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

[neverstudied]

One version of him turning out alright doesn't negate the fact that one version hurt you, Kim, and so many others. The fact that you wanted to save the one you knew is admirable, but that was hurting you too- it is hurting you.

[Still, he notices the way she relaxes ever so slightly. At least he's done something right.]

Just 'cause it's not her fault for not knowing- or mine for bringing up some of those same memories- [Because he knows, now, that he almost certainly did-] - that doesn't mean it doesn't suck.

[rangerslayer]

No, I know. They didn't really talk about this before, because who has therapy for bad future counterparts, right?

[ She sighs. ]

...Thank you. [ There's not much else she can say. ]

[neverstudied]

Well, good news is, I've played therapist for everything from vengeful spirits to half-human children born from demon cults.

[So if anyone can help unpack all that... Somehow, Venkman's at least in the running.]

Hey, no problem.

[He considers the bow for a moment. Thoughtful. Critical- not of her, but of the weapon itself.]

... Are you still gonna keep it around?

[rangerslayer]

[ She gives a humorless snort and goes quiet. Then, she walks over and picks up the bow. ]

...Yeah. It... It used to be mine, before...everything else. He turned it into this, but... I still want it to be mine. I want to do some good with it.

[neverstudied]

[He hums a little.]

You wanna reclaim it, then. Make it your own again.

[There's a pause, before Venkman claps his hands together.]

How about this- we give it a makeover. Make it look nothing like it does right now- either so it looks like it did before, or we just completely revamp it. Make it its own, new bow. Your bow.

[rangerslayer]

...You wanna completely redo the Bow of Darkness?

[ Yes, it's called the Bow of Darkness, you have to understand, he was a fucking edgelord- ]

I think I'd kind of like that. ...Sort of impossible to make it look like it did, that was a handmade wooden one. But...a different coat of paint.

[neverstudied]

[His voice takes on a far more chipper quality. It doesn't sound forced, but it's clearly an attempt to lighten the mood- maybe even get her to laugh.]

Now, see, there's part of your problem- Bow of Darkness. That just doesn't sound right. This baby needs a new name, a new paint job, maybe we can take a sander or something to some of the little design details, add our own-

I dunno, I mean, I've never tried to design a bow. As long as it doesn't screw up the weight and make you shoot at a wrong angle it should be fine if we bedazzle the shit out of it, right?

[rangerslayer]

It should be fine. As long as it doesn't get too wild. I never went fancy, when I made my own. We kind of had to take what we could get. Rebels in a war, all that.

[ It's a smile--a small one, but it's something. ]

...I never named it that, you know. That guy... He's a total asshole.

[neverstudied]

Yeah- I kinda guessed. Both that he named it and the fact that he's an asshole.

But now it's your bow, not his. And we're gonna make it beautiful, damnit.

[If Kim doesn't stop him this bow is gonna look like a hot mess- he was only partially kidding about bedazzling it. But maybe that's what it needs to be.

But probably not. Here's hoping she has some eye for design.]

[rangerslayer]

It is, isn't it?

[ Now, this may be strange. But, Kim walks forward and...actually hugs Venkman. ]

Thank you.

[neverstudied]

[There's a moment where Venkman almost tenses up, purely from shock. Not just because he's not expecting Kim to be a hugger, either. He's... Ok, obviously he's been hugged before, plenty of times, but the list of living beings who willingly hug him on a regular basis is an incredibly shallow pool- three of them are romantic partners, one is a ghost made of slime...

The point is, he's definitely not expecting it, but he's not at all going to reject it. Venkman tentatively puts his arms around her, relaxing after a moment or two.]

[rangerslayer]

[ It doesn't last very long. Kimberly's...well, she hasn't been a hugger, not for a long time. However, Tanya and Ari...and the rest of the Rangers under her care, they've been chipping away at those walls she's put up.

And honestly, sometimes it's very, very tiring to keep them like that.

So, she'll pull away, after a few long moments. ]

...This means a lot to me.