exsilium | voice; forward dated to past midnight (action open to anyone around?)

( there's a slight sound of rustling after the feed clicks on, as oz makes himself more comfortable on a seat in the observatory. why he's there late at night — night by circadian rhythms, anyway, simulated nights on the moon — is anyone's guess, or maybe it's obvious enough. in any case, when he speaks up a moment later, he sounds to be in a good enough mood. )

What's your favorite story? Scary ones are probably best for late at night, but what I really want to hear about are everyone's favorites. For instance, something about a princess and a dragon, or maybe a mystery with a twist ending, or something out of history....ah, if you make it up or adapt it from a book, that's fine too! Or even if it's a real one that's happened to someone you know, ( and a light laugh ) — don't worry, I don't tell anyone!

But it's rude to ask without giving my own preference, right? I can start with mine, if anyone wants.

( he'll tell people about holy knight. all about it!!!! don't ask him about it. )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That's not it, their love stopped, like, decades of fighting and murder!

But they could've been together if they'd only been a little more careful and had that. Or they could've looked for other options, too. Maybe it wasn't pointless, but —

( give him a moment, he might be having a minor epiphany. thank you shakespeare. )

But if they had lived, the fighting wouldn't have ended. It would have intensified, maybe, because if they ran away together the Capulets would have just blamed Romeo and the Montagues would have blamed Juliet. I'm not trying to say it's a good thing that they died, I just - you might be missing the point. They were so young, too... It's not hard for people that young to make rash decisions.

You don't know that for sure. Maybe —

( he stops short, then shakes his head with a tired laugh. )

At least, that's what Elliot would say.

Of course I don't know that for sure, but I think that's the point Shakespeare was trying to make. I mean, it's just a story.

[THIS IS AWKWARD moving on...]

Want to hear another?

Oh, that's true.

( but since that one ended horribly — )

Sure.

Okay! Let's see.

[A pause.]

Okay, this is a story about stories! And a prince, and a few princesses, and an evil raven.

Really?

( HE DOESN'T SNICKER JUST YET )

[yeah let's see you grin after it BLOCKS OUT THE ENTIRE SKY]

Uh huh! So, once upon a time, there was a man who wrote stories. Soon, though, the man discovered that he had the power to make the stories he wrote come to life. The people in the town he lived in were scared of this power, so they cut off his hands so he could no longer write. The man died. When he was alive, the last story he had been writing was about a prince and a monster raven. Since his power had brought them to life, they were stuck in an endless battle without an end to the story. The prince sealed the raven away using his very heart so he wouldn't hurt the townspeople.

With his heart?

Yep! He broke it apart. I think it was, like, his metaphorical heart, though. Like, his feelings and all that, not the physical organ.

So anyways, since the man had powers, a part of him stayed alive [or at least that's how she figures it must have worked!!], and he wanted to be able to finish his last story. So, he assigned roles from the story to people in the town. Since he could control reality with his writing, he could do that.

( das creepy )

Did the townspeople realize what was going on?

Mm, not many of them. The people he was controlling realized it to some extent, but... [How to explain this?] For example, the two girls who were princesses were in love with the boy who was a prince even outside the story, too. So, they each wanted to use their new roles to help him in their own way. [A pause. Maybe this wasn't the best idea.] Sorry, I'm not sure how to explain this right.

No, I think I follow. So there were two princesses too?

Yes.

[She leaves out the part about the knight.]

Anyways, so the two princesses both wanted to help in their own way. One of the princesses, Princess Kraehe, thought he would be better off without his feelings. The other princess, Princess Tutu [DON'T YOU DARE LAUGH OZ] thought he deserved to be able to experience emotion. They both loved him, though. So—

Sorry, um, I really don't think I know how this goes all the way. Anyways, in the end, the prince got his heart back and defeated the monster raven. All the townspeople were saved. Um, the end.