Week Six

[stagemanagers]

[Last week, in It's Curtains, the weather changed, and with it your fortune in Dads. Discord took Salieri out - or perhaps Salieri took Discord out - and left the survivors with that much less impulse control. Nonetheless, a visit from a new friend might have provided a little bit of much-needed hope?

On Sunday morning, you'll find that the other side of the second floor has opened up - as well as the actual intended path to reach the roof garden. You can finally stop climbing up that rope every time you want to have a picnic or secret lover's rendezvous!

Outside, the weather seems to have calmed down. It's sunny again, with rather a lot of clouds. Though it's warm, the atmosphere seems very...still.]


Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

(( Be sure to submit your memory regain and your AC for this week! As always, Hester's office hours and the merch booth remain available. ))

Comments

[employeeoftheyear]

[The gentle singing slowly calms Spongebob down, as his sobbing goes from hysterical to quiet and hiccupping cries.]

I really love you guys. I love you so much.

[fourbutts]

I... maybe? I'm going to feel really shitty if she feels really shitty about it.

[defyingfrigidity]

[Good, good... Elsa manages to smile through her own tears, reaching up to gently ruffle his hair.]

I feel the same way. It's like... how I feel about my sister back home. Like you're family.

1/2

[fourbutts]

What can I say? I'm good at finding you.

[ Janis chokes down a noise at the realization that whoever Lexy is, "slightly flirty" probably isn't a tone she would take. Not that she knows anything more of Peregrine's friends than she learned days ago, when they fought over the memory of Howl, whose presence looms like a shadow over this entire conversation. ]

A whole blizzard out here and I still managed.

[comeandfindme]

[ Peregrine doesn’t relax. But she blinks back tears. ]

Good. It— …choosing it’s worse. It’s… I don’t want that to happen again.

2/2

[fourbutts]

She thinks she has to push through the pain
Push hard through the pain 'til it breaks
And she embraces the sorrow
Holds it close for protection

[ Janis swallows hard, wondering briefly if the microphone will pick it up. ]

A girl who I wished I could save

[ "Could you?" ]

Could I what?

[ "Could you have saved her?" ]

[barberic]

[He chuckles quietly, then gently pulls her in to kiss her head through the blanket hood, before taking his arm back and pulling the nightstand away from the wall, so she can use it as a table.]

Well, let's see if we can get you feeling a little better. We've got... some aspirin tablets, for your head, a little bit [he emphasizes, pointedly] of cough syrup to help you get some rest, and some food.

[He's a little sheepish, having been worrying about what she even liked to eat, and whether she'd throw it back in his face. The way she'd screamed out 'Dad!' - not Ben or Benj or Benji - he'd thought it had been another hallucination, at first, something he never thought he'd hear from anyone, never would have dreamed to ask, but...

Yeah, when the adrenaline had faded and both her and Spongebob were safe and looked after, there'd been an embarrassing ten minutes of just sobbing in the restroom.]

I... wasn't entirely sure what you might like, but I kept it light for you. Turkey sandwich, some apple slices, and a glass of milk, to help you get your strength back.

cw: suicide talk

[comeandfindme]

[ Her normally intense stare is just icy. She storms in, turning her attention from him to the shelves. She should’ve taken stock this week. Of course it was the week they really needed it. Of course she let everyone down like this.

Her jaw’s tight as she rummages. ]

You’re sorry. [ ”I was already gone.” ] Were you thinking of being sorry on Sunday? Was it already your plan?

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Overthinking things is not a problem Orpheus has ever had in his life, what's that like. In all seriousness, though, he smiles at her when she finishes speaking. ]

Well, you'd probably know what she likes better than I do? [ he says, thoughtfully. ] But I'm sure she'd like whatever you try to do for her, just because it's you doing it. That counts for a lot, all by itself.

[howtheworldwas]

[ Since Hester's announcement, Eurydice has been feeling a little chilly, headachey, and run-down. That didn't bother her, though -- she spent most of her life feeling more or less like that all of the time.

But the illness hits her this morning, while she's adding to her stash of non-perishables in the girl's locker room. At first, Eurydice feels herself swaying where she stands. Then there's the rattle, as she leans into one of the lockers and slides down to the floor. Eurydice doesn't seem to notice, though. Instead, she's sweating and staring wide-eyed at the empty space in front of her. She looks terrified. ]

No. I'm not going back. You weren't supposed to follow me here.

[ By the evening, she feels a little better, and makes her way to the costume room. You might find her sorting through the clothes. There's an edge of determination to the way she holds herself -- tense, jaw set, taking this all very seriously.

Once she notices she's got company: ]

Do you, um. Know what we're supposed to wear to this prom?

[barberic]

[He reaches out and touches her shoulder comfortingly as he comes up next to her. It's hard to tell how feverish she is, with how feverish he is, but by god he'll do his level best for her.]

I think maybe a bigger one? Let's try that.

[Using his marginally superior height he will grab her a bigger bowl.]

cw: suicide talk

[employeeoftheyear]

[The words stab him like a knife. A part of him feels like he shouldn't be surprised.

