i have seen the stars {bette}
Jan 1, 2019 23:02:35 GMT -5
Post by shrimp on Jan 1, 2019 23:02:35 GMT -5
- ► -
Elsewhere, the wolves howl.
She settles in, the fire licking at her wounds, warming her bones. Her eyes dart to the left, the right, a gentle smile across her face. Wander smiles back, wriggling in vis seat - getting comfortable after Denali finishes her tale, regaling them with stories of the Lyons before, bodies buried six feet under rosebushes and tire swings. She curls up now, nestled in her throne of pillows, hands stitching life into denim.
"A few years ago," she starts, leaning back against the tree trunk. "We got a locket, left on our doorstep - old, tarnished, not worth anything, really. But it was a slow season, and if you're in antiques you deal with whatever you can get."
When Bette finally falls, it is without grace, without words, without thought. Annie slices, searing into her face, the pain agonizing as she hits the ground with the impact of a sledgehammer, chipping away at the earth.
Death extends a hand, but she cannot take it; her arm feels like it's been numbed by a thousand bee stings. She wants to scream, but her throat feels like rubber, inflexible, artificial.
Temple fiddles with her fingers, nibbling on greens from a host's repertoire. Eve, her experience with ghosts revealed, seems unsettled as she weaves together her tale, carves out the details.
"We couldn't remove the tarnish - each technique we tried made no difference. Eventually we realized it was actually a thick layer of tar, stuck in the facets. The whole thing had been sealed shut."
Lex looks up, raises an eyebrow. Her hands, whittling away at another pocket whale, stop.
A cannon echoes, but she can still feel the remnants of her heartbeat, weakly, barely, sighing in her chest.
It's so cold.
She knows, her eyes locked on Denali's charred corpse. Fire would be worse.
Temple's, Wander's, Eve's voice booms. She does not know what the words mean.
Denali picks up the camera, her smile broad but her gaze softened. Wander looks like ve will burst with excitement as she walks through the symptoms of an encounter, her cousin's sleepwalking - "We tried different remedies to help her sleep: different teas, different pillows, but Aja - another cousin - would wake at least three times a week around 3, hearing Reshma scratch at the lock.". Ve snorts ("Look, a disclaimer - I think this is all bullshit."). A spooky "ooo" is uttered, a threat to those on edge.
Hands cover vis face as Bette reaches the pinnacle, a tale she half-believes is uttered to the heavens, the sky spreading wide, a dome projecting a galaxy. Each time she chisels away at the locket, she smacks down on the log, a wicked grin dancing. She deadpans at the revelation: ashes, scattered among wood grain. Denali clutches a pillow, Eve looks like she's losing her mind.
The hovercraft is loud and overbearing, and though her senses are dark as she's lifted up, the cerulean of the noise would make her stomach turn.
The light though, is so bright - it flickers with her consciousness, masks floating in and out, a face - spectral, halting Death's grip.
She doesn't speak. She doesn't breathe.
She just stares, until her vision goes dark.
A trick, well played.
Gamemaker.
Bette laughs and yawns, leans her head against Temple's shoulder. Her eyes flutter shut for a moment before she forces them awake, savoring each moment. Lex's story, a macabre tree growing for miles, Wander's expressions, emotive in every way. Eve's gentle smile, the flash of a camera. The embers flicker and fly up towards space, where the sun waits to rise again, where the moon shines down with a placid grace, where the stars - so many stars, tremble and chuckle, playmates for millennium.
When Death comes, she will walk with them into forever.
But for now, in this moment,
she is happy.
Gold mouths cry with the green young
certainty of the bronze boy
remembering a thousand autumns
and how a hundred thousand leaves
came sliding down his shoulder blades
persuaded by his bronze heroic reason.
We ignore the coming doom of gold
and we are glad in this bright metal season.
Even the dead laugh among the goldenrod.
The bronze boy stands kneedeep in centuries,
and never grieves,
remembering a thousand autumns,
with sunlight of a thousand years upon his lips
and his eyes gone blind with leaves.
{ Gold Mouths Cry - Sylvia Plath }
THANK YOU
Three months later and we're here<3
When writing Bette, I was determined to make things difficult for myself by sticking to her guns (hah), but to also stay true to her fundamentals: Bette, who speaks softly but carries a [literal firearm], who puts her heart into her actions, who tries to be ahead of the curve, even when the twists are insurmountable; who needs to trust more, who is blunt, harsh, polite - but could be kind. Who has no alibi, and will not create one to justify her actions. This has probably been the most difficult character I've ever written, both for IC and personal reasons, but I hope I did her justice, and I hope you've enjoyed the ride.
Baby Wessex d9b [earthling] maverick hale 🌧️ d5 [nyte] : thank you for all of the work you've put into this California Dream arena; from the weather descriptions to the costumes, from the first anthem to a looping trailer, backwards in time, it has been a pleasure to be in this car with the two of you as the drivers. Thanks for all of the time spent listening to me pitch dumb ideas, for enabling me to make fun shields, fashion ramshackle guns in fifteen minutes, and set fire to the tar pits. You have been kind, fair, and creative every step of the way, and this games would not have been the same without either of you.
Vanguards aka literally not careers aka three moms + eve alliance: I love you all so much. Thank you for being the best allies I could have ever thought possible. Eve, Wander, and Temple are so unique, and it was an absolute privilege to be able to write with them this games. The ideas we made, the stories we made, are truly ones to treasure. Thank you for being there for me when I really needed it over the past few months, it's meant so much.
pearl mcclain d4 [ryan] : Thanks for dealing with my hell schedule this entire finale, and thank you for being the emotive and intrepid foil to Bette's steadfast neutrality, to her unwavering drive to just 'let things go'. Annie is a beautiful character, and I am so glad she gets to surf among the waves again. Congratulations!!!
sbeeg , thank you for writing with me what is probably the most heartbreaking and trusting thread I will ever write in a games. Thank you for responding to each of my gay posts with "I can make this gayer", thank you for Temple's voice - resonating with the timbre of the farmlands and the stars speckled across the horizon.
Sunrise Rainier D2 // [Thundy] , we survived!!!!! Not kind of!!!!! ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! Writing with Eve was an absolute blast, I loved reading every single one of her posts, her hybrid of poetry and prose, her fuck you to punctuation - it was all so thoroughly and deeply, Eve. Thank you for letting Bette (and me) practically smother her with mothering, I am so proud of my daughter.
WT : I don't know where to start. Thank you for being the grounding point in our alliance, and sticking to your guns when it came to characterization and dealing with the consequences. You inspire me every day with your writing prowess, and I feel really honored to be able to write with you in this way. Wander is a character who we need to see more of, so full of light and life that it's bursting out of every one of vis smiles, giggles, hugs. You've taught me what the games truly can be, and I vow to continue this in the future.
L△LIA aya : From the RLS Trolley Problem to comfort from afar, seeing Denali and Lex make their way through the world with as much noise as possible is inspiring and heartwarming. Thank you for your exuberance and your tranquility, your problem-solving skills and your willingness to make connections in the arena, even if it comes to be more painful in the end. From the two of you I know that it's not the battles that count, but what's in between, the breaths amid the turmoil. The respite from a hard day. The crackle of firewood. I look forward to seeing them drive Mackenzie insane.
uwu : You have been absolutely amazing from day one and through this finale, thank you for keeping our spirits up and for writing Shy, whose determination and drive is something I wish I could have some day. Can you bottle that up and sell it? I'd buy it. He is such a complex character, and it's been refreshing to be able to see something from his perspective. Thank you!
Noah Vau - D2 (Cato) : Thank you for Yusei's quiet peace in a world of war. Thank you for embracing his decision to cause no more harm, and allowing us to be a part of your death thread. It means more to me than you know, and I'm so excited for these quiet D1 tributes to have tea together again.
ghosty : Thank you for tribsitting Bette in that emergency blackout all those months ago. I have learned my lesson, and will provide more filler posts next time bahaha. You being there in a pinch was so kind of you, and speaks volumes of how you help other people. thank you so much!
napoleon, d2m ₊⊹ 🐁 ɢʀɪғғɪɴ. , Tom , marguerite harvard d2a (zori) , * , Cameo {RIP Charlie} , Arrows , d6a georgie cham 🍓🐢 frankel , Sleepy Fluttershy, thompson harvard - d2b - arc : Unfortunately our encounters were shorter than I would have liked them to be, but each of your tributes left a lasting impression on Bette that I really appreciated getting to explore with you. Thank you for sharing their stories, I hope that you enjoyed me occasionally dropping breadcrumbs of them into posts, and I'm super pumped that they get to stick around! Here's to heists and not-top-40 hits, kids being kids, pride flags, fire and brimstone, magic tricks, and soliloquies on the riverbank <3
All y'all other tributes: are so badass, each of your stories have been beautiful to read, I'm so glad that these tributes are the ones who get to continue their tales, and I hope that we can write with them together soon. Maybe Bette makes them a weapon??? Or just some tea, if they're not into that. Not parkour, her back's messed up. Let me know <3
wimdy : Thank you for being there when I had so much going on over the past three months. Your support and strength in a time I needed it means everything. I'm so excited to see how Kahinta grows, how Jet and Lani deal with their ish, and how Bob Ross rises from the depths of hell itself. Love you lots <3
She settles in, the fire licking at her wounds, warming her bones. Her eyes dart to the left, the right, a gentle smile across her face. Wander smiles back, wriggling in vis seat - getting comfortable after Denali finishes her tale, regaling them with stories of the Lyons before, bodies buried six feet under rosebushes and tire swings. She curls up now, nestled in her throne of pillows, hands stitching life into denim.
