❝ My, oh my. Of course I actually shot you! What else are bullets supposed to do? But just like the drops of rain hitting your skin, the bullets did the same. Riiight? So duh, it's the same! You can even imagine the sting of the wound like ice, cold water and the trickle of blood like the it was dripping down your arm! It's refreshing!! You just gotta get a little creative! Put some POW in that brain to imagine it! ❞
"You know, some of you really need to learn to release your inhibitions and feel the rain on your skin because no one else can do it for you– only you can let it in."
❝ Wellll, I tried doing that last time we bumped into each other, didn't I? But someone didn't like my teeny weeny metaphor of bullets representing the rain! Like whaaaat? ❞
"I shouldn't be surprised you'd make your way to a place like this."
Even if it wasn't something he was entirely happy about, obvious reasons standing...his statement stood true. It felt like where chaos and confusion rested, it wasn't hard to find one of the two around. Of course, all things considered, this place wasn't that chaotic as far as he had seen but it wouldn't shock him if that changed.
Regardless of what had happened between them before, and his dislike of the other...it was probably for the best to at least somewhat cooperate to get more details. He was new here, after all.
"I'm used to seeing the other one. Wound up here without him, then?"
OH. THIS WAS SOMETHING NEW NOW, WAS IT NOT? usually, it was her who wound up being unrecognizable to those she waltzes up to, recalling how arturia had no clue of her in the slightest. fingers press to her chin as she looks at the boy who has addressed her, lips in that oh-so-cheery smile she totes about far too often. whoever this was, he was nobody from her the previous grail wars, nor from her times. maybe he was simply someone from her distant past she could hardly care less to remember, if she even wished to at all. ah, but that seems unlikely, given he is referencing her other self, meaning there was something she could not grasp quite yet...
and rather than give up the game so early, she would simply do whatever she did best: fake it till she could make it!
❝ My, oh my! You got me alright. Francois is nowhere to be found. Isn't that delightfully rude? Separating us is like not having peas with your carrots! Syrup with your pancakes! Or even sprinkles on your ice cream?! ❞ one day, she hopes, the other would find his way into the confines of this city, yet she hardly holds out any hopes of those playing at god to hand over someone so instrumental to her. ❝ This place has been kind of a dud lately. Is that why they're having familiar faces popping up like daisies? ❞ despite that his own was not, in fact, familiar to her in the slightest.
The smile adorning his face was a product of genuine bliss, finding the prospect of a fellowship built upon the gory and grotesque invigorating. What wonderful feeling it was to share one’s ideals and aspirations with someone likeminded. As if he was talking to a sensible version of himself; sans the part where it was “himself”. That was the most refreshing part of it all.
Not to mention that her own excitement was contagious.
And once she emphasized the first attempt, his eyes underneath the mask lit up, his chair squeaking over the floor as he made an excited motion forward. “Of course there have been others! Quite successful if I may say so myself. Not to brag, but I myself achieved that what many had deemed impossible, a blasphemous experiment in utter heresy and divine defilement! A mere “human” ascending to godhood.”
Despite his usually calm demeanour, the Doctor didn’t hide his grand satisfaction and one-of-a-kind genius in front of his spontaneous coffee-outing.
“Alas, those that describe themselves as virtuous and noble decided to get in my way. I detest hypocrisy like that.”
It also put the whole definition and nomenclature of what a god truly is into perspective; a fun little thought experiment that he would occupy his mind with later. Quietly he mused, “what truly makes a god, a god?”
At least his conversation partner seemed to voice the same doubts he had. Her own tale was amusing, another intriguing thought to consider in the face of religion, is implications, and the devotees who often blindly and uncritically followed these supposed gods. “People too often assume their devotion is enough to guarantee a divine favour. But must a god always be benevolent? Are most of them not the exact opposite? What makes one believer better than another? It’s a convoluted practice to begin with, soaked in flaws and exploits. And when one backs up their atrocities with the will and whim of a god, those are suddenly seen in a different light altogether? Funny how that works.”
It reminded him of the deeds his compatriots had done in the name of Her Majesty and how those were judged differently than his own. Apparently, the deeds of a heretic are weighed differently, and the divine order is being cancelled out. Has he not acted on behalf of a divine entity all this time? What made his words and deeds crueller and more detestable than another’s? Once most people form an opinion about someone, it tends to imprison their mind.
