Penance felt like she was in a daze. It had only been a scant few days since her last conversation with Cellina but her head still felt heavy at the key remarks made at her by the last Texas. It almost affected her work with her distracted mind, and her routine got more screwed up when she had learned that Mylnar had taken his own leave of absence for a day when they would normally have their one on one practice session. That one little blip made her feel a step behind and that's how she found herself sitting in her room staring at a book but not reading it. Her mind instead relaying Texas' dagger like words to her and absent mindedly drinking the wine she had hidden in her room.
"How much of Siracusa is going to change if you're still beholden to some Siracusan values? Have you experienced much outside?" A pause between Texas points where Penance would try to voice her own thoughts but in her recollection it sounded mute.
"Look, I don't like budding into other people's business, but you've seen some shit in Sargon that's pretty fucked up, more than Siracusa could compare, but there's other places as well. If we want to build a new Siracusa, you can't just think of policies against Familigia thinking that's the only issues that plagued it."
She blinked before a knock on the door alerted her to a guest. She knew that it wasn't Deszcz, knocking was never something she'd do if she wanted to talk to Penance, so she closed her book and made herself look presentable. She paused before answering before quickly hiding the bottle and finishing the glass, making sure to hide it too before she finally spoke.
"Who is it?"
"It's me." That was Leontuzzo"s voice. Despite its muffled sound, she could tell he had a voice of concern for her. "Your roommate said you've been in a funk for a while. So I was hopping I could come in and talk." Penance opened the door and saw her adopted brother. The younger man looked happier these last few days contrary to her continual distracted and melancholic mood.
"You're, uh, doing alright sis?" The return to the affection nickname struck a chord in Penance. A reminder of a simpler, but albeit naive time. She was tempted to just mouth off a "I'm fine" as per usual, but the intensity on Leontuzzo's face quashed that resolve. "No, no I'm not. Cellina's words are more than a little worrisome."
"What'd she say?" There was an air of defensiveness that came from him now. Initially when Leontuzzo and Cellina had met, there had been an air of awe and a little fear from seeing her. This almost mythical figure who survived a liquidation from all six families, but after talking and being in close proximity to the woman, the fear and awe subsided and a healthy dose of respect replaced it… As well as exasperation when it came to Cellina's distance away from Siracusan society to remember certain things about their culture.
"Have I… Been too beholden to the old ways of Siracusa?" Penance eventually asked. Leontuzzo immediately wanted to deny such a statement. She had always been a campaigner for change, she inspired him to look for a way to move away from the Familigia system of Siracusa, and saw her resolve in the face of potential assassination as a Judge. But now, when discussions of how to build Siracusa's new nomadic city, oftentimes the one who pushed back the most seemed to be Penance, mostly unintentionally. Though mostly when arguing against Lappland when she joined their meetings, and it was understood by Leontuzzo.
Lappland and Lavinia were always on opposite ends and it made sense. Lappland had been the deepest in the politics and workings of the mafioso, even deeper than Leontuzzo was in all honesty. The once Saluzzo heir had been seen as the preeminent face of the future of the familigias, much like Texas had been. Yet now was hellbent on breaking all the traditions and foundations of Siracusa. Lavinia, who had always been on the outside and did her best to fight against it, seemed to cling to many of Siracusa's foundations, even the more troublesome ones.
"I… You've been more… Resistant to some changes," Leontuzzo attempted to placate. There was a look of resignation and realization that took Penance's face as she stepped back into her room with her door remaining ajar. He sent a look towards Deszcz who was in their shared common room who just gave him a thumbs up. Leontuzzo took this as a third party invitation to enter the room of the person who can be only described as the last thing he has to family.
And he hated what he saw when he got in. Penance had retreated onto her bed, her disheveled hair and ashened face starring out from a blanket wrapped around her. She didn't cry. He's never seen Lavinia cry before. Not when her father found her after a family had murdered her parents because her father was on Bernardo's payroll. Not when the witness was found in an alleyway, the only thing left that could be identified of the girl was her church necklace. Not even when his father died, a father to both of them as much as Penance would not like to admit it, did tears not threaten to fall.
