+ Guilt Runs Deep

[vitaelamorte]

Who: Everyone!
Where: The Mansion
When: Feb 23-25
Rating: Please warn in top level subject lines for potential triggers/NSFW
Summary: Various residents are trapped in their own guilt, watching their guiltiest memory play on a loop.
The Story:

Welcome to the gathering post for the event. Please see the plotting post for more information + the bulletin board link. Have fun!

Comments

[waitin]

Honestly, Clementine doesn't expect him to joke at all given the situation and his exhaustion, and so she smiles a tiny bit when he still tries despite the rest. It even manages to make her laugh in a quiet, soft kind of way.

"You have my permission to make that theme song later on at some point."

There's a slight pause especially with the two of them in the midst of this horrible memory that makes him feel so bad about himself, and she wants- She wants something else to be clear.

"You matter so much to me, y'know?"

[teamfun]

"I will absolutely make a theme song. You can bet on it."

It's easier, to joke than deal with all of this. Violet was right- Louis is very good at burying his head in the sand. It's not out of neglect, but putting a happy sheen on everything is his survival strategy. It's got him this far, stands to reason it might get him further.

When Clem has to say is enough to give him pause. He's used to telling other people they mean the world to him. He does it unabashedly, every day if he feels the need to. People tend not to afford him the same, though. He doesn't need to hear it (he knows, of course, he knows) but it's nice to hear it. He smiles, small, tired, but there.

"I know," a reassurance because he understands Clem doesn't always feel her emotions come across as strong as she'd like. "You matter everything to me, too."

[waitin]

Clemetine smiles against him even as she slides a hand behind her neck, closing her eyes there as she hugs him very tightly. She nods against his shoulder, because she knows. Louis makes it very clear that she matters so much to him and that means the world to her.

And she just wants more than anything to protect that, protect him. Everyone she has ever loved has died, usually died because of her.

She wants him to stay safe, to stay in her life. No matter what.

She wants a lot of impossible things, but right now she just wants him to feel even a little bit as worthy and as meaningful as he is. Especially in the face of a memory like this one.

So she'll stay like that with him through the rest of the Event, reminding him whenever she can. That he matters, that this moment alone does not define him.