flameguard | mygod | pc catchall

[Erin, still very fishy and all despite what the icon shows, sighs like she can't believe that's what Rondo says right after arriving]

If it's because of the stab I have a hard time figuring what you're sorry for. Are you sorry you stabbed me or that it didn't kill me?

[Rude question to ask]

[ i dont know what to tell you this is rondo protagonist behavior

but, immediately and emphatically: ] I'm sorry this had to happen at all.

I'd tell you what to do with that 'I'm sorry' but that'd come out as a scream and we don't want that echoing a kilometer around us.

[.........]

You just focus on trying to keep things going from here on. You can see me all transformed and slimy. That means it's too late for me -- you focus on those who aren't mutant possessed creatures right now.

[Definitely trying to push him away, even though she feels it may be futile because Rondo definitely has protagonist vibes]

You didn't ask for this.

[ so why would he? why would he abandon her, or this moment?

rondo's not easily pushed away. he's used to this kind of treatment, honestly - it's no less rough than home. that, and he is just unbelievably stubborn.

after a long moment, he does sit back a little, but only a little, staring down at his hands. ] ...Miss Erin, do you know, you're not the first person I've ever met who was the ruler of Hell?

Really now? What's the story behind that?

[She did hear a little from Cloud that Rondo visited hell, but that was all she knew. She has no idea what Rondo was doing there]

[ ... ]

I had a mentor who made me everything I am today. He was brilliant, and strong - stronger than anyone in the entire world. He was the paragon of justice and goodness, and everything I ever wanted, and he wielded the Sacred Flame with the purest, most brilliantly azure flame there ever was. From the moment I met him, I knew that I wanted to become just like him, and uphold everything he did.

And... [ a pause, as he looks down. ] ...And barely any time before I arrived here, he... betrayed all of us. His Sacred Flame was poisoned by the darkness that consumed him, and he... wanted to destroy the world, to remove all of humanity from it. He said that humans didn't deserve to live anymore, because they were too filthy. He intended to use the fiends of the Hells to do so.

[ he takes a breath, here, and finally looks back up across the barrier - his eyes are wet. ]

So - so the fact that you didn't choose this, that matters to me. [ because sazantos did. because every other person in orsterra in a similar situation chose to let themselves be subsumed, even the most beloved person in rondo's life. ] And I don't think that you deserve to be ostracized because of something out of your control. You don't deserve any of this. You don't deserve to have to spend tonight alone.

Edited (not the repeat icon) 2024-06-23 03:52 (UTC)

[Erin listens, fins periodically going up and down while she hears it, trying her best to maintain lucidity while Rondo pours the lore. Ah, that explains his reaction to what she had once said, she realizes. Wow]

People need to stop trying to use the fiends of Hell for destroying everything.

[Being caught in someone's world-destroying machinations ruined Erin's life when she was sixteen, and if Rondo had been unluckier, it could have ruined his life too. It's hard not to feel sympathy for Rondo there, really, especially since someone significant to him was who did this]

Agree to disagree on the deserving part but I won't argue with you. Just...try to hold onto that dorky bright way of doing things. Guess as long as you can still be teary-eyed and all, you'll be fine.

[Be the paragon of justice and goodness you can be, Rondo, you can do it]

Edited 2024-06-23 05:11 (UTC)

[ the first comment gets a tiny laugh, sort of helplessly. yeah. yeah, they really do, don't they? it's kind of the worst. but... he lifts a hand to his heart, curling it right over it. ]

... I will. [ hold onto it - his way of living. his pure heart is what's made him capable, after all, whether he realizes it or not. ] I wanted to tell you - to thank you, for helping me earlier this week, and for telling me about your sister. It feels so silly, now - I made that poll, even, and.... [ it's just really not fair, is it? it never is.

he trails off there, shaking his head. ] Is... there anything I can do for you, Miss Erin? Today, or...

[ ... tomorrow, not that he can control tomorrow. in his heart of hearts, he hopes it will be him - better him than someone who can't fight, better him than someone fragile, but there's no controlling the ritual. ]

You know, when I ruled hell, so many said I was too soft for that. All because I took over and then imposed the Epoch of Relative Peace to get some order and peaceful times there. So yeah, if I end up back there I guess I'll find my way out once again while on the side imposing The Epoch of Relative Peace II: The Return.

[Is one really all that soft if their move is to take over hell and force a time of peace]

Yeah, sorry for not being around to write the article about the results once they come. You don't have to do anything for me. Just try to watch whatever happens tomorrow and be ready to stab me again if I breach out of there.

mygod | pc catchall | erin

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