"A few years ago," she starts, leaning back against the tree trunk. "We got a locket, left on our doorstep - old, tarnished, not worth anything, really. But it was a slow season, and if you're in antiques you deal with whatever you can get."
.::.
When Bette finally falls, it is without grace, without words, without thought. Annie slices, searing into her face, the pain agonizing as she hits the ground with the impact of a sledgehammer, chipping away at the earth.
Death extends a hand, but she cannot take it; her arm feels like it's been numbed by a thousand bee stings. She wants to scream, but her throat feels like rubber, inflexible, artificial.
.::.
Temple fiddles with her fingers, nibbling on greens from a host's repertoire. Eve, her experience with ghosts revealed, seems unsettled as she weaves together her tale, carves out the details.
"We couldn't remove the tarnish - each technique we tried made no difference. Eventually we realized it was actually a thick layer of tar, stuck in the facets. The whole thing had been sealed shut."
Lex looks up, raises an eyebrow. Her hands, whittling away at another pocket whale, stop.
.::.
A cannon echoes, but she can still feel the remnants of her heartbeat, weakly, barely, sighing in her chest.
It's so cold.
She knows, her eyes locked on Denali's charred corpse. Fire would be worse.
Temple's, Wander's, Eve's voice booms. She does not know what the words mean.
.::.
Denali picks up the camera, her smile broad but her gaze softened. Wander looks like ve will burst with excitement as she walks through the symptoms of an encounter, her cousin's sleepwalking - "We tried different remedies to help her sleep: different teas, different pillows, but Aja - another cousin - would wake at least three times a week around 3, hearing Reshma scratch at the lock.". Ve snorts ("Look, a disclaimer - I think this is all bullshit."). A spooky "ooo" is uttered, a threat to those on edge.
Hands cover vis face as Bette reaches the pinnacle, a tale she half-believes is uttered to the heavens, the sky spreading wide, a dome projecting a galaxy. Each time she chisels away at the locket, she smacks down on the log, a wicked grin dancing. She deadpans at the revelation: ashes, scattered among wood grain. Denali clutches a pillow, Eve looks like she's losing her mind.
.::.
The hovercraft is loud and overbearing, and though her senses are dark as she's lifted up, the cerulean of the noise would make her stomach turn.
The light though, is so bright - it flickers with her consciousness, masks floating in and out, a face - spectral, halting Death's grip.
She doesn't speak. She doesn't breathe.
She just stares, until her vision goes dark.
A trick, well played.
Gamemaker.
.::.
Bette laughs and yawns, leans her head against Temple's shoulder. Her eyes flutter shut for a moment before she forces them awake, savoring each moment. Lex's story, a macabre tree growing for miles, Wander's expressions, emotive in every way. Eve's gentle smile, the flash of a camera. The embers flicker and fly up towards space, where the sun waits to rise again, where the moon shines down with a placid grace, where the stars - so many stars, tremble and chuckle, playmates for millennium.
When Death comes, she will walk with them into forever.
But for now, in this moment,
she is happy.
Gold mouths cry with the green young
certainty of the bronze boy
remembering a thousand autumns
and how a hundred thousand leaves
came sliding down his shoulder blades
persuaded by his bronze heroic reason.
We ignore the coming doom of gold
and we are glad in this bright metal season.
Even the dead laugh among the goldenrod.
The bronze boy stands kneedeep in centuries,
and never grieves,
remembering a thousand autumns,
with sunlight of a thousand years upon his lips
and his eyes gone blind with leaves.
{ Gold Mouths Cry - Sylvia Plath }
THANK YOU
Three months later and we're here<3
When writing Bette, I was determined to make things difficult for myself by sticking to her guns (hah), but to also stay true to her fundamentals: Bette, who speaks softly but carries a [literal firearm], who puts her heart into her actions, who tries to be ahead of the curve, even when the twists are insurmountable; who needs to trust more, who is blunt, harsh, polite - but could be kind. Who has no alibi, and will not create one to justify her actions. This has probably been the most difficult character I've ever written, both for IC and personal reasons, but I hope I did her justice, and I hope you've enjoyed the ride.
