Forgiveness

Participants:

elliot2_icon.gif merlyn_icon.gif

Scene Title Forgiveness
Synopsis Elliot is the only person in the flooded world who has a working cellphone.
Date June 13, 2021

Smol Wife
Sunday, June 13 ᛫ 08:32
I just want it to be known that I have the best husband in the entire universe and I will fist fight anyone who disagrees with me.
I'm going to send you a list of people who've said they have better husbands
Ignore that it will have the word "enemies" crossed out at the top
Only my enemies day that
Aw, if you wanted me to punch someone for you all you’d have to do is ask. I make no promises that I can make much of an impact though.
Unless I punch elsewhere
Yeah that could work
Don't worry, I would never ask you to fist fight somebody for me
That's Wright's job
(I have first fought many people, it's true)
I take it you had an overall positive reaction to your birthday present?
Yes, it involved many tears which I should have expected because you’re so ducking sweet
Dammit autocorrect I know what I’m saying
Who honestly uses ducking as a word more than fucking anyway
Like I said, best husband in the universe
That's a bold claim but I don't want to question you while you're feeling fighty
Happy birthday, I love you
I'm glad I was able to find this for you before I shipped out
Like literally right before, cut it really close honestly
I love you too
Seriously, the gift means a lot and I never even expected it
I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to come up with anything as nice for you when I’m next giving you a gift
I’m still amazed you managed it all
Kind of sad you had to ship out before my birthday, you probably would have found my happy tears endearing or something
Oh yeah
I would have consoled the absolute hell out of you
Snuggles, comforting words
The works
disappointed I probably won't be back in time for my birthday, an event for which you are absolutely NOT required to find me a living relative
Relatives are a crapshoot anyway.
Going to cross my fingers that you come back any time now
I can’t promise you some sort of cool surprise either because that would be unfair
It’s not your choice to be away
I actually volunteered for this
Technically they lied to me to get me to do it
Which was rude
I'm uniquely died for this job
*suited
I am super glad that’s a typo. No talking about dying. There’s always a twinge of worry in my chest every time I even slightly think about that prospect.
I am glad they have you because of you fitting their needs butt…
*but
I swear I’m going to punch someone for leading you on
I think I’m in a righteous punching mood this morning
Sorry
(Also sorry)
I'm not in any immediate danger right now
The guy who lied to me about the job is only a few inches taller than you and I'm pretty sure he wears lifts so you might be able to take him
Seems like the kind of asshole who learned lying would get him what he wanted and then never bothered learning any other social mechanism
No need to apologize, I’m just going to constantly worry anyway. It kinda happens when you give a fuck about someone and they’re in dangerous situations.
Lying is a good social mechanism, I could write a whole book on it, but it’s definitely not the only one to be relied on
I’m still mad you got lied to. Maybe I’ll put on some heels and go threaten him
God I love you
What are you up to today?
I love you just as much.
As far as plans go, I don’t have a ton of them. I haven’t decided so there’s room for punching if you do decide you need me to
Not that I can do a great job either way. I might just leave the punching to Wright.
08:47
June 13 ᛫ 09:22
She definitely has easier access to him, should he book himself a learnin'
Sorry I forgot to hit send on that
No worries
I just assumed Wright was too busy punching someone
No, she's just distracted watching me try to find rice so I can do the thing where I apologize to somebody with food
Oh shit are you already in trouble with someone
Nah, just thought I was being funnier than I am, is not a real problem
Favor for a friend
Think I have a lead on the rice
You're actually really funny, so
I think you're funny
I might be biased at this point though
To be fair, I had been awake for over 24 hours by the time of my not funniness do I was not fitting on all cylinders
*firing
That's just when you start babbling cutely
Again, I'm biased
Besides I keep that for myself
Are you doing okay though? Keeping awake for 24 hours is kinda bad
Yeah
Deployment was rough but I've gone longer without sleep plenty of times
