Thirty Three Truffula Trees

[whichwayyoulean]

[Later tonight, one may find the peace of their evening disturbed by a horrible screeching sound permeating the journals. As if metal is meeting metal in a horrible, scraping doom. Accompanying the terrible screeching is a low thudum-thudum-thudum. This continues for about a minute before the Once-ler manages to grab hold of his journal, laughing nervously into the pages]

Sooo hey. Quick FYI. You guys might want to avoid the Laundry Room until tomorrow. Not that there's anything to worry about. Mostly.

Whoaaaah just stay in that corner of the room. Oh jeez you're getting Tide everywhere.

I might have experimentally given one of he tumble dryers legs. And then I was tinkering about in the back of it, just fooling around and I miiiiight have given it a teeny tiny slither of self awareness. Like the teeniest. Hardly anything, really.

[Screeeech. Thudum-thudum-thudum]

I think it's mad.

Comments

[whichwayyoulean]

Well, jee, thanks. That's comforting.

[gottaknockhard]

I wasn't expecting it to happen.

[whichwayyoulean]

You weren't expecting...what to happen?

[gottaknockhard]

Murder.

[whichwayyoulean]

Who's murdering anyone?!!!

[gottaknockhard]

[Comforting, yeah. Apparently they're not at the joking stage yet. (Spike is always in the joking stage, so it's hard for him to judge.)]

The dryer. ... I could put it out of its misery if you need help.

[whichwayyoulean]

[Spike he does not understand your sense of humour]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Okay that's suddenly a whole lot clearer.

Can we do it without killing it? I still kinda want to tinker.

[gottaknockhard]

Like tie it up?

[whichwayyoulean]

Sure, tie it up. That's work. Put a bit out of order sign on it.

[gottaknockhard]

I guess that wouldn't be too hard.

[If, you know, nobody hurries up and handles this before he gets over there.

Maybe if he walks slow.]

[whichwayyoulean]

Really? You'll help? Thanks man!

[gottaknockhard]

You can owe me one.

[And it really is just down the hall. Curiosity may work out in his favor.]

[whichwayyoulean]

You got it.

[The Once-ler is sitting on top of a washing machine, lanky legs pulled up as the dryer-creature scuttles about]

[gottaknockhard]

[Spike comes into the room like he's expecting a snake to strike him if he moves too quickly. But once he's in and has the door closed behind him, he's mostly just standing there and staring.]

... So which one is it? [Haha, see how he jokes before he gets mauled by a dryer.]

[whichwayyoulean]

[The Once-ler does not appreciate this humour right now]

Oh gee, I don't know. It's so hard to tell, what with all these dryers with legs and all.

[gottaknockhard]

[He sidesteps around the room, staying totally calm, in case sudden movements are a trigger point.]

Why didn't you just unplug it?

[whichwayyoulean]

Oh I don't know, maybe because it has me trapped on top of a washing machine?

[gottaknockhard]

[He needs to work on that reaction time. Spike just keeps going around the perimeter though, slowly getting closer.]

It's a good thing it doesn't have teeth.

[whichwayyoulean]

Not even I'm stupid enough to give the thing teeth.

...No wait, I should rephrase that.

[gottaknockhard]

[Pausing again, hands up, when he senses that the dryer might be onto him.]

People might doubt your intentions if that were the case.

[whichwayyoulean]

People are usually right to doubt my intentions. They get...sidetracked.

I think you're okay to take a run at it.

[gottaknockhard]

You don't say.

[It isn't clear which statement he's referring to, until a few seconds later when he makes a running dive for the power cord and yanks it from the socket -- which would have been perfect if the dryer didn't pick that moment to charge. He jerks backward just quick enough to avoid his arm getting crushed between the machine and the wall.

...]

Is it...?

[whichwayyoulean]

[Welp, that plan sure went sideways. The Once-ler blinks, staring at the mess of the wall]

Yeah, I'm fresh out of ideas now.

[gottaknockhard]

[He really can't tell if it's dead or stunned or... whatever. This is a weird problem to have.]

You might want to make a run for it.

[whichwayyoulean]

You don't have to tell me twice.

[He is REALLY GOOD at making a run for it. God bless his disproportionately long legs. He's making a leap for the door, halfway down the hallway, he remembers there as a guy in there]

Uhhhh....you ok?