[ presumably after he's done giving her lifelong body image issues and she's spent all of her money at the mcdonalds that is free, he'll go poke around the ikea with her. this really is taking your divorced dad on a outing energy. ]
I wonder how the others are doing. I would guess they're still alive, then. If they aren't here that is.
[ hello ylfa. where are they. who fucking knows. getting nuggies again, i feel like ylfa is gonna get scurvy but that's fine. it does feel very time with divorced dad and tim's not there to eat nothing but nuggets for weeks. ]
[ he's just wandering back in from I guess wherever he was, yeah. he seems a little spaced out in that way where he's clearly Thinking Too Much but who knows about what. ]
[after trial ends, she's so tired. some of the wild animal tension is still in there, like she's hit a limit but can't safely rest just yet. but also, she is content to just stay near gerard and let him make some decisions, since he seems to have, to her surprise, actually adopted that role.]
...We really didn't trust Rin enough. But at least we did it.
[ i think once they've gotten back to the warehouse, gerard has like. sat down, gone completely quiet and then just shuffled around sort of. mindlessly. he's taking off the outer layer of his clothes, and washing off his crown and then putting his sword down and fishing a yellow egg out of his pocket and putting it on the little wobbly table and staring blankly into space.
[ okay honestly in true Herard fashion after the 3rd or so viewing of Princess Mononoke he has fallen asleep in his seat. he's still got his eyes open just the third froggy eyelid is sorta slid across them and he's hoping ylfa won't notice. ]
There was a long time before Elody found you. You got turned into a frog when you were a little boy. A regular night in a cold pond, not knowing how to get back to your family, not knowing if you'd ever get home, living amongst the lily pads out here in the woods at night.
A frog leaps onto a lily pad next to you.
“Hey. Do you… Are you a-Yeah, yeah. You know, you'd think that with a fairy godmother running around turning kids into frogs, that there'd be more kids who were turned into frogs, you know?”
Croak.
“Yep. Yep, yep, yep. Well, I'm going to call you Fred.”
A beautiful figure emerges from the wood line, and you see with beautiful white feathers and a long beak a heron emerges from the wood line and takes a stately couple of steps, a tall, long-legged, very stork-like bird, and walks into the shallows of the water's edge.
Croak.
“ ... Hello?”
You say hello. It sort of comes in this small, little froggy voice. Like the other frogs around. The heron doesn't seem to respond to spoken words.
The heron steps over, and you see that Fred hasn't really made eye contact with you because Fred can't make eye contact, because he is a frog. Croak. The heron goes down and kills Fred.
It grabs the frog and it crushes his spine. It breaks, and it swallows him and eats him, and Fred dies with only you knowing that his name was ever Fred, and the heron eats him, and neither of them experience any emotion or sense of self as that happens.
You panic.
The heron steps over in your direction, looks around regarding everything, and you suddenly hear… an whoosh. And an arrow pierces the thing's side, and one of the royal hunters comes out and just grabs it and snaps its neck. Ah. Got it. There’s supper. And starts to walks away from the lake.
“Wait! Hold! There's been a terrible misunderstanding. I'm actually a prince, and I would like to go back to-“
The hunter barely pauses - he lifts up his boot and is going to try to squish you. All you see is the bottom of shoe as you dart off back into the safety of the darkness. But you’re running - hopping, really - going to run in the direction that he was coming from.
“You have more… I'm going to be… You're going to be in trouble, because I'm a prince, and once I start being a prince again, you're fired!”
But as you’re yelling, a dog - one of the castle hunting hounds hears the sound and runs up and grabs you in its jaws - teeth immediately sinking into your flesh (you are so, so small) in a blinding shock of pain and blood.
You wiggle helplessly in its mouth. You're a frog. This is how you’re going to die— But then you hear a whistle in the distance and the dog drops you out of its mouth as it's called back.
When you come to, you're covered in blood. There are huge punctures in your frog body from a dog biting you.
Do you go back towards the castle where the dogs are, or do you go back to your frog pond?
It’s a pretty loaded question. There’s not really a decision to make.
You go back to the pond.
It’s years of this.
Years of that go on before a young Princess Elody first comes by. Much younger, in this memory - the same age you were at the time. Around 14, maybe 15. But the young maiden who will one day fall in love with Prince Gerard. This is the first thing that's not one of the royal hunters or their dogs or a heron. You see she's out playing, and this wonderful golden ball rolls away. You know, after years of that you still have a human intellect.
The golden ball rolls into the pool, and the maiden gasps - on the edge of tears.
”That's very important. That's an expensive toy.”
