gay-thic lit anyone? (o/o)

(She doesn't generally like having emotions besides "disappointed". Is what's off.)

(I- cries in dumb Disappointed? I'm sorry I still don't get it but pls don't explain it to me, nvm I feel incredibly embarrassed now I'm just terrible in social situations like these, I'll have Robert plow through it ig)

(Oh sorry! But yeah I just tend to give my characters exactly 1 (one) emotion they are allowed to experience as I am lazy lmao.)

(ohhhhhhhhhhhh um. okay? haha)

(That and also she's losing it a bit because of the Pissed Off At Victor disease that is slowly but surely spreading through our main cast. She's… not okay.)

(oof okay, I see now. I think ^^')

"Um, of course." he had been slowly chewing on a sandwich and was now eyeing Anna warily. Wasn't it too early to have wine?
She had seemed so fine before, but now something seemed amiss. Margaret did not respond to Anna's praise, so he followed her example, unsure of what to do except eat his sandwich.
(I- sigh)

(Idk I don't know what I'm doing with my characters at this point, I'm trying to show that they're legitimately struggling but also trying to give them nice things at the same time and I am Not Striking That Balance, Distinctly. I think I'll just make Anna calm down a bit before we get back to the angst.)

Anna seemed to notice her family's concern, and outwardly at least calmed down. She seemed self aware enough to know when wasn't the right time, and she leaned into her wife while pouring a glass for everyone sitting on the picnic blanket, which at the moment was just the adults. "A toast, to new beginnings. And to how much we've endured, how we've gotten through." she smiled. She was… happy, for the first time in months, and she was going to let that feeling stay. Springtime was here, and now was the perfect time to start over, become anew.

(I understand. It just felt like the whole ‘something was off’ thing came out of nowhere, I had no idea what was going on because there was no mention of her acting strange before this. Do you think it was obvious, should I have known better? Idk that’s how it seemed at first)

Robert raised his glass of lemonade (he wasn’t much of a drinker) and gave a tentative smile. “To new beginnings,” he said, and took a sip. Suddenly he was wolfing down a few sandwiches, occasionally sipping again. He paused only to say, “It’s so good Maggie, thank you,” before going back to eating.

(Yeah that's initially when I was going to bring it up because before Victor's fuckup, she was fine, and she couldn't have freaked at Ishtar's arrival, outwardly at least, so I kinda vaguely set it up with her acting a lot more upbeat for her usual self but then I realized that I'd have to crank it way up to make it seem out of the ordinary because tbh I have a worrying trend of making my more stoic characters literally incapable of happiness even when they logically should be happy, so honestly, I'm just gonna give Anna the chance to feel some happiness and then make her go back to being serious and strict but not a total or even vaguely an asshole.)

Margaret chuckled at the praise and thanked Robert for it in turn. Some time passed, and while the bottle of wine only emptied a little, everyone seemed all so relaxed and happy. This was a good moment between these three, and while Esme stopped back for some sandwiches she and Ishtar were mostly playing, with Ishtar occasionally trying to eat the bugs Esme had caught and Esme getting very upset with her over this, but being very forgiving as "Ishtar doesn't know better, Mum! I'm teaching her!"

(I feel like this roleplay is slowly going downhill lmao idk I've just been very Stress lately and I feel like I'm vaguely ruining things lmao.)

(oh no, not at all. You're not ruining anything, I get it. Did I make you feel that way? I'm sorry if I did)

(No, you did nothing! I just have an anxiety disorder!)

(okay, haha. I hope your stress calms down ^^)

(Lol yeah indeed.)

(Yeah that's initially when I was going to bring it up because before Victor's fuckup, she was fine, and she couldn't have freaked at Ishtar's arrival, outwardly at least, so I kinda vaguely set it up with her acting a lot more upbeat for her usual self but then I realized that I'd have to crank it way up to make it seem out of the ordinary because tbh I have a worrying trend of making my more stoic characters literally incapable of happiness even when they logically should be happy, so honestly, I'm just gonna give Anna the chance to feel some happiness and then make her go back to being serious and strict but not a total or even vaguely an asshole.)

Margaret chuckled at the praise and thanked Robert for it in turn. Some time passed, and while the bottle of wine only emptied a little, everyone seemed all so relaxed and happy. This was a good moment between these three, and while Esme stopped back for some sandwiches she and Ishtar were mostly playing, with Ishtar occasionally trying to eat the bugs Esme had caught and Esme getting very upset with her over this, but being very forgiving as "Ishtar doesn't know better, Mum! I'm teaching her!"