What he saw was the closest he's ever seen tears come to eyes. He could smell the wine in the room and judging from the book that was dogeared was slightly crumpled, she had not read a single page. Penance liked to keep things clean, pristine. She hated when her clerks, the prosecutors, or the defenses would hand her documents crumpled and wrinkled.
She wasn't even looking at him at this point, eyes staring at the codex. The rubric of law that Don Agenier had gifted to her. Despite the many pricks against her hand it gave, the golden thorns remained unblemished, yet seemed all the more oppressive as it bore down on her. In Siracusa, unlike Columbia, they do not have an idol of the law with her eyes covered, for in Siracusa justice was not blind, justice was a witness, a watcher of its corruption. And Justice wept in place of the Judge.
"Have… Am I ready at all to do this?" Lavinia's voice felt hollow and warbled with the unsteadiness of wine tingeing it. "I have always talked of fixing Siracusa… But how can I fix all of Siracusa if I cannot see the problems it has."
"But you can see the problems," Leontuzzo offered her. "You've always been campaigning against the injustice and the familigias. You just continue that fight."
"All I've ever done is stop gaps and bandaids!" Penance's voice was as harsh as a hammer's blow. The closed door only muffled the bite of her words, Deszcz had opted to leave the room, intent on not even accidentally eavesdropping on this conversation. "All temporary fixes and temporary solutions. I tried for a decade and Cellina comes in and almost in a single night has put on a start to progress, and all I am now doing is serving to supersede that change!" Her hands gripped the blanket, nails shredding the fabric. "Why! Why am I now refusing to change!"
Leontuzzo couldn't think of anything to say, opting to just sit beside his sister quietly as she did her best to breathe through her breakdown. He winced when she grabbed his arm, nails unintentionally piercing his skin but dealt with it. He knows it's the least he could do for helping him so much in the past. Eventually her breathing seemed to settle and the glassy shattered look did way to the more in control Lavinia who had finally let go of him.
"How… How can I move past Siracusa?" she finally asked, not with the brokenness of a shattered resolve, but with a shakiness of trepidation. Prepared to step onto an ice lake, but fearful of the cracks that might occur.
"You could…. Probably start by talking to others?" Leontuzzo ventured to say. Her eyes turned towards him, prodding him to elaborate. "Out of all of us, you've been the least… experienced?" She bristled at his statement but he quickly continued the line of thought. "Miss Texas was from Columbia before coming to Siracusa, and who knows where after until she landed in Lungmen. Lappland is… has… well she's just weird, but stories of the missions she's gone on shows she's seen a lot and has gone to a lot of places."
"And you?" Penance's question isn't accusatory, but more disbelief.
"I was able to be qualified faster than you. I've been on a few expeditions with some operators. I asked them about the lands outside of Siracusa… Iberia frankly sounds terrible," Leontuzzo hoped that bit of levity would get Lavinia to crack a smile. At best he got a more focused stare at him. He recognized that one, that's her attack stare. The same state used to call down a sentence. "Look, just should… talk more to people. Hang out with others. You might've not been born into a mafioso family Lavinia, but you were the most separated from people at the time. You helped, but you never lived like one."
"You have?" A laugh came from him now.
"Do you know of the "ABC gang", well I think you met one of their members, the feline with the large saw?" At this name, the hairs on Penance's tail bristled.
"That disrespectful ingrate–"
"Is a really cool guy when he's NOT an ass. Chiave talked to him about it, and he asked me about you. Talk to him again, he's got some insight. The people here, they want to help us, and they won't treat us or anyone differently. You've probably seen that on your first mission."
"They were very… kind to me." The words felt foreign to Penance. Describing people as kind. She remembered Siracusa, how the corruption of the mafioso seemed to make every charity the pretense for treachery. She's realizing now how much of a swamp it was that Lappland calls it such. "I felt like Lavinia Falcone with them… Not Judge Lavinia." At this Leontuzzo smiled and pushed Lavinia who scowled at him playfully before doing the same. The two fell into a far remembered shoving match before a hollering came from the door.
