this isn't brave.

it's murder. status: there's a guy in his basement. physical status: 50/100 mental status: 68/100 m!a status: none.

[dxcadent-blog]

hey guys new blog is @megxlo !! im gonna wrap rps up here first like i said but….hoo

[dxcadent-blog]

[atetheapple-blog]

[ flora turns away from jean as much as she can, trying to wrench her bag free so she can leave. wort case scenario, she has to cut it free. which she’d rather not. ]

i helped prevent you from permanently damaging it - and yourself - even more.

[ she’s being extremely selfish, but come on. how often does get the chance to take apart and examine a really advanced prosthetic arm? ]

[dxcadent-blog]

that doesn’t mean it’s fair game!

[ his grip on the bag strap falters. jean’s very aware that he shouldn’t just let flora go, especially considering he was out to get her back to the original damage she did to his arm (and shoulder, though that’s little more than a fresh scar now). but there’s not much he can do with only one hand. ]

this isn’t over, [ he grumbles, releasing her. ]

[atetheapple-blog]

[ flora freezes. even though there’s nothing especially valuable in the bag - there’s only like, ten pounds in her wallet, maybe less - it does have most of her notebooks and her favourite textbook. also her favourite pen. she loves that pen. ]

[ working up the nerve to stab jean is a whole lot harder when he’s close enough to return the favour. ]

it’s not - it doesn’t work anymore. it’s useless.

[ that’s a lie. she’s going to go back to her room at the inn and spend three days carefully taking it apart to see how it works. ]

[dxcadent-blog]

so? you didn’t even ask me if i wanted to keep it.

[ and now her fingerprints are on it. her dna. it’s a slim chance that she’s even on any records, but it’s better than no chance at all. jean holds out his hand expectantly, even though that probably isn’t going to get him anywhere. ]

which i do. and, considering it’s mine, that’s perfectly reasonable.

do you make a hobby out of stealing people’s limbs?

[dxcadent-blog]

hey guys new blog is @megxlo !! im gonna wrap rps up here first like i said but….hoo

[atetheapple-blog]

[ flora takes a quick step to the side, then a few forward, knife still held close in case she needs to strike. there’s absolutely no hint that he’s gonna get the arm back if she runs. if anything, she’ll probably end up taking it apart to study it. ]

well, it’s been, um. an experience.

[she stuffs the arm into the bag. there’s a few fingers dangling out. ] 

bye, mr descole.

[dxcadent-blog]

wait what-

[ disregarding the knife, he reaches forward and curls his fingers tight around the strap of her bag, holding her there. she could try to run, and tear the straps and probably lose the contents of her bag. if she didn’t care then fine. at least some malicious weirdo hadn’t run off with jean’s arm. ]

[ again. ]

i’m not just gonna stand here and let you steal my prosthetic?

[dxcadent-blog]

hey guys new blog is @megxlo !! im gonna wrap rps up here first like i said but....hoo

[atetheapple-blog]

no.

[ flora takes one last look at the arm, before placing it over her shoulder bag. she’d rather have a hand free for her knife, just in case. ]

i don’t know the design well enough to know how it works. and it’s not been maintained well enough. and i don’t really… have any parts or tools.

[ they are standing in the middle of a street. ]

i could… draft up a new one? but it’d take a while and. why am i helping you. i need to go.

[dxcadent-blog]

...well, thanks.

[ he’s more annoyed that he’ll have to go grovelling to hershel in order to get a new one than anything, though. there’s a dull ache in his shoulder but his mood is more than enough to distract him from it. ]

you...could?

[ that’s nice, but...he’s really not sure who he trusts more. hershel, who he hates, but hasn’t failed him on this in the past - or this child, who’s tried to kill him, broken the arm, and...well, she hasn’t failed him on it either. but that’s only because he hasn’t given her a chance, and he’s not sure he wants to. ] 

wait-

[atetheapple-blog]

i know what i’m doing.

[ it sounds much more exasperated and less reserved than she would allow herself if she didn’t think she’s not gonna survive this encounter, and she even manages to shoot jean a glare before she opens the damaged metal up with her knife. ]

see? it’s messed up here an here, and if you wiggled it too much and these two wires conneced, you’d probably either get shocked really badly or it’d explode.

