Beep Beep, Richie

[mrsklover]

WHO: Richie Tozier and the poor soul here with him
WHERE: Calibrations
WHAT: Also Calibrations
WHEN: Guess. It starts with C and ends in Alibrations
WARNINGS: Homophobic slurs/homophobia/internalized homophobia, child neglect, bullying, drug use, alcohol use, suicidal ideation, and CLOWNS

The room is an arcade. When you first walk in, you see that it has been abandoned, likely for years. There is dust on all the machines and half of them are just blinking 'GAME OVER' without any way to start it again. But near the back, you can hear something. The sound of a fighting game. Street Fighter! And there playing it is a small boy with a grey ringer shirt, thick black glasses, and extremely messy dark hair.

It's Richie. Richie at twelve years old, playing his favorite game and ignoring you completely. There is a blinking button beside him to activate two-player mode. But if you don't want to do that, there are a few other options.

Some other game machines have buttons blinking as well. The closest machine to him is called The Secret and sings almost a circus song in 8-bit. A few aisles away, another game has a button lit up and this one is called Homeward Unbound. It has no music and nothing on the screen except a house, no lights on in the windows. The last game with a play button is all the way in the corner and looks like an old beer tapper game. The screen has a cartoon of adult Richie's face on it, smiling until, for just a second, it changes to him crying. Weird.

There is more in the room that seems to almost glow among all the dust and debris. A token sits in the tray where kids once could get more for the games. A red balloon drifts along the floor with the words 'I <3 Derry' on it. And finally, for the person searching the hardest, they might see a bloody knife stabbed into a carved heart on one wall.

Welcome to Richie Tozier's head. God help you.

Comments

[mutedsuspicions]

Lerith had intended to ask what a knife was doing in a place like this, but instead, he finds himself... in a cave? He hides as best he can while following along, terrified until he sees the scene play out. There's no denying that look on the adult version of Richie's face. He had seen it on other slaves in the villa.

He doesn't make a move to communicate anything as the arcade comes back into view with the shrill sounds and bright colors. A stark contrast to what he had just seen. And then Richie, still an adult, kneeling.

Lerith crouches down to the man's level, pulling his scarf off of his body. There was no way to heal this sort of hurt, this hole left behind. But he tries to ease some of it, using the tattered cloth to dry falling tears with one hand and gently resting the other hand on Richie's cheek.

He doesn't have a voice to say anything, but the sympathy is there in his face. The elf shakes his head no at the remarks, but doesn't say anything else. He can't, his hands are busy attempting to comfort the stockier human before him.

[mrsklover]

The gentleness is surprising. Richie looks up at Lerith as he tries his face and just watches him and the sympathy he shows. How long has it been since someone was tender with him? How long has it been since he was comforted? Since Eddie left, maybe? Even then in his pain he'd turned toward alcohol and bristled against anyone attempting to get him to face his emotions. But this? This is something he hadn't even thought about needing. Apparently he had.

"I loved him," Richie confesses quietly. "I loved him my entire life. That...that monster made me forget him and when I got him back, I still loved him so much. And I just keep losing him. Again and again and again."

[mutedsuspicions]

Lerith wasn't sure what monster Richie was talking about, but it doesn't matter. He can write about that question later. Right now he listens. Sometimes that's what people needed. Kindness. Someone to listen to what they had to say. Lerith was the best listener out there.

He shifts closer, eyes watching the man and paying attention to the confession. A nod. He understood loss, even if it wasn't at the same level as Richie's. The elf keeps drying the tears away from cheeks and chin, before thinking 'to hell with it'. The pale elf pulls the man to him, Lerith's tattooed forehead touching to Richie's clean one, before full on embracing him. He's far skinnier (and probably weaker) than the human, but he tries to give him the comfort of a hug.

[mrsklover]

The hug is...good. Really good. Richie lets out a soft noise but melts into it, enjoying the contact and empathy even from a stranger. With Lerith not saying anything one would think that Richie would be unnerved or concerned that he isn't even understanding. But that doesn't even occur to him. He knows this man can understand. And it's almost a relief to know it.

He hugs Lerith back for a moment and then pulls back, sniffling.

"Sorry. You saw what is probably the worst right off the bat. Not that there are a lot of good things here. But. Yeah..."