"Heyo! Its Deszcz! I wanted to ask if you wanted to go on a pub crawl with me? It's almost dinner time, but I thought you'd probably want to check out some of the new stuff that opened up? I also got a showing for William's new concert show if you wanna listen to some music after." Leontuzzo looked towards Penance. She was mulling over her thoughts. Reminded of the time she saw her old classmates on the pub crawl, thinking them nothing but how they could've done something to help Siracusa. How foolish she was, thinking she was any better at the time.
"Sure, do I need to dress nice or—"
"Wait really?" At this Deszcz didn't bother with politeness and opened her door. The woman herself was dressed casually, in an old pair of jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. "I mean that's great! The more the merrier! You can even bring your brother too!"
"Merrier?" Penance looked confused before a gruff looking Mlynar came in. The man's sour expression angled towards the grip that Deszcz had on his coat. "Oh, hello Mlynar."
"Lavinia," he nodded to her politely. He did the same to Leontuzzo who looked between the two for a second before helping Penance up. "I do not mean to intrude, but unfortunately this is… "payback" for ghosting her." Penance looked between the two for a second before a small snort of laughter came out. Seeing his sister lighten up, Leontuzzo felt a lot better about the time.
"Come on then, you two look fine enough as is!" Leontuzzo had worn a dressed down version of his usual clothes. Just a collared shirt, sleeves rolled up and suspenders. Penance moreso, the usually conservatively dressed woman now sporting just a simple white button down and jeans. Even her intricate braid was done away, her hair long and flowing behind her. Perhaps feeling a little self conscious, Penance made way to find her jacket, but that request was ignored by Deszcz who just pushed her out of the room.
The four walked through Rhode Island's halls until they reached the eateries. As a result of the new influx of employees, contractors, and patients, more shops had opened up aboard the ship and brought with them new shops, business, and eateries. While not a mobile city itself, the size and depth of Rhode Island as it was still in construction was still a marvel to Penance. She did however start to shiver, a faint breeze blowing through from the inner-circulation system.
"Here," a curt voice accompanied a coat that was handed to her. Penance looked to see Mlynar had shed it, putting him in his, almost iconic at this point, blue button down and silver tie. This of course meant that Deszcz had just caught him outside work, but also that he had given her his coat. A gesture often seen often in a… romantic or intimate light in Siracusa customs. At this Penance was more shocked than embarrassed, face red as she stared at it.
"You seemed cold, did I misjudge?" Mlynar asked. He seemed none the wiser of the situation, eyebrows quirked in a confused look. "Do you need it, Leontuzzo?" The scandalized looking man had the same sort of red face like his sister, but whereas hers was of shock his seemed more so indignant.
"Yo! I got us some of these things called jello shots! And this real cute looking Iberian thing called tapas and what are you guys doing?" Deszcz brought four small cups alongside five plates of foodstuff before the table. Her eyes alight with excitement turning questioning as she looked at the three before her.
"Both Lavinia and Leontuzzo seemed cold, I wished to offer my coat to either of them, but it seemed they were not as cold as I had thought,," Mlynar spoke languidly. He did not understand the cultural difference between their cultures, and neither did Dezcz it seemed.
"Oh come on, you're like two sizes bigger than either of them! If Lavinia wore that thing she:d be eaten by it. Here she can take mine," Deszcz took off her sweat shirt and handed it to Penance after putting down the food and drinks. Mlynar shrugged before offering the coat to Leontuzzo, who hesitantly took it. Penance didn't wear the sweater, but did wrap it around her shoulder to help stave off the slight chill.
"What is this?" Penance eventually asked after looking at the foods at hand. There were several small dishes, mostly appetizer looking foods. Small cuts of bread with sorts of melted cheese on top with bits of meat, cold cuts of meat with an accompanying assortment of colors, a sort of cut up potatoes in a pot drizzled in three sauces, it was quite the colorful palette all things considered.
