#I was gonna say no one is cackling but some of the heretics are actually
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Something I'm enjoying so far about rogue trader is that it takes the world deadly seriously. The inquisition fights heretics and evil aliens and those things are real and horrible but they also abuse their power. They aren't cackling villains who do things for the sake of evil, they believe it all. You believe it all too, because you've seen it. But that power is also abused, sometimes intentionally, sometimes not. There are no angels. Just people attempting to claw their way through a brutal, unforgiving universe.
#Idk if that even makes sense#Like the game fully accepts the premise of this universe and then runs with it#This is true and these are the power structures that exist - how does this shape the world?#The evil is real and the reasons behind it are too#I was gonna say no one is cackling but some of the heretics are actually#Though even then you know why. The warp is portrayed (and experienced by your character) as deeply seductive#Like you get it. They're not hardcore believers they picked up an amulet somewhere and oops. Heresy time#Anyway yeah it's good guys it's really good#rogue trader
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judy & punch: liveblog and thoughts
* this post contains lots of spoilers *
trigger warning: domestic violence
i am loving the music used in the intro :) itâs so... upbeat and creepy and old school with cackling and animal noses - incredible!!!
âthe show is about to begin.â
mia looks amazing :)
âThe congregations of St Paul's grow thinner every day. They're coming to the show of shows, not kneeling down to pray.â
judy does all the work and punch gets all the praise and credit?
the skill and talent it would have taken, back then to do these kinds of puppet shows... wow!
judy deserves better!!!
that child focusing more on judy and how sad she is, that her joy and happiness is just an act.
âThe show seems to be getting punchier all the time. Very punchy, in fact. Do you think it needs to be quite so smashy?â
the look on judyâs face during that show basically said it all: sheâs not liking the direction the puppet show is going in or how violent it is becoming or how much the audience seems to actually enjoy watching such violence.
happy stoning day????
âIt seems some folk are getting squeamish around here. "Stop stoning women!", all that nonsense.â
so... they round up women who, have done what exactly? and then get the public to stone them and kill them? thatâs disgraceful!
sheâs going to be killed for staring at the moon? YIKES!
essentially, itâs like the witch trials?
iâm glad judy didnât participate in that barbaric... whatever it was.
only 20 minutes in and there is already so much normalisation of violence, particularly violence against women. like, the mentality of the people in that town... they donât seem to realise or understand how wrong it is but rather, enjoy seeing it.
derek is in love with judy :)
i take it that punch is an alcoholic.
âfrom now on, only good decisions.â i give him 5 minutes.
what does that dog have around itâs neck?
she wouldnât even have been in danger if punch hadnât left her by herself.
I LOVE THIS DOG :)
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!
did he just... that poor baby :((((((
what a horrific scene :( i know they didnât actually show it or more to the point, didnât showcase what was happening to her at the time, only focusing on punch but the way they highlighted his brutality and violence while the only focus on judy was showing her bloodied handwas just... that was horrible to watch.
damonâs acting in that scene was incredible!!!
and the way the music went harsh and cold the moment he stopped pretending... wow!!!!
HOLY CRAP!!!!!
âIt's been a quiet few days. Still trying to convince the town to trust me with their grievances rather than take the law into their own hands.â
punch is basically that ryan reynolds facepalm when dealing with this constable lol
HE FRAMED THEM!!!
theyâre definitely in league with the devil. i mean, just look at them.
scotty found judy :)
âi donât mean to rush you but she could expire at any minute.â
witch fever! heretics camp!
a constable who is reasonable and trying to find out the truth and ensure justice prevails vs a town who is overly suspicious and thinks most people are witches
âJustice and punishment should be determined by the law, Mr Frankly, not hearsay and an angry mob.â
that is what i call a primal scream!
...and they all seem to have heard it or felt that anger... this is going to be so good :)
those two servants, being accused to killing her are the ones who raised her and people really believe they would kill her?
âI'll tell you what she's doing in Seaside. Her ma and her pa owned that manor she lives in on the edge of the forest. They bred like fucking rabbits. There was a whole big bunch of them. And the whole load of them was wiped out by a plague when Judy was just a little 'un. Left behind just her and the two servants, who had to raise her up. And then one day, Punch passed through town with his magic show or whatever it was he was doing. Charmed the pants off everyone, especially her. So she ran away with him, learned puppets, and they travelled all over and they got sure and famous. They even had a show in the big smoke and everything. But it all went bottoms up when that arse-worm husband couldn't control his boozing... ..or his temper. And they got booted out of near every town. Flat broke when he knocked her up. So they had to slink back here, tails 'tween legs. He thinks he's too good for Seaside. I'd say he pretty much fits right in.â
i donât know if thatâs whatâs happening but i am so here for judy essentially surviving because the hatred, anger and revenge she wants to take against her husband
âonly scouts have pencils.â
she definitely imagined that rabbit being punch - of what she is going to do to him.
