itscurtains | and after the party it's the AFTER PARTY

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and after the party it's the AFTER PARTY

[Tradition is Tradition.

Anne figures it's best to keep everyone busy in the aftermath of the trial, so she wrangles together a team of Mephisto, Santana, and Stephen to help her set up. Mephisto writes the notes and slides them under the door for Nana, Steven, and Christine, letting them know there's food and people in the dining room. The handwriting's not too great. Christine's note contains a 'P.S. If you don't feel up to it, I'll bring some food by later.' from Anne and a little doodle of Tad Cooper.

Thankfully, Anne has help setting up, so the weirdest of her food experiments don't make their way out of the kitchen. However, her platter of sandwiches does contain some interesting surprises--- you may find cheese and jelly, or peanut butter and chicken. There are normal things there too, though! And Biscuits, courtesy of Mephisto.

Their resident therapy dragon is on duty, too. Anne's made him a tiny crown for the event, and a regal little cape. He sits on a pillow in the middle of the dining room table, reigning proudly. ]

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You're not a monster at all. You just... you didn't know how little you were in control. I guess it was the same as me.

[She looks up at Mephisto, but there's something else shining in her eyes along with the tears.]

We're going to change together. We won't let this place twist us around anymore. We can love people, but... they don't have to define us.

Christine. [He laughs, not at her but at himself. It sounds bitter and ragged. His chest aches even as he does.]

I was a monster, even if you choose not to believe it. I have done cruel things in the past. The choices I've made here do not change that much.

But I will get better. We both will, and we will continue to do so even once we're out of this place.

I choose to believe you were in the process of transitioning into a better person. You made mistakes. A lot of us have here. It doesn't matter that you did those things, as long as you make a conscious effort to make amends for what you did.

And... I think you are. [A soft giggle.] You've been working hard to make up for the incident with Jonny's body, haven't you?

[The thought of getting out makes her sigh, and she leans against his shoulder, quiet for a moment.]

...What do you think happens when we get out? If... if Jeremy isn't brought back to life, then what happens? Will he be gone when I'm there? Will it be a different one, the one who kissed me? Will I even be okay with that?

Edited 2020-08-03 02:59 (UTC)

[This is... A quandary. Mephisto doesn't believe in his own goodness. What he does believe in, wholeheartedly at that, is Christine. It's difficult to weigh those two together/]

I don't deserve your faith. [But the smile on his face says everything -- it's appreciated all the same.]

I don't know what will happen. I don't know what awaits us on the other side. But... I have to believe that we can save everyone here. If their souls still linger, there has to be a way to bring them back.

I will not see them damned.

I think I've had enough about arguing with people about what they do and don't deserve. You have my faith, no matter what happens.

[He's a lot easier to believe in right now. He defended her during the trial, when it seemed like everything else was turning against her. If he can stop her world from completely crumbling apart, then who's to say that he won't bring everyone back?]

You had promised to get as many people out of here alive. So that... that includes everyone we've lost before. And I'll be sure to help you do that.

If... if I have faith in you, that includes having faith in the idea you have that there's more to me, right?

I trust you, Christine.

[He smooths her hair, smiling rather pleasantly as he feels the strands beneath her fingers. This is probably one of the last things he thought he might ever take comfort in. Despite everything she's been through, Christine was alive, and Mephisto had never been more grateful.]

And you are right. If you believe in me, that means you're believing yourself. It seems a good compromise, don't you think?

[She is alive, and she's not sure how she's managed it, but... well, she has a very brave knight on her side. She believes in him as much as he does her, and maybe together, despite how many people Mephisto has wronged or how many Christine has been wronged by, they can make it through together. Her smile is soft, and she leans her head against his shoulder with a soft sigh.]

I guess I can't argue with that. No matter... n-no matter what happens, we have to believe in each other.

[She didn't think she'd have hope after Riley, or Jeremy. She's amazed that she's still somehow moving... but the third time might be the charm.]

I don't want to believe in you from where I can't see you.

That just means I'll have to stay right here. Always in your sight.

[Mephisto has struggled over the last few days in binding himself to the other. It's a huge leap for a creature such as himself, someone who has spent millennia alone. It's... easier with Christine though.

Certainly easy enough to hold a pinky out to her.]

I swear it.

[It shouldn't really mean much, but Christine was a bit superstitious. Seeing that pinky raised up to her... she puts a bit more faith in it, and in Mephisto in turn, as she hooks her pinky around his.]