"Tapas, I think it's called. I got it from an Iberian place, the cook was a quiet girl, but man does this bread thing tastes so good!" Deszcz gushed as she inhaled a ladened bread dish. "So flavorful and colorful! And bite sized too!" Mlynar didn't openly agree with her statement, but was more at home quietly and sparingly eating the potato dish. Although it seemed the manner to eat the food shared amongst friends and with drinks. The drinks in particular that Deszcz had brought them was… odd to be sure.
It smelled of alcohol, Penance and Leontuzzo could tell from the faint odor wafted off from it. Mlynar didn't seem to care for it, so Deszcz had his serving for herself. The colored thick cube being slurped down. Leontuzzo followed much the same, however the speed of the consumption lead him to choke. A swift strike to his back from Mlynar when his hands gripped the table helped dislodge the drink before he finally drank… ate it. For her part, Penance put the jello in her mouth chewing experimentally before swallowing it at a more manageable pace. It was fruity, but she didn't feel the alcohol. Perhaps it was weak? So she had another two when Deszcz went back and got more for them, Mlynar even having one but quickly deduced it was not to his liking,
"Hey Lavinia, try this one," Leontuzzo had recovered fast from his choking as he handed her a weird tentacled dish. It was breaded and wrapped around itself, but she could see it was a little bit loose when she poked it with a fork. She looked at it with some trepidation, it seemed… Odd. She looked to see Leontuzzo who had the tentacle in his mouth before slurping it up. She followed suit, but seemed that its contents held more juice that she expected as it squirted out to the person in front of her… Who was Mlynar.
Hitting him square in the face, a look of absolute scandalization hit her face as Deszcz and Leontuzzo busted out laughing. A string of apologies came from Penance as she grabbed a napkin to try and clean the man's face, unaware of the dribbling tentacle still in her mouth staining his shirt as went to clean his face.. Mlynar, who had closed his eyes just before being hit merely remained silent as his mouth remained in a passive line feeling a growing stain on his blue outer shirt grow..
"I think I got it all off," Penance eventually finished.
"Thank you," was the man's curt reply before he blinked as he realized that due to his height even when sitting she needed to come close to him in order to reach his face. Which involved her stepping on the lower supports of the stool he sat on and leaning onto him also. Her other hand was gripping the back of the stool, but her front stood in front of him, dangerously close to his face much to the amusement of Deszcz as he saw and the wide eyed astonishment of Leontuzzo. He was no by no means a prude, but Penance being unaware of her close proximity was more of an issue than anything. Doing his best not to stare, his hands came up to gently push her away.
"You got it, it's alright." He noted the redness of her cheeks, she certainly looked more relaxed than before, but he quickly noted that she hadn't noticed the stain spreading on her front. Taking a quick action, he took the coat off of Leontuzzo, who now seemed to be more preoccupied with talking to another patron about something or another.
"Oh, uh, sorry." It seemed her thoughts finally cut up to her actions and she looked down and stepped away. It seemed the "jello shots" were having somewhat of an effect on her, but as quickly as it came on it seemed to wear off just as fast. Especially once she began to eat more food to counterbalance the drinking.
It seemed that "tapas'' was an Iberian word for a series of light snacks one eats while drinking. Many of the foods they ate seemed to accentuate or enhance the taste or potency of drinks. Eventually everyone had their own poison of choice, beer for Deszcz, wine for the Siracusans, and small glass of whiskey for Mlynar. The mood was jovial between the four, eating, drinking, and talking, this included Mlynar, as they waited for Czerny's concert to start.
Opting out of his usual concert halls, Czerny had talked about a "return to form" so to speak. He had been doing elaborate and ostentatious Konzerthalles for Leithanian nobles, and while there were some nobles who were on the landship, and some royalty even, Czerny had found himself not needing to keep to the rigid mores and standards of Leithania. He had rediscovered a youthful vitality he hadn't had since he first started his musical journey when his mother brought him to the piano tuning shop all those years ago.
