week 4

[stagemanagers]

[Another week, and two more dead. King Richard and Red are both gone, and once again, it was through nothing more than an accident in the heat of the moment. Maybe if you all stay calm and collected, nothing bad will happen again?

Well, maybe not.

When you wake on Sunday, you'll find that you've recovered another one of those memories - or had another dream, if you still wanna be in denial about it. The grounds remain as they are, but this time, the door blocking the stairwell has been unsealed. You can now venture up to the second floor! This is the second time that's happened; it's almost as if you get more space every time someone dies. Or maybe the whole place just seems quieter.]

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday


(( Welcome to Week 4! Please remember to submit your AC and your memory regains, as well as your coins! You can also still contact the Phantom. ))

Comments

[madgiganticfeelings]

[Hey everyone! If you heard that weird, pissed off Phantom announcement and were confused... unfortunately, two of the people who would be most likely to explain aren't really in the mood for talking, at first. When Stephen transports Jeremy to his room, Christine stays by his side non-stop. She does curl up with a mystery novel or two from the library in a chair, but she's pretty sure she's been rereading the same paragraphs over and over and confusing the name of the culprit for the name of the detective. You're free to poke your head in, but Christine won't be much for talking until she knows Jeremy will wake up again.

But when Jeremy does wake up, and that discussion is had, as much as Jeremy can handle in his state, Christine at least stretches her legs for a minute. She has to retrieve all those items she had abandoned in the lobby first, and maybe tidy up a few things in the kitchen (since her Mountain Dew experiments aren't necessary anymore.

After that, though, she's primarily delegated herself to her room, a sign hastily written up and pinned to her door, just above a pile of items:

All items outside are free
More items inside, if you're looking for something. I can probably part with it.
Please knock
Christine Canigula ღ ღ ღ

[The door is still partly open, though, just enough for passers by to see Christine pretty much face down on her bed, wolf cloak pulled over her head. Oh boy. Dare you enter the den of teenage angst?]

[likemypicture]

[Anne once welcomed an angsty teenage princess into her home— she has no fear of one without the ability to order her head be removed. She had been coming to bother Christine about something specific— but that can wait. Instead, she nudges the door open with her hip, leaning into the room.]

Christine?

[madgiganticfeelings]

Mmph?

[Christine looks up from her pillow and... geez, she doesn't look great at all. Her hair is stuck to her mouth, her eyes are red and puffy from crying, and as she sits up on the bed, there are a few purpling bruises on her legs.]

Anne? I... sorry, did you need something?

[She tries to push her hair out of her face in an attempt to look more put together.

[likemypicture]

[She does not like that look on Christine, so after she's pushed her way through the door, she closes it behind her with her foot.]

Yes, but it can wait. What's the matter? [Not are you alright-- we won't mess around with that.]

[madgiganticfeelings]

It's... well, you probably heard the Phantom's announcement.

[That's probably the best part to start with: making it clear she was responsible for that mess.]

[likemypicture]

[Anne's face creases with confusion, as she invites herself to perch on the edge of Christine's bed.]

Yes. I thought we didn't like the squid?

i mean. where else.

[justmeheere]

[It takes a couple hours for Jeremy to actually sleep off like four months of stress. Does he remember all that stress? No. That's not the point. The point is that it doesn't even matter what Christine's doing: he sleeps like the dead for a few hours.

When he does actually wake up, it's slow and unstressed for the first time since he arrived. It's actually the first time he's properly slept since arriving. The SQUIP's been borrowing his body at night so his mind has been rested but his body has been running on fumes for several days at least.

For whatever reason (honestly his memories of the earlier are kind of stress-fuzzy), he's startled by Christine's presence in his room. He yelps when he notices her, fingers pulling the blanket higher like he's got something to hide. Which he doesn't, because he's fully clothed.]

Chris. Christine? W-what are you doing here?

