Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jul 25, 2021 19:52:13 GMT -5
Orpheus didn’t know if he had given up hope yet. He was trying to convince himself that he hadn’t – trying to make believe that there was still a chance they could both make it out of this unscathed, but he was beginning to doubt it. They had already both been through hell. They were already both suffering more than either of them had ever suffered before, and there was nothing Orpheus could do other than stand back and watch it happen. The world was not kind. There was no chance for much to change, unless Elpis managed to get him free. And after what had happened… he believed that Elpis would keep to their promise, but what happened when they found more painful ways to experiment that Orpheus hadn’t even thought to ban? It wasn’t Elpis’ fault that they didn’t understand how any of this worked. It wasn’t their fault that they didn’t seem to have empathy. It just… made it a lot more difficult to anticipate what they might be capable of. What they might consider okay before Orpheus told them it wasn’t. “I wasn’t implying that you love me any less than I loved Eurydice,” Orpheus murmured, curling just a little bit closer to L. “I was… her death was my fault. Both times. I should have been paying more attention, I should have been helping her, and… and this… the pain you’re going through, that’s my fault, too. I should have known what the House might do. I should have anticipated that it would use me against you like this… but I didn’t. And now you’re in pain and all you’re trying to do is clean up the mess I made…” he let his head hang, unable to quite meet L’s eyes. He loved him. He loved him more than he even had words for, but he couldn’t stand the idea that L was going through all of this because Orpheus had created a situation where they could both be put through hell. It wasn’t fair to L. It never would be, and no matter how long he spent trying, Orpheus would never be able to make it up to L. “I believe that Elpis is trying to help,” Orpheus managed, giving his best approximation of hope. If Elpis was involved, they at least had someone powerful on their side. It might come with more incidents like them trying to force Orpheus to hurt L, but they would deal with those as they happened. He didn’t believe that they had betrayed them. He had to believe that they were helping, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to grant L permission to try. He would tell him that there was no hope. Elpis, as it turned out, had been aptly named. Slowly, Orpheus lifted his gaze to meet L’s, though it was more difficult than he had anticipated. “This isn’t a matter of you looking back,” Orpheus breathed, shaking his head just a little bit. “It wasn’t your folly that got us here in the first place. If we fail, it will be because of me.” One word hung in the silence, though it remained unspoken: again. Orpheus was capable of nothing other than creating tragedy> He was capable only of making mistakes that cost lives and spirits and hope. He tried to believe that he could bring hope back, but all he had done was bring back Spring. He tried. He tried again and again and again, and all he left behind him was a trail of broken hearts and spirits. “There is nothing I hate more than that you’re suffering because I didn’t think things through. There’s nothing that hurts more than knowing that once again an attempt to do good has sent the person I love more than anyone else into hell. I should be the one rescuing you, Λ. Not the other way around.” That was, in a way, what his attempt to get L to leave had been. A rescue attempt. A poor one, but an attempt nonetheless.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jul 26, 2021 21:01:30 GMT -5
