[ does he trust evan to give two shits about what he wants and not try to pull some weird, aggressive dom shit? not really. after all david's pretty sure he said it wouldn't happen again before, and look how long that lasted. but it's hard to be actively pissed off with someone who just helped you kill someone, made sure you got back in one piece, and then cleaned and dressed your wounds. ]
[ but to acknowledge that in so much detail would require acknowledging how strange ths is — evan's helped him out before, but this feels more significant — and david's not going to do that. ]
Might come as a shock, but I've been being honest with you this whole time.
[ not necessarily forthcoming, but he can't think of a single time since this whole thing started that he's lied to evan. crazily enough, he's never seen the point. probably because he knows evan's not exactly about to run off and tell anybody. ]
[ that is, there's things david hasn't been honest about just by not saying anything. which is about how evan goes through his entire life, so he shouldn't really throw stones, but that's not about to stop him. ]
Tell me how it felt. Killing him.
[ last time david might have been honest, but he didn't like what he heard. maybe this is different. maybe ghost face brings out the worst in him, like the rat bastard does to everyone. maybe it's better. not that he'll appreciate being more of a problem to kill than ghost face, at least from some perspectives. ]
And I'll give you what you want. That or let you walk out. Up to you.
[ because a part of him figures that at this point, david's probably frustrated enough to want to leave him to his own devices. but who can say? ]
[ something about the phrasing gets his hackles up immediately. not enough that david pushes past him to leave, not just yet, but he does look down to fix his shirt, suddenly remembering it's still bunched up at his chest so evan could bandage him up. ]
[ at the time, nothing ghost face said particularly bothered him, but the combination now just. it doesn't really feel great, makes something twist in david's gut and his lip curl in distaste. it's just a really unfortunate combination of things for two assholes to have said to him in close succession. they fuse together in his head, make him angrier than he probably should be. ]
Know I'm just this fucking whore, but I'm not about to barter for your cock.
[ he doesn't want to talk about it anyway, but having it tied to sex like this, after all that is just-- it doesn't sit right. ]
[ he doesn't push the issue. evan's not against bartering for information, but it's clearly got david's hackles up, and it gets on his nerves knowing now he's got an association to the dead fuck just by right of what he said.
evan backs off, taking the remainder of the bloody bandages and blood-soaked rag with him, but doesn't go too far. ]
He ain't worth listenin' to. He deserved it. Deserves worse.
[ not that he thinks david's going to listen to advice from him about ghost face, unless it involves a better way to cave his skull in, but he knows when something's stuck a little deeper than it should. ]
[ evan's not wrong, but it doesn't do a lot to settle david, not until evan backs off that little bit to clear up. then david sinks against the workbench a little, folds his arms over his chest while he watches evan move around. ]
You wanna know, just ask. Don't do that shit.
[ he has no idea why evan's so interested to know how he feels about killing someone, but david figures he probably owes him that much for the help anyway. not that the idea is one he's particularly happy with, nor does david know where to start with it. ]
[ evan gives him a look - careful, blank even under the mask - and tosses the rag into the bucket again. ]
You like killin' him?
[ flat, outright, to the point. like david said. he knows most people would enjoy it, even on david's side. he knows it's happened a few times, too, although people mostly only enjoyed the part where he was dead, not where his blood was on their hands. even on his side some people find it disgusting to have had to kill him, because of who he is. what he is.
for evan there's no real distinction. ghost face is a problem, so he kills him. problem solved, and in a way he likes. the complexity of these sorts of things is long since faded for him. mostly.
[ he figured that would probably be the question, so david's ready for it. sort of. it's still a terse reply, giving away how little he wants to talk about it, but he swallows that. looks down at his bandaged hands, at the dried blood under his nails. ]
Thought about beating that prick to death more times than I can count, course it felt good.
