[okay, well, this is the most horrifying unintelligible screeching she's heard in her life.
belatedly i remember that technically, harley can cast wind magic. so while she attempts to dodge out of the way of that purple, black magic — she's also casting a wind spell to try and push the monster's attack away from them. or just directly attacking it, if the former isn't possible. either way, she rolled a 10 for this. so. you know.
not even her flawless flossing can save us now...]
[ shouxue comes to an abrupt stop, hearing a voice she hasn't heard in so long. the ache of a memory cuts through her, and it's like she's frozen in time, remembering something horrible from years ago.
she's useless this turn. i'm so sorry. SAVE YOURSELF, HARLEY. ]
but it's too late for that. the magic feels wrong. that's the first thing - it slams into harley and shouxue both with the force of a locomotive. it's like it sucks the very life out of your body, and the damage it leaves is somehow both searingly cold and burning heat all at once. you can feel the Shadow rotting in your lungs when you inhale, thick and heavy. it strikes harley first, heavy across the stomach and her left leg - it leaves these awful, deep purple marks behind, not bruises but splatters of magic that'll never quite go away.
as for shouxue. standing perfectly still against a nat 20 - the magic strikes her right across her beautiful face. it leaves a mark - that same awful, burning cold all at once, leaving a dark purple smear across her eyes. she might feel the urge to close them, at first, the sting is so brutal and painful, but in the second before her eyes close, she sees something happen.
harley's wind magic... connects! as it turns out, this monster is actually not all that strong? the wind magic sends it flying backwards and hits a tree with an awful, wet slap. it moans in pain again - ] HeLpMehelPmeHelPmeEhelpmehHELPME
[ and harley's magic slams your mother's broken body directly into the tree. ]
[she coughs and hacks as the rot settles into her lungs, shivering in a miserable, muddy pile on the ground after the blast of magic slams into her stomach and leg. it hurts like a motherfucker. it's completely unlike any pain she's felt before, with the burning heat and the searing cold — and it's also a pain in her bleached ass because purple is so not her color.
growling, she picks herself up just enough to lift her arm and fire her gun at the monster again... this time with a 16. double tap! and she of course can't see what shouxue is currently experiencing, so. uh. oops.]
[ her cry of pain cuts itself off in a choke, as the Shadow seeps and rots into her lungs, and her hands fly to her eyes. she staggers backwards, as she shuts her eyes, and then anguish tears a scream from her throat.
she can't let her mother die again. she can't let her mother die again. it doesn't matter how it doesn't make sense. it doesn't matter that she's been dead over ten years. it doesn't matter it doesn't matter IT DOESN'T MATTER
does she know who she even is right now? does she even know what's happening? all she can hear are cries of help. she can't even see her mother anymore in the blackness. her mind goes blank. she scrambles towards who she thinks is her mother. ]
[ harley quinn where did you get a gun. the thing you are holding shoots... some kind of ammunition? but whatever it does, it hits.
as it turns out, this monster is not particularly strong. despite the strength of its magic, it rattles and makes a terrible, pained noise as the ammunition hits it. it's not quite dead, not yet. it wheezes and oozes forward from the tree, now mostly laying down, dragging itself pathetically forward - and then the second hit with the ammunition clocks it between the eyes.
manyue can't see what shouxue does. stop her, shouxue says, and the raven flutters around and then dives to the ground with a two, stopping in front of harley and dropping down to the ground next to her, wings fluttering and poofing up like she might shield her from getting closer to the monster. which is probably good.
despite the awful blackness, despite the blinding pain, shouxue, you can open your eyes - you can still see, but the edges of your vision are very, very dark. in your squinting, awful, pained vision, you see - not your mother, again, right? no. no, you see there's a monster there. the shape of an auroch. it stares at both of you with its haunting, beseeching white eyes.
and then. all at once, the purple and the shadow and the flesh start to slough off of its body with a disgusting, wet noise, melting and oozing to the ground, rotting off into chunks and viscera. it splatters some, and manyue covers harley from receiving an additional monster face mask on top of her mud body mask and injuries.
as the rotten flesh melt off the body of the creature, what stands in its place, briefly, is a perfect serious of bones in the shape of an auroch -
and then with a painfully loud clatter in the silent forest, they crash to the ground. the monster's flesh melts and rots into the forest floor, deep into the mud, and sizzles.
