006. [Video]

[twinsanity]

[Alfred actually seems pretty calm over the video feed today - and it is Alfred today, as opposed to Alexia; it's overcast but it's warm enough, and he's currently settled under one of the trees in Ilex Forest. He's not looking at the camera, but rather his gaze is downcast, focused on the...thing he's got draped over his lap. No, it's not one of the Bloobers, but admittedly a three-eyed pink slug the size of a fairly large dog with a naturally-occurring Viking helmet isn't much better, because what in the good hell is having normal pets.

At least he's smiling, kinda. For once.]

So...

[And from that one word alone, we are clearly in for a bit of a story. Why? Because why not, that's why. Just let him pet his giant sea slug and talk for a while, okay, don't crush his dreams.]

Once upon a time in a faraway country - as so many of these stories tend to begin - there was a King who was noted for his benevolence and charity to all his subjects. He was loved by all who knew him, which was fortunate for him, really, as he was also naive and, while well-meaning, easily taken advantage of.

A short time into his rule, he took a bride; the Queen he chose - for reasons that were surely only known by him - was one who was notoriously cold and had a reputation for being nasty in personality, and was just generally difficult to get along with. The respect she commanded was gained through fear, not love; it seemed no one loved her but the King, in fact.

[He pauses for a moment, tipping his head a bit before going back to petting the slug.]

To his credit, he loved her completely.

[That's better, apparently.]

Now, the King had a tendency to take walks through the garden every morning at a precise time, such that he could have an hour or so to himself every day before seeing to his duties as the ruler of the country. Which is well and good...until one morning, when he didn't return.

He was found a short while later, lying dead in that garden he loved so much, a single arrow piercing his heart.

[...okay, judging by this pause here, either he's collecting himself or the damn thing literally ends there; let's have a moment and pray that he's seriously not - ]

...You know, I've never known it to have an ending outside of that; that's always how I've known the story to go.

I suppose that's why I've always liked it so much, really; the ending can be taken any number of ways, depending on how you feel that day.

[Goddamn it, Alfred.]

It's one of those weird stories where I don't know where it came from, though...I mean, I suppose my father had to have told me at some point, since I can't imagine the scientists telling me anything of the sort - but I've no idea where he got it, if that's the case. My sister and I both know a version of the same story put to music; I just don't remember hearing it.

[...]

Is that common, do you think? Having something that you've known for so long that you don't remember where it came from, and it's strange for you to try to imagine there being a time where you didn't know it...?

Comments

video;

[awesmazings]

[...What kind of story was that.]

...Is that... really how it ends?

video;

[twinsanity]

[...boy we just went over this]

Mmhmm. At least, that's the only ending I've ever heard.

video;

[awesmazings]

[Doesn't matter, that was a horrible ending.]

Gosh....that's awful. Don't you think it'd be better if it had a happier ending?

video;

[twinsanity]

"Better"...? Not necessarily. You don't always get happy endings in life either, you know.

[...]

Do I...know you, or are you one of the newer ones or what?

video;

[bertall]

_{[What the ever-loving-fuck Alfred it was looking like such a good story until the end.]}

T-That's a horrible ending...

_{[SERIOUSLY ALFRED WHAT THE HELL.]}

I-I wouldn't even tell my kids something like that... I-If I did, I'd at least try and make it end on a happy note... _[God.]

But um... To answer you question, I... I think so, at least for the people back home in my world. Even now it's strange knowing that Titans don't exist here, you know?

video;

[twinsanity]

Well, I've known about it since I was a child, so obviously my father wasn't nearly so... [...so...so...] ...sheltering, I suppose? I don't know.

[Just let him go back to patting the slug and blatantly jump topics, okay, this is awkward.]

