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thisavrou_ooc2016-12-02 06:24 pm
hohnkai) wrote in thisavrou_ooc2016-12-02 06:24 pm
Entry tags:
tdm 14
T E S T D R I V E |
"living is an act of courage."
|
Fareeha sets a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"We'll help each other through."
"We'll help each other through."
I'm not God, but Cabeswater thinks I am.
[Because the Greywaren created it. Somehow, in a way Ronan doesn't fully understand himself, and perhaps in the same way God created all of this from nothing. He caresses Adam's hands, because he hasn't forgotten how much Adam sacrificed. He will never forget. Adam has every right to be angry.]
And I'm trying, aren't I? Aren't you? We didn't fail to protect it because we didn't love it enough. If I'm even one of God's creations -
[If if if.]
- and even if He has any reason to love me at all, it's not always enough. It's just not. I couldn't protect you either, could I?
[Because the Greywaren created it. Somehow, in a way Ronan doesn't fully understand himself, and perhaps in the same way God created all of this from nothing. He caresses Adam's hands, because he hasn't forgotten how much Adam sacrificed. He will never forget. Adam has every right to be angry.]
And I'm trying, aren't I? Aren't you? We didn't fail to protect it because we didn't love it enough. If I'm even one of God's creations -
[If if if.]
- and even if He has any reason to love me at all, it's not always enough. It's just not. I couldn't protect you either, could I?
I did. Once.
[Silly him, thinking Harry was one of the ones in their line of business that he could actually trust. He won't make that mistake again.]
I don't care what happens to you. [The small part of him that can admit this is a lie hates that it is.] But everyone who got yanked through space and time to end up on this shithole is in it together, so I'd rather we be ready the next time a bunch of pissed-off aliens try to kill us.
[Yeah. That happened.]
[Silly him, thinking Harry was one of the ones in their line of business that he could actually trust. He won't make that mistake again.]
I don't care what happens to you. [The small part of him that can admit this is a lie hates that it is.] But everyone who got yanked through space and time to end up on this shithole is in it together, so I'd rather we be ready the next time a bunch of pissed-off aliens try to kill us.
[Yeah. That happened.]
Frisk's sobs don't stop, soft and choked out into their knees. And they don't dare to look up, don't dare to hope this is anything more than Chara deciding just which pound of flesh to extract from them, how painful it should be.
"It w-was...after the Cadeucean people attacked us. Something happened with the ship's Ingress, and it took us all...s-somewhere else. A bunch of people wound up on a planet nearby because of it, a b-big...slaving post? They were stuck there, and they got caught. The captains got rescue parties together, but...Toriel wouldn't let me go. She--" Frisk laughs, broken and incredulous. "Sh-she said it wasn't safe enough! That I shouldn't be risking myself like that! And I just...I let her stop me. I should have snuck on anyway, I should have..."
"It w-was...after the Cadeucean people attacked us. Something happened with the ship's Ingress, and it took us all...s-somewhere else. A bunch of people wound up on a planet nearby because of it, a b-big...slaving post? They were stuck there, and they got caught. The captains got rescue parties together, but...Toriel wouldn't let me go. She--" Frisk laughs, broken and incredulous. "Sh-she said it wasn't safe enough! That I shouldn't be risking myself like that! And I just...I let her stop me. I should have snuck on anyway, I should have..."
[The Big Sister ignores both the woman’s protests and the fallen helmet, instead focused entirely on searching her arm for track marks. Her frown only deepens when she finds none. She releases the woman with a huff. A splicer without any ADAM? It doesn’t make sense. She glares down at the woman’s arm for a few more seconds and then meets her gaze. The Big Sister’s lips move as if in speech:]
No ADAM?
[At least, that’s what she tries to say. The words are all but lost in a strange gurgle that sounds like a cross between air bubbling up through liquid and metal grating against itself. If the woman focuses on the movement of the Big Sister’s lips, however, she may be able to decipher what she’s saying.]
No ADAM?
[At least, that’s what she tries to say. The words are all but lost in a strange gurgle that sounds like a cross between air bubbling up through liquid and metal grating against itself. If the woman focuses on the movement of the Big Sister’s lips, however, she may be able to decipher what she’s saying.]
[Okay okay, maybe merciful isn't the exact word he is looking for. But she wasn't stupid, even if she should have killed him after that whole thing that happened between them. He chuckles at her response and he nods in agreement as his hands open to show he has nothing.]
Agreed, but I promise you that I have not seen any demons since arriving.
[Well.....almost none.]
Have seen darkpawn though, good thing you are here now.