[smetimes you (redacted) a (redacted) and get a free mystery gun. the way she still has no idea what the fuck this thing fires for sure.]
... Oh, my god.
[she would cover her mouth if her hands weren't caked in mud. but even so, harley sounds queasy after watching the flesh slough off the monster's body. she has to swallow to keep the bile from coming up her throat. it's horrifying even by her standards.
although she can't speak bird, she still glances down at manyue to offer a quick and only slightly shaky:] Thanks.
[and then she's quickly pushing herself off the ground, stumbling a little due to her injured leg, to rush over to shouxue's side. the way we're all out of healing items and it's only tuesday. help.]
[ she opens her eyes in time to see her mother turn back into an auroch. she tries to swallow her panic and clear her mind. she let her emotions control her again.
the flesh melts and rots, and she watches it for a moment, feeling hollow. she turns to look in harley's direction. she can still see, but she also still has a cool purple stripe across her face. ]
I... I'm sorry. I'm... Are you alright?
[ she isn't okay, but she doesn't want to admit it. ]
[ technically it's not actually a gun you just never examined it closely so i could tell you that it makes other objects shoot critical hits but it's fine it's a gun now inexplicably. someone invented a gun in octopath traveler 2 and her name is harley.
manyue is shaky and covered in oily goop. she can't seem to fly, taking a couple of steps towards shouxue worriedly, trying to shake the goop from her wings. she'll try to get up... she's not doing great. additionally, shouxue, your vision is... shaky. it's still there! just fuzzy. for now.
and isn't there just something about this place. the darkness is so stifling, you know? it weighs you down. it makes you feel miserable. like you could just lay down and rot. you could let the Shadow take you. where are your lanterns? how dark is it here? can you even breathe?
it's alright. it'll be okay if you have the light. ]
[HELP. she minored in inventor while she was majoring in the macarena. it's fine. her ass is fat and so is her brain.
she'll help the bird if she can, but... whew. she takes a shuddering breath, nodding even if she's not entirely sure shouxue can see it. that purple stripe is incredible concerning.]
I'm fine. I just— The lanterns. Where are our lanterns?
[did they manage to keep hold of them while dodging and getting magically puked on? that is a good question.]
[ manyue appreciates the help, settling against shouxue and trembling. she's exhausted, and the darkness is getting to her. it's cold. but - sure, yeah, she can take the grape. she eats it with a sort of :nyeh: look but she looks like she feels a little bit better after.
the lanterns are close by - they fell to the ground during the scuffle. the light inside them flickers violently, the way that a flame does when confronted with harsh winds. they provide a little bit of warmth once you grab for them, but...
once you pick them up, it's strange. it's just... the darkness persists. you still feel uneasy. is there a way out? will you be stuck here forever? what if the only way out is...
well. how can you be so sure the girl in front of you isn't a traitor? ]
suddenly filled with that uneasy feeling, the though buzzing around her brain, harley clutches the lantern a little closer to her chest. if shouxue is truly a traitor...
well, she's just a kid. harley can deal with it. she's been stabbed in the back in the past, over and over again. it's not her first rodeo. it probably won't even be her last. it's fine. it'll be fine. this is nothing new.
she plasters a smile on her face, just a little sweaty.]
L-Let's keep goin'. Mama wants to a take a nice, long shower, and I won't be able to do that if we stick around to watch these bones turn to dust.
[ don't just let yourself get stabbed in the back, harley.
she picks the lantern up and frowns as the uneasiness grows within her. she hugs manyue closer to her and looks over at harely before holding her lantern up.
is there any sign of a path anywhere? ]
You'll have to pick a direction. Manyue isn't able to fly for a while.
