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[mothmansplaining]

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"Stanford Pines. Leave a message."

Comments

[mothmansplaining]

Oh, I find it absolutely infuriating! But nobody listens to me. In the best case scenario, they nod and then go back to going about their business. Worst case, they think I haven't changed at all, and I'm just going to trap the entire Barge in their own nightmares again.

[It's one of the things he's missed, not having Bill around: not being the only one who feels like this.]

I'm not good at talking to people.

[tetractys]

YOU'RE GOOD AT OTHER THINGS.

[Bill actually gives a shit if Ford is feeling sad now? amazing, what a bar to clear]

I'M GOOD AT TALKING TO PEOPLE, BUT I'M NO GOOD AT TREATING THEM WELL. SHOULD HAVE BEEN A POLITICIAN!

[mothmansplaining]

[He blinks. Supportive Boyfriend Bill is a new look, and one Ford historically hasn't expected. It cheers him up enough to make him give a chuckle at the politician joke.

He reaches forward and shuts the laptop off, closing the screen with a click. Ford may have his frustrations, but he doesn't have to live with them alone anymore.]

Still, I'm glad you're back.

[tetractys]

ME TOO.

WE WEREN'T OFFICIALLY TOGETHER THAT LONG.. BUT UNOFFICIALLY IT'S BEEN A PRETTY LONG TIME!

[Look, even if Ford wasn't aware that Bill's been trying to date him for like 15 years, BILL is very aware of it and it colored those years for him a lot.]

[mothmansplaining]

[Pfffhahaha, oh, Bill.]

I still think those years don't count, because I had no idea you were flirting with me!

[He sobers.]

...but you've been very important to me for a very long time. It felt like just when I'd started to really want you in my life, I lost you.

[tetractys]

THEY WEREN'T THIS. BUT THEY WERE SOMETHING. FOR ME THEY WERE SOMETHING. NOT DATING! JUST SOMETHING.

[mothmansplaining]

[He grins, tilts his head.]

I can live with "something."

[tetractys]

IT WAS IMPORTANT! AND I DIDN'T KNOW HOW IMPORTANT UNTIL IT STOPPED, I GUESS.

[mothmansplaining]

[he's touched. Ford's expression goes soft, and he leans in for a short but quietly affectionate kiss.]

[tetractys]

[Bill kisses him back, hums happily.]

...I'M NOT GOING TO STOP TRYING TO TELL PEOPLE ABOUT THIS.

[mothmansplaining]

[He looks at Bill with happiness and gratitude, and also respect.]

Good! I'm glad to hear it. You're better at getting people to listen than me, although at least Rose seemed willing to accept the idea.

[He gets hold of one of Bill's hands and winds their fingers together.]

[tetractys]

[Ford gets a kiss on one of his fingertips.]

YOU DROPPED THAT ONE ON HER, HUH?

[mothmansplaining]

[The kiss makes Ford's shoulders relax, his body losing some of its tension.]

Uh-huh.

[A quick brush of his fingertip over Bill's eyelid.]

I like her! I really think she means well. Even though she's hurt thousands and thousands of sentient lifeforms.

[tetractys]

HEY, APPARENTLY SO HAS THE ADMIRAL.

[Dry.]

WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH HER AND JASPER, ANYWAY?

[He sees nothing wrong with pushing - if it's not for Bill to know Ford will just shut him down.]

[mothmansplaining]

Oof. They're a complicated pair. Rose was keeping a secret that undermines the entire Gem War! It was a bad situation all around, and Jasper got a particularly bad deal out of it. Poor gem -- she was distraught when Rose told her the truth.

[tetractys]

UH HUH.

THIS JUST GETS MORE COMPLICATED WHEN YOU DIG INTO IT, THEN?

[Sympathetic. It's kind of Ford's permanent problem now.]

[mothmansplaining]

I'm afraid so. But I've read her inmate file -- we went through it together, to make sure everything in it was accurate. So, unless there's something that's been left out for dramatic effect, there shouldn't be any more surprises.

[tetractys]

YEAH, BIG 'UNLESS.'

[mothmansplaining]

Have you heard of one being incomplete before?

[Good data to have.]

[tetractys]

NO. BUT, Y'KNOW, IT COVERS HER LIFETIME, RIGHT? WHAT ABOUT HER GOVERNMENT? OR HER KID?

[mothmansplaining]

We've gone over the Diamond regime, but it's true I don't know much about Steven.

[tetractys]

[Bill lapses into silence for a moment.]

SHOULD I BE WORRIED ABOUT YOU? HOW CLOSE IS SHE TO WHAT JASPER SAYS SHE IS?

[mothmansplaining]

[This!! This is so nice, being cared about and looked out for because he matters to Bill! Without having to try to navigate the added complicated factor of knowing at any second he could have to run damage control negotiations! Gosh. Ford's just very warm right now.]

Oh, don't worry about me, I'll be fine.

[sorry, he's distracted by how nice it feels to be confident in how much he matters here, and secure in the knowledge that Bill cares about this.]

What's Jasper saying, exactly?

[tetractys]

THAT SHE'S RUNNING SOME KIND OF CULT, I THINK!

THAT'S THE IMPLICATION, ANYWAY! IT'S HARD TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S TRUE AND WHAT'S JUST JASPER BEING NOT THAT BRIGHT!

[mothmansplaining]

[...it bothers him a little to hear Jasper put down like that. She's volatile and dangerous, but she also has feelings Ford understands. Ford wasn't that bright, either, for summoning something he had explicitly been told not to summon. But he's not going to choose now to stan for her, not going to derail the conversation.]

I doubt that's the case. She broke with an authoritarian regime that creates life-forms with a specific purpose in mind. Their existence is highly specialized, tightly controlled, and they reproduce by draining other planets of their resources, leading to the extinction of the native life. The Crystal Gems were a rebellion against the Diamonds, and from what Rose has told me, they all had their own reasons for joining up. I don't think it was coercion.