But now instead of being entranced by the music Leithanian, he had come to know Iberian music, the passion and flow compelling those to dance, Bolivirian beats, influenced by Leithanian but retaining its own uniquely militaristic beats, even the more religious connotated tunes of Kjerag was experienced when he came upon Mattherhorn or Courier once or twice. His foray into learning of Gaulish plays had been scant before speaking to Miss Heidi, but the complexity of character perplexed him to no end. But his recent fascination had been learning of Siracusan operas. Where not just music to uplift or gather joy, but a story, a saga told in moving music. After getting into correspondence with a young woman from Siracusa, who had written an operatic play, Czerny had found himself mesmerized by the beauty of combining the facets of song, story, and dance alongside the many other things he's experienced on Rhode Island.
And for this night, it would be Czerny's first attempt as an Opera show on board Rhode Island. A small one in this dimly lit bar stage, it would not be a grand show, it did not have to be. The tagline for this show, simply labeled "Carmen - Habanera", was "for making it through the day". Enigmatic as it was, some operators, notably from Iberia, had seen the name and had grown quite curious. Elysium and Jordi had spoken of this in passing to Mlynar, asking if he would watch it with them before Deszcz had whisked him away. Mlynar did see them before they had sat down, both waving at him as they sat with Thorns, that Liberi girl, as well as one of the Aegierian woman with white hair, the one who seemed to have a glare as permanent as Mlynar's. It was rare to see that one amongst the people, even more so without the two others of her cohort.
But they were not the only ones in attendance. Despite the small size of the venue, it boasted a sizable number of infected and uninfected out amongst the main seating area surrounding the stage. A few cameras to record the event were held by some other individuals as well, but all sat in bated silence after the previous revelry of food and drink had died down shortly before the start of the show.
There was a short stint of applause as figures came out from behind the curtain. Much like the audience, the people who came out were also a mixture of infected and uninfected. A few notable individuals were even operators; as it was a musical endeavor, Sora was chief amongst them, but Laurentina had come out as well. Leontuzzo noted he saw all three members of the ABC gang come out, though each one wore different clothes. It seemed that it was quite the undertaking, this opera's participants growing ever more in size until finally Czerny himself came. It was then everyone noted the costumes that the people wore.
Iberian in origin, some of the players were in military uniforms, others in richer noble's clothes, but many were in destitute rags. Heat sprouted on the faces of many as they stared at the main focus of tonight, the women. Many were in the more destitute clothes, but yet despite the raggedness, or perhaps because of such, it made many of them more… sultry features appear more pronounced. Worn fabrics to the point of being seen through, scratches and holes in most deliberate places, and despite the layers, the eroticism of having more clothes only served to further make them seem more desirable. None more so the case of the apparent stare of the night, the Aegier woman Laurentina, who's bodice hugged her tightly and raised her chest to a quite bountiful size.
"Welcome one, welcome all," Czerny's voice boomed over the whispers and whistles of the men and women in attendance. "It is with my great pleasure that I present to you all a show I have been working on for what seemed like an eternity. I know many of you probably could HEAR as such." A laugh came from those who had been next door to Mlynar and Czerny's room when the latter was "working through" his musical blockages.
"Some of you may know of the original story, an Iberian tale written in a bygone era and only now referenced in stories and folktales. It was with great pleasure I was able to speak to several Iberians on board Rhode Island to get a deep understanding and correspond with my associate in Siracusa on writing this joint cultural opera. For that is what it is, a cultural exchange of music and ideas! Spawned from tales of Iberia, penned by a quill in Siracusa, orchestrated by Leithanian hands, sung in Gaulish, but performed, aye, PERFORMED by the many beautifully talented individuals on this wonderful landship. None of this could have happened without the cooperation amongst many different people or many different walks of life, who all happened to meet in this coindidal ship on Terra. Of that, I must thank not only Rhodes Island for allowing my stay here for treatment, but also the wonderful people who volunteered to be a part of this grand show! Thank you all!" Czerny's opening speech was capped off with a bow to his players as a round of applause came from the audience before the show had even begun.