[ it might be safer to watch harley from behind. it's a terrible thing to think, but she can't help but think it... ]
gathering your lanterns together helps - though you step a little apart from each other, shouxue walking behind. even still, it makes the crushing darkness feel a tiny, tiny bit less.
however. as you right yourselves, you realize that the purple fog from before has gotten worse. maybe it seeped in from the creature, or maybe it didn't - but what was at your knees is now up to your chests, and it feels thick and heavy. oppressive. it stings where it touches any open injuries you have, but at least it doesn't make your fun new purple magic burns any worse? thank gods for that. the fog itself is cloying and uncomfortable, the ground still wet and now full of monster sludge (sorry) but you find yourself still moving onwards. by now you can't really see the trees, and the oppressive, heavy silence remains. it's just you and your thoughts.
harley. what's another betrayal, right? whats another abandonment? just for a minute, the three of you were a family. a fucked up, awful family, but a family nonetheless. your collar feels tight. she probably won't attack you, she's just a kid, she was your family. but isn't that what your family does, harley? don't they just - stab each other in the back?
for shouxue, manyue shivers as she burrows closer to you, desperately trying to stay warm and keep you warm, too. your eyes are still stinging, but at least you can see. you think.
a shadow flickers in the corner of your vision. it swirls, briefly - a void - and then it disappears again, skittering away. like it might take you over, because are you even you?
the world is so full of despair. do you want to live or not, shouxue? do you want to keep walking forward? ]
[thank god the fog doesn't make the magic burns worse because, whew. that's her whole ass leg in there. the combination of mud and monster sludge feels terrible and she's regretting her A S S I M I L A T E D fashion choices so much right now, but there's nothing she can do about it.
perhaps foolishly, she stays one step ahead of shouxue while rubbing a hand against her neck, keenly aware of the sensation of the collar against her skin. almost impossibly, it feels even more oppressive now than when she first started wearing it years (a whole spanking couple of hours?) ago in a life that didn't quite belong to her — but at least that version of her wasn't saddled with the worst family on earth. just thinking about it sours her mood even further. the skin surrounding the long since healed gunshot wound on her stomach, puckered and scarred over by how many years it's been since then, feels painfully tight.
trucking forward, she's too lost in her thoughts to notice if shouxue starts to lag behind.]
[ shouxue keeps walking on. Even if the fog is oppressive and uncomfortable, even if her eyes continue to sting.
The shadow makes her stop in her tracks for a moment, but seeing harley walking ahead spurs her on.
The image of her mother dying, illusion or not, leaves her empty. Head empty, heart empty, and she can hardly remember anything else. Not the family she did or didn't have, not the care she's been given to fill the hole that's been left by her mother's death.
It's the feel of feathers against her cheek that slowly brings her back, reminds her of the warmth of people who didn't want to leave alone, of the things she still has to do whether she wants to live or not.
this world is miserable. it is full of darkness and despair. all it ever does is take - it takes away from you. it wants to destroy you. it wants you to stop being you, to give up your life and body to someone else, because you don't matter. how unfair is that? how cruel is that?
as you stare at harley's back, the feathers soft against your cheek, your light in your lantern flickers and wavers. the more you stare at her, the more you can feel it. she's going to kill you. why would she help you? she just wants the goddess, too. every jingle of her clothing is starting to feel grating.
harley. i dont know if i would say the blacksnakes are better than your family but boy if they are i am so sorry. at any rate - that sour mood lingers as you walk forward. the purple fog continues to press around you both, rising so thick you can almost taste it in your mouth. rot, death, misery. why do you deserve to live, harley? do you want to live? you don't want to be like your parents. the girl behind you is so young, just barely a kid, and she has her whole life ahead of her, and maybe - maybe you can stop her, harley, before she turns out like them. she's so young. mother and father's influence has turned her into a blacksnake - no - into - no -
your light flickers. the air smells like blood; the silence is getting worse. there's nothing up ahead but blank, purple fog.
