piratejournal | [voice, private to Dave Strider] backdated to July 8th

I don't think we have any cats to kill them either. Shit, do you think this is like... the era of the black plague? I hope we don't have any rats.

[He isn't really as worried about it as he sounds though. Dave hasn't seen any rats since he got here. The first mate usually keeps things pretty clean.]

You can come bug me right now. Seriously. Not like I've got anything better to do but sit here and talk your ear off. You might regret it though. Like, I don't know how sturdy shark ears are compared to human ears but I'm pretty sure my monologues have left people bleeding before.

[He's just kidding. But seriously, Dave will talk forever as long as someone's there to listen.]

[Thash has a lot of patience with listening, so thats just fine. He's just grateful to have people to talk to and listen to now. He's sick of living by himself and having no one around to interact with in a friendly way]

Well, alright, I might as well.

[so he did. He went and hung out with Dave and talked a little while, trying to distract him from missing Grell. Later on, a couple of days after they reunite with Grell, Thash decided to come 'bug' him again. He was sure Dave must be happier now that they've got Grell back but still hadn't seen him come out onto the island much besides to greet her. He just wanted to make sure he's doing ok and chat a bit. He knocked on his door lightly]

'Ey Captain Strider, you in there?

[hed keep calling him than unless asked otherwise. He thought it was kind of funny at this point, more like a humorous nickname than a title]

[It doesn't really count as "bugging" him. Dave is more than happy to talk to Thash any time. In fact, it's probably better for him if people interrupt his solitude every now and then. He is a lot happier now that Grell's back though, and it shows. Even the tone of his voice sounds more upbeat.]

Yeah, I'm here. Come in.

[The door is open. Thash should be able to walk in without any trouble.]

[Thash came in with a smile, glad to hear Dave's voice with a happy tone.]

Hey! How's it goin'? Nice to see you in a good mood, heh... I had a feeling Grell would be back

Okay, you win this time. But I swear most of the people I knew who disappeared stayed gone.

[Dave says it with a smile on his face. He's happy to be wrong for once.]

Don't worry, I believe ya. Just in the short time I've been here I've heard stories of people disappearing without explanation... like that lady and demon guy we had on our crew. At this point, I don't think they're coming back.

[He just mentioned it as an observation though; his voice not implying any particular concern]

It does make me wonder what that Davy Jones guy is playing at... but whatever, that's not something we can figure out by talking about it here. I'm more interested in you and Grell... [He smirked a bit] since you said it's a guy thing to talk about women and all. Is she your girlfriend now?

Wow, rude. You can't just go snooping into someone else's love life.

[It's not like Dave actually minds, though he hates being put on the spot about it. He's awkward when it comes to relationships.]

Whatever you want to call it. We're going steady and everything. We are about as monogamous as Robin Thicke and Paula Patton, except without Blurred Lines, cheating, or the divorce.

[he blinked a few times, his head titling. Whoops...he'd been surprised how close Dave had implied they were before, but apparently they weren't good enough buddies to talk about stuff like that]

Uh...my bad. You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to. You're right, it was nosy....

[also Dave, as awkward as you are, you're probably not as bad as a shark guy who's only ever had one girlfriend his entire life before coming here. Thash is awkward to the max. But he'd though even hard subjects might be fun to talk about with Dave...oh well]

That's....great to hear though? I dunno who those people are haha but steady's a good thing in my opinion. [yeah...steady without that other stuff of course]

[Thash looks confused. Oh well. That's the price Dave pays for being awesome. Some people just don't get the irony.]

No, it's cool. I was just playing with you, bro.

[And since he doesn't want to explain the references he just made he's just going to keep making weird metaphors.]

We are as steady as a brick house. As committed as Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson were to their comdey routines. She's my forever girl.

Oh, ok... [so he was kidding? Wow, Thash knew he was bad at reading social signals but it's especially hard with Dave. Well, maybe the longer he spends wth him, the better he'll get at it]

[again, he could only laugh and shake his head a bit in clueless amusement at all those names Dave kept throwing out. They must be very famous people where he's from]

Steady and committed forever huh? That's awesome... I'm jealous, heh. Commitment in a relationship is huge for me, I've found. Sometimes I feel like I expect too much, though.

[It can be difficult to tell what Dave means, even for people who've known him his entire life.]

Something like that.

[He doesn't have any idea how long their relationship will last. Most of his haven't lasted very long. Dave cares for Grell a lot more than most of the people he's dated though. He wants it to last.]

What do you expect?

Well...I guess it's more of a stubborn hope than an expectation. Honestly what I've always expected Is that I'd stay single, hahah... Not a lot of women look my way.

But what I hope for is....well.... [he scratched the back of his head, embarrassed] to marry I guess. Or 'mate for life' as some call it. To have one woman to grow old with....to be loyal to and who will be loyal to me. And, y'know....if she wants 'em, kids would be cool eventually.

...I wonder that's expecting a lot though, especially for a guy like me. I wonder if I should settle for something else...

[although he hadn't gone into detail, it almost sounded like he was currently in a position to accept something of that nature]

I hear you. Never thought I would be the type to settle down.

[Though in his case it isn't because women don't look his way. Plenty of them did, but most of them only wanted him for his fame and money. It's just one of the burdens he has to bare because he's a celebrity.]

