outdistanced | turbo heaven 🌼 chrono

[ penny, bless her heart(?), gets a little wave as he makes his way in. he's seen the room before, but much more packed than this - it does seem a little lonely, without all of yves's affects scattered around. the sight of the gun does make his mouth twist with concern, but at this point the sight was less of a surprise.

he's fully prepared to just pile up a blanket nest on the floor and bury himself in it, but the sight of the chao snoozing gives him pause. ]

Can I... move this guy, or...?

[ penny waves back! she's always happy to see chrono even if she is a little confused by him being here at this hour. ]

Yeah, you can just move him over by Penny. Guarantee he'll fall back asleep in, like, three seconds.

[ that said. he is pulling out a red blanket from his own bed to offer. ]

This is the warmest one. Charlie sent it last week.

[ with a nod, he'll gently scoop the dozing chao up with the topmost blanket, popping over on yves's bed. penny gets a little tap on the hand of thanks as well.

when he turns back to see laurence taking one of his own blankets off his bed, the sound of protest he makes dies quickly in his throat. there's no point arguing this, really - he just takes it with a nod and drapes it over his shoulders right away. trust charlie to be on top of things. ]

Thanks. You'll be alright without it?

[ he leans down to pull the blanket pile into a less-chao more-human-appropriate arrangement, taking a seat against some propped-up pillows for now. it'll take a bit before he can actually sleep again, but this is. better. ]

One night won't kill me.

[ he's actually just going to sit on the floor, too, for a bit, leaning back against his bed. ]

This week's going to be as hard as when we could feel what everyone else did, isn't it.

...seems like it. It's intrusive, that's for sure.

[ he just kind of. stares into the mess of blankets for a few moments. dreams and nightmares... a lot could go wrong with those.

eventually he looks up and, well. if we're both on the floor anyway. chrono lifts a blanketed arm and gives him a quizzical, but slightly nervous, look. c'mere? ]

[ ...alright, sure. laurence scoots over to sit next to him. ]

So maybe we try to find somewhere quiet again this week.

[ ...there's a sense he might be pushing his luck, here, so he just throws the blanket over laurence's shoulder and pulls his arm back. he doesn't lean aside from where they're touching just by proximity. ]

Probably be best. Just a few people. [ ... ] Are you okay? You can go back to sleep, really.

As long as we're not in the tavern we'll probably be fine. [ everyone's been gathering there lately

well, even if chrono doesn't, laurence will lean against his side, just a little. ]

I told you I'm fine. I'm just worried about you.

[ you looked so scared. ]

Mm. I'm glad it's popular, but definitely quieter than that.

[ oh. he's... not sure how to respond to it, especially with the accompanying thought. there's only so much saying you're going to be okay that others stop believing it, huh.

it takes him a long quiet moment, but he nods, eventually. ]

I am. Was. But you don't have to treat me like glass. Haven't broken yet, not going to now.

We'll figure something out. No need to think about it right this second.

[ later. laurence glances at him briefly, frowning. ]

I'm not. I know you've already been through a lot. [ closes his eyes with a soft sigh. ] But nightmares are still nightmares. They still suck.

[ yeah. he can't really comprehend thursday right this second anyway. because yeah, nightmares suck!! damn!!

he takes a few more deep breaths, until he's able to pull a little hint of teasing levity into his tone. ]

So what was your plan? Sit here and watch me like a hawk until I fell asleep?

What? No. That's creepy.

[ though now there's a thought bubble of all those freaky eyes in town bobbing over his head. ]

No, I just don't think I could go right back to sleep, either. We can just hang out a little bit, I guess

[ ........man. and that imagery pulls back the flash of all of gastille's glowing green eyes in the nightmare, popping up around him in blinks before he shudders, shakes his head, and they vanish. go away go away!! god!!!! ]

Okay. [ phew. ] Yeah. Hang out.

[ winces. god. ]

Sorry.

[ he hates thoughtshare actually! chrono really deals with stuff like that regularly? and here laurence's nightmares are mostly about madam or akihiko, now. much smaller problems, all things considered.

he is... not great at distractions, though. hm. ]

Tell me about Dran...? I know he's your friend, but you haven't really said much about him before.

It's okay.

[ not akihiko please i'm so upset

so yeah this isn't great!! at least memories were actual things that happened, not all the horrid hypotheticals his brain liked to make up. but. okay. dran. yeah he can talk about dran. ]

He's... the unit I brought over when-- y'know. [ that part's not great let's skip it. ] We didn't get to spend that much time together, physically. Dad took him to keep him safe for years, and then he returned to Cray when the Stride Gate closed. But we could communicate, sort of like... like the dreamsharing, actually. He's a bright little guy with a lot of responsibility. Because Gear Chronicle manage timespace, he works with his future self - Chronojet Dragon, who leads the whole clan.

