Guillame Benet

Narrative

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 14:07:45 GMT

It is Thanksgiving. The purposes of the occasion are to be grateful and to eat lots of food with family. And those preparing the meal are generally working on a large enough scale to need help with th preparations iand the dishes.

Altogether making it the best holiday made up by Americans ever. (The amount of business requiring assistance is the icing on the cake. Reflecting on all that gratitude and not being able to do anything but sit back and consume would almost be a problem.)

It's a wonderful day. There is Clark. There is the rest of the Family all at once. The food is delicious, and he's just so blessed, and everything is beautiful.

And when the afternoon turns into evening, and everything winds down, and things come up, Guillame eventually kisses Des good night and heads out in to certain parts of the Nexus.
Because having seen everyone else that he loves today, he'd like to make it a complete set.

"Good evening, Chissok. I have been doing a lot of eating today with people I care for, and I wanted to make sure you have not been starving yourself again."

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:57:22 GMT

Sometimes it weirds Lois out.

There's no surprise in the fact that he takes caring for the dog seriously, and is quite meticulous about it. (No feeding her anything potentially unhealthy; no taking her into the Nexus where she could get so lost; regular walks; everything clean; instantly blocking her from anywhere she isn't supposed to go). Or that he's successfully trying to get her very well-trained.

It's his voice. Oh, playing with her it's just the normal baritone-giggles and such. But it's only when he's giving the dog a stern, firm '<b>No</b>,' that she realizes she normally only hears The Kid's voice with radio-announcer calm, worried fear, or extreme how-can-I-help-please eagerness. Because for Guillame, Authority is always for someone else. Particularly in the presence of the Family.

There's nothing <i>wrong</i> with his voice when he's feeling in charge of a situation, certainly. But it still weirds her out a little.

Scene: It's not hypocrisy to consider your injuries more important. Honest. [for littletyche]

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 08:34:22 GMT

It's not fear, the coldness in his stomach. Guillame knows, knows absolutely, that what has happened couldn't possibly be enough to do someone as amazing as Maks permanent damage. It's sadness and anger and disgust because Maks should never be hurt at all. It just isn't right.

"Maks, are you okay?" He says, on both levels, as he rapidly shoves away -- as carefully as he can -- everything that's fell down around him when Maks fell.

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 15:17:00 GMT

I am going to call her Haydee. She looks like a cavalier spaniel, for the most part, but not entirely, which is just as well, because purebreds are often unhealthy.

She is perfect. ~~They are far too good, but that is nothing new~~.

[Locked from the Family]

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 18:10:25 GMT

The difficulty with the phrase "unconditional love" is the implication that they do not deserve it. More than deserve it.

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 01:17:35 GMT

The bleeding's not much. Guillame barely notices it, really. He's sitting clutching his head for a moment. The pain and the panic and the taste of tears and vomit and the fact that he's weak and worthless all contribute to his feeling wretched, but not as much as that mind.

It's not the worst thing he's ever had in his mind. Not at all.

But knowing that doesn't really make the harsh echoes much easier to deal with. It isn't as if he wants to divert his focus to the memory of the worse ones.

He's not in the best position to handle strangers right now, so he's staying away from people, keeping his powers clamped down....giving the echoes an environment of horrible, eerie silence to fester in. If he tried to explain it, he might say something about the sound of claws etching into polished stone, after a fashion, and the sound of rushing blood.

But he doesn't want to explain it. He wants it gone. He wants to hear something happy, from someone healthy. The right sort of person, whom he can just listen to wholeheartedly.

All he wants is a good, trusted.....clean mind to drown it all out.
And Guillame's standards are selective, so the possibilities are few. He tries to pull himself together enough to get to one.

journal post

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:11:51 GMT

I am well. Things have been rather quiet for quite some time.

This week is the Feast of St. Helena -- for those who do not know, she was the mother of the Emperor Constantine and is the patron saint of archaeologists and empresses. Marie always liked her, despite being neither of these things. An abbey Northeast of Paris had a lot of her relics.
And it so happens that some of her relics have been brought over from France and lent to a museum not very far from here.

I think I shall go. ~~I miss Marie~~ I am feeling nostalgic.

ooc

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:39:27 GMT

I'm afraid of upload sites. I'm just not good with them. But I was interested in joining the playlist fun some people are having, so:

Most of it's reasonably self-evident regarding heavily modified religious fanaticism, perfectionism, and some....adoration issues.

It starts off with bits from his IC favorites: Mozart's Requiem, Handel's Messiah, and ~~Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet, wait, sorry, this isn't Bill and Ted~~ Bach's Cello Suite No.1 . But the latter half is a little less within his personal approval.

Mozart's 'Dies Irae
Handel's 'And he shall purify'
Bach's 'Prelude'.
George Harrison's 'My Sweet Lord'
The Raconteur's 'Broken Boy Soldier' ['Child and man, and child again']
TMBG's 'She's an Angel' [Because there had to be one about angels]
The Killers 'Can You Read My Mind'
Stephen Sondheim's 'Being Alive' [No, really, go ahead; let him be used. Just don't leave him alone]
Jonatha Brooks's 'I'll Try' [For several reasons]

Semi--public Nexus thing.

