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

[goteachother]

Maybe not according to religious traditions but... [But none of them are Levin and it's not like she has a Torah hidden up there.]

Shouldn't rulers have that? Can't be Arianna. [She grins over at the princess.]

'kumi could have probab- ARDYN!!

[scourgingstars]

[hi there]

Technically I was rather violently deposed, and quite honestly I never thought to check if a chancellor had that authority.

But I also don't think any of you care of the legalities.

[goteachother]

[It takes some time but eventually Queenie detaches herself from the people that need her attention and she settles herself into the seat beside Clarith. A plate begins collecting french toast for her and she just smiles.]

Thank you, honey.

[theundertaker]

[Squints.

She doesn't even have anything to say about that, just squints.]

[goteachother]

Technicalities can kiss my butt.

[And she actually blows Ardyn a kiss? What is the world coming to.]

Girls~~ You need dresses.

OH!! Nari can make the cake! She'll love that!

[scourgingstars]

Don't you think it a little rushed to act as though we're doing this immediately?

[motherfucking_ghost]

I know. I know.

It's... [He can't say it's okay, because it's not okay. Not right now.] It's gonna be okay. We'll figure this shit out.

[...Shit. The letter--] I've got something for you when you're...up for it more.

[desperateprayer]

M-Maybe tomorrow so we can at least have time to prepare?

[ IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING ]

[goteachother]

Mmm, yeah! Sounds like a plan ta me~

[See Ardyn!]

[goteachother]

I asked... he wouldn't give me a straight answer.

[She is perfectly content being sandwiched between Choro and Heart.]

I think it musta been him.

[goteachother]

[You can squint all you want Cece... she's just gonna hug you.]

I'm sorry honey... about... that you had to-

[She has to swallow down a fresh round of tears. Alive and here with them it's so easy to pretend that things are all okay again but... she's broken their trust and Tani is still gone.]

[misanthropicprinciple]

I was born before that generation came out, nerdlord. It's also my last name? My first name is normal.

[motherfucking_ghost]

Nothing about you is normal.

[One of them has got to say it though, and Church is llllless in the mood for fun than usual.] You came here to talk?

[misanthropicprinciple]

...If you want. I came here to check on you. 'Cause... uh, you know.

[Because they're friends. Because that's what bros do.]

It's been one hell of a weekend.

[theundertaker]

[At least she doesn't seize up this time. She leans into the hug with all her might, holding Queenie like she might vanish if she lets go.]

...I went down to the court room to get you but PAL stopped me on the stairs. He told me not to bother, that this time there wasn't a body to collect. I thought he meant he'd done something to you like-like with Kip so I didn't ask questions. I just ran back upstairs to find Nari. [She presses her face into her shoulder, drawing in a slow, shaky breath.] I-I felt so relieved that I didn't have to drag you to the morgue, Queenie, and I'm so sorry for that.

1/2

[daughterofthemark]

Tomorr--

[EVERYTHING IS HAPPENING SO MUCH]

2/2

[daughterofthemark]

We need to propose!

[everylittlesecret]

I see... Is there any way I or someone here can stop that?

[motherfucking_ghost]

That's a fucking understatement.

[Okay. Now he's lacking things to do with his hands other than occasionally fiddle with the orange scarf Ardyn surprisingly let him hold on to from the post-memory fuckapalooza...he'll just...have to sit on his bed and maybe talk things out like an adult, or someone actually responsible.

It's had time to settle, and some of it's come loose with Queenie's reappearance. None of it is by any means easier, but maybe he can actually put it into words without feeling like he's about to die.

He won't start with that, though.]

You get Q's message in a bottle? I know you didn't want it at the time, but...

[goteachother]

Just... lemme stay here. [It didn't really matter where here was, as long as she was in his arms.]

Please. [Because she was so certain that he was going to push her away any moment, that anger would win out. She'd had plenty of time to think before PAL had brought her back. Now she doubted every conclusion she'd come to, terrified instead that she'd ruined everything.]

[goteachother]

Shhhh shhh no. Ceec [Queenie squeezes her gently, kisses her hair.]

No one deserves to see all ya have ta do. 'course ya'd be relieved, honey. 's only natural. Don' apologize fer that.

[desperateprayer]

Th-Then we'd need a seashell...!

[ I CAN'T FIND IF THAT'S SPECIFIC TO MARLON ROYALTY OR WHAT SO I'M ROLLING WITH IT ]

[motherfucking_ghost]

We thought you were gone; we thought we failed. You were with us and you were gone, don't--don't do that again, don't, you're staying right here.

[daughterofthemark]

[SHE IS TOO KEYSMASH TO QUESTION THIS]

Where is--does anybody--

Dance Studio

[goteachother]

[Queenie had come up here to collect a bottle of lavender oil from the spa. Tani had said it was his favorite and now it seemed appropriate to use it as perfume. But the flowers in the hall made her curious and then...

She smiles, watches the first couple passes he makes. Then the next time he caught the pen, before he moved to throw it once more there was a soft crack from the hallway and following not a moment later a sharper crack! directly behind him, echoing slightly in the open space and Queenie was directly behind him, plucking the pen from his hand.]