L breathed out. He knew this wasn’t going to go anywhere…he knew he would never leave Orpheus. He could keep explaining why for days on end, but it wouldn’t matter. Orpheus was going to want him to move on and be happy and free, and L was going to stay for as long as it took to fix this. They had reached an impasse. He leaned a little closer to Orpheus, falling silent. He has the distinct impression that they were both too tired and emotionally worn to be able to properly have this conversation, but he also knew there wasn’t realistically going to be another time to have it…he didn’t move, just tried to soak up as much of Orpheus’ presence as he could. Maybe if he could drench himself in it, he could be able to carry some along with him until they spoke again. His heart ached. There was no poetry for pain this raw. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” he breathed at last. “I don’t want to think. We both know how it is, and how it might always be. The world is very bad tonight, or whatever time it is.” He was afraid of what would happen if he continued thinking and talking about it. He could feel the levels creeping too high. The circuit breaker was going to go off any moment. When it did, he would be numb again, and he couldn’t comfort Orpheus while he was dead. “Can we just…pretend? For just a little while, that things are okay again? Can we imagine we’re on a picnic, and I’m telling you how much sugar I like in my tea, and you’re telling me I could be a poet, and I’m trying to find the words that will string together to form my love. Can we forget that the story ended and lay together, just us, in a refuge from everything else? I want to reread the part where I wake up in your arms. I want to reread the part where we were stars and our light wasn’t an illusion of life. I want to wake up from this and be reminded that all nightmares fade.” He closed his eyes, feeling tears burning at his eyes. He fought them back. He didn’t think humans were meant to feel this much at once. Hadn’t he read, somewhere, that that was what tears were? An excess of emotion, when it didn’t fit inside you anymore? “Hold me. Please don’t let me go. I don’t want - “ And then he blinked out, leaving nothing at all behind him.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jul 27, 2021 0:29:13 GMT -5
Orpheus searched L’s expression, then gave a small nod. This was painful, the two of them lying here, talking about a future that may or may not happen, trying to convince the other to do something they didn’t want to do. It was never going to work. They had never fought, and though they still weren’t exactly fighting, this was the only time Orpheus could think of that they hadn’t managed to sort out an argument. He wasn’t even sure it counted as an argument so much as a disagreement. Nobody had even raised their voice, even if L had been a little bit sharper than usual. He sighed, trying to relax into the moment L was weaving into existence. “We can pretend,” Orpheus breathed out, pulling L as close as he could manage and letting his eyes drift closed. “We can pretend that I know how the world might be if we continue to improve it. We can pretend that we’re looking at the same stars at the same time, and that, somewhere in another world, there’s a galaxy named just for you, only it can never match you for brilliance or beauty. We can pretend that the story ended when we fell asleep in each other’s arms, because there was a ‘happily ever after’ written on the page instead of a next chapter.” He was silent for a long moment, breathing in L’s scent and trying to live the words he was speaking. Trying to inhale the ones that issued from L. “I’ll hold you,” Orpheus whispered, about to weave a hand through L’s hair when he suddenly found himself clutching at nothing. His arms folded close to his body and he let out a tiny whimper, trying to hold onto the warmth L had left where he had been just seconds before. Orpheus was silent for a long moment, tears burning in the corner of his eyes and spilling out, landing exactly where L’ heart had been. “Bring him back,” Orpheus demanded, his voice tiny and raw. “Let me hold him. Let me tell him that things might be okay, let me tell him we can pretend that they will be. Let me tell him that I’m never going to let him go, even when he can’t feel me there, let… let me hold him!” Orpheus hadn’t meant to start yelling, but his voice had worked its way into a grief-stricken cry by the end of his small tirade. He was trembling, still hugging his arms to his chest as though L was still there to be held. “Please,” Orpheus continued, not bothering to wipe the tears from his face. “Please bring him back. Please let me give him hope, just… just one more time. I just need him to have hope.” Orpheus didn’t say it, but the thought was there: How can you claim the name of hope when you steal him away before I can finish offering him mine? How dare you presume to be hope when you just took away mine before I could make sure it was solid?