âSince when does what's right make any difference? What do you think we're all doing out here? Hm? You think we're out here because what's right is important to anyone in that town? Every one of us is wanted for some made-up reason or other. Most done nothing to warrant it. We gotta let it go, let it all go, let all of it go, all of it. Everything we had before we were cast out. Just keep moving forward and hope the rest of the world catches up.â
âThey already think you're dead, and now suddenly you're not. That's gonna make you a witch or some kind of devil in their eyes for sure.â
âIf I don't go back, he wins. I have to run away. I have to leave my home. He wins.â
they really beat up two old people just to get them to say they did something they didnât do.
judy out here living her best life and being happy while punchâs life is falling apart... itâs what he deserves
i think that constable knows they are innocent but doesnât know what to do to help them.
...and that someone would be judy :)
polly deserves better :(
yikes... that was really, really bad - iâm guessing that judy was the one who wrote all of that.
theyâre using children instead of puppets?
the shock of the audience is amazing!
imagine watching children fight and hurt each other and actually egging them on hurt each other more.
âIf you laugh, others will laugh with you. If you stop laughing, you die.â
âwhatâs you say, punch? want to team up with the devil?â
judy pretending to be an evil spirit in order to convince her husband that the devil is interested in him and wants to work with him... SHIT! THIS IS INCREDIBLE :))))))
she did that with puppets, didnât she?
what a beautiful song :)
heâs actually doing the right thing?
punch, youâre a shit!
that awkward moment when youâre going to hang two people and someone cut the ropes so they survive and instead just fall on the ground.
they are coming for the townspeople with axes - epic :)
âI am no witch. This man here, my husband, killed my baby and tried to kill me. It seems to me something is very wrong with this town. You kill and cast out your best souls! Here you are trying to off two of the kindliest, gentlest folk this town has ever known. And based on what? A suspicion? A false accusation by this man? You've all been sick as pigs since you cast out Dr Goodtime with her medicines and such. You're all dressed like hobo street monkeys since you chased sartorial Alice here into the forest. You call us witches, but what is a witch but a person who sits just outside your blinkered view of the world. And by that reckoning, you should all be afraid. Because I know you all live daily with the fear of your own difference. Today the witch is me... ..but I think you all know, you all fear, that tomorrow the witch might be you!â
OMG!!!!!! i donât know who was more shocked at that - me or the audience?
and this is the beginning of the punch and judy show!
THAT WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!
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hold fast to dreams
Latulaâs so small that she has to incline her head straight up in order to look you in the eye. And when you cackle at her about it, she kicks you in the shin. Your guards raise their weapons, ready to defend you to the death, and you diplomatically tell all three of them to fuck off. Not that Latula couldnât hold her own in a fight - youâve seen what she can do with canes and swords now - but she wouldnât hurt you.
Alshat keeps telling you that that this unspoken, unofficial moirallegiance is one of the most moronic things youâve done quadrant-wise. Youâre going to outlive Latula, most certainly. And she is awfully young compared to you. Does she even know all the things youâve done? Would she approve if she did?
âNow I ainât know about the last thing, but even though sheâs in her first sweep at the Academy, she probably knows some shit about the subjugglators, and a lot of the things they've done, including breaking a law or ten. She ainât no dumb motherfucker. Sheâs fucking brilliant. You donât meet trolls like that every century, even if homegirl needs to learn to get her sleep on. She ainât never get shut-eye no more.. â.
Alshat nods and admits that Latula is quite intelligent, probably one of the most gifted trolls sheâs ever met, and Alshatâs nearly 300 sweeps old. Gifted and the sort of troll who could become quite wise, Alshat calls her. Still, she does not approve of your unspoken pale encounters with Latula.
âSheâs one of maybe one of four trolls who can get you to stop acting like a fucking fool when you fly into your rages, and certainly the one who does it with the most alacrity and ease,â Alshat says. âWhich means sheâs either very pale for you, or very suicidal.â
You donât understand why Alshat is using this fact against you.
âAnd this makes for a bad moirallegiance because?â
âYou two care about each other too much. If and when something happens to one of you, you wonât be able to function. And sheâs really young, Kurloz. Remember that. Be her moirail if you really want to, but donât burden her with too much just yet.â
Yeah, you guess thatâs the best way to go.
So yeah, you let later Latula kick you in the shin. The way her short hair has been brushed to an almost burnished shine, and the fact that itâs been meticulously trimmed, informs you that Horuss is around somewhere in the Castle of Mirth, probably training some archeradictators at the moment. Only he could be so anal-retentive about making sure hair looks perfect. Heâs anal-retentive about everything. Itâs why you despise him so much
Then, you notice something in Latulaâs hair.
Thereâs a little teal dragon hair pin - its stare ruby red - thatâs been carefully applied to keep her bangs out of her eyes.
Youâd meant to give it to Latula for her wriggling day, but you suppose Horuss and possibly Alshat decided to fuck with you. The Mirthful Messiahs know that you fuck with them often enough. Your kismesis and your auspistice. They deserve it.
So fuck âem both. Horuss is not getting any caliginous action from you for the next perigee (if you can last that long without getting any), and Alshat - your poor, unfortunate auspistice - is gonna get an epic fucking lecture, probably at your favorite volume: deafening.
Giving Latula her present early. Of all the audacious behavior.
