- you're wandering through a forest, but it doesn't seem like a normal one - it's completely dark, and there's some kind of ominous energy hanging through it as you wander along, your guard up. you're travelling alone, though you have a map.
- as you continue along your way, you hear a branch crack and a kind of buzzing noise. you turn towards the noise immediately, drawing your sword. after a few moments where nothing occurs, you sheathe it again, reminding yourself not to be so paranoid.
- but after a few more steps, that buzzing from before passes close by your head, and you see... a huge wasp! a monster sized one, which flies at you a few more times, before you fumble with the weapon you barely know how to use and kill it.
- there's a few moments of excitement - not about the violence, but about the fact that you protected yourself on your own, something you've never really had the opportunity to do before. you feel proud of yourself!!
- and then a huge swarm of monster wasps realize you killed their friend and fly your way. sensing this is going to be a much harder fight to win, you cut your losses and run, yelling apologies about their friend over your shoulder.
- since you are not looking where you're going, you trip and fall into a pit, shrieking. the memory ends.
- this memory begins with you waking up in your bedroom! it's really big and really fancy. just royalty things. for some reason, you fell asleep on the floor last night, rather than in your bed.
- you awaken to your mother coming in, telling you to rise and shine and giving you a few quick passive aggressive comments about having slept on the floor. you're used enough to this kind of behavior that you don't comment on it, but you do start to explain that it's because of a strange dream you had last night. before you can explain that dream, she answers with "that's nice, dear, now stop talking."
- she goes on, though, telling you that based on a recent conversation you've had, she's decided to stop treating you like a child any longer. it's been a point of contention between you two, the way she never takes you seriously, and you let yourself feel a bit of optimism when she says she's been reconsidering the way she treats you.
- you ask her if she really means that, if she's going to let you go to "the forest" - the way you say this makes it seem like there's some kind of weighty significance to the forest in general, but it's not specified in this memory what that is.
- she laughs, telling you that you're still not allowed to do that in any situation, and that when she agreed you're no longer a child, it's because she's decided to arrange a marriage for you. you'll be allowed to pick your own wife, but from a selection of young women who are going to be attending a ball later today.
- a group of advisors come into your bedroom even though you quickly object that you're still in your pajamas, and your mother asks her advisor (she calls him chamberlain) whether he's finished "the proclamation". when he reads it off, it's an announcement of the ball along with a confirmation that at the end of the day, you'll pick someone to marry. she sends them away to make the declaration.
- you've been angry most of this discussion, but it comes out now when you tell her to call them back. when she says no, you start to really get into it, telling her with no uncertainty that you aren't going to be doing this, and that you are going to make your way to "the forest" and break "the curse", neither of which have much context in the current conversation.
- she softens a little and says that even if her methods might be strange to you, everything she's doing is because she wants to keep you safe, that she tries to protect you because she loves you. it's hard for you to be angry at her when she gets more gentle, so you match her tone, telling her you know that.
- but as soon as you say that and she takes it as acceptance, the facade of gentleness and genuineness ends abruptly as she starts calling for the guards. immediately, a group of knights filter in and grab you by the arms; she instructs them to take you to the ballroom and tie you to your throne so you can't leave this time.
- it's here that you go from angry to furious - you start trying to pull away despite how futile it is, kicking and writhing against their hold, telling them to get their hands off of you, yelling back at her as you're dragged away that she can't keep you there no matter what!! wowee
- she is unmoved by any of this, and the memory ends.
- you're in a cave in this memory, standing next to a boy around your age. the both of you are looking around as you come in, and you both clue in on an egg, a fairly large one that doesn't look like anything from a bird.
- as you come closer, you both realize it's a dragon egg! the other boy says that it must be a fossil since dragons are extinct, but as you bring your hand closer to it in wonder, you realize that it's warm. you pull his hand over and carefully put it against the egg so he can feel it.
- as you look over at him and realize he's smiling, you start to tease him - this is the first time you've actually seen him smile. he's normally trying his hardest to be both stoic and strict. he immediately gets defensive and says he's only interested from a scientific and military perspective, and you tease a little bit more before reminding him it's okay to just think something is cool. like dragons!! dragons are so cool!!! you are really excited about this dragon egg!!!!!!!
