[She says she believes her. That's... honestly a relief. The only person she trusts to know her intentions is Mercy. The only person she loves. Her only reason for living.
Jeff might have understood, but he didn't care what happened to the world beyond the fact that he lived there. She's no better, she's sure he understands that. She's just more... single minded and obsessed with a goal that's impossible to reach. If she can pull it off, she'll be worth it. Everything she did will have been worth it.
Does Caitlyn understand? Really understand? Maybe not. But... Aelwyn, even in her state in this dream, she suspects that she wants to.]
We're feeding it either way. [She smiles.] The entities are fear. Fear is in everything. You don't put your hand against the stove because you're afraid of what'll happen when it burns you.
ADI feeds it by throwing us at it undefended. They feed it by ripping our identity away, our agency and our strengths and threatening to lock us up for continuing. Every single time we go up against them, we have nothing to fight with, but they send us anyway and tell us we have a choice. [She looks at her hands.]
Normally, I subject the other monsters that feed on people to the very same fear they think they've escaped. They're like me, so I know on an objective level that they deserve every horrible thing that happens to them. [She looks up at Caitlyn carefully. Her eyes are clouded, both by hunger and the exhausted emptiness that's followed her.] ...You're not like them. Like me.
cw for codependency in aelwyn's thoughts bc she's so normal
Jeff might have understood, but he didn't care what happened to the world beyond the fact that he lived there. She's no better, she's sure he understands that. She's just more... single minded and obsessed with a goal that's impossible to reach. If she can pull it off, she'll be worth it. Everything she did will have been worth it.
Does Caitlyn understand? Really understand? Maybe not. But... Aelwyn, even in her state in this dream, she suspects that she wants to.]
We're feeding it either way. [She smiles.] The entities are fear. Fear is in everything. You don't put your hand against the stove because you're afraid of what'll happen when it burns you.
ADI feeds it by throwing us at it undefended. They feed it by ripping our identity away, our agency and our strengths and threatening to lock us up for continuing. Every single time we go up against them, we have nothing to fight with, but they send us anyway and tell us we have a choice. [She looks at her hands.]
Normally, I subject the other monsters that feed on people to the very same fear they think they've escaped. They're like me, so I know on an objective level that they deserve every horrible thing that happens to them. [She looks up at Caitlyn carefully. Her eyes are clouded, both by hunger and the exhausted emptiness that's followed her.] ...You're not like them. Like me.