But I can see that, really - this place doesn't have anywhere near the same sort of creatures I'm used to, and we created a fair few of those. Titans were around well before you, though, weren't they?

video;

[bertall]

_{[Alfred does he have to come up with a better ending? He's going to be up all night working on a good ending for that weird story of yours good lord.]}

Mm. They showed up about a hundred years ago and I'm only six--er, seventeen now, but... It's still something. I've known about them for as long as I can remember but I didn't actually see one face-to-face until I was ten or so.

_{[It's a blatant lie by now, but he's keeping it that way over the networks.]}

video;

[twinsanity]

[Oh, don't worry, he knows. And he's hardly going to say anything out in the open himself; if he really needs to discuss Big-Big over there with you, he can lock the feed.]

Do you find it difficult to get on with people here, as a result of it? After all, they can hardly imagine what it's like.

[video]

[beholdmydemons]

..."Any number"? What's to take from that? It's hardly a story, unless it happened in reality.

[video]

[twinsanity]

And why am I not surprised that you're asking this...?

[video]

[beholdmydemons]

Oh, fuck off. [...haha that phrase feels so fun to use WHO'S COOL I'M COOL ahem] Really though, what's to it?

[video] 1/2

[twinsanity]

Well, it's -

[...HOLD ON.]

...did you really.

[...............]

[twinsanity]

You know, I was beginning to wonder if you had it in you or not.

video;

[superordinary]

[ Okay, that's not the ending Naegi expected. What the hell, Alfred. ]

...That's a rather abrupt ending. Who fired the arrow and why did that person want him dead?

video;

[twinsanity]

That is the question of the hour, isn't it?

That's why I've always been fond of it, really; I like considering the possibilities. It's an interesting thought exercise, at least; I find the lines of consideration I follow change depending on mood and how things are going at the moment.

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[superordinary]

Who do you think killed him? The Queen?

video;

[voidedrogue]

Oh my goooosh, you can't just leave it on a cliffhanger, dude! That's just mean. Like it's a mystery story but who did the killing thing? Like, what the frick happened after that?

[ She was attentively listening and is not here for story time ending on a cliffhanger. WHAT THE HELL, MAN. ]

video;

[twinsanity]

That's just how it ends - I've never heard any other ending for that particular story, anyway.

[He doesn't seem bothered by that prospect, though. Good job, Alfred.]

It's just something I like thinking about from time to time. Working out what happened and why, I mean.

video;

[voidedrogue]

Well that's ridiculous. It needs an ending!

What ending would you give it if you had to? Like, give it an ending. Right now.

Video

[yoctogram]

Maths. [Sho responded to the question wryly, although at first the video was of a Liepard in a hat. Sho never remembered to turn the video on, it was always one of his 'mon that did it for him.]

Of course, I've forgotten a lot of my life from before I died so I'm probably not the best person to answer the question.

Video

[twinsanity]

[...My, you look like a winner already, don't you?]

So you're dead. That's...charming, I suppose.

Video

[yoctogram]

[Small, sharp fangs glinted in his smile; too small to need to be made human, but still just a bit more than just canines.]

I'm in a multivariate state depending on a number of factors. Here are some data points: I have died several times. I still exist. In my home universe, I continue to exist by Erasing dead people who are playing Reaper's Game. In my home universe I have simultaneous planes of existence in the living world and two different vibrations of what we call the UG, where certain post-life people are able to gamble for a second chance. Here, I am functionally human.

So. Am I dead?

[video]

[konpeitoqueen]

What kind of idiot King walks around in the garden without any guards? He was just asking for it!

[Pause.] It's not weird at all. It's probably a story from real life.

[video]

[twinsanity]

[Well, you're blunt, aren't you.]

Oh, trust me, I agree with you - though he was noted for being particularly naive, so I don't know what we were expecting.

I don't know how true it is, though - perhaps it is, perhaps it isn't. It's not like I can ask the one who told me.

[video]

[konpeitoqueen]

Even if they made it up, something to that effect probably happened before.

Naive kings coming to the throne solely on bloodline... a mysterious murder... being in a position of power is already painting a big target on yourself. [Heehee.] It probably ends there because they fled whatever place it happened in.