- he lets his guard drop for a moment and admits that is pretty cool, but that's before the egg starts cracking right in front of both of you. your friend (?) immediately moves into a defensive stance just in case this dragon chooses violence five seconds after hatching.
- it's fairly big as it crawls out, large dog sized, and it keeps making high pitched shrieking noises as it approaches the two of you. after a tense few moments where the two of you attempt to try and stay still, you say that you're going to pet it in the hopes that it'll calm it down. when you hold a hand out, it snaps its jaws in your direction and then roars.
- the two of you end up pulling out some food and tossing it to this baby dragon, who calms down pretty quickly, chirping and making other happy noises. you immediately start baby talking at it while your companion wonders aloud what happens when it gets hungry again, reminding you that you're pretty much out of food now.
- you are in the midst of an argument with your mom! she's tugging you along to your room, angry. she says something about how you embarrassed her, but the details of whatever interaction she's referring to aren't included in this memory.
- you apologize for the embarrassment anyways, but try to explain yourself by telling her that you only wanted to learn about a nearby forest that's causing trouble for your kingdom. she tries to tell you that it isn't anything to worry about, and you get into a brief disagreement.
- during this argument, you remind her that the forest you're discussing is growing out of control, that nobody can cross a street without tripping over a root or vine. it's taking over the fields you use to grow food, driving out livestock and other animals. food is already becoming scarce; things are dire, and nobody is addressing the problem.
- she calls you ungrateful, tells you that you're looking for trouble instead of enjoying the life she's given you. you tell her that you're not looking for trouble, you're looking to stop the kingdom from collapsing. she counters that "life can be perfect, as long as you don't look very hard".
- when you start to argue again, she promptly tells you that you're grounded, closing your door quickly and locking it behind her. you pound your fist against it, telling her she can't keep you stuck in here forever. she informs you that to prevent you from trying to climb out the window and run away again, she's put fresh crocodiles in the moat surrounding the tower that holds your bedroom and they haven't been fed today.
- you're sitting next to a very pretty lake - you've just gone swimming in it, so you're still pretty soaked, but you're in a good mood, looking out at the scenery. there's a waterfall! very picturesque.
- the boy next to you seems to be in good spirits as well, remarking about how you should stay here all day. you joke that you should stay here forever, and he jokes back that the two of you should call off your quest (it isn't completely clear from context here what the quest is) and make a home here instead. you get a little more genuine, saying that it sounds amazing (gay).
- noting that you've gotten quieter, he asks what the matter is. you tell him that you're thinking of your mother, and what she'd say if she could see you right now. he jokes that she'd probably be glad to know you were spending time around royalty, and you tell him that she'd only be glad if you were spending time like this with a princess instead of a prince.
- when you mention she has very high ambitions for you, he asks whether she was disappointed when you became a thief, and whether that's why you ran away. after a moment, you tell him that the reason you ran away was because you don't feel like she's ever really made an effort to see who you are, just who she wants you to be. you mention that you hoped maybe if you ran away to come here and do something brave, something important, she would finally realize that you're your own person who can make your own decisions.
- he opens up a little bit in turn, talking about his relationship with his own mother. he says she's prioritized his training and education his entire life to ensure he'll have a good future, leaving him little time for socializing or spending time the way he wants to.
- he goes on to mention that during the time you've been traveling together, he understands for the first time what it's like to have someone by his side to spend his time with. you agree that for the first time, you don't feel lonely, either.
- after a charged moment of silence (gay), you break some of that tension by joking that it's too bad the two of you didn't meet sooner - you could have been friends all this time. he jokes back that if you grew up in his kingdom, he probably would have avoided befriending a thief, and you mention that maybe you wouldn't have been one if you'd grown up somewhere different.
- (you are not actually a thief. you are committing identity theft and pretending to be one. every time he brings up the thief thing you feel pretty awkward about it. it's fine.)