[He didn't mean "hover in his room until you can yell at me"????]

get up you lazy slut

[madgiganticfeelings]

[Christine's honestly a little fuzzy herself, at least emotionally. She feels a bit like she's watching everything from underwater, as she sits silently and waits for the moment when Jeremy will properly wake up, every sound muddled and her vision swimming.

The voices clear up when she sees Jeremy move, yell to see her sitting nearby, but even as she giggles, softly, her vision doesn't clear and... oh, it's probably because she's crying. Great.]

Waiting for you to be okay, you dummy.

[She wipes at her eyes, narrowing them at Jeremy not in anger, but in some attempt to keep herself focused for once.]

So... are you? Okay?

rude he's a virgin

[justmeheere]

No? Yes? I don't. I don't know.

[It doesn't actually feel real yet, is the problem. It feels like if he blinks, he'll wake up and everything will have been a dream.]

Two, uh. Two things: one, I literally. I literally and physically could not answer your questions. Two, I asked you out on Halloween and. And you said no so I, uh. You know. Respect that? So, it's. That's it - wait no! Three. Three things. Third thing: I'm sorry.

she thought that was just for play rehearsal

[madgiganticfeelings]

[Christine just... nods. She didn't really expect him to be able to answer that question yet, and that's... that's fine. That's understandable. She can deal with this and be strong like she was supposed to before this whole mess. She sighs and carefully sets her book aside.

There's... a lot to parse here, and it'd be easier for Christine to just laser focus in on the last bit, and get distracted like she always does, but she forces herself to hold three fingers up, curling them as she says everything she needs to say.]

Okay. Number one I figured out. I figured it out, but it still hurt a little, when everyone else knew so much more than me? And it hurt to find out you had lied about having one. And a lot of it was totally illogical, I get that, but it still made me angry and I just thought if I could hear one thing about this whole mess from you, it'd make it okay.

And... it didn't. [She laughs, a little bitterly.] So I guess I got desperate.

Number two, the Halloween thing? I sort of... vaugely remember. I remember you trying to talk to me about it after, and... I mean, a lot had happened. The party itself is all fuzzy but I'm pretty sure you asked me out right after I dumped Jake? Which like, wild in itself, I didn't know I was dating him, but.

[That at least gets a more genuine laugh from her. Christine, the weirdo drama girl, dating Jake Dillinger? She probably shouldn't be surprised it wasn't a fairytale relationship.]

But either way, I was still probably an emotional wreck, like I always am, and I probably didn't know what I wanted... and I um, I still don't know, now?

...But I want you around. I want to learn who you are. So... third thing is I accept your apology. And I'm sorry too, for trying to... do what I did.

[She falls silent for a moment, just her and her multitude of feelings, and then quietly asks:] So... you can talk to me now, right? About everything?

[justmeheere]

I didn't lie because. I didn't want to? No, I mean. It - it made me so it could. It could, y'know. Gather information on everyone. That - I mean. Uh. Yes, I also did. I also did ask you out after - at the time I was under the impression you said no the first time mostly because of Jake? Which, um. In retro. In retrospect that was a dick move. [A beat.] And you're not. You're not gonna like the fact that. That that one was definitely just. Definitely me.

[Sometimes, you get super close to attaining your crush and you make some bad decisions because you're actually a poorly socialized horny teen. He knows how to actually apologize though! King of, at least. Riley told him to stop apologizing, so that's about the only reason he's not just offering an apology after every sentence.]

Anyway, uh. Um. What. What do. What would you like to know?

Room

[heathencall]

[Mephisto ducked out pretty quick once things had finished up, momentarily exhausted by... everything. It leaves plenty left unsaid, though, and though he knows that Christine and Jeremy will live, it doesn't say much else.

He hesitates outside Christine's door and... knocks once before taking a single step in.]

Permission to greet the Princess?

[madgiganticfeelings]

[Christine pulls herself up from her bed, poking her head out from under the wolf's cloak. She looks... exhausted, but there's the hint of a smile peeking out from the bundle of fur. She even offers a small mock bow.]