He's done a horrible job keeping them all together so far, why would this time be any different.]

Per it was a split second decision. If I wasn't so sick, I would have known better, I really would have.

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Orpheus opens his eyes again and looks at Spongebob seriously. ]

It was a photograph of me, standing in a mausoleum filled with almost everyone I've ever known, decades in the future but looking exactly the same. I was immortal, and I'd outlived all of them. So, I know how you're feeling. And I know it's terrifying, the idea of being left behind like that. Trust me, I do.

[ He pushes off the counter and walks over to give Spongebob an awkward sideways hug, trying not to jostle his broken arm. ]

I'm still scared of that, Spongebob. And I don't blame you if you're still scared, to. But if you'll be brave, then so will I. Okay?

[perchlorate]

[ When she tries to lean against him, all she'll feel is air. ]

Mmm. [ Peregrine has probably been around Howl long enough to know that particular low hum means: me too. ]

[brokeforgood]

[That guilt is settling back into her stomach pretty quickly, and she eyes him carefully, as if she might figure out what the trick is here. But it’s not a trick.

Just like Salieri had, when she’d fallen apart during the first motive. Like the Balladeer had, when he found her drunk under the bleachers. Like Discord had done, with a little bit of extra nudging from Salieri, but still, had done.

He was taking care of her.]

Thanks. It all looks good. [Its probably not what she would have picked, but if she picked, Farrah, who isn’t supposed to eat processed sugars, would have eaten an entire bag of gummy worms and washed it down with a diet coke. So this definitely is better.]

Are you feeling okay? I’m… [She can’t say she’s sorry. She swallows.]

You didn’t feel good last night.

[barberic]

It's--

[How... does he explain this. Without confessing to being an accessory to cannibalism.]

Well, it's a little suspicious, isn't it? How it's always hot like it's right out of the oven. Makes you wonder where the meat's coming from.

[comeandfindme]

[ Her eyes burn with tears. She knew that would be the case. Really, she did. But...still.

She really wanted to believe.

This is a symptom. This is something in her own brain or—or something, telling her what she wants to hear. This isn't real. This isn't him.

But still— ]

C-can— can you...stay with me...right now? Please?

[barberic]

[As if on cue, when she asks him if he's feeling alright, he inhales to speak and starts coughing, leaning away from her and burying his face in the crook of his elbow. The fit is brief, but his face is flushed bright when he turns back to her, and his voice is a little hoarse.]

I'll be fine, no need to worry about me.

[He clears his throat, and bends one leg up onto the bed so he can face her, his expression serious.]

...Can we talk? About this morning.

[brokeforgood]

[Farrah doesn’t want to push it too far right now, but she does say, a little firmly, before she begins to eat her sandwich—]

You should rest too.

[Since he’s bringing up this morning, she tries to take extra long chewing on her sandwich, to put it off as long as possible. But, eventually, there’s not really much more to chew, and she has to reply or it’s going to get weirder.]

I guess so. You’re mad, aren’t you?

cw suicide discussion

[employeeoftheyear]

[Spongebob stands there, actually surprised by a hug for once. He had not once really thought about how other people were scared of being the last ones here. How could he have been so stupid?

No wonder Orpheus called him selfish.

After a moment he returns the hug, sniffling quietly.]

I... I promise...

[He pushes back his tears long enough to speak.]

I'm so sorry. If... If I knew I wasn't alone in my fear of being alone, I... I wouldn't have...

[comeandfindme]

[ It's been...a long time. She's aware that she hasn't seen Lexy in a month and a half. Aware that before that, they weren't speaking for months. She's aware, so she either doesn't notice or doesn't care about the strange inflection in "Lexy's" voice.

(Like with Howl, she's hearing what she wants to hear. What she wants to believe.) ]

A whole blizzard... How... I almost can't believe you made it. [ ... ] How'd you find the school?

[ Well. She's aware of a little, it seems. ]

[comeandfindme]

[ Peregrine's seated there listening. She doesn't look up at the sky, just at her own feet. ]

Then what can I do?

How do I make it stop?

[barberic]

[Sure, he's sick and tired. We'll just go with her logic.]

Then it's a cruel trick, making us see things that aren't there, as well. Here, stand over here, I'll start sweeping up the pieces.

cw: suicide talk, drinking and driving talk

[comeandfindme]

A split decision, for both of you? You were just out, drinking, driving— you don't just have thoughts like that without them already being there.

[ Her words are rough and harsh. She knows this. But— ]

So were you already thinking about it?

1/2

[fourbutts]

... We're not at that part yet.

[ "Why do you think you're here with me? And she isn't?" ]

I... I...

"Pain is good," she thinks

[ "I know." ]

Hurt is real.
Oh, but I want to feel all of her I can feel
I want to sit
In the dark with her!
In the dark with her...
Be there to catch the tears she's never cried
In the dark with her!
In the dark with her...
If no one and nothing can break through the darkness, I'll try.