- either way, you joke that he'd probably like you more if you weren't one, and he quickly counters that he already likes you. you immediately assume he's teasing again and remind him that you drive him insane half the time. it turns out he's not joking, though, because he counters by telling you that he actually likes you more than anyone else he knows. that regardless of how people back home look at you, he wants you to know that he sees you.
- the memory ends right in time for you to go beet red.
- you're at a party! very much against your will, since you are currently tied to a chair at the front of the room. it's fine.
- at some point during this party, there's a loud rumbling noise and the chandeliers start to shake. there's a few moments where people wonder whether it was an earthquake, but after about five seconds of silence the ground itself starts cracking open. vines and branches start pouring out of the cracks, and the windows shatter as more plants start coming in through the panes.
- the plants seem to be at least slightly sentient in that they're aiming blows at random partygoers. people predictably start screaming and running. but you are still tied to a chair. you strain against the ropes to no avail and then start to call out for help.
- an older man comes forward to cut the ropes, and after you thank him, he hands you a map. when you ask what it's for, he tells you that it's a map to the nearby forest (the one that is currently attacking your castle and its inhabitants).
- he follows up by telling you that you need to go there Right Now. you immediately say you aren't leaving him or the others in the middle of a crisis like this, but he ends up telling you very abruptly that you need to go there so you can break a curse that's making the nearby forest act like this; that for some reason, it has to be you instead of someone else.
- but right before he can actually tell you how to break said curse, one of the chandeliers comes crashing down in the chaos. he gets hit by some of the falling glass, telling you once more before he passes out that you need to go now! right now!!!!!
- after another moment of hesitation, you take the map that he gave you and run towards the exit. for whatever reason, the vines and branches that are attacking everyone else don't aim your way as you leave, and the memory ends.
- this memory starts in a forest - you're laying down, trying to sleep to no avail. the mood is already on the floor even at the start - you're scared and upset yourself, and there's a palpable tension in the overall atmosphere. a conversation between you and a boy around your age starts.
- he asks if you're awake, and when you say you are, he asks what you're thinking about. you just say "tomorrow" as an answer, and he says he's thinking about the same thing. when you ask him to be more specific, he says that he's thinking about how tomorrow, everything will change - "after tomorrow, one of us is going to be the sole ruler of all the land. one of us is going to have everything our fathers ever wanted. and I don't want it."
- you agree, quickly. while you know, logically, what has to happen, the sacrifice that needs to be made, neither of you want it. you know it's nothing but wishful thinking when you ask him what would happen if you didn't go through with it. if you ran away together instead. that isn't going to happen, but it's nice to think about, as impossible as it is.
- he wishes that were an option, too, but he's more pragmatic than you are - he reminds you that you can't just run away. that the consequences of inaction will be the destruction of both of your kingdoms, the deaths of thousands of people.
- the stakes for the two of you haven't been explicitly clear yet in this memory, but there's a little more light shed on them as you shift, looking away from him and up at the treetops. you ask: "so, that's it then? tomorrow, you're really going to take me to the hollow and kill me? just like that?"
- you see the way he tenses; pragmatic or not, it's clear this wouldn't have been his course of action if there was any other solution. he reminds you that you might end up killing him instead, and when you snap back that you're not happy with that outcome either, he snaps back in turn: "what do you want me to say? do you think i want to fight you? i've never wanted anything less in my entire life. but i have a responsibility to my people. they're counting on me. how could i ever live with myself if i just gave up and condemned everyone i care about? if we don't fight, the forest wins and everyone dies. everyone."
- you're quiet for a long moment. it's still tense, something in your chest still aches with both panic and sorrow, but - you know you couldn't live with that, either. you take a breath and rub at your face, giving him a stiff nod when he asks, "okay?"
- he thanks you, and you try to reclaim just a little bit of levity, joking that he shouldn't thank you considering you're planning on putting up a good fight.
- despite that, you know just by looking at him what's going to happen tomorrow. you ask him for a favor if he wins - to be a good king to your country. when that segues into him asking you for a favor if you win, though, you glance at him and tell him that both of you already know you aren't going to win.
