stonethrow | (no subject)

(no subject)

𝓶𝓪𝔂𝓫𝓮, 𝓾𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻 𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓻𝓮𝓵𝔂 𝓭𝓲𝓯𝓯𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓬𝓲𝓻𝓬𝓾𝓶𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓼—

[ Verso tilts his head, brow furrowed, expression surprised and amused. What a question! He leans in, too, locked into the conversation now that he's been accused of being without prospects.

Mock-offended: ] Are you casting aspersions on my bachelor lifestyle?

[ It's very cool that he's still single at his big age. Very rakish. ]

That's a strongly worded accusation.

( he's quick to refute, even if that's exactly what he was doing. gustave has no concept of how the people of higher standings go about conducting their business, but he always assumed there was certainty in the fact that they would marry another individual of renown, have a large family, and continue whatever legacy they have to uphold.

maybe verso just lives his life fast and loose? )

You asked me earlier if I had a wife. I can also ask a similar question in return.

I guess turnabout is fair play.

[ Although Verso's question had felt quite a bit less accusatory. He'd only wanted to learn a little bit more about Gustave, but it feels obvious that Gustave's question comes from a place of not fulfilling the role that he's expected to. Of course, Verso has always imagined that his life would eventually lead to a big house with a wife and three kids and two dogs, but the thought of actually achieving such a thing makes him feel a little restless. ]

I had a prospect once. It didn't work out.

[ She's the closest he ever got to that imaginary future, and even then, it was never so serious as to involve a ring.

Teasing: ] We've got so much in common.

( seemingly having resolved some amount of tension created by his (genuinely!) curious question, gustave is pleased to hear that change in verso's tone. though, maybe he should have expected the rather sad bookend to said 'prospect'.

he frowns a touch, despite the teasing. )

I'm not sure that's a commonality worth being proud of.

( lack of prospects, as it were, in this age, can be a bit of a social death sentence. gustave would like to think that he is still young, though. things could change. )

So now you dedicate yourself passionately to music, then?

My true love, yes.

[ Not to be weird about it, but he doubts there's man or woman alive who could give him the same pleasure as feeling the keys vibrate beneath his fingers as the final chord of a song rings out. ]

Besides, it's Clea who's responsible for continuing the Dessendre legacy.

[ She's the oldest and obviously the most talented artist. No prospects for her either, possibly due to a surfeit of attitude. One time, though, Verso saw Simon looking longingly across the street at her. ]

The second child is merely decorative.

( in gustave's very polite opinion, he doesn't think clea is very much excited about the idea of being 'responsible for continuing the dessendre legacy'. she doesn't seem the type, to gustave, given their minimal interactions... but that in itself might be a wrong assumption.

gustave ends up saying something a little more forward, though, )

I think you should be a little more generous with yourself.

( 'merely decorative'?? )

You're more than merely decorative.

Ah, but you do think I'm decorative—just not merely so.

[ 'You think I'm handsome???' Tee-hee. ]

—I didn't mean it like that.

[ Self-deprecating. Well, maybe he did, a little bit, but now that Gustave has pushed back on it he'd rather rewrite history. ]

Only that Clea is the real successor of the family. She's an incredible painter, as I'm sure you've seen.

Edited 2026-01-07 02:00 (UTC)

( gustave flusters a little at the statement, because he knows it didn't quite land how he meant, and verso's rebuke feels like tossing it back at him in some kind of way to either mock or reproach—

but quickly enough comes the amendment, 'i didn't mean it like that'. gustave is quick to fret if he finds that things that he says may offend others. he never means to, even if he very well thinks it, but confrontation is not entirely something that he is well-equipped to deal with. especially not with his sponsors. )

...right. I believe I have seen some of her work around the manor. Maelle tells me she prefers pottery, though?

( but gustave doesn't want to make it sound like he isn't vested in verso, seeing as they are the ones talking to each other, right now. it feels wrong to talk about the one dessendre that doesn't really interact with him. )

When are you planning to set the tracks for the train engine? I would like to — be involved, if you don't mind.

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