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Ashers to Ashers, Dust to Dust (Gee I wonder who this is)
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Post by Asher on Apr 10, 2017 18:38:07 GMT
Why did Isaac have to point out the nerves? Sure, Asher wasn't being particularly delicate with the boy, but that gave him no reason to bring it up! Taking a deep breath, the redhead managed to loosen his grip, rather than cause further damage. "Nervous might be the wrong word," he grumbled under the breath.
And, seriously, what was Elliot on to come up with a response like that? "Smart? Didn't we just talk about teachers?" Asher picked for his best chance at a proper disagreement topic. The younger brother was just saying too much for the actor to be able process at once, under the stress of this entire idea. "And, that sounds like a lot of effort." Typical Asher, not wanting to even put effort into a date!
While eyes shifted to the silenced laughter, it seemed that Isaac was still enjoying the concept more than he should. Even if he was stuck playing butler for the whole thing! But, stuck on the entire idea, Asher couldn't even think of some sort of taunt or threat to throw at the boy, in the case that he agreed to it all.
It was a far more entertaining idea to think of Isaac being flung into a tree by a frustrated spirit. "Either invite me to watch it, or record it. I want to see what happens, if they work," the teen hummed, with a small smirk. Maybe that would lessen the sting of blind dates for him!
"Twelve hours of sleep sounds like a great plan," Asher agreed. It was probably pretty accurate to his own plans, after all! "I'm sure I can live without seeing the aliens again. They liked you better, anyway."
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Apr 11, 2017 5:49:38 GMT
Isaac let out a sigh of relief as Asher released what could only be described as his death grip. "So what would be the right word, then? Is it shy? I bet it's shy!" Isaac teased, a bright grin on his face. When Asher was a pest to him seven days out of the week, payback could be so sweet.
Asher seemed less shy and more in complete disagreement, though. He was even bringing up the teachers again! It was like he didn't even listen to Elliot the first time, the boy pouting a little at how his idea was being responded to. "Aw, come on. Grades are just one part of it, you know?" Elliot said, voice warm and reassuring. "Like, think of Isaac. He's really bad at grades, but he's one of the most clever and hard-working guys I know. That's smart in a way, right? Just because it doesn't have a silly number next to it doesn't mean it isn't a worthy kind of smart."
Briefly, Elliot scratched his chin, trying to think of examples. Like, what about all your managing? That takes a lot of organization, and you've gotta think on the fly a lot, and I imagine you've got a ton of menus to memorize too. That's a ton of smartness." Elliot seemed quite insistent on this point. Seemed like even after Asher ignoring him for a bit, Elliot was still just as much of an admirer as ever.
" 'Sides, if it feels like effort, that just shows she's not worth it," Isaac said. "I mean, heck, it's not always going to be easy, but when you're with the right one it's like all your troubles are melting away. It's way too nice to be stressful." Oh, hush, Isaac! You're just biased, you hopeless romantic.
Of course, if that was stressful for Asher, becoming Asher's personal sports blooper reel would've been horribly stressful for the bros. Nevertheless, Elliot didn't seem to mind the idea. "Sure thing!" he chirped, grin all too wide. "Maybe you can help us discover something we can't spot on our own. That'd be awesome, right?"
Nah. Twelve hours of sleep sounded awesome. At least Isaac and Asher could agree on that, even if they definitely didn't agree on who the aliens preferred. "If you call being put through a ton of pain being liked better, I think I've got an idea what kind of girls Elliot should find for you," Isaac remarked, snorting a little.
For Asher's sake, this walk really couldn't end soon enough.
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Post by Asher on Apr 16, 2017 3:57:45 GMT
If Isaac considered that Asher's deathgrip, he certainly didn't want to know how much worse it could get. With a must less enthusiastic expression than his coworker, the manager replied a low, "getting colder." Which, hopefully, Isaac would understand meant 'wrong', considering they were in a desert, so being literally cold was nearly impossible.