[ nods. i don't get it all either. ]

Oh, and... the fact we're both "Chrono"? Just a coincidence. He thinks it's funny.

[ overthinking bad i understand this on an atomic level

but yes he nods. that connection. ]

That's how you guys became friends? Dreams and stuff? [ wild... so it's not totally new for him, huh? maybe it was a little less awful then. ] So it's not like you've really lost him, if you can do that.

[ that's... a good thing? maybe?

all the timespace stuff kind of makes his head spin... at least he's not along on that one. ] Guess that works with all your... possibility stuff, though. They'd be able to see that stuff, too, right?

...It is kind of funny. It's not really a common name.

When I brought him over, he was lost. Didn't know how to use his powers, and we were both kids. Even the few minutes we knew each other back then was enough to link us. First friends.

[ he smiles a little sadly, and shakes his head. ]

Nah, we can't do it anymore. The Stride Gate was enough to send him back after being stuck here, but the connection remained. Once we beat Gyze, the whole thing broke. Can't reach him the same way, now. [ ah. once again laurence gets it without him explaining. the smile becomes a little brighter. ] That's right, yeah. "Possibilities", Jet's kind of the main guy for that. Making sure the worst ones don't get the chance to happen.

[ a laugh, and he'll finally relax enough to lean against laurence again. ]

That's true. When I first started playing, a couple people made fun of it - that me and my cards had the same names. I used to get really embarrassed by it.

[ stop why is that cute you little nerds. ]

Ah... sorry. [ well now he feels bad!! damn!! gyze you suck. ] No wonder you miss him.

[ he thinks he can understand that in a weird sort of way - though it's obviously not the same between him and iris, at least there's a chance. it's got to be a lot harder for chrono, without that.

seeing him smile like that and laugh, though... it's a little bit of a relief. ]

Sounds like you guys were a good match. Right down to the name. [ nudge him. ] What's so embarrassing about that?

S'okay. As long as I keep playing Vanguard... his card's still here, and my image of him. It's not the same, but I can connect with him a little. He said we'll meet again somehow, and I believe that.

[ god laurence go get your boy. be friends(?!). you can do it you idiot

chrono ponders for a second, amused. ]

I was fourteen, man. Didn't realise it was friendly ribbing, not actual teasing. [ probably. a little of both, maybe. ] But yeah, a good match. Some fighters bond really strongly with their units because they're just good matches like that, even people who don't know about Cray.

The leader of Clan Space-Time would know best, right? So you will.

[ still no idea how this really works but surely they will meet again if that's the case? surely.

hmmms. ] You did say you had an attitude problem before.

It makes sense, though. If you're use something enough, you start to understand how it works better and all. Kind of like how I've gotten used to Penny, I guess.

[ we will, right?

he snickers, dipping his head sheepishly. ]

Yeah, that's right. I was pretty difficult back then. [ three whole years ago. ] Understanding's right. How the units work, what their personalities are like, all that's important. You and Penny are a pretty good example, actually. You guys work well together.

Edited 2025-03-26 15:53 (UTC)

[ definitely. ]

You still have your moments. [ teasing. ] But you just said some of them don't know about Cray. How could they make out personalities even when they're just cards?

[ glances over at penny where she's settled back in with his chao. ]

Didn't really have much of a choice, but I think she'd still prefer Iris.

Don't think you actually mind them, though. [ heh ] Ah, well, the "storyline" of what happens on Cray is still published...? Like in articles and novels to support the game. There's a family that's been monitoring the link for a long time, so I guess they supply the information to whoever from the Association is aware of stuff, and it's filtered to be fictionalised.

[ probably! he met a tatsunagi One Time and didn't ask. ]

...tell me about him? I've gotten a sense about him from some things, but you haven't said much directly.

Oh. So it's like that Titanic movie? Something real made into a story. Though I guess most of your world wouldn't know that's what it is...

[ keeping track of it all sounds like a nightmare all on its own. how the hell does chrono do it?

...hmmm. this question just kind of makes him sink a little more to the floor. ]

Well, he's an artist, obviously. And way too curious for his own good. That book on demiflora I have - we weren't supposed to read stuff like that, but somehow Iris found a copy of it when we were kids to learn about our powers and try new things with them.

[ back when i couldn't even open a portal. ]

The rules never stopped him from using his powers, either, and he got away with it because Madam is his mother. He was always so stubborn about it, too. [ huffs. that little idiot. ] It's probably how he made Penny. Almost every time I've seen him, he's been working on some new invention in his sketchbook - the last thing he did was make those boots he used to win this year's race.

turbo heaven 🌼 chrono

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