@usb-kord.bsky.social
Ted Kord / Blue Beetle / #DCRP 30 / MDNI / A #Vague idea
He holds out his hand.
"After this, I'll work on ordering dinner, getting out some blankets, anything you want!"
He slides the ring on carefully.
He takes another ring out of his pocket. It's made of blue apatite.
He smiles and hands it to him.
"Could you put mine on too?"
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He brings Esme his real ring.
He's grinning.
It's much nicer than the one he showed him virtually.
"This is yours."
Ted removes his goggles.
He stretches out.
(It's always a little odd going back to reality; depending on what he was doing in there, some of the physical sensations disappear immediately. Some stay.)
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"That sounds nice."
Ted shows him how to leave.
It's similar to the process of changing things inside the VR.
Wait for the blue circle, think about leaving, and then click "yes" on the window that appears.
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"You're really important to me, so I promise to continue doing everything I can for you."
He holds him close again.
Although the sensation of sleeping properly would last for as long as they stayed inside this VR, as soon as they leave, they're back to feeling like they slept upright on a chair all night.
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He kisses him.
When he's done, he makes a small crown and places it on him.
"When you're ready to leave, let me know. We can stay as long as you want, we just can't sleep in here. It's not as comfortable as sleeping in the other VR."
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He has a huge smile on his face.
"...Want to repeat that last part? I heard everything loud and clear, I just want to hear it again."
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He gets him a box of tissues.
He has a butterfly bring it to him.
He leans against him.
"You started asking me to marry you long before I ever asked you. I know.
I just wanted to be sure. I wanted to give you enough time to understand everything. To understand what our life together would be like."
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He holds him.
"Take your time, Esme. It's okay.
I'm only calm because I wasn't before."
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Ted is down on one knee.
He's holding an open ring box.
"It's not the real ring I bought you, but I didn't want to wait to ask."
He smiles.
"Will you marry me?"
The room is simple.
Compared to everywhere else they've been in the game, this place feels the most real.
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He takes both of his hands.
"No matter what happens...thank you."
He kisses his cheek and fades.
A door appears at the end of the hall.
"I talk through my inventions. Sometimes, it's embarrassing how much they talk for me.
I knew I would mess up how I wanted this to go, so I created something that would speak in ways that I couldn't.
Something that could give you joy no matter what."
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He flips through different moments they've shared.
"And then I'll share the right moment with you, and I remember that I can change again."
He quickly moves to another painting.
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He walks over to a different painting.
It's Esme bumping into him.
"And I know that's sometimes hard.
You might be waiting for things that I don't do or can't feel or...I don't know, I worry all the time that I'm missing more than I think I am."
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He touches it again.
A different cave.
"I haven't been myself for a very long time."
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"You know that you're important to me, but I'm not sure you know how much you've changed my life."
He touches the first painting.
A cave appears.
"After being trapped for several months, I changed."
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"For everything!"
Hologram Ted touches one of the paintings. All of the paintings change.
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He takes Esme's hand and kisses it.
"I wanted to thank you."
"Sorry for worrying you.
Before I get to...y'know, the point..."
He returns to the painting.
A version of Ted that's clearly a hologram appears.
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Ted leans out of the first painting and takes all of the blue apatite gently.
"Hi again."
He converts them to rhodonite and places one in Esme's hands.
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The room around Esme turns into a museum hallway. There are empty paintings everywhere.
The lights turn on, and each one becomes a different Ted.
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One final deep breath.
"You can give them to me."
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When he's ready to control the screen again, he takes the same pose as his fake self and then turns the fake version off.
It's almost seamless.
Soon enough, he's full of resolve again.
He sits up and gives himself a mirror.
He makes himself less red.
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He rolls back and forth across the floor of the room he's in.
It's not the best method to get himself together, but it's the method that feels like it will work the fastest.
And it does!
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"We could."
Ted slips back into the screen.
The screen shows Ted relaxing, taking deep breaths, appearing to calm down.
Real Ted is in a room yelling.
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