forum gay-thic lit anyone? (o/o)

Started January 14, 2021 by Deleted user

tune

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(Yeah that's initially when I was going to bring it up because before Victor's fuckup, she was fine, and she couldn't have freaked at Ishtar's arrival, outwardly at least, so I kinda vaguely set it up with her acting a lot more upbeat for her usual self but then I realized that I'd have to crank it way up to make it seem out of the ordinary because tbh I have a worrying trend of making my more stoic characters literally incapable of happiness even when they logically should be happy, so honestly, I'm just gonna give Anna the chance to feel some happiness and then make her go back to being serious and strict but not a total or even vaguely an asshole.)

Margaret chuckled at the praise and thanked Robert for it in turn. Some time passed, and while the bottle of wine only emptied a little, everyone seemed all so relaxed and happy. This was a good moment between these three, and while Esme stopped back for some sandwiches she and Ishtar were mostly playing, with Ishtar occasionally trying to eat the bugs Esme had caught and Esme getting very upset with her over this, but being very forgiving as "Ishtar doesn't know better, Mum! I'm teaching her!"

(I see I see, das aight)

After he'd had his fill, Robert fell onto the grass, staring up at the clouds. A gentle breeze cooled his face, and he almost thought about taking a nap but decided against it.
"Hey, Esme," he called. "Do you like to find shapes in the clouds with me, or do you still have some bugs to catch?"

"No, I think I've found enough." she said, toddling over to him holding several jars in a load just a bit too big for her small arms, one jar almost toppling over and falling out of her pile. She carefully set the jars down, and left them by where Ishtar was sitting, the creature helping braid the girl's hair and generally staying out of the way. Esme laid down next to Robert, smiling with her hair spread askew in the grass. "I think that one looks like a sailing ship!" she pointed to a cloud in the sky.

Robert chuckled, smiling back. "It does! It would be fun to sail a ship in the clouds instead of the sea, exploring the heavens."
He stared upward for a moment, then pointed. "I think that one looks like a tree. And that one… maybe a bird coming to its nest?"

"Hmm… I think that cloud looks like Mother on a full moon!" Esme said, not entirely understanding the concept of "wolf". She just assumed that sometimes her mother turned into a great hairy beast and that was normal and how families worked. She assumed a lot of things, because she felt like she ought to know everything, and when she didn't know things she made them up because she didn't like feeling incompetent. She'd picked up this habit from her Mum, an unfortunate one, but a habit all the same.

Robert chuckled, playing along. “It does, doesn’t it? It looks like it’s snarling at me.”
A large cloud rolled in, making the sky overcast. “I like to think that the big clouds are a bunch of different shapes,” he said. “Like that one, that one looks like a huge army charging into battle. What do you think?”

"I don't like armies, or war. Mother says that war only harms us. There's been a lot of war going on, and I'm afraid…" she turned her head and closed her eyes until they settled down, "I'm afraid there'll be a lot more of it, very, very soon."

Oddly, that made him think about his nightmares again, which honestly annoyed Robert. A restless night’s sleep is just guaranteed at this point. Had those dreams been about war? He would think he would remember that. He remembered hearing Uncle Benjamin’s stories of being in the navy when he was young, but he had always made it seem more glamorous than it probably was, maybe for young Robert’s sake. Since then Robert’s definition of war has changed, and he wondered what Esme meant. Was it possible she meant something different than a conflict between two nations? It didn’t seem like there were a lot of wars like that happening. At least, at the moment.
“It looks like an army from long, long ago,” he murmured. “When they still metal armor and helmets and spears. A lot of sharp edges, for a cloud. Don’t be afraid, Esme. Whatever may pass, I want to enjoy this while I can.” He closed his eyes as well.

"Okay. That's good. But… be prepared. Anyways, Mother wants to see you. She wants to go soon, before we lose time to find Victor entirely." she said. "Although, have we not already lost him?" she asked, looking around nervously.

"Robert! You and Esme have been looking at the sky a little too much now, time to start focusing on what's on the ground." Anna called. "We need to regroup."

Robert sighed bittersweetly and flicked his eyes open. He peered curiously at Esme, then pulled himself up.
“We don’t know that. Not for sure,” he said. Stretching his limbs, he called back, “Yes Anna. Just got carried away.” He started toward the two women. “You need help packing up?”

