itscurtains | Week Six

Entry tags:

act 3,
week 6

Week Six

[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. ))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

No. No you do not get— [ She feels herself bristle. ] To try and say— you don't get to use what I say to- to justify this! Not again! Not like he did!!

[ "What if he made a choice?"
"What do you mean — to die?"
"Or to leave."
"Like he chose to abandon us?"

Peregrine isn't making sense. She can hear Howl's footsteps behind her, retreating, and she wants to tell him, even though he's not real not to leave her again. ]

You fucked up and- and you have to live with it!!

[ "Y'know, I'm the one who made him go out there so—"
"You didn't make anyone do anything.
"But I did. Brett, I did. This was my idea, right?" ]

You don't get to run away, okay?!

[He stops, just for a moment. "Get to use what I say", "Not again", "Not like he did"? He may be childish, and in his mind pretty useless to the team, but he wasn't a complete moron.]

Per... what are you talking about? Who's "he"?

[He's pretty sure she can't be talking about Mr. Salieri; he took it a lot worse than she did.]

[ "This was my idea—"

Peregrine roughly rubs at her eyes and turns away. Of course, when she does, the illusion of Howl is gone. Just like before, just like last night. ]

It doesn't help! [ Her voice breaks. ] I'm n- not— I'm not gonna- You're gonna tell me— Awful things about him! I know! I know he- Howl shoulda taken care of himself— he shoulda known...h-how the snow was gonna fall. I know he chose t-to— to l- leave me— but he was still— he was still my dad! I still loved him!

[ She's not making sense. She's not making sense. She's just doing that thing she does, she's just talking and letting it all spill out. She's holding herself tightly, and not even her cloak can make her feel warm. ]

I was happy... He didn't— y-you- don't get...to tell me...if I'm better off without you.

[For awhile Spongebob's just... stunned. Perhaps a selfish part of him is happy that this doesn't just seem to be about him, but he's mostly worried. Per always seemed so strong, so confident in herself, and to see her like this was almost humanizing. Not that he didn't see her as a human before (metaphorically), but that he really wasn't alone in, well, feeling alone.

A small, quiet voice speaks in the back of his mind as he watches her meltdown in front of him.

You never give up! When I was ready to bail on y'all, you kept me going.

Maybe Sandy was wrong about him. Maybe he did give up once.

But he doesn't want to give up any more.

He approaches her, cautiously, making sure Per can at least see him out of her peripheral.

And then he pulls her into a tight hug, as tight as he can with one arm.]

I love you, Per. I really do.

[ Gone. Gone, they're all gone, they're all going to leave her—

An arm wraps around her. Just the one. She'd helped set the other. It's grounding, and it makes the world stop spinning for a moment.

It keeps her upright, despite how she trembles.

Peregrine very greedily grabs at that one arm. She's taller than Spongebob, so this is kind of weird—but she doesn't stop it, nevertheless. She just sobs, raw and open. ]

Don't go. Please- don't- don't leave me again.

[Spongebob cries along with her. His broken arm is yelling at him in pain but he doesn't care, he has more important things to worry about.

This was his family. Maybe all the family he has left. He needs to be there for them.

He gently rubs her back in a soothing movement, like ones his mother gave him when he came home from school crying as a kid. He hoped it provided a similar reassuring gesture that it did for him all those years ago.]

I promise. I promise I won't let you down ever again, or leave you.

You can't! You can't, please—!

[ She's so angry, still, so mad—but she cries and nods, wailing like a little kid. She's tried so hard to push herself these last two years. To grow up, to be self-sufficient, because—

Because in the end no one can really come and find you, when you're somewhere left for dead.

But...that's not true, is it? Not really? Lexy found her.

...They'd found Spongebob and Farrah, before it was too late.

So. Maybe, for right now, for a little bit, she can let herself be a kid, hugging tight to one of her friends who made a mistake—but who she loves anyway. ]

[They stand like this, for awhile. Spongebob doesn't have much to say, for once. He's just a scared and hurt kid and he knows Per is scared and hurt too. And sometimes all you can do is be there for each other.

How selfish must he have been, to forget that his motto in life is that it doesn't matter how bad things are as long as you have friends.

Even if the friends leave, you still have their memories, their laughter, the times where you had so much fun that you forgot the situation you're in.

Eventually, Spongebob breaks the hug, a little, and looks Peregrine straight in the eyes.]

... I'm sorry, Per, I think I lied to you.

I'm glad I didn't die in that car crash.

[ But what if right now, with loved ones around,
We decided to let some light in?
We'd be stronger the next time a blizzard begins...

She'll let herself believe it. She'll let herself accept it. At least for right now.

A surprised almost-laugh breaks from her lips and she puts both hands on Spongebob's shoulders. ]

Yeah, you fucking better be, okay?

[He laughs, lightly, before he suddenly remembers something.]

Oh, I'm sorry Per, I distracted you from whatever you were gonna get. What was it anyway?

[He's just going to

Try to look for it

Yes he knows he was the one in the car crash but he doesn't care right now.

He wants to make sure Per continues to know that he cares for her.]

[ He starts to move around and Peregrine grabs his good arm to keep him back. The other arm wipes across her face to try and dry it. ]

Stop- no, it's fine. I'm just...trying to get rid of a headache.

[That gets him to stop, but he still looks over at Peregrine in concern.]

... If you're not feeling well, you can rest here with me. We don't gotta talk or anything, we could just...

We can just make sure that we're not alone.

[ She's about to say no, she's fine, but she braces herself on the counter. ]

...That...might be a good idea, I think. ...I don't...really wanna be alone.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Week Six

cw: suicide ideation

cw: suicide ideation

cw: suicide ideation

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject