[OPEN] RV Park Party

[eirs]

WHO: Any and all OUTSIDER personnel that wants in and their respective campervan companions. Or maybe you wandered out away from your group and found this commune.
WHAT: The gang parking together at night to swap information about the things they've found in their investigations, night watches around a fire, ghost stories......? General tomfoolery in the desert where there's no one else for miles. Cooking their hunts in successes and mishaps?
WHERE: The Mojave Desert
WHEN: Mid to Late May
WARNINGS: Will be updated or tagged in the thread as needed!

Comments

[picky]

[ Aw! Marcille's face lights up again. ]

Really? I hope so. You two were some of the first people I met here. You helped me out a lot. The circumstances aren't the best, but you both should be happy!

[ It may seem inconsequential to them, but to someone who barely had any footing when she arrived, it was nice to have two people be straightforward and helpful when she needed it. ]

You needed some time to figure things out for yourself too, didn't you? Have you liked anyone before?

[frostfist]

[ Marcille....cute.... 🥺 It's hard not to relax a little when she's so open and genuine. ]

Not to this degree.

[ Puppy crushes, the occasional longing look, evenings of lust when he shot through and past puberty, but never anything to this degree, if only because there'd never been any chance for anything to really blossom when his life had been the way it was. ]

Besides, the circumstances were never—ideal for a relationship.

[picky]

[ Marcille gets comfortable, sliding her legs out from underneath her, bringing up her knees, and folding her arms over them. ]

What circumstances?

[ His office job? His home life? ]

[frostfist]

[ She gets comfy and he follows suit, propping one elbow on his folded knee and then dropping his chin into his open palm.

He doesn't answer right away, debating on how much and what he wants to tell her. ]

My work requires me to essentially stay at the bottom of the ocean. There's no sunlight down there, no fresh air. I can't in good conscience ask anyone to uproot their life and move down there.

[picky]

[ Give her a second.

Then, in horror: ]

You work at the bottom of the ocean?! I thought you said you had an administrative job!

[frostfist]

I do.

[ He didn't lie???? ]

I manage a prison down there.

[ Just says this nonchalantly, like it's no big deal. Her eyes are already saucers anyway, might as well get this all over with before she can recover just to be shocked again. ]

[picky]

You're a Warden?!

[ SHE JUST HUGGED A WARDEN??? ]

[frostfist]

That is what I said.

[ In slightly different words, but the point remains. He gives her a Look, one eyebrow raised. ]

What, you don't think I look like one?

[picky]

I-I don't know! I don't normally look at people and wonder if they're a warden or not!

[ Everyone here looks weird or unique to her 😭 you're all anime as heck.

She looks down at the sand. ]

No wonder you were so stiff when I gave you a hug just now...

[frostfist]

I can't exactly go around hugging my inmates, now can I? Wouldn't want to give anyone the wrong idea.

[ He doesn't sound too fussed about it though. ]

But that's also part of the reason I've never considered a relationship before. The Fortress isn't exactly an enjoyable place to be.

[picky]

The Fortress? Is that what it's called?

[ Probably. She continues, brows furrowed as she meets Wriothesley's eye. ]

But... You weren't planning on staying down there forever, right? What if you decided you wanted to be with someone?

[frostfist]

[ Sorry Marcille.... He keeps her gaze, but his expression is solemn. ]

I don't have any plans to leave any time soon.

[picky]

[ She searches his gaze, brows furrowing in somber concern. ]

Is that... what you want?

[frostfist]

[ Go worry about someone else, Marcille. ]

It's what I chose for myself a long time ago. [ Said simply. ] The things that I want to do...they can only be done from down there.

[picky]

[ No ):

The two of them have had meaningful conversations before. She stays silent for a moment, still trying to discern whether or not he really means what he says. Even then, she sees nothing but resolve.

That's how it is then. She closes her eyes and nods slowly. ]

Okay. [ She looks up at him again. ] That is a good reason not to think about a relationship. Still, I'm glad you and Ishmael found each other while you're here.