- he tenses again, talking over you and asking you to, if you do win, tell his mother that he's sorry he let her down. after a moment, you decline; you say that instead, if you get the opportunity to tell her anything at all, you're going to tell her he's the bravest person you've ever met.
- you move forward to wrap your arms around him at this point, feeling him tense and try to pull back, saying that you shouldn't be hugging at a time like this - but you tell him that obviously now is the best time, because either way, neither of you are going to get an opportunity to do it later. tentatively, he returns the hug.
- after a few moments, you ask him what time it is, and he says it must be past midnight. "it's my birthday", you say, and he says it's his as well. you exchange the most awkward happy birthdays in the world.
- before you can finish, you hear a voice calling your true name - a voice you don't recognize. both of your heads whip around towards it, already tense, to see the forest itself shifting, opening towards a path that leads into a clearing you can barely make out from here. the voice keeps calling you in that direction, a sign you've finally run out of time.
- the both of you look down to a sleeping dragon near your feet, but you decide you should leave him here so he doesn't end up getting hurt. you lean down, running a hand over his scales quickly, telling him: "sleep tight, big guy. i hope you wake to a better world."
- as you step away towards the clearing, he looks at you and asks if you're ready. you say you aren't; he says he isn't either. the both of you still keep walking side by side down the path that's been opened for you, and the memory ends.
- this memory opens in a clearing in a forest, in the midst of a fight. it's not a verbal argument this time; it's actually a pretty intense swordfight. everything is pretty dark; it's just after midnight. it's implicitly understood that this is the kind of fight that's only going to have one victor. only one person is going walk out of this alive. the exact reason for this isn't explained here, but it's knowledge that informs every action you're taking; the consequences of just leaving would far outweigh whatever the cost of this fight will be.
- throughout the memory, you can hear people at the periphery of the clearing shouting out instructions - notes like "cut his head off", "go for the kill". there are two distinct voices, but you don't look towards either of them as the altercation goes on, completely focused on your opponent.
- your opponent, a boy around your age, is clearly more skilled than you are. all of your motions are fumbling your way around this weapon that you've never used before, but his are precise and graceful, effortless. that means that the fact that he hasn't won makes you a little bit furious - you know he's holding back. neither of you want to be fighting this battle at all, but you don't want him to just let you win, either.
- angrily, you tell him to stop going easy on you, and he asks you the same thing. the difference is that you aren't trying to; you legitimately have no idea how to do better than you are.
- even he can't pretend for too long, though, given the vast difference in your levels of skill. he makes a move that disarms you rather than does you any serious harm, and it brings you to the ground as the sword falls out of your hand. the voices of whoever's watching continue shouting advice - "run! do something!"
- he looks down at you, but hesitates instead of ending it immediately; he tells you how sorry he is, and you immediately tell him that you understand, that what's about to happen is okay. still, he doesn't move to strike, and after another tense moment he tells you that he'll let you pick up your weapon and keep going if you want to.
- when you decline, he reminds you that even if you surrender, he still has to kill you. you decline again, looking up at him; you know you aren't going to win even if you keep going given the differing level of skill. when he keeps asking you, nearly begging, you remind him that he's been training for this his entire life while you have absolutely no combat experience. you tell him you don't want to spend the last minutes of your life fighting, especially not with him. even with that said, he doesn't strike, his grip so tight on the hilt of his sword that it looks painful. one more time, he asks you to get up, to not make him do this. but you don't want to kill him, either, even if you'd won.
- it isn't that you aren't scared - your heart is pounding. you know that you've nearly reached the end, here, and there's a heavy sense of dread that you can't shake off. but he's going to be the one who has to live with the weight of what's about to happen - it always had to be him, and it always had to be you. you don't want to be someone that only causes him pain throughout the rest of his life, only a painful memory or a regret.
- so, again, you tell him it's okay. you tell him how happy you are to have had the chance to meet him regardless of the fact that things turned out this way. you remind him of how important he is to you - "you mean more to me than any kingdom or prophecy. you mean more to me than my own life".
