welcome_rpg | welcome to mayfield: day 3

Entry tags:

!day 3

welcome to mayfield: day 3

[Those who wake up in the town on the third day will soon notice that something's definitely off. The cracks in the sky are appearing more frequently and lasting for minutes at a time, and there's a strange white fog drifting over the clouds.

For those who've just arrived, welcome to our new little town! We're sure you're glad to see your missing friends again; nothing to worry about here, they've just been too busy enjoying the upgraded carnival to go back home. Any bleeding limbs or serious wounds you may spot are obviously just a sign of how much fun they've been having.]

OOC: If your character damages or affects the carnival or town in a noticeable and normally permanent way, please comment here.

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What? [it takes half a second for him to understand what she's saying. he shakes his head.] Nah. I just woke up about twenty minutes ago, heh.

[lies of course. he wiggles his fingers, trying to get them to wake up.]

What were you dreaming about?

...Once-ler.

[Lies are not something Rapunzel has patience for. Which makes the following all the more hypocritical.]

Um... I don't really remember.

[It's not that the dream was romantic in nature -- more like terrifying -- but you just don't go about telling someone you dreamed of them, do you?]

Rapunzeeeel. ♪ [yes, because singing always takes the tension away from everything.]

Hm. Then it must not have been a really good one.

Stop that. You haven't slept, have you?

[She gives him a sharp, pointed look... And promptly blushes. Just a bit.]

More of a nightmare. [...That she. Doesn't remember. Oops.]

Raaapunzeeeel~ ♪ She has that glow, oh, oh, but why won't she let it gooo? ♫

[that...made more sense in his head, but give him a break - you'd be hard pressed to come up with good lyrics after a sleepless night, too.]

...Oh. [now he feels bad. he ends with that, at least momentarily. staring down at his legs for a moment or so, he adds:] You've had a hard day. It's normal to have a nightmare or two when you're stressed out.

Once-leeeer, he better sleep or he'll anger heeeer. ♪

[Two can play the singing game. She lets out a bit of a snort before returning to the dream issue.]

I guess so... Thanks for understanding.

[A beat.]

You were there. In.... My dream.

But he already slept, give him a breeeeak ~ Can't you see how hard this is, for pity's sake~ ♪

[...oh, okay, that isn't all kinds of creepy. thankfully, this is one of those rare instances where he's able to bite his tongue and keep from saying anything rude. actually, that's been coming easily to him for a while now; pretty soon he'll start losing his edge, ugh.]

Was I really? [he turns his full attention on her, but the smile's gone. too much effort to maintain it.] I hope I was doing something awesome. It'd do wonders for my crippling lack of self-esteem to know that I'm capable of kicking monster butt in two worlds at once.

[is he serious? who knows.]

If he continues to fib and lie, then Rapunzel will start to cry~ ♪

...Not really. But it rhymes.

[She sighs when she sees his smile is gone, and nods.] We were exploring a house; there was a lot of blood on the walls and then we found a body...

...I guess it doesn't count as a nightmare if it could really happen, huh?

Sh- ...Hm. [that finger he raised sags down, defeated. the rest of his expression falls with it.] That's mean.

[he shakes his head.] If it was going to happen, then it would've already. We were in that house for a while.

[it makes him shiver just thinking about it, but he suppresses it. they were inside for some time, and in that time, all manner of things could have happened that would've made shattered eardrums look like a trip to the park. they were lucky - they were so lucky. if Rapunzel hadn't been with him or if she didn't have her powers, he knows without a doubt that he'd be deaf right now. it's a scary thought.]

We're not going to go back there, are we? If the answer's anything less than "no", I'm going to have a word with you, Miss Rapunzel.

So is lying to me. You need your sleep.

[She leans against him, heaving a heavy sigh.] I guess so. And no. We're not going back there. No way.

[sigh] Why don't you cut me to the quick some more? Come on. I'm playing lookout.

That's good. [just that, a tuneless answer. he can live with this.] I'll add that to the list of places to run away from really, really fast. It'll be slightly above the tunnel of love, but below the carnival's food court.

[at the word "food", his stomach rumbles. he glares down at it and gives it a tiny pinch as if to tell it to shut up.]

It doesn't matter. You need to sleep.

Yeah, I think that sounds ri--

[She frowns down at her own stomach, then looks up at him.] Don't think about it. We can last. I'm sure we can. [She's not sure at all.] Come on, I'll distract you.

...I'll do it if you take over for twenty minutes. But just twenty minutes, okay? No need to draw this out for any longer.

[he wants to sigh at that so badly. what's it say about him that he's starting to get fed up with, well, everything?]

I still have two bags of marshmallows left. [he pauses for at least three minutes, staring off somewhere to the side at a spot on the floor.] One of them is almost done for.

[he looks up at her when he says that last bit.]

Are you going to tell me a story?

Deal. Whatever it takes to get you to rest some.

That's good. We'll make them last. [She snuggles a bit closer.] Do you want a story?

Good.

[and he means it this time. he closes his eyes and the urge to keep them shut is so overwhelming it's scary, but he forces them open nonetheless after a sigh.]

Uh-huh. I've always loved a good story. [he maneuvers the arm on her shoulder down to her waist. it's more comfortable like that.] ...I'll tell you one if you go first.

Sounds like a plan. I like stories, too.

Do you want to hear The Knight's Tale? I don't really understand it, but Mother seems to like it.

If it has princesses and swords and all that good stuff, count me in. 's been a while since I've heard a good fairytale.

Edited 2012-07-03 06:27 (UTC)

Mmm, alright, then. Let's see...

Once, there were was a Duke called Thesues, who conquered kingdoms all over the land. [A slight pause. Mother never mentioned which land. Mother never mentioned much about lands at all.] He was angry with a king, King Creon, for not letting women properly send off their dead husbands. It was a dishonor to those families, you see. So he conquered Creon's land, and when he found two wounded soldiers of Creon's left after the battle, he trapped them away for years.

These soldiers were two cousins who loved each other as brothers. Palamon and Arcite. Then, one day, Palamon saw a woman named Emily singing - who I think was part of Thesues's family, but I can't remember - from his prison in the tower, and he fell in love with her. Well, when Arcite woke up, he did the same thing.

...I never really understood that. I don't think a beautiful singing voice is a very good reason to fall in love with someone without having ever spoken with them.

It really isn't, but... I guess common sense isn't a strong point in these stories. Maybe it was destiny.

[he shrugs against her.]

Did they fight over her?

[She scrunches up her nose. Destiny is something she is familiar with, of course, but has never given much thought.]

I guess, maybe.

And oh, yes, they did. See... Arcite was freed, but banished from the kingdom. Palamon was jealous, though, and feared he'd return for Emily. But Arcite was jealous of Palamon, because he could still see Emily.

Eventually, Arcite's heartache made him so sickly that he could go back to the kingdom, and by then, Palamon had escaped the tower. They both looked for Emily and found each other, and they got into a huge fight.

[now it's getting good. logic dictates that this is the part where there'd be swords and blood and all kinds of nasty stuff. he leans forward.]

And then what happened?

Oh, it would have been a disaster, but Thesues came along and said they'd have to have a proper war over Emily, and he'd provide the soldier. Which I think is incredibly unfair, because Emily didn't want to marry either of them. But I think Thesues just wanted to get them both killed, maybe.

Emily wished to not have to marry, or if she did, to marry the man who loved her best. Palamon wished to get to be with his love. And Arcite wished to win.

Well, the war was fought, with swords and shields and bows and arrows and-- Well, everything. People lost limbs and even their heads! It had to end eventually, though, and while both men survived, it was Arcite's army who won.

[he makes a blanching noise from the back of his throat.] Just like that? Sheesh, talk about a letdown. Aren't stories like this supposed to end with both of the guys learning a big lesson about themselves and realizing that fighting is bad? That's sending out a bad message to kids.

[these are the only kind of stories he's used to, so.]

Well, let me guess: Emily hated his guts, right? There's only one kind of ending a story like this can have.

[namely a monumentally depressing one.]

I wasn't done!

[She shakes her head, stifling laughter. It's amazing that she can be happy right now, and even more amazing that she doesn't realize that. Instead, she gently nuzzles Once-ler's shoulder, trying to remember the rest of the story.]

...Well, actually, Arcite's horse fell on him right after he won; he died.

Emily was pretty upset, but Arcite told her that she should marry Palamon, for he was honest, true, wise, and humble.

They were both sad about Arcite for a long time, but eventually they remembered that death was part of life, and they actually ended up very happy together!

...It's not the best love story.

[dot dot dot]

...No, it really wasn't. If I was in the throes of depression and you told me that, I'd probably feel worse.

[he glowers down at his feet, thinking about it.]

All that trouble over one person. I suppose it's true, what they say about guys; if you want to get one to do something incredibly stupid, just bring a girl into picture.

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hairflyingheartpounding - 2012-07-09 00:33 (UTC) - Expand

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