END OF PROLOGUE ; EXECUTION

[themodsgrimm]

The Story Continues... END OF PROLOGUE - WEEK 037 Narrators Remain ; It's execution day, naughty murder children. Breakfast is served in the dining hall, all the better to fortify you for what is to come. Wherever you might wander in the castle, you will find yourself drawn to the foyer when the clock strikes not twelve, but ten. In the distance, there is the sound of clanking armor. Sharpay Evans appears, flanked on either side by suits of armor, escorting her to her punishment. She holds her head high, poised and controlled, acutely aware of all the eyes on her. A moment later, the Dragon appears on the foyer's staircase. Her hand trails down the banister as she walks, and she takes her place at the head of the group, standing in front of what appears to be a wall. "Come," she says. "The execution awaits." You blink, and then it's there — a door leading to the outside. The Dragon steps through it. You have no choice but to follow. Welcome to your first execution post! Please see here for the results of yesterday's voting. We whole-heartedly encourage also taking the time to leave notes for the mods in the feedback plurk. In addition, make sure you fill out your CR Chart for the Prologue! If you have any questions, please ask on our Discord server or ping us on plurk. Please direct pings for the NPC to Dana (Discord DMs preferred, then decals), as she will be taking point for today's NPC, and the moderator team will be on deck for all other questions. full navigation. locations taken (statuses) stories (profiles) info & faq wishing well private conversations

Comments

[londonstar]

[ watching natsuo's reaction immediately fills waver with worry. such an idealistic boy should not have to see those sorts of things.

he places a firm hand on natsuo's shoulder, if only to tell him that he's not alone in this. ]

[randori]

[ He jolts violently at the touch, eyes flying open and his hands clenching into fists instinctively before he sees who it is and forces his shoulders to drop again. ]

Y-you scared me.

[londonstar]

I apologize.

[ he keeps his expression deadpan despite natsuo's reaction, but does remove his hand. ]

How are you faring?

[randori]

Um. Uh...

[ Good? Bad? There doesn't seem to be one word he can pinpoint to describe how he's doing. ]

Sick? I guess. But not like "I want to throw up" sick, it's more of an "empty" sick. [ gestures vaguely and unhelpfully with his hands. ] Like wanting to cry, but there's nothing inside.

[londonstar]

Hm.

[ the lord is quiet for a moment, weighing the answer to see if he should be worried or not. but after, he adds: ]

And what will you do with that emptiness? Will you let it overwhelm you? Or will you overcome it?

[randori]

What... can you do with emptiness?

[ It's a lack of a thing, not a thing, and it's never something he's had to deal with in his life. ]

[londonstar]

There's many things you can do. Emptiness is the lack of something; in this case, emotion. Imagine an empty glass. What can you do with an empty glass? And then, see if you can apply it to yourself.

[randori]

I can drink more water and feel better after being well hydrated...?

[londonstar]

Don't take it so literally, idiot.

[ ugh, so much for trying to be philosophical ]

You're the empty glass in this case. Will you remain empty and grow desensitized to this? Or will you fill yourself with something? Hope? Despair?

[randori]

[ if he knows he's an idiot, help him out a little, spoon feed him answers instead of hoping he'll use that one marble brain of his. ]

Hope is better than despair! Hope! I choose hope!

[ But for all the hope he had coming into the week, so much of it has been wrung out of him, that it's not even a concept anymore. It's just a word. ]

[londonstar]

...

[ waver takes another moment to asses natsuo's response. he seems to be aware that the boy is simply saying the word, with very little behind it. it doesn't make him feel at ease at all.

he sighs. ]

Don't say it like you're shouting at a television. If you believe in hope, then it means there's a lot more work you must do. It'll be an uphill battle. But you're in luck. You're not alone.

[randori]

[ Was despair the easier of the two choices? The times he's fallen to despair could be counted on a single hand, and he's never dwelled on it for more than a couple of days— hope is a slower process, just as Waver said, and it's hard. ]

I believe in hope. If it's a battle, I'll fight it and I won't lose. But just saying "things will be alright" doesn't make anything happen— I want to do something- physically do something that will help. I just don't know what to do.

[londonstar]

Not giving up is doing something.

[ it's a tough situation, which waver understands. but he doesn't like seeing natsuo this confused. ]

Each step you take, no matter how small, will take you towards your goal. You have people here that are willing to steer you in the right direction, or give you a push if necessary. If you don't know what to do, then it is alright to simply not give up.

[randori]

[ That sounds even more confusing, especially when he doesn't have much of a goal than a general, vague "I want everything to turn out alright." There's no direction to turn, and even with a push, it feels unreachable.

But giving up is something he's never done in his life, no matter how confused, no matter how impossible. ]

I won't! I won't give up! I promise you I won't! I'll keep— I'll do something! I dunno what, but I'll keep trying!