[ despite saying it felt good, there's a flatness to the way david says it. like he's distancing himself from it. he doesn't like that it felt good, doesn't want to think about what that says about him, what it means going forward. ]
[ evan can hear the flatness, but he doesn't question it. he asked a question, he got an answer. it's the one he wanted to hear, because if someone regrets killing that asshole, then they aren't worth his time.
he puts away the bandages and looks down at his own foot, where the knife went straight through his boot. the foot'll heal, and the boot too, probably, but for the time being he's got that to put up with. ]
Good. Next time he sees you, maybe he'll know to shut his mouth.
[ the insults were aimed and sharp, even if they were a little off at the end. but pain'll do that to a man. ]
Or at least he'll know better than to let you get hold of him.
Yeah? [ he raises an eyebrow. ] That'll be the fucking day.
[ david doubts that very much on both counts. extra frustrating, because he'd always thought he was of little interest to ghost face, and now he's beat the shit out of him twice, killed him once. if that's not a way to make himself interesting, david doesn't know what else would do it. ]
[ that's a later problem though, nothing david can do about it right now. ]
[ he looks up from his hands, back at evan. a little hesitant to ask what he's about to because david doesn't really want to open himself up to any deeper discussions, but. ]
[ david's probably right. the idea of ghost face learning is laughable, after all.
the careful question that follows makes evan look at him again, away from the cuts - attempted cuts, really - on his arms. ]
Yeah.
[ part curiosity, part real interest, part wondering - just a little - where survivors stand on outright murder when it's them doing it. circumstances can change the answer, but at the end of the day, he's always waiting for them to be hypocrites, and he's usually right.
but where he might have ground this in before, there's been enough time for him and david to deal with each other that he doesn't see the point. they've discussed this, angrily. and david was honest enough earlier - don't actually hate being around you that much - that he can take the answer on its own. ]
Would have to kill you if you regretted killin' something like that.
[ for some reason that catches him off, even though it's a sentiment evan's expressed more than once, and david lets out a small, quiet laugh. ]
If I didn't regret killin' you, there's no way I'd feel bad over the likes of him. Give me a little credit.
[ would anyone feel bad over killing ghost face? outside the instinct not to take a life, the way that fucks with your head, would anyone regret it? if you're going to kill someone, it might as well be that guy. ]
[ didn't regret killing him? good. even if it made him huddle up in a corner somewhere, regret shouldn't be a part of killing him, unless it's the regret of knowing what's coming next as a result.
but it's been a while since that was really an issue. ]
Do it again and he might even forget about you for a while.
[ unlikely, but he does tend to back off after at least a few brutal kills when evan does it. ]
Next time I see him in a trial's gonna be a fuckin' shitter.
[ david knows it, and he's ready for it, but he has no idea in what way it's going to suck. he sighs through his nose and pushes a hand through his hair, mentally preparing himself for a long slew of shit. ]
[ he thinks the entity should make an exception for this one guy. just let him stay dead, do everybody a favour. ]
[ anything can make a trial bad. evan knows. he's done it more times than he can remember. anybody who breaks in, who breaks the traps, who mocks him, who gets away - he makes sure they pay for it. they all do. and ghost faces like to hold a grudge.
with their wounds mostly cleaned up, or at least david's, and him having effectively cut off any other possibilities, evan turns back to the forge and opens the back grate to dump another shovelful of coal into it. the dim light of the room flickers. ]
Go back the other way. Otherwise he might be wakin' up.
[ don't give him an early chance for revenge, he means. ]
[ david hesitates, watching evan. feeling kind of hamstrung suddenly, but it's his own fault. well-- he'd argue it's evan's fault, but that's not going to do anything. he just really would've liked to fuck before he left but it's fine, he'll live. ]
[ after those moments, he clears his throat and nods, pushing away from the table to go. ]
Yeah-- Thanks.
[ thanks??? maybe he should've let ghost face kill him, jesus. ]
[ the thanks gets him another look, but evan opts not to dig into that, either. it's not the first time he's caught david off-guard somehow, and they've got enough vitriol between them that he's not all that interested in picking at the little things. they just killed the guy who does that. no need to pick up his habits. ]
He comes back, I'll save a piece for you.