The Doctor gripped the handle of his coffee cup to take it to his lips again, the liquid having cooled off significantly over the course of their conversation already, yet he did not find it any less enjoyable. A stimulating exchange was more thirst quenching than any drink could ever be.
Her proposal renewed his interest, swaying the cup leisurely between his fingers, clearly listening – interested and curious.
“I like the way you think,” he admitted, his tone borderline gleeful, “humans are capable of much more than they are aware of. They just have to disregard the ethical boundaries they have set for themselves. No magic or divine intervention is needed.” A crooked, sinister smile spread on his lips, leaning forward over the table, tilting his beaked mask upwards, “together, we could show them what lies beyond their limits.”
WHILE THE DOCTOR SPEAKS OF HIS ACHIEVEMENTS, she is far too content, if not otherwise fully eager, to listen to it all. and though he says it isn't to brag, she can hardly be bothered about if he was or not, all which he lists something hardly mundane in comparison to orlando's drivel of profound twist of justice. applause was in order at that last declaration, nor would he be deprived of that deserved standing ovation despite there being only two of them. hands sprout up like daisies from the table before her, a measly set of few due to her limitations, before they begin clapping in his direction. ❝ Whaaat? It's true. Most goody-goodies tend to write off what they do as better since it's for some righteous cause. But isn't that just being holier-than-thou? Like, get a grip. At least own it that you're a glorified murderer, ❞ she agrees, plopping another little treat into her mouth as if to accentuate her point.
❝ But it's okay! Guys like those will realize that they're not the protags of the world that they think they are. They're just the supporting actors meant to prop us up! ❞
one illusory hand makes to reach over toward the various confections, francesca's own swatting at it before it erupts into an explosion of tiny, colorfully wrapped candies that begin to melt away into the table altogether. ❝ You've got a pretty good handle on all this, huh? Lots of thoughts about it stirring around up in there. It's some real crazy stuff when you get to the meat of it. But most don't wanna, they just want to die blissfully ignorant... ❞ and she would make sure none of them did, only sending them off once they were forced to face the horrors of what their faith truly entails.
she never cared much for the whims of gods despite once being a clergyman 一 demonic entities were far better company kept than those poor, pious souls who think salvation would come for them through the grace of heaven's gates.
❝ Have you heard of something called the Holy Grail... ? ❞ likely not, she can only presume, not unless fate truly has a sense of humor in having their lives cross paths as this. ❝ And I don't mean the dingy little cup from Arty's legends. I mean the wish-granting energy it has the potential to become, ❞ she continues, feet swaying to and fro beneath the table, as if she were experiencing some child-like glee in whatever might come of this little spill of information. ❝ That thing has got some great OOMF juiced into it. Grants whatever the winner wants. Could blow that wish on a cake the size of the Empire State Building. I mean, yeah. You gotta do a lil head-bashing in here and stab a few others there to win it in the war. But doesn't the world progress on a sacrifice or two? No way all those people who accomplished anything did it without some nasty morals hidden deep in their closets! ❞ not to mention it was only natural that humanity would tear itself asunder, using one another as stepping stones for their own, selfish wills that, if they did not bend, would surely shatter.
leaning upon her elbows, her smile reflects his own, all before popping up to hold her cheeks between her hands.
❝ Ever since I was a little entity, I've always known I wanted to recreate two Holy Grail Wars in the most perversive way... ~ ❞ talk about overly dramatic, especially since she hadn't even heard of the grail as she knew it until the modern century. ❝ Setting one up here would be some real nasty work. Like where am I gonna get another Greater Grail fragment. And I'd have to touch that gross, icky mud again. Bleegh. Plenty of people to draw in for the grunt work, though. But if we could pull it off? Or if this place made it real? We could do soooo much! We could be partners in crime! A dynamic duo! Maybe even... besties!? Whatever we wanted! ❞
"No, I'm not that type. But when my profession isn't in demand, I'm left without much to do, and I get antsy. Setting up a staged crime wouldn't give me anything to solve. The mystery is not there, and the culprit would be. . .
Myself."
What was this person on about?
"Why would I want to play pretend only to capture myself as the culprit?"