(I see I see, das aight)

After he'd had his fill, Robert fell onto the grass, staring up at the clouds. A gentle breeze cooled his face, and he almost thought about taking a nap but decided against it.
"Hey, Esme," he called. "Do you like to find shapes in the clouds with me, or do you still have some bugs to catch?"

"No, I think I've found enough." she said, toddling over to him holding several jars in a load just a bit too big for her small arms, one jar almost toppling over and falling out of her pile. She carefully set the jars down, and left them by where Ishtar was sitting, the creature helping braid the girl's hair and generally staying out of the way. Esme laid down next to Robert, smiling with her hair spread askew in the grass. "I think that one looks like a sailing ship!" she pointed to a cloud in the sky.

Robert chuckled, smiling back. "It does! It would be fun to sail a ship in the clouds instead of the sea, exploring the heavens."
He stared upward for a moment, then pointed. "I think that one looks like a tree. And that one… maybe a bird coming to its nest?"

"Hmm… I think that cloud looks like Mother on a full moon!" Esme said, not entirely understanding the concept of "wolf". She just assumed that sometimes her mother turned into a great hairy beast and that was normal and how families worked. She assumed a lot of things, because she felt like she ought to know everything, and when she didn't know things she made them up because she didn't like feeling incompetent. She'd picked up this habit from her Mum, an unfortunate one, but a habit all the same.

Robert chuckled, playing along. “It does, doesn’t it? It looks like it’s snarling at me.”
A large cloud rolled in, making the sky overcast. “I like to think that the big clouds are a bunch of different shapes,” he said. “Like that one, that one looks like a huge army charging into battle. What do you think?”

"I don't like armies, or war. Mother says that war only harms us. There's been a lot of war going on, and I'm afraid…" she turned her head and closed her eyes until they settled down, "I'm afraid there'll be a lot more of it, very, very soon."

Oddly, that made him think about his nightmares again, which honestly annoyed Robert. A restless night’s sleep is just guaranteed at this point. Had those dreams been about war? He would think he would remember that. He remembered hearing Uncle Benjamin’s stories of being in the navy when he was young, but he had always made it seem more glamorous than it probably was, maybe for young Robert’s sake. Since then Robert’s definition of war has changed, and he wondered what Esme meant. Was it possible she meant something different than a conflict between two nations? It didn’t seem like there were a lot of wars like that happening. At least, at the moment.
“It looks like an army from long, long ago,” he murmured. “When they still metal armor and helmets and spears. A lot of sharp edges, for a cloud. Don’t be afraid, Esme. Whatever may pass, I want to enjoy this while I can.” He closed his eyes as well.

"Okay. That's good. But… be prepared. Anyways, Mother wants to see you. She wants to go soon, before we lose time to find Victor entirely." she said. "Although, have we not already lost him?" she asked, looking around nervously.

"Robert! You and Esme have been looking at the sky a little too much now, time to start focusing on what's on the ground." Anna called. "We need to regroup."

Robert sighed bittersweetly and flicked his eyes open. He peered curiously at Esme, then pulled himself up.
“We don’t know that. Not for sure,” he said. Stretching his limbs, he called back, “Yes Anna. Just got carried away.” He started toward the two women. “You need help packing up?”

"That would be lovely, but you and Anna need to get going. It's a while's walk, and I would think that you would need to hurry if you didn't want to get there before sunset. Esme and the creature will help well enough." Margaret said kindly.

"Yes, we should really be going now," Anna appeared by Robert's shoulder suddenly, steering him off in the direction of the road. "Goodbye, my doves, and be careful." she said. "I'll take the exact same advice."

“Ah, right you are,” he chuckled. He barely gave his sister a hug before Anna steered him to the road. “Farewell!” He called.
Suddenly it occurred to him that he would be alone with Anna, for who knows how long. He tugged his collar nervously, and said, “Uh, remind me where exactly this trusted source recommended us to go?”

"The doctor said he couldn't tell me much, but he would sneak us in under the pretense of use being assistants. Henry is a good man, he knows how much this matters to me and he's willing to do everything in his power to help." she said stiffly. "I suspect it's some sort of cult, in my view at least. Henry tends to get involved in such dreary groups, under the idea that he's doing some good. At least the people get medical care."

Robert frowned, remembering the trusted source in question was Doctor Jekyll, as he had forgotten sometime during the picnic.
"A cult," he breathed. He'd encountered cults here and there on his travels, but those encounters hadn't lasted long. "Do you think, if Victor's there, they want him to play God again?"

"He's hardly playing God, he's no God and I won't blaspheme like that even if I personally don't believe in any Gods either way. But, they do want something from him. Henry implied some pretty nasty things about where Victor was and honestly I'm not sure I feel fully safe taking you along." she said.