Week 33: Monday, May 3rd, 2004 - Longshadow and Gudge's room - After classes

[gudgeon]

A very cheerful looking, if not gleeful, Gudge is seen striding through the campus grounds, tunelessly whistling between his pointed teeth. He's got his black denim coveralls on, which are mostly spotless despite him just having left shop class, as well as a white t-shirt with nothing rude, let alone anything, printed on it which is visible through

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[longshadow16]

"Good thing, Ricky," Longshadow growls. "I nearly burnt the pot-roast."

Longshadow, too, is looking a little... odd. He of the dress shirts and sweaters is clad in a t-shirt. One of Gudge's black t-shirts. Sporting a rather rude, if somewhat clever slogan. It hangs on his slender frame, making him look all the paler. The expression on his face, one of complete consternation, only makes him look adorable. Arms crossed over his chest and slouching, the Sluagh is pouting.

"I hope you don't mind. Some couchon stole my clothes from the laundry room. I'd have borrowed pants, too, but my legs are a tad longer than yours."

Oh. And apparently he doesn't wear underwear. Good thing that t-shirt is baggy, hmmm?

[gudgeon]

"Really?" Gudge says, grinning and looking at the t-shirt. "I never would have figured to look for Elvis there..." This is in reference to the shirt that Longshadow has on, which sports an apparently hand-scrawled sign, something like the following:

Elvis is alive and
living in my shorts.

Feel him: 25¢

He presents the unmarked box at arm's length. "You've got three guesses at what I finished today, and your first two don't count."

[longshadow16]

Longshadow swallows hard, his frown evaporating, and presses splayed fingers to his chest. As melodramatic as it might be, his heart is hammering. And his hands--trembling too hard to even reach out.

"Gudgeon, please--open it? If I had to play my violin right now, I would break every string."

[gudgeon]

"It sounds like you've had a shitty day, L.," Gudge replies, concerned at the state his friend and lover appears to be in. He places the box down on his work desk, unopened.

"While I'm sure what's in the box will put a smile on your face, it can wait a bit. What's up? Why the fuck did someone run off with your clothing?"

[gudgeon]

"Okay. How's about you go stand in the middle of the auditorium, where the best sound balance should be." As he waits patiently for Longshadow to reach the center of the room, he rewinds the digital audio tape he'd patched into the sound system. Once he sees that the Sluagh is in place, he says, "Prepare to have your socks knocked off, boi!" With a flourish, he punches the play button, and Longshadow's voice fills the room once again. Gudge watches the expressions play over Longshadow's face.

[longshadow16]

At first, it looks as if Longshadow is waiting for a blow. Eventually he opens his eyes, peering up at the speakers mounted near the ceiling. No. Gaping. When the music fades, he stands quietly in the center of the gym for some time, simply staring and hugging himself. So, so slowly a smile blooms: black lips against startingly white teeth.

"You, sir, have my heart in your hand. I am forever in your debt."

[gudgeon]

"Well, fine sir, I'm hoping I'll have something else in my hand later on, but I get the picture." He sets the tape rewinding again. "So, any suggestions for what we can tweak in this little contraption of mine, or is the sound good enough? We can play with the bass and treble, or fuck around with the equalization to accentuate or downplay various portions of the sound. Once you're happy with it, I'll get the fubar power supply together."

He hops down off of the stage, tape in hand, and walks over to the Sluagh. "And, I'll be bringing this into my computer for a little analysis, just to see if there's anything missing in it. Oh, and to turn it into an MP3 for my personal listening."

[longshadow16]

Longshadow reddens. "You flatter me, I think. If I found you an old tape, do you think that you might be able to try and match the sound?"

[longshadow16]

Longshadow releases Gudgeon and hurries to the gynamsium doors, making sure they are shut tight and setting a few folding chairs in front of them. "They'll rattle like tin cans if we are disturbed, see? But before we begin, one more question--you can run that thing without the recorder being on, yes?"

[gudgeon]

A puzzled look crosses the Nocker's face. "You mean the sound system? Shit yeah, no problem. The tape unit is hooked in just to record performances for later review. Hell, if I'd wanted to, I could have video taped you, too." He points to a video camera mounted higher up.

"So, what's the plan?"

[longshadow16]

That grin widens, grows darker.

"Only for you to hear me--the real me--moan."