[ So the name SCARLET JACOBS in his inbox is certainly a new one, though it's easy for Vergil to put two and two together to make four as soon as he opens the message. While part of him is surprised, the rest of him isn't. He was just about to message Shinobu anyway. ]
Shinobu. I was just about to contact you.
[ And yes, that is totally a nonanswer because he doesn't have an actual response for the question. ]
[It takes her another few minutes to answer, because yeah, Vergil's nonanswer really kind of pissed her off a little. At the very least, she was thankful that she went the e-mailing route of things, because it gave her time to cool down and write a not passive-aggressive reply.]
Saved you the trouble, I guess. But what's the deal with you? Are you okay or not?
[ If there's a sentence that Vergil doesn't enjoy using it's, without question, I don't know. Given the change in weather and the fact that the local newspaper reads "APRIL" as the date, it's obvious that Vergil's lost some time. Not exactly the best realization to return to, especially not after having spent the past ten years of his life making up for a memory-wiped childhood.
(Needless to say, Vergil hates missing time. Not that he's about to confess that to any one.) ]
My brother tells me you were on a ship for the past week or so. Last I remember, we were still dealing with the Charon.
[ Again, a nonanswer but Vergil chases it eventually with a follow up. ]
But I'm fine. You? I heard you were all met with some opposition. Nothing you couldn't handle, I imagine.
So you DID talk to him. Guess that saves that part of the nagging then.
He made a voice post and everything looking for you, you know. It's gotta be serious if he's not making a post about your sex life.
[Or lack of, but Shinobu will kindly refrain from specifics here.
But as for his question? She somehow got roped into a team game with Vriska, lost it, died, came back with a missing arm for a week, and then saw hallucinations of her dead father on top of all of that. She really wasn't at the top of her game here.
However, there was only one way she could respond.]
I'm fine.
And yeah, those fucked up things were probably the most fun part of the trip. At least they provided SOME kind of challenge.
Though if you feel sad about missing the trip, some people saw hallucinations. So at least you missed out on that.
"Talk" is a very generous way of saying he asked me where the fuck I've been and gave me a two sentence rundown of the past week. But he made it out all right, and that's all that matters. From what I hear, not everybody was as lucky.
Yeah, not really. Some people were unfortunate enough to get turned into those freaks of nature running around.
That's what I heard anyway.
[Or rather, it wasn't a problem she had to deal with. That was the advantage to trying to keep most people at a distance.]
Don't know what to really tell you about the hallucinations, really. Some people thought they saw people from their worlds or pasts.
Made them go a little crazy.
[Because yeah, as much as she was avoiding talking about this, it did get to her a little. Maybe she went a little too crazy on the monsters surrounding her.
She pauses a good, extra few minutes on the question. Battling with herself on how to answer it, she deletes a few messages before finally settling on one.]
You can take care of yourself, right?
I was just curious as to how the hell you did that whole disappearing act.
[So yeah. This is just the most roundabout way ever of saying "yes".]
[ While Vergil and Shinobu aren't exactly "close" (their lives and their respective personalities mean they hold most people at arm's length), they have known one another long enough for to have an idea of how the other works. Privacy was something they each valued, which was perhaps one of the main reasons they got along so well. They both knew better than to poke and prod too hard at certain subjects, though the hallucinations hold too much of Vergil's fascination to be given a wide berth.
He at least doesn't bother to beat around the bush with her. ]
"Some people". You?
[ Vergil wonders if Dante had seen them as well, and if so: who. ]
The concern's appreciated.
[ He doesn't tell her it's unwarranted; she 'd said it herself: Vergil can take care of himself, but she'd worried nevertheless. ]
I wish I could tell where exactly I've been, but I can't. It's possible there was something about this ship that COMPASS didn't want me to see. Maybe they wanted to get to Dante, I can't say for certain.
[ But it pisses him the fuck off, that's for sure. ]
[Shinobu was hesitant to answer yet again. She really didn't like revealing any sort of vulnerabilities she had, though she supposed it'd seem more suspicious if she continued to deny everything again. After all, it was something that a lot of people went through.]
I saw some things, yeah. I think most people did. But I'm fine.
