The note was the last straw. It was the jape that tipped the prankster's gambit so far in Davesprite's favor that his douche-cup overflowed and drowned the dam of friendly tolerance. John had made an effort to be friendly to that feathery asshole, to treat him as he would his best bro, since he basically was his best bro, but between Davesprite's breakup with Jade and that fucking note, all that was over.
As John yelled at Davesprite's smug, watermarked face in the sky (or so he liked to imagine), he mourned the loss of a friend he never had. Sure, Dave was his friend, but that was the real Dave. The sprite Dave was a fake Dave, similar enough to fool everyone into thinking he was the same old Dave but ohhh no. He had even tricked John for a little while, just added fuel for the prankster gambit's fiery takeoff into the atmosphere, never to return.
At this point, there was nothing left for them but vengeance and mixed metaphors.
"Where did I even put my stupid strife deck?!" John continued his rant. "Jade, when was the last time you saw me use my strife deck? Ugh, how did I even misplace that thing?"
"I don't remember, John." Jade rolled her eyes. "And even if I did, I don't think it would be a good idea to tell you. You're overreacting to a dumb prank and you'll do something stupid."
"I wouldn't be doing something stupid! I would be doing what's right! It would be a totally suitable and justifiable act of retaliation!"
"Retaliation." Jade seemed unconvinced.
"Exactly!" John paused for a moment to think. "Wait a sec… Maybe going at him with a hammer isn't the best way to go about this."
Jade sighed in relief. "Good. I was getting worried for a second. Now let's just… watch another movie or something, maybe something you'll enjoy more. You still like Ghostbusters, right? Because I could watch that again if you want!"
But John was lost in thought. "Yeah, leaving notes and weird comics for him in return, like his dead bro would have is a much better option! That'll really get him going."
Jade stared at her ectobrother in astonishment. He had been in a bad mood for a while, and it was kind of understandable, but now he was going completely off the deep end. She wanted to go back inside to spare her own mood, but she was honestly afraid to.
Jade's continued presence barely even registered with John. He was too busy plotting a circuitous path to grabbing Davesprite's attention and continuing this feud. He'd rather be chilling with the real Dave or working on that quest in LOWAS, but at least it was something to do. Actually, he had the strange feeling that he was going to enjoy this. Yes, maybe he would wipe that smug smirk off that douchebird's frustratingly nice-looking face and enjoy every second of it. Soon, Davesprite would be the one screaming John's name in anger. He would have that tantalizing ghost butt of his served to him before the year was up, and if the rivalry was two-sided, then so much the better. It wouldn't be interesting at all if the work was all one-sided, and John was quite certain that the hatred was reciprocated. It was a hatred that seemed destined to happen, to thrive as a glorious rivalry.
As soon as John realized why his train of thought seemed familiar, he expected to be overwhelmed by disgust and second thoughts. But he knew how he felt and he was oddly at peace with it.
John Egbert was going to woo himself a kismesis and he didn't even care.