âYou were going to give this to me for my wriggling day?â Latula asks, scrutinizing it with her limited sight. You nod.
âIt motherfucking reminded me of you,â you tell her.
âItâs lovely,â she replies.
And when she smiles, when she smiles at you, you just want to do whatever you can to keep her smiling that way. You are so pale for her that it hurts.
She kisses you on the cheek, and then fixes your greasepaint where her dark lipstick has left a spot.
She follows you into your quarters - since she promised sheâd stay over today âcause you havenât seen her in forever. Fucking legislacerator training.
She eyes the walls somewhat disastefully, given the hemospectral rainbow of dried blood upon them. What can you say? The Mirthful Messiahs need their sacrifices and you need paint.
Latula sighs loudly, makes a faintly derisive comment, and sits on the edge of your recuperacoon.
Your recuperacoon is huge enough that three trolls your size could fit into it comfortably.
So you get undressed fast and get ready to climb into the sopor.
However, Latula undresses slowly. When she removes the top part of her uniform, she flinches and involuntarily cries out.
You look down at her partially naked form. Sheâs covered in scrapes and bruises.
âLatula, what the fuck?â you want to know. âHow the motherfuck did you even...?â
You trail off, lost for words. Fucking Messiahs, this is all your fault. Youâre the one who taught her how to fight better in the first place, and all but told her to gp kick some ass.
Latula shrugs. âCanât win every time you engage in grief. Thought I could take the four of them with my cane and get âem to stop talking shit about how I didnât belong at the Academy and I shoulda been culled Knocked one out, almost got one, the third one limped away, and the fourth one straight up took off running.â
Well, motherfuck. Youâre almost proud of her. All of that with a cane? Go, sister, go. You tell her this and she grins.
You start examining her injuries
âWhy didnât you tell me you got hurt?â
âI didnât want to scare you. Or take you away from your work. Or have you think I was weak. Besides, they were mad that I got a placement on a fairly prestigious case. You worry about me way too much, you know.â
âYeah, âcause I got good motherfucking reason. For the love of the Messiahs, Latula! You gotta know when to fight, and also when to run. That ainât weakness. Thatâs self-preservation. I know you can make some epic fucking time on that skateboard, so up an fuckinâ do that if you gotta. Specially with some fucking four-on-one shit. And donât be afraid to ping me if trolls try to fuck with you. Iâll send some righteous brothers and sisters over to the Academy to help your ass out.â
She has that expression, the one that suggests that sheâd like to disagree.
âGrand Highblood, I donât think that will be necessary.â
âYeah, not necessary my left shame globe,â you reply. âNow stay still so I can fix your dumb ass up.â
Most of the injuries appear to be fairly superficial. As an apprentice subjugglator, way back when, you received extensive training in the intricacies of troll anatomy. It made you more efficient at incapacitating and culling heretics and enemies of the Empire.
So while they look fuck ugly, none of them look like theyâll kill her. Theyâll just hurt a lot as they heal. You tell her exactly this.
âOh, well, thatâs nice to know,â she says, rolling her eyes.
Nevertheless, she thanks you for your assistance.
You stil want to send a few of your academy subjugglators down to the fucking Academy and have them beat the absolute shit out of the trolls who hurt Latula, just âcause sheâs the youngest, just because sheâs small for a tealblood.
In fact, maybe you should. You make a mental note to get the names of these trolls from her somehow. These cerulean and indigobloods are gonna get a firsthand lesson in what a fair battle looks like. Not a four-on-one fight with some pint sized ten sweeps old.
Latula must pick up on your anger, because she shooshes you into the closest thing to a state of calm that youâre capable of feeling right now.
âKurloz, I can hold my own, you know. Maybe I ended up in a stupid grief but Iâm not an idiot. Okay?â
You donât respond. You donât respond for a good five minutes.
âKurloz? Do you trust me?â she finally asks. âLike really, and truly, trust my intellect? Do you trust that I can protect myself?â
You nod emphatically, without even having to think.
âCourse I do, although your motherfuckin judgment could up an use a little work, and you need to fuckinâ learn to ask for help,â you reply, as you bandage her shoulder. âIâm a little pale for you, ainât I?â
Before you said that, sheâd been biting down on her lower lip to keep from crying out in pain.
Then, once you say it, she breaks into the widest smile youâve seen on her since she was an actual wiggler.
âPale for you too, sorta,â she says, with quite a bit of emotion in her voice.
You make the diamond gesture with your thumbs and forefingers. You wish you were less pale for her. In fact, maybe youâll just... take back what you said and tell her to fuck the fuck off for her own safety. Enemies of the Empire could probably use this kid to get to you, if your relationship keeps going the way itâs going. And then youâd be useless. Alshatâs right. If something happened to Latula, you donât know what youâd do.
Youâd still have Horuss, but Latula...? Sheâs the first troll youâve gotten close enough to consider as a possible ârail for more a hundred sweeps.
âKurloz?â She taps her foot nervously. âAre you alright?â
âYeah, everythingâs fuckinâ bitchtits, donât worry.â
She gazes at you skeptically. âWhatever you say.â
Latula raises her hand like sheâs about to ask a schoolfeeding question, but you know what she plans to do. You should tell her not to, but you want her to do it just as much as she wants to.