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jul 27, 2021 10:03:47 GMT -5
“I’m sorry.” Elpis’ tone was mournful as it cut through the air in place of L’s lower one. They weren’t there, and then they were, standing to one side, head lowered and green eyes on the ground. Their clothes were simpler than before; still sleeveless, still black and soft to the touch, but with no extras this time. Their hair was down again for the first time since they’d been trapped, and they didn’t look up. “I’m sorry,” they repeated. “I can’t do that. Not safely. There’s a reason I can’t just take you and shield you from the House forever, and rescue you that way. I can’t hide you, not forever, and I can feel the House getting closer. It’s a little bit like extreme hide and seek, with higher stakes. Our power seems to be pretty equal in that area at least, so when it finds me…” They bit their lip. “Sorry. I didn’t think you’d want to risk him being here if the House catches us. I waited as long as I could, but you didn’t seem like you were going to stop, and I’m not supposed to eavesdrop. Was it a bad time?” They could tell he was upset. With them, probably. They didn’t like it… maybe they should have gone about it differently. Maybe they’d made another mistake already. There were a lot more rules than they’d anticipated, and Orpheus felt very strongly about them. They seemed important…they wished they could just know them automatically, the way Orpheus seemed to. Then they could just…avoid all this. “Sorry,” they said again. “Do you want me to bring him back?”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jul 27, 2021 13:03:49 GMT -5
Orpheus glanced at Elpis, forcing himself to breathe. There had been a reason, then. It wasn’t just because Elpis felt vindictive or wanted to or was tired of watching them hold onto each other… it wasn’t because Elpis had been listening in and had decided that they had reached a conclusion and had torn them away from each other. Elpis was following the rules. Elpis was doing their best to be kind, and it was once again the House that had wrenched the two of them away from each other. Orpheus thought he might hate it, but he kept the thought to himself. He knew Elpis’ feelings on the House were complicated, and he didn’t want to mess with their perception of it any more than he already had, unintentionally. He wiped his eyes, trying to breathe himself back into composure. “No,” Orpheus managed, voice raw as he finally met Elpis’ gaze. “If it’s dangerous… if you don’t know how long we have before the House finds us… then it’s best for him to be back in his world. I…” he looked away, trying to figure out what to say. Trying to find the words that would make this better. There were none. But there were things he needed to get across anyway. “I owe you an apology, Elpis,” he said after a moment, looking back up at them. “It was unfair of me to be upset with you for trying to protect him. I shouldn’t have assumed that your motivation was anything other than kind. You… I still believe that you’re a good person. You made one mistake, but that doesn’t change that you’re trying. That you’re still doing your best. I just… gods, Elpis… I miss him so much. I want to help him believe that it all might be okay. I want to believe that it will all be okay.”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jul 27, 2021 13:29:21 GMT -5
Elpis risked a glance up at Orpheus, their gaze hesitant. They still couldn’t tell if the anger Orpheus had shown when they’d messed up before had been his, or the result of the experiment…they couldn’t predict what he was going to do here, now. They trusted him, and they trusted his reactions to make sense, but they didn’t trust themself. They didn’t trust that they’d be able to know what warranted an extreme reaction, and what wouldn’t. They met his eyes, not speaking as he replied, and dipped their head a little. They’d assumed as much…they knew Orpheus well enough to know that L’s safety mattered to him. Which, to be fair, was one of the very first things they’d ever learned about him. They blinked, startled as he continued. “Me?” They repeated, uncertain. “I don’t think you have to apologize…you were upset because he was gone, right? And I took him away. That was my fault. Maybe I should have done it differently…” They searched his eyes, green meeting hazel. “You love him,” they murmured finally, giving a small, helpless shrug as thry said it. “You told me that when we first met. Of course you miss him. But this isn’t goodbye…not yet. Not while I still have any power left.” They breathed out. “I’m starting to be able to estimate how much time we have typically, though. Would…it be helpful to warn you, next time? I could give you a set amount of time to say goodbye.”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jul 27, 2021 13:35:57 GMT -5
