nohalation | (no subject)

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[The memory starts with the sound of footsteps, echoing in the hallway. The footsteps belong to Angel who seems to be walking with steadfast determination, carrying a large flag in her arm. She's a little younger in this memory, but this expression has more life to it than her child self.

I must ask mother.

I have to know the truth.

She hears herself say these words over and over as she approaches the Throne Room where her parents should be. As soon as she reaches the closed doors, she feels her entire body freeze in place.

Something isn't right. Something isn't right at all.

When she opens the door, her instincts are proven correct by the smell of blood. On the floor are the dead bodies of her parents, and the court that had followed her parents.

And right in the middle of the room is her brother, looking at her and smiling.]

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[stops in his tracks, staring at her]

Excuse me?

They are dead so no one else has to die.

That is not how this works.

[Getting up, picking up something like a dish and throwing it at a wall.]

THEN WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES KILLING THEM MAKE?

[taken aback for a second here, did his beloved sister just lash out angrily in response to his grand attempt to save what little of this kingdom he can]

[stay calm stay calm stay calm]

It makes all of the difference. With them removed from the throne, I can do better for this kingdom. Reducing the death tolls, even by small margins, is only the start.

...it won't seem like much at first, but there must be a threshold that can be tested. There was never any reason for our people to remain as miserable as our parents insisted.

There was never any reason for you to be that miserable.

The world—our world, isn't black or white, Dusk. It's a distasteful grey, like a filthy slurry of snow.

Reducing the death tolls doesn't make any difference, what is this nonsense, brother! Father didn't kill the same amount of people every week. People were not miserable because 500 people died instead of 400, people were miserable because PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS DYING, brother!

Edited 2021-02-10 02:03 (UTC)

Why are we the only ones that have to be unhappy? Why is it our kingdom that has to suffer? Why only us? Why does no other kingdom has to suffer? For the world's sake? You are telling me that we have lived for sixteen years and they couldn't come up with any other solution? Do they truly just prefer to let us sit and wallow in despair for their own happiness? Do they even know we are here? Do they know what is happening here? Why do we not simply leave this kingdom? Why do we all stay here? Why do we all accept dying when no one else has to?

I sat in a dark, cold room with no blankets and food for days over and over and OVER AND OVER DAY AFTER DAY AFTER DAY AFTER DAY AFTER DAY, smelling the stench of decaying rats until I was so hungry that I did not have to worry about the smell anymore.

[Finally stands up and spins away, back turned to her brother now, as she sways back and forth on her feet.]

The baker saw I was hungry and was kind enough to give me a piece of bread, and then I watched the baker's head get sliced right off.

When I was crying outside once, a kind lady came up and sang me a song. I then got to listen to her scream when they set her on fire.

Our cousin was simply born into our family, and father could not trust anyone so he killed them off, too.

Brother . . .you are mistaken. Our world is not black, white, OR gray.

It has been nothing but the color of blood. The bloodstains won't even come off of my clothes anymore.

Please... don't kill anybody else...

[remains completely still and silent through her spiel—he loathes the despair she endured. he hates the way she was treated. but, now's not the time for him to voice that.]

...there's a reason Halation has carried on as it has for generations. Our father could always kill so many thanks to the pitiful masses being drawn in. Strangers would settle here knowing that their inevitable suffering and impending death would all hold significance in the grand scheme of the world. For some, this was the only place that accepted them.

And when they suffered, they knew that their misery sustained the world. Their deaths meant something to someone.

Our kingdom holds so much significance that it even attracted the despicable likes of Heaven itself.

And I hate it. I can't stand it.

Edited 2021-02-10 02:58 (UTC)

But, to put a halt to this misery making would merely result in the world's end.

An end to our suffering only means the suffering of everyone else.

With so much at stake, if I'm to choose between us or the world...

Edited 2021-02-10 03:01 (UTC)

I'd choose the world. I'd choose the world and save everyone else every single time.

[flatly, like it's been drilled into him for years (because it has):]

"The suffering of a few is nothing so long as it's for the greater good."

[just like father used to say]

So, Dusk—why can't you see that?

Do you know what I see?

I see you standing there with an expression that Dawn would never make. A face that has accepted what father has done and what father had believed in.

So I will simply ask again.

Edited 2021-02-10 03:12 (UTC)

Who are you?

[clenches his fists]

You've questioned me long enough. It begs the question—are you going to support me or are you going to defy me?

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1/2

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1/i dont even know, she's ok

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ok im done now ty

1/?

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DONE!!

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Re: DONE!!

Re: DONE!!