Sun, 25 May 2008 23:16:46 GMT

Des contacted her attorney today. Lois discovered this and was very upset. It is rare to see her frightened.

They wished to talk completely privately this evening. If anyone would like to reach me, I shall be about in the Nexus for the duration of the evening.

Journal, public

Fri, 16 May 2008 22:26:10 GMT

Simply to state it: Smug, blasphemous little men from perverse little worlds should learn some manners.

Des has a headache. So I fixed dinner according to her instructions -- I think that I am getting the hang of it -- and cheered her up a little with an account of vague fortunetelling in the Nexus.

Everything has been fairly quiet in the city lately, but I sometimes feel inexplicably worried about something.

OOC: Snippets of potential

Mon, 05 May 2008 14:36:43 GMT

Bits from several conversations Guillame isn't going to have any time too soon, at least. They've all been in my head for quite some time, and I've decided to finally write them down, for the heck of it.

1. "Yes, Lois, but with all due respect, I stopped needing my mother to look over my shoulder when I was eleven."
"No, sweetheart. You just stopped having that. That's not the same thing."

2. "Where are they?" Guillame asks, to be met only with defiant silence from the guard. Guillame, his eyes in a cold panic, actually smiles slightly. "I understand. I would die for mine, too." Not that this is the intention. The inferior mental shields are simply going to, essentially, crack painfully.

3. "Maks? I hope the interruption is not too inconvenient, but they are not back yet, and to be frank, it is a miracle the living room is not on fire. It seems I am not especially good with children."

4. "Yes, exactly. I love you, too." Well, that went without saying. Guillame relaxed, but didn't let go. "And when you eventually want me out of your bed, I want that to be all that you want me out of."

Fri, 02 May 2008 13:34:31 GMT

It has been a full year.

By this point, it is all beyond evaluation, really.

out-of-time commentary

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:51:52 GMT

Guillame Benet knows exactly what he wants to be when he grows up and gets ordained (that part's just kind of a given. In the First Estate, you can work your way to having reading, and music, and respect, not to mention serving something greater than oneself. Not easy to get all that elsewhere). He doesn't mind the way a lot of others at the cathedral sometimes act, the ....places they go. He hopes they don't ruin themselves too much, sure, but if he stands out....well maybe it won't matter if he's only in his twenties when the position of convent confessor comes open. That's the ideal: he'll make a good confessor, and they'll never be able to keep him away from Marie. Not just stealing time where they can and talking silently during Mass.

...That kind of job will be even more important if their eyes and the voices get worse. Cloisters will be safer than a hospice convent, after all.

Nexus Journal

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 02:29:42 GMT

These past few nights, I have not had any dreams that were notable. I do not remember them, and I never woke up. That is new. In a very pleasant way.

A conversation

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 21:13:48 GMT

"So who's your favorite writer?" she asked as he straightened up the bookshelf.

Guillame smiled. "Clark."

Lois frowned. "Who's your favorite novelist?"

"Dumas pere."

"Not that you're prejudiced."

"I apologize for nothing." There's a smug edge to it, which may or may not be there on purpose.

"Now that's a pleasant change, sweetheart. But you do know how weird re-reading the unabridged version is at your age, right?"

"I do know. Amelia will not give it a chance."

"There still...issues there?" Guillame, in response, shook his head.

"....So who's she pining over now? Girl like that, my money's on something nice and safe, like someone she saw on television."

Guillame smiled. "It is not my place to say."

Nexus journal

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:23:32 GMT

I completely lost my temper with someone in the Nexus yesterday, which of course makes me quite disappointed in myself. I apologized, the matter is done, and I shall sort out my ~~Catholic guilt~~ assessment of the problem by myself, no need for anyone to worry.

That being said, I do think there are many people who could benefit from knowing what it is like to be helpless for a moment.

Reflections (Narrative)

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 07:38:46 GMT

He'd freed him.

Guillame hadn't thought about it that way before. He'd managed to get the impression, eventually, that somewhere in the process of what he'd been trying to do for Clark, the controls on Chissok had gotten broken. But he hadn't really thought that much about it -- although he was glad Chissok was no longer enslaved, of course -- because that whole ordeal was still mostly dominated by sheer terror about Clark. Beginning his aquaintance with an awkward, confusing man, so careful in his desperation, had been a decidedly secondary part of the day. He was terribly self-centered that way, he supposed.

Well, he'd delivered a then near-stranger from an agonizing fate (not like the run-of-the-mill violence he'd occasionally defend people in the city from) and not realized how important it was. Had it been a total stranger instead of a friendly new aquaintance who was already going out of his way to help him, Guillame would almost feel he had something in common with Clark. But of course it wasn't the same at all.