"That would be lovely, but you and Anna need to get going. It's a while's walk, and I would think that you would need to hurry if you didn't want to get there before sunset. Esme and the creature will help well enough." Margaret said kindly.

"Yes, we should really be going now," Anna appeared by Robert's shoulder suddenly, steering him off in the direction of the road. "Goodbye, my doves, and be careful." she said. "I'll take the exact same advice."

“Ah, right you are,” he chuckled. He barely gave his sister a hug before Anna steered him to the road. “Farewell!” He called.
Suddenly it occurred to him that he would be alone with Anna, for who knows how long. He tugged his collar nervously, and said, “Uh, remind me where exactly this trusted source recommended us to go?”

"The doctor said he couldn't tell me much, but he would sneak us in under the pretense of use being assistants. Henry is a good man, he knows how much this matters to me and he's willing to do everything in his power to help." she said stiffly. "I suspect it's some sort of cult, in my view at least. Henry tends to get involved in such dreary groups, under the idea that he's doing some good. At least the people get medical care."

Robert frowned, remembering the trusted source in question was Doctor Jekyll, as he had forgotten sometime during the picnic.
"A cult," he breathed. He'd encountered cults here and there on his travels, but those encounters hadn't lasted long. "Do you think, if Victor's there, they want him to play God again?"

"He's hardly playing God, he's no God and I won't blaspheme like that even if I personally don't believe in any Gods either way. But, they do want something from him. Henry implied some pretty nasty things about where Victor was and honestly I'm not sure I feel fully safe taking you along." she said.

Robert shrugged, smirking a little. "Fine, perhaps we'll say he's playing Prometheus, then? And currently having his liver ripped out?"
He didn't know why he found the comparison amusing, but he did. Amusingly dark, perhaps. Though, if it's a cult they were talking about, his liver being ripped out could be a real possibility, which was when it really got unnerving for him.
An incredulous expression crossed his face. "You mean to tell me that my presence here makes us unsafe? As if I'm going to do something that jeopardizes this search? How cruel." His mouth pulled into another smirk. He knew what Anna really meant, but he was feeling stupid and brave again, and couldn't resist playing with her words.

“We disagree on what to call fools like him greatly. However, while I do value your presence here, I also don’t feel safe what with how you don’t know how to shut up. And also, how you just love to throw yourself into danger, it’s a terrible habit of yours.” she said. “I hope I can trust you with this, but I don’t want you to kill yourself in this.” the city was far off in the distance, and Anna stayed silent the rest of the way there. The sun was burning high above them, and Anna wiped her brow with a clean rag. When they arrived, she lead them around to a well-to-do kind of place, a flat that was almost a penthouse. She knocked on the door, and a small voice she didn’t recognize told her to wait.

“Strange. Henry never has guests. Well, I suppose we’ll be waiting for a little while longer.” she shrugged.

He chuckled. “Well, I suppose I am giving him too much credit by calling him that.” Then he laughed. She hit the nail right on the coffin. He indeed did not know when to shut up, but at least Anna let him know. He followed her example; his laughter was sharp but brief, and he silently wished he had something to fan his face with to counter the oppressive heat. He did not want to ask to borrow Anna’s rag. On another note, he thought that throwing himself into danger on occasion ironically saved his life a time or two. But he supposed he couldn’t argue with her, perhaps this was not one of those times.
“I’m alright with waiting,” he said, but his feet were already tapping the concrete, his eyes glancing all over the place, taking in all they could about the flat.

There wasn't much to take in, the shutters were closed and the place looked rather plain from the outside. However, when the door finally opened, your eyes could only focus on the older man in front of you, with snowy white hair and green eyes like springtime, everything about him seemed kind. He was tall, and portly, and took up most of the space in the doorframe one way or the other. But then, the longer you looked, the longer things seemed off. Anna hadn't noticed it, but there was some sin tainting the poor doctor's soul that didn't look like it could get erased anytime soon.

"Welcome! Anna, dear, it's been but a few months but you look fair as anything. How is your wife?"

"Were I not in such a good mood I would draw my sword on you for that remark. And my wife is doing fine, beautiful as the summer sun in sunset as she always has been." she smiled, and embraced the doctor quickly before pushing past him to get inside. "But you know we have more pressing matters. Have you heard of a man by the name of Victor Frankenstein? He was taken to one of those asylums you visit so frequently, the ones you take months at a time off to take care of. Summerhart, I reckon is the one, I read about it in the paper."