Orpheus blinked a little, eyes widening as Elpis took responsibility for what had happened. It wasn’t that simple. Orpheus shouldn’t have gotten upset. He was just… he was stressed and tired and so, so sick of being alone. He wanted to believe in the situation L had offered. The pretend future that they could have. The version of their lives where they were still on a picnic, sharing gummy worms and holding onto each other like there would never be anything to worry about. He wanted to believe in that future. He wanted to believe they could have that again. A version of that where they didn’t have to rely on the House to give them enough time. “You did it just fine,” Orpheus replied after a long moment, giving a small shake of his head. “I just… I didn’t expect it. I appreciate you keeping him safe. I don’t know what the House would do if it found us together here… I can’t imagine it would be very pleased. Or… or maybe it would be pleased, which is somehow even worse.” He shuddered, eyes meeting Elpis’ for a long moment. “Thank you, Elpis,” Orpheus added, hugging his arms to his chest. He had been too hard on them. He had been too harsh in the sudden absence of L in his arms. He hoped Elpis hadn’t been listening to his thoughts. They had been cruel, though he had been sensible enough not to voice all of them. It wasn’t Elpis’ fault that the House was catching onto where they were. “I don’t now that I deserve everything you’re doing for me, but… I’ll be grateful. Forever.” He looked up, bracing himself for when the House found them. For the moment he stopped being himself. “If you can estimate… yes… I would be grateful for that, Elpis. But only if it’s not an inconvenience for you.”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jul 27, 2021 14:15:09 GMT -5
Elpis breathed out, relief filling them as the moment passed. Orpheus wasn’t angry. It was okay. They hadn’t messed up again. They were trying to follow the rules laid down for them. They were doing their best to help, though it was much harder than they’d anticipated. The House, the rules, the experiments…Orpheus himself. It seemed living came with a bit of a price. It was much harder to make their own choices than they'd ever imagined it would be. They still wouldn’t have given it up though. Their freedom…it was important to them. They wanted the freedom to learn and grow and live. That was what Orpheus had done all this for, after all. They nodded a little, pushing their hair out of their face to see him better. “I’ll try,” they promised. “I can’t make any promises…but I’ll try.” They hadn’t been in Orpheus’s head. They hadn’t actually been told they shouldn’t be, per se, but they hadn’t been in that moment, so they didn’t know what he’d been thinking. They were a little preoccupied with keeping a mind on the House at the moment. They could tell they were running out of time… “It might be better if I release you, instead if letting it find us,” they admitted after a moment. “It might make it harder for it to pin down where you are. I don’t want it to start psychoanalyzing my hiding places or anything.”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jul 27, 2021 14:20:28 GMT -5
Orpheus searched Elpis’ eyes, then gave a small nod. Impulsively, he stood up and immediately wrapped Elpis in a hug, trying to squeeze them as tight as possible before they had to let him go. This was all… it was complicated. And Orpheus couldn’t shake the feeling that he wasn’t worth all of this heartache. Elpis could be free. They could be figuring out what to do with their life on their own. They could be making their own decision about morals and learning from the experts. Orpheus was just a simple musician. He was no great philosopher. He just believed that people should be treated fairly and with kindness, and he wouldn’t stand for injustice. That made him like any number of young idealists. His ideals had been crushed over and over again, yet somehow he was stupid enough to keep clinging to them. “Thank you,” Orpheus breathed, tears burning at the corners of his eyes. He was doing his best not to let them fall. He pulled back, then, giving what he hoped was a confident smile. “Come find me soon, okay?”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jul 27, 2021 14:32:42 GMT -5
Elpis didn’t move for a moment as he hugged them, their eyes widening in surprise. They hadn’t expected that…they had never expected that again, of they were being honest. They melted into it, wrapping their arms tentatively around him, too. They were shorter than he was by a number of inches, but they didn’t let that stop them from trying to make him feel held, too. Safe, even, though that wasn’t a promise they could make him. At least…not yet. They were trying to learn. They were trying their best to figure out morals, and everything else…they needed time. They couldn’t learn as fast as they wanted to. “I will,” they promised him quietly as he leaned back, meeting their eyes, “See you soon,” They held on a moment longer, then let go, stepped back and released the barrier, scrambling their position as best they could at the same moment. Hopefully…that would stop the House from catching onto where they would be next time.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jul 27, 2021 15:04:14 GMT -5
