[Once-ler's reached the point where he's starting to get dizzy, nausea spiking in the pit of his stomach with each step he takes. he swallows hard, trying to force his sickness back down, but that just makes his throat and neck hurt even more. his face feels flush. he must look an absolute wreck.
keep going. keep going. remember that song? whatever happened to that?
he was doing so good just by holding that tune. it didn't hold every voice back, but it worked well enough. a catchy, unnecessarily annoying jingle. unmemorable in the grand scheme of things, but perfect for selling Thneeds and warding off phantom voices. if he starts again now, then maybe, maybe -
("Oh, would you knock that off, Oncie? It didn't work the first time, it won't work now. Mama always said, you ought to know when to quit while you're ahead.")
no. not again.
Once-ler's breathing begins to hitch, then pick up again. he finds Luke's gaze and holds it briefly, very briefly, before Annie begins to speak.
("Horrible friend. Worthless son. What are you even good for, Oncie?")
shut up. shut up, shut up. just for once, couldn't she be nice?
no subject
keep going. keep going. remember that song? whatever happened to that?
he was doing so good just by holding that tune. it didn't hold every voice back, but it worked well enough. a catchy, unnecessarily annoying jingle. unmemorable in the grand scheme of things, but perfect for selling Thneeds and warding off phantom voices. if he starts again now, then maybe, maybe -
("Oh, would you knock that off, Oncie? It didn't work the first time, it won't work now. Mama always said, you ought to know when to quit while you're ahead.")no. not again.
Once-ler's breathing begins to hitch, then pick up again. he finds Luke's gaze and holds it briefly, very briefly, before Annie begins to speak.
("Horrible friend. Worthless son. What are you even good for, Oncie?")shut up. shut up, shut up. just for once, couldn't she be nice?
("Nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing -")]Shut up shut up SHUT UP! You don't know ANYTHING!
[it's not like his normal tone at all; it's so much more strained.
worse yet, he doesn't even know who he's talking to. Annie and his mother sound too similar.]