you are not a bad dog; you are not in trouble
you will not be punished for your muchness
not by me – with me, you will be loved
i will learn your names, all of them
even the one you don’t want anyone to say anymore
i won’t say it, but i’ll know because you want me to
you tell me because you don’t have the words to say
i trust you i don’t want to lose you i will give you all of me
and i listen because i know beyond words, that is how i say
i love you i like you it’s a delightful time to know all of you
La mascarada es un éxito rotundo. El evento inicial de la temporada transcurre con alegría, calma y solemnidad. Las damas se sienten aliviadas al atestiguar el exquisito comportamiento de les protagonistas de la noche y piensan en extender las felicitaciones a sus respectivas casas. No obstante, la reina parece tener otros planes cuando se levanta de golpe y sin anunciar sus intenciones.
—¡Su Majestad, Su Majestad!
Las mujeres persiguen a Rose II, quien no detiene su andar firme y elegante, calculando cada paso hasta su próximo objetivo.
—Empiezo a aburrirme, chicas. Yo quiero química, amor, pasión y hasta ahora no sucede nada.
Es la única explicación que reciben. Pasmadas, las damas retroceden en sus memorias para concluir que la reina tiene razón. En ediciones anteriores, el coqueteo se ha robado la escena en la primera hora de celebración y, esta vez, aún no hay miradas ni pestañeos con segundas intenciones.
—¿Ya se dieron cuenta? ¡Espabilen! Buscaré mi diamante, a ver si finalmente caen en cuenta de dónde están.
INFORMACIÓN OOC:
La reina caminará por el salón de baile en busca de su preciado diamante. Los personajes a los que se acercará serán elegidos al azar entre todos los que ambientaron sus starters en el salón.
Las intervenciones pueden ser implementadas en todos los threads que gusten. Si sus personajes no son seleccionados para hablar directamente con la reina, también pueden incluirlas. Por ejemplo: vieron a la reina caminar, la escucharon hablar o mirar a otro participante.
Las intervenciones empezarán a partir de hoy y culminarán el día jueves.
Cualquier duda, estamos a un mensaje de distancia.
“ I can't bring myself to tell anyone else, but ... it this feels like a betrayal. And what's worse is is that I did it to myself. ”
heads up for: story spoilers, mentions of death / suicide, the inevitable horror of coming back and blaming yourself for it.
it's a horrible thing, when death seems to tell you not just yet for the second time in as many days. The first time, it was after disembarking, when Lune stops him from pulling the trigger; the second time, there was no outside help. No oddly fortuitous intervention that kept him from dying at Renoir's hand, no grounding words of encouragement that would plant his feet back into reality. That's what makes it worse: he'd made peace with his end. The cliffs were the end of his road, and he'd be one more stepping stone in the trail of those that would go on without him. That's what makes it worse: when he wakes, sunlight feels like a betrayal.
it hurts to breathe, it hurts to move, and it hurts to even think. But he does manage to recognize red leave trees, golden light, and the scent of wood. When Gustave wakes again, everything hurts a little bit less and he's staring up at several Gestrals but the ones with a "closest eye" on him are three familiar "faces": Noco, Jerijeri and Karatom. Jerijeri explains it best: he would have moved on from the cliffs, headed further north with his wares, if it hadn't been for the barely moving human body at the mouth of a cliffside cave. It takes Gustave very little time to piece the story together after that, but he can't bring himself to be thankful. Not in the moment, anyway. There's proof of "treatment" in the empty vials of healing provisions scattered around his cot, bloody strips of cloth compress his midsection, and his uniform is a disastrous pile of cloth and gore. There's even some attempts at medicinal pastes in the form of an abandoned mortar and pestle. He asks to be left alone.
those who know Gustave know he suffers in silence, and prefers to grieve alone so he does. At first, it's hard to be grateful for having had his life saved by the Gestrals, even if they're not the problem. Something in him refused to die. He denied himself peace, no matter how ready he was for it, and the world did the rest. If anything, that sacrifice, however failed, must have given the rest of their Expedition time to leave. He remembers little, anyway, save for Maelle begging him to run. The third night he spends actually conscious at the Gestral village, he decides that, if nothing else, he'll continue. When one falls, we continue. In a way, one could also apply that to near - death and unwanted rebirth.
he speaks to Noco and Karatom the next morning, voicing his intent to leave and needing help with another way of crossing the sea. Gustave laments the obvious loss of his arm ... but somehow, it surprises him little to know that Noco and Karatom have him somewhat covered. Nights of convalescence weren't just his own: the two Gestrals couldn't not satisfy their curiosity regarding his arm, nonexistent as it may have been, and in return for aiding in the testing of the most Ultimate Sakapatate, Karatom gets to work on a new limb. Never thought a human would leave with a piece of a Sakapatate. It's the first time Gustave smiles in all of his second stay at the village, and somewhat gladly helps in his own reconstruction. By this time, Noco is gone, but there's no doubt they'll meet again.
