EVERY TRUTH BECOMES LIE

[hellshot]

who: Reaper hellshot and Jacob Kane aeturnus
what: Meeting up because being unable to die isn't exactly common
when: Around the 15th of May
where: Just outside of the living quarters
warnings: body horror, talk



[Any excuse to get out of the housing circle was a good excuse in his books. So despite how he really would rather not socialize with perfect strangers on a planet far from home--he can't lie that he is curious about a being that can't die, like himself.

After all, he was a freak accident, and you don't exactly go around googling for support groups for other undead, forever-living folk in your area.

And as he said he would be, he's easy enough to pick out. A long black coat with a hood over his head, but that unmistakable stylized skull (owl?) mask over his face, hiding his eyes and features from sight.

It's not like he has any idea what this Jacob guy looks like, so he's just going to wait around, arms crossed, looking about as approachable as a cactus. Goodluck, Kane.]

Comments

[aeturnus]

[ Cain waits patiently. It isn't like they don't have time, and it doesn't usually take long for people to understand what he means. ]

Got it in one. At least, if I don't pull it out myself first. That usually helps the process.

[hellshot]

Sounds painful. Don't exactly envy you.

[But honestly, he'd rather that kind of life opposed to his body just dropping bullets out of his body as if he's made out of water.]

Sounds less like you heal, and more like your shit rewinds.

[aeturnus]

Yeah, neither of us are the best posterboys for immortality, huh?

[ Cain just shrugs at that. ]

Technically yes, but as long as I come out of the other end okay you might as well just call it healing.

[hellshot]

Who knows. You might play the part of 'poster boy' better than me.

But it's still utter bullshit. [yep, he's full-on calling your immortality bullshit. He'd come here expecting to meet someone who couldn't be penetrated by bullets or weapons or something.]

...

What's the worst way you've ever died.

[You should probably leave the conversation here.]

[aeturnus]

Right? I'd say eventually you get used to it, but I wouldn't know for a case like yours.

[ Is the, er, novelty of burning forever going to wear off at all? ]

Hm. Burned to death, broken to pieces and scattered to the winds. 'Course, I only felt it up to the burning.

[ Nah. This could be fun. ]

[hellshot]

You get used to a lot of things, like this.

[The chronic pain being one thing, watching your body fall apart day-to-day being another. But that's beside the point.

He's more interested in discussing the second answer Jacob gives.]

So, when you get fucked up like that, how the hell do you recover from it?

'Scattered to the winds', do you just come back together like the ending scene in the Iron Giant or something. [There's such a snide sound of sarcasm in his voice here.]

[aeturnus]

Yeah, guess you do.

[ It's definitely something he has no interest in learning for himself. Something to be said for human resilience. ]

Wait, hold on. I mean, yes, something like that, but how do you know Iron Giant? Is it some kind of timeless cult classic?

[ Cain focuses on the important things here. ]

[hellshot]

[that sure is ONE thing to focus on. You can almost feel the judgemental look of 'are you kidding me' from under that skull-like mask.]

Of course it's a timeless classic. I might be from the 2080s, but some shit doesn't fall into a vault and die.

People are still playing old-ass games like Hearthstone, for fuck sake.

[I wish this canon wasn't real]

[aeturnus]

[ What, you want him to go the boring route? The thing he's probably had a million conversations about instead of knowing stupid, irrelevant shit about the future? Puh-lease. ]

That's... the card game isn't? Digital? [ He just looks bemused, vaguely mystified. Offended? Hard to say. ] Do you have it in VR by then?

[hellshot]

I don't know if we have it in VR. But given how popular that sort of bullshit is, I wouldn't be surprised.

We used a lot of VR Technology in the military to train men how to properly work on the field though. That shit's gotten realistic enough to be viable as something other than just a 'game'.

...

I admit I was a bit too busy in life to enjoy that sort of thing to know too much more about it.

[aeturnus]

No, you're right. Not your wheelhouse, it's not something I can expect you to know.

[ He waves that off. ]

Eventually yes, I'd come back. Just slowly piece together until I'm whole and wake back up.