[mutedsuspicions]

Lerith's body language puts into words what his voice can't anymore. It's been years of learning how to speak with both his hands and his body in a manner people could interpret to get some idea of what the elf was trying to say. And as Richie melts into his hold, Lerith knows that the man understands what's left unsaid.

He doesn't hold on as they part, but keeps right where he's kneeling. The scarf gets held back out as an offering for Richie to dry his face himself this time. The comic book gets picked back up again for writing.

'i'm sorry you lost him. i can see you really love him and how it hurts that you keep losing him.' Love. Not past tense. Richie's love for that man, for Eddie, seems so steadfast. It's admirable. 'it hurt but i am glad i saw the memory. bad memories make the good ones better, even if they are bittersweet'

[mrsklover]

Richie takes the scarf and dabs at his face to get whatever wetness remaining gone. He also needs to clean his glasses which are a mess. Apparently even in his mind that is a fact. Stupid glasses.

When they are back on he looks at the comic book and gives a small smile. It's bitter, but not harsh. It's not Lerith's fault for being an optimist.

"I would love some good memories, man. I've been on this planet for years and I have a few... But part of me would trade them in. They're almost like vacation from all the shit."

[mutedsuspicions]

Lerith's at least seated in a fashion that his chin hides the scarring on his neck with the collar gone. But Richie needs that scarf more than he does right now, so there's no complaining. Body language, or other wise at least.

The small smile is returned with his own little one. He pats Richie's hand in a comforting manner and nods. 'an amnesiac elf that escaped slavery - looks like we both have really shitty lives. maybe while we're in this city the aggrrii brought us to we can make better memories to go home with?' This time he offers his hand for Richie to take, like offering to make a better memory, even in the man's dreamscape.

[mrsklover]

A slave. One with amnesia which, yeah. He can sympathize with too. Richie doesn't even think about it as he takes Lerith's hand and holds it within his own. The idea that this guys is reaching out to him and offering this for him is almost hilarious in how unexpected it is. Richie's always thought on some level that, without someone from his world, the best he could ever ask for was people to laugh at and with him. But this?

Well. It almost makes him feel useful.

"Yeah. Yeah, I would like that, Lerith. I think we probably both need that."

[mutedsuspicions]

Lerith's smile turns bigger, feeling like he's helped Richie through the bad memory. He has to take his hand back to write and hold the comic book. 'everyone could use a friend to make memories with. at least here, in wherever this underground place is the agrrii have lured us to.'

He had been lured down by an injured halla. Richie, if Lerith had to guess, had been lured down by his friend from that memory. 'so can you explain what an arcade is? do i have to watch more memories to understand it? we don't have things like this in my world. just magic. and dragons.'

[mrsklover]

Richie smiles and nods agreement. Going back toward the game he'd been playing, the two-player button is still lit, but with a wave of his hand, Richie switches it from a memory to a regular old button.

"This game was my favorite. Street Fighter. You pick a person and then this button here is punching. This is kicks... And the goal is to beat up my cartoon guy before I beat up yours. Wanna try?"

[mutedsuspicions]

Lerith follows Richie, noting that the man is taller than him. It's almost like being around Dorian, just with less sass and mustache. And magic. He looks over the arcade game with some wonder, memorizing how the buttons work.

Button for kicking, button for punching. Lever to move around. He nods while trying out the buttons to get a feel for them. Kicking, punching. Move move move. The elf knew he wouldn't win, but it seemed like it could be fun! His hands go into position, mirroring Richie's look.

Another nod to 'go for it'!

We can fade out on the game

[mrsklover]

Richie grins wide and presses the start button. Right away it's time to pick a character. Richie grabs Ryu and then goes to help Lerith out. "You pick whoever you think is fun. They have different moves and stuff but for now just go for whoever you like. I'm sure it won't make too much difference for the first game or so..."

And then it would be time to fight.

[mutedsuspicions]

Lerith takes a moment to pick his character, having to get accustomed to the joystick before he finally picked Ken with Richie's help. No elf characters apparently, how saddening.

With the game starting, Lerith gave the other a playful push with his elbow. He's pretty certain Richie let him win on the first game, but totally kicked his ass at more of them. The game was fun! Difficult, but definitely fun. He grinned even as 'KO' flashed on the screen again with another win for Richie.

It felt like a good time, and a good memory was being made, with a new friend, even as the dream faded out.