At least the younger brother was picking up on it being flat-out disagreement. Sure, he had listened to Elliot the first time, but that didn't mean it would sink in! Asher was dense, Elliot! It would take a lot more than an encouraging statement for him to actually get it set into his mind! "It's easier for you to say that." Flowers and sugar laced tone, while the actor maintained a relatively pleasant expression. Don't look bitter. Whatever you do, for Elliot, never look irritated. "Teachers talk to students with higher grades differently." It didn't help any that Asher hadn't really formed any relationships with his current teachers. He just didn't have time to be bothered with it!
"Memorizing and impromptu are what I do best," the redhead pointed out, tapping his fingers along Isaac's side. "I really wouldn't consider that smart, since I've done them since I was a kid." And, while sometimes his personality was childish, Asher certainly wasn't classified as a kid any more!
Eyes shifted to Isaac, with a smirk falling across his lips, "says the love-struck puppy," he teased, lightly. Unfortunately for the blonde, Asher likely wouldn't be taking much of his advice on anything. Let alone romance! That kid was way too deep into his relationship for Asher to feel anything aside from nausea from how sweet it was!
"I mean, they got all defensive when I mentioned you in the room over. I figured that meant they just really like you," the teen clarified, playfully. Or it really meant that they didn't want Asher trying to rescue Mr. Piss-Off. Which, was more probably, but didn't help the redhead's cause. Still, there was a slight cringe at the second part of the statement, and a small shake of the head. "I have can say for a fact, that aggressive women usually are not my type." Matchmaker did not sound like a fun time with Isaac having any helping hand in this!
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Apr 17, 2017 6:26:48 GMT
"Not me," Elliot said. He tried to look proud and resolute, but was there the slightest hint of guilt in his voice? "Just because someone has bigger numbers next to their name doesn't mean they should get more attention and care. I'm not gonna be that kind of teacher. When I'm in charge, everyone's getting the respect they deserve. And you deserve a ton of it!"
Isaac was strangely silent during Elliot's little speech.
Thankfully, Elliot was able to fill the void with more talking. "It's still smarts, though," he protested. "I mean, I studied really good since I was a kid. Does that mean studying isn't a smart people thing? I try to improvise like you and Isaac all the time, and it's never really worked. It's something you either know or learn, just like any other skill. And it deserves attention, seriously!" In the case of Elliot's cupid-driven fantasy land, it was attention from a cute guy or girl that could fawn over Asher all day long and also wasn't a 13 year old with big dreams.
At the love-struck puppy comment Isaac snapped out of his silence to scoff a bit. "Guilty as charged, and loving every minute of it," he said, a smirk on his face. "Sure, it ain't all sunshine and rainbows, but what is? You just gotta take the good with the bad, so long as the good's worth it and the bad isn't hurting anyone." Like Kuu! Mildly headache-inducing at worst, actually pretty cool at best. Certainly not Isaac's ideal conversational partner, but sure as hell not a factor that Isaac would let ruin his time with Maia. Hell, the more time he spent with her the more fond he became of the little guy, even if his insistence on borrowing his look was weird as hell.
Besides, Isaac did not look that girly, even if his hips don't lie.
"Psh, those guys get bent out of shape when you mention anything," Isaac continued, rolling his eyes a little. "At one point I mentioned pizza and they tried taking my head off with a hacksaw. Must've meant "brain surgery" in their beep language. Go figure."
If anyone needed brain surgery it was Elliot, who was still in la-la land over here. "Oh! Okay. Do you prefer sweet girls?" he asked, as if writing an imaginary questionnaire. "Oooh, oooh, or maybe you like teases. That's okay, a lot of people do. Hmmm, who else . . ."
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Post by Asher on Apr 19, 2017 6:18:40 GMT
Elliot was an awfully determined kid, wasn't he? Maintaining positive tone, Asher pointed out, "see? That's why you need to be a teacher." At least this would give Elliot something to think about. If only the ex-actor had some sort of idea what to do once his classes came to an end. Should he go back to acting? Or, even, could he? It was something to think about at a later time.
Yellow eyes slowly shifted to Isaac, wondering his input on his little brother's rambling. From what he could figure, the blonde couldn't be too agreeing with his sibling if nothing was coming out of his mouth.
