Happy Imeejiversary

[gigadevilbreaker]

Who: Shrike, Sekhmet and Griffin
Where: avante’s music room
When: afternoon day 200

[Griffin’s been shuffling secretively in and out of the dorm ever since he got back from morning workouts. Moving a bit of furniture. Maybe squirreled Sekhmet in, too. No reason, of course. Don’t mind them, nothing to see here.

But later, Shrike would get a text that reads:

Come to the music room please! <3

When she enters, she’ll find Griffin and Sekhmet, a guitar and flute in their hands respectively, waiting for her to take a seat on a couch. Food of both the Italian and Japanese variety was lovingly prepared at the side, along with drinks, tealights and roses.]

So, uh. We prepared a poem for you! Kinda.

Um, it really… means a lot, to both of us, to be able to share this with you.

Comments

[softlyfalling]

[ holy shit

holy SHIT????

sorry she's like. dazed, speechless. ]

[gigadevilbreaker]

[WHISPERS LOUDLY and gestures at the sofa,]

Sit downnn

[nihilmancy]

[Making dramatic wiggly finger gestures at the couch

this is romance]

[softlyfalling]

Ah—all right, all right!

[ she shuffles over and very dutifully takes a seat, hands folded in her lap. ]

[gigadevilbreaker]

Okay. This one's all for you, Shrike.

[He clears his throat and, gives a warm-up strum of the guitar. No whammies.

The chords are sparse, and pretty simple - just the easy ones he taught himself. His voice starts off soft, but quickly gains confidence until he's singing with abandon:]

Feels like a contradiction, that you would love me so,
The softness of a mountain, or finding warmth in snow;
You took a demon in your arms, without the fear of fire
And tamed him with a touch so kind it'd make a devil cry, oh--

I'd build a home around your heart and join you hand in hand,
To turn your doubt and sorrow to joy and fertile land;
This song's my oath to cherish you, so that you'll always know--
All of you, and every day, with all my burning soul.

And maybe they say it's a cold day in Hell,
But hell's feeling warmer with you~

[nihilmancy]

[Sekhmet accompanies him with her flute, harmonizing with him.

When he has finished singing his lyrics, she lowers her instrument to sing her own in a high, clear voice, growing more impassioned as she sings.]

In parched lands of sorrow, I found a cool spring
Gentle balm of solace to mend despair’s sting
When you fall I’ll mend your broken wing

My heart, lost in bitterness, yet found her sweet desire
I thought that I should not love but you proved me a liar

My love, we are greater than our sins and pains
We are not tarnished by their stain
We can shatter Hell’s wicked chains
We’ll find joy and beauty again and again

[softlyfalling]

[ gosh? gosh??????

it's not long before she's full-face blushing, hands clapped over her mouth, a little misty-eyed, because—they wrote this for her? they wrote this for her!

academically she knows people care about her, but—she really, really means a lot to them, doesn't she. ]

[gigadevilbreaker]

[As he finishes with a repeat of his chorus, Griffin gets louder, in a raw, scream-o quality, belting out:]

And maybe they say it's a cold day in Hell,
But hell's feeling warmer with you--

I know that we're bleeding and fighting like hell,
But I know I'll get through it with you!!!

[THANKFULLY HE FIGHTS THE URGE TO SMASH THE GUITAR but he does strike a dramatic pose on the last, angry strum - making little the crowd goes wiiild, whoaaa pshwooohhh yeahhhh noises under his breath.

Like a cool guy.]

[nihilmancy]

[More quietly repeating her last stanza.]

My love, we are greater than our sins and pains
We are not tarnished by their stain
We can shatter Hell’s wicked chains
We’ll find joy and beauty again and again

[softlyfalling]

I love you both so much you must have worked so hard on this—

[ she's like actually tearing up and wiping her eyes with her jacket sleeve, but also grinning from ear to ear, so:

success??? ]

[gigadevilbreaker]

[Griffin beams so wide, his face is about to split in two.]

Happy Helliversary!

[Just let him put the guitar down and come over to kiss her on one side of her cheek~]

[nihilmancy]

[Sekhmet is smiling brightly too, touched by just how much it seemed to effect Shrike. This moment, this feeling makes a lot of things in this place more bearable, and affection fills her chest to bursting. She loves this big earnest anxious compassionate girl.]

Love you.

[She walks over, kissing her other cheek.]

[softlyfalling]

I really—I just—

[ she rubs at her eyes a little, hunching her shoulders in a modest sort of gesture. ]

...I don't know what else to say but—thank you. I—I don't know who I'd be without either of you, but I don't think I'd like myself or... life, nearly as much.

[gigadevilbreaker]

[Griffin comes to sit next to her on the couch, so she could continue being sandwiched by the boyfriend and girlfriend who loved her so much. Leans against her and brushes a thumb across her damp cheek, reassuringly]

Y'know you changed me too, right? I grew so much 'cause I wanted t'be worthy of you.

You're irreplaceable. And I'll always love you.

[nihilmancy]

[Leaning against Shrike's shoulder.]

I could say the same to you. Every word I sang was true. Together, we can have better, we don't have be overshadowed by our pasts, and we do not have to hate ourselves. Being ourselves does not mean being monsters, or chained things that hurt us.

I'm better because of you, and I love you more than I can put into words.

[softlyfalling]

[ she reaches back to put an arm around each of their shoulders, pulling both of them in tight, and squeezing her eyes shut against tears. ]

You're both—you're both wonderful. I'm never going to be able to top this.

[gigadevilbreaker]

[Griffin laughs as he's drawn into this three-person embrace]

I dunno, that motorcycle was pretty great.

[nihilmancy]

I would not say no to getting a poem too.

[softlyfalling]

[ she sniffles slightly, wipes her eyes a little bit, then makes a thoughtful face, twiddles her fingers on one hand for a second like she’s counting, and— ]

Radiant lady,
Like moon phases changing still.
I’ll love every name.

[gigadevilbreaker]

[Muttering in quiet awe,]

How'd you do that so fast... in so few words...

[nihilmancy]

[This is terrorism

Sekhmet is now starting to tear up too]

if toni can art terrorism i can poetry terrorism,

[softlyfalling]

Ahaha... I hope that means it was all right, I...

I didn't think I could be this happy, but it snuck up on me, somehow.

shit and damn,

[gigadevilbreaker]

I mean, it was beautiful, of course. Like everything 'bout you.

...I did try t'be stealthy 'bout moving a couch into this room.

Re: shit and damn,

[nihilmancy]

[Yep she is compromised]

S-Shrike is so good and I love her so much. I never... I never thought I deserved this either. Even before I remembered why I knew I was a monster who shouldn't be loved, and yet...

[softlyfalling]

[ she puts her hand on the top of sekhmet's head. smoosh. ]

You're not a monster who shouldn't be loved.

At the very least if you're going to tell me that I'm not one you have to stop saying that about yourself, too.

[gigadevilbreaker]

Hey, none of this monster talk.

[So sayeth Griffin, who will bop people on the head if necessary]

What people deserve isn't always what they get. But if you love, and that love makes you wanna be better? Then you can't be a real monster, full stop.

[nihilmancy]

Yes, um... I know that now. It was a silly fancy, to try to keep my distance from being hurt.

[softlyfalling]

I just want to make sure you know.

I guess... we've all done some things we're not proud of. In some cases, terrible things. But, ah...

...I'm trying to believe that's not all written in the loom of fate.