Turning back to the face audience once more, the charismatic face of the man who dominated Leithanian musical sphere was in full force as his arts seemed to change the background of the minimalistic black stage in a setting. Those with instruments took their place amongst the alleys and alcoves of the setting, a wide open street in front of a building. The players without instruments stood off to the side, almost as if foldinging into the arts illusion. Mlynar had seen that one sister to Nian, the more artistically focused one also casting her arts alongside Czerny.
Everyone, audience and players, were soon transported to the setting of the show, with Czerny standing in the midst of it. The only figure who stood out from the setting, players, and arts. In his hand, both his arts focus and his conductor's wand, was raised to attention before he spoke.
"It is with great pleasure that I bring you Carmen, Habanera!" And like that he folded into the setting much like the actors. Falling into the world as not Czerny the conductor, but perhaps a wall, another random player, or even the fake fowlbeast which flew through the sky. For audience could see Cznery, but the players could see, feel, and hear his directions, even though they had pracitced so much that they hadn't need such.
Penanced stared intently, having not gotten to see in true detail "L'amorte di Texas" when the show had originally been played by the Rossati heir, but rather than a tale of revenge or bloodshed, this one was that of… a woman? Or women, as Penance starred as the focus were on women leaving a factory of some sort. Clad in ragged dresses, barefoot, and sweating, they looked as tired as they did salacious. Many sitting by a fountain and cooling themselves with water, some even stripped off some layers of clothes, making them look all the more wanting. Just as many were unblemished with infection as there with such marks. Yet despite the once seen differences in Terra, the women here were bound by a deeper connection of shared labor. Then a whistle came from the side, and men in military uniforms came upon them.
They postured and charmed the women, teasingly grabbing some as they playfully danced with them. There was a push and pull with the women denying the men, but almost wanting them to keep pursuing them. The men played along, acting hurt and pulling away from them, before marching forward with more intentness, more eager to pursue. This song and dance played amongst them all, all except for one.
With white hair tousled in a messy fashion, and once brilliant red clothes worn till only a dull ruby was seen, Laurentina was more intent on cleaning her feet and hands in the fountain before it seemed all the men converged on her. Songs of romance and wanting on their lips as they grew closer and closer to the uninterested Laurentina before she looked up with wild eyes and a coquettish smile at the last words spoken to her.
"My dear Carmen, why do not wish to love?" Strong strings as music came like a creeping beast as Laurentina sang.
"L'amour est un oiseau rebelle
Que nul ne peut apprivoiser," she sang as the men gathered around her. A light tune accompanied her now as the men followed. All the while her voice sang a teasing song as her eyes seemed to stare at the audience demurely as it did her suitors. And as she moved and ceased her own singing the women who had once been the soldier's focus began to sing a choir behind her.
" (L'amour est un oiseau rebelle) L'amour! (Que nul ne peut apprivoiser,) L'amour! (Et c'est bien en vain qu'on l'appelle,) L'amour! (S'il lui convient de refuser.) L'amour!"
Men, Aosta and Broca, now surrounded Laurentina as she held an apple, taking a bite of it with a look in her eye that made many in the audience feel desire to run up on stage, yet remained rooted to their seats as their eyes stared in mesmerization.
"Si je t'aime, prends garde à toi!" Laurentina held the apple to the two nearest men. " Prends garde à toi!"But when the men's voices came like the crash of cannons, she took it back and moved her face close, her lips almost brushing his. Stopping just a hair breaths away as she sang again. "Si tu ne m'aimes pas,
Si tu ne m'aimes pas, je t'aime!"
"Prends garde à toi!"The men's voice came as a cannon before Laurentina pushed both men off their feet and stared at the audience with the apple in her mouth before she tossed aside several men scrambling to grab it like it was falling gold. This distraction followed as the chorus came upon once more, bringing the entire scene alive with all the players singing and interacting, yet all eyes would return back to Lauretina as she would talk and conspire in muted giggles with Sora before the two would be surrounded by men once more. This time now it was Aosta, Broca, and Chiave who surrounded her. She grasped Chiava by the cheeks tenderly, before he was roughly let down to the ground, landing on all fours before she sat atop of him demurely. Aosta beside her bringing up another apple to her, and finally ending in Broca taking a knee in front of her. Despite his size, when he kneeled in front of Laurentina and as she grasped his face tenderly, he seemed the smaller of the two.
