𝕴N DER FREMDE .

dialogue.

it is a masterpiece — truly worthy of the word.

what's that supposed to do, scare me?

kill them all, see if i care.

who else could it be, if not the man who held the blade?

once, i wanted this life so much that it consumed my every waking thought.

i’d rather erase five years of memory than feel this anymore.

you think it takes a brave man to commit a murder?

we all need a taste of humility from time to time to keep our feet on this earth.

don’t let him run you ragged.

i’m going to do nothing less than exactly what i want.

what is an opinion for some is a testament of faith for others, and worth killing for.

is the meal to your liking?

don't forget to take some time and have fun tonight, all right?

what were you expecting? a hero's welcome?

wouldn't be the first time people have seen ghosts around these parts.

why shouldn’t a peasant dream of being a king?

i thought you had a backbone, but you're a spineless bastard.

every agent of the church should die.

there is a place for a noble lie. this is not one of them.

you whisper anything about this to anyone, i'll do more than kick your ass.

i never expected to see your face here again.

the human heart is no small thing.

i didn’t have a choice in my vocation. few women do.

don't you gainsay me, boy.

they’ve never left me. they’re all still there. all in the dance of death.

we all put ourselves into our work.

why are you questioning me? why are you wasting precious time?!

if he were alive, i'd kill him myself!

i have gotten into some mischief in the past few years.

i preserved a lie to illuminate greater truth!

it might be too late for us, but it's not too late for you.

i couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you.

even i know there are some things a hand can do that a priest can’t.

the lord has protected my mind from comprehending whatever depravity you meant to imply.

i am working to the best of my abilities and dispute your criticism.

try not to get in any more brawls if you can help it.

i believe it is an act of faith. and if it is not, i am prepared to answer for it.

lord, make me chaste — but not yet!

i hope your prying has borne fruit.

at least you chose your vocation. i was shoved into mine and forgotten.

love is the only reason to do anything in this life.

we may as well be furniture to the likes of him.

no wonder nobody likes you. not even god.

i wanted you to be proud of me.

you've never needed to prove anything to me.

the dreams of youth often do not survive the march of years.

i loved you so much.

action. switch sender and receiver's places as you please.

stoic. the sender forgoes a reply and gives them an intense stare.

illuminate. the sender peers over the receiver's desk as they work.

hedonist. the sender kisses the receiver on holy ground.

pale horse. the sender wakes up the receiver up from a terrible dream.

sext. the sender and receiver sit together for a midday meal.

kindling. the sender and receiver gather firewood as evening looms.

grapple. the sender offers a hand to help pull the receiver up.

big game. the sender and receiver go out hunting.

prime. the sender prepares a meal for the receiver to carry with them.

compline. the sender listen to the receiver recount a story.

autopsy. the sender and receiver examines the body of a recently deceased.

spinning bee. the sender and receiver take time to spin wool together.

salt mine. the sender and receiver explore parts of ancient ruins.

forage. the sender and receiver forage as they walk through the woods.

vespers. the sender leads the receiver through a prayer.

exhume. the sender help the receiver dig up a grave.

sneak. the sender throws pebbles at the receiver's window.

bookkeeping. the sender finds suspicious errors while auditing the receiver’s account.

rapscallion. the sender throws the first punch at the receiver and starts a bar brawl.

fool around. the sender and receiver sneak off to a waterfall at night.

prompts taken from gaston leroux's 1911 novel the phantom of the opera as translated by david coward. typical gothic horror content warnings apply. edit to your discretion.

oh, yes! he existed all right, a creature of flesh and blood.

pish! you lot see ghosts everywhere.

i swore i wouldn't say anything!

we must cut him down.

you're the one who looks as if you're about to faint. what's wrong with you?

since you seem set on not recognising me, i would like to say something to you in private. it's very important.

i would like to be alone. i'm feeling very tense this evening.

how can you say that? i sing only for you!

tonight i gave you my soul and i am dead.

you have a beautiful soul, my dear, and i thank you for it.

i know you're in here. why are you hiding?

but what on earth were those people laughing at?

i no longer know who i am when i sing.

love me? have you taken leave of your senses?

say it! say it again! say everything you heard!

can't you see this is killing me?

he won't get away from me this time.

you're lying. you don't love me. you've never loved me.

you said you would forgive me.

i'm ready. it's you who are late, not i.

i did not expect to see you back so soon.

don't listen to him, darling, you mustn't listen.

then promise you'll never leave me again.

you have no right to try to control my actions and i would be glad if you would not try to do so in future.

i think you know that if i meddle in matters which doubtless do not concern me, i only mean well.

why did you stand, looking, as if you were hearing choirs of angels?

is the mystery then so very terrible?

we may never see each other again.

and is that what's made you look so happy?

we shall never marry, as you well know.

it will make us happy, and harm no one.

