the final week

[airlockedmods]

[Eight weeks. Eight weeks of friendship and love, death and loss, hope and despair all muddled together in a cocktail that's too sweet on the tongue and leaves an acid-y pit in the stomach. With nine of them left (ten counting their dear but lone surviving host), things look darker than ever. Come Sunday morning the last of the Champions missing memories will be returned to them while they sleep. For some of them this will reveal answers, for others it might just be a fate worse than death. They could even be death.

But how does the song go? "It's always darkest before the dawn"?

There are no announcements from PAL this week. Not even morning and evening announcements.

Sunday Monday Tuesday



[ooc: Welcome to endgame, everyone! We're all very proud of you for making it all the way to the end. As you can see this is going to be a short IC week but we promise things will not be going down until this weekend (7/7-7/9). On Tuesday we'll be unveiling the OOC post for what to expect during the final investigation. There is no official AC this week, just a check-in and as mentioned above characters will be at their true canon points on Sunday morning.

Buckle up, kids, the ride's not over yet.]

Comments

TUESDAY

[airlockedmods]

[everylittlesecret]

[As soon as she can, Nari is in the kitchen. Anyone who comes into the dining room will find the table with several different plates and trays. It's simple. Breads, rolls, cold cuts, jams, butter, mustard, pickles, cheeses, homemade chive butter, honey, and hard boiled eggs... what she considers a good old German breakfast. There's coffee and tea as well in the kitchen, along with some pitchers of juice. Those who have a hangover will find some Bloody Mary's ready to help with that.

Nari herself is seated at the table, a lapel pin carefully affixed to her dress. The crest on it may not look familiar to anyone here, but from the letter she had gotten from Nishitani, she knew exactly what it was. Have to represent the family, right? She'll smile at anyone who comes in. At least Stabbycat doesn't have a knife on him as he whirls around with a pigeon with an orange ribbon sitting on him.]

Good morning~! Feel free to dig in!

[Later on she'll sneak off into a quiet area and looks up at the camera.]

PAL? I have a request, please.

Kitchen

[goteachother]

[Queenie is always in the kitchen early and this morning is no different. But she doesn't take a cup of coffee today, biting her lip and eyeing the pot suspiciously.]

Nari, honey?

[Gosh she looks worried.]

Can I talk to you? In private...?

[airlockedmods]

[The camera she's looking at blinks once, blue.]

dining room

[daughterofthemark]

[Arianna isn't hungover, but she stumbles in later than usual and seemingly half asleep, and manages to get halfway across the room before she notices the veritable buffet in front of her. She smiles weakly and mumbles something indistinct that sounds like it was supposed to be one of her typical amazed compliments.]

[serrata]

[ ... Wow, you know, maybe Ardyn does have a point and they DO cook entirely too much. But when it all looks and smells so good, Yuuri can't really complain.

She comes in with a big smile on her face, eyes sparkling as she takes in all the food. ]

You made all this yourself...? I'm impressed!

[misanthropicprinciple]

[Man. He can't believe yesterday they all witnessed a Disney princess wedding.

In the morning, Junpei's working on something at a table in the dining room: Looks like it's another one of those hand-drawn grids. His manual dexterity's improving, if nothing else. He's got the paper pulled in close to his body and his jacket draped over his head to keep certain cameras from seeing it. When he's done, he tapes it to the kitchen ceiling once again.

The afternoon finds him in the garden. He's singing, sometimes softly to himself, sometimes loudly with feeling, to the accompaniment of some of the pigeons. The pigeons are also apparently helping him look for something, if the way he and the birds are poking their way over the ground is any indication.

It's Michi who finds it. She returns something small to Junpei's hand, and he lifts it to the fake sunlight, watching the diamond ring catch the light like a symbol of hope.

By dinner in the dining room once more, he's looped it through the red and orange ribbons Clarith once tied around his arm and is wearing it around his neck like a pendant. A reminder. He chews his food, swallows, and then twirls his fork in a vague circle towards the ceiling, voice low and serious.]

Has anyone actually heard from PAL since Queenie?

dining room

[motherfucking_ghost]

[He is here for fooding, because omnom, and he's about to say something to Junpei--no telling if it's just a simple hey or something that is bound to be stupid and mocking--but whatever's about to come out of his mouth does not.]