That girl is out to kill you. a voice whispers. you both hear it. neither of you know who its for. ]
[looks at her tv show canon parents and laughs. well. at least the blacksnakes were upfront about the poison. :)
the lying. the cheating. the stealing. breaking every promise they've ever made and then making new ones, swearing up and down that this time will be different. that we love you, sweetheart. it's just that we can't love you unconditionally. it's just that there are other priorities. it's just that we hate every single choice you've made and would rather see you dead.
thinking about it leaves a sour taste in her mouth. maybe it's already too late for her. ivy said she was unreliable. impulsive. she already betrayed everyone's trust once. would barry have turned out like mother and father if he lived past his teens? is that what's waiting for shouxue, too? it's all she can think about now.
then the voice whispers, and she stops in her tracks, startled out of her thoughts. her feet sink into the disgusting mud with a squelch.]
[ the world has always been unfair. That isn't something new to her. There haven't been very many hands that reached out to help her until recently, so harley not wanting to also isn't new. What is new is knowing about niao lian. What isn't new is another person wanting her dead because she's the raven consort.
It is another attempt on her life, but is it a life if she has already died? Why is this all so tiresome?
The voice whispers, and she snaps. ]
If you are to make an attempt, do not waste any more time.
it's all you can think about, the way the other girl is staring at you. you know the end is coming. it has to, for one of you. someone has always told you to be something entirely different than who you wanted to be. you never had any choice. you're losing yourself. to the goddess, to the joker, to things that don't care for you as you. it's all what you can do for them. and when they're done, what are you left with?
you're just an empty husk. you're whatever they couldn't be bothered to finish.
aren't you tired of that? don't you want to be free?
(a few months ago, you heard about the best in the nest, , and how she killed so many people to get to the top. but she's free, now. you've seen her without the collar. she killed pirro, she killed scaracci, she killed donnie.
you could do that too. you could start with the woman in front of you.)]
[she turns to look at her, brows knitted together and somehow, even paler than before. slowly, she raises her hands, palms forward. no weapons. trying to put her mind at ease.]
I'm not— It's not like that.
[but isn't it? the thought has wormed its way into her head and it's getting more and more difficult to ignore it. sure, it's been a long time since she considered herself a villain. shouxue is just a child, no older than her own little brother before he... well. but it's not like she hasn't committed atrocities before. some in the name of love. others in the name of showing the world that she was just as smart, just as capable, just as self-sufficient as everyone else in the game.
[ shouxue has been tired a long time. Her existence is tiresome, and freedom often comes at a price. She has long accepted the chains of her role because otherwise, freedom equates to death.
But if freedom meant blood on her hands, hasn't she already stained them red? Isn't she already undeserving of paradise?
(The kind words people spoke to her fade from her mind.) ]
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no subject
belatedly i remember that technically, harley can cast wind magic. so while she attempts to dodge out of the way of that purple, black magic — she's also casting a wind spell to try and push the monster's attack away from them. or just directly attacking it, if the former isn't possible. either way, she rolled a 10 for this. so. you know.
not even her flawless flossing can save us now...]
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she's useless this turn. i'm so sorry. SAVE YOURSELF, HARLEY. ]
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but it's too late for that. the magic feels wrong. that's the first thing - it slams into harley and shouxue both with the force of a locomotive. it's like it sucks the very life out of your body, and the damage it leaves is somehow both searingly cold and burning heat all at once. you can feel the Shadow rotting in your lungs when you inhale, thick and heavy. it strikes harley first, heavy across the stomach and her left leg - it leaves these awful, deep purple marks behind, not bruises but splatters of magic that'll never quite go away.
as for shouxue. standing perfectly still against a nat 20 - the magic strikes her right across her beautiful face. it leaves a mark - that same awful, burning cold all at once, leaving a dark purple smear across her eyes. she might feel the urge to close them, at first, the sting is so brutal and painful, but in the second before her eyes close, she sees something happen.
harley's wind magic... connects! as it turns out, this monster is actually not all that strong? the wind magic sends it flying backwards and hits a tree with an awful, wet slap. it moans in pain again - ] HeLpMehelPmeHelPmeEhelpmehHELPME
[ and harley's magic slams your mother's broken body directly into the tree. ]
no subject
growling, she picks herself up just enough to lift her arm and fire her gun at the monster again... this time with a 16. double tap! and she of course can't see what shouxue is currently experiencing, so. uh. oops.]
