a cruel romance [night 8]

[worldchampofmartialarts]

[Death never has a meaning, but if we so choose to seek out patterns in a desperate attempt to imbue meaning into the twisted charades and senseless loss of life, we might come to the natural conclusion that love has no place here. That no matter how close a relationship may become, we can never know anyone else as intimately as we know ourselves.

Ultimately, we are all entirely alone, unable to truly understand anything beyond our deeply limited perspectives.

It's pointless even pretending any of us, alive or dead, are people deserving or capable of love.

Well, to hell with that.

We can always put in the effort.

Even when the circumstances get worse, we can always be better.

So let's give it a try.]

Comments

[beardcheck]

Tha's the idea.

[Spoken around a mouthful of cheese and canadian bacon.]

...'less you want some, I guess.

[boxingbuff]

...Eh, sure. Why not?

[He'll grab a seat.]

Listen, I wanted to ask you something. Because it's something that's been itching at my brain since I first looked at your mug.

[beardcheck]

I think they make powders an' stuff for that.

[boxingbuff]

Not what I'm saying.

Look, when you look at me, do you get any sense of... what's that thing called? 'Deja vu?'

[beardcheck]

...Huh.

[Grog's about to blow the question off, but he takes a second to actually look at Ladd.]

Dunno about dee-ja view, but you look kinda familiar, now that you mention it. You ever been to the Crucible in Vasselheim?

[boxingbuff]

Nah, I'm not the type to go to church, it sounds like a lot of work I wouldn't enjoy.

[He'd probably burst into flames the moment he crossed the threshold.]

But see, that's what I've been thinking for a while now. And frankly, it's starting to get on my nerves.

[beardcheck]

I'm usually not either, but the Crucible's, like, a fighting church. They're all about Kord, right? So they worship by gettin' down in the pit and beatin' the snot out of each other.

[boxingbuff]

A fighting church? [...He smiles, genuinely.] Now that's an idea! I should bring that up back home with my uncle. Might get a few people into it.

[Nods, scratching his chin.]

But what the hell's a Kord?

[beardcheck]

Big god guy. He's all about war and honorable combat and storms, that kinda stuff.

[It's entirely possible Grog was more focused on the part where he gets to beat the snot out of people in front of an audience.]

Kinda standoffish, though, he didn't wanna do much directly when the world was all endin' and shit.

[boxingbuff]

[Fair. Because Ladd's very engrossed in the fight club setting of this all as well, and also in some of the food here. He takes a bite, thinking.

Scheming.]

A god that fights that didn't want to fight? Sounds like a pretty crummy god, if you're asking me.

[beardcheck]

Yeah, I thought that too, but his head priest whatsit was all on about how it takes years of meditatin' and prayer to contact him and stuff, and we were on kinda a time crunch.

[Grog thinks for a second.]

He did gimme a bean, though, so he helped a little.

[boxingbuff]

...A bean?

[....He stifles some laughter.]

What, he wanted you to grow a beanstalk or something, big guy?

[beardcheck]

Naw, we needed these bean things to make weapons that could, like, fuck up an' trap this guy that'd turned himself into a god.

[boxingbuff]

Oh, of course.

[As if that's the most obvious thing in the world.]

I'll tell ya right now, there's nothing worse than jackasses who start to think that they're the gods of everything. You wouldn't believe how much it gets to me when those guys think they're so strong! And so invincible!

[takes another bite. this time more forcefully.]

[beardcheck]

He was pretty strong. He sure as fuck weren't invincible though. ...I do think he could be invisible sometimes.

[boxingbuff]

Invisible? Now that's some weird shit! Ha!

You killed him, didn't you? Oh please tell me you did!

[beardcheck]

Came about as close to killing a god as you can. Kicked his ass so bad he probably wishes he could die.

[boxingbuff]

Haha! That's exactly the kind of thing I love to hear!

You know, you're not half bad if you beat him so badly he wished he could die!