Agreed, but I promise you that I have not seen any demons since arriving.
[Well.....almost none.]
Have seen darkpawn though, good thing you are here now.
[If he hadn't been attacked by the angry mutant Blue Man Group mere hours ago, he'd be skeptical about angry aliens. But if anything, they make more sense than the Guardians of Shambhala did. ]
Well then, sounds like we're both better off if I've a gun on me. You shoot the monsters at my back and I'll shoot yours and all that.
Well then, sounds like we're both better off if I've a gun on me. You shoot the monsters at my back and I'll shoot yours and all that.
Undefined words and terms no one bothered to explain to them, dovetailing into unspoken clarifications they will not request. It would be simple enough to wrong-foot them through obfuscation, to set them off guard by forcing them to admit a weakness or a lack of foreknowledge.
"So you left him there," says Chara, flatly, extrapolating what little needs to be extrapolated. "You left him there, and made no attempt to retrieve him."
And why are they confessing this? In the spirit of honesty? Possibly to catch Chara off-guard. To what end does not matter. What matters is that it will not work.
"Well." The word drips with contempt as they stretch it out past its termination. "It's a good thing she was there to keep you safe."
"So you left him there," says Chara, flatly, extrapolating what little needs to be extrapolated. "You left him there, and made no attempt to retrieve him."
And why are they confessing this? In the spirit of honesty? Possibly to catch Chara off-guard. To what end does not matter. What matters is that it will not work.
"Well." The word drips with contempt as they stretch it out past its termination. "It's a good thing she was there to keep you safe."
Yeah, sure. You wouldn't want to waste your second chance at staying alive.
[Who knows if he will or not. Nate could take a guest, but clearly he never knew Harry as well as he thought he did.]
And Flynn? We're not the only ones here from back home. Elena's here too. You stay the hell away from her.
[Does he even know how close he'd come to killing her? All because she wanted to help, because she happened to be standing the closest.
There's Sully to worry about too, of course, but that feels different. Sully never nearly bled out from grenade shrapnel.]
[Who knows if he will or not. Nate could take a guest, but clearly he never knew Harry as well as he thought he did.]
And Flynn? We're not the only ones here from back home. Elena's here too. You stay the hell away from her.
[Does he even know how close he'd come to killing her? All because she wanted to help, because she happened to be standing the closest.
There's Sully to worry about too, of course, but that feels different. Sully never nearly bled out from grenade shrapnel.]
[He supposes it is a long time. Funny how six months can feel like forever and the blink of an eye all at once.]
Not many. Just me, Sully and my wife Elena.
[...and mini him, but that's not something he wants to get into now.]
Not many. Just me, Sully and my wife Elena.
[...and mini him, but that's not something he wants to get into now.]
You're missing the point. [Adam sighs and the anger is seeping away from him leaving him feeling nothing but what he'd felt in the moments after almost killing Ronan, after insisting he be blindfolded. Cabeswater knew they were trying to help. Cabeswater was trying to help them too but that God wasn't trying to help Ronan, he couldn't see a hint of it so he didn't know how Ronan could keep drawing distinctions like that.]
How can you... take only part of it and apply it to yourself and not the whole thing? That makes no fucking sense, Lynch. Aren't you supposed to believe that God created everything? That means he created your Father and you... [Adam trails off, finally shrugging Ronan away from him as he presses his hands to his face and exhales a heavy breath]
Hypocritical. [He mumbles mostly to himself because he knows they're really arguing about nothing.]
He only exists to you when you want to punish yourself about something. That's not the same as us and Cabeswater.
How can you... take only part of it and apply it to yourself and not the whole thing? That makes no fucking sense, Lynch. Aren't you supposed to believe that God created everything? That means he created your Father and you... [Adam trails off, finally shrugging Ronan away from him as he presses his hands to his face and exhales a heavy breath]
Hypocritical. [He mumbles mostly to himself because he knows they're really arguing about nothing.]
He only exists to you when you want to punish yourself about something. That's not the same as us and Cabeswater.
What, you afraid I'll steal your new girl from you?
[He didn't know, or care. Drake could never know the ignominy of failing at every turn only to be shot and then handed the instrument of your own demise as the only way to end your suffering. At the time he wouldn't have cared if his own mother was there, he'd have dropped the grenade anyway.]
[He didn't know, or care. Drake could never know the ignominy of failing at every turn only to be shot and then handed the instrument of your own demise as the only way to end your suffering. At the time he wouldn't have cared if his own mother was there, he'd have dropped the grenade anyway.]
... What?