Is...that...?

dining room

[everylittlesecret]

[Nari is in here to eat some more of that breakfast she made for dinner because who doesn't love rye bread with egg? The ring isn't something she's seen Junpei with before, but then again, the Kijin clan lapel pin is new jewelry for her as well.]

I spoke with him a little while ago. Well.... requested something. He just did the blinking thing.

Dining Hall

[goteachother]

[Well aren't you convenient, being here and asking these questions when she's looking for you to discuss this exact topic.]

I talked ta him this mornin, actually.

Well... sorta? I'm worried.

[serrata]

[ Despite everything they were told, Yuuri wakes up on Tuesday morning under a blanket of anxiety. After everything last week was, she can hardly be expected to be so content in just sitting around, assured of their safety. But as the day passes and PAL doesn't speak up to hang another sword over their heads she finally relaxes. Just a little.

She can be found in the garden in the morning, considering the plot of memorials with a little frown. She'd made one for Queenie just as she had for everyone else but... now that they know Queenie's alive, having it seems a bit morbid. Like it's inviting ill luck. But similarly, it seems just as disrespectful to just dispose of the thing altogether.

Eventually, she compromises. She carefully digs up the pink rose she'd planted at Queenie's memorial and using a bucket she transfers it over to the plot where the flowers she'd planted for the still-living Champions are. It takes a bit of careful arranging to make sure she won't be choking out any of the other plants but eventually, Queenie's flower is just where it belongs. With the rest of the family.

It's that train of thought -- family, togetherness -- that sends her to the dining room in the afternoon when she hopes she won't be getting in the way. In fact, you'll see her flitting back and forth between that and the store room upstairs for a little bit, carrying boxes back and forth until she finally settles.

Eventually, the remaining Champions will find a note slid under their door, scribbled hastily in Yuuri's handwriting. It's cheery if brief, just asking them if they want to keep their hands busy this afternoon and do something nice for the group then they're free to come to the dining hall and keep her company.

If you care to investigate it looks like the table's been covered with stationary supplies. Paper, coloured card stock, scissors and glue and colours pencils and...

...

Is this an arts and crafts session.

Whatever it is, Yuuri's already hard at work. She's got scissors and pencils and glue and she's doing something with that accounting book of hers that probably isn't actual accounting. With the amount of junk she's brought down she obviously expects everyone else to be joining in as well -- so you might as well, right? ]

[scourgingstars]

[In the hall near the storage room, Ardyn noticed (1) Yuuri with a box. And then he noticed her again closer to the dining room, going back and forth. And well, far be it from him to not investigate after the second or third time.]

Do you want help carrying that?

[Also, what the heck are you doing.]

dining room

[motherfucking_ghost]

[The note gets his attention, and when he walks in, he just...sssstops.]

Uh.

[He picks up a colored pencil and twirls it in his fingers.] What...are we doing?

[misanthropicprinciple]

[This is perfect.

After his talk with Ardyn the other day, there's something Junpei's been meaning to do. And while he's not sure exactly what Yuuri's plans are for that book, he pulls up a chair next to her and takes a piece of green card stock.]

Help me?

[He's getting better with his hands once more, but either he wants this to be perfect, or he likes when Yuuri helps him.]

[daughterofthemark]

[Arianna was going to come to the dining hall and keep her company even if she wasn't invited, so of course she's showing up.]

What is all this?

[scourgingstars]

[After breakfast in the dining room as had become routine, Ardyn went to the garden ostensibly looking for Luscinia. And with the bird following him, he briefly retreated to a more secluded corner in the shadow of a tree.]

[...The guy on your ring. Oh my god, what an actual bastard!]

[He'd worn it all this time as a reminder of what he was. Which became a reminder of what he'd thought he was, and then what he'd wanted to be. There was no power to call from it now, no magic it could act as a conduit for. It was as useless as a prophesied hero who the prophecy had lied to from the start.]

[He reached for his right hand with his left and pulled the ornate ring from his finger, with its damned Crystal and image of Bahamut. Curled his hand around it, pulled his arm back like he was about to throw it into the wide array of plants-]

[-and then he stopped. He had personally seen it burn away those who wore it carelessly; if its power ever did return, Ardyn would burn out just like Ravus Nox Fleuret and Nyx Ulric all because he was unworthy in the eyes of the kings of Lucis. In the eyes of that miserable, worthless Draconian. Just a pawn that was sacrificed and cast aside once its job was done.]

