WEEK 3: April 15th - April 19th

[cartesio]

Third Week

The peaceful times are over. Moloch von Zinzer was murdered, and Nine was sentenced as his murderer. Everyone in Cartesio knows that.

Although life goes on, it seems the town of Cartesio isn't going to forget the tourists' transgressions. Not only they commited larceny in the cinema, they also murdered and executed in their town! It's no surprise their hospitality towards the visitors has cooled down considerably.

Not only they're maintaining a tense cordiality with them, they also have started talking behind the visitors' backs. All kinds of rumors are starting to sprout, yet nobody seems to be willing to say it to the tourists' faces. Talking directly to most passerby makes them distrustful, and nobody seems to want to be in close quarters alone with them.

It's only matter of time before the relationship between tourists and Cartesio starts degrading even further.

In the lobby of the motel there's a few more brochures, and the maps have been updated once again.

Links

IC Rules
Guestbook
Room Assignments
Events
Locations
NPCs
Activity Check

Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday

[Welcome to the third week! If you want to contact the Sergeant, please post here!. Also please remember to submit your activity check!]

Comments

2/2

[marmoron]

[FUCK. He knew he was bad at talking to people, but he didn't think he was this damn terrible that he can just get someone to start bawling when he was actually trying to say something sincere??

Obviously there's more to it than just that -- there has to be, but in the moment Keith's just utterly mortified sitting here. Should have just kept his fucking mouth shut, damn it.

He grabs Cian by the wrist to try and snap her out of this weird mindset she's in.]

Stop that. You're-- you don't have any reason to apologize, idiot.

[integratedsoul]

[ Keith's attempt does the trick very easily. Cian stares at him and though she is still sniffling, her expression very quickly changes into one of mortified embarrassment. This was absolutely not a publicly correct way to behave. The concept of publicly correct acting may be a little bit fucked up, but in this case she also upset Keith so a bit more of publicly correct interfacing may truly be called for. ]

Now I just want to apologize more... but to you. I-- I didn't think I would freak out this badly.

[ She forces a smile back into her lips - Keith may have told her not to do that, but Cian has no other modus operandi. ]

It just-- Thank you.

[ Yes okay, this is better, she is getting on track here. ]

You said something... really, really kind here. It means a lot to me.

[ And it does no matter how much she can't bring herself to truly understand the meaning of his or Tuan's words. ]

[marmoron]

[Finding himself at yet another loss for words, Keith stares at Cian again, feeling annoyed that he doesn't really know how to feel about this situation. It takes him another second to remember he's still holding onto her wrist, but he lets go immediately when it does finally occur to him to do that.]

I -- it wasn't some... [Keith trails off, inexplicably flustered. Why's he protesting this, what is there to protest other than the fact that Cian's gratitude is massively unnecessary here. He drops eye contact, trying recover. People and their feelings are just.. challenging to navigate. Somehow it'd been easier when he thought he'd messed up again -- at least he knew how to react to that.

Finally, he just slumps a little in his chair, one elbow on the table, chin resting on his hand as he turns his face to the side, looking more to the left of her than looking at her directly.]

You don't owe me an apology either.

Despite his body language, his tone comes across resigned rather than his usual baseline grumping. It's -- on some level, the fact that something this normal for people can get him so drained so quickly really drives home how alienating people can be. There's something punny and ironic about that coming from a half alien.]

Or your thanks. I just said something obvious is all.

[integratedsoul]

[ With both of her hands now free, Cian uses them to wipe away her tears with determination. Her two minutes of breakdown are over, she's done now, thank you very much. ]

The fact that you did say it means something to me though.

[ Leaving it completely undiscussed whether or not she agrees Keith's assessment is 'obvious'. Cian really doesn't think it is. ]

Emotions aside, that's why Miach wants me to die. For her, that is what being brave means. I'm still alive, so evidently I am still not reaching that standard.

[ Followed by a hollow chuckle. ]

Story end.

[marmoron]

You don't owe her anything.

[That response is quick, perhaps out of a desire to move away from the topic of what he said.]

You live for you. If you want to die, then I guess that's up to you. But you;ve already carried thirteen years of guilt for nothing because she was too much of an ass to let you know she was alive all that time. Enough is enough, Cian.

[integratedsoul]

[ ... ah.... Cian stays silent for a moment, letting that sink in. 'You live for you'. In the end, that had been the baseline of Miach's teachings as well. Funny how that worked out. ]

Who knows what her circumstances were... but, thank you. Sincerely.