❝ Whaaat?! Whoa! You're actually the goodie-two-shoes type? A real, bona fide crime stopper? ❞ maybe she seems to be exaggerating a bit too much, though she is a little surprised legitimately. ❝ Cause all the officers I know just play at justice. Kinda go coo-coo for the power trip it gives. The kind that'd whip out a cray-cray plea when caught doing some naughty things just to boost their rep and wiggle outta it. Didn't think there were actual guys who took the role seriously. So you're really hoping some bad things will go down for the legit thrill? ❞
" The crime rate in Spirale is very low. That doesn't give me a lot of work to do, and. . . To be honest, it makes everything very boring. Maybe that's awful to admit. "
❝ Oooh! So you're like, one of those coppers who chases the baddies down or something? Totally nuts for justice that you're wishing more would happen? Because yeah. It is pretty awful outing yourself like that. Downright horrendous. Are you the type that rigs some nasty atrocities behind the scenes just to raise your success rates in the stats? ❞
"People tell me I'm nosy," Octavo says, hands folded behind his back as he observes the salivating maw. "I've seen quite a few unique beasts, but nothing like this."
It must have some sort of structure to it, something for the teeth to anchor to, even if the cavity itself seemingly led nowhere. The monsters he was familiar with had sensible anatomy not too different from an animal. While he was no medical scholar, he'd needed to butcher game to survive in the wilderness, so he had a general idea of how muscle attached to bone in order for things to work.
"Is it so unusual, to want to understand? The city's the same way. I like knowing the rules of the game if I'm being forced to play it. And that includes understanding the people." He smiles, though it looks a bit sickly. "I appreciate the offer, but I'm not hungry."
LIPS TURN FURTHER INTO A DELIGHTFUL SIMLE AT THAT, unshakeable now that her stride has returned, this newfound company turning out to be quite entertaining despite his prior lack of reaction. ❝ Yeah? Keeping a your nose, eyes, and ears in your lane would be boring, ❞ she chimes back, hardly adverse to admitting her own nosy nature, knowing that only so few might be able to trace down where it is she observes from, let alone ruining her little scrying spells.
she leans forward thereafter, francesca's entire body playfully swaying back and forth between heel and the balls of her feet. rules are something she has a love and hate relationship with, knowing well the precarious nature it has within the very world itself. were she capable, she would simply shatter them all upon a single, little touch.
❝ Oh my. No, not at all! Humans are the curious sort. But they're also the type that'll brutally kill whatever they don't understand without even trying to get the gist! ❞ how often has she witnessed that throughout history? rigged trials which have lead to those swathed in innocence being flayed alive, stones cast to an outcast they feared would bring disease and plague to their very door... humans, to their very core, held an inherent cruelty that had evolved beyond primal urges. ❝ But where there's rules, that means there's bound to be a little something to bend. Just a little snip here, a snap over there, and HUZZAH!! You've got a whole new game to play with! It's not even a baddie thing. People playing with justice do it, too. ❞
WHITE TRESSES DRAPE DOWN FROM HER RECLINED HEAD, brushing upon the ground as she seems far too blasé for such a beautiful evening. slumped back against the chair, it's far too clear that she has indulged a little too much, the half eaten burger, with a wrapper that says burgatory on it, set in front of her with a strange... glisten to it. were burgers supposed to have that sort of filmy look? a thing that gives you a warning that it may likely be a risk to try, even if it looks relatively safe to eat?
hands rub her stomach up and down, legs swinging back and forth whilst doing so, as she looks over to spot the other. he seems strangely familiar, though in a way she can't quite put her finger on 一 it wasn't the looks so much as the feel. and yet, whatever that feeling was only serves to make him that much more of a target for all that she has plans to get up to in the moment.
❝ Heya there. ❞ she sounds sluggish, almost as if she could croak at any second, lifting her head to glance his way. ❝ Sooo, I can't eat the rest of this. And it'd be a real waste if it just got thrown away. Wanna do a guy a favor and finish it off? If you like it, I can give you... ❞ reaching up her shirt, it's as if it were magic that another, glistening burger appears in hand, held up riiiiight to his face. ❝ ... another one! ❞ surely he likes saliva as a condiment to his burger. if he could even figure out what it was to begin with, that was.
"Ah ah ah that's the rules. I'm sure you would've had something in mind in case I did a little screw up like that as well." Or not. Judging by how nonchalant she was with most things in the short time Sparkle met her maybe she would've just went with the flow. But this was far more enjoyable for the two of them, especially if things decided to go far south in the final moments between the ones seated at the table.
"I meeeeean you could." Sparkle said before picking up the gun again, twirling it around her finger before pointing it right towards Francesca's forehead. "But would that be pretty fun if it was the real bullet? I mean probably not for me. You said it yourself, has anyone running away from the killer gotten some good applause? It's practically a cliche at this point!"
