It's not about something so much as it is something. Usually I'd be able to wake it up, but... [shrugs... man, nerfing. on the other hand, that's probably a good thing.] The Fragment's an abnormality, asleep in a book that contains everything we know about it. They're something born from humans, essentially... either from their fears, or desires, or memories, so if the one I know really was based on the same story... she's probably created from memories of it in some way.
[at least, that's about the best explanation he thinks he can give.]
Usually we called her Little Red, but her full designation's Little Red Riding Hooded Mercenary. Pretty helpful with some of the other abnormalities. I might be able to find her book in here somewhere, I'm pretty sure I saw Big and Will Be Bad Wolf's earlier...
[sorry but she's not listening to any of that she's not listening at all anymore sorry for ignoring your lore drop netzach is sounds cool but she's totally fixated on the second part.]
I sound so cool! I didn't know there were stories about me like that. Most of my stories are just "and then she got eaten by a wolf and they had to cut her out of its stomach."
Oh. Well, you can call me Red or Ylfa, then, but we can just both know it's short for that.
[her ears are perked up though.]
You know...we've been to the library where our stories are kept. And last time I was there, I accidentally saw every version of my story all at once, which is...kind of a bad experience. But I never saw her story, so maybe there are other libraries and other versions of me out there. That's kind of a good thought.
Yeah...? She's the only one I knew, so if you didn't see that story, then... I'd bet there are. Seems like we're all from pretty different places here. I don't think it'd be so weird if there were more out there that none of us even know about.
[he can't help being curious, though.]
...were there any versions of it that you liked more than the others?
It's not that I didn't like them, exactly. Because in most versions, my grandma didn't die, and I get to stay with her and not turn into a werewolf and have all these things happen to me.
But it's not really a story I belong in anymore, so I like knowing there are other Reds out there more like me.
Well, lately in the Neverafter, things have started to go wrong. People call it the times of shadow, but bad things happen more often than they used to. More than that, it's like...all of us have stories, but things keep happening to us that aren't supposed to. Like me becoming a werewolf, or Gerard turning back into a frog, or my friend Rosamund's prince never coming and her waking up from her sleep on her own.
We're not sure why it's happening. There are some things out there maybe...eating the nice versions of stories, and other things trying to keep the Times of Shadow in place. And then there are the fairies, who are trying to put things back the way they're supposed to be and give us our happy endings.
But it's not just that. Because now some of us are aware of our stories, and it's started causing us to think that maybe going back to the way things are supposed to be isn't so good either? Like...why should Rosamund have to go to sleep for a hundred years just to meet her true love? Why should Gerard get turned into a frog in the first place? It seems like the fairies want bad things to happen to us so we deserve our happy endings, and that doesn't sound so good anymore.
Unfortunately, for a while, we thought we were on the same page about that with some allies. There's a group of princesses who were trying to recruit Rosamund because they don't want the fairies to put their stories back to how they're supposed to be. But they're also going a little far; what they want to do to erase their stories might destroy the entire Neverafter.
So our hope is that somehow with Mother's book, we can find another way, where maybe we can give people the ability to write different stories rather than having to choose between preserving them and destroying them.
If you've seen other versions of your story anyway, then... that probably means it should be possible, right? Even if the bad things are more consistent in them, they're already not all exactly the same story. There shouldn't be anything wrong with getting to make one that you want for yourself, if it works out.
... you shouldn't have to deserve getting to be happy, in the end.
[yeah! her emotions are happy because netzach gets it.]
That's what we want. Maybe not happy all the time, but...it's not fair. I didn't get it until I saw Pinocchio's book, but it feels like - stories about kids like us are always about how we have to be punished for not listening and not following the rules, even though adults are wrong all the time. It's not fair to have to get eaten by a wolf or turned into a puppet just because we disobeyed the rules. It shouldn't have to be like that.
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carisma_sensei
no subject
Date: 2023-06-28 01:48 am (UTC)[at least, that's about the best explanation he thinks he can give.]
