itscurtains | "A Swing and Miss Doesn't Mean it's Game Over"

[Well… All of that sure happened. And while Maya is visibly shaken Sissi's literal dance with death, she’d meant what she’d said to the others -- she would protect them. At that moment, it meant voting and making the “right” decision. Now, though? It means ensuring that no one feels alone, and that everyone has a good meal in them.

She’s not Nana Daiba, however, she certainly can’t do this alone. But she does have the resourcefulness and authoritative disposition to to recruit allies. Discord is sure to be… mostly unbothered by everything that’s happened, and Spongebob will likely be eager to help. She approaches both men: one is asked nicely; The other is grabbed by the collar and dragged from whatever hole he’s locked himself in. Sorry Discord.

For Maya's part, several potato dishes are prepared (can you tell someone has a bias). And while she doesn’t have the resources to make baumkuchen, Maya does manage to produce a cake, as well as… muffins? They’re not… quite how she remembers Nana making them, but she can at least recall how hearty the food had felt, and how it had restored her energy on long days.

It’s a pleasant memory, even if it does make her a touch melancholy.

Nevertheless, the food is laid out in the kitchen, as are a number of pies that Maya has uncovered. She even tucks a few bottles of wine in a corner for the adults that might like it. This is in addition to the mead apparently brought by Salieri. Look she’s not a fan of having alcohol but… she can’t tell the adults no.

But hey, courtesy of Benjamin, there is even some cocoa. It doesn’t start off spiked but… you know. Thanks to Spongebob there are, well… Angry Patties? It’s fine. Even Discord managed to contribute some pies and tea, as well as being bossed around to do the grunt work in the kitchen. There’s also that inexplicable pizza? Huh, that’s weird.

Eventually the group goes around extending invitations to the dorms, knocking on doors and explaining what’s been set up. No one will be forced to go, just… strongly encouraged. Maya herself will even duck into the principal’s office and, if she’s there, invite Hester.

She seemed just as upset as the rest of them.]

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[ She nods, taking the photo back. ]

He's a friend. [ ... ] He's a friend who's out there 'cause of me. It was a lot easier to...ignore it. 'fore I was reminded just what it looks like.

[ ...... ]

Sorry. 'Bout yours.

I'm going to stop it. Now that I know about it, I can.

[ He'd been planning on trying to do something about the seasons being out of tune already, but this has just convinced him to redouble his efforts. He looks over at Peregrine, a determined set to his jaw. ]

And I'm sure you can, too. Nobody has to die. Not here. Not at home.

Not anyone else has to die.

[ Peregrine corrects him. ]

'Cause they already have. ...It's already happened.

No one else. [ Orpheus amends. He goes quiet for a moment, before shaking his head and saying; ]

It wasn't right. Making a - a show of Elisabeth's death like that. None of this was right, but.

[ He still sees her shocked expression right as it ended whenever he closes his eyes. ]

Everything's a show to them. Everything.

[ She remembers the Wizard, asking her if she'd forgotten— ]

...It can't happen again. It can't. Whatever they do.

It can't. We promised. Each other, and Elisabeth.

[ He shakes his head. ]

We aren't murderers, and we won't give the Wizard what he wants.

And then I'm gonna rip his mechanical eyebrows off.

We'll take him apart and build something kinder with the pieces.

[ Wait is it murder if it's an automaton that might or might not be being remotely controlled? Orpheus... can't really bring himself to care about the moral ambiguities right now. ]

...Yeah. Get Varian to invent something actually worthwhile.

[ Orpheus smiles a little at that, the implication that the rest of Varian's work hasn't been worthwhile flying over his head a little bit. It doesn't last long though, his expression fading back to worry as he thinks back over what happened. ]

What do you think the Wizard meant? When he said he wasn't the one who started all this. Do you think there's someone even more powerful than him commanding him? Or that he's just carrying on what he thinks is a tradition?

...I don't know. [ And that clearly bothers her. ] Half the stuff he was saying didn't make any sense. And I don't really have any desire to try listening to him again, but...

Maybe... Maybe tradition. That feels more...right.

... I know a long time ago, Kings and Emperors used to make people fight to the death, supposedly for the glory of the gods. Maybe this is - like that. A horrific game and a form of human sacrifice, all in one.

[ He pauses. ]

And... sponge and penguin sacrifice? Person sacrifice.

[ If it wasn't so upsetting, she'd laugh. ]

Ritual sacrifice? Oh, that's just... [ She sighs. ] Oh, jeez. How'd we get into this...?

I don't know. Most of us were hand-picked, apparently? But why? What do we all have in common? We're not even from the same worlds.

Hand-picked? ...For what? Why? What did I— ?

[ Peregrine feels herself getting angry all over again. ]

I don't know! What did any of us do? What could someone do to deserve this?

[ Even Orpheus sounds kind of mad about it, though it's edged more with misery than anything else. ]

[ Her eyes close tight. Asking won't get them anything. The Wizard was...god, nothing he said made sense today. Just wait, just wait. She doesn't know what to do.

So, she just sits there, in angry silence. ]

[ Orpheus goes quiet too, just sitting with her in contemplative silence. There's so much to think about, so much that needs to be thought about, but it's so hard, and he's so tired. ]

[ After a long few minutes, she speaks up again. ]

Whatever reason he has. Whatever reason any of them have. It's not worth it. None of it's worth it.

It's not. None of this is - it's all just cruel.

[ He sucks a sharp breath in through his teeth before launching into it. ]

It's like the Wizard doesn't even think we're people. We're not even actors on a stage to him, we're just toys to be broken. How do you reason with someone like that? What do you do?

I...don't know. Not sure if there's anything you can do.

[ She hasn't really seen Orpheus be mad. So, Peregrine just lets him go. ]

[ Orpheus slumps forwards, some of the fire going out of him now that he's gotten that out of his system. ]

There has to be a way out. There must be something we can do. There has to be.

[ He says it in a quiet, broken voice, not believing really believing it himself but insisting anyway. ]

There has to be.

There will be.

[ Quiet, determined. ]

I'm not dying here. Okay? None of the rest of us are.

We won't. We can't. We all have so much left to do.

[ He looks over at Eurydice, off talking to someone else. ]

This can't be where it ends. Not for us. Not for any of us.

We just have to keep saying that...and make sure it won't happen.

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themuseabandonsyou - 2021-06-22 21:51 (UTC) - Expand