- you tell him that you want it to be him who gets to leave here alive not only because of how much you care for him, but because you know he's going to be a great leader someday, and you know that because he's already an amazing person. "because you’re strong and you never give up, but you also listen to your heart. you act so tough, but i know deep down how much you care. everything you do, you do because you care, and i am so glad i got to meet you."
- there's a strong, genuine feeling of affection here amongst the fear and the tension. you pause for a moment, blinking a few times. he still hasn't moved to strike, clearly trying to hold back strong emotions of his own as you say all this. but - there's something else you want to be able to tell him before the end.
- with a deep breath: "if it's the last thing i ever get to say to you, i just want you to know... i love you."
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mem 1 - hostage game (cw insects)
- as you continue along your way, you hear a branch crack and a kind of buzzing noise. you turn towards the noise immediately, drawing your sword. after a few moments where nothing occurs, you sheathe it again, reminding yourself not to be so paranoid.
- but after a few more steps, that buzzing from before passes close by your head, and you see... a huge wasp! a monster sized one, which flies at you a few more times, before you fumble with the weapon you barely know how to use and kill it.
- there's a few moments of excitement - not about the violence, but about the fact that you protected yourself on your own, something you've never really had the opportunity to do before. you feel proud of yourself!!
- and then a huge swarm of monster wasps realize you killed their friend and fly your way. sensing this is going to be a much harder fight to win, you cut your losses and run, yelling apologies about their friend over your shoulder.
- since you are not looking where you're going, you trip and fall into a pit, shrieking. the memory ends.
mem 2 - scenario game (cw abuse)
- you awaken to your mother coming in, telling you to rise and shine and giving you a few quick passive aggressive comments about having slept on the floor. you're used enough to this kind of behavior that you don't comment on it, but you do start to explain that it's because of a strange dream you had last night. before you can explain that dream, she answers with "that's nice, dear, now stop talking."
- she goes on, though, telling you that based on a recent conversation you've had, she's decided to stop treating you like a child any longer. it's been a point of contention between you two, the way she never takes you seriously, and you let yourself feel a bit of optimism when she says she's been reconsidering the way she treats you.
- you ask her if she really means that, if she's going to let you go to "the forest" - the way you say this makes it seem like there's some kind of weighty significance to the forest in general, but it's not specified in this memory what that is.
- she laughs, telling you that you're still not allowed to do that in any situation, and that when she agreed you're no longer a child, it's because she's decided to arrange a marriage for you. you'll be allowed to pick your own wife, but from a selection of young women who are going to be attending a ball later today.
- a group of advisors come into your bedroom even though you quickly object that you're still in your pajamas, and your mother asks her advisor (she calls him chamberlain) whether he's finished "the proclamation". when he reads it off, it's an announcement of the ball along with a confirmation that at the end of the day, you'll pick someone to marry. she sends them away to make the declaration.
- you've been angry most of this discussion, but it comes out now when you tell her to call them back. when she says no, you start to really get into it, telling her with no uncertainty that you aren't going to be doing this, and that you are going to make your way to "the forest" and break "the curse", neither of which have much context in the current conversation.
- she softens a little and says that even if her methods might be strange to you, everything she's doing is because she wants to keep you safe, that she tries to protect you because she loves you. it's hard for you to be angry at her when she gets more gentle, so you match her tone, telling her you know that.
- but as soon as you say that and she takes it as acceptance, the facade of gentleness and genuineness ends abruptly as she starts calling for the guards. immediately, a group of knights filter in and grab you by the arms; she instructs them to take you to the ballroom and tie you to your throne so you can't leave this time.
- it's here that you go from angry to furious - you start trying to pull away despite how futile it is, kicking and writhing against their hold, telling them to get their hands off of you, yelling back at her as you're dragged away that she can't keep you there no matter what!! wowee
- she is unmoved by any of this, and the memory ends.
mem 3 - button game
- as you come closer, you both realize it's a dragon egg! the other boy says that it must be a fossil since dragons are extinct, but as you bring your hand closer to it in wonder, you realize that it's warm. you pull his hand over and carefully put it against the egg so he can feel it.