The passage of time as, as always, hard to calculate. But it wasn’t too long before Elpis once again stood in a quiet room, concentrating on a soul. It wasn’t the same living room copy it had been, this time. It probably didn’t matter too much what it looked like, at the end of the day, as long as it served its purpose, but…well. Elpis liked the ideas of a place they’d created, not copied. They also didn’t want Orpheus to keep having to wonder if they’d once again appeared in the living room. The carpet was a deep blue, and there were no stains. The walls were white…off white? They weren’t blinding. Elpis was incapable of getting headaches, but they hadn’t liked the look of pure white, so off white it was. There were lights…or, rather, or was lit mysteriously. There was no hallway. There were chairs, though, brown ones. They probably wouldn't be very comfortable, but they looked nice. They finished putting the barrier up, then tried to snatch Orpheus away and blink them in, before they could be stopped.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jul 27, 2021 15:10:48 GMT -5
Orpheus breathed out, eyes widening as they felt their body transported somewhere. They were used to the feeling of blinking, now. They had once thought that it happened so instantaneously that there wasn’t any feeling at all, but they had since learned that was incorrect. There was a feeling. It was a little bit like falling, but not quite. They shook their head, bracing themself for whatever horror the House had prepared for them now. Of course, it wasn’t the House. If it was the House, they wouldn’t know who they were. They wouldn’t remember their name, they wouldn’t remember L, and they wouldn’t remember how much Elpis was doing to help them. They took in a deep breath, eyes wide as they surveyed the room. It was nice. Elpis had very clearly been practicing. Experimentally, they approached one of the chairs and sat down, nodding approvingly when it proved to hold their weight. Elpis really was learning fast. Orpheus couldn’t be certain if Elpis’ living room was more comfortable than the House’s because it actually was more comfortable, or because it was somewhere other than the House. “Hello,” they greeted, trying to sound cheerful. Mainly, they just sounded tired.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jul 27, 2021 15:20:28 GMT -5
Elpis smiled as Orpheus successfully appeared. They always felt s little thrill when they did that…it had just seemed so utterly impossible that they could ever accomplish anything on their own, once, and now…they were stealing from a god, right under its nose. Not a god, they reminded themself. But the analogy was apt. “Do you like it?” They asked after a moment, just a little bit hesitant. “I tried to study aesthetic a little bit. It’s not easy to figure out. But this color combination seemed well liked…as I got the chairs to stop melting. I don’t know why they were, that’s never happened to me before, but I fixed it.” They knew Orpheus was tired. Maybe…a small break from the serious would help. Even if it wasn’t much of one.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jul 27, 2021 15:45:10 GMT -5
Orpheus looked around, wanting to give the room a fair appraisal before they committed to telling Elpis what they thought. They could already tell that they liked it, but they still wanted to give Elpis as true a response as they could. It was… nice, they decided. It was comfortable because it was actually fairly homely, not just because it wasn’t the House. This place would be a reprieve, unless Elpis decided to change it it around eventually. Orpheus wouldn’t be surprised if they did. They were just discovering their powers. It was entirely possible they might change their mind on interior design as they discovered more. “I do like it,” Orpheus replied, giving a small nod. “It’s unfortunate that the chairs started melting, but they look nice as they are, I think. The carpet especially is a pretty color.”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jul 27, 2021 15:55:25 GMT -5
Elpis waited, eager to hear what Orpheus thought of it, so far. It probably wasn’t really finished…they actually had no idea if it was finished. They just knew it might not be. They wanted to keep their options open. They gave a wide, genuine smile as Orpheus spoke. “The carpet is azure,” they told them brightly. “It was that or cobalt, once I decided on a shade of blue. I like how it turned out, though. The walls were pure white before, but it clashed. At least, I think it clashed. I’m not sure I understand what that means.” They shook their head a little bit. “Anyway…I thought maybe a chance of scenery would be nice.”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jul 27, 2021 16:00:34 GMT -5
“The azure works well,” Orpheus commented, giving a small smile. They really liked it, though they had a hard time summoning up a picture of ‘cobalt.’ It wasn’t entirely their fault – their language just didn’t have a word for blue, so they didn’t really have a way to identify what it was. L had tried to teach them about blue, once, but it hadn’t gone very well. They still didn’t have the best grasp of the color. Still, they thought whatever color the carpet was looked nice. Elpis had made a good decision. “I think pure white would be a little bit too bright,” Orpheus agreed, giving a serious nod. “I don’t know if it would clash, necessarily, but it might hurt the eyes after a while. I like the off-white. It’s… more comfortable. More like someplace you would want to spend time. Not entirely sterile.”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jul 27, 2021 16:16:33 GMT -5