[ okay, it wouldn’t explode, but it’d still hurt a lot let her sound like she’s the one with all the answers instead of reduced to being on the sidelines for once. ]

i - i know what i’m doing, mr descole. and it’s - i understand if you don’t believe me, but i do. so, um. either you can let me help, or i can just. go home.

[dxcadent-blog]

look, i don’t-

[ he can’t help but glance at the mangled arm and shudder, moving away from her. all his bravado is gone now he’s down one arm, even if it was useless before anyway. the lack of weight on his left side makes him feel oddly vulnerable. ]

-care. it doesn’t matter. i don’t see why you’re so concerned anyway, considering you did the damage in the first place. 

[ a pause. he looks at the arm again, a little calmer this time. he bunches his sleeve up over his shoulder and holds the cloth there with his hand, arm crossed over his chest. ] 

can...you fix it?

[atetheapple-blog]

[ flora lets the book and notebook slide back into her bag, biting her lip and glancing back to his arm. it’s all wrong, and if it stays in this position for much longer, could probably shock jean and cause serious damage. but he probably has a weapon too. ]

[ oh, fffffflip it all. she’s probably gonna die today anyway. flora puts her grocery bag down and dashes forward, grabbing jean’s arm. he’s nt familiar with the design, but at this point it’s so messed up she can just jam her knife between the shoulder and the upper arm an tear the arm clean off. ]

[ she’s still said nothing when she jumps back, his arm in her (definitely not shaking) hands. ]

[dxcadent-blog]

[ jean’s reflexes aren’t good enough to be able to push her off before she’s attacking his arm. the knife being inserted isn’t something he can feel in the slightest but the sensation of the anchor in his shoulder jolting sharply outward as she pulls on (and disconnects) the limb makes him yelp, half in surprise and half in pain. ]

[ it fades quickly. there’s not even any blood like there was the last time it was pulled off. but there’s sharp edges left and he touches at one through his shirt tentatively before shooting flora a glare. ]

well done. 

now it’s completely useless, ‘cause it’s not even attached. and ripping it off like that could’ve killed me. what would’ve happened if you’d pulled out the anchor? would you be alright to just leave me to bleed to death? thanks. 

[exblaspheminganonvictoria-deact]

…

*her hand moves off of the gun’s handle. a risky move on her part, perhaps, but if it’ll put him at ease-*

you’re wrong?

i– i won’t love your absence, i could… never learn to love it. you’re still not understanding me, i..

the times you’ve been my dad… have meant everything? t-to me, i mean. you don’t care, but i do. and without that, what have i got?

*slowly, she guides her hand towards her face, forgetting the presence of the gun strapped to her hip.*

i.. i can pretend that i hate you but that’s all it can be. pretend. i let it go on for too long.

i’m sorry.

[dxcadent-blog]

[ he watches her hand move away and relaxes slightly - but he still doesn’t warm up. he still just stares, gaze cold and steady. but his hands are shaking. he can’t hide that. he can’t hide how his left arm doesn’t move like it’s supposed to as he lifts it to straighten his collar. ]

i’m tired of listening to you.

[ he’s not. he could never be. he’s just tired and it’s beginning to hurt his head. ]

[ the hand drops. when he breathes next it’s shaky and he has to look away for a moment. ]

i thought you were going.

[atetheapple-blog]

[ flora backs up as much as she can, until the stone brick wall hits her back and she holds the hunting knife out as a last ditch effort to keep some distance btween them. ]

no, no, no no no listen, i - i can fix it, mr descole. well, not fix it, it’s so broken you ought to replace it, but… but i can. design a new one.

[ her free hand is shaking as she opens her shoulder bag, pulling out one thick, extremely boring-looking engineering textbook and a pink notebook with neat, swily handwriting on it. ]

so, ah, you - you ought to consider not killing me behind a grocery store. i can draft up a new arm, and then we’re even, and neither of us die here?