- as you look over at him and realize he's smiling, you start to tease him - this is the first time you've actually seen him smile. he's normally trying his hardest to be both stoic and strict. he immediately gets defensive and says he's only interested from a scientific and military perspective, and you tease a little bit more before reminding him it's okay to just think something is cool. like dragons!! dragons are so cool!!! you are really excited about this dragon egg!!!!!!!
- he lets his guard drop for a moment and admits that is pretty cool, but that's before the egg starts cracking right in front of both of you. your friend (?) immediately moves into a defensive stance just in case this dragon chooses violence five seconds after hatching.
- it's fairly big as it crawls out, large dog sized, and it keeps making high pitched shrieking noises as it approaches the two of you. after a tense few moments where the two of you attempt to try and stay still, you say that you're going to pet it in the hopes that it'll calm it down. when you hold a hand out, it snaps its jaws in your direction and then roars.
- the two of you end up pulling out some food and tossing it to this baby dragon, who calms down pretty quickly, chirping and making other happy noises. you immediately start baby talking at it while your companion wonders aloud what happens when it gets hungry again, reminding you that you're pretty much out of food now.
- the memory ends.
mem 6 - never have i ever
- you apologize for the embarrassment anyways, but try to explain yourself by telling her that you only wanted to learn about a nearby forest that's causing trouble for your kingdom. she tries to tell you that it isn't anything to worry about, and you get into a brief disagreement.
- during this argument, you remind her that the forest you're discussing is growing out of control, that nobody can cross a street without tripping over a root or vine. it's taking over the fields you use to grow food, driving out livestock and other animals. food is already becoming scarce; things are dire, and nobody is addressing the problem.
- she calls you ungrateful, tells you that you're looking for trouble instead of enjoying the life she's given you. you tell her that you're not looking for trouble, you're looking to stop the kingdom from collapsing. she counters that "life can be perfect, as long as you don't look very hard".
- when you start to argue again, she promptly tells you that you're grounded, closing your door quickly and locking it behind her. you pound your fist against it, telling her she can't keep you stuck in here forever. she informs you that to prevent you from trying to climb out the window and run away again, she's put fresh crocodiles in the moat surrounding the tower that holds your bedroom and they haven't been fed today.
- the memory ends as you groan.
mem 8 - starry path event
- the boy next to you seems to be in good spirits as well, remarking about how you should stay here all day. you joke that you should stay here forever, and he jokes back that the two of you should call off your quest (it isn't completely clear from context here what the quest is) and make a home here instead. you get a little more genuine, saying that it sounds amazing (gay).
- noting that you've gotten quieter, he asks what the matter is. you tell him that you're thinking of your mother, and what she'd say if she could see you right now. he jokes that she'd probably be glad to know you were spending time around royalty, and you tell him that she'd only be glad if you were spending time like this with a princess instead of a prince.
- when you mention she has very high ambitions for you, he asks whether she was disappointed when you became a thief, and whether that's why you ran away. after a moment, you tell him that the reason you ran away was because you don't feel like she's ever really made an effort to see who you are, just who she wants you to be. you mention that you hoped maybe if you ran away to come here and do something brave, something important, she would finally realize that you're your own person who can make your own decisions.
- he opens up a little bit in turn, talking about his relationship with his own mother. he says she's prioritized his training and education his entire life to ensure he'll have a good future, leaving him little time for socializing or spending time the way he wants to.
- he goes on to mention that during the time you've been traveling together, he understands for the first time what it's like to have someone by his side to spend his time with. you agree that for the first time, you don't feel lonely, either.
- after a charged moment of silence (gay), you break some of that tension by joking that it's too bad the two of you didn't meet sooner - you could have been friends all this time. he jokes back that if you grew up in his kingdom, he probably would have avoided befriending a thief, and you mention that maybe you wouldn't have been one if you'd grown up somewhere different.
- (you are not actually a thief. you are committing identity theft and pretending to be one. every time he brings up the thief thing you feel pretty awkward about it. it's fine.)