Maybe in her mind. And not when someone's actual life was on the line either....
"Come on over here sister.~~" The fool pushing her chair over to the white haired individual. "Two fools either go down together or I leave the stage alone. Which ones sounds more enjoyable to you?"
CHEEKS PUFF OUT IN AN OBVIOUSLY PLAYFUL POUT. was she a little disappointed that the other wasn't so considerate of her rather faulty plea? maybe that was simply a show of a difference between them 一 those trekking the finest of lines with exquisite planning and yet, with every step taken forth, swaying to either uphold that intricate plan or allow the flow of life introduce something new and refreshing. when it comes to the latter... now that was something which francesca would relish in, a beautiful, little twist that injects itself into the moment right at its climax.
whatever this misfit found as fun was, in its purest essence, just shy of the mark for her own, more gruesome, tastes. ❝ Ehh? Did I say that? You got it all wrong! ❞ scooching herself out from her seat, one finger trails a circle atop the table as her other arm lifts playfully to her side, head tilting to the side with a smile. ❝ No one said a thing about the person running not getting a standing ovation. It takes two to tango. Twice the bodies to make one hit the floor! Of course they'd get a round of applause, ❞ she prattles on, the quiet of the cafe sounding in a gentle, enthusiastic applause of sprouting, multiple hands at their feet.
and just as soon as they appeared, they pop into an eruption of confetti sprinkles.
❝ It's just that... ❞ she rounds the table, a skip to her step joyous step, all before plopping herself down in the chair with the kick of her feet back and forth. ❝ The villain is the one stealing all that limelight. Besides, without them, where'd our heroic, just, and self-sacrificing protagonists be to take the stage, riiight? ❞
delight paints itself across her countenance, far too giddy, all the while a bit disappointed it had not lasted longer, at the prospect of their little game reaching its grand finale so soon. much so that she leans over, aligning their heads, as if offering her answer in utmost, eerie silence to lull the other in. and ere long... ❝ And something's telling me you're the right kinda sacrifice for this two-fer-one! ❞ one hand jets out, swift in snatching that cold, heartless weapon from her grasp. it twirls upon her index, jostling a sinister, metallic sound as she grips the handle until一
❝ BA一 ❞
her voice rings hollow, the sharp sound of a pop sounds throughout the cafe, accentuated only with the brilliant spatter of crimson blood upon furnishing where they sat as a bullet tears through the both of their very temples. whitened walls are stained in dripping red, metal clattering to the ground as her own lifeless body slumps forth, crashing into the table and, upon it clattering due to the force of dead weight, dropping her to the ground with a gratuitous thud. there's a commotion in the back, one of the staff reacting to the sudden, loud noise, only to round the corner and pay witness to the vibrant carnage that now haunts their establishment.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀一 her shrill shriek echoes into the deathly silence.
PECUILAR SERVANTS WEREN'T FOREIGN TO THE MAGUS. were it anything, it would be absurdly dull if something unexpected didn't spring forth when one least expects it, especially in regards to the holy war that she had the joyous occasion of helping ignite into a beautiful, flourishing flame that would sweep through that unsuspecting city of snowfield. but this was different, the way the young girl garners her attention as something heroic yet unmistakably human, merely sitting there on her lonesome with a book in hand beneath the shade of a tree on this brilliant, sunny day, the rays of light slowly beginning to fall atop the white pages.
taking that into account, she seizes the opportunity with relative ease, strolling over as her umbrella stem twirls betwixt lithe fingers. and once she's finally there, she leans forward, allowing the umbrella to protect the other from the sun conveniently.
❝ Ooo, watcha reading there? ❞ like a vulture swarming its prey, she offers a cute, little smile, head tilting to the side as she takes a peek. ❝ Nothing stuffy or historic? Aha. Would it suit you if it was, do you think? ❞
Don't you ever get tired of playing the good guy? Lot easier to be a baddie, y'know? Life's so much nicer if you just tell yourself you're the bad guy. Could always take it a step further and act all cray-cray. Super easy to justify anything that way. Just whip out the insanity plea. Oops! I forgot that's exactly how justice works!