You bend down so she can reach the top of your head, and she gently musses her hair until you begin to purr.
âBetter?â she asks.
No. Sheâs just making this harder for you. Motherfuck, is this a test from the Messiahs themselves? Testing your faith? Your resolve? Kurloz Makara, you are failing miserable.
But still. The sensation, the way her fingers massaging your scalp leach the agitation from you. You lean into Latulaâs gesture, and continue purring. She smiles and starts to purr as well.
Once sheâs done, youâll go find an ice pack for her black eye, one you initially didnât notice before, because itâd been mostly concealed by her glasses.
However, for now, youâll just chill with her until the both of you have relaxed. You and she lie in your recuperacoon, the top of her head tucked under your chin, bubbles issuing from her nose as she breathes in and out, snoring softly.
She awakens in the evening while you and Alshat talk shop. Mostly over your last argument with Horuss, and also about how to best break things to Latula. Latulaâs clearly washed the sopor off herself and is wearing one of your shirts as a nightgown.
You donât want to tell her what you must.
But you do anyway. You give her your reasons. She seems to understand them.
âI get it. Iâm a liability,â she says. âShould probably get properly dressed, then, and get out of here. I have class to go to.â
Alshat leaves the two of you be.
âI really am motherfucking sorry, Latula. I just...â Your voice gathers vehemence. âI donât want any mothefuckers to try to use you to get to me. If something happened to you because--â
âI get it.â Sheâs not crying, but she wonât look you in the eye. âItâs okay if you say no, but could I just make one request before I leave?â
She nearly reaches out to touch you before remembering that she shouldnât. You take her small hand, and thatâs when she starts to cry, and youâre not far behind.
âCould we...â she starts out. âWe probably shouldnât be moirails, but could we at least stay friends? Youâre one of my favorite assholes.â
You bark out a laugh at that, then think for a while. You donât think you can let her go entirely. You still want to be able to check up on her every so often.
âYes, my miracle of a tealblooded sist--....â You stop yourself. âOf course, Latula. Friends. We can be motherfucking friends, for sure.â
âOkay.â
Latula nods.
Later, when sheâs gone back to her hive, you eat sopor slime pie, and generally make a fool of yourself until Alshat and Horuss come to comfort you. At least this time you donât venture out of your quarters and act moronic in front of your subordinates.
âIt would not have ended well, Highblood,â Horuss says, of your almost moiraillegiance.
âYou made the right decision,â Alshat says. âSheâll be safer this way. And if she needs help, she can still ping you.â
You think of Latula snoring in your recuperacoon next to you, her head on your chest, her hair floating around her face. And then the way she papped you when you woke up from a daymare and startled you awake.
The right decision, Kurloz, you tell yourself.
You made the right decision.
Thing about making the right decision, though? Most of the time, it absolutely fucking sucks.h
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rating: T for violence/gore
word count: 2000
fandom: homestuck post-game feferi-is-empress alternia (entirely original character focused)
your name is aaeren sindra, and you and yours have a job to do and fast to do it. you've been given your pick of ships on the rapprochement (the fuck kind of name is that, anyway. the empire's going so strange outside the ranks of the subjugglators and the history they continue to teach untouched by propaganda from her complacency's gentler reign). it's not what you would prefer, but your ship's disabled for the minute and this is what you have until the rapprochement gets you back with your own. and there's things to do as don't wait for what you'd like.
"that one," you say, pointing lazily at one of the warships in the upper deck with the iron bar held lazily in your fingers. you can't say what drew your eye to that one, in particular, except that there's something familiar about it among the rest of these sterile spacefighting vessels. "tell whoever you need to, i need it crewed and ready to take us down to that planet sharpish," you say, and the big tealblood sort of squeaks in dismay in a way that cheers you right up.
"right on," you say, and clap him on the shoulder with the hand not idly stroking your pipe. he stifles another squeak that has you snickering as you leave him to type orders and requisitions in on his little tablet and go to track down the rest of your cohort.
it's not even an hour later you're pinged that the ship is ready for you, and when you wander on down there, there's a little indigo brother glaring up at you. you're one of the shortest sisters of the blood you know and he's barely topping your collarbones. no paint. you think he probably has never seen the inside of a church vessel, from the feel of him, but his untrained power pulses and crackles at your horns and you see immediately why this ship felt familiar. you bare your teeth at him in a welcoming grin.
he frowns back at all of you in unveiled distaste.
"all right," he says, icy-sharp. "you have me, you have my ship, do i get to know why?"
"of course, brother," you say, and he bares fangs at you and hisses a little. you can feel someone guffawing quietly behind you and you don't particular blame them, but you are vaguely getting your convince on that he might try to flay you if you showed it outright. as good a show as that might be, you don't have time for it right now.
"found some people what we've been looking for, and here's the closest team to that planet right down there. pretty handy, hmmm?"
there's a beat where his power screeches against yours, obviously unused to being brought to bear against another indigo. then he relaxes the tiniest fraction.