Thank you. I'm... I'm sorry I keep asking so much of you. Especially when I've been breaking promises to you...

[This week was the second time she tried to leave Mephisto behind. And it's still difficult not to keep the thought in the back of her head, along with the thankfully much fainter feeling of static.]

You're still here, aren't you? [With her hand so close to his, it's easy to grab it tight. He lifts it up and presses a kiss to the back of it, just like a knight should for his princess.]

You've kept the most important promise of all.

I... I have, I guess. I don't want to break that promise to you, and I'm, I'm sorry I nearly did.

[She scrubs at her eyes with the back of her other hand, trying to keep her eyes from stinging.]

You're still here. [He has to keep repeating that. Maybe it'll ground him. Maybe it will well and truly tether her there.]

The next time you're this scared, this upset. Find me. I'll... do whatever I must to keep you safe.

You can do anything except killing. I'm not losing another person like this.

[Her voice is shaky, but stubborn. Even if what Jeremy did was an accident... she's not letting anything like that happen.]

And if you do, I don't want you hiding it from me. I... I'm so tired of having to guess what people are thinking.

There will be no secrets from me, so long as there are none from you. [He's quiet for a moment, considering this. Then... he laughs. He can't help himself. It's a bitter sound, but -- ]

Promising to tell each other when we kill. What madness has this place instilled?

I don't think it's possible to keep secrets. That's... probably why I was so confused when Stephen started suspecting me.

[Her own smile is wry, and she just shakes her head.]

This place is kind of the worst. I've gotten better at recognizing when things are wrong, but I never wanted to learn that in case someone was going to die the next day...

I think... He was just scared. We all were. Angus and Riley -- we had no reason to suspect them, and yet...

[He shakes his head. It's no excuse.]

You were scared. We only made it worse.

That's hardly your fault either! We're... we're all scared when we're in that situation. I understand it. I-I'm not mad... I just.

[She exhales slowly.]

I wish I could just get it out of my head... what might have happened if I had known. If I would have been stupid enough to let people keep suspecting me, or if I would have confessed and tried to take the blame, like you did.

You would have died. We all would have. And I don't think you could have lived with yourself.

[Mephisto presses his palms together, then separates them. He fusses with his fingers a few more times, still trying to make sense of the words in his head.]

I had to come to terms with that after Riley's passing. That saving her wasn't worth killing you and everyone else.

That's why I said it was stupid. But I don't know if I'd realize it in that situation. I was... so desperate to get him to connect with me again that I might have gone that far for, for someone who had too much control over me in the first place.

[It wasn't the same with Riley. Riley hadn't manipulated Mephisto. She'd been hiding things, but that didn't mean she wasn't herself. But with Jeremy...]

I. I still don't know if how I felt about him was my own choice or just something left over from when the SQUIP had control over me. It makes it even harder to grieve.

I wish i could give you an answer. I hardly understand half of what's going on with your... Squids. [Maybe it'll get her to smile?]

Perhaps the only answer is to find a way to bring Jeremy back. Just Jeremy, no voices in his head. He'll be the only one that can answer you, I think. And you deserve that answer.

[There is a very soft, wobbly smile at that.] Have you been talking to Steven? He calls it the same thing.

[He could always ask. She's pretty sure he knows that he could, so she won't bring it up at the moment. Not when his words make her worry, pulling her legs up to her chest.]

I... I don't even know if that's possible. We turned it off, sure, but he got desperate enough to put it back on again. Besides, even when it's off, it...

[She swallows hard. She knows how he reacted even over the illness, so she can't possible try to explain what it's like even with them being cured.] Never mind.

Then we bring him back. And we teach him how to live with no crutches. [He scoffs, half-hearted. He hardly believes his own words anymore.]

It can't be that hard. I've lived without my basic luxuries. Teleportation, summoning. I haven't been able to refill my chalice with a snap of the fingers in ages, Christine, but I haven't resorted to monstrosity yet.

That's probably because you've got longer to live than us. Humans can be... pretty annoying when they're a little bit inconvenienced.

[She giggles softly.]

I wish I had that power, though. The quick changes offstage would be ten times easier if I could just summon the right pair of shoes.

...I hope you're right though. That it doesn't end up being too hard.

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and after the party it's the AFTER PARTY

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