[ You wanted to move away from thanks?? Too bad. ]

[marmoron]

[Circumstances. Keith can't judge, no -- as Cian says, it's hard to know. But he does know that even when Shiro had reportedly died on the Kerberos mission or when Shiro had gone missing after their battle with Zarkon that he'd done everything in his power to find him again. Everything and anything.

And he knows Shiro did the same, that Shiro tried his hardest to come back. Keith's never doubted that for a second. It's hard to imagine Shiro failing to get even one message across to him if he'd been missing for thirteen years. Not even being abducted by the Galra kept him away that long. Heck, not even dying kept him quiet for that long.

It's hard not to read into a thirteen year stretch of silence as coming from any other place than cold indifference.

He'll ignore her thanks -- he's already said to stop thanking him. Instead, he glances up, expression more serious.]

It's hard for me to understand something like that. I never accepted it when everyone said my brother had gone missing on a mission. Didn't accept it when he disappeared the second time either. The first time, he was captured by the Galra while he was out on a mission exploring Kerberos. The second time he really did die. Circumstances never stopped us from finding each other again.

[integratedsoul]

[ This kind of raises a possibility that Cian hadn't thought of yet: Miach might have really been dead and somehow resurrected only recently. After everything that happened here and that she heard about from others including Keith just now, Cian doesn't consider this impossible anymore.

But also, this has quickly become entirely besides the point. ]

... that's amazing. It must take a really special connection to achieve this. Both of you seem to be incredible people.

[marmoron]

[A really special connection, huh? For a moment, something in Keith's chest hurts, just thinking about everything they've gone through together and apart, thinking about everything that they still haven't faced together. May not face together because so much of what's going on back home is unknown. A terrifying abyss that might swallow
Keith whole if he lets his faith in the paladins falter even for a moment.]

Shiro saved my life. He.... he believed in me when nobody else did. When there was nobody else there for me, he came into my life and told me not to give up on myself.

[There's a bittersweet smile on his lips as he looks down at his food. He doesn't have words for this. There are forces in the world that go unnamed, but are strong enough to move mountains and achieve the impossible.]

Shiro's an incredible person. [I miss him. So... so much.] ...You'd have liked him. Everyone does.

[integratedsoul]

[ 'Miach is that for me' Cian starts to think, but then... that isn't really true, is it? While Miach has shaped her into the person she is today and while Miach gave her words and experiences she'd never have made on her own...

Even then, wasn't it more that Cian wanted to be that person for Miach, just a little? Hold her back from the abyss, keep her stable... just a bit. It was easier times when she still thought she could do that. ]

I probably would, yes. [ Cian likes everyone, in the placid little way she's been taught. ]

No wonder you don't think much of Miach, this is such a different type of bond.

[marmoron]

[Still looking at the table, Keith doesn't answer immediately. He takes a deep breath first, trying to decide how much he really wants to say on the matter. He's already said too much, hasn't he?]

I just know that if it were Shiro, he'd have found a way to let me know what was going on. No matter what it took. Just like I'm trying to do for him and the paladins now.

I'm never giving up on Shiro. I know he'll never give up on me.

[integratedsoul]

If there is ever anything I can do to help you with this, let me know.

[ Cian already knows that her own friendship story is over. Even if he would manage to prove herself to Miach now, what was between the three of them is irreparably broken. There is no way to go back to three little girls eating lunch on a rooftop together.

Keith's story isn't over. What he shares with this brother of his isn't broken. Cian thinks it would make her very happy to see them reunited. Keith would never make the same mistakes she had made, Cian knows, and still... if there is anything she can do to be of assistance just a bit, it'd selfishly make her feel better too. ]

[marmoron]

[That isn't what he was expecting to hear from anyone in Cartesio, really. The offer to help him find a way out or kill the Sergeant -- maybe. The offer to help him in an endeavor that's focused more around his own personal business just feels off. Strange. This was something he perceived as a task he has to undertake on his own, just like it used to be before the paladins ever became a part of his life.

For .. not the first time during this conversation, Keith's surprised -- visibly so. Cian's got a talent for making him run through several feelings at a time apparently.]

That's.... [Unnecessary is his kneejerk thought. But then.... so much of his life has been learning that he doesn't have to do everything alone. That there are people out there he doesn't have to push away, and it's not just the paladins. THere are people like that in Cartesio too.

People like Cian who've never been in situations like this. Has probably never held a weapon in her life. Someone he'd never have considered reliable in a war, but could still be part of a team here maybe.... Heh. What kind of person would he be, if he got someone harmless like Cian in trouble for helping him.]

....thanks. Sincerely.

[He clears his throat.]

If there's anything I can do for you, let me know too.