like…I can’t help being like this? Like, acting weird and stuff.

[ he gestures at himself. sometimes you are aware that you are an annoying dumbass… ]

[third_alternative]

You being so weird is a part of your other-you head thing?

[ he thought you were just naturally like that tbh ]

[escardos]

I think so! I've never been good at synchronizing with other people, because I'm not really human.

[ he shrugs. it is what it is, as much as he dislikes it. ]

[third_alternative]

Oh. You're not human? What are you, then?

[escardos]

Dunno! But hey, if you give me a DNA test, I'll pass as human, both mystically and biologically.

[ he shrugs! ]

But maybe it doesn't matter what I am, as long as I believe in what I think I am. So if I think I'm human, therefore I am.

[third_alternative]

....uh-huh. [ he doesn't get it. but he...agrees, he supposes? if it talks like a duck and walks like a duck, then it's a duck, right? ]

I'm technically not human either. Maybe it's some kind of prerequisite for weird brain stuff.

[escardos]

Probably? I think it's like the number 1 sci-fi trope. Or maybe number 2, next to anything alien related.

[ flat laughs, shaking his head. ]

But what I said also applies to you. If you think you're human, then you are. That's just how it is.

[third_alternative]

...I guess. I never really thought about it. I didn't even remember I'm technically not human until like two weeks ago.

[escardos]

Hmmm, well, I'm sure you'll figure it out.

[ nods. he believes in you. ]

What will you do when you're alive again?

[third_alternative]

[ he shrugs. ] No clue. I don't know what I was doing before I got here or what situation I was in. And I don't really know anyone here that well either.

[escardos]

That sounds tough...but it's also like a new opportunity.

[ of course flat's going to find a silver lining. it's in his nature. ]

It might be kinda overwhelming, but I think you could start fresh! You might not know people very well, but there's other people that do. For example, Kururin is kind of like an engineer. A genius one, at that.

[third_alternative]

...I didn't know that.

I don't know if starting fresh is possible though. I mean, it's been weeks now, and everyone else is already so close with each other.

What did you do when you got all...other-you-y?

[escardos]

You'll be surprised at the friendships you can make in a short while.

[ in other words: try it out! but then again, flat is quite the social butterfly. ]

I...I didn't get along with many people, actually. I mean, I got along with Susato, maybe...and that was about it. Now that I think about it, I should have probably taken that as a warning sign.

[ because good lord if you get along with a monster--

oh, wait, right. ]

Xie Lian, too. But he's not human, so that's not surprising.

[third_alternative]

[ what a deeply weird way to refer to your weird head shit ]

And, uh. How did you handle that? The not getting along with people thing, I mean. Like, what did you do while everyone else was...not getting along with you?

[escardos]

[ sometimes! your weird head shit is Not good. ]

I couldn't do anything. I mean, I was barely awake for it so it felt like a bad dream, I think.

[ so trapped in your own body, forced to have something that you dislike pilot it-- that sort of thing. ]

[third_alternative]

Until you got punched back to yourself. And then things went back to normal for you.

...I guess we're not all that alike after all, then, huh?

[escardos]

It happened because I was lucky. If I died in my world, it wouldn’t have happened.

[ but flat nods. they’re not the same. ]

Yep. But I think… that might not be the worst thing ever? I had a friend that told me that people are all trying to put their watches in sync. I don’t think I’ve ever found anyone like myself either. I don’t think I will either.

[third_alternative]

And you're just...totally okay with that?

[escardos]

…

[ hmm… ]

It gets easier. Honestly, it still scares me sometimes, when I see that I’m acting or seeing things in a way that’s different from everyone.

But there’s people out there that will accept you anyways, even if you’re human, artificial, or something in between! And if not, I know I will.

[third_alternative]

[ it's a nice sentiment, one he really wants to believe in. unconditional acceptance, even if he's lost and confused and not at all the person people want him to be--or someone they even know at all...

it still feels too good to be true. ]

What, just like that? How can you even be so sure?

[escardos]

Because that's what happened to me.

[ he nods, smiling resolutely. ]

You see, when I was a kid, my parents and all my previous teachers were afraid of me because I was different. And after getting kicked out of every school I was in, I met my current professor, and he was the first person that treated me like a normal human. I have friends, too, who don't treat me like something strange or scary...they just treat me like I'm...well, me.

[ he shrugs. ]

It might take some time to find, but I think there's gotta be someone out there like that for you, even if you don't remember them. [ a pause. ] And if there's no one like that in your world, then you've always got us!

[third_alternative]

[ oh. this is such a softe thing to say, to hear, and rex wants it so bad but he is still...so scared. ]

...I hardly know any of you, though.