[She at least lived through that whole ordeal, which was really saying something when she was missing an arm for half of it. That had to count for something, didn't it?
But hey, with Travis, Bad Girl, and Madsen disappearing in the last couple of months, it was at least a little relief to hear that she still had at least a couple of friendsallies here.]
I don't know. Unless they really wanted you to miss the hallucinations, you really didn't miss a whole lot.
Aside from some abominations and things straight out of some B-grade sci-fi horror flick. Do you have some kind of sci-fi fetish? Because yeah, that's what you missed.
Don't know your brother too well, but he's probably fine too.
[ He could ask what she saw, could ask a lot more about the ship and these supposed abominations, but Vergil sees the shape of the elephant in the room and decides to leave it be for now. There'd be time for it later and it's not like there wasn't a lack of people he could ask instead. Maybe Evelynn, maybe Dante.
So for now: ]
You know every time we have a conversation, you seem to bring up the word "fetish".
[ Vergil actually laughs at that — or at least his version of a laugh. Even alone, in a room with nobody else, the sound he makes is soft and understated. More a cough combined with an exhale than an actual laugh.
But despite that, something still catches his attention. ]
[She contemplates that response for a minute, trying to imagine if she herself were thrust in a similar situation. Because on one hand? Perhaps she wouldn't exactly be eager to call an alternate version of her biological father family. But on the other? She missed him so badly that she would at least be willing to talk to them.
Regardless, it was a tricky situation all around.]
Okay, your brother and the weirdly calmer version of him from an alternate universe.
[ In all honesty? It's a little weird. A little frustrating too, given how close Dante had become to his older counterpart. But that's too personal of a confession for Vergil to make, even to Shinobu in private conversation. Most things rolled of his back like water off a duck. Things with Dante, however, sometimes stuck. ]
[Shinobu looks at the reply with some interest. It was one thing to deny that the alternate version of his brother wasn't family, but now it was like Vergil was trying to deny any sort of tie to him whatsoever.]
Never said they were. [In her limited exposure to both of them, she could pick out the obvious differences, even if there were some obvious similarities as well.]
Guess you really don't like the other one, huh?
[It was more of an amused observation more than it was prying -- she knew better than to try to pry too hard with Vergil.]
[ It's no secret that Vergil doesn't get along with either Dante — his own brother being a case of clashing personalities while the elder counterpart was more on general principle. ]
He has his own Vergil. It leads to assumptions on his part.
[ Assumptions about him and his motivations. Vergil knows there's a part of the older Dante that doesn't trust him and maybe it's warranted, but it's still a conclusion based on faulty data. ]
[Even if Shinobu wasn't exactly a people person and didn't really know anything about the other Dante and Vergil, she was getting a pretty good idea of the situation at hand.]
So basically, that whole "Who's the bigger douche?" contest between you and the other Vergil had SOME sorta merit, even if it was on the other one.
And based on that supposed douche, the other Dante's giving you a bad rep?
[Right, right, this was getting a little too close to prying. So even if she really wasn't the type to give people assurances, she types out another message.]
I wouldn't worry about it. Most people should be smart enough to realize both versions of you guys are different.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
W6;D2
MESSAGE: Where the hell have you been?
[Because she searched for you, asshole. After a minute or so of hesitating, she sends another message.]
Are you okay?
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Shinobu.
I was just about to contact you.
[ And yes, that is totally a nonanswer because he doesn't have an actual response for the question. ]
no subject
Saved you the trouble, I guess.
But what's the deal with you? Are you okay or not?
[Don't make her track you down.]
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(Needless to say, Vergil hates missing time. Not that he's about to confess that to any one.) ]
My brother tells me you were on a ship for the past week or so.
Last I remember, we were still dealing with the Charon.
[ Again, a nonanswer but Vergil chases it eventually with a follow up. ]
But I'm fine.
You?
I heard you were all met with some opposition.
Nothing you couldn't handle, I imagine.
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He made a voice post and everything looking for you, you know. It's gotta be serious if he's not making a post about your sex life.
[Or lack of, but Shinobu will kindly refrain from specifics here.