[hellshot]

You'd be better off discussing that sort of thing with the Cyborg Ninja that lives on the same floor I do. [He doesn't give a name, but that's more than enough information, he feels, for now.]

Sounds like a pain in the ass, all the same. Guess that's what you get if you can't separate your own cells on will.

[aeturnus]

That's a real sentence you just said.

[ He probably knows, Cain. Still, it bears repeating because wow there is a lot to learn and accept about infinite realities. ]

Yeah, it's got trade-offs. I get to pretend I'm normal for twenty to thirty years at a time.

[hellshot]

Yeah. It was. You'll see I'm not kidding when you meet him. If you meet him. Genji.

[Because he's a friendly sort--he'd likely get along with Kane.]

Wondered about that. You'd have to move to a different city or town every now and again. Hah.

That sounds like shit, too.

[aeturnus]

All right, if I see a cyborg ninja I'll call his name out. Surely that won't startle the presumably very deadly man.

[ Even if death doesn't stick, it's still a timesink and hurts, too. ]

After a point, the makeup just isn't worth it anymore. Kids have moved out, wife's up for traveling... Yeah, it suck but you get good at hunting for silver linings after long enough.

[hellshot]

You'd be surprised. [A vague sentence, but the other can ask if he needs clarification.]

...

Think I'd like it, myself. Moving to a place where noone knows me. [A low scoff.] Could go all over the world if you have a long enough lifespan.

[aeturnus]

Not the startling type?

[ Cain inclines his head for that. ]

Even the world would seem small after long enough. Not there yet myself, but the internet is just going to make it harder and harder to stay unknown, too.

[hellshot]

He's more the 'hero' type.

[Genji wouldn't even attack Him unless Reaper gave him a reason, let alone someone as harmless looking as Kane.]

Hah.

If you've been around that long, it'll become a pain in the ass.
Ever thought about going into hiding?

[aeturnus]

Huh, surprisingly. But I hear you.

[ Cain's probably going to ask next time he sees a cyborg ninja around. There's no reason not to. ]

Ever thought about completely losing your mind? [ It's a sarcastic, quick comeback. ] I mean, yeah... of course I have, it's just not something that would work well for a person like me.

[hellshot]

Already there. I'm a high-functioning psychopath, which is the reason I told you that you don't need to meet me in the first place.

[Probably the edgiest thing he's said to Cain in this entire meeting, rip.]

Doesn't work for everyone. Guessing you enjoy the company of others or the calls of 'real life' too much to hole up somewhere on your own.

[aeturnus]

The fact that you're high-functioning doesn't sound like you've lost your mind to me.

[ Just that he's got a different type of mind to hold on to. It doesn't sound like vague platitudes either, just an opinion that most might not agree with. Just because someone could be dangerous doesn't mean they're a danger all the time. ]

Something like that. I've got to occupy myself and people are the best shortcut.

[hellshot]

I've learnt a few coping mechanisms along the way. What can I say.

[He almost sneers in response, raising one of those claw-glove wearing hands at the other. He's not about to discuss what those mechanisms are, but--]

It's people that usually make me lose my grip after a while.

[So there's their difference, right here.]

[aeturnus]

You're an accomplished individual?

[ He hears that sneering tone and decides to go the opposite way. Why not? ]

Takes all types. You'd probably be fine if you ever went into hiding, in theory.

[hellshot]

'Accomplished'. [He huffs out a low laugh at that, too, giving his head a shake. Yeah, that's one way to put it.]

Don't know how long this mess of nanites is going to keep me from the grave. Until I know it's permanent, I have other things I want to accomplish before relaxing into a comfortable corner and ignoring the majority of the world and it's never-ending issues.

[aeturnus]

At least as long as it takes for the metal or whatever components to degrade, but who knows what kind of actual stress it's under in a system like yours.

[ ... Okay, but he probably wasn't thinking about it literally right now, Cain. ]

Can't say as I blame you. More or less did the same myself until I realized what the long haul would probably be.