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[dishearten]

text / call / action

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[dishearten]

you've met her, have you not?

( even slightly depowered that's probably not a fight he'd win. )

killing her wouldn't help me. being here will.

[assailed]

Aye. I've met her. She's a far cry from the villain I once knew her as.

[ Meaning not even Killian thinks she'd fight back with full intensity. Graham would ultimately be in no real danger if he did go after her. ]

But what if killing her would spare others a great deal of pain?

[dishearten]

I don't care what she is now. it doesn't change what she did to me.

( Regina probably wouldn't fight back, but Graham doesn't agree it's because she's changed. more like because she's here because she wants something, and knows killing him will keep her from it. )

this place can cheat death, and they have brought us here under their protection. all you'd manage is to lose your chance at whatever you came for, I don't believe for a moment that whoever it was would stay dead.

why?

( clearly there's a reason for this line of questioning. )

[assailed]

[ The thing is he knows the ways she's changed. He sees the differences in her and Rumpelstiltskin. There's a true difference between the desire to change and the desire to get what you want. Rumpelstiltskin is the latter. He won't argue for Regina though. She'd knock Killian on his ass for trying to do so. She's no damsel. And she wouldn't want him arguing for her against a man she killed in a petty fit of rage. ]

They saw fit to bring the Dark One here.

[dishearten]

( seriously, what the hell, eudio? regina, and now the dark one? how was this happening? )

he's the one that kills you?

even if you could harm him here, it wouldn't last. if you want to protect people from him, make it your incentive, and leave him be.

[assailed]

Aye. Crushes my heart in front of me.

[ To gain more power. To be more. To be free. ]

I can't change my incentive. I'm already trying to protect the bloody town from his rage. Emma and Henry. All of them. If I ask for more on top of that and my life? Not to mention they give me my hand when I'm here. That's too much. They'll never do it.

[dishearten]

they're not a charity. they want the power they generate, they'll give you what you ask for. I'd know, considering how much I've had to ask for.

( to protect the whole town from Regina, for a new heart, and protection for Emma and her family? yeah, no wonder he's been here for more than a year. )

it doesn't change the fact that there's no point in going after him here.

[assailed]

[ Killian's a pirate. It's often hard for him to wrap his head around this concept. They want something, but at the same time they're willing to give so much to get it. He's one man in whole machine. They could easily lose him and still keep going. ]

I'm not sure if no point is true. It would certainly make me sleep better at night knowing I put my cutlass through his face.

[dishearten]

would it? you'd be killing an old man with a limp and few powers, and one that would be brought back as you were sent home, without any of the things you came here for.

I won't argue he isn't dangerous. you just won't protect anyone from striking him down here.

[assailed]

As a fellow old man I will do my best not to be offended by that remark.

[ Wow, Graham, super harsh. ]

I doubt they limited his powers too much. Or took away his immortality. The Dark One isn't to be pitied. He will find a way to skirt the rules. He always does.

[dishearten]

I've been here long enough to know, he'll adhere to their rules or he won't be staying terribly long.

[assailed]

You don't worry that as the Dark One his power could beat out whatever they have? That he could figure out a way to take them away and put himself in charge?

[dishearten]

it's not impossible, but I think at best it's improbable. if he meant to take over, why take the deal in the first place?

keeping our eyes open isn't a crime. killing him when it wouldn't even stick isn't quite the same as that.

[assailed]

Because he needed a way in? I wouldn't think they'd leave their home vulnerable from the outside.

I suppose I see your point.

[dishearten]

don't worry, I make them only rarely.

if he starts something, you don't need to solve it alone. yeah?

( maybe it's the former sheriff in him talking, but he won't see the dark one hurt anyone here. that includes u, hook. )

I know seeing him can't be easy. are you all right?

[assailed]

[ Everything would be much better if Emma Swan had married a total bastard. Unfortunately she didn't and it makes disliking him just because much harder. Because he can't. He's too bloody nice. ]

I always thought the Dark One would kill me. I've spent hundreds of years searching for a way to annihilate him. I think somehow I always knew he'd get the better of me. But experiencing it is different. And then having to see him again.

[ It's not an answer, but it's sort of one. ]

[dishearten]

you're not dead yet, remember. you have the chance to keep the dark one from taking a life and hurting more people. don't forget that.

I can't tell you it's easy, existing in a space with the person that killed you. I see her, sometimes, more than I'd like. but when I go back I'll see her again then, too. she's always had so much power over me, what I do and what I think and what I feel.

now that I'm free of her, the last thing I want is to give her that power to control me, just by existing. I won't let her, not if I can help it. you'll find your way, I'm sure. I just wish there were an easy answer.

[assailed]

Aye. Still I wonder if it'll be enough.

[ He wonders if he'll be enough. Enough to keep everyone safe. He never would have imagined he'd be trying to protect the bloody town. ]

Well, you can take solace in the fact that she's not immortal. One day perhaps she'll meet her end.

[ Unfortunately the Dark One is an immortal piece of shit. ]

There never is, mate.

[dishearten]

I don't want death, I want justice. and that doesn't seem any more likely.

isn't that the truth. being here isn't easy, but it does have answers, at least if you're willing to reach for them. consider it, they might be able to help.

[assailed]

[ That alone is why Graham is a far superior choice for Emma. He wants justice. He doesn't want Regina needlessly dead like he wanted the Dark One. He wants something far more heroic. Something that separates villains from heroes. ]

You're a very good man, Graham.

[dishearten]

a good man wouldn't have made the choices I did. they taught me a lot, however, and I try not to make the same mistake twice.

( it's not for him to decide who lives or dies. twenty eight years as a sheriff will make you fond of justice, though. )

[assailed]

You shouldn't fight it. I've seen bad men. Evil and vile men. Men that are the lowest form. You are a good man no matter the choices. Everyone makes bad choices.

[dishearten]

most men don't make the choice to cut the heart out of an innocent girl.

I made my mistakes, and I won't diminish the name of good men by comparing myself to them. it's not so easy as being good now.

[assailed]

Most men don't choose to make innocent boys orphans or to cut a man down for stealing his wine.

Everyone does something they're not proud of.

I don't think the good men would mind, mate.

[dishearten]

it doesn't much matter what they'd think. it matters what I think.

calling myself good when I know how many people I've hurt is an insult to all of them. you can think what you like, I know better.