[ Masane, unfortunately, is a Japanese woman whose closest exposure to potential English speakers are Chou-San (asides from excited exclamations though, the old man spoke Japanese with them) and a huge, peaceful Hawaiian fellow named Michael with whom she and her daughter had shared the communal home with. The latter had never spoken a single word and communicated almost exclusively through pensive staring.
English lip reading is right off the table.
Fortunately, after a bit of blank staring, Masane assumes the series of really bizarre noises was some kind of alien language. She gingerly slips her TAB out of her pocket with a set of barbs.
Glares at it.
And shakes it as if that'd solve the problem somehow. ]
[ Masane, unfortunately, is a Japanese woman whose closest exposure to potential English speakers are Chou-San (asides from excited exclamations though, the old man spoke Japanese with them) and a huge, peaceful Hawaiian fellow named Michael with whom she and her daughter had shared the communal home with. The latter had never spoken a single word and communicated almost exclusively through pensive staring.
English lip reading is right off the table.
Fortunately, after a bit of blank staring, Masane assumes the series of really bizarre noises was some kind of alien language. She gingerly slips her TAB out of her pocket with a set of barbs.
Glares at it.
And shakes it as if that'd solve the problem somehow. ]
[He snorts.]
Oh, I'd love to see you try. You wouldn't get far.
[He holds up his left hand and wiggles the ring finger.]
Oh, I'd love to see you try. You wouldn't get far.
[He holds up his left hand and wiggles the ring finger.]
"Oh good. That makes things so much easier." Meeting people from other worlds could be a real hoot, but when it came time to talk about things like cars and airplanes, communication could break down very, very quickly.
"I.... Yes. That's pretty much what I'm saying, yes," he laughs. It doesn't matter if he tells mortals here--wherever this is--about magic. The likelihood that they're from the exact same version of Earth is remarkably small. And even if they are, he highly doubts that magic is going to be the big take-away from this whole endeavor.
This whole 'ending up on some other planet without a very good explanation why' endeavor.
"My world has magic, and as of the last time I was there--which admittedly, was almost a year ago by this point--I'm the Grand Mage of Ireland. Which... probably doesn't mean anything to you. But there you have it."
"I.... Yes. That's pretty much what I'm saying, yes," he laughs. It doesn't matter if he tells mortals here--wherever this is--about magic. The likelihood that they're from the exact same version of Earth is remarkably small. And even if they are, he highly doubts that magic is going to be the big take-away from this whole endeavor.
This whole 'ending up on some other planet without a very good explanation why' endeavor.
"My world has magic, and as of the last time I was there--which admittedly, was almost a year ago by this point--I'm the Grand Mage of Ireland. Which... probably doesn't mean anything to you. But there you have it."
[Adam needs something to be angry at, and God is an easy target. Ronan understands, and as it always is when someone else is angry around him, he maintains frustrating tranquility. When Adam pulls away from him, Ronan leans back and simply watches him.]
[He bursts into laughter. Nathan Drake, the married man. Now there was a joke.]
No way! Y— [he chortles again]
—What'd you do? Knock her up?
No way! Y— [he chortles again]
—What'd you do? Knock her up?
Edited (i html badder) 2016-12-05 23:14 (UTC)
[ So sweet, so nurturing. Tony makes a grand show of rolling his eyes, though it's clear he's not even remotely put-upon. ]
Suck all the joy out of things why don't you.
[ He stoops until he can get his elbow under her knees and carefully hoist her up off the ground, conscientious of the head wound. He doesn't know whether jarring her too much will make it worse or not, so better safe than sorry.
Once Pepper - and her footwear - are safely situated, he starts heading in the direction of the makeshift outpost. ]
And yeah, six months. There's a lot of theoretical physics involved, what with the multiverse and stopped time theory and... [ He can't make any of his usual hand gestures, since his arms are currently full, but they're sort of implied regardless. ] Point is, I haven't seen you since a few days after New York. You're a serious sight for sore eyes, by the way, literal sore eyes and head wounds aside.
[ And it's true; for all that he really doesn't want her to have to deal with this place's bullshit, just being able to talk to her has set a tiny, selfish part of his mind at ease that's been more than a little distraught for the past six months. ]
Suck all the joy out of things why don't you.
[ He stoops until he can get his elbow under her knees and carefully hoist her up off the ground, conscientious of the head wound. He doesn't know whether jarring her too much will make it worse or not, so better safe than sorry.