Elpis technically knew that Ancient Greek didn’t have a word for blue. After all…what language were they speaking? Actually, that was an excellent question. What language were they speaking? They genuinely didn’t know. They were understood by both Orpheus and L, though…so were they accidentally translating themself? From what? What words were actually leaving their lips? That was way too confusing. They had no idea. They frowned for a very long moment, trying to work it out…what language did the House speak? Maybe they were speaking that. Even more things to ask it. “Yeah, I guess so,” they agreed, tearing their attention back to the walls. “I don’t know. My eyes never hurt.”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jul 27, 2021 16:25:08 GMT -5
Orpheus was curious what language Elpis was speaking as well, but they didn’t really know if that was an appropriate question to ask. It did occur to them that whatever language it was, it meant that Elpis probably didn’t hear the songs Orpheus wrote properly. They were… alright translated, but every song was better in the language it was truly written in. There was meaning and wordplay that couldn’t exist in translation, especially between languages that were so separated by time as the Greek Orpheus spoke and the English spoken by much of the House. It was better in Japanese, though that was because Orpheus had learned enough to start incorporating Japanese metaphors into their music as well. “That must be nice,” Orpheus commented, but there was no jealousy in their tone. The life Elpis lived had parts of it that were certainly enviable, but Orpheus didn’t want Elpis’ life. They knew there were a great deal of downsides to it, as well. The life Orpheus wanted was the future they had promised L, long before they had understood how much they were going to sacrifice.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jul 27, 2021 16:51:51 GMT -5
Elpis had no way of knowing what language they spoke, or even probably spoke, unless they find out what the House did. And that…well. If they ever did successfully got the House to speak with them, that would be on the…extensive…list of questions. “I guess so,” they admitted. “I never really thought about it before. It must be weird to just have random parts of your body hurt sometimes for no real reason. Isn’t that kind of alarming? How do you tell if it’s a real problem?” They shook their head a little, looking around the room again. It was nice…they liked it so far, they really did. But they also were willing to take constructive criticism. “Do you think anything is missing? Or would make it feel more comfortable?” They asked, tilting their head at Orpheus. “Or…anything you’d charge? You’ll probably be here as often as I will.”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jul 27, 2021 16:58:43 GMT -5
Orpheus looked at Elpis for a long moment before giving a small shrug. “Usually it’s not for no reason at all. If you can figure out what the reason is, you can usually stop it from hurting. And you can usually tell if it’s serious based on the intensity of the pain. If it’s so bad you can’t think about anything else, you probably need to go seek out a medic or something. But humans get hurt enough when they’re growing up that they can usually tell what’s serious and what isn’t based on their previous experiences of pain. That’s why toddlers and babies tend to cry a lot – it’s the worst pain they’ve ever been in when they skin their knee, and it isn’t until later that they realize that a skinned knee isn’t actually that serious.” Orpheus gave a small smile as they explained. They didn’t know if that was the scientifically proven answer, but they had spent enough time playing music for children and speaking with their parents that they had a basic idea of how children operated. They shook their head of the thought, focusing back on the room around them. It was… nice. There were probably more things it could use, but Orpheus couldn’t think of any that were absolutely necessary… “Maybe some seating that’s a little bit softer if someone wants to lay down?” Orpheus suggested, tilting their head. “I mean… not a bed or anything, but like… a couch or one of those beanbag chair things?”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jul 27, 2021 17:51:49 GMT -5
Elpis considered that, nodding a little. That made sense. Human bodies seemed…interesting to them. They didn’t really understand how, exactly, they worked. They didn’t eat, or sleep, or her headaches. They didn’t know what it felt Idek to have the hiccups, though it sounded thoroughly uncomfortable. Still…thry were interested in what Orpheus had to say. “I guess that makes sense,” they mused. “There’s no memories to compare it to, so you can’t tell what actually hurts a lot, and what doesn’t.” They considered for a long moment. Kids seemed interesting. They could see why Orpheus had decided to spend time around them. “Oh…that’s a good idea,” they decided, turning back to look at the room again. They frowned a little, thinking, then tuned to look at the bright yellow beanbag chair they’d brought into existence. “Like that?”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jul 27, 2021 18:10:16 GMT -5
