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[Koby braces himself, seeing the name, but -- oh. Hm.]
I wouldn't forgive me either, if the roles were reversed. He opened up to me and I
[Acted strategically. Acted rashly. Simultaneously over and under thought things out of grief.]
He's allowed to hate me.
So are you.
I was scared and I jumped to a conclusion that wasn't fair without giving you a chance.
And I'm sorry. Can you please tell him I'm sorry?
I wouldn't forgive me either, if the roles were reversed. He opened up to me and I
[Acted strategically. Acted rashly. Simultaneously over and under thought things out of grief.]
He's allowed to hate me.
So are you.
I was scared and I jumped to a conclusion that wasn't fair without giving you a chance.
And I'm sorry. Can you please tell him I'm sorry?
[Koby hasn't slept, not really, jerking awake over and over, dreams about finding his friends dead, about waking up snuggled close to a corpse, about the possibility of not waking up at all -- all of them the hazy, half-formed dreams that come before you're fully asleep. There are so, so many people he hasn't reached out to, hasn't checked in on -- Carmy being one of them.
So the message ticks a box in Koby’s mind -- alive, safe, for now.]
I don't think any of us are, really.
But I'm not by myself. I'm staying close to the crew and Quentin.
You're with Richie? You're both safe?
Do you need anything?
So the message ticks a box in Koby’s mind -- alive, safe, for now.]
I don't think any of us are, really.
But I'm not by myself. I'm staying close to the crew and Quentin.
You're with Richie? You're both safe?
Do you need anything?
Either Usopp or Louis is lying. Louis can't have both roles.
You should have said something before I made it part of my case.
You should have said something before I made it part of my case.
[Ah. He'd anticipated this. It still hits him just south of his heart, like a blow, like stepping into ice.]
They both believe what they're saying. I don't think either of them are lying, not consciously.
I didn't want to name Usopp. The seers are going to be targeted, along with the doctors and the witches. I wanted to try and convince him to name me the seer instead.
Are you angry at me?
They both believe what they're saying. I don't think either of them are lying, not consciously.
I didn't want to name Usopp. The seers are going to be targeted, along with the doctors and the witches. I wanted to try and convince him to name me the seer instead.
Are you angry at me?
[Koby comes back to his room late, throat tight, head aching, chest hollow. He finds the piece of paper and just -- looks at it for a long, long moment, tracing the scrawl with a fingertip. His mind's too tired to parse it out just then, but there's a spark -- a spark of something. Something like hope. Something like he didn't leave me on purpose.
Maybe. Maybe.
The paper goes in his pocket, where it'll stay.]
Maybe. Maybe.
The paper goes in his pocket, where it'll stay.]
you’re luffy’s nerd, right?
[ she vaguely remembers bullying him. ]
[ she vaguely remembers bullying him. ]
[ this message comes late, late, late after the reveal. when louis stares at a screen and sees his own condemnation on there. the horror and the fear of it all. he killed. he killed and killed and killed and had no idea. ]
im sorry
i didn't know
im sorry
i didn't know
Edited 2024-10-19 23:22 (UTC)
[It's late, but Koby's awake. He's awake and feeling at the shattered, jagged edges of everything, trying to feel anything beyond tired and sick to his stomach at how things have happened.
But the message comes and he replies immediately, those broken bits jangling like a handful of glass in his chest.]
I know. I know you didn't, Louis.
No apologies, remember? Not from me, not from you.
But the message comes and he replies immediately, those broken bits jangling like a handful of glass in his chest.]
I know. I know you didn't, Louis.
No apologies, remember? Not from me, not from you.
[ The sun hasn't risen on the day yet, but it will in an hour or so. Daniel still has another person to see before the sun starts to force him to, unthinkably, go back to sleep again. ]
Hey. That was a lot of apologies.
[ He had a few messages from Koby and that's mostly what they were. Given he's already spoken to Armand, Louis and Alicent, he's pretty aware of what went down in his absence. He's not checking in for a report. ]
Hey. That was a lot of apologies.
[ He had a few messages from Koby and that's mostly what they were. Given he's already spoken to Armand, Louis and Alicent, he's pretty aware of what went down in his absence. He's not checking in for a report. ]
[It's after, after the searing agony of having every nerve stripped bare, of having every thought and feeling of everyone around him crowding in like a riotous cacophony, of two or three solid days of trying to find center again. Koby's back in the house, at least, though he needs to be alone much more often, let his mind settle.
When Daniel reaches out, at last (at last, the marks on Koby’s throat long since healed) the reaction is instinctive -- a mental nudge, a flicker of blush-colored awareness effortlessly seeking Daniel out amidst the many, many minds of Saltburnt. Koby doesn't let himself linger longer than it takes to confirm that yes, it's really him, its not some terrible trick, long enough for a pulse of relief and joy and grief to throb into that mental ambient, like a slow-healing bruise. Koby thinks, I missed you, I missed you.