- either way, you joke that he'd probably like you more if you weren't one, and he quickly counters that he already likes you. you immediately assume he's teasing again and remind him that you drive him insane half the time. it turns out he's not joking, though, because he counters by telling you that he actually likes you more than anyone else he knows. that regardless of how people back home look at you, he wants you to know that he sees you.
- the memory ends right in time for you to go beet red.
mem 9 - chain email event
- at some point during this party, there's a loud rumbling noise and the chandeliers start to shake. there's a few moments where people wonder whether it was an earthquake, but after about five seconds of silence the ground itself starts cracking open. vines and branches start pouring out of the cracks, and the windows shatter as more plants start coming in through the panes.
- the plants seem to be at least slightly sentient in that they're aiming blows at random partygoers. people predictably start screaming and running. but you are still tied to a chair. you strain against the ropes to no avail and then start to call out for help.
- an older man comes forward to cut the ropes, and after you thank him, he hands you a map. when you ask what it's for, he tells you that it's a map to the nearby forest (the one that is currently attacking your castle and its inhabitants).
- he follows up by telling you that you need to go there Right Now. you immediately say you aren't leaving him or the others in the middle of a crisis like this, but he ends up telling you very abruptly that you need to go there so you can break a curse that's making the nearby forest act like this; that for some reason, it has to be you instead of someone else.
- but right before he can actually tell you how to break said curse, one of the chandeliers comes crashing down in the chaos. he gets hit by some of the falling glass, telling you once more before he passes out that you need to go now! right now!!!!!
- after another moment of hesitation, you take the map that he gave you and run towards the exit. for whatever reason, the vines and branches that are attacking everyone else don't aim your way as you leave, and the memory ends.
mem 10 - deduction game
- he asks if you're awake, and when you say you are, he asks what you're thinking about. you just say "tomorrow" as an answer, and he says he's thinking about the same thing. when you ask him to be more specific, he says that he's thinking about how tomorrow, everything will change - "after tomorrow, one of us is going to be the sole ruler of all the land. one of us is going to have everything our fathers ever wanted. and I don't want it."
- you agree, quickly. while you know, logically, what has to happen, the sacrifice that needs to be made, neither of you want it. you know it's nothing but wishful thinking when you ask him what would happen if you didn't go through with it. if you ran away together instead. that isn't going to happen, but it's nice to think about, as impossible as it is.
- he wishes that were an option, too, but he's more pragmatic than you are - he reminds you that you can't just run away. that the consequences of inaction will be the destruction of both of your kingdoms, the deaths of thousands of people.
- the stakes for the two of you haven't been explicitly clear yet in this memory, but there's a little more light shed on them as you shift, looking away from him and up at the treetops. you ask: "so, that's it then? tomorrow, you're really going to take me to the hollow and kill me? just like that?"
- you see the way he tenses; pragmatic or not, it's clear this wouldn't have been his course of action if there was any other solution. he reminds you that you might end up killing him instead, and when you snap back that you're not happy with that outcome either, he snaps back in turn: "what do you want me to say? do you think i want to fight you? i've never wanted anything less in my entire life. but i have a responsibility to my people. they're counting on me. how could i ever live with myself if i just gave up and condemned everyone i care about? if we don't fight, the forest wins and everyone dies. everyone."
- you're quiet for a long moment. it's still tense, something in your chest still aches with both panic and sorrow, but - you know you couldn't live with that, either. you take a breath and rub at your face, giving him a stiff nod when he asks, "okay?"
- he thanks you, and you try to reclaim just a little bit of levity, joking that he shouldn't thank you considering you're planning on putting up a good fight.
- despite that, you know just by looking at him what's going to happen tomorrow. you ask him for a favor if he wins - to be a good king to your country. when that segues into him asking you for a favor if you win, though, you glance at him and tell him that both of you already know you aren't going to win.
- he tenses again, talking over you and asking you to, if you do win, tell his mother that he's sorry he let her down. after a moment, you decline; you say that instead, if you get the opportunity to tell her anything at all, you're going to tell her he's the bravest person you've ever met.
