October Aftermath: Crystal Clear

[lifeaftr_mods]

Who: All!
What: You're back, for better or worse. Time to recover.
When: Backdated to the 24th and beyond.
Where: The Monkey Compound, Islets, etc.
Warnings: Mark as you go.


No matter where you are on the morning of the 24th, things will very abruptly go dark.

Unless you're dead. In which case, things are already dark. And you do not see this.

For the rest of you, however, the Storyteller appears only briefly. Gone is their seemingly indifferent nature; as the rabbit hops too and throe, the pages of their tome flick back and forth in an erratic pattern, stopping on a blank page for only a moment, before continuing on. Despite the pages always turning in the one direction, there seems to be no end to them, not at all.

"I'll keep this brief, for the moment. All of you have now been removed from the caverns below," A haggard sigh- and a reluctant addition. "Those of you still alive.

"Your efforts have allowed me access to what lies below. I have sealed off the entrances- from now, the responsibility of cleaning up the mess is upon me."

And that appears to be it. Darkness returns, along with the sensation of lying upon the sand. Birds call out from the jungle, joining the rhythmic shift of the waves. No matter where you were on the island; underground, or above, you awaken upon the shoreline near the Storyteller's temple, along with the rest of the survivors.



"For what it is worth, I am truly sorry."

---

[[If you have yet to do so, make sure you confirm your character's death here!]]

Comments

Mickey Mouse | 24th

[souris_keteer]

[Mickey is unharmed, relatively. His feet are sore since he has no shoes, and his stomach's caving in, since he kept giving his food away. But other than those things, he's in perfect health... until you get to his hollow, cold eyes.

This is the face of a once naive, innocent soul who saw his friends die. Who had to walk over their corpses. He's shattered. He can't think, he can't do more than sit up. He doesn't even try doing his usual "how's everyone doing" jog to catch up. He just sits and stares at nothing.]

...

Fucking hell, dude.

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet's heart breaks a little bit at the sight of him, and she looks at him for one long, wordless moment before kneeling down beside him and reaching out to give the poor boy a hug.]

[It's not, she knows, enough- but it's something clearly long overdue, despite that.]

it's a world of laughter a world of TEARS

[souris_keteer]

[...And there's nothing.

He doesn't even try to hug back. He leans in, just a little, but he doesn't look at her.]

That is not okay.

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet hugs him closely despite that, and speaks so quietly it's barely more than a whisper, so only he can hear her:]

They will return. The Storyteller can revive the dead if they so choose, and they will be coming back to us.

It is a grievous loss, but it does not have to be a permanent one. Hold to that.

it's a world of hope it's a world of FEARS

[souris_keteer]

[And, finally, there's a flicker of life - his eyes slowly move to look at her. He didn't know about that, that they'd be coming back. That is good to know.

... But it still hurts. He couldn't prevent it at all. Mickey promised to take care of all his friends, and believed he could. And. He couldn't do a thing.]

No.

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet sees the motion and keeps speaking, softly and gently, still holding him:]

This is a wound that will heal. Not perfectly, because it was a deep and painful one, and such things do leave people permanently marked. It may scar, and it may ache from time to time- but it need not be the end of you, nor of any of us.

You may not be exactly as you were, before you lived through this. But you did live through it. And what lives will always heal as best it can.

there's so much that we share that it's time we're aware

[souris_keteer]

[But why did he live through it, when others didn't? Why did good, strong people have to suffer, instead of taking someone weak and useless like him?

His face gets hot. He'd been trying to fight tears for so long, but this is another battle he's about to lose. Big strong men shouldn't cry. His face scrunches up in one last desperate bid to make it stop.]

[prettypurpleparlor]

[If he thinks he hasn't suffered, he clearly hasn't been paying attention. And letting a friend see that you're suffering isn't a weakness, despite what anyone might think. Muffet looks him in the eyes, expression gentle and sympathetic.]

There's no shame in being hurt, or in reaching out to someone for help, no more than if you were asking someone to help you bandage a cut.

If anyone judged you for showing that you were hurt, they would be very foolish indeed- and a hypocrite, too. We're none of us beyond pain.

[No one living is, at least.]

[souris_keteer]

[And with that, the floodgates open. Sorry about your dress, Muffet, cause Mickey's going to bury his face in it for a nice good sob-fest.]

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet hasn't given less of a damn about fashion in years than she does right now- having to give her capelet a bit of a wash is a small price to pay for any comfort she can offer him.]

[She holds him close, gentle but firm, and rubs his back with one hand as he lets out what he's been carrying.]

I'm sorry that you- or anyone- had to go through this. It's neither right nor fair, and I would have spared you all from it if that were within my power.

[souris_keteer]

[It seems to go on for ages, at least that's how it feels for Mickey. When he finally gains some semblance of control, he pulls back a little, mumbling.]

... S-sorry.

[prettypurpleparlor]

[She smiles gently at him, weary but kind.]

You've nothing to apologize for, dearie. I only wish I could do more.

[souris_keteer]

[he sniffles, rubbing his nose.]

... Me too... I wish there was more I could do.

[seesbosscrotch]

It's not as easy as it all sounded, is it?

[Mar drops down by the mouse with a little thump that, given the weight of his armor, ought to be a louder one. Honestly, he's not even sure Mickey will remember the conversation they had in the caves... but if he did, well. Maybe now he sees just why Mar had been saying what he had.]

[souris_keteer]

...

[Mickey doesn't say anything. He doesn't even seem to acknowledge he's not alone anymore. He just stares in the distance.]

[seesbosscrotch]

That's life, you know. Terrible things happen... all the time. To people who don't deserve them. Out of nowhere. You can't stop all of them.

[He leans forward, looking off into the distance as well, leaning on his own legs.]

You can stop some of them.

[souris_keteer]

[Still nothing...

... Although now he slowly turns his head to look at him.]

[seesbosscrotch]

The only way you can stop some of them... the only way you can do any good at all...

Is to stand up, unbroken. To take everything the world has to offer on your shoulders and bear up under that weight. To face down the thing that threatens you, be it man or god or all the demons of the Twisting Nether -- or to existence itself, to entropy and chaos and despair -- and tell it, "No."

But you can't let it break you. No matter how much it hurts. No matter how badly you want to run away, and hide in some dark corner of a cave or your mind. You stand back up. And you make the world a better place. However you can.

[souris_keteer]

[He still doesn't say anything, but his eyes soften. He then pushes the bottom of his palm to his eye, trying not to cry. It's so tempting to do just that, to run away and cry and just let nothingness wash over him.

But that wouldn't help anyone.

He makes a little noise - "mm-hmm", nodding slowly.]

[seesbosscrotch]

...You remember why I said you had to make what you do fun? That wasn't just talk, you know. [And there's a reason he said it so specifically -- because it isn't easy. Not at all.]

[souris_keteer]

[Nodding again, not as slow this time.

Finally, his voice comes out, dry and hoarse.]

... Th... thanks.

[seesbosscrotch]

I've been where you are. I've seen the path you have to walk.

It's easier if it's not alone.

[As he'd done it.]

[souris_keteer]

[He sighs deeply through his nostrils. He wishes his friends were here... maybe this would be easier with Donald and Goofy and Pluto. Who knows.

He hugs his knees.]

I don't... want to be... that useless... anymore.

[seesbosscrotch]

There are always going to be situations where you're useless. You have to accept that, because the alternative is going the bad kind of crazy. There's only one of you and you can only do so much.

[souris_keteer]

[he winces at that.]

... Can't I do more...?