itscurtains | don't stop believing

Entry tags:

act 3,
finale

don't stop believing

[Streetlights, reveals] | [Vision Statements] | [Mass Resolution: CONNECT] | [A little touch of the sun (Revival)] | [They do this bullshit like 8 times a week (Rescue)]

[It's a pleasant afternoon in the garden. Maybe not emotionally, but physically - isn't it nice when you get to have class outside?

As your voices rise, singing defiance in unison out for the Wizard, there's no immediate response; at least, nothing that clearly is a response. But there's something. Amidst the sound of your song, it may be hard to hear at first; Janis will likely be the first to notice, but eventually everyone is able to hear. It sounds as though other voices are rising along with yours.

There's something on the air - no music, or at least no instrumentals, just a disembodied sort of lyrical chant. You don't recognize any of the voices. They aren't singing the same song as you all are. Maybe they can't; they sound long long ago, and far far away now. Still - despite everything - the trees around you move lightly in a sudden soft breeze. It feels as though you have invoked something, old and entirely beyond your knowledge.

But first. Haven't you forgotten something?

It's Wednesday.

Welcome to this week's school club!]

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What else is there? I don't have the power to fix it without this. No one does - even if they would be so willing to help. They had hundreds of years to do something, and they never did.

Hundreds...?

[That's a lot of loops that man went through. That's a lot of times he's seen them die. That's a lot of time to find help, considering he has the power to look into the fabric of fate.]

Why not seek the other narration wizards? Who are you to say that you know exactly what to do?

[Sweetheart I don't know how to tell you that this round is not a time loop]

Why would I "seek out" the people who did all this in the first place? Did you rely on that evil wizard of yours to save Fife?

Okay, like I was saying earlier, the Ice King's a sad wad of a creepy loser but sometimes you really need a cold drink.

[These things are absolutely equivalent, she is not accepting criticism at this time.]

Chill your drink, you incel.

[She's glad to have her lumps back, but not enough to stop insulting him.]

[He's trying his best.]

The Leading Player isn't an evil wizard. She doesn't want to become a god or kill everyone. She's changed. Everyone has changed. Mephisto is a friend instead of simply a demon. Mr. Barker isn't a killer anymore. Even the SQUIP-

[He tilts his head. The one behind round 2, not the one that came with Jeremy. Or this one.]

He's learning to change, too. Steven believed that anyone can change. Zargothrax never made that effort.

So what do you think? That the Leader Player wouldn't care if she knew what was happening? That she is an unchanging character in the story of life?

...That's what you don't get, Will. You've been stuck in this...unchanging thing for so long that you don't understand anymore.

[ Peregrine glances at the group of them. ]

I've heard it said,
That people come into our lives
For a reason.
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return.
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true,
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you.

[ She's not talking to Will, fuck no. She's talking to Angus. Maya, Janis, Farrah— to everyone not standing physically with them right now. To Hester. ]

Edited 2021-07-18 19:47 (UTC)

[Hester's breath catches in her throat when Peregrine's eyes fall on her. Peregrine who's been struggling and cracking but who's helped keep people grounded- Hester included. Peregrine who'd hated her from day 1 and then gently walked her through her fragmented memories today.

Peregrine who she helped teach to dance at prom and whose hand she'd really like to be holding right now.]

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better? But
Because I knew you
I have been changed for good

[ What happens to Hester, if he does this? She keeps thinking that. She knows what happens to Farrah, to Connor, Eurydice, Benjamin—but what happens to Hester?

How can this man claim to care about her, when... ]

It well may be,
That he will wipe away our days,
And this lifetime.
So let me say if we may part,
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you.
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart.
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend.

[ She's still standing with Farrah. But her eyes beckon Hester closer. There's so much empty space in this garden, but she hopes— please let them hear her. ]

Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea.
Like a seed dropped by a skybird
In a distant wood.
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you.

Oh my god are they about to make out again—-

[Hester isn't blameless in all this. She'd been a participant, a co-conspirator in their pain even if she has realized her error. Even if her head is currently swirling with how much of a choice she really did have from the beginning, she has a responsibility to them, for this.

She starts walking toward Peregrine.]

And just to clear the air
I ask forgiveness
For the things I've done you blame me for

[ Peregrine will not leave Farrah, even if she's mocking her right now. Still, she holds out her free hand to Hester. ]

But then, I guess
We know there's blame to share—

[Hester takes her hand without a second thought and grips it tight.]

And none of it seems to matter anymore-

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun—

[ She's singing what Hester had before, but that's okay. That's the point. Learning each other's songs. Letting them change you. Letting yourself grow. ]

[Growth and connection.]

Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind of the sea-

Edited 2021-07-18 22:32 (UTC)

Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through—

Like a seed dropped by a bird
In the wood-

Edited 2021-07-18 22:50 (UTC)

—the wood!

[ She squeezes Hester's hand. They're surrounded by the woods...but Peregrine doesn't feel afraid anymore. ]

Who can say
If I've been changed for the better?

I do believe I have been changed for the better

[Hester lifts her other hand to hold Peregrine's in both of hers. Into the woods to find there's hope, of getting through the journey.]

[ She's been singing broadly, but...she narrows in on Hester. ]

And because I knew you...

[Hester smiles and leans in.]

Because I knew you...

Edited 2021-07-18 23:13 (UTC)

[ And...a little closer... ]

Because I knew you...
I have been changed...

[This time it's Hester's turn. She moves in closer, close enough to touch her nose to Peregrine's and lay a soft, sweet kiss. She holds it for only a few seconds, her voice soft as velvet to finish:]

For good.

[Distantly, in the background of this romantic scene---]

What the fuck you guys

[ SORRY FARRAAAAAAAAAH ]

[ Oh. Oh she knew it was leading to this, but—

Peregrine has little time to return the kiss, but she does. She giggles, very softly, suddenly quite shy. ]

...Heh. Wow, got a little...caught up, there.

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tailor_made - 2021-07-19 03:39 (UTC) - Expand

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