Once Pepper - and her footwear - are safely situated, he starts heading in the direction of the makeshift outpost. ]
And yeah, six months. There's a lot of theoretical physics involved, what with the multiverse and stopped time theory and... [ He can't make any of his usual hand gestures, since his arms are currently full, but they're sort of implied regardless. ] Point is, I haven't seen you since a few days after New York. You're a serious sight for sore eyes, by the way, literal sore eyes and head wounds aside.
[ And it's true; for all that he really doesn't want her to have to deal with this place's bullshit, just being able to talk to her has set a tiny, selfish part of his mind at ease that's been more than a little distraught for the past six months. ]
[It's annoying when Ronan won't say anything won't nudge his anger back into the forefront because all he's left with is the aching he's trying to ignore.]
You're the most frustrating person to [love. He bites down on his tongue, rubbing his face harder.] To care about.
[He shifts then, leaning back onto Ronan, pressing his face into his shoulder.]
You only remember the night of your birthday?
[An abrupt change because Adam wants to push away from the things that are making him upset but wants to stay close to Ronan.] What happened.. here? [That weird sort of nice guy had said it'd been months...]
You're the most frustrating person to [love. He bites down on his tongue, rubbing his face harder.] To care about.
[He shifts then, leaning back onto Ronan, pressing his face into his shoulder.]
You only remember the night of your birthday?
[An abrupt change because Adam wants to push away from the things that are making him upset but wants to stay close to Ronan.] What happened.. here? [That weird sort of nice guy had said it'd been months...]
Frisk doesn't bother to try and defend themself. It doesn't matter that their entire body had been turned to glass, that there were already plenty of volunteers, that without SAVE they were little more than a liability on a mission like that. The facts have already been laid out, and anything else would be just making an excuse. They waited on the ship while Asriel suffered through who knows what sort of horrible things, and pretended like there wasn't anything else they could do. Even an apology would just be a slap in the face.
All they can do is bow their head in shame.
All they can do is bow their head in shame.
[Laugh it up, at least he's getting laid consistently.]
Unlike you, I actually know how to use a rubber. Went into this free and clear.
Unlike you, I actually know how to use a rubber. Went into this free and clear.
[ At least she was banged up for good reasons and not because she was double crossing people and being a general asshat. Here she was fighting to keep people safe, not to mention fighting for her life. ]
Unlike some people, at least I can smell bullshit when it's nearby.
Why are you even here? How?
[ She holds her tongue on the fact that he doesn't deserve the second chance at life; he'd screwed her over, nearly killed them all. It didn't matter at the time, to Elena, that he was likely on his last leg. She would've tried her hardest to get him back to safety with them, bleeding out or not.
The same way Nate and Chloe had helped her when it had looked more and more like it would all end up possibly being for nothing. ]
(( c: yeah! ))
Unlike some people, at least I can smell bullshit when it's nearby.
Why are you even here? How?
[ She holds her tongue on the fact that he doesn't deserve the second chance at life; he'd screwed her over, nearly killed them all. It didn't matter at the time, to Elena, that he was likely on his last leg. She would've tried her hardest to get him back to safety with them, bleeding out or not.
The same way Nate and Chloe had helped her when it had looked more and more like it would all end up possibly being for nothing. ]
(( c: yeah! ))
Edited 2016-12-05 23:28 (UTC)
He's not even sure where to begin.
"Did you fall and hit your head?" Because that's the only explanation he can come up with. Also, he's starting to get a headache (surprise!) and she is not. Helping.
"Did you fall and hit your head?" Because that's the only explanation he can come up with. Also, he's starting to get a headache (surprise!) and she is not. Helping.
[“Off the table” is right. The Big Sister’s face falls when she sees the incomprehension in the woman’s face and then creases with annoyance when the woman proceeds to pull out some kind of card and start… shaking it? She growls low in her throat and swats at the woman’s mutated appendage, trying to get her to stop the useless display.
A different approach will have to be used. Once she has the woman’s attention again, the Big Sister extends one arm, the needle glinting menacingly in front of her as she does so. Except, she doesn’t point it at the woman. Instead, she angles her arm so it’s not the needle but the ADAM-stained bottle on her wrist that’s facing her. She taps the bottle with the bottle with her other hand, then points at the woman.
Does she take ADAM or not?]
A different approach will have to be used. Once she has the woman’s attention again, the Big Sister extends one arm, the needle glinting menacingly in front of her as she does so. Except, she doesn’t point it at the woman. Instead, she angles her arm so it’s not the needle but the ADAM-stained bottle on her wrist that’s facing her. She taps the bottle with the bottle with her other hand, then points at the woman.
Does she take ADAM or not?]
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