i have the honour to ask for your hand in marriage.

it's nothing. i swear it's nothing.

never! i forbid you to go down there!

i didn't say that. who told you such a thing?

let's run away, tonight.

it's awful, to be always afraid like this. even here, where we are absolutely safe.

when she said that, i realised i loved you.

don't be afraid. you are in no danger.

don't go! you must hear the rest of it here.

does he love you that much?

and afterwards, i will be free to go?

it's not easy, to make someone love you in a tomb.

we must seize our opportunities whenever they arise.

we must get used to everything in this life, even eternity.

look at me. you wanted to see?

are you satisfied? i make a handsome specimen, don't i?

during those hours, i wasn't sure you loved me.

you made me act like a coward.

does being in love mean being miserable?

a ghost that bleeds is a poor sort of phantom.

thanks to you, we are a laughing stock.

i'll find a way of stopping you.

make sure no one sees you as you go.

you intend to fight a duel?

follow me and do exactly as i do.

and your trick damned well near killed me.

you're a villain!

i prefer to forget all that.

but you know i never keep my word. i only swear when i want to fool stupid people.

you're afraid of me, but i'm not a bad man.

if you loved me, i would be as gentle as a lamb and you could to with me whatever you wanted.

why are you crying? you know i hate it when you cry.

you gave me all the joy the world can offer.

let it be my wedding present to you both.

i know you love the boy, don't cry.

i'm not ready to die just yet, but the time will come soon.

and the count had proven her wrong on all accounts.

here he was, in his friendly manner and welcoming disposition, still stood in front of her after a dance as though the music ending had not occurred to him as a reason to leave. it was then that @eintraums said,   ❛   i've enjoyed this better than any other dance i've been to before.  ❜

you know how i loathe the summer here.

i would break my fast. good morrow.

you're plainly a fool, and i have no interest in befriending fools.

you can be very wise, my friend.

as you decree, your majesty.

you look radiant.

there are shadows under your eyes.

my soul is touched.

come forth and face your enemy of old, or watch your city burn.

you have been forced to join me in my exile, and i've been poor company.

if i should hear of any whispers, i will bring them to your door.

i have no love for your queen. in fact, i roundly despise her.

you presume too much. far too much.

i am not yet recovered enough from seeing a corpse by my bed to discuss its use for childing.

i know we planned to go together, and perhaps you will hate me for the rest of our lives, but it is better this way.

you took him somewhere safe. what happens now is up to him.

trust me. you can do nothing here but die.

i strongly dislike visitors at this hour. or any hour.

you show an innocent face to the court, but i believe you have another one.

all the world is a cage in a young girl's eyes.

sleep has eluded me of late.

what do you think of his eyes?

they will hail us as legends one day.

you stand on equal ground with whatever i am.

now i know your secret, and it reeks far worse than mine.

i see what's in your heart. it's the same as what's in mine. ambition.

i have no interest in why you are here.

you seem devout. i suggest you pray.

you dare judge me for seeking help elsewhere?

her pride would never allow her to ask for aid.

did the bells wake you?

i shall not speak another word.

do you have any notion of what they do to outsiders here?

she may be sick in love, as young maids often are.

i don't think i'm at all well, you know.

you are a witch. you practice sorcery. i saw it.

you know why this is happening. everyone tried to warn you.

here. i will give you the rest if you behave.

you don't really believe in talk of alchemy and sorcery.

only a soulless husk could hate poetry.

i've always rather fancied an adventure.

all stories grow from a seed of truth. they are knowledge after figuration.

you have a quick tongue as well as light feet.

not all dreams should be pursued, especially not dreams conceived on the featherbed of love.

he must have escaped while the sentinels were distracted.

how does his royal highness mean to forge such an alliance?

i have had precious little entertainment in this place.

i come to give you warning.

better a mouse than some louder beast.

this is not courteous speech. who are you?

i am no green child to believe what i am told without proof.

i do not fear you. your threats have as much weight as smoke.

they say he was in love with her.

my word, but you are a lucky wretch.

fear will make you fight.

this may be too bold, but you seem not to be in high spirits today.

i have no desire to condemn him to death.

do you think me a halfwit?

oh, do shut up.

this mission may not seem survivable, but you never know. we may return from it as princes of the world.

we must do to our enemies what they would do to us.

fire has no power over me.

something is afoot.

you had better start praying for salvation.

i possess sufficient wit to dress myself.

spare me from baseless gossip.

flattered as i am, i seem to remember you are already wed.

stop involving yourself in matters that could undo you.

it will be a pleasure to fight against a warrior of your skill.

i have an interest in survival. i recommend you nurture one, too.

you have been a loyal servant at court.

i would sooner plunge my sword into my own heart than see thy blood water the earth.

i hope all goes as you desire.

i am unworthy of her love, but love her i do. it hurts my soul.