Permission granted.

[heathencall]

[He slips in as soon as she says the word, pausing only to push the door mostly closed. There are plenty of others worried about her, and he won't keep her from them entirely. But he's always been a private creature, especially with matters of vulnerability.]

You're looking better. [He crouches down beside her bed.] How are you feeling.

[madgiganticfeelings]

Like a complete mess? Like...

[She comes up with an analogy, but it's so dumb she actually has to laugh. Jeremy's rubbing off on her.]

So there's this one comic book character called the Hulk? He's usually just a mild-mannered scientist, but because of some experiment gone wrong or something, every time he gets angry, he grows like 8 feet tall and becomes this rampaging green monster?

I feel like I'm going to do that. But not just with anger. With literally everything I'm feeling. But I also feel way too exhausted and guilty to do that, so... hiding in bed works too.

[heathencall]

[What the fuck is human future media....]

You are... right to be feeling so much. You found a way to free your friend. He is free, for that matter. And in any other circumstance, you would have been doing the right thing.

The Phantom, however, seems to be allergic to the mere concept of "right thing" and is therefore standing against you at every turn.

[etincelledefierte]

[It's only in passing that Claudine sees the blanket lump. She's not going to approach directly; she's pretty sure she accidentally gave some bad advice and she's not entirely sure she's the best person to talk to Christine. Instead, a little later, there'll be a note under her door:]

If there's anything I can do to help, whether it's distraction or just talking, let me know. I'm happy to do it.

~ Claudine

[madgiganticfeelings]

[Claudine doesn't get a response right away. But it's not because Christine is upset at all. She just... wants to make sure she actually has the emotional strength to handle leaving her room.

So Claudine gets a note the next morning instead.]

Would you like to have some tea? I promise, if anyone's told you about yesterday, I didn't spike it with outdated soda.

-Christine ღ

[etincelledefierte]

[Claudine will just drop by with a pot of chamomile tea and a pair of mugs a little while later.]

Is this a good time?

[madgiganticfeelings]

[Christine is definitely still in her room, but she got out of bed! She's looking slightly put together as she writes in her binder, but she smiles a little brighter when she sees Claudine and sets the binder aside.]

Now is wonderful. You didn't have to make the tea by yourself!

room

[holyspit]

[HEY THAT ANNOUNCEMENT SURE WAS A THING and hopefully someone actually responsible has given Steven at least a basic rundown because heck trying to find a good place to tag into the actual thread by now.]

[But yeah, at some point there's a knock at the door, and Steven gingerly poking his head.]

Hey, are you- ...do you need anything?

[madgiganticfeelings]

[That most definitely was a thing! And to be honest, Christine is feeling pretty ashamed about all of it. Still, people probably deserve an explanation, even if she kind of wishes people would stop worrying about her and realize the trouble she caused instead.

So when Steven pokes her head in, there's Christine, spread eagle on her bed, looking up at the ceiling. Slowly, she turns her head to look and manages to bite back a noise when Steven shows up. Is she going to have to talk about the stupid underlying relationship drama in this too?]

It's... I'm fine, Steven. Did you want to talk? You... probably heard everything, huh?

[holyspit]

I got the gist.

[It was not a good gist, but at least he found out no one was gone besides the SQUIP before he had the chance to really panic.]

Yeah, but. I mean- did YOU want to talk? It sounds like it was a lot.

[madgiganticfeelings]

...Are you mad at me?

[That's the first thing she wants to talk about. What she did... she realizes now the Phantom thought it was proof of her murderous nature, and she's not sure if she can easily dismiss that.]

I mean... I was going to... kill something. I still sort of did.

[holyspit]

I don't- think so? No?

[This is an uncomfortable level of self-examination, he does not like it.]

...Maybe a little. You could've been- you know! But you were just trying to help Jeremy, right? And the stuff that SQUIP could do, it's- it was pretty scary.