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she can't let her mother die again. she can't let her mother die again. it doesn't matter how it doesn't make sense. it doesn't matter that she's been dead over ten years. it doesn't matter it doesn't matter IT DOESN'T MATTER
does she know who she even is right now? does she even know what's happening? all she can hear are cries of help. she can't even see her mother anymore in the blackness. her mind goes blank. she scrambles towards who she thinks is her mother. ]
Manyue, stop her!
[ she means harley. she wants to stop harley.
so it's a good thing i rolled a 2. maybe. ]
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as it turns out, this monster is not particularly strong. despite the strength of its magic, it rattles and makes a terrible, pained noise as the ammunition hits it. it's not quite dead, not yet. it wheezes and oozes forward from the tree, now mostly laying down, dragging itself pathetically forward - and then the second hit with the ammunition clocks it between the eyes.
manyue can't see what shouxue does. stop her, shouxue says, and the raven flutters around and then dives to the ground with a two, stopping in front of harley and dropping down to the ground next to her, wings fluttering and poofing up like she might shield her from getting closer to the monster. which is probably good.
despite the awful blackness, despite the blinding pain, shouxue, you can open your eyes - you can still see, but the edges of your vision are very, very dark. in your squinting, awful, pained vision, you see - not your mother, again, right? no. no, you see there's a monster there. the shape of an auroch. it stares at both of you with its haunting, beseeching white eyes.
and then. all at once, the purple and the shadow and the flesh start to slough off of its body with a disgusting, wet noise, melting and oozing to the ground, rotting off into chunks and viscera. it splatters some, and manyue covers harley from receiving an additional monster face mask on top of her mud body mask and injuries.
as the rotten flesh melt off the body of the creature, what stands in its place, briefly, is a perfect serious of bones in the shape of an auroch -
and then with a painfully loud clatter in the silent forest, they crash to the ground. the monster's flesh melts and rots into the forest floor, deep into the mud, and sizzles.
you can have a moment to catch your breath.
the purple fog is getting denser. ]
no subject
... Oh, my god.
[she would cover her mouth if her hands weren't caked in mud. but even so, harley sounds queasy after watching the flesh slough off the monster's body. she has to swallow to keep the bile from coming up her throat. it's horrifying even by her standards.
although she can't speak bird, she still glances down at manyue to offer a quick and only slightly shaky:] Thanks.
[and then she's quickly pushing herself off the ground, stumbling a little due to her injured leg, to rush over to shouxue's side. the way we're all out of healing items and it's only tuesday. help.]
—Kid, lemme see your face. Are you okay?
no subject
the flesh melts and rots, and she watches it for a moment, feeling hollow. she turns to look in harley's direction. she can still see, but she also still has a cool purple stripe across her face. ]
I... I'm sorry. I'm... Are you alright?
[ she isn't okay, but she doesn't want to admit it. ]
Come back, Manyue.
[ she pats her shoulder. ]
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manyue is shaky and covered in oily goop. she can't seem to fly, taking a couple of steps towards shouxue worriedly, trying to shake the goop from her wings. she'll try to get up... she's not doing great. additionally, shouxue, your vision is... shaky. it's still there! just fuzzy. for now.
and isn't there just something about this place. the darkness is so stifling, you know? it weighs you down. it makes you feel miserable. like you could just lay down and rot. you could let the Shadow take you. where are your lanterns? how dark is it here? can you even breathe?
it's alright. it'll be okay if you have the light. ]
no subject
she'll help the bird if she can, but... whew. she takes a shuddering breath, nodding even if she's not entirely sure shouxue can see it. that purple stripe is incredible concerning.]
