[OIC] AND THEN THIS HAPPENED.

[corpseknight]

((ooc: Transferring over from lastvoyagesspam because lol OC taking up valuable memespace.

PICKING UP OFF DIS THREAD: Lark and Arthas have a meaningful conversation.))

LARK SAID:
There's not a lot of Ebon Blade who even forgive themselves. It's not a real big virtue when you've decided that the Light's had done with you and nothing in life matters anymore and Death is your only mistress and-- [flaps hands to emphasize the silliness of this]

I can't speak for what the Blade would do if you came to them shorn of all your glory and were just Arthas. But I can say I'd be the first one to stand up and point out it's pretty fucking poor form to turn a blind eye to what all of us did, claiming it wasn't our choice, and then hold you accountable for everything Ner'zhul and that sword made you do. There's just as many of us who were terrible fucking people under the Scourge because we wanted to be and repented of it.

[sort-of "looks" down, ears drooping] And, uh. I think enough of us got shuffled through the Culling at Stratholme by now, thanks to the bronzes, that they'd know you weren't exactly in there for shits and giggles. Don't know that I'd've made a decision that would have saved anyone alive. Uther didn't.

AND THEN ARTHAS SAID:
Then why should I be expected to?!

[Pure whiny child there. He's going to wallow in this as long as he wants, fuckers.]

I'm going to be honest; if I were Varian, I'd have the lot of you executed. I have no idea why the Alliance re-accepted you. We shouldn't be forgiven. If we are, there's no such thing as justice. I spent my entire life seeing to it that the world was rid of monsters. I'm not going to stop now.

- the Bronzes did what now...?

AND THEN LARK REPLIED:
[exasperated:] Because they're a bunch of fucking idiots for doing it? [Come on, Arthas. You're not a fucking idiot, are you? :c] We did what we did and survived it. I won't say we're the lucky ones, but it's past now. Maybe you're right and somebody should have gotten rid of us when we put down our swords and turned ourselves over to the Horde and the Alliance for judgment, but let's face it: The people we killed are still dead. Putting us in the ground for the last time to make the living feel better about that won't bring them back, and it means we won't be there when the next fuck-ugly son of a bitch crawls out from under his Lightforsaken rock to threaten Azeroth again.

I might be blind and half-rotted and stupid but I can still hold my axe and stand between the people who matter and the things that want to kill them deader than me. If you want to hunt monsters there's plenty of them still out there that haven't pledged themselves to killing the bigger monsters than they are.

[...demure cough] Uh. Thought you might've heard about that. Infinites went and fucked with your timeline or something so they started sending people back to make sure you actually did Stratholme right. Didn't get killed halfway through or anything.

Comments

[darknessb4me]

[Growl upon being called an idiot:] You should watch your tongue. They've got consciences. Do you even care?

[Okay, deep breaths, can't hurt him, we're being good now.

His hands twitch into fists, though. Because if you're going to have this much free-floating hate sometimes it has nowhere to go but out.]

It's not the ones we killed. It's the ones we didn't. [The dead ones got off easy.]

[corpseknight.livejournal.com]

[very quietly, and without his usual grin:] I care. I care enough I let it rot me hollow for years. If there weren't people around who still needed me in particular I wouldn't be here telling you this.

I care enough about what happens to them that I won't just give up any longer, though. Whether or not the living want to believe it there's still work left for me to do; it won't erase what I've done, but it might balance things out in the end.

And if that's not enough for the living, that's on their heads. I'll die again eventually and they can call that justice; I've had enough of walking head-first into the noose after the first time I did it.

[darknessb4me]

Good for you.

[Discussion derailed! Three points to Arthas.]

[corpseknight.livejournal.com]

Yeah, hooray for fucking me! [enormous shark grin]

And once you're out of here you can come to the "hooray for me" party, since that's the point of the whole exercise. You getting out, I mean. Not the party.

[darknessb4me]

It won't happen. Even if I graduate - which I refuse to accept the possibility of, because that precludes failure in my multiple planned suicide attempts and I do not fail.... - I'm not going home. Can you imagine how fast I'd be executed?

[corpseknight.livejournal.com]

[He goes back to deadpan.] You'd beat my record if you let them catch you.

You said you wanted to go home, though. I'm blind and stupid, not deaf. You're just going to let this place win, hope to get kicked back out into oblivion, and if that doesn't work, walk right up to them and say "here I am, I did it, now kill me"?

