julius kresnik

[chromatized]

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w0, fuckin idk man. how's monday sound?

[chromatized]

[ Ludger's just been taking stock of this new place which... definitely doesn't feel like a dream! but. is it? because for a moment, he swears he could hear a faint humming. ]

sure monday why not

[hymned]

[ There's...

a faint humming indeed! From somewhere between the library shelves!

> Inspect? ]

[chromatized]

[ maybe someone left one of the DVD players on or something. he'll go looking for the source of the sound! ]

[hymned]

[ the humming ... does not get any louder near the dvds.

huh. probably not on the first floor. ]

[chromatized]

[



he goes to the second floor. like a chump ]

w2 monday idk probably in the evening around dinnertime ig

[hymned]

[ what's today's special, chef?

but no seriously, come roughly suppertime, later in the evening, Julius will filter his way into the cafeteria ... apparently seemingly too lost in thought to do much more than settle down and flick his way through the menu absently.

as well as glance sharply over his shoulder every now and again, but, well. this week sure is going to be a week, huh. ]

[chromatized]

[ ......... ]

Why are you looking at that.

[ Ludger is frowning squarely at the menu. hello? what is he, chopped liver? ]

[hymned]

[ is he reading from behind julius. because if so, surprise! Julius is not actually reading the menu; he's. looking through and reviewing some notes that look like they were copied down hastily, in his handwriting. he does look to be a little sheepish at the implied accusation though? ]

Come on, you know I'd rather your cooking over anything here.

[ sorry cafeteria ghost but it's true! ]

[chromatized]

[ bro............ why are you bein a sneak ]

And yet here you are, looking at a menu. Maybe I'll just take this serving of pasta margherita and give it to someone else... I bet Kaios or Nala would enjoy a home cooked meal.

[ Ludger's voice is light, but his head is tilted at the documents in Julius's possession. ]

w2 post townhall staring into the void (the sitting room)

[hymned]

[ The frestaurant has ominous literally nightmare-inducing wish menus and neither the cafeteria nor library are the right places to just. Crash onto a seat and contemplate the void.

Thus, the cozy, plush chairs of the sitting room instead. Julius is in the middle of occupying himself with putting together some tea with the supplies on the cart — he can't mess that up too badly. ]

[chromatized]

[ he's gonna have to manage himself, because Ludger is face-down in one of the throw pillows ]

Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuughhhhhhhhhhhhh...

[hymned]

[ Clack goes the cup settling onto a small saucer on the table in front of Ludger. Honestly, it's perfectly serviceable tea. Probably speaks more to what Y'shtola keeps on hand then Julius's ability in the kitchen, but look.

With a heavy sigh, he's going to settle heavily onto another chair and just. See icon. ]

Why is it that everything we're finding comes back to...

[chromatized]

[ muffled: ]

If the sky turns into an baby's eye, I'm gonna throw myself in the well.

w3, wednesday

[chromatized]

[ welcome, welcome, one and all! lights glimmer and dance off glass, the walls stretching up and over, towering over you, leaning down down down and pressing your heart to your ribs, your throat. but it's so lovely here, curving sides draped in a deep crimson velvet, gold shining from the lamps, the tables, the floor - don't mind the lurching feeling in your stomach. don't worry about that sense of vertigo.

voices chatter and laugh, coins clinking, dice rattling - someone yells in victory, someone howls in defeat. figures crowd the tables in the pit, crammed shoulder to shoulder, edge to edge. but if you look at them, you can see that none of them stir, frozen in motion as they wait wait wait the next second, the next moment, the next tick of the clock.

a single table at the center of the room is open, spot lit. a dealer dressed in black and a mask stands at attention, smiling. ]

Good evening, sir. Are you interested in a game?

[hymned]

[ That lurching feeling, that sense of vertigo, it's nothing new. Every dimension's another plunge, after all, every world another spin of the wheel. Will you find mutual animosity made into something tamer, familiar relations turned on their heads?

Or maybe...

The man who slides into the seat at the table left open for him does so casually, natural as can be. He belongs here just as much as the other patrons, after all. His smile is easy; his expression is blank. ]

Sure. What's the game at this table?

[chromatized]

A variation of blackjack - it's a local custom. I'm sure you understand.

[ thwipthwipthwip as the cards fly from one hand to another, shuffling under the skillful touch of the dealer. two cards fly out, face down - their backs emblazoned with a dark, shimmering design. when Julius lifts his pair, he'll see a seven and a queen. both seem to gleam, pearlescent under the lights. ]

Hit? Or stand?

[hymned]

Oh? We make the decision without knowing the dealer's first card? Suppose that's just one of the local variations you mentioned.

[ Does the dealer hit on soft 17 or stand on it, for example? But, well, this isn't reality. Maybe those details won't matter in the end. Play along, go with it, see where this leads.

If nothing else, he can always just...

Well, regardless. He'll scrape the edges of the card on the table, a finger tapping. Hit. ]

At Some Fucking Point after W3 Trial (time is fake)

[hymned]

[ it's probably not immediately around, whether before or after trial. or the execution that isn't happening. maybe after that weekend town hall is fine, i don't know.

whatever! there's downtime, and Nala is on the mind. they're— somewhere, Julius' thoughts chasing themselves around in circles, but it's a mellow moment somewhere. maybe they're at the cafeteria, I don't know. ]

You know, when Nala and I were talking a couple of weeks ago, she suggested something to me.

Has she mentioned it to you?

[chromatized]

[ looks up from idk something. do you think I remember what Ludger was looking at 2 weeks ago? ]

No, I don't think so. What's up?

[hymned]

[ honestly like i said via dm this literally could have happened at any point last week. before we got swallowed by cyoa. preferably at a time while they both haven't lost hearing but you said you weren't taking that from ludger so nyeh ]

It's nothing much. She caught me humming the hymn while I was going through books in one of the multiple libraries here. I explained what it was, what it meant; that the words to it had been long lost. She sang along, adding her own lyrics to it.

Though she thought it might be interesting, having you make up the lyrics to the last verse of the hymn.

[chromatized]

Oh, that's nice of her.

[ uh ]

... I can try, you know I'm not very good at this stuff.

w5, sunday idk

[chromatized]

[ eventually, Ludger breaks off from the party and goes looking for Julius. everyone is drinking like their life depends on it, and for some, it very well might. all their wishes, and no guarantee it will turn out as they expect.

if it's going to be the very last night of their lives, Ludger would like to put some things to rest. ]

Hey, Julius. Taking a break?

[ ... ]

Can we talk?

[hymned]

[ Julius has also quietly excused himself and broken off from the party at some point; he'll be found somewhere apart from the revelry (but not somewhere that requires climbing, fortunately for Ludger), resting back on his hands and staring up at the sky. ]

... Something like that. It all feels a bit much, doesn't it? I suppose it's all over now, and we only really have to wait— but actually convincing ourselves of that is a different story.

[ He hasn't gone quite as overboard as some with the drinks, considering, but maybe the alcohol's loosened him up a bit anyway. ]

Sure. I think I've got a moment. [ Just the one long moment, stretched out across all this time. ] What's up?

[chromatized]

[ Ludger just takes a seat and looks up at the stars. ]

... Do you remember anything from when you went berserk? Before the cure.

[hymned]

... Somewhat. It's in bits and pieces, though. Enough to have a general idea of the shape of it, but ...

You might have to elaborate a little on the context for anything specific, but I figure I can follow along as long as you do.