But he texts:] I'm really very good at them. Apologies. I thought you'd figured that out already.
When Daniel reaches out, at last (at last, the marks on Koby’s throat long since healed) the reaction is instinctive -- a mental nudge, a flicker of blush-colored awareness effortlessly seeking Daniel out amidst the many, many minds of Saltburnt. Koby doesn't let himself linger longer than it takes to confirm that yes, it's really him, its not some terrible trick, long enough for a pulse of relief and joy and grief to throb into that mental ambient, like a slow-healing bruise. Koby thinks, I missed you, I missed you.
But he texts:] I'm really very good at them. Apologies. I thought you'd figured that out already.
[ At some point in the afternoon, just as Matt's last breath leaves his body, a small golden light appears in his room. It's about the size of a marble, and instantly, it flutters through the air as if on an errand it knows well. Walls and locked doors are no impediment to it, as it isn't strictly solid, and it leaves no trace behind it. Eventually, it ends up in Koby's room.
And then … it waits.
It waits for Koby to return, whereupon it rises to greet him. The light winds and dances around him, gentle as a blown kiss but insistent all the same. Then it dips down to draw Koby's attention to a sheaf of papers, at the top of which is a folded notebook page with Koby's name on it. ]
You're one of the smartest people I know. But more than that, I just want you to know how lucky I feel to have had a friend like you, even for a little while.
You. Are doing. GREAT.
Matt
[ The rest of the papers are all the notes Matt's taken about his various investigations. The time he snooped around the kitchens with Betty, his musings on what might be able to kill the house (fire, flood, earthquake?), his notes on the seances he's held, which includes the line Paris wants to talk to Bunny Balfour. It's not necessarily all that helpful, but it's there.
Matt's real gift to Koby from beyond the (temporary) grave may be that he recommended him to Harry. ]
And then … it waits.
It waits for Koby to return, whereupon it rises to greet him. The light winds and dances around him, gentle as a blown kiss but insistent all the same. Then it dips down to draw Koby's attention to a sheaf of papers, at the top of which is a folded notebook page with Koby's name on it. ]
You're one of the smartest people I know. But more than that, I just want you to know how lucky I feel to have had a friend like you, even for a little while.
You. Are doing. GREAT.
Matt
[ The rest of the papers are all the notes Matt's taken about his various investigations. The time he snooped around the kitchens with Betty, his musings on what might be able to kill the house (fire, flood, earthquake?), his notes on the seances he's held, which includes the line Paris wants to talk to Bunny Balfour. It's not necessarily all that helpful, but it's there.
Matt's real gift to Koby from beyond the (temporary) grave may be that he recommended him to Harry. ]
[It's 5am, and normally Koby is awake and at the gym by now, but the persistent headache in his neck and shoulders and spine has made him want to do nothing but sleep. Still, he'd agreed to this, after all. So:]
I have a typewriter, but if you make fun of it, I'm leaving.
And coffee. How do you like it?
I have a typewriter, but if you make fun of it, I'm leaving.
And coffee. How do you like it?
I know I shouldn't bother you while you're resting and healing, but I've left some food with Shanks. Or nearby.
I don't know when I'll see you again because of all of this, but it doesn't matter. So long as you're better and healthy and happy when it's over.
[ will it be over? what does it mean to have this happen? will koby want to be touched and loved and coveted by him again? ]
I'm taking care of Abraham. Took her for a swim in the lake today, chased from one side to the other.
Get some rest, Captain.
I don't know when I'll see you again because of all of this, but it doesn't matter. So long as you're better and healthy and happy when it's over.
[ will it be over? what does it mean to have this happen? will koby want to be touched and loved and coveted by him again? ]
I'm taking care of Abraham. Took her for a swim in the lake today, chased from one side to the other.
Get some rest, Captain.
[It takes a couple hours, and it hurts to focus, but Koby's almost as senseless from being away from Quentin as he is from the pain, so he begs five minutes, just five, please. The lucid periods are longer now, the weight of feeling so much abating to something bearable, and he can focus better.
Still, the words take a while to form:]
i miss you
i love you
are you okay
[I'm sorry, right there, remembering the horror, the bloody pain of their last meeting. Sorry for putting that stricken, haunted look on Quentin's face, for recoiling from him, for falling to pieces before him. Sorry for leaving him, even temporarily, without even being able to articulate what was happening. For all of it.]
Still, the words take a while to form:]
i miss you
i love you
are you okay
[I'm sorry, right there, remembering the horror, the bloody pain of their last meeting. Sorry for putting that stricken, haunted look on Quentin's face, for recoiling from him, for falling to pieces before him. Sorry for leaving him, even temporarily, without even being able to articulate what was happening. For all of it.]