Orpheus glanced over at the beanbag chair, a smile crossing their face as they regarded it. They were fairly certain that it technically clashed with the rest of the room, but they also found they didn’t mind it. It looked comfortable, and they collapsed down into it without a second thought. They gave an affirmative nod, their smile widening. “This is perfect,” they confirmed, leaning their head back so they could look at the ceiling and get the full beanbag chair experience. It was comfortable, that was for certain. And it added something to the room. Something that was a little bit flashier than they would normally think of for Elpis, but still nice. They sat up after a long moment, their smile waning just a little bit. They didn’t have much time with Elpis, and as much fun as it would be to just… exist as friends, they had work to do. Work that, unfortunately, couldn’t wait. “Was there something you wanted to try, today?” Orpheus asked, voice quiet. They were a little bit nervous, though they were trying not to be. They hadn’t yet hit their stride as a pair, yet. As soon as they figured out how to do these experiments smoothly together… well, then Orpheus might be able to shake the nerves.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Aug 1, 2021 3:02:55 GMT -5
Elpis knew they couldn’t just…ignore the reason they were here. No matter how tempting it was to try being normal friends for once, it wasn’t practical. They were here because Orpheus needed them, and they were going to do everything in their power to help. They had liked the distraction while it had lasted, though. They looked around again, checking to see that everything was in its place. It had mostly been planned. The beanbag chair had been spontaneous, which was probably why it stuck out just a little bit….it was the only yellow thing present. They turned back to Orpheus and dipped their head a little. “Yeah. I have a few ideas, and we should have some time. Are you ready to begin”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Aug 1, 2021 3:07:43 GMT -5
Orpheus cast another glance at the beanbag chair. It stuck out a little bit, yes, but it was cheerful. They thought they liked it. They also figured that the next time they saw this room, Elpis likely would have added more yellow décor so it didn’t stick out quite so much. They seemed to care a lot about what their space looked like. They seemed, however consciously it was, to be desperate to make their space as different from the House as possible. Orpheus couldn’t begrudge them that. It was a relief to them, as well. The more Elpis personalized it, the less it could be mistaken for the House’s Living Room. Orpheus hesitated, lifting their gaze to meet Elpis’. Were they ready? They swallowed, uncertain. They wanted to believe that they were, but… no. No time for doubt. “Yes,” they said definitively after a long, pensive moment. “I’m ready to begin whenever you are.”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Aug 2, 2021 18:32:18 GMT -5
They were probably right about Elpis adjusting the decorations to match the new chair. They had put a lot of time and effort into this room looking how they wanted it to…anything out of place or not carefully thought out was going to bother them to no end. They hadn’t set out to make a place as different from the House as they could, but…Orpheus wasn’t wrong to think it. They dipped their head, stepping back a little. They didn’t dread the experiments so far, of course. Truthfully, they looked forward to them quite a lot. But messing up once made the possibility more real to them, so this time there was just a hint of reluctance in their head. Not enough to make them consider stopping though. They considered their options. They’d given it some thought before they’d actually come, but they hadn’t quite come to any solid plan yet. They kind of liked thinking on their feet. Hallucinations…of what? If it had been a little longer since their mistake, they might have shown them a hallucination of L. As it was, they weren’t quite ready to see them think for even a moment that they were repeating last time. Was poking around his head allowed? They didn’t see how they could make accurate hallucinations if not. They reached out with their mind, quietly taking a look inside. It was…an interesting sensation. Not quite like adjusting emotions, or making them hungry. There was nothing to pull on, nothing to push, as far as they could tell. They could tell they could be there a while if they let themself get distracted. There was a lot in there. They concentrated on looking for something interesting to make Orpheus see. There…that looked innocent enough that they didn’t think it would break any rules, but challenging enough to catch their eye. They pulled out of Orpheus’ head, concentrated…and then stepped back to allow their hallucination to take over. They were an observer here. If Orpheus forgot their presence, that would probably be ideal. In their place, an unfamiliar being shifted into existence. Unfamiliar to Elpis, at least. As he turned, his face caught the light, and his eyes found Orpheus’ and held them. The name Elpis assumed would shortly escape Orpheus’ lips was Calais.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Aug 2, 2021 19:08:00 GMT -5