"I think the difference is that smart people can study without falling asleep on their book," the teen joked. Okay, so it was only partially a joke. Some days Asher really couldn't figure out any of his homework and literally just slept on the material! But, hey, at least he learned that books make semi-acceptable pillows! "Some people are just better at other things. I wouldn't call that 'smart' or not." Improvisation didn't really take the kind of intelligence that school required, after all! There weren't grades on that kind of thing!
If there was a grade for 'adoring your girlfriend', at least Asher knew who would be top of the class. "And you sound like a relationship counselor," he chuckled, with a shake of his head. Good and bad and relationships and... This was way too much thinking for Asher right now!
Pizza sounded kind of good right now, though. "What, did you tell them you like pineapple on pizza, or something?" That was always a good way to get people 'offended' at parties, so why would it be any different in an alien lair?
Maybe Asher would prefer to be with the aliens, rather than listen to Elliot talk about significant others any further. Looking at Isaac, the teen whispered a, "what the heck is he even talking about?" Sweet? Teases? What? None of this made sense! He couldn't wait until they reached their destination so he could abandon this conversation entirely!
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Apr 19, 2017 6:39:24 GMT
Asher's encouragement never failed to get Elliot blushing. Now was just another one of those many instances. "I'll do my best for you," he said, thinking not just of Asher but also Isaac and everyone else who had been overlooked for their lack of the most obvious kinds of smarts. Really, he just couldn't understand it. They were two of the smartest people Elliot knew! Why did people treat them like they didn't know anything sometimes? He'd be frustrated, if he wasn't already too darn pleased with himself to properly process frustration.
At the sleep comment, Isaac found himself laughing a bit. "Well, yeah. But that's just because Elliot can never sleep," he teased. "Me? Well, a book's better than the floor, at least." Seriously, who the heck slept on the floor? Not even Isaac, who slept like he was buried alive by the Sandman, could pull something like that off.
The teasing was short-lived, though. Isaac was soon on the receiving end of it thanks to the relationship counselor comment, Elliot giggling slightly in response. "He's right, you do!" he chirped, Isaac blushing slightly from the indignity of it all. "I don't think it'd be a job for him, though. He'd get way too distracted rambling how cute he finds Maia's hair and stuff like that to actually help. We gotta find him a job with as little Maia in at as possible or he'll never work!"
Sad thing is, Elliot may have had a point there.
The mention of pineapple pizza got the two laughing again, this time not at each other but with each other. "Would you believe me if I said that's how Elliot and I unfuse?" he asked. "Turns out two brains can be very hard to pull apart, but even when merged they'll never agree on pizza toppings. Especially not pineapple."
"Which is the best topping, by the way," Elliot interjected.
"Over my dead body. Still, I didn't bring pineapple up to them. I just said the word and they started flipping out. Didn't take kindly to 'peanut oil' or 'cardboard,' either. They're really touchy," Isaac explained.
Of course, no amount of explaining would clarify what Elliot was talking about. "I think he's trying to find your type," Isaac said, eyebrow raised in curiosity. "I don't think he's gonna drop this hooking you up idea anytime soon, to be honest. So, uh, good luck there buddy." At least Isaac was honest about how screwed Asher was. When Elliot was determined about something, nothing short of the risk of death could stop him!
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Post by Asher on Apr 20, 2017 6:26:09 GMT
It wasn't like Elliot's teaching skills would make an impact for either Asher or Isaac, but it was good to give the kid a reason to be motivated. It was kind of frustrating that Elliot now had ideas for a career, where as Asher was at a moderate loss. Ah well. No point in worrying about it now. For a moment, the teen considered inquiring on Isaac's intent with his future, but decided it was probably best not to. Surely, the blonde couldn't be banking on an acting career, alone, right?
"What kind of person would sleep on the floor?" Willingly, at that! Asher much preferred a bed or some sort of seat. Maybe the young man should consider studying on the floor? Then, he'd be much less encouraged to nap on the books! At least, he did with the text books. Literature, not as much.