- you move forward to wrap your arms around him at this point, feeling him tense and try to pull back, saying that you shouldn't be hugging at a time like this - but you tell him that obviously now is the best time, because either way, neither of you are going to get an opportunity to do it later. tentatively, he returns the hug.
- after a few moments, you ask him what time it is, and he says it must be past midnight. "it's my birthday", you say, and he says it's his as well. you exchange the most awkward happy birthdays in the world.
- before you can finish, you hear a voice calling your true name - a voice you don't recognize. both of your heads whip around towards it, already tense, to see the forest itself shifting, opening towards a path that leads into a clearing you can barely make out from here. the voice keeps calling you in that direction, a sign you've finally run out of time.
- the both of you look down to a sleeping dragon near your feet, but you decide you should leave him here so he doesn't end up getting hurt. you lean down, running a hand over his scales quickly, telling him: "sleep tight, big guy. i hope you wake to a better world."
- as you step away towards the clearing, he looks at you and asks if you're ready. you say you aren't; he says he isn't either. the both of you still keep walking side by side down the path that's been opened for you, and the memory ends.
mem 13 - for memshare game
- throughout the memory, you can hear people at the periphery of the clearing shouting out instructions - notes like "cut his head off", "go for the kill". there are two distinct voices, but you don't look towards either of them as the altercation goes on, completely focused on your opponent.
- your opponent, a boy around your age, is clearly more skilled than you are. all of your motions are fumbling your way around this weapon that you've never used before, but his are precise and graceful, effortless. that means that the fact that he hasn't won makes you a little bit furious - you know he's holding back. neither of you want to be fighting this battle at all, but you don't want him to just let you win, either.
- angrily, you tell him to stop going easy on you, and he asks you the same thing. the difference is that you aren't trying to; you legitimately have no idea how to do better than you are.
- even he can't pretend for too long, though, given the vast difference in your levels of skill. he makes a move that disarms you rather than does you any serious harm, and it brings you to the ground as the sword falls out of your hand. the voices of whoever's watching continue shouting advice - "run! do something!"
- he looks down at you, but hesitates instead of ending it immediately; he tells you how sorry he is, and you immediately tell him that you understand, that what's about to happen is okay. still, he doesn't move to strike, and after another tense moment he tells you that he'll let you pick up your weapon and keep going if you want to.
- when you decline, he reminds you that even if you surrender, he still has to kill you. you decline again, looking up at him; you know you aren't going to win even if you keep going given the differing level of skill. when he keeps asking you, nearly begging, you remind him that he's been training for this his entire life while you have absolutely no combat experience. you tell him you don't want to spend the last minutes of your life fighting, especially not with him. even with that said, he doesn't strike, his grip so tight on the hilt of his sword that it looks painful. one more time, he asks you to get up, to not make him do this. but you don't want to kill him, either, even if you'd won.
- it isn't that you aren't scared - your heart is pounding. you know that you've nearly reached the end, here, and there's a heavy sense of dread that you can't shake off. but he's going to be the one who has to live with the weight of what's about to happen - it always had to be him, and it always had to be you. you don't want to be someone that only causes him pain throughout the rest of his life, only a painful memory or a regret.
- so, again, you tell him it's okay. you tell him how happy you are to have had the chance to meet him regardless of the fact that things turned out this way. you remind him of how important he is to you - "you mean more to me than any kingdom or prophecy. you mean more to me than my own life".
- you tell him that you want it to be him who gets to leave here alive not only because of how much you care for him, but because you know he's going to be a great leader someday, and you know that because he's already an amazing person. "because you’re strong and you never give up, but you also listen to your heart. you act so tough, but i know deep down how much you care. everything you do, you do because you care, and i am so glad i got to meet you."
- there's a strong, genuine feeling of affection here amongst the fear and the tension. you pause for a moment, blinking a few times. he still hasn't moved to strike, clearly trying to hold back strong emotions of his own as you say all this. but - there's something else you want to be able to tell him before the end.
- with a deep breath: "if it's the last thing i ever get to say to you, i just want you to know... i love you."
- the memory ends.