Karatom and Gustave turn to Golgra for a bit of counsel. Esquie is long gone with the rest of the Expedition, so the only thing left to do is to head out with one of the merchants. Gestrals have their own way of navigating the Continent, and they've certainly managed without the help of a flying creature such as Esquie. The village "Chef" agrees, and Gustave is set to depart after one more day of rest and the final stages of tinkering with his new limb.
with his new arm finalized and tested, Gustave leaves the village behind on the towering backpack of a massive Gestral. He passes through the Forgotten Battlefield and continues heading north, though not without finding his own resting place. He doesn't hesitate to leave that arm behind. There's plenty of time to think as he travels, too, through the frigid slopes of the central mountains. He's been mourned, grieved, and buried and he feels like a ghost, returned to fill old wounds with salt. He could end it foolishly against a Nevron, but that would feel like an insult to the Gestrals that have helped him. There's no easy way out of grief, so Gustave presses on. He marvels at the frozen trains and thinks of Lune (how is she holding up? How badly is she pressing on to not think about her feelings?) when he meets the Grandis and they point him in the direction the Expedition left: towards old Lumiere.
it's whilst following Lune, Monoco and Sciel's trail that they reunite. It's never been so painful, physically and emotionally, to be embraced and celebrated and mourned again all at once. There's nausea in the pit of his stomach, roiling and churning like a storm, but that's much less important than finding Maelle ... and Verso. He hates facing Maelle like a revenant, with little to be done about than to first defend against Renoir. Noco's loss is horrifying: the 33rd's fate is to gain life and lose another in the process. A cycle of mortifying choices.
at camp, Gustave explains as he's able, but he can't get too far before the day's travails catch up with everyone. Another loss is a tough thing to process, and there's heartache to lay to rest. But he can't sleep, and neither can Maelle ... so they talk. They chuck rocks into the lake, and Gustave says he's sorry. What for? Except Maelle doesn't let him answer: they've had enough agony for one day.
Expedition 33 gains its sixth member in its hunt for the Axons.
if you're still here, you're a champ. Some of these details will be adjustable, depending on the thread / character / writer I'm working with, so consider this write - up a flexible guideline! (This post is gonna force me to retcon two threads I have going but that's okay, it be like that.) The follow - up to this will be essentially a redesign + reasoning behind Gustave's "new arm" but I leave you with this bit of knowledge: it's basically a deconstructed arquebus / musket. Yes, he gets to keep the gun part of his fighting style (except now it's better thanks to Karatom) and has a hidden bayonet (similar to the hidden blades the Sakapatate catapults counterattack with).
‘ nancy — look at me, ’ carter reaches forward to place her hands on nancy’s shoulders, eyes meeting hers with earnest and severity. carter can’t even begin to explain what had happened at steve’s party. all she knows is that barb was gone, and something had taken her. not someone — some thing. ‘ i believe you, ’ words are said slowly, pronunciated so that nancy would understand them. ‘ i have no idea what i saw, but i know i saw something crazy. so i believe you. now — what are we gonna do about it? ’ @hawkinsgenius.
and here’s where our story starts. you’ve pretty much got the gist of it from the plot drop, i’m not adding much NEW information, yet...but i figured i’d set the scene and let you know where things begin.
it’s a sunny day in woodstock when the store opens. who’s working that morning ? christian tibayan, shin eunbyul, chanel estrada, talia sayar, kc medina, and lex carter ( @crmsns, @silverbyuls, @chvnelfm, @taliasayar, @kcmedinas, @dirtbvgs . ) there’s some talk about how it’s been a few days since anyone has seen jerry around the store, and maybe it’s not unusual for him to go missing for a while but it’s starting to feel a little longer than usual. still, everyone opens and starts hanging out, the store continues its usual operations because they love the place. that’s when the phone rings. it’s actually kc who picks up the phone, says it was someone from FYE. everyone groans, knowing that the chain has been hounding jerry for months but he refuses to sell – and thank god. they love their small record shop, and corporate owners would mean that they’d probably crack down on things no one wants cracking down about. like not wearing uniforms and gratuitous smoke breaks, things that jerry has always been fine with.
they’re in the midst of this heated conversation, punctuated by how LUCKY they are to work for a boss who gives a shit, when the phone rings again. christian picks up this time, calm and collected. it’s the sheriff’s department, they’re asking about jerry, so that’s when christian shrugs his shoulders, says that jerry’s fine, he’s just in the back 'cause a new shipment came in. christian confirms that he’s seen jerry today, hangs up. it doesn’t even feel like a lie because jerry might as well be there, he’s probably just on a bender and he’ll be back in a couple days, but it’s better that word doesn’t get out about the fact that jerry isn’t always the one signing things in. the last thing they need is to give FYE an excuse to pry the place from their hands on some legal technicality – they sign things for jerry all the time when he’s not in. but kemal arslan ( @oofkemal ) stops by jerry’s place after work and there’s no sign of him, that’s when things start to feel weird. word slowly spreads throughout the next day that they’ve got to keep up the ruse until jerry turns up, because someone from a music chain seems to be calling the store every day biting at the heels. in a way, the lie is for jerry : they’re keeping his place afloat until he comes back.
it feels like the right thing to do, and they don’t have any real reason to believe he’s not going to turn up in a couple days. well, except for teddy wells ( @scnteria . ) he saw jerry get shot that night, a week ago now. it was the bad part of town, a couple blocks away from the mean-eyed cat. but teddy doesn’t know what happened after – he hasn’t seen any body. after all, he ran as fast as his legs could take him when it happened. so, maybe he can hold on to some hope like the rest of them.
the story starts now, a couple days after christian’s lie as word is starting to spread around the employees about keeping it up ! it’s jerry’s store, after all, and they’re gonna keep it open for him. you can set your interactions anywhere around woodstock, whatever makes sense – whether that’s a shift at work, around town, whatever else, but we are now OFFICIALLY OPEN FOR IC INTERACTIONS. welcome, everyone !