Furthering the talk of careers, Asher had to agree with the younger of the brothers. "Unless someone starts paying to hear about how much he likes his girlfriend," there was a pause, while the teen added a thoughtful, "or, maybe, you could make a living off of people paying you to stop talking about her?" Not that Asher could say that, at this moment, he would be a paying customer for such a service. It hadn't gotten that bad yet! But, what kind of job would guarantee that he couldn't fawn over his significant other in the process? Probably something fast-paced.
Do not suggest 'fast food' just because it has fast in the title, Asher!
Snickering, the redhead fell out of the train of thought. "Are you serious? You're supposed to know a lot about this kind of stuff!" Don't laugh at them! Do... not... Wait. "Can't you two just, I don't know, remember you're two totally different people and use that to separate?" Sure, they were blood and had similar things to agree upon, but they were also completely opposite in so many ways! They didn't even look alike!
"Have to side with Elliot, though. Pineapple on pizza is good." Maybe not the best, but hey, he wasn't going to bother arguing that part!
But, what the heck had Isaac been talking about to those aliens that involved pizza, cardboard, and peanut oil? Maybe they just wanted him to shut up! Rather than asking, because surely Asher didn't actually want to know, the teen decided to focus on Elliot's desire to be cupid. "I don't really have a type," the bewildered actor pointed out. It was really rude to rule out people that he didn't know, just because of some sort of very specific, unnecessary taste in a random trait, right? Either way, the redhead let out a groan. "Right." This was not going to be fun!
Either way, it seemed that the conversation would be ending soon, as the buildings were almost close enough to touch. Which also meant that Asher would be safe for at least the rest of the day, from Elliot's weird matchmaking skills! As soon as they went their separate ways, at least.
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Apr 20, 2017 17:07:10 GMT
"I know, right?" Isaac asked. "That's just begging to get stepped on. And the floor's filthy, too. Hell, even when I'm desperate I've got more sense than to pull off that crap." At least Asher seemed to agree, judging by his shocked reaction to Isaac even raising he possibility. It was reassuring seeing his boss actually drawing the line somewhere. Asher was way too much of a sleep fiend for comfort sometimes.
Wait, why was he concerned? Wasn't he supposed to be fed up with Asher? Ugh, he hated being an older brother sometimes. He was way too aware of things to worry about, even for total boneheads like Asher. Why couldn't he just stay mad at Asher and make all of this easier?
Elliot snickered at Asher's two job suggestions. "That second one's not gonna happen, you know," Elliot warned. "I don't even think he can help himself at this point. He's so head over heels he's doing backflips."
"Better than talking about Goku all the time," Isaac retorted.
"That's different!"
Before this could turn into a debate over Elliot's idol, Asher chimed in with a convenient change of topic. "That's way easier said than done," Elliot warned, considering Asher's two completely different people suggestion. "When we're fused, our brains get tied really tightly together. It's like we're one person with two trains of thought more than anything. When we're distressed we tend to fade in and out of control, which keeps us more independent, but if we're in sync it gets really hard to remember we're not the same person."
"Pizza topics are more like instincts," Isaac added. "The first things we jump to couldn't be more different. Way more of a reflex than 'we're actually two different people' is." At least there was a method to the bros' madness. "Trust me, though. That's way less annoying than the part where we get to skim each others' surface thoughts. But I guess that's what happens when we basically staple each others' brains together for a power-up."
"Digimon are weird, huh?" Elliot said, shrugging matter-of-factly. But liking pineapple on pizza wasn't! He pumped his fist in victory as Asher agreed with him.
Isaac rolling his eyes instead. "I can't understand how you guys like that junk," he said. "It's just these big, juicy chunks that break up the whole thing. And they practically drown the flavor."
"It's sweet and salty, bro!" Elliot argued. "You know, the best flavor combination? That's, like, science."
It was also science that Asher not having a type opened up his horizons massively. The grin on Elliot's face was unshakable. "Great! Oh, that means I have so many people for you to meet . . . " he said, trailing off as he went over all the candidates in his head. Poor Asher.
"Oh, hey, we're back at civilization," Isaac pointed out, hoping to cut this awkward moment short before it even started. "Can you put me down now?" It still burned the poor kid up that Asher had basically carried him bridal style through the entire desert. Couldn't it have at least been Maia instead?
