Banging my head against the wall as I can't seem to get through to the bit I want to. Eventually, we will get to Raven. EVENTUALLY!


"Where have you been?!" Asked Dick, jumping up as Garfield came into the room carrying a potted plant.

Gar closed the door, put down the plant and ignored Dick's concerned tone. "Just been in the children's ward... Oh, Eddie's made some progress on that cast!"

"And, he's changing the subject..." Defeated, Dick sat back down in front of the large, old book.

There were so many questions that needed answering, and Gar thought now seemed like a good time to info dump on the new guy.

Vic had found a sturdier chair that could support his new mass, and had been occupying himself with writing. It was tricky with his new body, but it frustrated him less practising, then thinking he couldn't do it. He had stopped writing and looked over at the boy who had joined the table and was staring at him.

"OK. You have questions..." Gar began, cutting Vic off when he tried reply. "...but I'm not going to let you ask them."

"So... What?"
"What I mean is, I'm just going to- going to tell you the parts you need to know that I am comfortable sharing."

A snicker came from the other table.
With forced aggression Gar turned to look at Eddie, and said loudly- "Comfortable Comfortable Comfortable!"-causing Dick and Vic to join in the laughter. "I know I say it differently! Fact 1- I grew up in Kenya, and then spent time in The Republic of Congo. My accent is 'funny'. Believe me, people tell me enough."
"I'm sorry. You know we love you, Gar. But..." Dick smiled. "say algorithm."
"No! Parallelogram!" Eddied chimed in.
"Yeah, sure. Let me just..." With a grimace, he held his middle finger up to Dick. "Fuck your algorithms." and then did the same to Eddie. "Fuck your palraleloglrams!" causing all 4 of them to erupt in laughter and suggest words for Gar to masticate. Once it was calm, He continued with his serious talk.

"Um. Well, I guess I should tell you that... my parents died... and I was, um, I was... I was kidnapped... and... um... Fact 3! If I don't want to talk about something it's because it was really... really traumatic. Just don't, don't. Just change the subject. I guess fact 4: PTSD. Yeah. That's um, that's a thing. Also fact 5... Well... um... dissociative disorder... I- I- I am not going to hurt you. Don't believe the films. Please, please, please, don't trust what you have seen on the T.V. Also, please don't tell anyone! I-I gathered you might have … suspicions... I wanted to clear it up. Don't ask about it... It's, um, it's. It's confusing... Just... Fact, um, 6? Um... mania..." Gar chuckled uneasily. "Well, my brain has been fucked by the whole, trauma and shape shifting... and probably physical trauma too... and so I-I take all my meds to try and keep my mood balanced. So if I end up a hyperactive, no sleeping flirt, just roll with it. Also, if I, if I accidentally chop off a finger... or a hand... don't panic..."

Vic had been trying to follow the sporadic information he was being given, but kept ending up with more questions. "Woah, wait, what? How many times has that happened for you to need to tell me that?!"

"Oh, just, like, a couple times! Don't worry, I grow them back. Like a, like an axolotl. Fact 7, I spend a lot of time in science labs. Fact 8- I have a phobia of needles. They are probably related. Fact 9... what have I missed?"
"Your terrible memory-"

"Thanks, Dick. Yeah. I have a really bad memory, but it's the, um, the D.I.D... someone else gets the memories... Oh, also fact 9- I have a really good nose. I mean, not to look at, but it smells good! I'm part of the K.9 unit... That might be it... Though... if I act like someone... someone else... like what happened earlier, I have stuff in my sleeve pocket to help bring me back to the, um, the front. Like, so I'm in control. There's a bottle of jasmine oil, some dinosaurs, and the song from Friends can sometimes work... Just... Just don't freak out."

Gar watched as Vic absorbed the strange facts. He had decided to speak up because of Savanna, who had spent the past few hours showing him off to the other children and getting him to tell them about his illness. Gar hadn't mentioned the multiple personalities, but felt the precents of who he could now identify as Nalia. It was a distant sense of freedom and love from a part of their soul that hadn't experiences trauma. Slowly, Vic's face formed a small smile.

"Thank you... for trusting me..."
It was such a relief. Craig would be mad, but that was fine. He had seen David face a barrage of things he couldn't even comprehend, he could handle one young adult.
"Um. Thank you for … thank you for believing me... It is... scary... thinking people could just... could just think I'm crazy; making it up..."
"Oh, it is totally...unusual. And... really hard to get my head around. So I have no idea how hard it is for you going through it all. I just have one question, though... if you don't mind..."
"Um..."
"You don't have to answer it, if you don't want to..."
"Um, O.K... sure...Just ask it..."
"O.K... should I just... call you Garfield?"

"Oh..." Gar laughed nervously and blinked a bit. "I- I... Um... Oh... oh... hum..."

"Sorry! Just forget I asked!"