Baby Wessex d9b [earthling] maverick hale 🌧️ d5 [nyte] : thank you for all of the work you've put into this California Dream arena; from the weather descriptions to the costumes, from the first anthem to a looping trailer, backwards in time, it has been a pleasure to be in this car with the two of you as the drivers. Thanks for all of the time spent listening to me pitch dumb ideas, for enabling me to make fun shields, fashion ramshackle guns in fifteen minutes, and set fire to the tar pits. You have been kind, fair, and creative every step of the way, and this games would not have been the same without either of you.
Vanguards aka literally not careers aka three moms + eve alliance: I love you all so much. Thank you for being the best allies I could have ever thought possible. Eve, Wander, and Temple are so unique, and it was an absolute privilege to be able to write with them this games. The ideas we made, the stories we made, are truly ones to treasure. Thank you for being there for me when I really needed it over the past few months, it's meant so much.
pearl mcclain d4 [ryan] : Thanks for dealing with my hell schedule this entire finale, and thank you for being the emotive and intrepid foil to Bette's steadfast neutrality, to her unwavering drive to just 'let things go'. Annie is a beautiful character, and I am so glad she gets to surf among the waves again. Congratulations!!!
sbeeg , thank you for writing with me what is probably the most heartbreaking and trusting thread I will ever write in a games. Thank you for responding to each of my gay posts with "I can make this gayer", thank you for Temple's voice - resonating with the timbre of the farmlands and the stars speckled across the horizon.
Sunrise Rainier D2 // [Thundy] , we survived!!!!! Not kind of!!!!! ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! Writing with Eve was an absolute blast, I loved reading every single one of her posts, her hybrid of poetry and prose, her fuck you to punctuation - it was all so thoroughly and deeply, Eve. Thank you for letting Bette (and me) practically smother her with mothering, I am so proud of my daughter.
WT : I don't know where to start. Thank you for being the grounding point in our alliance, and sticking to your guns when it came to characterization and dealing with the consequences. You inspire me every day with your writing prowess, and I feel really honored to be able to write with you in this way. Wander is a character who we need to see more of, so full of light and life that it's bursting out of every one of vis smiles, giggles, hugs. You've taught me what the games truly can be, and I vow to continue this in the future.
L△LIA aya : From the RLS Trolley Problem to comfort from afar, seeing Denali and Lex make their way through the world with as much noise as possible is inspiring and heartwarming. Thank you for your exuberance and your tranquility, your problem-solving skills and your willingness to make connections in the arena, even if it comes to be more painful in the end. From the two of you I know that it's not the battles that count, but what's in between, the breaths amid the turmoil. The respite from a hard day. The crackle of firewood. I look forward to seeing them drive Mackenzie insane.
uwu : You have been absolutely amazing from day one and through this finale, thank you for keeping our spirits up and for writing Shy, whose determination and drive is something I wish I could have some day. Can you bottle that up and sell it? I'd buy it. He is such a complex character, and it's been refreshing to be able to see something from his perspective. Thank you!
Noah Vau - D2 (Cato) : Thank you for Yusei's quiet peace in a world of war. Thank you for embracing his decision to cause no more harm, and allowing us to be a part of your death thread. It means more to me than you know, and I'm so excited for these quiet D1 tributes to have tea together again.
ghosty : Thank you for tribsitting Bette in that emergency blackout all those months ago. I have learned my lesson, and will provide more filler posts next time bahaha. You being there in a pinch was so kind of you, and speaks volumes of how you help other people. thank you so much!
napoleon, d2m ₊⊹ 🐁 ɢʀɪғғɪɴ. , Tom , marguerite harvard d2a (zori) , * , Cameo {RIP Charlie} , Arrows , d6a georgie cham 🍓🐢 frankel , Sleepy Fluttershy, thompson harvard - d2b - arc : Unfortunately our encounters were shorter than I would have liked them to be, but each of your tributes left a lasting impression on Bette that I really appreciated getting to explore with you. Thank you for sharing their stories, I hope that you enjoyed me occasionally dropping breadcrumbs of them into posts, and I'm super pumped that they get to stick around! Here's to heists and not-top-40 hits, kids being kids, pride flags, fire and brimstone, magic tricks, and soliloquies on the riverbank <3
All y'all other tributes: are so badass, each of your stories have been beautiful to read, I'm so glad that these tributes are the ones who get to continue their tales, and I hope that we can write with them together soon. Maybe Bette makes them a weapon??? Or just some tea, if they're not into that. Not parkour, her back's messed up. Let me know <3
wimdy : Thank you for being there when I had so much going on over the past three months. Your support and strength in a time I needed it means everything. I'm so excited to see how Kahinta grows, how Jet and Lani deal with their ish, and how Bob Ross rises from the depths of hell itself. Love you lots <3