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Post by Asher on Apr 21, 2017 4:54:31 GMT
"Once, I fell asleep while leaning on a wall. Haven't on the floor since I was a little kid, though." After all, little kids did not care about dirty floors or anything. Especially when they were prone to overexerting their tiny bodies! Asher, clearly, was not an exception to this. Then again, would it be any surprise? The redhead was constantly exhausting himself, even as an adult! Or, maybe it was just stress that exhausted him. The world was just too much effort.
Still, he was fully aware that someone would pay Isaac to stop talking, only to get maybe three minutes out of the payment. "Just," the teen rolled his eyes at the thought, "don't let him do any actual backflips." Isaac doing a backflip didn't sound like the most graceful thing in the world.
In fact, it sounded kind of like a concussion or a cracked open head.
Asher was definitely glad he didn't have someone to fuse with him, though. Reading his surface thoughts, and being stuck in a body together? No, thank you! Never gonna happen! "Sounds like a headache," he pointed out. But, how did they find that pizza toppings was the golden topic for turning into separate entities? That sounded like a lot of effort.
At least the thought of pizza, itself, was not effort. "And it stops the pizza from being too dry." How was there any going wrong with pineapple? Isaac had to have something wrong with him!
Just like there was something wrong with the grin on Elliot's face. Oh no. "You know, suddenly, I feel like I'm very picky about who I date." It was too late to change anyone's mind on this, Asher! Just give up!
With a small smirk falling across his lips, Asher tightened his grip slightly on Isaac's shoulders, while immediately pulling his hand out from under the boys legs. What would ensue would surely feel like the boy was being literally dropped. Lucky for Isaac, Asher wasn't that terrible of a person. Using the arm wrapped around the boy's upper body, he planned to stop him from falling if the brother didn't catch himself first. Isaac couldn't lack that much grace, though, could he?
"Do you two think you'll be fine from here?" After all, Asher just wanted to go home, and escape these awkward conversations!
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Apr 21, 2017 5:19:40 GMT
"A . . . wall?" Isaac blinked a few times, trying to process what he had just heard. That involved standing. And leaning against something just as hard as a floor. At least on a floor, you were lying down! Imagining his head slowly thudding against the drywall was not very pleasant for Isaac. What if he slipped and bashed his head right into the wall? That'd hurt like hell. "Not gonna lie? I really want to know how you pulled that one off."
At mention of actual backflips, Elliot smiled somewhat sheepishly. "He's not bad at them anymore, at least," he offered. "Okay, so he can only stick the landing as Yasyamon right now. But he's been working from time to time to try and pull it off regularly, too. I think all this Digital World stuff's bringing back his parkour phase a bit."
Then again, the Digital World brought a lot to the bros' minds. Like fusing! "Oh, major headache," Isaac said. "Trust me, we don't like doing it unless we need to. But when we tell each other basically anything anyway, it's not like we've got much to hide." Except Isaac's knowledge about his true parentage. And Elliot's major crush on Asher. And all the other stuff they tried to hide from each other. Okay, so it wasn't perfect. But it worked!
"We look pretty cool when we fuse, too," Elliot helpfully pointed out. ArmedCommandermon looked like a total action hero, and Dualdramon looked like it slithered right out of Isaac's monster manual. They were badass!
Much more badass than squabbling over something as dumb as pizza, at least. "How the hell is your pizza drying out that quick?" Isaac asked. "Besides, I'd rather have dry pizza than sweet pizza. Pizza's about the meats, not the sweets. Veggies too, but not syrupy fruit."
"Tomatoes are a fruit."
"I swear to god, Elliot, if you don't knock it off I'm turning this Asher around," Isaac grumbled. Alien torture would've been preferable to this!
Torture was also exactly what Elliot had planned for Asher. He seemed to miss how increasingly obvious the older boy's attempts at dodging these blind dates were, instead continuing to prattle on obliviously. "That's why I just have to find you someone really special," Elliot said. "Someone who'll be nice to you. And treat you right. And cook you good food. And sit by your bed when you're sick. And throw you parties for no reason. And . . ." Elliot just kept going on and on, slowly fading into the background as Isaac tried to tune him out. Would Asher do the same?