"since you didn't say anything about 'motherfucking,' or 'miracles,' i'll accept it this once," he grumbles, not quite a growl. "let's go."
he leads you onto the ship, where the inundation with his power is even more obvious. irxiye and adniah make little noises of approval to each other. he shoots them a suspicious look.
"give your coordinates to xealle at the bridge if you've got them," is all he says, though. eshagu nods and heads off to do so.
"he's not gonna get lost, is he? because i'm not digging him out of the ductwork in a perigree."
"nah," irxiye says, "could follow the path to the bridge in here with eyes closed, brother."
"the fuck with that 'brother' shit, i'm not one of you. it's maligner labrynth to all of you," he snaps.
"messiahs bless," irxiye and adniah chorus at him. his 'voodoos shriek into the air again and you are hard-pressed to keep from cackling out loud at him and the look on their faces. they're young and more vulnerable even to his untrained leaking. he'd be a motherfucking holy terror if he'd been taught proper.
the ship buzzes to life around you and labrynth turns and stalks off towards the bridge. you shrug at irxiye and adniah and follow him. they immediately go to join up with eshagu, looming over a deeply unimpressed cerulean who must be the navigator.
labrynth doesn't say anything else to any of you until the planet is looming into the entirety of the viewport.
"are you going to want ground troops?" he asks abruptly, showing up at your elbow fast enough to startle you.
"wouldn't say no," you say, drawling it out like a purr that makes him glare up at you in some kind of annoyance. messiahs help you but this guy is way too fun to tease.
you weren't quite aware that this ship was ground-troop trained. most of the rapprochement doesn't seem to be. but it does make your job a near sight easier.
"here," you add, and pull out your palmhusk from your sylladex to pull up the fugitives you're after. "we need these four alive. everyone else you find is fair game."
he grins at that, just the tiniest quirk of fangs, and you despair of this poor dumb little brother so far away from where he belongs.
"right. send me that," he says, taking your palmhusk and typing a string into the first open field.
"hey," you say perfunctorily. most trolls as try that move on you end up with their pan some kind of stoved in. he just clicks angrily at you, apparently unconcerned with possible retaliation, and shoves the palmhusk back into your hands. you send the information to the encoded address and something chimes in his sylladex.
"we'll be ready to deploy by the time we've broken atmo," labrynth says, and stalks off.
"aaeren," cingen, your quiet shadow for your first stint leading a squad, says. "you bein' mighty sweet on that unbeliever."
"i'm an unbeliever, by most standards," you say, mildly.
"yeah, but you're different, sister. you got your knowing and your care on, anyway. he's as heretic as a blood brother can go."
"girl can't help herself," you say (admit). "shit's downright hilarious."
cingen grins at that, his paint leering cheerfully.
"can't argue with that, i guess," he says.
===============================================
labrynth's troops are disciplined and silent, lined up behind you and your cohort. they deploy at speed, eager and restless despite (or because of) the suddenness of their mission. they get the garrison locked down and you lead your cohort in smashing through the doors in a storm of enthusiastic whooping and cackling. trolls and the aliens they'd been sheltering here scatter like sand before the storm.
it's not until you've carved your way halfway to the inner sanctum that you realize your cohort is numbered six instead of five: labrynth has followed you into the thick of it, bloodlust running so high and feral you'd tuned yourself right along with it (cingen is the only one holding apart, you think. fuck that is not gonna look too good on a report). he's got a knife that's not quite a machete or a short sword, and a motherfucking sweet-ass cleaver, both greasy and dripping with multicolored gore just as your heavy pipes are. there's a splash of blue across his face like a parody of paint.
then it ceases to matter, because you've flushed two of your prey, and your hunting call is echoed by your cohort and underlined by your tagalong's vicious, rattling growl.
it's a good mission, all things told.
===============================================
you're still stuck on the rapprochement until you can rendezvous with your brethren's ships, though, and other than trading off guard duty on the prisoners, there's not a lot that admiral artiev will let you do. he's pained and annoyed about the prisoners, but he's got no legal jurisdiction over them or you beyond his âabsolutely no culling on my shipâ demands.
out of boredom, you spend an after-midnight tracking the sending address labrynth gave you on your palmhusk until you find his contact number.
-- deliriousExposition [DE] began trolling abstractedDiscord [AD] --
DE: hey little brother whAt's up
AD: ...
AD: Which th3 fuck on3 of you clown fucks is this.
DE: it's AAustere
AD: Okay that actually m3ans nothing to m3 sinc3 non3 of you actually introduc3d yours3lv3s.
DE: the short one with the long hAir!
AD: Of cours3.
AD: Fuck I thought I 3ncrypt3d that addr3ss.
DE: you did! i just retrAced it bAck to you <:D
AD: I hav3n't s33n an 3moticon that inan3 sinc3 asc3nsion. How th3 fuck old ar3 you.
DE: 53 sweeps <:O
AD: Just my fucking luck.
DE: whAAAAAt how old Are you?
AD: I don't hav3 to t3ll you that.
DE: stingy!!! i just wAnt to know!
AD: What th3 h3ll kind of r3asoning is that.
AD: Why ar3 you trolling m3 anyway.