Usually we called her Little Red, but her full designation's Little Red Riding Hooded Mercenary. Pretty helpful with some of the other abnormalities. I might be able to find her book in here somewhere, I'm pretty sure I saw Big and Will Be Bad Wolf's earlier...
no subject
Date: 2023-06-28 01:52 am (UTC)What? I'm a mercenary? And also your best friend?
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Date: 2023-06-28 01:52 am (UTC)I- don't know about best friend, but definitely a mercenary that helped us out?
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Date: 2023-06-28 02:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-06-28 02:03 am (UTC)...and also kill people if they got to him first, I guess, but that's... resolvable.
[simply let her do it.]
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Date: 2023-06-28 02:08 am (UTC)Nice! This is doing so much for my self-esteem. You may also refer to me as Little Red Riding Hooded Mercenary from now on.
no subject
Date: 2023-06-28 02:10 am (UTC)[as much as he would like to indulge her that's a Lot of energy to put into it, man.]
no subject
Date: 2023-06-28 10:55 am (UTC)[her ears are perked up though.]
You know...we've been to the library where our stories are kept. And last time I was there, I accidentally saw every version of my story all at once, which is...kind of a bad experience. But I never saw her story, so maybe there are other libraries and other versions of me out there. That's kind of a good thought.
no subject
Date: 2023-06-28 06:44 pm (UTC)[he can't help being curious, though.]
...were there any versions of it that you liked more than the others?
no subject
Date: 2023-06-28 11:32 pm (UTC)[hmm. she pauses a bit.]
It's not that I didn't like them, exactly. Because in most versions, my grandma didn't die, and I get to stay with her and not turn into a werewolf and have all these things happen to me.
But it's not really a story I belong in anymore, so I like knowing there are other Reds out there more like me.
no subject
Date: 2023-06-29 02:25 am (UTC)[a little nod, there.]
Just too different for it, right?
no subject
Date: 2023-06-29 02:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-06-29 02:50 am (UTC)You said if your friend could use that book then everything was gonna be okay, right? What was wrong?
no subject
Date: 2023-06-30 12:14 pm (UTC)[where do i, siz, start.]
Well, lately in the Neverafter, things have started to go wrong. People call it the times of shadow, but bad things happen more often than they used to. More than that, it's like...all of us have stories, but things keep happening to us that aren't supposed to. Like me becoming a werewolf, or Gerard turning back into a frog, or my friend Rosamund's prince never coming and her waking up from her sleep on her own.
We're not sure why it's happening. There are some things out there maybe...eating the nice versions of stories, and other things trying to keep the Times of Shadow in place. And then there are the fairies, who are trying to put things back the way they're supposed to be and give us our happy endings.
But it's not just that. Because now some of us are aware of our stories, and it's started causing us to think that maybe going back to the way things are supposed to be isn't so good either? Like...why should Rosamund have to go to sleep for a hundred years just to meet her true love? Why should Gerard get turned into a frog in the first place? It seems like the fairies want bad things to happen to us so we deserve our happy endings, and that doesn't sound so good anymore.
Unfortunately, for a while, we thought we were on the same page about that with some allies. There's a group of princesses who were trying to recruit Rosamund because they don't want the fairies to put their stories back to how they're supposed to be. But they're also going a little far; what they want to do to erase their stories might destroy the entire Neverafter.
So our hope is that somehow with Mother's book, we can find another way, where maybe we can give people the ability to write different stories rather than having to choose between preserving them and destroying them.
no subject
Date: 2023-06-30 01:16 pm (UTC)... you shouldn't have to deserve getting to be happy, in the end.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-01 12:03 pm (UTC)That's what we want. Maybe not happy all the time, but...it's not fair. I didn't get it until I saw Pinocchio's book, but it feels like - stories about kids like us are always about how we have to be punished for not listening and not following the rules, even though adults are wrong all the time. It's not fair to have to get eaten by a wolf or turned into a puppet just because we disobeyed the rules. It shouldn't have to be like that.