#not maliciously i just don't think he'd understand the sort of impact he'd have on them

[eff-plays]

Yyeaahh I am not of the twee Astarion lover variety I don't think the guy would be a very good father I'm sorry.

HE WOULDN'T BE BAD. But probably not great? Just sort of a deeply mediocre dad. At best.

Maybe after a couple hundred years of medieval fantasy therapy first he'd be fine. Ish. I think it would depend on when he had them tbh.

I do enjoy thinking about it though. Like trying to solve a Rubik's cube but it's a fictional guy.

[mad-hunts]

he is scorned, as barton expected himself to be due to the currently performative act he was putting on related to his depravity. but it evidently wasn't enough to get jervis racing to the door. hmm... is it possible that he misjudged his ability to scare people, or that he underestimated jervis's willpower? barton, personally, was inclined to believe it was the latter. he would rather not think he failed at getting someone to leave when he oh-so-carefully tried to curate his image to scream 'danger.' but different things worked on different people, he supposed. barton simply stared at the other from where he stood for a few beats. it was almost as if he found him more interesting, but then the dollmaker was walking to the autopsy-like table in the room, and picked up a pair of mayo scissors that lied next to him on a tray.

there was blood already on them. barton would go on to point them slightly in the other's direction: an obvious intimidation tactic, but also something else. the dollmaker feigned a contemplative hum then, ❝ well... i know for a fact that some people have talked about me, just as they've talked about you. so is it really self-aggrandizing? of course, i'm sure most of the stories come from the clown, and thus can barely be recognized as even the slightest bit reputable. he's a complete nut, ❞ and in a way, the way that barton said that implied that he didn't believe he was. like he was in a league of his own. the over-the-top and profoundly malicious persona he'd put on was already crumbling at his fingertips, it seemed, much to barton's own chagrin.

a much more relaxed, but still somewhat wicked and small smile tugged at his lips as he stifled a snort. the impact the other was trying to make his insults have kind of fell off in his opinion when he called him sir. even through his mask, you could sort-of tell that he was looking at jervis in a way that said 'seriously?' ❝ you know, i'd imagine that might've actually stung a bit if you didn't include the word 'sir' in there. it's like you're still trying to be polite while verbally attacking me — which defeats the purpose of an insult entirely. and don't worry, i don't actually care much that you wandered into here. i just don't like to be distracted while i work. surely, even a man who seems to hate me so vehemently already can understand that. ❞

the contrast between how he was acting before and now was like light and day. though, i guess he saw no point in continuing to antagonize him in the method he was using before if it wasn't working. barton suddenly lifted up the sheet in front of him partially to expose that there was a corpse underneath. a woman, ❝ mm, well, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. but mine is that you obviously don't get out much if you think that organ harvesting is the worst thing people can invest in. my clients are still clearly messed up in the head, of course, but at least my victims were put out of their misery... while those trapped in rings governed by men are not so lucky. ❞

he was talking of another type of crime entirely, that people like black mask seemed to favor. but he allowed jervis to fill in the details as to what he meant. barton put down his scissors, picked up a scalpel, and used his hand to block the other's view of what he was doing to her face. whether it was out of courtesy for the other, though, was debatable. barton only looked up at jervis whenever he was done speaking. a glint, something unreadable, flashed in his eyes, ❝ that was an anne sexton quote, was it not? i always found her poetry to be assertively, and unapologetically, emotional. she was kind of a love junkie that believed that 'touch' is 'the kingdom and the kingdom come,' as she desperately wants acceptance and to experience someone's warm caress. but i did have a father once upon a time, ❞ barton turned his attention back to what he was doing, ❝ he's gone now, though. and if we were dolls... we'd be perfect. so, i believe you already know the answer to that one. ❞

❛Actually, you're not as bad as people say. You are so much worse. ❜

starter from @divingdownthehole !!

there was a certain satisfaction in catching someone red-handed doing something wrong, even if it was in something as small as peeking in someplace they weren't supposed to. or at least... after you got over all of the initial annoyance. this was barton's philosophy as he observed the other had opened his cold store without his permission whenever he left the room temporarily, and he had guessed, found something he really did not want to see. barton couldn't help but squint his eyes at the other as if he was trying to read him. was he just mildly disturbed by it, or did what he saw in there shake him to his very core, and he was merely putting on a brave face in front of barton right now?

he supposed he might never know the exact answer to that question. though barton knew for a fact that if you were particularly squeamish, that the carcasses in the cold store would probably do more than just turn your stomach; they would likely make you feel as if you'd just gotten off a rollercoaster and you were extremely motion-sick. the contents of it weren't of a traditionally animalistic nature after all — let's just say that. without even a moment's hesitation, barton could feel his feet lead him to pushing the other out of the way of the freezer shortly after pondering this to himself then, like jervis was less of a human being to him and more of a thing. a creature. the lack of respect that barton held for the other was quite clear, for the push was as harsh as he could make it.

but then again, the only reason why he felt quote unquote ' satisfied ' by catching him red-handed was because he finally had an excuse to be sarcastic towards him. barton could feel a slightly wicked smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he spoke, ❝ you find something you like? all of those were already set to be bought by a client i have who prefers being able to... handle all of the blood and gore that comes with harvesting things themselves. but hey, i could tell them i lost one if you're dying to get your hands on it, ❞ laughing at another person's expense was like second-nature to barton by now, so naturally, the chuckle that came out of his mouth was just as smooth as any other. he quickly closed and locked the door to the freezer: which was honestly something he should've done in the first place, but even barton had his moments of forgetfulness.

because jervis had visited him during his ' second businesses ' hours, barton was fully dressed in the garb that he typically wore when he took on his other persona: the dollmaker. this consisted of a white surgical apron, joined by a these long silver-colored gloves that went up to his elbows and of course, his mask. a lot of the people he'd encountered seemed to remember him by it because of the extremely macabre nature of it. though, barton found a twisted kind of comfort in wearing the skin of the face of his deceased biological father. he was only eight years old when wesley was shot down in front of him.

the dollmaker tried not to reflect too much on that memory, however. a light sigh came from him as he placed a hand on his hip and looked at jervis with a look that appeared to say ' you better not be here to waste my time, ' ❝ anyway, looking past how rude of a guest you've been thus far, what is it that you've heard about me? i don't really associate myself with a lot of the other rogues unless i have to. and so, i'm kind of interested as to what stories they're conjuring up about me. did they try to scare you into not coming here by telling you i eat people? ❞