good god what am i doing.

[bloodwritten]

This isn't how the tables turn! The puppet master does not simply become a puppet, you silly, silly girl!

I am not a character in your stories - I'm the one who creates them!

Unless, of course, you've a particularly good one for me.

In which case, start spinning.

[oh the uproarious laughter.]

Comments

oh my god yes??

[motioned]

...It's not true, that any of us are puppets.

fjlaksejf.

[bloodwritten]

[a pause. and then - oh. he's laughing again.]

Oh? But wouldn't you say that each of us is, indeed, the protagonist of our own tale?

a beautiful thing, that is what you're doing

[motioned]

[She's too nervous to be very bold towards him directly, of course, but... She thinks of what Fakir would say in a situation like this.]

Isn't there a difference between a protagonist and a puppet?

i extend the same sentiment toward you.

[bloodwritten]

But if we are in a tale, as we all are, it would mean that the ending has already been decided, and we merely are going through the motions of fate. Someone is always pulling the strings, my little duck.

it is a thing that needed to be done

[motioned]

[Somehow, that calms her - she'd already defied the fate he himself had set forth for her, and so had Fakir. If Drosselmeyer had already been powerless to force them into destiny, surely she didn't have to believe that anyone was pulling the strings in this case, either. With her friends in her heart, anything was possible.

Still, she can't manage to be as brave as someone like Fakir would be when speaking to the very man who had bestowed her very humanity on her. Even with all her resolve, it's difficult not to look away as she talks.]

I don't think that's quite right.

basically. i rewatched the entire thing yesterday and could not deal.

[bloodwritten]

[he strokes his beard as he scrutinizes her. oh, she was a tricky one, wasn't she?]

It's true that you are the sole ruiner of my tragedy. No, you wouldn't agree, would you?

playing with a drosselmeyer has been like, my eternal ultimate dream tbh

[motioned]

It wasn't just me, though! Fakir, Mytho, Rue, and everyone else... I don't think we could have accomplished it alone.

[It's not meant to shift the blame, though she assumes he must believe their actions were wrongdoings; rather, she means to give some of the share of the victory to her friends. After all, a little duck couldn't have accomplished so much on her own. Even she understands that.]

OH MAN, PRESSURE'S ON.

[bloodwritten]

[oh no, no. that just earns her a finger-waggling and a harsh point. she was the one who wouldn't listen to him, after all.]

You were the catalyst that I chose. You were the one to put the story back into motion, remember.

[which means that this totally isn't his fault at all.]

WELL IT SEEMS TO ME YOU'RE DOING GREAT SO FAR C:

[motioned]

[She shrinks away from that pointing, though not from the accusation that rests behind it. Though she's sure she has the aid of her friends to thank for the way things ended, she won't deny that she longed for the outcome she had helped to create.]

But even if I did my best, everyone involved in the story helped in some ways.

[Even Rue, who had actively fought against her, had done so much good in the end.]

yes good thank you. ♥

[bloodwritten]

Ah, but only because of the thoughts you put into their heads.

[and then - well, this may not have worked before, but it takes time to make one completely switch their mindset. no harm in a bit of trying now, is there?]

Surely you take some pride in the trouble you've caused me. Pride for yourself and nobody else.

considering trying him out in a game? o: or is he too crazy godmode, ahaha

[motioned]

[Before meeting Fakir in the depths of the lake of despair, she may well have honestly disagreed. But self acceptance and truly caring for someone, and not in the slightly selfish way she had cared for Mytho, served to boost her esteem considerably. Though still knew she owed most of her happiness to her friends, there's certainly a part of herself, albeit small, that's happy for the things she had accomplished as well.

Still, she won't agree with him so easily.]

I'm happy for what happened, but I didn't do it alone.

idk yet. i might, but i wanna see if he sticks first.

[bloodwritten]

But would there have been such a dreadful happy ending if not for you? No, there's nothing selfish in taking credit for what you've done.

good luck! i'd love to hear if you find a place eventually, i've never seen him in play anywhere c:

[motioned]

It wouldn't have happened without anyone else, either. [And that, at least, is the honest truth.]

absolutely! thank you! :3

[bloodwritten]

Yes, as things had stalled. [he can't help but sigh. he knew she would be hard to convince, but he hadn't expected her to come across as missing the point entirely. cheers to overestimation!]

Glory must be tempting.

omgggg

[ex_storied375]

I would've expected you to be able to appreciate the irony.

[motioned]

[But the only glory she had ever craved was for those she cared about. She had never anticipated glory for herself, after all.]

I never thought of anything like glory.

fjeisijakjcjf

[bloodwritten]

[should he look this happy or]

Oh, more than able, make no mistake. Things are made infinitely more difficult, however, when I am not the one crafting it.

[genuine_human]

There's never a shortage of entertainment in being the conductor of an opera, but I have found it is just as exciting to play a starring role. Whether you believe yourself to be the hero or the villain is up to you, but I, myself, have preferred the latter far more.

[bloodwritten]

Never? Not even once? It's certainly something to consider.

[bloodwritten]

But don't forget - even the most corrupt of villains believes themselves to be right. We are all heroes in our own eyes.

[motioned]

I have everything I wanted.

[Maybe she never had to choose between the glory of defying fate and the happiness of accepting it - she had both the defiance and the happiness, in the end. Anyways, the only glory that would have mattered in the end would have to be attained when she was a bird. She understood now that everything else was a lie.]

[genuine_human]

Nein. You see, there are certain people in this world who fully understand themselves to be irredeemable, immoral, depraved, and completely morally bankrupt. As the world points fingers at these gentlemen, calling them all insane, they question... could madness be this enjoyable?

I speak, of course, of myself.

oh god why what is wrong with you

[flowing_kinetics]

Oh great. More crazies.

[ghostintheanimus]

We're all puppets. It's embedded in our blood, in our brain waves. What do you think's really in the adhesive on the back of stamps?!

kljsldf mo_om

[ex_storied375]

Perhaps you'll gain a little consideration for people you put in that same position.

[ HAHA NOT THAT HE REALLY BELIEVES THAT ]