At the time of hearing it, he had soon been distracted by the next statement about Lamarck. He wondered how literally to take it. Chissok had many fine qualities: his particular sort of self-discipline, integrity, and fortitude along with resourcefulness, insight, and, well, some good aesthetic standards. but real clarity, in Guillame's opinion, was still not among them.
Take it literally, though. Lamarck thought he was likely to die, because Chissok was no longer tormented by That Thing. To be 'sorry someone felt that way' was a rhetorical staple in English, but Guillame really was. He'd rather liked the man, and did feel obliged for his efforts, though he particularly didn't appreciate the confusing certainty on the subject of Chissok as Problem. Bad start for someone he cared so for now, but then, it had just helped to illustrate that he was worth caring for.

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 21:12:44 GMT

"He shut his eyes for an instant, as if to avoid her look. When he opened them again, 'I love you,' he said, simply. 'Yes, by all that is holiest, I love you, and I am entirely yours!'"

"Wait, is this Jules Verne or Harlequin Romance Novels?" Lois asked, coming very close to ruining the excitement of the story.

Oddly enough, Guillame and Des speak in unison. "Lois, we have been waiting twenty chapters for this. Mockery is not appreciated."

"Just saying, kind of melodramatic for the guy's first verbal expression of his feelings."
Just as well the kid's like he is for now. Passionate boy under all the control; when he falls in love properly, he'll probably get a bit cheesy.

Guillame, pleasantly reading all the way to the Happily Ever After, would never admit to having heard that.

At work

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 15:50:11 GMT

"That was the third movement of Robert Schumann's Violin Concerto in D Minor, as performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra. Interestingly enough, the concerto was never published or publically performed until eighty-four years after the composer's death because his associates believed it to be the product of absolute madness." A trace of humor creeps into the calm baritone. "The lead violin in that particular recording was a 1692 Stradivarius. A reasonably good year," For violins and small boys. He had been seven for most of it, and felt so grown up. Of course, the drawback was learning that things were now his own fault, but there was nothing wrong with learning that quickly in this life.

A conversation

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 18:19:55 GMT

"Amelia, you have dropped some notes." Guillame read for a moment. "'And there appeared in the sky a multitude of angels, and the music they made was roaring thunder...' Whatever this may be, I believe I like it."

"It's for history class -- some speech from the '60s on racial equality -- so yeah, you would like it, 'cause you always seem pretty interested in kindasorta related things -- well, for someone who wears sunglasses like you do."

"I take them off when I get home. Unlike your adherence to your hat and gloves. They are your parents, for Heaven's sake; they are not going to hurt you. I will never understand why you are ashamed of it. So your hair and fingernails sometimes....transubstantiate into little purple stars. It does no one harm, and it is rather pretty, really."

Amelia shrugged. "Just still not used to the freaky stuff."
Pretty?didhesaypretty?Howmuchis'rather'?Ohit'snotlikeIhaveachancebutstill!

Guillame blinked. That had been loud. And unexpected. And he was very grateful that they needed to get back to work now.

Nexus journal

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 19:51:24 GMT

Lois asks the strangest questions sometimes.

We received some new material at work. Including a simply wonderful rendition of L'estro Armonico.

AU Ficlets

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:32:42 GMT

((My frequent indulgence: Guillame What Ifs. Can't help it, he's just so impressionable. Oh, he totally loves Clark as Clark, individually -and by extension, all the individuals in the family -- but he'd have been anyone's who chanced to get him out.))

Guillame?
Yes, Your Highness? Guillame and his Ladies continued eating throughout the exchange.
The large one. In the corner. What is he thinking?
Can we not do this just now?
I am sorry./
No need.

He kneels quite gracefully, having a short lifetime's practice. He has a lot of company, but they were nearly all essentially bought or forced. Mercenaries or addicts or practical automatons may be important to 'My Lord Doctor's Work,' but they don't really understand anything about Obligation. Not like Guillame does as he rises at the sudden silent 'Next round of tests this afternoon, lad.'

When it was done, 'it' being what far more flippant people than anyone who frequented this house would probably call a 'slight magical mental muzzling or something,' he still felt good. And grateful. And interested in learning -- he had lots of help, of course, including also from Maks, who was a great friend without any strange edge to it.
But just before, he'd been so confused by the concern about fanaticism and the interest in changing that, although he agreed immediately. "Of course. As you wish. You do not need my permission."
"Ah, but I do. That's part of the point."

With Clark.

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 13:57:33 GMT

"I hope you are well," he says pleasantly. "I certainly have been."

[post, open but not public]

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 01:01:53 GMT

Des really should not inconvenience herself on my behalf. More than she already does, I mean. ~~She is old~~ She needs her rest, not to be getting up in the middle of the night because she is worried about me. It is unnecessary ~~but at the time it was wonderful to hear her coming~~.

[Nexus Journal]

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 23:28:01 GMT

Today is the fifteenth day of Lent. Observance has gone well. To say that I have had sufficient things to think about would, of course, be a gross understatement, considering the past year. I have been excessively fortunate.

In the evenings, we are back to reading poetry again. Alfred Noyes's work is very...hit-or-miss. I find the inconsistency disappointing.

Matters in the city at large remain relatively calm. That is nice.