But as for his question? She somehow got roped into a team game with Vriska, lost it, died, came back with a missing arm for a week, and then saw hallucinations of her dead father on top of all of that. She really wasn't at the top of her game here.
However, there was only one way she could respond.]
I'm fine.
And yeah, those fucked up things were probably the most fun part of the trip. At least they provided SOME kind of challenge.
Though if you feel sad about missing the trip, some people saw hallucinations. So at least you missed out on that.
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But he made it out all right, and that's all that matters.
From what I hear, not everybody was as lucky.
Tell me about these hallucinations.
[ A beat passes between messages. ]
Were you worried about me, Shinobu?
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That's what I heard anyway.
[Or rather, it wasn't a problem she had to deal with. That was the advantage to trying to keep most people at a distance.]
Don't know what to really tell you about the hallucinations, really. Some people thought they saw people from their worlds or pasts.
Made them go a little crazy.
[Because yeah, as much as she was avoiding talking about this, it did get to her a little. Maybe she went a little too crazy on the monsters surrounding her.
She pauses a good, extra few minutes on the question. Battling with herself on how to answer it, she deletes a few messages before finally settling on one.]
You can take care of yourself, right?
I was just curious as to how the hell you did that whole disappearing act.
[So yeah. This is just the most roundabout way ever of saying "yes".]
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He at least doesn't bother to beat around the bush with her. ]
"Some people".
You?
[ Vergil wonders if Dante had seen them as well, and if so: who. ]
The concern's appreciated.
[ He doesn't tell her it's unwarranted; she 'd said it herself: Vergil can take care of himself, but she'd worried nevertheless. ]
I wish I could tell where exactly I've been, but I can't.
It's possible there was something about this ship that COMPASS didn't want me to see.
Maybe they wanted to get to Dante, I can't say for certain.
[ But it pisses him the fuck off, that's for sure. ]
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I saw some things, yeah. I think most people did.
But I'm fine.
[She at least lived through that whole ordeal, which was really saying something when she was missing an arm for half of it. That had to count for something, didn't it?
But hey, with Travis, Bad Girl, and Madsen disappearing in the last couple of months, it was at least a little relief to hear that she still had at least a couple of
friendsallies here.]I don't know. Unless they really wanted you to miss the hallucinations, you really didn't miss a whole lot.
Aside from some abominations and things straight out of some B-grade sci-fi horror flick. Do you have some kind of sci-fi fetish? Because yeah, that's what you missed.
Don't know your brother too well, but he's probably fine too.
So who knows.
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So for now: ]
You know every time we have a conversation, you seem to bring up the word "fetish".
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Sorry.
I'll make sure to use the word "kink" instead next time.
Because yes, I am absolutely interested in your sex life.
[Though sarcasm didn't always exactly carry well in text.]
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friendsnormal people do, right? ]Just making an observation.
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I'll leave the posts to them.
[Okay Vergil, there you go. She'll get all up on the banter with you.]
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But despite that, something still catches his attention. ]
Brother.
[ Singular. ]
I have just the one.
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Regardless, it was a tricky situation all around.]
Okay, your brother and the weirdly calmer version of him from an alternate universe.
The latter is just a little much to say.
That HAS to be weird to keep track of.
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They're not that similar.
[ Which, for the record, is total bullshit. ]
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Never said they were. [In her limited exposure to both of them, she could pick out the obvious differences, even if there were some obvious similarities as well.]
Guess you really don't like the other one, huh?
[It was more of an amused observation more than it was prying -- she knew better than to try to pry too hard with Vergil.]
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He has his own Vergil.
It leads to assumptions on his part.
[ Assumptions about him and his motivations. Vergil knows there's a part of the older Dante that doesn't trust him and maybe it's warranted, but it's still a conclusion based on faulty data. ]
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So basically, that whole "Who's the bigger douche?" contest between you and the other Vergil had SOME sorta merit, even if it was on the other one.
And based on that supposed douche, the other Dante's giving you a bad rep?
[Right, right, this was getting a little too close to prying. So even if she really wasn't the type to give people assurances, she types out another message.]
I wouldn't worry about it. Most people should be smart enough to realize both versions of you guys are different.