DE: i'm bored! we're not Allowed to do Anything fun on this ship D,:>
AD: ... All right. If th3r3's nothing important th3n.
-- abstractedDiscord [AD] has blocked deliriousExposition [DE] --
we-e-elllll fuck! this guy is a downright difficult bastard and no mistake!
you trip like three different security protocols trying to look up major maligner labrynth's information (you are not the empire's best hacker, to understate the issue tastefully), but eventually you uncover his block location.
a couple of warmbloods give you funny looks as you cross the ship, but none of them seem willing to start anything with your paint and the arrogant banner of your hair. the respiteblock halls are marked with symbols in a variety of green-through-blue colors in yet another baffling display of progressiveness. labrynth's stands out in a brazen near-purple shade of indigo, a complicated sun-and-upside-down-anvil looking sigil you don't know the name of.
you knock on the door with your iron pipe, a gentle drumstick tat-a-tap-tap-tat, which you are three hundred percent capable of keeping up and racheting into an incessantly faster clanging crescendo, but the door swishes open long before that becomes necessary. labrynth looks up at you with grudging confusion that dawns into grudging outrage.
"the fuck," he says. it's weird seeing eyes that shade in an unpainted face. makes him look all vulnerable and naked. luckily, you delight in the vulnerability of others.
"you gonna let me in, little brother?" you ask with a wide, leering grin you learned straight from cingen, who maintains that he copied it off the old grand highblood himself.
the portal slams shut in you face, and you can't help yourself: you break down cackling in the hallway. a couple doors open and then just as quickly shut when the occupants see you.
"all right, all right, maligner," you conceed, touching the heel of your gloved hands carefully to your eyes to dry the tears of mirth without fucking up your paint.
"the fuck do you want?" he demands through the door. he's not leaking 'voodoos tonight, so either he really needed that little jaunt of most riotous bloodshed a couple nights back, or he's not really that annoyed with you. maybe both?
"how old are you?" you try.
"fucking a hundred and sixty five, allright, what the fuck?"
"i'm booooorrredd," you whine, as sad and wrigglerish as you know how, fingers scratching at the crack in the portal. it nearly catches your claws when it swooshes back open.
"what the everloving hell is your problem?" labrynth asks, glaring up at you again.
you shrug, scraping your pipe against the floor. "I'm bored. tell me about yourself."
"the fuck." he says.
then he pulls his cleaver and goes for your thorax.
luckily, you happen to have your specibus already out, and an unholy screeching clang echoes down the hallway, followed by a little chorus of beeps and clicks as a lot of doors lock down.
well. this works, too, you decide as he strifes you down a deck and over half an entertainment hall.
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Joker vs. Phoenix (Chp 16)
Itâs bird versus clown...with a bit of a magical monkey.
Silence filled the X-Ray area, as Joker and Phoenix were standing around, swords in hand. The rest of Phoenixâs team may have continued their search for Arsenalâin hopes of Phoenix being alrightâwith the teenager preparing to lunge at Joker first.
âWhat are you waiting for, freak? Come at meâ he growls softly.
âIâd like to but I think Iâll let you screw up first, so I can kill you off with easeâ Joker laughs âAnd after that, Iâll kill off your boyfriend and the rest of the team!â
Fueled by the rage, Phoenix yells as he tries to slash Joker with the sword, only for the clown to defend himself using Taliaâs sword as a temporary shield. Doing so causes Phoenix to leap back, as he prepares to await for Jokerâs next move.
âYâknow Joker, Iâve been rather curious about youâ Phoenix stated âWhy you and Batman have such a long history togetherâŠâ
âReally now? Iâm surprised youâve actually caredâ Joker replied, slashing at him âBut if you really want to know about me, we couldâve thrown a little tea party insteadâ
Though Phoenix isnât that dumb enough to fall for that, knowing Joker would end up killing him anywayâespecially if the tea itself is poisoned. The two continued the sword fighting, with either side not losing to one another. Joker then tried to thrust the sword at Phoenix, but he dodged it.
âWhat I want to know is how come youâre not with your little friends?â Joker asked âThink they canât find Roy without you?â
âOh, they can, but thereâs just one little problem: Youâ he replies.
Hearing that caused Joker to stand still, awaiting the explanation.
âWhy me?â he asked in suspicion.
âSimple really. Even if we do find Roy in this hellhole, youâd still be around causing more trouble. Even so, youâd drag Roy to the point where youâd toss him off the islandâ he replied, adding âAnd Iâm not dumb enough to not understand thatâ
Angered by that remark, Joker lunges at Phoenix, sword in front Phoenix once again dodges, as he nearly got cut by the sword, but he pushes Joker back to give himself space. And with this going on, the rest of Team Phoenix presses on their search for where Royâs being held.
âMy sensors are picking up his signals pretty goodâ Penny stated âWhere did you manage to get this device, anyway?â
âOh, Mr. Wayne lent it to me, since it came from his father in the caveâ Oxford replied âThat little doodad is able to pick up body heat of any person of specific choice. Rather smashing tool, thereâ
And as Oxford could say any more, Red Hood was busy shooting down any thugs who get in their way. Nightwing was busy doing his part, giving them the old shock treatment of his own.
