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

[robitussin]

[Normally, she would absolutely address what he's saying - but this time, what he's doing catches her attention more immediately. With a tone that she won't be able to easily play off as anything but genuine concern:]

Stop it, you're going to hurt yourself!

cw self harm

[amburere]

[ ......!

The flame goes out like a lightbulb, bright blue and then gone in a second. The blood from his staples is flowing more freely now, beyond just a minor agitation. ]

Shit. This is gonna be annoying to fix. [ Cause that's clearly what's important here. Not the act in the first place, but that he went just a bit too far. ]

[robitussin]

[The blood, the deliberateness of it - it reminds of her of something she's been trying hard to forget. As such, when she speaks, there's something else mingled with the concern: desperation.]

Please let me see it. I can - get you bandages or something.

[amburere]

[ A beat and then he holds out his bleeding hand blankly. His cooperative mood likely won't last long, he's kinda on autopilot here as memories churn in his head. ]

...

[robitussin]

[She takes it gingerly, taking care not to pull at his staples. Tugging at her sleeve so it covers her hand, she presses it over the part of his hand that's bleeding, letting the blood sink into the fabric.

For now, she stays silent.]

[amburere]

[ The silence isn't the worst, though eventually he catches up to the present. A few minutes maybe, but who's counting?]

That's enough. [ As much as it might seem like a late rebuke, it is the truth. Without the fire to agitate it, and with the help of the fabric, the blood has slowed down to a trickle. He pulls his hand away. ]

[robitussin]

[She leans back as he moves his away, trying not to hold the bloodied clothing against anything. After a moment, she puts her hand on the grass.

Softly, after a few more seconds pass:]

You didn’t have to do that.

[amburere]

[ He just laughs, low and coarse. ]

Do what?

[robitussin]

[In contrast, her own voice sounds frailer than anyone here has heard it, close to cracking.]

You hurt yourself.

[amburere]

[ Ah, that sets him straight. He answers flatly. ]

All quirks have drawbacks.

[robitussin]

[She looks at the staples, at the scars, concern evident.]

But not all of them do this. Right?

[amburere]

Right. I'm lucky. [ Even he can't tell if he's being sarcastic here or not. ]

[robitussin]

[After a moment, she assumes he must be, but she doesn’t comment on that. Instead:]

Why do you do it? If it... hurts you like that.

[amburere]

Good at it. [ In a manner of speaking. ]

[robitussin]

...Being good at something doesn't obligate you to do it.

[There's that same mix of curiosity and concern in her tone.]

[amburere]

[ He starts to say something and then stops, and if she's listening closely she'll be able to hear a single word: "he". As best as he can, Dabi reverses course and just shakes his head. ]

Doesn't matter. [ Going there right now would be a really terrible idea. ]

[robitussin]

The answer matters to me.

[She did hear, though, so she pauses for a moment before deciding it's worth it to pursue it.]

He...?

[amburere]

Don't. [ A request and a command, spoken as low as his previous ones. The embers that begin to form across his entire body are warning enough by themselves, but he's never known how to go halfway in anything. ]

[robitussin]

[She glances his way when she hears his tone, tensing when she sees what he's doing.]

—Okay, okay, just - stop!

[amburere]

[ And stop he does, as hard as it is to stamp down on the only desire coursing through him. When he speaks again, his tone is mostly back to usual, carrying just a bit of edge. ]

There's no point in bringing up shit that doesn't matter right now.

[ As infuriating as this motive was, it really didn't matter at this exact moment. He could wait. Just barely. ]

[robitussin]

Okay. Okay, I won't, just...

[She glances him over for any new injuries the last few moments might have caused, biting her lip.]

Can we go inside or something?

[amburere]

You can. [ Remarkably, not even his clothes are singed—the magic of support engineers. ]

[robitussin]

[She pauses, but...]

Is it safe for me to leave you out here alone?

[amburere]

Don't make me say it again.

[robitussin]

I’m not asking you to say anything again. Just - tell me you’ll be fine and I’ll leave you alone. That’s it.