[ because he will come back. whether he goes after evan or david first is up for debate. ]
[ that gets another laugh from david at least, a nod of acknowledgement as he heads out. normally ghost face isn't someone david really worries about, but he goes out away from the campfire a lot. more than most, he'd bet. and david's not terrible at spotting him in trials — not the best, but not bad either, at least by his own reckoning — but that's a semi-fixed environment. ]
[ seems like he's gonna be getting some practice in learning to spot that motherfucker out in the wild so he doesn't get a knife in the ribs. ]
[ anyway-- david sighs and heads out to go try and get the fuck out of here before ghost face wakes up from his forced naptime. what a fucking day. ]
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hardlydead) wrote2021-11-01 05:44 am
no subject
[ but to acknowledge that in so much detail would require acknowledging how strange ths is — evan's helped him out before, but this feels more significant — and david's not going to do that. ]
Might come as a shock, but I've been being honest with you this whole time.
[ not necessarily forthcoming, but he can't think of a single time since this whole thing started that he's lied to evan. crazily enough, he's never seen the point. probably because he knows evan's not exactly about to run off and tell anybody. ]
no subject
[ that is, there's things david hasn't been honest about just by not saying anything. which is about how evan goes through his entire life, so he shouldn't really throw stones, but that's not about to stop him. ]
Tell me how it felt. Killing him.
[ last time david might have been honest, but he didn't like what he heard. maybe this is different. maybe ghost face brings out the worst in him, like the rat bastard does to everyone. maybe it's better. not that he'll appreciate being more of a problem to kill than ghost face, at least from some perspectives. ]
And I'll give you what you want. That or let you walk out. Up to you.
[ because a part of him figures that at this point, david's probably frustrated enough to want to leave him to his own devices. but who can say? ]
no subject
[ something about the phrasing gets his hackles up immediately. not enough that david pushes past him to leave, not just yet, but he does look down to fix his shirt, suddenly remembering it's still bunched up at his chest so evan could bandage him up. ]
[ at the time, nothing ghost face said particularly bothered him, but the combination now just. it doesn't really feel great, makes something twist in david's gut and his lip curl in distaste. it's just a really unfortunate combination of things for two assholes to have said to him in close succession. they fuse together in his head, make him angrier than he probably should be. ]
Know I'm just this fucking whore, but I'm not about to barter for your cock.
[ he doesn't want to talk about it anyway, but having it tied to sex like this, after all that is just-- it doesn't sit right. ]
no subject
Like I said. Up to you.
[ he doesn't push the issue. evan's not against bartering for information, but it's clearly got david's hackles up, and it gets on his nerves knowing now he's got an association to the dead fuck just by right of what he said.
evan backs off, taking the remainder of the bloody bandages and blood-soaked rag with him, but doesn't go too far. ]
He ain't worth listenin' to. He deserved it. Deserves worse.
[ not that he thinks david's going to listen to advice from him about ghost face, unless it involves a better way to cave his skull in, but he knows when something's stuck a little deeper than it should. ]
no subject
You wanna know, just ask. Don't do that shit.
[ he has no idea why evan's so interested to know how he feels about killing someone, but david figures he probably owes him that much for the help anyway. not that the idea is one he's particularly happy with, nor does david know where to start with it. ]
no subject
You like killin' him?
[ flat, outright, to the point. like david said. he knows most people would enjoy it, even on david's side. he knows it's happened a few times, too, although people mostly only enjoyed the part where he was dead, not where his blood was on their hands. even on his side some people find it disgusting to have had to kill him, because of who he is. what he is.
for evan there's no real distinction. ghost face is a problem, so he kills him. problem solved, and in a way he likes. the complexity of these sorts of things is long since faded for him. mostly.
but he knows that's not the case for everybody. ]
no subject
[ he figured that would probably be the question, so david's ready for it. sort of. it's still a terse reply, giving away how little he wants to talk about it, but he swallows that. looks down at his bandaged hands, at the dried blood under his nails. ]
Thought about beating that prick to death more times than I can count, course it felt good.
