One way of torture that doesn't involve blood [19/??? artefacts collected]

[sadfreezingbrit_archive]

[ Hello, mansion!

How do you feel about an accidental audio transmission featuring this song played on the guitar over and over and over and over again in various qualities ranging from sort-of-okay-ish over mediocre to physically painful?

I hope your answer is 'highly enthused', otherwise Philip's new hobby might not be as entertaining to you as it currently is to him. ]

Comments

3/3

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

...You can't miss something if you don't know it even existed in the first place.

[ As far as comforts go this one strikes Philip as weak at best, but at least it's true and... speaking from experience too. ]

1/3

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Funny that Philip thinks it's unsettling, because Dean thinks it's unsettling too. He's been covering up a lot for a long time, before he ever even came to the mansion, and the idea of not remembering anything really bothers him.

Dean would rather be able to have everything - good and bad - from his time in the mansion. Sure, he doesn't have his car, and his brother's a little off, and he's sleeping with another guy, but he has friends.

He stays quiet.]

2/3

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[It's an almost-normal life for somebody who's never spent more time than he had to with select individuals. Better to miss something that he once had than to never have it at all.

At least memories can keep you warm at night.]

...right, yeah. You're right.

3/3

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Dean does what he does best, though, and plasters on another smile because it's all he knows how to do in situations like this. Elbows braced on his knees, leaning forward, he avoids eye contact because he knows it's not convincing.]

Good point, man. I'll remember that. S'no wonder you were a teacher.

Re: 3/3

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ Philip exhales sharply, bringing Dean the abridged version of a Tch, yeah right. Because teaching was never his passion (but it's required when you want to tap into the research resources of a renowned university). And because that smile still has FAKE written all over it.

...But he'll take it, just as he'll take the compliment and the line of reasoning according to which Dean is at least feeling well enough to put up a front again. ]

So...

[ He stretches the word for all it's worth, because this better end in a good distraction. ]

Did you find a spot for our car yet? Because I've got the statue ready to sell.

[ He nods towards his multi-purpose book-and-DVDs-and-things shelf which also hosts the small statue he showed Dean over video a while ago. ]

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[What are you saying, this is the most genuine smile ever.]

...huh?

[Oh, right, right. Paying attention. Talking about things. Important things. Car-related things. Dean can dig that. Forcing himself back into the conversation and trying not to dwell on the whole you have no friends outside of this place bit, the smile widens.

Thanks for the distraction.]

Yeah! Yeah, there's a...a, um. Tool shed. A big tool shed on the right side of the house that's pretty much empty. Big enough to fit a car and all the stuff we'll need. We can padlock it if we have to.

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ Philip nods, adding a genuine smile to the mix. ]

Great.

[ Philip sure loves to padlock things. ♥

He stands up and throws Dean the statue. ]

You'll probably get a better bargain for it than I would.

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Catching it, the smile on his face turns crooked. Now you know that he actually means it.]

S'cause I'm not tryin' to buy crack candy with it, dude.

[Dean stands slowly, scratching at one of the little gemstones.]

I'll get the parts tomorrow, so I'll let you know when to start asking the closet for tools. We'll wait until the end to figure out what color to paint it, but keep it in mind 'til then.

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ Philip wants to ask if Dean didn't even try the candy, but since he's already standing up he just nods instead. ]

Sounds great.

[ He looks at the guitar. ]

...And nothing but Take Me Home, Country Roads until then.

[ Hard to say whether that's a promise or a threat though. ]

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Oh, Dean tried it, all right. Give him candy and he'll eat it. He just spent the event curled up on his bed, shivering. Good times.]

Thanks.

[Dude, as long as you don't touch that Creedence piece with a thirty-foot pole, Dean won't give a damn if you're playing Christmas songs. He looks down at the statue in his hands again, then back up at Philip.]

...I'll, uh. See you around, man.

[Aw, it's a much more genuine smile!]