mabel

[katzepaw]

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week 0; sunday

[katzepaw]

[Let's say he runs into Mabel at the cafeteria? He's a man with a cat on his neck like a scarf so it shouldn't be so hard to talk to him, but he's looking at her a little curiously.]

[foreversweaterweather]

[ well he can look at her in any manner he wants but she's not gonna notice because she's immediately zoned in on catscarf. She gasps in awe. ]

You can do that? That's so smart.

[ she reaches out tentatively, longingly, like she wants to touch it but it's too good to be true ]

[katzepaw]

. . . You want to see him?

[He scoops Frumpkin up like he's going to hand him off, but then - ]

Are you the one who has been biting my friends?

[foreversweaterweather]

[ she tilts her head in confusion ]

Biting?

...oh! You know the people with the triangle-y tattoos?

w0, post execution

[foreversweaterweather]

[ idk where they are, sitting on a bench in the dorm quads somewhere?? ]

...do you think we're still gonna have classes tomorrow?

i saw that

[katzepaw]

[Mmm, yikes.]

. . . Probably, yes. They seem to intend to treat this like an ordinary school experience.

i am no thoughts head empty, except for dumb batman references

[foreversweaterweather]

But...but murder's like the least school-y thing there is!

[katzepaw]

[Well. About that. But anyway, he just makes kind of an awkward face at that and moves on.]

Do you know the phrase 'go along to get along'?

week 1; sunday

[katzepaw]

[Caleb is out walking near the doors; a bit quiet and ill looking, his cat around his neck, which he's scratching absently. Easy enough to talk to him if you want.]

[foreversweaterweather]

[ Mabel is just sitting nearby, hugging Waddles and looking absolutely wretched, when she spots him walking by. ]

Oh...hi, Caleb.

[katzepaw]

Hello, Mabel.

[He sighs, still petting his cat somewhat absently. He's in a mood where he seems a bit off kilter, filled with nervous energy. He looks at her and just looks tired.]

[foreversweaterweather]

...do you wanna try petting Waddles?

[ it's only a fair trade, after he let her pet the cat earlier! ]

w3, monday

[foreversweaterweather]

[ idk, let's say this is in the SUB??? ]

Hey, Caleb!! Isn't this weather so cool? Oooh, what about Frumpkin? Does he have a scarf for the cold yet? 'cause I can always make one if he needs!

[katzepaw]

[Sounds great. Anyway, hit me with Mabel's memory first at your leisure and I'll decide something good for her.]

He doesn't have a scarf. If you made him one, I'm sure he'd appreciate that very much.

[foreversweaterweather]

Yeah!!! What're his favorite colors? I'm gonna make the best scarf ever for him!!

[ Sucks to suck, though, because Caleb doesn't get a chance to answer before he's dropped into a memory about...well, memories, and how Mabel and all her friends are about to lose theirs. (from 15:30 to 18:37)

When the fight is over, though, they manage to procure the tube containing all of McGucket's memories, their companion whose memories and sanity has been completely eroded, and give him the chance to reclaim who he once was.

It's not as triumphant as they'd hoped. ]

[katzepaw]

He likes. . . [Looking at the cat.] Purple, really?

[Oh, but there comes the memory. Hmm. He has some feelings about some of this, but a lot of his feelings about his reclaimed memories aren't something he wants to expose a child to. It deals with some ugly stuff. Instead, he just thinks about Mabel, wanting to erase her embarrassing crush memories - a rather sweet and innocent thing. As well as these others who are doing worse to people.]

. . . Well. I'm glad you decided not to.

w3, sunday

[foreversweaterweather]

[ just. running right up to the giant fucking t-rex in furious tears ]

You--you big jerk! [ she kicks him in the dinosaur leg. foot? toesies? ]

You don't even care, do you?! [ now she punches him too. ]

[katzepaw]

[He's probably run out to the woods, but sort of shrinks away when he sees this small child running at him, almost like he's wary or nervous of her.

He doesn't run from her, though. So she can kick him and punch him in the leg all she wants.]

[foreversweaterweather]

[ she either doesn't notice or doesn't care about his nervousness. she just keeps punching and kicking as furiously as she can. ]

You were smiling, you wanted to kill him, even though you knew he didn't mean to!!!

week 3; sunday

[katzepaw]

[A while later she'll get a text.]

You can be angry with me if you want to be. It's okay.

But I want you to know I am not happy he is dead. I am very sorry about it.

Caiman was my friend. He and I talked for a while last night. He had something ugly inside him that he was very afraid of. I know what this feels like. Whatever that ugly thing was, it killed my friend Mollymauk, not Caiman.

More than anything, Caiman was afraid he would lose control of himself today. That he would be paired against someone who would not be able to fight back, and that he would hurt them, which is not what he wanted. I did not know at first whether the person I was fighting today was that ugly person who murdered Mollymauk or if it was Caiman. If I was smiling during that fight, it was only because I was glad for him once I saw that his fears did not come to pass, and that he was himself until the end.

I'm sorry for your loss, and I am sorry that I took your friend away from you.

[foreversweaterweather]

[ you know. she was ready to hate caleb for the rest of her life forever. she really, really was. but reading this text, she can't help but...understand. ]

i know
he told me about it too, the ugly thing
and i think? i might have seen it a little

but
i just
i don't understand how you can know that he wasn't in control of himself and STILL vote for him to die anyway
if he'd stayed alive we could have HELPED him!
then we could've killed the ugly thing and saved caiman!

i'm sorry you lost your friend too
but it just
it felt so mean, what happened

[katzepaw]

I'm probably not the person you should talk to about this.

You don't deserve to be here and experience these awful things. But the truth is we will be making awful choices for as long as we are here, and some of them will be mean.

w5, friday

[foreversweaterweather]

hi caleb
um
i'm sorry
for what i said and did to you and stuff a few weeks ago
it was...kind of selfish of me
acting like it was only caiman's death and my feelings that mattered
and i don't want us to be mad at each other forever
not when we need to be working together and relying on each other!!
so
sorry (again)

🥺💖❓ Mabel

[katzepaw]

[He just gets this text message and sighs to himself. It's very sweet? It's a little complicated. He's not angry with her, but he also doesn't have any capacity to help her with what she's going through, other than to let her take her grief out on him.]

I'm not angry at you, Mabel.
I haven't been.
Your apology is very considerate and I accept.
And I am sorry as well for the pain I caused you and for leading you to believe I was bearing a grudge against you.

[foreversweaterweather]

oh
okay, good! i mean
i wasn't really mad at you either anymore, last week
but
i just wanna make SURE we're okay!!
so we can work together and i can help!!