âWe should be closerâ he stated âHope thereâs not a scratch on himâ
âAh, he should be fine. He is Arsenal after allâ Red Hood pointed out.
Luckily for them, the signal device was beeping rapidly, hinting that Roy is very near. When they got to an open roomâthe Control Roomâthey spot Roy sitting in a chair, albeit tied up and with a bruised face, thanks to Joker. The group got in with shocked looks on their faceâsave for Red Hood, whoâs expression we canât see due to his mask.
âRoy, what the fuck happened?!â he asked in shock âDid Joker did this to you?â
âY-YeahâŠall while knowing you guys would show upâ Roy replied, his face stinging still âHe said he was gonna kill me after heâd do the same to youâŠâ
When he looks up, he does see everyone else, with the exception of Phoenix, who he wonders if he didnât show up. Red Hood stated that he is here, but heâs currently fighting Joker as he speaks, which got Roy shaken up. He said that he should go and help him, but Penny stops him from going.
âBut I must go and save him!â Roy tells her âI canât let him die!â
âBut if you go in there, he wonât be the only oneâ Red Hood pointed out âHe trusted us to go out and find you while he deals with Joker himselfâ
Upset about this, Roy let out a sigh as he was being freed by Penny. Able to get up, but his face hurting still, he does agree to escapeâŠbut hopes that Phoenix will come out in one piece so the two can continue on with their lives in peace.
Back at the room, Phoenix was still dealing with Joker, but felt that heâs losing a bit. The reason is that Joker has Taliaâs swordâwhich, thanks to Taliaâs spiritâhas granted him some strength to make Phoenix get overtaken. The possessed clown lets out a few cackles as he pushes the teenager around.
âIâm surprised that youâre still standingâ he tells him âI bet your fatherâs pretty damn proud of you for thatâ
âOf course he would be, besides, youâre his nemesis after allâ Phoenix scoffed, as he gets back on his feet âWhat I wanna know is why you havenât stayed dead?â
Joker laughs as he pointed out that, even though he did die at the hands of Red Hood, Taliaâs spirit managed to revive himâalbeit in a possessed stateâso he decided that with this, heâs able to get back at not only Red Hood, but for Batman as well, for personal reasons.
âLikewise, I too planned revengeâ came Taliaâs voice âBecause he let me get shot at the theatre from the asshole Iâm controlling nowâ
âYouâre lucky this asshole hereâs helping you, bitchâ Joker snarled âOtherwise youâd have worse luck controlling some other meat sack around, like Scarecrowâ
This, of course, led to the two arguing with each other, much to Phoenixâs own irritation. And with the clown and spirit fussing, this gave Phoenix the chance to secretly attack Joker without him even knowing what hits them. And as he prepares himself, he dashes in, cutting Jokerâs face using the sword. This, though, gets the clown enraged.
âAre you even kidding me?!â he asked âAttacking me without my knowhow?â
And for that, he dashes the sword at Phoenix, but he blocks it with the sword.
âWell, you two were having such a lovely argument, I didnât want to interruptâ Phoenix said with a chuckle âBesides, it was just the right time I neededâ
And from that remark, Joker wasted no time slashing Phoenixâs face with a sword, giving him a cut near his mouth. This caused the teenager to cry out in pain, as he tries to fight it. Joker kicks him to the floor, preventing him from making any sudden moves.
âIâd say weâre even nowâ Joker cackles âDonât you agree, Boy Blunder?â
âFuckâŠyouâŠ!â he snarled, his hand covered with some blood.
âIâm more of a fighter than a lover, even your father understood thatâ Joker pointed out âOf course, putting you out of your misery should be one less of a problemâŠâ
And by the time Phoenix stumbles back on his feet, Joker slashes him againâŠthis time at his left arm, causing the teenager to drop his sword to clench at the second fresh cut. Joker begins laughing as he realized heâs winning this battle; and although fighting Batman is far more entertaining, he figure thisâll whet his appetite a bit.
I-I canât lose now! Not like this, Phoenix thought, JokerâsâŠgotten stronger because of both mother and her swordâŠwait, thatâs it!
He realized that Jokerâs winning because of Talia. But, if he can rid of the sword, thereâs a slight chance that he may win, but with his face ân arm messed up, thatâs a problem for him. Elsewhere, the rest of Phoenixâs team was on their way to find an escape route, but something wasnât rightâŠ
âG-Guys! We need to get Damian! He could be in trouble!â Roy pleaded.
âOh crap, I totally forgot about him!â Penny groaned âWe were so busy searching for you, we figure heâdâŠhang onâŠOxfordâŠâ
They stopped and noticed that Oxfordâs signal device was showing where Phoenix is currently located. However, it was showing a warning sign that heâs hurt from the possessed Joker, and that he could end up killed if not saved.
âOh shit, this isnât goodâŠâ Red Hood stated.
