chicago ♔ weep not for the memories

[romanticidal]

♬ Back on Earth - Ozzy Osbourne

WHO || Buffy, Spike, Finnick, Myri, Dawn, Archer, Elena, Kat, Gar, Mark, Burt, Des, Rafael, Violet, Francesca, Luthir. [closed]
WHAT || Eterna Jade's funeral service
WHERE || Temple of Corellon, Chicago
WHEN || July 8th, 2013
HOW || Actionspam

[ While there is no temple to Sehanine located in the city limits, there is a large church erected to the elven god Corellon, and it's there that the funeral service itself is to be held, before Jade's body is taken to be laid to rest. The temple itself is a magnificent sight, made to appear as if it's been carved out of a large tree. High above them, the ceiling is made to replicate the night sky in vivid, magically reproduced detail, even in the middle of the day: not a painting, but a maintained illusory spell. A full moon hangs there, surrounded by the stars, an appropriate setting for remembering the life of the daughter of the sacred elven moon goddess.

Violet, using Burt's funds, has taken care of everything, arranging for the priest here to conduct an authentic elven funeral service, and also taking the liberty of being in charge of all decorations of the temple for the occasion. The temple is literally swimming in flowers: jasmine, lilies, white violas and moonflowers - absolutely all of them pristine and white, with the exception of some sunflowers set for accent.

Jade's body is laid among more of these flowers, in a casket on a raised dais, also clothed in white silk. Even in death, she possesses an uncanny beauty that's difficult to look away from. Quiet, ethereal, mournful music fills the room, creating a very otherwordly, sanctified atmosphere.

Except, of course, as the guests arrive and begin to seat themselves in the carved wooden pews, it's impossible to miss Burt buzzing around, helping a camera crew set up in the back of the church. This tends to detract a little from the overall effect, just a bit. ]

Comments

[romanticidal]

[ he nods solemnly and gestures for her to go back out and take a seat, and then walks out very slowly onto the dais, to the side of jade. conversations slow to a hush, and he waits for the silence before nodding to another elf stationed near the entrance, who closes the doors.

the lights dim, allowing the interior of the church to be illuminated entirely by the moon and starlight above. the music changes, and he begins intoning the opening of the service... entirely in elvish. you wanted authentic, ok. ]

[nothingsodivine]

[Des keeps shooting dark looks at the camera crew behind him, because it keeps him from looking at Jade's body.]

[graveflowers]

[So in hindsight, she probably should have asked for an English translation since... she has no idea what the guy is saying. Which is plain enough on her expression as she sits down. Whoops?]

Oh. I did not learn enough elvish for this...

[luthir]

[ luthir leans over just the slightest bit, saying very quietly: ] He's speaking a prayer to Corellon, to ask him to watch over these funeral rites, and also expounding on the nature of Sehanine. [ and he translates: ] "Life is series of mysteries whose secrets are veiled by the Luminous Cloud. As the spirit transcends its mortal bounds and new mysteries are uncovered, a higher form is achieved and the cycle of life continues."

[graveflowers]

[She nods a little, it's close enough to Roman rites that she can imagine the rest.] Thanks

[luthir]

[ he gives a small nod, and then actually reaches over to take her hand in his. this is a pda, someone take pictures.

the priest goes on for a short, before finally moving into english.

"We ask now that you join us in taking the time to celebrate the life of this Child of the Moon. To share your memories of her, and to remember her for what she brought to this world while she inhabited it." and he nods to burt to come on up there, since he's first on the docket. unfortunately.

there's a little time for quiet talking while burt gets up and ascends the steps. ]

[nothingsodivine]

[Des leans over to Rafael.] He says one thing off-base and I'm kneecapping him in the parking lot.

[romanticidal]

You will have to wait in line.

[socialgraces]

[ francesca turns to spike as burt moves to the front. ] Who's that?

[starfucker]

[ burt gestures for the blonde haired elf at the top to move aside for him ] Let's go, Garth, I don't got all day.

[bigbad]

Burt Becksworth. The good Becksworth brother. [A beat.] Good being relative, in this case. He's an asshole, but he's not interested in enslaving Shadowkind.

[graveflowers]

[Violet stares at their hands for a second in such confusion she misses the priest's words, and then Burt rises and suddenly she is squeezing Luthir's hand super tight, hope he doesn't need it. She actually has all the faith in the world that Burt is going to be sweet -- especially in front of the camera. But she is also a pessimist, to the point that she wouldn't be surprised if someone crashed the funeral. Like Rafael's boyfriend or Des' ex. Or blew it up. Clearly none of them can have nice things.]

[starfucker]

[ burt positions himself at the podium, and adjusts his tie with a sharp yank to the left ] Yeah, hi. Burt Becksworth, NOVA Records.

[ he cricks his neck once to the side ] So I was uh, a little surprised when asked to do this, but I figured what the hell. Not sure how much I can say, since I only met the girl twice, and the first occasion, she told me oh so kindly to fuck off. [ he chuckles, as if this is his idea of a warm and tender anecdote ] But that was because she thought I was insulting her music -- (which I wasn't, big misunderstanding there) -- and that girl wasn't about to take any guff about her music.