may i ask your name, since i have you to thank for sheltering me?

pray continue.

if her majesty was displeased, i am sorry for it.

remember, no matter how far you travel, i will always be your friend.

he is comely enough.

i doubt he liked her overmuch.

a risk is needful if we are to know the truth.

no duty comes above our service to the crown.

your plot is heresy.

i beseech you, do not expose our transgression.

he should speak to you with more respect.

you know a secret of mine. we are bound by a vow of silence.

wherever i am, i am with you.

you're not in love, then.

i pray she understands. that she forgives me.

this is a mission of the utmost importance.

i will not hear of him.

i took the same oath.

we ought to speak about our… situation.

how are you always so wise?

i know you are mocking me, sir.

please don't tell anyone, or i shall be ruined.

i meant no such insult.

apologies. a poor choice of words.

as i said, i have no interest in your mission.

i confess my mind has been elsewhere.

i have been too forgiving.

she is someone for whom i would die a thousand times, whose name i cannot tell. someone who is the light in my life, the breath in my breast.

what an honour it is to be received once more at your court.

i will always keep you safe.

we have tarried here for long enough.

let us pray that, someday, she weds someone with a backbone.

i shall not involve you any further.

that is the problem with stories. the truth in them cannot be weighed.

i see through your mask. i see what's in your heart.

your pardon, my lady. it was a jest.

of particular interest to him is the language he has humiliated repeatedly. glintstone sorcery, facets of which he understood only in thanks to sellen’s study & patience. it was then that he felt the air shift beside him, the way one sighed just before a greeting or, a reprimand. his eyes, squinting, hold attentively to the paper, but it was his hand that slid beneath, grabbing a hold of the leg of her chair, and promptly dragging her close. the corner of his mouth twitches with mild triumph.

the queen of caria was always meant to rule alone, but her happiest days were incomplete without her companions. so thus began her terrible habit of collecting them as she grew older, into the infancy of her godhood, into even its defiance. still, she drags them with her and still, she holds them to her, even if they cut the strings on their own. seluvis had simply been too much like her. ❛❛ harmed ? i am harmed by nothing. ❜❜ she tilts the doll’s head forward until its joints shift and click into place. three eyes gaze back at him. ❛❛ this has naught to do with thee. i’ve simply a patience for schemers and liars no longer. never will i allow them to make a fool of me again. ❜❜

" ah ah, miss la fey- it would seem i hardly hold a candle to the likes of you. " hardly a chide, despite his choice of words and the slight wag of gloved finger, before it resumed it's post behind the lower back. how impressive was the power that had waltzed it's way through the baroness doors; a potent shift in already supernatural air. the doorman was thoroughly delighted; it found guests of the same sort truly entertaining, enchanting. for her to be complimenting his own will; brought the smallest of smiles.

" but- should you feel the need to shed your burdens; i will provide all of the strength i can muster. " velvet promise, words swung low like tempting pendulum and it's towering stature relaxed in such a way to appear less consuming. less unsettling. bright blues shimmered, the god held nothing but honesty at it's chest. " it's the least i could do, please, do allow me to continue to bear the weight. "

i feared you, but now i pity your suffering.

if death means to take you, he may do it here as easily as on the road. he is already in this house.

you may not be wicked, but i’m wicked enough for both of us.

i don’t care if you shit yourself. you don’t deserve any better.

balls to that. i’ll swear if i please.

that’s not forgiveness, it’s justice. and wretched justice at that.

i can’t sleep. i’m too… agitated.

i’m sorry. i’m nervous. you know i talk when i’m nervous.

what a pain in the ass you are!

everyone lies at confession. around the edges, at least.

let us speak of something happier.

we don’t want to start liking you and have you up and die on us.

i suspect more than i know.

your joking is pleasant, but it doesn’t hide the hole in you.

when was the last time you had wine? and i mean good wine.

but i can suffer. god wants suffering now.

i think he liked being bad as long as it was for pretend.

help yourself. something bad goes on here at night.

if it made you smile, it’s not completely useless.

we all fall short of perfection.

that’s the beauty of being nude in a river; you’re nobody. you’re anybody you want to be.

i do what i say. which is why i don’t say much.

those big cities are tombs, and they’re hungry.

i’ll look after your soul. as for the body, that’s in god’s hands.

if anything knocks, don’t open.

you only have one task, and that is to live. see that you do it.

so you drink the fruit of your brother’s damnation.

the plague doesn’t care about nice.

i just… don’t want anybody’s eyes on me. if i have to do things to survive.

heavenly treasures and earthly ones are not the same.

please help us. in the name of mercy, i beg you.

if devils hide in beer, is that why you drink so much wine?

let us be loving with each other. there’s so little love anywhere.

many who ask for justice are sorry to get it, and so shall it be with you.

you know what we’ve come to do now, don’t you?