âIt feels as if with Taliaâs spirit controlling Joker, theyâll be able to defeat Mr. Wayne in no timeâ Oxford stated âWe should hurry and get him!â
The crew then realized that, if they managed to get to him, their chances of survival may be slim as well, since Taliaâs spirit is in control of Joker for it. Thatâs when Penny decided that Oxford should go and help save PhoenixâŠalong with dispelling Taliaâs spirit out of Joker.
âWait, he can do that?â Nightwing asked.
âOf course. Heâs able to cast spirits out of possessed people beforeâ Penny explains âItâs practically natural to him. So he should finish the jobâ
âWellâŠif thatâs what it takes to save D-ManâŠâ Roy adds âGo on Oxford. Help him finish off Joker for good!â
Oxford nods as he gives the tracking device to Penny, heading to the room to where they left Phoenix off. Back at the room, Phoenix himself was able to defend himselfâthe cuts on his face and left arm have stopped bleeding. Though Heâs got a new cut on his right arm this time; he realized that this canât be good at all.
âBoy, this is so much easier than fighting your fatherâ came Taliaâs voice out of Joker âOf course, thisâll make you regret your decision of turning against meâ
âWhatâs to regret? Youâre just evilâŠâ he growled âEven father knew that. So what I had decided was my choosingâŠyou couldnât even deal with itâŠâ
But then Joker kicks Phoenix in the face, shutting him up. Taliaâs voice was then furious, as she barks about how he wanted to get back at father and son for the longestâŠeven at the point that he got killed by the Heretic at one time in his life. But since Batman brought him back, it pretty much changed his life, more or less.
âSomething tells me that I shouldâve possessed him instead of this garbage heapâ Talia groaned, regretting her decision of who to possess âHeâd take you down within momentsâŠâ
âAnd yet you were dumb enough to get at me, only because I shot youâ Joker stated âSince who knowsâor caresâwhere Heretic isâŠâ
And thatâs when Oxford had shown up, witnessing the bickering of Joker and TaliaâŠnot to mention the bruised and cut-up Phoenix moreso. However, since the monkey did open the door, this caught Jokerâs attention faster than Phoenix.
âWell, looks like one of your friends managed to get back in one pieceâŠwhich is a pity, since it shouldâve been in piecesâ Joker points out âWhich should be no problem, with this trusty sword, I can make that happen!â
âGuess again, circus act!â Oxford shouts, as he opens his tome.
Seeing the monkey open the tome causes the possessed clown to stop in his tracks. Oxford then mutters out a spell as he soon casts it on Joker, which then summons a ring of light around the clown. This causes Joker to yell out in pain as the spell snags Taliaâs spirit, taking her right out of Jokerâs body. And after Taliaâs spirit was dragged into the underworld, Jokerâs body then collapses.
âIsâŠIs he dead?â Phoenix asked softly.
âYes. Iâve summoned a spell to drag your motherâs soul back to the hell that she belongsâ Oxford replies, kicking Jokerâs now-soulless body aside âAt the least, you wonât have to worry about her againâ
âFair enoughâŠnow, are there any spells that can help heal these cuts?â he asked.
Oxford nods as he goes up to Phoenix, asking the teenager to relax as he starts the healing process. As he gets to the pages to where the heal spells are, he summons a few onto Phoenixâs three cuts, which made him grunt in pain.
âDo not worry, Mr. Wayne. These will take effect in no time. Though they wonât clean up the blood, thoughâ Oxford pointed out âTrust me, Iâve done this beforeâŠâ
And during the healing, he asked how did he managed to be overtaken so easily? Phoenix stated that his motherâs spirit was making Joker oddly stronger, to where he was unable to fight him that much. Thatâs how he ended up getting more cuts than the clown did. Oxford then turns to see the cut that Phoenix did on Jokerâs faceâŠalong with the bullet on his forehead.
âHmm, I can assume that the bullet hole was from Mr. Todd, correct?â Oxford asked.
âYeah. And boy, was he pissedâ Phoenix stated âI was told he had to finish Joker off after what happened to Nightwing back at the Steel Mill. He kept his word about killing himâ
Oxford simply chuckled as the healing was complete. He then brings Phoenix back to his feet, telling him that the rest of the group is waiting down the hallwayâŠor so he remembered, since he dashed in here so quickly.
âI hope they havenât ran off without usâ Oxford muttered âBesides, Roy was desperate to get to you so badlyâŠâ
And while the two were slowly making their way down, with Phoenix regaining his strength back, the pair has spotted the crew back around the control room where Roy was once held captive. Penny turns around to notice them firsthand, which the attention then caught on from the rest.
âH-Hey, youâre not dead!â Red Hood calls out âWhich is a good thing, reallyâ
âYeah, though, I would be if not for himâ Phoenix chuckled, pointing at Oxford âHe came in at the right moment and did some crazy magicâŠwhich healed me afterwardsâŠâ
And when Roy notices the areas that Phoenix got slashed by Joker, he goes up to hug himâŠthough he had to lighten on the hug, which made the teenager winced in pain. He said that heâs so happy that neither of them are dead, and that theyâre now free from Jokerâs crazy plans.
âIf youâre wondering where his body is now, itâs not going anywhereâ Oxford chuckled âItâs as cold as the asylum floors hereâ
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