"Only the stuck up ones are like that. Like you said there's plenty of us who wanna walk off the path and see what could be in store out there. Hell, if you can get one of those boring ones to do something actually unpredictable it's a sight you wouldn't want to take your eyes off of." Nothing was quite like seeing how they could push their authority all over everyone else or fail and fall right onto their face. It was an experience you couldn't get anywhere else, especially for a fool that loved to peep light shows like that.
Just like the one the two of them were experiencing right now...
"Oh look at you with some little butterfingers. Couldn't help yourself in trying to get with your meeting with death a little quicker?" Sparkle sighed as she took the gun back, looking at it longingly as it spun around her finger
"Normally I'd make you take another one but that doesn't sound too fun now does it? After all if it goes boom then I had to watch. And if it doesn't then I got the short end of the stick." So there was really only one thought that passed through her mind. A truly absurd way that both should be "reasonable" with.
"So we'll take it together. Two fools, two bullets, double the fun.~~"
SOMETHING TELLS HER THE OTHER WOULDN'T MIND. watching an event unfold as that is relatively minor in comparison to so much else, especially with how willing she was to let this little game of theirs spiral slowly until one of their (not so ultimate) demises comes to pass. were she truly adverse to it all, surely she wouldn't be toting a gun around so freely, let alone whipping it out across a cafe table for a stranger to merrily use. no, it was more likely she'd witnessed some pretty nasty things, meaning it was all just a fun, little game to up the risks.
and while francesca isn't entirely against that, there is a subtle, unshown disappointment that she doesn't get to witness if the other goes down first.
leaning back just a smidgen into her seat, she kicks her feet back and forth, hands pressed upon the cushions as she does. ❝ Whaaaat? You'd really make me do thaaat? It was just a wittle accident, ❞ she chimes, one finger pressing against a pair of now pouting lips as her head tilts to the side, as if she were naught but innocent amidst it all. though the suggestion this fool offers is an interesting one, knowing well enough that firing it off at the same time would lead to far better suspense at the expense of seeing if whoever was left would have bothered to take the final shot at all. so, she hums a little in thought, head swaying back and forth between her shoulders as if pondering (she wasn't, truthfully) deeply.
❝ Buuuut! I guess it's your gun, your rules, riiight? It's not like I could run from someone with a loaded gun. Or I could. But where'd the fun be in that? Totes more fun being the killer running in the woods than the victim, though. So how we gonna do this? Head to head? Gonna pull out another gun and BAM? ❞
"Fortunately, I have my own saliva if I happen to need some." Octavo reaches into his bag and pulls out a handkerchief, covering his hand before reaching for the soggy items. "Thank you, though, these will be very useful..." What could these be used for? Some sort of alchemical experiment?
He wraps them up as best he can, wondering if the book would even be readable at this point, among other things. There are actually few he'd like to know they part, so he asks, unable to contain his curiosity for the sake of the bit.
"I hope you don't mind me asking, but how does that all... work? Do you have some sort of cartilaginous jaws in there, like a shark? Does that connect to your stomach, or is it just a pocket for holding miscellanea?"
OH, WAS HE ALSO SOMEONE WHO DABBLED IN THAT STUFF? whatever disappointment she held prior was like some fleeting reverie, the smile once present upon her face recovering with immediate ease, especially when he begins to question about her peculiar set of organs. ❝ You wanna know all about a girl's secrets? ❞ of course she would poke a little fun in that regard, though she didn't mind it too much. in fact, he was one of the first people to ask about it directly than avert their gaze or, the scenario she had been hoping for, scream in horror.
keeping her stomach exposed, the mouth begins to salivate a little more, widening and closing as if it were a living, breathing creature of its own. fingers tap below the open cavity, giving a small laugh.
❝ Beats me! It doooes move on its own and opens when I want to get something from it, ❞ she admits, one finger now pricking itself upon a sharpened tooth. ❝ Don't think it connects to my stomach. Would be kinda freaky if it did. Wouldn't wanna be spewing stomach acid everywhere, either. What I can say is none of the stuff you've got now is gonna dissolve anytime soon. Isn't that a win? ❞ placing her shirt back down, she leans forward, arms behind her back as she gives a cheerful smile. ❝ I use it lots to hold my snacks and goodies. Oh! Did you want a treat for the road, too? ❞ spoken with a nonchalance as she sways back and forth between the balls of her feet and heels.
and then she asks a question of her own. ❝ Are you used to stuff like this? Or have you just seen lots of things that make you not as jittery as the run-of-the-mill guy down the street? ❞