[dxcadent-blog]

i don’t - i don’t care. there’s other people who will fix it for me. [ there aren’t. hershel would turn him down, after what he did to his son. but jean can convince himself otherwise in the presence of this...this...he doesn’t know what she is. he doesn’t know what to make of her, and he doesn’t know her name. ]

you did this, and i don’t need your help. [ but even as he speaks, the arm sparks with an audible popping noise, and he grimaces, jolting away from the useless hunk of metal. it sways uselessly as he moves. ]

you did this. why would i trust you to fix it.

[atetheapple-blog]

[ flora backs away more. there’s no employees around, because they never are when you really desperately need them, so she turns back to jean and - ]

that arm looks too heavily damaged to function. if you move it too much it may malfunction and hurt you. i can fix it.

[ - says something incredibly unhelpful. it’s the opposite of helpful, actually. it’s the absolute worst, and she digs her nails into her palm. all she’s done the past however long it’s been since jean showed up is make things worse. ]

i - i mean - ignore me. haha. um. i should go.

[dxcadent-blog]

oh! yes, you’re right! silly me. i don’t know how it happened! it’s been playing up for a couple of weeks now, but all of a sudden it’s so much worse!

[ the expression of mock-surprise disappears and he paces towards flora, left shoulder dragged down by the weight of his arm and right lowering to match it. his eye is lidded, mouth a straight line, and his functioning arm moves up to reach inside his jacket for something he doesn’t show. ]

you’re not going anywhere. you’ve really broken it this time, and now i’m going to break you. seems fair, right?

[atetheapple-blog]

[ flora backs away more. there’s no employees around, because they never are when you really desperately need them, so she turns back to jean and - ]

that arm looks too heavily damaged to function. if you move it too much it may malfunction and hurt you. i can fix it.

[ - says something incredibly unhelpful. it’s the opposite of helpful, actually. it’s the absolute worst, and she digs her nails into her palm. all she’s done the past however long it’s been since jean showed up is make things worse. ]

i - i mean - ignore me. haha. um. i should go.

[dxcadent-blog]

oh! yes, you’re right! silly me. i don’t know how it happened! it’s been playing up for a couple of weeks now, but all of a sudden it’s so much worse!

[ the expression of mock-surprise disappears and he paces towards flora, left shoulder dragged down by the weight of his arm and right lowering to match it. his eye is lidded, mouth a straight line, and his functioning arm moves up to reach inside his jacket for something he doesn’t show. ]

you’re not going anywhere. you’ve really broken it this time, and now i’m going to break you. seems fair, right?

[dxcadent-blog]

RIIIIGHT im gonna make the new blog and start using it once stuffs wraped up here

[exblaspheminganonvictoria-deact]

you.. uh, ahaha…. you d-don’t trust me.

*victoria looks, well, sheepish. there’s weak laughter most likely directed at herself, and she returns the safe distance between them.*

no, sorry, i… god, i have a gun, of course you don’t trust me, i have a fuckin’-

*she’s trying her best to keep it light-hearted, but there’s something gnawing at her, made obvious by the way she rambles. she pauses to let herself take a breath in.*

no, no it shouldn’t concern me. all i know is that you won’t be shot by this gun in particular. shit, i’m sorry, that was stupid-

*her giddiness doesn’t falter even when she turns to walk away. just streams of short, rapid-fire apologies.*

[dxcadent-blog]

...i’m not overly fond of the idea of dying, so, no, i don’t. you just fired the fucking gun in my direction and the fact that you’re still holding it is hardly reassuring.

[ he appears mostly unfazed, save for the tail-end of his earlier fear. his fingers flex at his sides and he stares at her as if simply waiting for her to leave. it’s very difficult to find the energy to act anything but apathetic at this point - everything’s drained him today, and staring blankly at her takes very little effort. ]

i’ll be sure to tell you when i finally bite the dust, victoria. [ victoria, not vic. just victoria. ] i’m sure you’ll learn to love my absence.

[definitelydescolesmobilesideblog]

“It’s clear that you don’t. But mark my words, if you ever bring harm to Baruch again, I will ensure your suffering.”

[dxcadent-blog]

alright, sweetheart. whatever you say. but mark my words, i will rip off your other arm the moment you come anywhere near me.