I'm fine. I just— The lanterns. Where are our lanterns?
[did they manage to keep hold of them while dodging and getting magically puked on? that is a good question.]
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can she give manyue the grape she has? maybe harley needs it more, but she is prioritizing her bird. (sorry, harley.) ]
This darkness... I don't know. I'll look.
[ slowly, since it is harder to breathe after being magically puked on. she looks for any speck of light or sign of the lanterns.
where are their lanterns? ]
no subject
the lanterns are close by - they fell to the ground during the scuffle. the light inside them flickers violently, the way that a flame does when confronted with harsh winds. they provide a little bit of warmth once you grab for them, but...
once you pick them up, it's strange. it's just... the darkness persists. you still feel uneasy. is there a way out? will you be stuck here forever? what if the only way out is...
well. how can you be so sure the girl in front of you isn't a traitor? ]
no subject
suddenly filled with that uneasy feeling, the though buzzing around her brain, harley clutches the lantern a little closer to her chest. if shouxue is truly a traitor...
well, she's just a kid. harley can deal with it. she's been stabbed in the back in the past, over and over again. it's not her first rodeo. it probably won't even be her last. it's fine. it'll be fine. this is nothing new.
she plasters a smile on her face, just a little sweaty.]
L-Let's keep goin'. Mama wants to a take a nice, long shower, and I won't be able to do that if we stick around to watch these bones turn to dust.
no subject
she picks the lantern up and frowns as the uneasiness grows within her. she hugs manyue closer to her and looks over at harely before holding her lantern up.
is there any sign of a path anywhere? ]
You'll have to pick a direction. Manyue isn't able to fly for a while.
[ it might be safer to watch harley from behind. it's a terrible thing to think, but she can't help but think it... ]
no subject
gathering your lanterns together helps - though you step a little apart from each other, shouxue walking behind. even still, it makes the crushing darkness feel a tiny, tiny bit less.
however. as you right yourselves, you realize that the purple fog from before has gotten worse. maybe it seeped in from the creature, or maybe it didn't - but what was at your knees is now up to your chests, and it feels thick and heavy. oppressive. it stings where it touches any open injuries you have, but at least it doesn't make your fun new purple magic burns any worse? thank gods for that. the fog itself is cloying and uncomfortable, the ground still wet and now full of monster sludge (sorry) but you find yourself still moving onwards. by now you can't really see the trees, and the oppressive, heavy silence remains. it's just you and your thoughts.
harley. what's another betrayal, right? whats another abandonment? just for a minute, the three of you were a family. a fucked up, awful family, but a family nonetheless. your collar feels tight. she probably won't attack you, she's just a kid, she was your family. but isn't that what your family does, harley? don't they just - stab each other in the back?
for shouxue, manyue shivers as she burrows closer to you, desperately trying to stay warm and keep you warm, too. your eyes are still stinging, but at least you can see. you think.
a shadow flickers in the corner of your vision. it swirls, briefly - a void - and then it disappears again, skittering away. like it might take you over, because are you even you?
the world is so full of despair. do you want to live or not, shouxue? do you want to keep walking forward? ]
no subject
perhaps foolishly, she stays one step ahead of shouxue while rubbing a hand against her neck, keenly aware of the sensation of the collar against her skin. almost impossibly, it feels even more oppressive now than when she first started wearing it years (a whole spanking couple of hours?) ago in a life that didn't quite belong to her — but at least that version of her wasn't saddled with the worst family on earth. just thinking about it sours her mood even further. the skin surrounding the long since healed gunshot wound on her stomach, puckered and scarred over by how many years it's been since then, feels painfully tight.
trucking forward, she's too lost in her thoughts to notice if shouxue starts to lag behind.]
no subject
The shadow makes her stop in her tracks for a moment, but seeing harley walking ahead spurs her on.
The image of her mother dying, illusion or not, leaves her empty. Head empty, heart empty, and she can hardly remember anything else. Not the family she did or didn't have, not the care she's been given to fill the hole that's been left by her mother's death.