Orpheus could feel Elpis in their head. It was a strange feeling, one they weren’t’ really prepared for. It was clear that Elpis had less practice with reading thoughts and delving into memories than the House had, but their touch was still gentle, and Orpheus couldn’t tell exactly what they were doing or what they were looking for. Should they tell them that they could feel them? Or could they read their thoughts and know on their own? Orpheus frowned a little bit, ready to say something when they felt Elpis retreat, evidently finding whatever it was they had been looking for. Orpheus tilted their head, half expecting Elpis to explain, but they said nothing. They just got to work, and though Orpheus watched them for a few moments, their attention was almost immediately drawn elsewhere. There was a figure in the middle of the room. Someone… someone familiar, possibly? As the image solidified, Orpheus couldn’t help the small gasp that escaped them. It was someone they hadn’t seen in a very long time. Someone with eyes that seemed to ensnare Orpheus, someone with a mischievous smile that always drew them in. Orpheus had fallen for the wind, once. They had been close friends, before they had been forced to go their separate ways. Even after the Argo crew had disbanded, Orpheus and Calais had remained close. Calais would never fall for a mortal, at least not one like Orpheus, but by the time it mattered, Orpheus was in love with someone else. Calais had spoken with Orpheus about what their wedding would look like… and Orpheus had told him, planning out every detail as though it would actually happen. It hadn’t. Calais had searched for Orpheus, after that, but Orpheus had been afraid to face him. They hadn’t allowed him to see what they had become in Eurydice’s absence. They regretted that, now. The image of Calais in front of them now wasn’t perfect. The eyes were a little bit too close together, the nose a little too upturned. But it was close enough. Orpheus watched the figure, then took a tiny step forward. Calais wasn’t real. Orpheus knew that, but… would it truly be so bad to pretend he was? “It’s been a while, old friend,” they managed softly, searching Calais’ eyes for some kind of response.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Aug 4, 2021 23:39:25 GMT -5
Elpis had, in fact, added a little more yellow to their interpretation of a living room. There was a second beanbag chair now, which matched the first exactly. There was also a picture of a sunset, which was around the same color, though not exactly. They were there now, standing in the middle of the room and feeling for Orpheus in their mind. They had to wonder how mad this was making the House…was it trying to stop them? Was it trying to make it so next time Elpis was forced to return their friend, it would be the last? They weren’t sure if they hoped it was angry or hoped it wasn’t. If it was angry, they were actually something worth being angry about. If it wasn’t… Maybe it could be convinced to talk. It didn’t matter now. They managed to wrap their brain around Orpheus’ presence and whisk him away, to the room they stood in.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Aug 4, 2021 23:43:35 GMT -5
Being taken by Elpis was always a strange feeling. It was as though one moment Orpheus wasn’t, and then he was. There was no Orpheus when the House had him in its grasp. There was just… well, there was the House, and whatever it decided to cram into the head that had once belonged to a musician named Orpheus. When he was with Elpis, though… he was fully Orpheus, except when they were experimenting. He had given them permission to do that, though, so he didn’t think that really counted. It was nice, having a chance to be himself, especially since he had given up hope of that when the House had taken him. If the House could change him and make him into whatever it wanted, why would it ever want to risk allowing him to be the person who had thought he could make it fairer? The person who still hoped against hope that he might be able to make some difference? In truth, Orpheus wanted to talk to the House as much as Elpis did. He just knew by now that the House was very, very unlikely to listen to him unless he found a way to make it.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Aug 4, 2021 23:56:13 GMT -5
Elpis didn’t know whether their experiments were like the House’s. They didn’t like to think so. They had rules, and they followed them to the best of their ability. Could the House say that much? It didn’t even try to listen to anyone. It had been asked to stop so many times and it hadn’t done it. But they could see why it did the things it did. Or at least a possible explanation. They shook their head a little and focused on Orpheus. “How are you doing?” They asked, stepping towards him and scanning his face. They never knew how to handle the first few minutes after pulling him in. People tended to make polite conversation when they greeted each other. And Elpis really did want to know how Orpheus was doing.
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