013 TEXT LIST TWO/SPAM

[deadliestviper]

Backdated to three days after the Overlook port.

[Locked to Friends (if she's ever told you anything personal, you're on here)]

That port was fucked up for everyone and it hit all of us hard. After going through that I know most of you aren't feeling up to par yet, but when I get anxious, I get antsy. I've laid low to lick my wounds long enough. For the next few hours I'll be playing pool and pretending everything's normal if you've got the energy or inclination to join me.

[Spam, Level 6]

[Rack the balls in the pyramid, set the cue-ball, chalk the cue evenly, line up the shot, break it; Beatrix repeats the pattern over and over again, sinking balls into the table's pockets before starting anew. It's not for practice or any particular love of the game, it's not even for fun. It's just that playing strikes that perfect balance of skilled focus and monotony that allows her to zone out, and the last thing she wanted to do right now was let her mind wander. It was already hard enough to push the images of Sarah and that thing in room 217's bathroom from the forefront of her mind – what she needed, wanted, was someone to talk to, distract her.

But no matter how deeply you repress it, you can't squelch a thought. So by all means, join her, but take care if you point out that she's humming "Love Me Tender."]

Comments

[ Spam ]

[deadliestviper]

And that's if we have something to go back to.

[She stands and moves over to him, laying a hand on his shoulder – reassuring, please let him see it as reassuring.] Hey. Look at me. Don't let this place break you, Ben. You're stronger than that.

Re: [ Spam ]

[warisart]

[Ben's eyes tick up when she moves, though he doesn't raise his head; he's wary but he doesn't move away nor react really at all when she touches him, though the muscles of his arm are tense beneath her hand.

He lets out a slow breath, doesn't smile even ironically.]

All due respect, you don't know me. I'm not the strong one. [That was Eva, and in the end, that didn't matter for her.]

[ Spam ]

[deadliestviper]

No, I don't. But I know you've made it this far. You're stronger than you think.

[ Spam ]

[warisart]

Perhaps. [It's not in him to argue, and especially not about this; it would involve giving away too much that he's not ready to, not yet. The irony that her evidence of his strength is that he's made it this far, when others insist he's died to get here, when he failed in his world and now he has to be retrained here, doesn't evade him.]

I would still argue the senselessness of the entire process.