"Mais si je t'aime, si je t'aime," Laurentina held that note as Broca stared into her eyes, all the men and women staring at her and he before she came close to face. A kiss all but seemed certain. "Prends garde à toi!"
"à toi!" The chorus came once more as Laurentina pushed Broca away and slapped Chiava's ass from where she sat, looking up with a smile as laughter came thundering not only from the players but the audience as well as arts and scenery began to shift back into the bare stage. Everyone stared as the once lively street now became the red curtain and the actors standing out of the place from where they were once in place. Standing front and center of the stage was Czerny, sweat coating his brow as he breathed laboriously both from conducting the musical and choir pieces, but also simultaneously casting his arts as well. At once the players on the stage bowed as the audience erupted into a thunderous applause.
Smiles and laughter from everyone in the ground came alongside whistles as the players all began to retreat back behind the curtain, eventually only leaving Czerny standing in the center. His breathing returned and sweat no longer coating him, he gave one last bow to the audience before standing up.
"Look forward to the full show of Carmen coming soon." And then the light that was shown shut off before turning on once more. Yet he was no longer there and cheers came once more at the theatrics of the vaunted Leithanian virtuoso.
"Ah," Penance said suddenly, stirring Leontuzzo from his clapping and whistling. He turned towards his sister who seemed somewhat misty eyed, but starring with a look of realization. "So, that's what she meant." Her voice seemed soft, but Leontuzzo nodded as he smiled as he could hear the return of resoluteness in her voice .Of the old stalwart Penance returning, the one who once stood alone against the entropy of the familigia's corruption no matter what was thrown at her.
"I have much to do then," Penance finalized.
"And I'll help you every step of the way sis!" A roll of her eyes and playful shove came from her and he laughed.
Author's Note copied direclty from my AO3 writing: This one is by far the longest chapter I've written without a "scene break" so to speak. And I have to say, I must've listened to "Carmen - Habanera" on repeat for like 100+ times at home and at work trying to have this scene play out in my head (This version in particular: watch?v=KJ_HHRJf0xg). I also didn't mean to become an impomtu song/opera fic. (It also gonna have Sora as the main singer, but I can't see Sora being that sensual compared to Specter of all characters so there you go.) It was originally gonna be a little concert that Czerny hosts that would be refrenced in passing for the four to listen to, I did not mean it to become a description of the Opera Carmen, but it did and it was written in all honestly a single three hour solid crunch with Carmen playing in the background as I watched different version and the first twenty minutes of the Carmen play itself. And now because of this, I dont know if I want to make this ANOTHER key future plot point and leave it as passing.
But some lesser known things about this chapter are the key players I had as characters, but couldn't list fully. Instrument wise: Skadi, Vigna, Ebonholz, Courier, Cantible, W, Erato, Hibiscus, and Meteor.
Actors in the opera (also if anyone knows what to CALL someone who's in an opera other than players, please do tell): Quartz, Schwarz (at Ceylon's behest), Shalem, Phantom, Mizuki, Mr. Nothing, Ayerscarpe, Leonhardt, Rosa, Aak (who's justification is that it seemed fun), Jaye, Sussuro, Midnight, and Steward, Noire Corne, Yato, and Sharp.
More character notes, so I have also noticed that Mlynar will ONLY call other operators by their real name even on missions, so that's a thing that I would want to retroactively change in the previous arc, but perhaps after a bit. But henceforth, alongside calling Penance by Penance, I will have Mlynar call people by their first names if they have one. Alongside that, finishing up the Il Siracuso event has also having me seriously reimagine and reunderstand how Penance is as a character, since now I finally have a greater grasp on how she interacts. I dont think I have anything else to write, so I once again would like to thank you for reading.