You can't see but I'm shaking my fist
At least I know Wright can keep an eye on you to make sure you're taking care of yourself
09:31
June 13 ᛫ 12:14
Wright's not the boss of me
(I'll do what I can)
Rice safetied though, so that's a win
*acquired
Is safetied even a word?
I’m not sure it is a word, so I’m super surprised by that correction
Tbh I am not the best to go to for extended vocabulary though so take that with a grain of salt
Hmm, maybe I should study some of that shit
I can sound more knowledgeable
It couldn't hurt
I've considered taking classes to make up for the dropping out of high school thing, but I've bullshitted my way to this point without it
I mean I am a master at bullshitting my way into and out of trouble
So I suppose I’m doing pretty well so far
Maybe if I ever get a job that doesn’t involve pizza delivery or other similar pursuits I’ll need an expanded vocabulary
That day is certainly not now
I do love to watch you work
You remained in character longer than I did at our classy date
Though to be fair to me you looked amazing in that dress and I was absolutely rattled by the upcoming proposal
I have no idea how you managed to get through the dinner and everything without cracking
I will accept your excuse that I’m the one distracting
Not gonna lie, thinking of it makes me smile
You’re great at romantic moments
It was not easy but it was worth the strain, you're very romanceable
And I'm not going to lie, it's partially for my own benefit. I get an absolutely perverse thrill out of seeing you feel loved and happy and safe
Like, when we're cozy and drifting off to sleep and you tell me you love me
Full body shiver
That's the fucking good stuff
That’s just the benefit from caring about someone else. It’s called happiness
You do a great job of making me feel loved and happy and safe, so you’re doing it right. You make being vulnerable worth it.
Didn’t honestly think that was a phrase I’d ever use
I’m more than happy to be your weird addiction
It's say you're less of a weird addiction and more of an awesome wife who I want to be with because I love her company and not because I'm compelled to do so by something external to my own choices
I love you because your amazing and I want to live my life beside you, not because the feel good chemicals my brain makes tells me I have to
If that makes any sense
That makes sense but if I say I’m confused do I get more of your cute rambling?
Legitimately happy to be your wife
You seriously have managed to entirely change things in my life for the better. The amount of things you’ve brought to my life that are some kind of new experiences is probably unfathomable
That was phrased weird but I’m pretty sure you know what I’m saying
Being able to make you happy and being in your life is all I could ask for
Happy to be made happy by you
I'll be perfectly honest, I never saw this coming
In all of my imaginings m my apology was always answered by you saying it was too late and then walking away while a slow cover of a popular song plays because they couldn't afford the rights to the original version
It's nighttime, cut to me staring forlornly at the city skyline from the railing beside a river
Now we can just hold hands and stare at the River together
Way better ending
This probably wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t done such a great job of making me love you in the first place
I kinda stupidly never let go of those feelings
Well, it wasn’t stupid to me but it wasn’t really the logical thing to just hold onto feelings when something’s over
Hopeless romantic at heart I guess
Do you possess an Experience ability that lets you see if somebody eventually stops being the worst and tries to better themselves and realizes the gravity of their mistake in the future?
Nope, I’m just in love with you. I guess I just got incredibly lucky!
Mmm that's that good stuff I was telling you about
The bring in love part, not the years of sadness waiting for me to get my shit together part
*being
You make it sound like I was sitting around miserable just waiting for you
Any misery was the world’s fault, not all yours
Did really miss you though
Sorry, didn't mean to imply you spent your days pining for me
I missed you too, even though it was all my fault that either of us missed the other
There were days I pined tbh
I hope you know I’ve forgiven you for it
I know you’ll keep putting blame on yourself continually for it but I already forgave you for it
Damn I should have said that in the vows
12:36

