[precious time—because that's what they fought for, after all. conflict after conflict, for even just a moment of peace, for themselves and for others. even if they are the losses they carry with them, the embodiment of the hopes and expectations that the world has of them; the remnants of the kingdom of ferien that tore itself apart into the nations of edoras and riven. the first in hundreds of years to truly choose peace between the two, a pivot point in history.
all they wanted was a better world for the next generation, whose lives would not have to be defined by strife. for ██████████, for the devastated nation of donescu whom charles continues to have personal investment in rebuilding, for the entire continent. they have some semblance of peace, but charles is greedy, and he wants not just calm but freedom as well. and so, he has denied others' vision of a perfect world if it deprives them all of the latter as well. if peace and freedom come with instability, then so be it if it is simply in their nature.
and so, something feels wrong about all of this, to feel so happy without a worry at all. charles has said it again and again to those here—
"In the end, all we can do is live our lives the best we can regardless."
"What kind of life is that for your, Charles?"
"Well, I'd say my wishes are simple. I want to be happy, and I want those around me to be happy as well, through the paths they choose for themselves."
"What if you don't agree with those paths?"
"Depends on how much I disagree with it, I guess. I'll fight them if I have to."
"Isn't that tiresome?"
"Sure, it is. I'd love to not have to disagree with people. But I'll keep on fighting for the future for however long I have to."
a conversation that feels so long ago, with shouxue. it's hard to remember right now, faced with alaune and this happiness, unburdened by the grief of everything that's happened.]
it's tiring, building up that which was broken. sometimes... broken things don't want to be fixed, no matter how you posit them, no matter how hard you fight for them. sometimes the broken things stay broken. but you're so stubborn charles, it's impossible to be content with that, even with your realism. you will always be fighting towards a future for all, you are the future.
it's such a heavy... heavy weight.
a crushing weight.
(it's crushing it's CRUSHING it's crushing.)
but still you persist. ]
Just a walk. The two of us.
[ alaune just takes your hand, she'll help you up from the water and just keep holding your hand so that the two of you can walk slowly along the bank of this water, this lake that seems to go on forever into the horizon. hand in hand, this peace, it'd be perfect if this could persist instead of the weight of a job never finished. peace and freedom mean different things to different people - there will always be a clash, but there will always be a choice.
and you made that choice. you chose it. that path.
Sounds nice. I did tell you that I'd watch the path you'd take, didn't I?
[a little joke, here.
he grips her hand, not too gentle, not too tight, as he gazes out at this lake. at her face, and then back at the horizon. it would be nice, if this moment could last forever. unburdened, without thinking of any grief or responsibilities.
(but out in reality, charles has never looked for a world without problems as so much one with the will to learn and recover from them. he isn't interested in having happiness defined for anyone, when his role is to make it so that everyone can decide that for themselves.)
you can't always protect what you must without losing something in the process, he'd said to arthur.
getting what you want, what you choose—it comes with some kind of price to pay.
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no subject
It would be nice. We're always busy, huh?
[precious time—because that's what they fought for, after all. conflict after conflict, for even just a moment of peace, for themselves and for others. even if they are the losses they carry with them, the embodiment of the hopes and expectations that the world has of them; the remnants of the kingdom of ferien that tore itself apart into the nations of edoras and riven. the first in hundreds of years to truly choose peace between the two, a pivot point in history.
all they wanted was a better world for the next generation, whose lives would not have to be defined by strife. for ██████████, for the devastated nation of donescu whom charles continues to have personal investment in rebuilding, for the entire continent. they have some semblance of peace, but charles is greedy, and he wants not just calm but freedom as well. and so, he has denied others' vision of a perfect world if it deprives them all of the latter as well. if peace and freedom come with instability, then so be it if it is simply in their nature.
and so, something feels wrong about all of this, to feel so happy without a worry at all. charles has said it again and again to those here—
"In the end, all we can do is live our lives the best we can regardless."
"What kind of life is that for your, Charles?"
"Well, I'd say my wishes are simple. I want to be happy, and I want those around me to be happy as well, through the paths they choose for themselves."
"What if you don't agree with those paths?"
"Depends on how much I disagree with it, I guess. I'll fight them if I have to."
"Isn't that tiresome?"
"Sure, it is. I'd love to not have to disagree with people. But I'll keep on fighting for the future for however long I have to."
a conversation that feels so long ago, with shouxue. it's hard to remember right now, faced with alaune and this happiness, unburdened by the grief of everything that's happened.]
... What is that you want to do?
[rolls a 14]
no subject
it's tiring, building up that which was broken. sometimes... broken things don't want to be fixed, no matter how you posit them, no matter how hard you fight for them. sometimes the broken things stay broken. but you're so stubborn charles, it's impossible to be content with that, even with your realism. you will always be fighting towards a future for all, you are the future.
it's such a heavy... heavy weight.
a crushing weight.
(it's crushing it's CRUSHING it's crushing.)
but still you persist. ]
Just a walk. The two of us.
[ alaune just takes your hand, she'll help you up from the water and just keep holding your hand so that the two of you can walk slowly along the bank of this water, this lake that seems to go on forever into the horizon. hand in hand, this peace, it'd be perfect if this could persist instead of the weight of a job never finished. peace and freedom mean different things to different people - there will always be a clash, but there will always be a choice.
and you made that choice. you chose it. that path.
and any choice is right so long as it is willed.
one final d20. ]
no subject
[a little joke, here.
he grips her hand, not too gentle, not too tight, as he gazes out at this lake. at her face, and then back at the horizon. it would be nice, if this moment could last forever. unburdened, without thinking of any grief or responsibilities.
(but out in reality, charles has never looked for a world without problems as so much one with the will to learn and recover from them. he isn't interested in having happiness defined for anyone, when his role is to make it so that everyone can decide that for themselves.)
you can't always protect what you must without losing something in the process, he'd said to arthur.
getting what you want, what you choose—it comes with some kind of price to pay.
a 10 for the road!]