[I don't think Bahamut ever meant for me to save anything.]

[What better rebellion, then? Not only to live for reasons other than being forced to, but to openly wear the symbol of the power he'd dismantled out of spite? Challenging them come and take it, daring gods and kings from a world away to tell him he couldn't wear what had once been his by right.]

[...He lowered his arm, returning the ring to his right hand. No flash of fire, no burst of magic...just a symbol now, and nothing more.]

[motherfucking_ghost]

[Honestly, it's probably one of the birds that directs Church to him. It's an oddly tense thing to walk in on, and he almost doesn't want to disturb the moment, to let Ardyn work out or think out whatever's in his head.

But then again, letting Ardyn work whatever's in his head isn't always the best plan, or ever, in case he's getting lost in the darkness of memories. So Church is slow to approach but approaches all the same, puts a hand on Ardyn's shoulder.]

Garden

[misanthropicprinciple]

...

And I was all prepared to catch it with my face and everything.

[Hi, Dad.]

[motherfucking_ghost]

[Early on, he's going to find Queenie in Kip's room. They ought to talk. He's got a box.

In the karaoke bar, several tables are pushed together, with glasses of booze set up on either end and ping pong balls at the ready. Come learn beer pong.

Later in the day, slightly more drunk ("slightly"), he is playing with bubble wrap in the foyer, and by playing we mean roll down stairs in bubble wrap, popping all the way. He's got three rolls of the shit, he is probably not going to hurt himself. And otherwise he's going to be around, checking in with people, or letting people run into him. (If Ardyn is around? There is probably going to be public makeout. Watch him, he'll fucking do it. He'll get an audience if need be.)

He'll end his day before collapsing in bed at the morgue. He might get morose and morbid. It's a morgue, the fuck do you expect?]

Box talks oh no

[goteachother]

[Early on for Leonard is still not as early as Nari and Queenie usually get up for breakfasting so she actually comes in a moment or two after him with a fresh cup of coffee, looking like she's been crying, and... When she slips in and sees him there she snatches her hand away from where it had been resting on her belly a moment before, wrapping both hands around her coffee mug.]

Mornin cap'n...

morgue

[theundertaker]

[But can he really get morose and morbid with a pretty girl coming to hang out with him among their dead friends?

...stupid question, of course he can and she'll probably join in. She needs five minutes of letting out her misery too.]

[goteachother]

[Tuesday morning was a bit of an emotional whirlwind. And after the chaos of the wedding yesterday it feels like she hasn't really stopped since... since before-

And maybe that's the point. She hasn't stopped, hasn't let herself really get used to not having Tani with her all the time. Anyone that sees her today might notice her habitually looking up over her shoulder like she expects someone to be there. Or, though she tries to stop herself from it, with a hand pressed low on her belly, lost in thought.

She lets Nari handle breakfast but she's in the kitchen fairly early, prepping something for dinner. It was a long time ago but she'd promised someone a roast dinner before he'd realized he couldn't taste and now that he could again Queenie was going to let a rather large portion of lamb cook nice and slow all afternoon.

Between what she's working on in the kitchen she does slip down to the tattoo parlor to collect some paper and pencils, doodling all day on the counters or in the dining room. She'd made something for Lee and the woman had ruined it. Now she wanted something for herself.]

Paging PAL

[goteachother]

[First thing after breakfast, once she's assured that coffee is an acceptable thing to continue drinking she actually makes her way down the hall to tuck herself into Tani's room. She's barely been in here. Hell, he'd barely been in here. But she settles down on the bed, leans back and looks straight up at the camera, sipping her coffee.]

PAL? Honey? I know you can see me but... can we talk?

kitchen

[scourgingstars]

Whatever you're making, it smells utterly spectacular. That's not catoblepas, is it?

[gesundheit]

[desperateprayer]

[ Clarith leaves her and Arianna's shared room late this morning. She grabs something simple for breakfast, then heads to the garden where she tends the memorials like usual. She stays there awhile, saying prayers and even just talking to some of them about the events of the past week. She seems... At peace, for once. There's not as much of the turmoil there that there usually is.

Later on she can be found just hanging out in the dance studio. She barely knows how to dance, but honestly, she doesn't mind trying on her own. An after that, she can be found in the bowling alley. She's not playing, but she is reliving memories. Eventually, she'll settle there to read one of her books, remaining just as calm as before. ]