[The most unimpressed look.] Sounds like failure to me.

[darknessb4me]

The Barge is not a person. I can't lose to something that's completely indifferent. It's like losing to a storm. Everyone ends up back in the dark eventually here.

[corpseknight.livejournal.com]

[The unimpressed look continues.] You can sure as fuck lose to a storm--you can let it beat you.

You ever seen people who say they've lost everything to a disaster? Home, lands, wealth, family? [He makes a noise of disgust.] Doesn't even take that much for some people to give up--maybe just all their possessions or their house. Might be they still have everyone they claim to care about alive. Might be they still have their health.

They'll still sit around moaning about how there's nothing to live for, waiting for the next thing to come along to pick them off. They're beaten. They won't fight anymore.

That's the way you're going out? That's losing.

[darknessb4me]

[Cold:] I lost ten years ago.

[corpseknight.livejournal.com]

[Ears go back.] Seems to me you were still fighting until a lot more recently.

[darknessb4me]

I wasn't even able to fight.

[corpseknight.livejournal.com]

Why the torn-out heart, then?

[darknessb4me]

That part of me hasn't been around for a long time.

[corpseknight.livejournal.com]

Huh. [Teeth-click.]

[darknessb4me]

What.

[corpseknight.livejournal.com]

Just "huh".

It's clear you want me out of here so you can get back to planning your own demise. I'm just working out how to piss you off enough that you'll give that fucking nonsense over and start fighting again.

[The awesome thing about this is that Lark would pretty much be this way regardless.]

[darknessb4me]

I do. I don't want to be helped. I'm tired of letting people down.

[He frowns and sets his jaw - that last part wasn't supposed to come out. Fucking meme.]

[corpseknight.livejournal.com]

[He splays his ears out.]

So don't fucking let them down. Don't keep giving in and telling yourself it's inevitable that you'll fail, that there's no such thing as losing because it's not a thinking opponent or you already lost or whatever other Lightdamned excuse you've come up with.

I've been there. It takes a lot less energy if you live down to everyone's expectations but you don't get very far.

[darknessb4me]

[You elves and your creepy moving ears. What did Jaina see in him anyway?

...Right, not the time.]

I don't plan to get far, if you haven't noticed. I'm done. I'm tired. If it weren't for Fordring it would have ended in January instead of getting dragged out.

and then i almost posted as rinzler, which would have been hilarious

[corpseknight.livejournal.com]

[They're like kitties; what's not to love. The same thing everyone else saw in him; then the demons came and rocks fell and everyone died.

Lark hates thinking about that. Also, this. He makes that frustrated-cat noise with his teeth and just goes ahead and shoves Arthas. Ha ha, tiny shove.]

You don't fail but you're a fucking quitter?! Is that it! Am I HEARING YOU RIGHT?

[darknessb4me]

[There's a nearly-audible snapping sound and Arthas is suddenly moving far faster than anything his size should be able to, snapping one hand out to grab Lark's arm and the other to straight-up punch him in the face. Arthas hits like a truck. IT IS GOOD THING LARK HAS A TANK SPEC I GUESS.

It's also probably a good thing Arthas is inmate-capped.]

[corpseknight.livejournal.com]

[All of these are good things as is the fact that Cata gear means Lark can soak a Soul Reaper in his DPS plate. But mostly he just gets hit in the face without flinching because he knows he crossed a line there. Stuff goes crunch.

He'll wait for Arthas to calm down to start talking again. ...well, calm down or beat his head in like an overripe melon. Whichever happens first.]

[darknessb4me]

[Not hitting back is actually the correct response here, because much like velociraptors that can open doors, Arthas quickly loses aggro towards something that's not moving any more. He's breathing hard, though, and his eyes have an odd sheen - he lets Lark go.]

Just - go away. Don't touch me.

because "touching" spelled with a d is "douching" ...

[corpseknight.livejournal.com]

[He stumbles back a step and immediately...tilts his head back to let the nasty black gunk drain from his sinuses.]

I dink you broke by node.

[Sniff. SNIIIIFF. Snort. Hack.]

...Yeah. Ith'd broke. Aldo I'b nod dudching you. [He turns away and spits up something unpleasant, then covers his face with his hands, trying to put the bones back in a recognizable shape.]

[darknessb4me]

Good.