[ though the wiser part of her knows these are just illusions, it makes her wonder how many times mercy has lost people like this, and who she'd lost before them.
[wow guess who hates hearing that this has happened twice! this avatar.
pride just breathes for a moment, and then:]
Briefly. She was with her mother at the end of the hallway. They went through the door. I tried to follow, but I ended up back at the start. [they're just listing this off clinically, now.] Went through the hallway a few more times. Followed the sound of a familiar voice until I found Envy, again.
[a pause.] Envy threw himself in front of a blow meant for me. I'm still not... entirely sure why.
[ he also can point out that envy did nothing. he chooses not to, not because of kindness, but because he is upset about mercy and that's more important to him than dunking on the other avatar. ]
... I guess you all went through something personal...
[Or maybe not, maybe it would be bad for Envy to revive in a weird hellscape instead of outside the simulation room, but like. Pride is tiny. I need y'all to know that this is still the shorties convention with Pride in the room. What could he realistically do.]
No. It's growing back. [they tell sheila, with a sigh.] It's extra tender. Can't be helped.
[also yeah pride is like 5'3 there's no way they could've dragged envy to the end. anyway, they think for a while, and then:]
I kept moving. [... this gets flat, like they're distancing themselves.] Mercy's mother is... gone. But I saw her, and Mercy, running to me. They didn't make it across the hallway.
An old friend of mine was the one to remove my crown. I don't remember what removed my head.
[She feels conflicted; he doesn't owe them these details. They want to know about Mercy, about the meaning of those adventures, but peering into this feels wrong.
On the other hand, Pride is choosing to tell them.
Anyway, Sasazuka, hopefully it was the end? His head was gone.]
Such ugly illusions, in this place. They never would have allowed for a different outcome, I think.
I did think that you guys came out a lot worse than we did...
[ like, that it purposely fucked with them more than it did the others.
and honestly, part of him is a little disappointed that this means they probably won't get to see mercy again, but knowing that she's not in some weird ass hell hole beats that feeling. ]
And thank you for telling us.
[ it's actually genuine, and not the nice effect. ]
It won't be worthwhile to do anything else so risky. If anything, we've learned that exploring those areas ought to be in our hands, not yours. We all have our tasks here, and some that we ask of the Avatars would be best done on our own.
[Just like. A gentle warning not to try anything else so reckless. She also feels a little sad, like they can never really repay Mercy, or make the pain she felt right. But at least a real little girl isn't trapped there.]
But I am glad we have more of a sense of what that place is, and what it wants. You have my thanks.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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she closes her eyes a moment. ]
Did you see her?
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pride just breathes for a moment, and then:]
Briefly. She was with her mother at the end of the hallway. They went through the door. I tried to follow, but I ended up back at the start. [they're just listing this off clinically, now.] Went through the hallway a few more times. Followed the sound of a familiar voice until I found Envy, again.
[a pause.] Envy threw himself in front of a blow meant for me. I'm still not... entirely sure why.
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Because he didn't want you to get hurt...?
[She says this so gently, so slowly, so unsure.
Mostly because Pride ended up in a way worse shape than Envy so, like. Good job, Envy! You failed. You did nothing. Terrible job, everyone.]
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... I guess you all went through something personal...
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[This is honestly character development though because she used to believe that Envy should mind being stabbed less stan Pride.]
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He seems like the type who's afraid of losing others, even if you did stab him.
[ in any case she also will not point out that it did not help. ]
How did you two manage after that?
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pride just rests their head against the wall - and then flinches? and pulls back, trying to stay sitting up.]
He died. [they say flatly.] Couldn't take him with me so I had to keep going.
[everybody is mean to poor envy including pride, apparently,]
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[To be fair, what would anyone else have done with the corpse? C'est un corpse.]
Do you need a pillow, or... something?
[Trying to ask if their head is okay without asking is their head is okay.]
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but he just looks at sheila and moves on without commenting. someone else ask he's asked so many things. ]
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[Or maybe not, maybe it would be bad for Envy to revive in a weird hellscape instead of outside the simulation room, but like. Pride is tiny. I need y'all to know that this is still the shorties convention with Pride in the room. What could he realistically do.]
All of you made it back, in the end.
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...Yes, at least he survived it eventually. [ seemed really bad, but. ] What happened after that?
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[also yeah pride is like 5'3 there's no way they could've dragged envy to the end. anyway, they think for a while, and then:]
I kept moving. [... this gets flat, like they're distancing themselves.] Mercy's mother is... gone. But I saw her, and Mercy, running to me. They didn't make it across the hallway.
An old friend of mine was the one to remove my crown. I don't remember what removed my head.
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Sheila will not scream or anything, but from the look on her face, she is definitely screaming inside.]
Oh, my god. I'm so sorry.
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he's quite for a moment, and then nods slowly, his expression grim. ]
Was that the end?
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On the other hand, Pride is choosing to tell them.
Anyway, Sasazuka, hopefully it was the end? His head was gone.]
Such ugly illusions, in this place. They never would have allowed for a different outcome, I think.
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Yes, they're deliberately terrible. So why do they happen?
[ if even the avatars got pulled in and experienced this, then what is the point of it all? ]
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[which they still hate.]
We went looking. To be clear. I went looking. [...] For the rest of you, I think it is not wrong to call them tests.
For us, it was mockery, like always.
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... Did anything come from it? Anything remotely good at all?
[Or did they go through hell for nothing? Horrible.]
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but he'll wait for the answer to sheila's question. ]
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To confirm that we're being tested is not nothing.
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A mockery? Was it really so pointless?
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But other than that, it seemed as though we were just being toyed with. A punishment for seeking truth.
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[Mercy "Chuck" Jingle is worth it.]
I'm still sorry you had to go through any of that.
[There are probably a lot of questions that can be asked at this point, but someone else can ask them.]
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[ like, that it purposely fucked with them more than it did the others.
and honestly, part of him is a little disappointed that this means they probably won't get to see mercy again, but knowing that she's not in some weird ass hell hole beats that feeling. ]
And thank you for telling us.
[ it's actually genuine, and not the nice effect. ]
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[Just like. A gentle warning not to try anything else so reckless. She also feels a little sad, like they can never really repay Mercy, or make the pain she felt right. But at least a real little girl isn't trapped there.]
But I am glad we have more of a sense of what that place is, and what it wants. You have my thanks.
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