[frostfist]

[ He doesn't reply beyond a noncommmital hum. There's not much more to say on the topic that can be fit into the two minutes he's willing to spend on the subject. Better change the subject. ]

What about you? Surely you must have dreams and goals of your own that you want to achieve.

[ They've talked enough about him, it's time to move on. ]

dm spoilers

[picky]

[ It's clear on Marcille's face that she wasn't expecting the question to be turned on her. She stares wide-eyed and silent for moment, but her thoughts are elsewhere entirely.

She's been quietly dealing with this subject since she arrived. Her goals had been put on hold or otherwise completely shattered before she woke up in the Medical Bay. She hadn't even found a way to stop being the Dungeon Lord. The change happened in a single blink.

She has her short-term goals that she can't fulfill while she's here. As for her long-term goals... Her pursuit of magic, the hope of manifesting her childhood dream, have gone up in smoke. Earlier, she told Fern that she was still studying magic, but that was only by reflex. Did she still want to study ancient magic, knowing what she knows now? Loving the people she loves?

Wriothesley only has to sit in her silence for a few seconds. She's thought about this thousands of times, the ideas flashing through her mind in an instant. Then she lowers her eyes and briefly bites her thumbnail out of habit. ]

My only goal right now is to go home and save my friend.

[ She folds her fingers together and studies her lap. ]

Even if I can't be there... all I want to know is if Falin and the others are okay.

[frostfist]

[ He waits patiently while she gathers her thoughts, his gaze occasionally flickering to the dying fire nearby as well as the shadows of the Outsiders still lingering outside. When Marcille finally does answer, he's quick to return his attention to her.

They've only discussed her past a little, the bulk of her adventures painted out in broad strokes rather than finer details. There's the blurry outline of a possibility in his mind, but it's hard to fill in without more details. ]

What happened to them?

[ 'Save'....that's not a word anyone uses lightly. ]

[picky]

[ When she turns her head to look at Wriothesley, she seems deeply guilty and afraid, like she's about to admit to something damning. Being a prison guard, he can probably recognize looks like these—eyes wide, pupils blown, mouth pulled into a tight and wobbly line. She grips the bottom half of her clothes and breathes in deeply, forcing herself to keep his gaze. ]

It's not... You won't like hearing it. You might not like me after you do.

crawls back in here five weeks later

[frostfist]

[ It's a sudden shift, from morose to almost panicked, enough to catch him off-guard. Everyone has secrets they hide, skeletons they keep tucked away in the back of the closet, but Marcille has always seemed so open. So sincere. ]

Hey.

[ A single word, accompanied by the flat of his palm as he places it steadily between her shoulder blades. Calm down. ]

I've heard a lot over the years. [ As a prison warden. ] Some of them from people I consider myself to still be on good terms with. Why don't you try me?

grabs onto your ankles

[picky]

[ The desert night is hot, but the warmth in his hand is still soothing. With her hunched over, Wriothesley might feel the hammering of her heart against her back. She looks down in front of her again, draws her knees up against her chest, wraps her arms around them, and begins.

You're canon familiar so I'll just summarize. She leaves out parts he already knows—her father, her childhood, her age. She reveals that her deep obsession with learning magic was all for the singular purpose of finding a way to extend lifespans. She talks about being given the opportunity to do so, unleashing a terrible beast from his chains, becoming undone as it forced her desires out of her through the smallest opening in her psyche.

She felt like she was going to die. She created monsters and killed so many people in the dungeon. She threatened to change the people she cared so deeply for. They were the only ones who could bring her to accept reality as it is.

Equalizing the age of all living beings for the sake of her own loneliness was selfish; she knows that now. ]

Still...

[ She looks so exhausted and ashamed. Her eyes are glossy. ]

I... I can't help but still want to do it. I'm going to live for so long, and everyone else...