Love's no good but it sure beats the hurt

[madgiganticfeelings]

[That was... Christine can only call it the most horrible thing she's seen so far, with that familiar dread that says something worse may come. Four people have died. Four friends Christine had trusted in and relied upon. And four more people she cares about have turned into memories and painful reminders of her failure to do anything meaningful here.

And Christine wallows in that. God, does she wallow. But she also knows that those painful ghosts of the people she loved relied on her to keep getting back up when the world knocked her down. And she has to keep going, if only to honour there memories.

The note she slides under each person's door is very simple, the bright orange gel pen somehow seeming duller in the wake of mourning:]

Food is in the dining hall.
Please come have something, or I'll track you down in an hour and force feed you.
If there's anything at all you need, please come talk to me. We shouldn't have to suffer alone.
-Christine

[There's a few dishes Christine knows how to make: lo mein and beef stew, some simple sandwiches as well. There are almond cookies after the more filling foods are prepared.

Off to the side is a plate with a few dumplings and... what looks like mashed turnips? An odd combination, but they were Angus' favourite.

And Christine is true to her word. If you don't come in an hour, she'll find you. In fact, she makes rounds around the opera house pretty much every hour, checking each room, and... maybe singing softly to herself as she goes.]

O god,
I can't stay, I won't stay for things left unseen
I can't stay, I won't stay, this end has no means
I can't stay, I won't stay, you were just a dream
A sweet sweet dream
You were a dream
But not my dream...

[Speaking of dreams, someone should convince her to go to bed.]

Comments

[recessives]

[ Shilo does take the time to put in an appearance at the party, grabbing a plate of food and eating it as she thinks about... well, all of today, really! Why is she the only person here without secrets, God. She mostly keeps to herself while she's here, but feel free to come talk! She seems much more open to the idea than she has in a while.

Later on, though, she grabs some appropriate foods from the kitchen and heads to the stables, where she just sort of... decides to hang out with the local Honse. Not even remotely trying to ride him or anything, but. Sometimes you just have to be around a horse for a while, I guess? ]

How are you holding up, buddy?

[ Pretty good it seems, or maybe that's just the apple she's feeding him. ]

[heathencall]

[Well this is an oddly familiar scene.

Mephisto is being just as ominous as ever!]

It seems less traumatized than the lot of us, at least.

[recessives]

[ oh hey mephisto what's up dude ]

I guess not. Perks of getting to stay out here, I guess.

[heathencall]

[Everything is awful but other than that, nbd.]

Perhaps I'll take to sleeping in the barn. It can't be that awful, can it?

[recessives]

You'd be pretty isolated. It doesn't seem that bad, really.

[heathencall]

I've slept in worse conditions. [But that's not exactly PG-13.

... In any case, that amusement doesn't last nearly long enough.]

How are you feeling, then?

[recessives]

Um... tired? Sad? Angry? That's a good start.

[heathencall]

The feeling is mutual then.

[He looks from horse to girl, girl to horse.]

Not feeling any particular urge to pick up a knife yourself, are you? [Can't trust anyone, not even tiny girls who couldn't possibly be killers] I imagine the horse would be cross if you did.

[recessives]

[ She shakes her head. ]

Who would I be able to take anyway? I was on medicine that stopped muscle gain until a few weeks ago. But no.

horf

[holyspit]

Seems like he's doing okay.

[Hey Shilo, Steven's like one stall over with the other large emotional support animal.]

[...he's not getting up, mind, so hopefully that response isn't too spooky-out-of-nowhere.]

How about you?

[recessives]

[ ... you know, she hasn't actually seen lion before? so when she walks over to see where steven's voice is coming from, that's sort of a shock. ]

I'm... I mean no one's great right now, but I'm doing my best. How about you?

[holyspit]

...I don't know.

[It's a hard admission. He's been trying to be okay since everyone got here, and that's become more and more of a mask, and now if he's being completely honest with himself he's not sure it ever wasn't and that's really worrying.]

[Lion just looks up to make sure Shilo isn't any kind of threat, and just yawns massively before tucking his head back down next to Steven. If you'd come to all the meetings you could've seen this way sooner, come on.]

I guess I'm doing my best too? I just wish that felt like something, anymore.

[recessives]

[ listen.... sometimes your player is in two games at once and loses track of some things, it's fine

She nods, though, remembering the whole Spit thing. ]

You're used to being able to do more. It... I guess it's easier for me that way, since I've been stuck inside doing nothing for so long. I bet my dad would feel that way, too.

[holyspit]

My dad- ...I'm really glad he's not here. But I kind of wish he was.

[Greg Universe deserves absolutely none of this, but probably would have gotten his breakdown done and out of the way on day one and would be dadding at everyone else at least as much as Mephisto and Stephen have been.]

I don't know. Maybe your dad would know what to do better than I have.

[recessives]

[ greg universe is a beautiful creature this game doesn't deserve

also, since this is here last night of thinking normal teenage thoughts about her dad: ]

He's a doctor, so... he'd be able to help, but I don't know how much. I don't think he'd like it very much.

[holyspit]

Well, I think not liking this place just means you're- you know. Normal.

[A slightly bitter half-laugh.]

...my friend Connie's mom is a doctor. She'd really hate it here too. But she'd probably have yelled at the Phantom until he let us go on the first day.

[recessives]

Yeah, I can't imagine what my dad would have done.

[ Literally! She has no idea! ]

It's weird... I don't like this place, but I do like meeting new people. So in a way... this is better than where I was before. In that one specific way.

party

[madgiganticfeelings]

[Oh, thank god, there's at least one other person that actually seems to want to eat. Christine comes by and gives her a small smile.]

Do you want a cookie? They just finished baking so...

[recessives]

[ shilo returns the smile, hers similarly sized ]

Sure, that sounds great.

[madgiganticfeelings]

[She places a few cookies on Shilo's plate, nibbling at her own. Even if she's not really hungry, it seems in poor taste to not have a bite of her own food.

She... doesn't know what to talk about. The one thing she'd have to say would be about the trial, but crying isn't something she should be doing, either.]

I, um, hope you're not allergic to nuts? They're my favourite, but I probably should have made something more accessible.

[recessives]

[ She shakes her head. ]

Nope, no allergies. I wouldn't eat them if I was, don't worry.

[madgiganticfeelings]

I'm glad to hear that! Um, these are kind of my favourite, so...

What about you? Do you have a favourite?

[recessives]

[ She sort of. Frowns a little, in thought. ]

I... didn't get a lot of cookies growing up. But I like everything I've had here so far.

[madgiganticfeelings]

Oh, really? That's a shame. I guess we should really try making more then. Was it just that your parents didn't do a lot of cooking?

[recessives]

My dad... is good at a lot of things, but cooking isn't one of them. Lots of sandwiches.