@markedwrath asked: ❛ they feed on fear. ❜ ( joseph )
❝ no, ❞ he lies with no edge to his voice, only compassion. despite all that she's done, he keeps a gentle countenance, as if correcting a child that couldn't have known better. fear is a tool that they use to draw people in, but he believes wholeheartedly that people have a reason to be afraid. not of him ( unless they cross the project. unless they wound his flock ), but of the world that will no doubt kill all of them. maybe it'll drain them dry, tear their spirits apart before abandoning them, hungry, forgotten, and on the edge of collapse. and shouldn't they fear that more than those who were desperately trying to save them. they took them by force because they didn't know what was good for them.
joseph is aware of the violence he spreads in the name of the voice. and while his message is one of love and acceptance, it is also one of violence and retribution. the voice is not a kind, gentle god.
❝ they don't. we don't. but if you mean the world? if you mean the power structure that means to crack our spines and dampen our spirits? they do feed on your fear. people assume we want to be feared, but they misunderstand our purpose. like children afraid of discipline, because they don't understand the danger they're in. ❞
joseph crosses towards her, palms outstretched before gently clasping her face. she has left blood and flames and ash throughout hope county, left her footprints near the bodies of his flock, but still, he shows no fear. god would let her destroy everything. but he would not let her destroy him.
❝ i don't want you to fear. i want you to be safe. ❞