"No, no. I just. I don't know! I don't know... Oh... Lets just stick with Garfield. Oh, that is going to be a weird conversation to have... would I have to... tell you who I was? How would that go? Hi, right now I'm Garfield... later I might be joined by... or... replaced by... no, not ready. Garfield is fine! The body is Garfield, commonly hosted by Garfield!" He took some deep breaths. "You're wondering if I'm me, I- I can tell. I'm the one who's normally about... I'll let you know if I'm me, but I don't expect anyone else to introduce themselves any time soon, I don't think any of us are ready for that...Oh, God... O.K change of subject... um, um, um, Jillian! You'll probably here her name. So Fact... 10? Or something. She was my girlfriend, but she got held hostage by this guy, and is now in witness protection somewhere... So if you hang out with me you will probably... probably become a target. Oh, fuck."

David: Woah, what have you been up to?
Gar: I told him about all of this and that and stuff... something feels very bad though in me. I think it's... I think it's Craig...why isn't he here?
David: Nalia and Craig aren't really... compatible... Craig holds a lot of trauma, so when he front he makes sure Nalia is well away from it all. But when Nalia front, she wants Craig's trauma well away from her... otherwise you wouldn't be able to find the joys you get from your powers, or be able to talk so openly about what you go through... Nalia knows that you're very safe here.
"I need a breather. Hang on."

As Gar held his face and blinked at the table, he managed to get some coordination to write out a post-it. He then peeled it off and stuck it on his forehead.

Out of Order

Gar then mumbled "O.K, let me just compose myself..."
David: Sure, you're doing great. I'll just sit and hold down the fort, so to say.

The book of demonology was impossible for Dick to understand; there wasn't a word of English in it. Thankfully, Eddie had annotations throughout on scraps of paper. Some specific things stood out to him, such as the illustrations of a temple and those of a church, but other areas were like drawings from nightmares. Eddie was waiting for plaster to dry, so helped explain what he could to Dick.
"This is definitely the temple from my dream!"

He picked up the book and showed it to Vic, who wasn't as enthusiastic. "I mean, I guess it is?"
"It is! Gar, take a look!"
Garfield looked at the page, but shrugged.
"Don't you want to find out about Rachel? This is where she is! I'm certain of it!"
Nervously, Gar gulped. "Um, sorry to say but, you're talking to the wrong guy..."
"Is the right guy about? 'Cause someone in there knows what this this."
"The right guy is not available right now... We'll tell you when he's back."
From across the table, Eddie was smiling.

"Woah, dude, this is totally new for you guys. You've never actually told us when you were, like, switched before! I mean, you act different, but, just, dude! Who are you right now?"

That was an uncomfortable question for David to answer. After years of keeping a low profile and doing his job supporting Gar, it was crazy to think he could talk and act more like himself. "No, ya know, I don't think any of us are at this point, yet."

"Oh, that's totally cool, man. Just letting you know I'm here for yous Guys!"

Dick cleared his throat and pointed back to the book. "So, Eddie, what are your thoughts on all this?" The page was opened to something about Skath. There was an ominous poem, of sorts, translated on a napkin.

Pride fashioned from darkest hell
Pride gives access to him
he comes to claim and master

ending with human destruction

"That's disturbing..."
"Oh, totally! Skath is, like, this demon king guy who some people think will totally end life on earth!"

"Woah. That does not sound good." They all looked at Gar. "Well, it doesn't!"
"Dude's right. How do you know this Rachel girl isn't some kinda demon?" Suddenly, all eyes were on Eddie. "Well, it does seem kinda demony, you gottta admit! Creepy girl invading yoh dreams, wanting you to go to some spooky place? Whole thing screams horror movie."
It went quiet. No one had considered this could be a trap. Vic was still confused by everything. Superheroes, robots, and now a demon?! What next? An alien?! Under the post it note, Gar's face was knitted from thought. His hands were moving slightly, and as he bit his lip the odd shape of his jar was emphasised. Suddenly, he shook his head and sighed.
"I'm stuck here; they've gone AWOL. Three hosts, and I'm the one left in charge. You'd think we'de be able to … imagine everyone with a cell phone, or put out a tannoy announcement." He changed his voice to sound like a supermarket announcement. "Can Garfield please come to the front, that's Garfield to the front, thank you."
Tentatively, Vic spoke. "Do you... not want to be in charge?" It was a delicate question, but all three of them were curious.
He sighed. "If I'm out here, everyone else is going through something inside... I just wish I knew what..."


Next up- a hopefully quick inner-world visit. Wooh, deeper into the wonderful world of DID ! We get to meet Nalia! (also based on an actual dc character. who had no name so I had to pick one.) then it'll be ... Wednesday! in the story. The 20th of March. A very specific date, but i picked it carefully. Make sure I power through to the part you're waiting for! No need for all the emotions, I think I got them all out the way in the last 25 chapters!

if you know his character, should Eddie be an arcane? cause it partly makes sense... :L he's not well rounded in the comics...