Video: Bellsareme

[relance]

[Julia is sitting on her bunk in her cabin, and she's got a sketch pad on her lap. The sketchpad however is far less important that the skeletal severed arm that's resting around her neck like a bone scarf. There is no way that it should still be connected, let alone moving when Julia speaks, but hey, that's what it's doing.]

Alright assholes, let's make this short and sweet. I'm Julia. Just Julia. Not Jules, Julie or any other stupid nickname that you can come up with. Just Julia. This is Handy.

[The severed arm of Stonewall Jackson waves his bony fingers in greeting.]

Look, it's really fucking dumb that we couldn't figure out who was missing last month because we had no idea who the hell is even on the ship. Let's make this really fucking easy: say who you are, where your cabin is and who your partner is. That way if someone goes wandering off or gets kidnapped or whatever, we at least know what you fucking look like if we're sending out the search party.

Comments

[sisterswitch]

Ah, no, you're the extremely cute rude one.

[jack doesn't smile quite as widely, but it's playful all the same. is she joking? who's to say!]

And I noticed you didn't answer me on the necromancy thing. Is that a yes non-answer or an I don't know what that is non-answer?

[relance]

I’m not a necromancer. I eat them for breakfast. But yes, that’s what brought Handy back.

But I am always cute and an asshole so.

[Julia is just literally the embodiment of the shrug emoji here.]

[sisterswitch]

[man, tough crowd. but that's ok, jack can tell when a gal's not interested in being flirted with. it happens.]

So what do necromancers taste like? Inquiring minds must know. Are we talking breakfast cereal, eggs and toast, maybe something a little fancier?

[relance]

[Oh Julia is definitely interested in being flirted with, she's just teasing, and her eyes are bright, along with the grin that she gives to Jack.

Along with a little wink.]

Mostly like violence and meat and blood, but breakfast cereal definitely would be interesting. Are ya a fruity or a chocolate sort of cereal girl, baby?

[sisterswitch]

[ah, that's better. jack grins in return.]

Oh, I'm mostly a toast or waffles kind of girl, but if I had to pick a cereal? Count Chocula, hands down. Too bad it's only around at Halloween.

[a damn shame, if you ask jack.]

I don't know why, but I would've thought necromancers would taste ... dusty? Not that I'm planning on licking or eating one myself any time soon.

[not in the physical world, at least. in the primordial dream, all bets are off.]

So ... how does one acquire a taste for a balanced necromancer breakfast?

[relance]

Saving the world actually. But she wasn’t anywhere near as dry as one would have expected. I think being president probably helped with the moisture thing.

[sisterswitch]

[give her a second to process this ... ]

... You ate the President? Like, of the United States?

[relance]

Yep!

[sisterswitch]

OK, hang on - the President is a woman? And a necromancer. And you ate her. I am going to need significantly more details. Like, all of them.

[relance]

She was trying to destroy the world.

[sisterswitch]

Well, I can’t say I’m really surprised, but it’s definitely not a good look for the first woman president. Assuming she was the first, of course. Either way - not a good look.

[relance]

She was. She was an avatar of a thing called the Slaughter. It’s how she ended up getting to be president.

[sisterswitch]

"The Slaughter" ... hmm. Never heard of it before, but I'm guessing it does exactly what it says on the tin?

[relance]

Yeah. It’s one of the fourteen powers that are like human fears throughout history.

[sisterswitch]

Only fourteen? I'm pretty sure there are more than just fourteen things that people are afraid of.

[since she's something of an expert on scaring people, she feels qualified to make this statement.]

[relance]

They’re primal fears. Archetypal ones.

[sisterswitch]

Hmm ... [this is extremely relevant to jack's interests.] What are the others?

[relance]

[If it sounds like Julia is just ticking things off on her fingers, it's because she definitely is.]

The Buried: what it sounds like but also being drowned, confined, suffocating. The Corruption: the fear of disease, rot and shit being unclean; things you're repulsed by normally. The Dark, obvious one but it also includes the shit inside of the dark that you can't see. The Desolation: the fear of pain, loss, burning and destruction. The End which is your standard fear of death. The Eye: the fear of being watched, having your secrets exposed, being followed. The Flesh: the fear of sort of meat basically; that humans are just one more bit of meat at their core. The Hunt: the fear of being prey; chased and hunted. The Lonely which is the fear of isolation. The Spiral: the fear of losing your fucking mind and that the world is wrong or lying to you. The Stranger which is all your uncanny valley bullshit. The Vast: heights, open spaces, falling; the fear that humans are insignificant in the scheme of things. The Web: the fear of being trapped or controlled and not even knowing it, being forced to do something against your own will. And finally, The Slaughter, who's avatar I killed which is the fear of unmotivated or unpredictable violence.

[sisterswitch]

... Wow. This is all so organized! I have to admit, I’m finding this all really fascinating. We don’t have anything like that where I’m from - not that I’m aware of, at least.

[relance]

Most people in my world aren't aware of it either. They just assume they're overreacting when they...brush up against the supernatural. Even if it was common knowledge, people wouldn't believe in it. Like ghosts or any other number of things.

[sisterswitch]

Oh, the supernatural totally exists! I happen to know that for a fact. It's just ... categorized differently, I guess you could say?

[relance]

Yeah for sure and I mean I am definitely on intimate relations with knowing that the supernatural is real.