Lowe's
Archipelago of Manhattan


There's a sharp intake of breath that seems to mimic a gust of wind filling the access spaces of a broken building. Elliot's head swims, unable to process everything at once. He makes his way down the high-rise stairwell to where the storm sounds can mask his emotion.

There's immense relief, he knows; those words he never dared to ask for but needed to hear so badly. Other emotions in the moment seem like distractions, but he can't just ignore them, he knows they're important too.

There's an undercurrent of guilt, not just for having wronged her but for using this to his advantage. She would want him to if he asked her, wouldn't she? He needs to protect people from himself and he can't do that without this. He lets that guilt pass.

He's afraid, that this won't be enough, that they won't get it right. That something will happen to Merlyn while he's gone and take his hope away. The fear can't ever really go away completely, so he lets it recede.

The winds down at the dock level are powerful, few people can be seen and all of them hurried. He keeps his hand on the stair railing and lets somebody pass into the upper levels. Down here the bracing sea spray is another shock to his system.

Because hope has been justified. It overwhelms him, being forgiven. The sad sounds that escape him are nothing to the bluster of the storm. He holds this, focuses it, feels Wright join him from so far away, pulls her to him and as she takes steady breaths to help him sync up, her own emotions tumultuous. Because they were correct; hope is Relevant and they can use this.

They can hope that someday they'll be able to set down the lies without killing everyone in the process. They can hope that the people they love most will forgive them for the lying. They can hope that the minotaur will still, will fall into the lethargy that protected them from its rage in years past. They can hope that soon they will be able to sleep without the carnage of the nightmares it wreaks every time they close their eyes. It's so fragile, they'll need to cultivate it before they can set a new lock. The impending end of the world isn't going to make it easy. They'd rather die than go into the Palace while the minotaur calls his name. They won't risk exposure to Asi.

In his exhaustion it takes a while for Elliot to connect the way Wright swivels his phone in her hand to what she's trying to communicate.

June 13 ᛫ 12:41
I did not know
It's difficult for me to articulate how much it means to me that you do
I’m sorry I didn’t say something sooner then
I should have said it in the vows or before you left
I guess I didn’t really realize it or say it outloud until now
You just blamed yourself like you always do and I knew I needed to say it
Because I do forgive you, and I hope you’ll remember that
You don’t have to apologize, I accept that I was responsible for making you not trust me
I will try to stop beating on myself for it
And I can’t ever forget
Your forgiveness is going to keep me warm at night for the rest of my life
But your vows were already perfectly imperfect
Our cows were wonderful, I loved them
*vows
You have to stop making everything sound so fucking romantic or I’ll channel my inner Victorian lady and swoon
I’m really happy it touches you though because I know forgiveness can be just as hard to get as it is to give
Please do all of your swooning in proximity to one of the couches, or if you really want to go all out pick up a chaise lounge. Do the back of the hand to the forehead thing too, that's critical
Because I'm going to be romantic as fuck as often as possible
I will only do a little swooning
As practice
I want to save all the real swoons for when you’re here and can catch me cause that’s the real romance right there
Pretty sure it was just an excuse for these ladies to be in someone’s arms in a time period appropriate manner so I’ll just have to follow their lead
I don’t even know what a chaise lounge is and it sounds expensive, so I’ll stick with the couches
A chaise lounge is a chair that someone forgot to stop making
I look forward to catching you romantically. I will look concerned and send for the servants to bring me the smelling salts just like Queen Victoria would have wanted
Would I sound cheesy if I suggested a kiss instead? Pretty sure smelling salts are a bit strong and last I checked there are no servants.
I legitimately look forward to making excuses to dramatically collapse into your arms though
Movies always make it look fun
No kissing the unconscious but we can bypass the swooning and servants and salts and you can just fall dramatically into my arms for conscious and purposeful kissing whenever you like
Pretty sure I’d actually be faking the swoon in the first place
If I actually faint, someone’s probably drugged me somehow and you should have Wright kick their ass
But I can fall dramatically into your arms when you’re back, you can count on that
I look forward to it
I've got to do some work, I'll talk to you tonight hopefully
Don't work too hard.
Subpar work for subpar wage, that's my motto
Wright won't let me say that I have the best wife in the entire universe or she will fight me, but I want you to know that it might take me a bit to truly process your forgiveness because I feel like I haven't earned it yet, but while I'll come around to hour amazing you are for forgiving me and accepting it myself, I intend to be good to you in a way that seems like I'm still trying to earn it but it's actually just my desire to have the best life with you I can possibly have
I love you
Thank you
Well, I am pretty sure Wright won't fight me for saying you're the best husband in the entire universe, so I'll say that in your honor. Because you try harder than anyone to make me happy and make me feel safe and loved, and that makes you pretty amazing.
I love you too
Stay safe
Now
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