[Am I really the best person you could think to ask that? is Koby's knee-jerk reaction, but -- he does have one of the more stable relationships in Saltburnt, comparatively, so. It's not that much of a stretch.]
It depends on context, but most commonly that means the one doing the asking wants to engage in one-on-one interaction with the other with an eye towards developing a romantic or sexual relationship.
Why?
It depends on context, but most commonly that means the one doing the asking wants to engage in one-on-one interaction with the other with an eye towards developing a romantic or sexual relationship.
Why?
[It's a little strange, still, but less effort than it had been before the awakening -- a flow like water, rather than a grating strain. Koby takes a moment to pinpoint the source (Armand; he feels different than Louis or Daniel or Lestat, older, deeper, a sense of still water hiding limitless depths) before replying:]
Has it? I guess I hadn't considered how it'd sound to others, now that I'm [Here, words fail, descriptions not measuring up to the facts: instead an impression of the pain of awakening, the sudden chaotic chaos of a hundred voices flooding into his mind at once, shattering and unmaking and uncontrollable.]
Is it like that for you? Vampires, I mean, when you first turn?
Has it? I guess I hadn't considered how it'd sound to others, now that I'm [Here, words fail, descriptions not measuring up to the facts: instead an impression of the pain of awakening, the sudden chaotic chaos of a hundred voices flooding into his mind at once, shattering and unmaking and uncontrollable.]
Is it like that for you? Vampires, I mean, when you first turn?
[ slipped under the door is a plain envelope with a simple invitation card, with a likewise simple message. on the back, written in legible print that is not aemond's handwriting, is a message: gifts not required! your presence is gift enough.
ooc | this is just for ic reference purposes! regarding the age: the hotd age timeline is a pain in the ass so he's just celebrating it twice. feel free to handwave or thread out as desired! 🔥 ]
ooc | this is just for ic reference purposes! regarding the age: the hotd age timeline is a pain in the ass so he's just celebrating it twice. feel free to handwave or thread out as desired! 🔥 ]
It has come to my attention that I am to speak with you regarding a banner the library provided. The advice is that, simply, you will know what it means. I do hope this is not time wasted.
The banner is in an array of colours not associated with our houses, despite the sigil being that of someone who does not deserve it. Said colours are reds, oranges and purples.
Tell me the meaning of it and I shall see to it you are well regarded.
The banner is in an array of colours not associated with our houses, despite the sigil being that of someone who does not deserve it. Said colours are reds, oranges and purples.
Tell me the meaning of it and I shall see to it you are well regarded.
[The username alone makes Koby laugh a little, as does the long-winded, grandiose message itself. Still, it's flattering (sort of) to be thought of as someone with answers, so.]
Hello to you too. I'd be happy to help, though I can't guarantee I'll know the meaning -- sometimes the house plays tricks and they don't make sense.
Can you send me a photo? The button that looks like this: 📷
If you tap it, it'll capture an image of whatever your device is pointed at.
Hello to you too. I'd be happy to help, though I can't guarantee I'll know the meaning -- sometimes the house plays tricks and they don't make sense.
Can you send me a photo? The button that looks like this: 📷
If you tap it, it'll capture an image of whatever your device is pointed at.
Are there times in this place where people have returned home?
Saw that library sign this morning - you holding up?
Got some reading material in my place but don't know if it's anything new to you.
[ there's so much more, too. the explosion, the power and emotion he felt off of the boy before - but he doesn't want to dive right into it. not when he's just come back from it all. ]
Got some reading material in my place but don't know if it's anything new to you.
[ there's so much more, too. the explosion, the power and emotion he felt off of the boy before - but he doesn't want to dive right into it. not when he's just come back from it all. ]
I'm all right, thank you for asking. Maybe this is the house's way of telling me to find new hobbies?
It's worrying, but. I'll find something else to do. But I'd welcome anything you have -- I remember you had some good ones.
[Koby's text comes with the soft, hesitant pulse of his aura, his presence, his mind seeking Louis out in a way it hadn't before. Not quite mind-reading, nothing so exact, more a stream-of-consciousness of emotion: cautious concerned apologetic relieved missed you i missed you]
It's worrying, but. I'll find something else to do. But I'd welcome anything you have -- I remember you had some good ones.
[Koby's text comes with the soft, hesitant pulse of his aura, his presence, his mind seeking Louis out in a way it hadn't before. Not quite mind-reading, nothing so exact, more a stream-of-consciousness of emotion: cautious concerned apologetic relieved missed you i missed you]
( yeah so what he's totally pretending he hasn't been ignoring the fuck out of koby for like a week, whatever — )
tell me abt ur stupid crew
tell me abt ur stupid crew
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