[ despite saying it felt good, there's a flatness to the way david says it. like he's distancing himself from it. he doesn't like that it felt good, doesn't want to think about what that says about him, what it means going forward. ]
no subject
he puts away the bandages and looks down at his own foot, where the knife went straight through his boot. the foot'll heal, and the boot too, probably, but for the time being he's got that to put up with. ]
Good. Next time he sees you, maybe he'll know to shut his mouth.
[ the insults were aimed and sharp, even if they were a little off at the end. but pain'll do that to a man. ]
Or at least he'll know better than to let you get hold of him.
[ probably not. ]
no subject
[ david doubts that very much on both counts. extra frustrating, because he'd always thought he was of little interest to ghost face, and now he's beat the shit out of him twice, killed him once. if that's not a way to make himself interesting, david doesn't know what else would do it. ]
[ that's a later problem though, nothing david can do about it right now. ]
[ he looks up from his hands, back at evan. a little hesitant to ask what he's about to because david doesn't really want to open himself up to any deeper discussions, but. ]
That's all you wanted to know?
no subject
the careful question that follows makes evan look at him again, away from the cuts - attempted cuts, really - on his arms. ]
Yeah.
[ part curiosity, part real interest, part wondering - just a little - where survivors stand on outright murder when it's them doing it. circumstances can change the answer, but at the end of the day, he's always waiting for them to be hypocrites, and he's usually right.
but where he might have ground this in before, there's been enough time for him and david to deal with each other that he doesn't see the point. they've discussed this, angrily. and david was honest enough earlier - don't actually hate being around you that much - that he can take the answer on its own. ]
Would have to kill you if you regretted killin' something like that.
no subject
If I didn't regret killin' you, there's no way I'd feel bad over the likes of him. Give me a little credit.
[ would anyone feel bad over killing ghost face? outside the instinct not to take a life, the way that fucks with your head, would anyone regret it? if you're going to kill someone, it might as well be that guy. ]
no subject
[ didn't regret killing him? good. even if it made him huddle up in a corner somewhere, regret shouldn't be a part of killing him, unless it's the regret of knowing what's coming next as a result.
but it's been a while since that was really an issue. ]
Do it again and he might even forget about you for a while.
[ unlikely, but he does tend to back off after at least a few brutal kills when evan does it. ]
no subject
[ david knows it, and he's ready for it, but he has no idea in what way it's going to suck. he sighs through his nose and pushes a hand through his hair, mentally preparing himself for a long slew of shit. ]
[ he thinks the entity should make an exception for this one guy. just let him stay dead, do everybody a favour. ]
no subject
[ anything can make a trial bad. evan knows. he's done it more times than he can remember. anybody who breaks in, who breaks the traps, who mocks him, who gets away - he makes sure they pay for it. they all do. and ghost faces like to hold a grudge.
with their wounds mostly cleaned up, or at least david's, and him having effectively cut off any other possibilities, evan turns back to the forge and opens the back grate to dump another shovelful of coal into it. the dim light of the room flickers. ]
Go back the other way. Otherwise he might be wakin' up.
[ don't give him an early chance for revenge, he means. ]
no subject
[ david hesitates, watching evan. feeling kind of hamstrung suddenly, but it's his own fault. well-- he'd argue it's evan's fault, but that's not going to do anything. he just really would've liked to fuck before he left but it's fine, he'll live. ]
[ after those moments, he clears his throat and nods, pushing away from the table to go. ]
Yeah-- Thanks.
[ thanks??? maybe he should've let ghost face kill him, jesus. ]
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He comes back, I'll save a piece for you.
[ because he will come back. whether he goes after evan or david first is up for debate. ]
no subject
[ seems like he's gonna be getting some practice in learning to spot that motherfucker out in the wild so he doesn't get a knife in the ribs. ]
[ anyway-- david sighs and heads out to go try and get the fuck out of here before ghost face wakes up from his forced naptime. what a fucking day. ]