Nah. He'd just drop Isaac like a sack of potatoes. Isaac threw out his arms to catch himself, shooting a quick glare at Asher. "Gee, thanks," he grumbled, glad he wasn't at least being swept up in Asher's arms anymore. He rose to his full height, dusting himself off slightly. "I think we're good now. Why? Aren't you getting on the same train as us?" Isaac swore on his life, if it was freaking Worm again . . .
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Post by Asher on Apr 21, 2017 6:31:42 GMT
With a shrug, Asher flashed a grin. "It's a secret!" Maybe, Isaac would end up seeing it one day in the cafe. Especially as of late, it felt like he was tired no matter where he went! Not that something like being tired stopped him from doing fifty things in one day! He'd just make up for it by passing out after he got home tonight!
"And I'm sure I'm not bad at breaking concrete walls," the spirit user quipped, "as long as I'm using Kinkakumon." Utilizing your spirits to do the work for you doesn't count as doing it! He could say the same for flying, but only as Yatagaramon!
Remaining quiet at Isaac's next comment, Asher pretending to be mulling over the concept of a shared brain. Instead, other words had caught his interest. Wouldn't it be nice to have a sibling to share all of this with? The burden of his thoughts were his alone, where he had once shared everything with his sister. Did she do the same for him? The redhead wanted to think so, but Piper likely didn't need the same emotional line that he did.
What would she do, if she knew that their cat could talk?
This thought pattern continued through the bickering of pizza toppings, until he heard his name mentioned. "Hm? What? Do you want to see if the aliens like pineapple pizza, too?" There was no way he was turning around now! They were finally someplace moderately safe looking!
He may have well stayed in his thoughts, though, as he found himself completely lost at Elliot's ramble. Again, he found himself shooting an alarmed and confused expression to Isaac. Sit by his bed? What? This kid was weird. Maybe it was better to just stop listening for the time being.
Even when dropped, Asher kept fingers on Isaac's shoulder to prevent him from hitting the ground too hard. Surely, Isaac hadn't noticed this, from his reaction. With a final tap against the boy's arm, the actor smiled. "Any time!" Or not! Really, definitely not! "I have to find Whiskers before I can go home, remember?" It was surprising that Asher would even think of that! "And, maybe some coffee." Falling asleep on the talkative trains sucked. And it just felt weird to doze off inside of a living creature, anyway.
Still, he took a few steps away from the duo, before giving a wave. "And, you guys attract terrible trains!" Worm was the last train he wanted to deal with right now! "So, since you're good," he started, "I'll just see you both later. Bye!"
Turning away from the boys, the teen shoved his hands in his pockets and wandered off to see if any place in this town had caffeine. At least this was a far better exit than their last encounter!
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Apr 21, 2017 6:40:23 GMT
"Pick up a hammer and give the wall a few swings as a human, and then we can talk," Isaac said, shrugging. "I don't know how it all works, but it's like I still know how to do it. Just gotta get the timing right as me. Maybe get the right muscles for it, too." Muscle memory could only take you so far when your body was insufficient.
Asher didn't seem to be listening anymore, though. In fact, he seemed completely lost what the bros had been saying. Wait, no. He wasn't even looking at Elliot as he rambled. If anything, Asher just seemed lost in his own thoughts. Isaac considered asking him if he was okay, but it didn't seem like Asher was in any mood to listen. Heck, he just seemed to want to get out of here.
The feeling was pretty mutual. As much as Isaac insisted he was good to walk alone, he still looked the slightest bit unsteady on his feet. Even Elliot, light sleeper extraordinaire, was stifling a yawn. The two were a little surprised to hear that Asher had brought Whiskers all the way here, but before either of them could ask to help he was already making a point of walking far, far away from them. With that matter settled, they waved.
"See you later," Isaac said.
"Keep safe!" Elliot added.
Once Asher was gone, the two turned to head back to the train station. Today, they would have a lot to talk about.
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