That's a good goal and I don't think you should settle for anything else. If you know what you want then go find it. You won't be happy if you settle for anything less.

[he looked at Dave a moment, then nodded slowly] ...I guess you're right. As dumb as it is for me to pass up anything, I think I wouldn't be happy if I didn't go for that goal.

[although he looked like some concern was still on his mind]

What if um...theoretically, your goals didn't match up with your partners'? And you have a hard time making them happy while keeping to your own goal? Is there a way for that to work? Or is it just doomed to end...

It's impossible to have all the same goals as someone else because we're all different. So I don't think it's doomed. It's better to try to work things out. Maybe you can if the other person will compromise with you. Some people don't want to though.

[It's not like Dave can talk. He's never had a lasting relationship.]

It's doomed if someone gives up. You gotta have two people to make a relationship work. One can't do it alone.

[his expression turns gradually hopeful at Dave's words. Being the pessimist that he was, he hadn't been expecting to hear that...he'd been expecting to hear it was pointless to try to work through things. But with the scant experience he had in this department, he was ready to believe Dave despite the unexpectedness of what he said]

Really? Then I guess as long as both sides are willing to compromise a little, things can work...no way are we gonna give up easily.

....um, theoretically.

[pff, at this point he's fooling himself. Dave has probably picked up on the fact that he's in a relationship by now]

[Dave isn't the best at relationships, but he doesn't just give up on people. He usually sticks around long after other have given up on him, actually. He likes to believe that most relationships can work even though a lot of his haven't.]

Right. You gotta give in a little sometimes, but you shouldn't be the only one doing it 'cause that's bad. Relationships take a lot of work. They don't just happen.

[Thash's romantic life is the last thing on Dave's mind. He's pretty preoccupied with his own past and trying not to sound like an idiot.]

[He nodded thoughtfully, thinking that sounded reasonable. And he was right... already Thash had found it wasn't easy]

Yeah, guess you're right... it's worth it though, huh? You sound like you've had quite a few of them.

The thing about being a celebrity is that everyone wants to get in your pants. Sometimes it's hard to tell which ones care and which ones are just there for fortune and fame.

[And most of them were form the second group. It just happens.]

Oh... never thought about that. That's gotta suck. Well, that's a good thing about Grell I guess... she sure as heck doesn't seem like the type to care about that kinda stuff.

...Just how famous are you, anyway?

I don't think she has any idea how famous I was. Everybody knew my name. I was as big as Mel Gibson. Almost as hated too, even though I'm not a bigot.

[That gets him thinking though, because it's been different since he came here.]

Most people here don't have a clue, but maybe that's a good thing. I can go places without being mobbed, stalked, or followed by the paparazzi. I can hang out in public without bodyguards or an escort. Fuck, no one has even asked for my autograph.

I thought I would miss all that, but I don't. I just miss the people I used to care about.

Wow...sounds like kinda a hassle. Why did people hate you though? [he had no idea who Mel Gibson was of course, but by the way Dave had said he was both famous and hated kinda made him sound like an infamous criminal or something. Didn't seem likely] And yeah, I really like most of the ways that this world is different from mine...but there's only one person I miss, so it's probably harder for you if you have a lot of people at home you love.

Sometimes it's because they took my ironic sense of humor too literally. You can't take irony literally, that's not how it works. There are offensive elements in my movies because there are offensive things in our culture. I don't shy away from the word "faggot" because people use it all the time and I want them to realize it's fucking stupid. I have a token black character in my movies because everybody in Hollywood does and it's insulting. I use all kinds of degrading terms for women because society views them as sexual objects and it's wrong. If you can't take a joke don't watch my movies.

[That sure was a rant Dave didn't even intend to embark on, but now that he's started he might as well finish.]

The world I come from is fucked up, but there were people in it who were okay. I don't know. They're probably all dead now. My world wasn't a nice place to live, but it was home.

[with his own very limited cultural exposure Thash didn't understand much of what Dave was talking about, but he understood the tone of frustration, and the bit about females being viewed as objects]

Yeah, that crap pisses me off too. I got treated badly for a lot of my life... Disrespected, belittled, even bought and sold.... So it burns me to see anyone else treated that way and it seems like rude guys do that to women a lot.

[he was glad to hear Dave's views on that matched his own. He'd always felt like that might be a barrier to him being friends with other guys, but at least that wasn't the case here]

At least you knew some good people...hopefully they're not all dead. Maybe if and when you get back, not much time will have passed? Sounds like time can flow differently in different worlds from what I've heard.

[It isn't often Dave gets up on a high horse about it. Usually he just leaves his movies up to interpretation, but since they aren't here and Thash can't see them he sort of has to explain himself.]

The society I grew up in idolizes things that are really fucking stupid. Rap culture is totally degrading to women and guys talk about drug use, killing people, and how big their dicks are. Like... I love rap, but I don't love the attitude. Using music to act like you're all that and a bag of chips and everyone else is worthless is just dumb.

And I know I come off that way, like I think I'm the shit. Because I am. I'm fucking awesome, but I don't think I'm better than anyone else. A dude who's truly confident doesn't have to put other people down to know that he's cool. He just is.

[Dave gets so sidetracked that he forgets to reply to the last part of what Thash said. He's pretty sure everyone he cared about is dead anyway. It wouldn't do any good to talk about it.]

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Time update to the 11th of Aug or so

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