It's the feel of feathers against her cheek that slowly brings her back, reminds her of the warmth of people who didn't want to leave alone, of the things she still has to do whether she wants to live or not.
She keeps walking forward. ]
no subject
this world is miserable. it is full of darkness and despair. all it ever does is take - it takes away from you. it wants to destroy you. it wants you to stop being you, to give up your life and body to someone else, because you don't matter. how unfair is that? how cruel is that?
as you stare at harley's back, the feathers soft against your cheek, your light in your lantern flickers and wavers. the more you stare at her, the more you can feel it. she's going to kill you. why would she help you? she just wants the goddess, too. every jingle of her clothing is starting to feel grating.
harley. i dont know if i would say the blacksnakes are better than your family but boy if they are i am so sorry. at any rate - that sour mood lingers as you walk forward. the purple fog continues to press around you both, rising so thick you can almost taste it in your mouth. rot, death, misery. why do you deserve to live, harley? do you want to live? you don't want to be like your parents. the girl behind you is so young, just barely a kid, and she has her whole life ahead of her, and maybe - maybe you can stop her, harley, before she turns out like them. she's so young. mother and father's influence has turned her into a blacksnake - no - into - no -
your light flickers. the air smells like blood; the silence is getting worse. there's nothing up ahead but blank, purple fog.
That girl is out to kill you. a voice whispers. you both hear it. neither of you know who its for. ]
no subject
the lying. the cheating. the stealing. breaking every promise they've ever made and then making new ones, swearing up and down that this time will be different. that we love you, sweetheart. it's just that we can't love you unconditionally. it's just that there are other priorities. it's just that we hate every single choice you've made and would rather see you dead.
thinking about it leaves a sour taste in her mouth. maybe it's already too late for her. ivy said she was unreliable. impulsive. she already betrayed everyone's trust once. would barry have turned out like mother and father if he lived past his teens? is that what's waiting for shouxue, too? it's all she can think about now.
then the voice whispers, and she stops in her tracks, startled out of her thoughts. her feet sink into the disgusting mud with a squelch.]
—What?
no subject
It is another attempt on her life, but is it a life if she has already died? Why is this all so tiresome?
The voice whispers, and she snaps. ]
If you are to make an attempt, do not waste any more time.
no subject
it's all you can think about, the way the other girl is staring at you. you know the end is coming. it has to, for one of you. someone has always told you to be something entirely different than who you wanted to be. you never had any choice. you're losing yourself. to the goddess, to the joker, to things that don't care for you as you. it's all what you can do for them. and when they're done, what are you left with?
you're just an empty husk. you're whatever they couldn't be bothered to finish.
aren't you tired of that? don't you want to be free?
(a few months ago, you heard about the best in the nest,
you could do that too. you could start with the woman in front of you.)]
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[she turns to look at her, brows knitted together and somehow, even paler than before. slowly, she raises her hands, palms forward. no weapons. trying to put her mind at ease.]
I'm not— It's not like that.
[but isn't it? the thought has wormed its way into her head and it's getting more and more difficult to ignore it. sure, it's been a long time since she considered herself a villain. shouxue is just a child, no older than her own little brother before he... well. but it's not like she hasn't committed atrocities before. some in the name of love. others in the name of showing the world that she was just as smart, just as capable, just as self-sufficient as everyone else in the game.
what's one more atrocity in the name of freedom?]
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But if freedom meant blood on her hands, hasn't she already stained them red? Isn't she already undeserving of paradise?
(The kind words people spoke to her fade from her mind.) ]
Isn't it? Stop lying to me. Get it over with.
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[but she's thinking it, isn't she? shouxue's just a kid. she wouldn't be the first one harley has gotten killed, surely...
it wouldn't even be hard.]
But if you're so obsessed us fighting, maybe you're the one thinkin' about it. Well, what's it gonna be kid?
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she notches her bow and looses an arrow at harley's injured leg. ]
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cw: eye gore
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