itscurtains | Week Three

[Last week, some shit went down! Salieri's scene went off without a hitch, but the good mood didn't last. The first motive was a bit of a doozy, and yet it didn't even have anything to do with the eventual accidental death of Mumble Happyfeet! At least Sissi was already pretty much dating Death anyway, right? She's probably fine, wherever she is.

This week, new menus have been posted in the cafeteria. But, more importantly, it seems that other new information has emerged. Everyone wakes on Sunday with some new memories - or are they old ones? - floating around in their heads. Maybe there was something to your discussions of time travel after all. Maybe there was someting to the Wizard's knowledge of the future.

Regardless, you're still stuck in here. At least there's some new places to explore this week. Maybe you'll find something helpful.]

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

(( Be sure to submit your memory regains and your AC for this week! Hester's office hours and the merch booth also remain available! ))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[oh

oh buddy

Salieri's brow furrows slightly at that, but he moves to reach out and gently rest a hand on Orpheus's forearm]

It's...difficult when a parent leaves, for whatever reason that might be.

How long was she able to be with you?

Um.

[ Orpheus has to think about that, which is already kind of a bad sign. The good news is considering it distracts him from that concerned look on Salieri's face, at least. ]

The last time I saw her was when I turned seven? But she'd been gone for a while before that, working with someone who was writing a really important novel. When she showed up it was a really big surprise.

[ And he tries to say it like it was a good thing, like it was some great birthday gift, having her back even for that short time, because shouldn't it be? Seeing his mom again after all that time? But his expression falls even further despite his best efforts, and he looks away. ]

I wasn't... very grateful, at the time. I don't even remember what she said to me. I just remember crying when she had to go again.

[ And this is... a lot, to drop on someone he's known all of three weeks, but Orpheus is very much not a private person, and sometimes things just come out of his mouth before he can really think about them. He does seem to realize this, though, and forces himself to lighten up. ]

It's okay, though. I've had Mister Hermes to look after me, ever since.

[If Salieri is bothered by the heaviness of the subject, he doesn't show it]

It couldn't have been easy, to have so little of her there. And as a child, how were you to know she would leave again so soon?

[he's quiet a moment, then--]

I'm glad you had someone else to look out for you, though.

It wasn't. [ Orpheus laughs, a little bit. ] I wanted to be with her all the time, when I was little, and I was always so upset when she went away. I didn't understand what could've been more important to her than me, not then.

[ He forces another smile. ]

Mister Hermes is great, though. He's always really busy, too, but he used to take me with him when he had to go away on business sometimes. That's how I got to see as much of the country as I have? Not nearly as much as Eurydice has, but I'm grateful for it.

[Salieri is quiet for a moment, at that]

...I doubt I am in a position to judge your mother's choices and the requirements of her job, however...a child should not have to grow up without his mother. It happens; I know it does. And yet...it doesn't seem fair. Even if you had another guardian, which I'm glad you did, it doesn't make the absence of your mother any less difficult.

[ Orpheus just looks at Salieri for a moment, sad-eyed despite his attempts to smile through it, before looking down at his hands. ]

A lot of people do these days, though. Times are - they're really hard, back home. A lot of families get split up for one reason or another. [ People dying, or having to leave to find work, or just not being able to care for one another. ] I'm just glad for the time we did have? And that I know she's still out there and is okay.

[ He doesn't sound glad about it, but he has to be, right? It's so much more than so many others have. He doesn't want to be ungrateful. ]

[he's still got a hand on Orpheus's forearm as his friend continues and at the end of that, Salieri can't help but gently squeeze, reassuring]

I...please don't take this the wrong way, Orpheus, however...I think it would be alright if you weren't. Glad, that is. At least, not only glad. It is possible to be both glad for the time that you had, but also perhaps not glad for how short and brief it was.

Edited 2021-07-23 20:02 (UTC)

[ Orpheus glances back up at that, watching Salieri's face with some confusion as what he's saying starts to sink in. An offer of... understanding, for something he's been trying to bury for a very long time.

Quietly, he'll allow himself to admit, ]

It doesn't feel right. Wanting more. Most people with divine parents don't ever get to meet them. She already gave me so much. But I - sometimes I wonder if she would have stayed, for me, if I were a better poet, or a better singer, or an author good enough to deserve the attention of a muse. I tried for a really long time, to be good enough, but.

[ He shakes his head. ]

Other people need her more. And I have to be okay with that.

Week Three

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this probably needed a parental abandonment cw way earlier

cw: being >:/ abt parental abandonment

cw: being :< about parental abandonment

cw: being :\ about parental abandonment

cw: parental abandonment feelings continue