FRIDAY - AFTER BODY DISCOVERY

[chaoticlootral]

[Hm. Well. Taako's not so good at this whole grieving thing. Not at all? So really just hanging back while Magnus goes first, to be honest, awkwardly hanging around behind him like he's an actual physical human shield from emotion. Sorry buddy. He does sort of wave a hand, and his outfit is . . . let's say muted? For Taako. Picking up some Victorian Mourning tricks.]

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[ruffboi]

[Magnus is. Actually very good at this whole emotion and grieving thing. Most of the time he's such a big loud dumb guy, but when they go looking for Monika - after the body announcement, he knew she'd be struggling - he's unexpectedly serious.

Looking for her in - wherever the usual places are. Apparently they stopped for Taako's outfit change.]

[chr]

[ monika doesn't drift too far from the store jacopo was found in. much like a loyal dog, she seems to be waiting for him to come home. of course, corpses dont suddenly start walking.

she's got flecks of blood on her - dried blood, from jacopo, likely, but clear stains as well. a shame it seems that all her clothes gets stained with gore.

it takes her a moment to respond to them, but when she does, it's surprisingly calm. ]

Hey.

[ ... ]

Here's Monika's grieving tip for the day. I--

...I'm... not okay, I think...

[chaoticlootral]

[Mostly just circling, like a nervous animal that isn't quite equipped to deal with all of this, but knows something is wrong. Maybe gently reaching to see if she wants to sit down somewhere - a bench, the curb, instead of drifting around like this.]

I. Hm. I don't think you have to be, pumpkin. Listen, uh . . . [He trails off, looking a little desperately at Magnus. Help?]

[ruffboi]

[Sure. You tried, Taako.

As for Magnus, well, he's just going to rush in and hug her? A hug doesn't fix everything, or even most things, and it also probably transfers Jacobo blood from a girl to an unfortunate Goku t-shirt, but it's something. There's nothing to say that can fix the loneliness of knowing you'll never see someone again, but in his experience, a hug at least holds back some of the loneliness for a little bit.

Besides, it's on his profile. He gives nice hugs.]

[chr]

[ magnus' hug, at least, gets her to drop the facade. monika lets out a little wail and buries her face into his chest, like maybe he's just the big burly security blanket she's needed all along.

but, muffled: ]

Did you call me pumpkin because I'm a redhead...?

[chaoticlootral]

[He's not very touchy-feely himself, and is too awkward and cold and unsocialized to even join in on a hug, but he does reach out to touch the end of her hair. Just a little gesture. It's about the best he can do.]

Nah, it's because you're tough, but surprisingly sweet as a pie.

[ruffboi]

[Whispering in her ear - ]

He calls everyone he likes that. He's not good at nicknames.

[He's a very good, big burly security blanket. He holds her tightly, stroking her hair, and lets her cry or wail or whatever it is she needs.]

[chr]

[ for what it's worth... she laughs a little. ]

I like it, though. And his reasoning is good enough enough for me.

[ she looks over at taako, smiling despite herself. ] Are you sure you don't want in on this sweet hugging action? ...Dude? Magnus is like, a giant puppy... or something. It's kind of comforting.

[chaoticlootral]

Fuck off, I am great at nicknames. I'm the one that came up with Green Machine for Killian, and she loved that one. As for hugs, uh. If you want me to, I suppose.

[He hems and haws for a second and then sort of. Stands back to observe? How the fuck does a hug work. He had a very weird childhood, okay. He gets that he's being asked to participate in a hug here, he's just very Not Good at this, so just sort going for it. Hope Monika likes being hugged by a pool noodle, because it's about as comforting as that, but he tried, and therefore no one should criticize him.]

[ruffboi]

Yep. I'm exactly like a giant puppy, except I got two full arms full of hugs. Plenty of room on the hug train. Get in the game, Taako.

[Tugging Taako in closer with his extra arm, because this is a group hug now.]

[chr]

[ the pool noodle is fine. monika even wraps one arm around taako - see? it's all good! ]

I do want you to, I mean... We're friends, and, um. Probably all sad. You know?

... Jacopo was a really big part of... our lives, even if, um. You know. He was himself.

[chaoticlootral]

[What is happening. Why is his body being held like this. Welcome to the Hug, Taako and Taako's hair. The things he does for both of you jerks.]

Should we say something in his honor? A little, uh, send off. May he find in death what he never had in life, some peace and friggin' quiet. I'd pour one out, but I think he'd object.

[ruffboi]

[If this was a less serious situation, he'd be making faces at Taako. They've never exactly been respectful of the dead. But they care about Monika, even if Jacopo was, uh, Jacopo.]

Well. Monika's the one who's good at, uh, words, and poetry, and that kind of thing. You want to say something?

[Asking her. Not really because of the words and poetry, but because there's no amount of pretending he knew a person he barely knew and she loved that's going to matter to her, but sometimes having permission to say what you're feeling matters.]

[chr]

[ monika snorts a little. it's terribly unladylike, but. ]

I said some poetry for him earlier. Sort of. [ while she was, uh, rippig the dude's heart out of his chest, so. ]

But... Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep For Me might work, so.

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.

[ there's a short beat, and then monika leans her head against magnus, and rubs at taako's shoulder. ] Actually, he'd have hated that.

[chaoticlootral]

[Oh. He kind of likes that poem though? He's not much of a poetry guy, but that one's nice.]

Well, will he like us finding out who did it and killing them?

[ruffboi]

[Magnus doesn't know he's a poetry guy, but he's also a sap for music and stories and anything emotional, so he's immediately crying at the poem. It's sweet. He'll leave Taako to being shady.]

Aww, why wouldn't he like it? [He met Jacopo, right?] It's nice. Though, uh. I mean, whoever wrote that poem knows it's not a bad thing to cry a little. You can be sad, if you want. Or, like Taako says, mad and try to kill 'em.

[chr]

Jacopo is the sort to prefer action over words. He likes the thought behind words, but sentimental ones, they make... made. They made him uncomfortable. He was a complicated man. He didn't know how to be honest with is emotions.

[ laughing a little, monika reaches up to wipe away magnus' tears. don't cry, big guy! ]

For what it's worth, I did talk to Setz. It seems he knows who each of the Reapers are, and is adamant that who did Jacopo in was an independent party. ...If I had to guess, he was too suspicious to some Players.

[chaoticlootral]

[Well, count Taako in on that one too. Magnus crying is clearly making him squirmy.]

Setz seems to have, uuuuh, an awful lot of information for such a little guy.

[ruffboi]

[Smiling at her wiping his tears away. It's okay. He's very comfortable with feelings!]

I get that. I'm a man of action, too. [And clearly a sentimental guy.] Speaking of action...tomorrow. [The trial.] No more secrets. It made sense, to protect Jacopo, but now...let's lay it all out there. Well, as much as we can. I'm sick of this shit, where everything is done behind the scenes and people keep getting killed for being suspicious.

I'm at least telling everyone what I knew about Jacopo, so if you got any objections, let's hear it now.