You’re little afraid of humans, now. You don’t say anything.
It's sunken into the water, so you'll have to swim down to go get it. Swimming down. Eating is hard. It's hard to get enough food to not be hungry. It's hard to keep yourself safe in this place. Do you want to really burn the energy it's going to take to shove this incredibly heavy golden ball up out of the muck and the weeds at the bottom of the pond?
You swim back up, and as you do, you look up and see this young woman who appears really forlorn. She sort of reaches in to see if it's closer to the shore, looks. You see that she's clearly maybe not supposed to have been playing this recklessly or this far out in the grounds away from the castle with this.
“Okay, please don't, like—“
She shrieks.
“I’m sorry! I thought it was-“
“Ah! Who is that? Is it a ghost?!”
“I’m a frog! I'm a frog, I'm a frog.”
“Who's a frog? … You can talk!”
“Yes, listen, you probably shouldn't be out here. There's, fairies and stuff who turn people into frogs, and whenever I ask for help, people just think that a talking frog is kind of weird, and then they try to step on me, and then they sic their-“
“That's awful! … I don't want to step on you.”
“Really?”
“No. I don't, frankly, I hope it's not weird to say, I don't really want to touch you either.”
“No, that's fine. No, I'm a fucking frog.”
She gasps. But also seems sort of impressed. “You said a full curse word.”
“I mean, I'm a frog. I can say whatever the fuck I want.”
“Wow, cool.”
“So you're, okay. So you're cool to talk to me? Because I've been talking to other frogs for a really long time.”
“What do the other frogs say?”
“They just croak. It's insane, it's maddening. I'm going crazy here. Why are you cool with this?”
“I don't know, it wouldn't occur… I don't even know what would make me not cool with it, so I can't really answer the question. Why did the… You said a fairy or someone?”
“Yes, yes. I was admittedly… I was admittedly a little bit of a prick when I was younger.”
“How old were you?”
“ … like 10?”
“I don't think you can be that- I don't think you can be a prick when you're 10. I think you're just 10. I mean, you can be bad when you're 10, but that's not- … What'd you do?”
“I was just kind of being a jerk. Just kind of, I don't know. I would just, like, run around, and honestly, I would … I was just, like, yelling a lot and stuff. I'd be like, look at me, Mom and Dad! Mom and Dad, look at me! Running around.”
“Sounds like you were starved for attention from your parents.”
“Yeah, no, and they haven't looked for me that hard. They really haven't, because I've been missing.”
“I’m so sorry. What's your name? I'm Elody.”
“It's been so long since anyone's asked me that. My name is Gerard. I'm from Greenleigh. Im the prince, the prince of Greenleigh. I don't know if there's been missing posters or anything like that?”
She doesn’t seem like she believes you at all. She gets up, starting to dust off the dirt on her dress. “Okay. Nice talking with you, Gerard. That's very nice.”
“Okay, see, this is what I was afraid of. Okay, I'll prove to you that I'm a prince by showing some royal chivalry. I will fetch your ball for you and prove to you that I am indeed a royal prince. I saw it. I think I could get down there. What is it?”
She stops. “Would you fetch it? Do you know where it is? … It's an heirloom. It's not really a toy, but I just love the feel of it and I like to play with it. It belonged to my mother.”
“You said that in the past tense. Is your mother no longer with us?”
“Neither my mother nor my father. I'm steward of this place, and when I'm old enough, will be tasked with ruling. But it would be nice to have some company, I suppose. Would you fetch it? It would mean a lot to me.”
You dive down. You roll the ball back up, and she admires it and looks and says,
“That's a very noble thing. Even if you are just a frog that learned to talk, it is very princely of you to do something that noble. Do you like living in the pond?”
“No, I hate it.”
And you see she takes a handkerchief and puts it on the ground and says, “Do you want to hop in that and I'll take you to the castle?”
As you’re walking back, she asks: “What ends your curse? Do you know?”
[these god damn pigs running around making us experience memories.
this just makes her so sad, though. somehow it's the same and different at the same time. she knows what it feels like to have to lose a human part of yourself you didn't even know you had to lose. but she also had choices. terrible, bloody ones, but choices. and she may have had a mother who tried to kill her, but she had a storyteller neighbor who was very, very kind, and would not have let a little girl or little boy live for years alone in the woods.]