Because, quite simply, she knew her shit. Not in terms of the industry or even from a technical perspective, but as an artist, she got it, and that's fucking rare. I see a lot of people faking it, but then a chick like her waltzes in who's honest to god just got music in her soul and you've gotta just laugh at all those posers who think they can ever hit the high note people like her can live to.

[ a beat ] If they get a chance to. And it's a right fucking shame she never will. Some stars burn out way before their fucking due, and she was one of 'em.

Let's just hope we can build something out of the ashes she'd be proud of. [ there's a strange vulnerability to the way he says that line, his eyes dropping to the podium, forehead furrowing ] Keep her memory immortal even if her time got cut the fuck off too soon.

[ he looks to the coffin, and then kisses two fingers and blows them that way ] Rest in peace, babe. Bet you're dazzling 'em on the other side.

[nothingsodivine]

[Des manages to keep from crying (will save 19), but his shock at Burt actually managing TRUE HUMAN EMOTION without being tactless or saying something about her tits leaves him gaping.]

Well, I'll be damned.

[starfucker]

[ no one else starts crying npc wise either... although Rafael also looks surprised and rather moved. Burt heads back down the steps, digging a pack of smokes out of his suit jacket pocket and sliding his shades back down. ]

[nothingsodivine]

[Des stands and stops Burt on the way up. ] Great speech. Now turn the cameras off.

[I CAN'T ROLL AN INTIMIDATE CHECK RN. MAYBE HE DIDN'T CRIT FAIL.]

[starfucker]

[ /rolls for you and makes Burt fumble pulling out a cigarette and drop it, des unnerves him so much. He mumbles: ] Yeah, fine. Give me two shakes. [ and pulls out a second smoke, because stooping is weakness. Then he heads towards the crew at the back. ]

[notaroundme]

[Elena just looks a little amazed, because that was actually pretty touching. She...probably would have teared up more, had it been anyone but Burt (will save 16).]

[graveflowers]

[No one doubt Vi's ability to collect good funeral speeches, okay. She is a professional. Burt made her cry a little, let's not talk about it. (No one is surprised.)]

[socialgraces]

[ francesca's watching burt move to the back with obvious interest, now being able to put a face to the identity of the becksworth holding finnick's recording contract. she's also scoping the crowd and the exits (spot 34) for anything suspicious. ]

[isisagent]

[Archer looks over at Elena]

Well. At least Burt wasn't speaking... Greek... Or, you know... Whatever - Not Greek, because... I mean, I speak Greek - and that was not it.

But...

Damnit. You know what I mean, right?

[He pulls a flask from his jacket and takes a swig]

[nothingsodivine]

♬- Come Home Angel- Dan Wilson

[As soon as he's finished with Burt, Des stalks up to the podium, carrying his hat with him. He lays it on the podium and produces five pages of wrinkled printed sheets and tries to smooth them out in front of him. For a second or two he just stares at them, unsure of where to begin, even though he literally has the words in front of him. And then he ducks his head, huffs a sigh, and looks out at the assembled group.]

I had a guy write me this big speech- something suitable for an elvish funeral. Something impersonal that wasn't gonna choke me up or rip my heart out and show it to everyone. And then I realized that the that Jade liked about me was that I was real and I was honest and by getting someone who didn't know her to make up some shit about her, I was doing the thing that was killing her before she died. Pretending. The fact is- Jade loved me because I was real. So screw it.

[He pulls a lighter out of his pocket and sets the pages on fire, holding them while they burn.] I didn't know her that long. I knew what some would say was a shadow- a girl missing a chunk of herself, shaped from years of loving a man who definitely wasn't me. But that's not true. Those memories weren't all there was to Jade. She was broken, but she wasn't defective. She wasn't empty.

[The fire reaches his fingertips and he shakes his hand, letting ash scatter across the floor in front of him. It's a nice distraction, while he composes himself. (will save 20 total)]

I'm not the kind of guy who's really thrilled to wake up every morning. When I was with her... I didn't think every day I was still breathing was such a curse. No one's ever had that effect on me before. Not like that. She had something. Something that lost memories or whatever the hell she suffered from couldn't take from her. She had life.

[He pauses, turning to look at the body in the coffin before tearing his eyes away and gripping the podium to finish, through gritted teeth.]

And, for a little while, she made me appreciate mine. [He barely manages to keep from crying when he steps away from the podium and back to his seat (will save 13).]

[notaroundme]

[Elena looks at Archer, eyes following the flask. Because as much as she shouldn't, she would love to take a swig off of that too.]

Yeah, I know what you mean.

[She looks sympathetic, before she turns to pay attention to Des' speech...and she totally turns into a weepy mess (will save 9). Ugh, too many feelings.]

[witchwoman]

[Listening to Des, Myri has a hard time holding back her emotions- holding back everyone's emotions. Even if this moment is meant to celebrate life, there's so much grief in the hearts of so many and it gets to her (will save 12). She's not falling apart, but tears do slip down her cheeks and she tilts to lean her head against Finnick's shoulder.]

[rationalizes]

[ gar's the only one of the npc knights present to look a little misty eyed as she sadly watches des dismount the steps. her eyes skate to kat who is just... frowning and looking very unmoved by all of this, as she shifts uncomfortably in place. what are feelings. ]