Gerard...I think she's right. I don't think you were rude, either. You just talk pretty loud sometimes.
just in case it comes up haru is cursed right now to think he was ALWAYS a llama? and he was temporarily cursed to become human and then became a llama again and now hes human but he wants to be a llama
do you think i should ask kaveh to heal him or let this play out
[i think actually a bunch of unsent messages start to go through sorry if this isn't how it would work im just not going to bother the mods asking on endgame eve just for a dumb sadge tag if it doesnt work like this just kidding.]
are you guys there?
gerard?
where'd you guys go
well ok the really beautiful lady said you could see us but i dont think this is working
hello
hi
hello
hi
hi
oh wouldnt it be fucked up if i sent this and yourself from the first week was getting these
oops
though his username probably isnt this
hi
gerard do you promise that no matter what you will still be my friend even if i had a hobby that was weird and that you didnt support not that i do its just hypothetical but if i did would you be ok with it
[ you know how when you get off an airplane and turn your phone data back on and you just get like 50 emails and 200 texts all at once is that what this is like ]
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WEEKEND ZERO - SATURDAY
I wonder how the others are doing. I would guess they're still alive, then. If they aren't here that is.
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I hope they're alive. Even if it makes it harder for us to find them again.
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W0 - MONDAY
So, you're satisfied with our choice of team?
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week 0; friday
Gerard! Don't get on a blimp, whatever you do!
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[ GOOD LORD ]
What happened?!
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week 0; saturday
Look at you! Stealing girls' pipas left and right!
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[ WHY IS HE REGRETTING THIS NOW
But I didn't steal the Pipa, it was just thrown to me.
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week 1; thursday
...Gerard, there you are! I have to go find Fei Du again, but. You're staying with me for curfew, right?
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Yes. I should go collect Libby, actually ...
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W1 - Friday
genuinely has no idea what to say ]
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week 1; saturday
...We really didn't trust Rin enough. But at least we did it.
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at least for now he seems okay. ]
You're right.
[ ... ]
He really did help us. He was very brave.
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W2 - MONDAY
this morning gerard is stopping ylfa before she leaves the warehouse. ]
Ylfa. I have something important to discuss with you.
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[he is speaking with an authoritative air, so she will immediately stop where she's going and listen politely.]
Did I do something wrong? Am I in trouble?
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week 2; thursday
...Cookie? They're oatmeal raisin. [he knows.]
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he will reach over to take the cookie. ]
Thank you.
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week 2; saturday
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I really am sorry I caused complications with the laundry and the eggs.
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W2 - SUNDAY
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...We should have just let him.
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W3 - MONDAY
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Ashitaka...
[he's so dreamy... the 12 year old dream of a boy who is tragically cursed but very nice and thinks its hot that youre a fucked up wolf girl.]
No! It's a trick by the humans!
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week 3; saturday
...Hey, so. Did you get a text message? Or did you just decide to?
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No.
[ ... ]
You get more points. If you do it on your own.
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W4 - MONDAY
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this just makes her so sad, though. somehow it's the same and different at the same time. she knows what it feels like to have to lose a human part of yourself you didn't even know you had to lose. but she also had choices. terrible, bloody ones, but choices. and she may have had a mother who tried to kill her, but she had a storyteller neighbor who was very, very kind, and would not have let a little girl or little boy live for years alone in the woods.]
Gerard...I think she's right. I don't think you were rude, either. You just talk pretty loud sometimes.
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W4 - THURSDAY
Are you alright ... ?
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I very much appreciate that, Gerard. I'm fine.
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week FIVE I SET ALL MY PCS FOR WEEK FIVE; saturday
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... Hopefully this will all be worth it, right? Big frog pond?
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W7 - MONDAY - TEXT
We can talk this way or if you concentrate I think I can find you, just try not to stand too close to the McDonald's Dumpsters.
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im in jonasseum holding a sword
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1/2
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week 7; tuesday
haru is cursed right now to think he was ALWAYS a llama?
and he was temporarily cursed to become human
and then became a llama again
and now hes human but he wants to be a llama
do you think i should ask kaveh to heal him or
let this play out
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That seems like a rather fucked up situation.
[from user: saintboris ]
I think perhaps you should ask for him to get healed. I think he would appreciate it.
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week 7; friday
are you guys there?
gerard?
where'd you guys go
well ok the really beautiful lady said you could see us but i dont think this is working
hello
hi
hello
hi
hi
oh wouldnt it be fucked up if i sent this and yourself from the first week was getting these
oops
though his username probably isnt this
hi
gerard do you promise that no matter what you will still be my friend
even if i had a hobby that was weird and that you didnt support
not that i do its just hypothetical but
if i did would you be ok with it
oh my god nevermind about that
hi
just checking
ok guess youre still not here
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This is a lot.
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W7 - SATURDAY
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[everything that just happened?]
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