13 >> {a dream?}

[malfattore]

He's straddling her, knees planted into pavement oozing with blood, chest heaving with the thrill of it all

Comments

[girl_unlocking]

Mal...

I-it's okay.

[Breathing's fast. On the verge of hyperventilation and now crossing into tears.]

It's just a...

...these Forges are awful. And so are the insides of our heads, but you couldn't have saved them. Or her. Y-you tried, I know you would have if you were...

...it's not your fault. No one's mad at you because of...

...it's not your fault.

[Or mine.]

[samianscar]

THAT'S how you interpret-?!?!

[chokes back his outraged exasperation]

[ Private to Dawn ]

How many admitted murderers do you have to know before you believe they exist?

[voice, derp]

[girl_unlocking]

Why should I even listen to you? Do you remember my dreams? Have you seen some of the crazy stuff that goes on in people's---

[private]

You don't think that---

---that...

[No. Just ...no. Because that night. In the alley, he helped her. Held her when she'd cried. She'd been alone with him before and he hadn't...]

...no.

[voice, still PRIVATE, derp or not!]

[samianscar]

Listen, Kid. There are two things I can claim to know something about: murder dreams and syntax.

Shall we do a line by line comparison of your dream with his, then? It's not the blood and the violence. It's perspective. Bit of a difference between vividly imagining fear and pain of stuff being done to you, and being able to conjure, with that kind of specificness, exactly what was done and yourself doing it. In my experience, if you can't do it, you can't imagine it. Known plenty of ponces who like to fancy themselves "Dark" but dig for their worst fantasies and they've got nothing they haven't seen in Hollywood-all on the surface. They don't have it to the depths. They don't have any real knowledge. They wouldn't dream about it and get off on it.

Look at the forge visions in this blasted place. Think you'll find most of the violent ones are either memories of stuff done by others, or being on the receiving end. If not, when it's imagining doing, it's by people who we know have done it. No one imagines it like that who hasn't done

[ Voice | Private ]

[knows_it_all]

...Be honest with me. I've had enough of the tricks that this place plays on our minds. I...I've had enough.

Was it you?

[ Shiva, tell me it wasn't, please...pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease tell me it wasn't. ]

Did you...

[ He can't fucking look at the screen anymore, he can't. It's everything he can do not to throw the Forge at the moment. ]

...Did you kill them, Malfatto? Riza, and the girls from the brothel?

I want the truth.

[ Voice | Private ]

[malfattore]

{...}

I fail to see the damage done.

[ Voice | Private ]

[knows_it_all]

The...damage.

The damage?!

You murdered people, that's the damage! None of them had ever gone out of their way to hurt other people, especially not Riza!

But you did!

[ He won't ask how you could do something like that, either...because knowing you, Mal, you'd say something dry and witty like, "Very carefully." ]

...I can't believe you. I trusted you. I TRUSTED YOU!!!

[ Well, to a degree. He'd wanted to believe you were a good guy, Mal. He'd almost convinced himself, too...and then this happened. ]

You know what this means.

[ Voice | Private ]

[malfattore]

What does it mean? I'm almost afraid to ask... but not quite.

{And there it is, splayed body on the slab, exposed and reeking. Out there. Hideous.}

The whores hurt everyone by merely existing, spreading that filth around. Riza was an unfortunate addition.

To be honest {oddly enough, it is} I scarcely remember running into her in the first place. And then she was dead.

{He sighs, then, muttering Kunsel's name to himself, almost scolding.}

Quite the error in judgment, no?

[voice l private]

[lestrangestone]

Was that a dream?

[voice l private]

[malfattore]

No.

... well. In a sense, yes. Based on a reality I'm sure will not sit well with our peers. Tch.

[voice l private ...and batshit forever]

[lestrangestone]

I don't value their judgment much. They the lack proper vision to see that you're clearly doing this city a favor. And really, has not the city and its vermin done enough to us?

Do let me know if you find yourself in a bit of a spot? I'd hate to see your games come to an end at the hand of a few spoilsports.

That girl. The one in red. [Well, more red, anyway.] Do you like her hair? Or did you prefer the blonde?

[voice l private 2 my batshit bff 4evr]

[malfattore]

I assumed I was. I dislike disease, obviously. {He's a doctor, sheesh. And of the plague variety, at that!} The whores... truly, who will genuinely miss them? Can people not satiate their urges without paying vermin for it?

I'll keep you in mind. Unless you're merely tricking me {because yeah, not trusting many at this point} you do seem to understand the method to my supposed madness.

The blond screamed more. I enjoyed that, regardless of hair color.

Voice

[i_love_squats]

[Should he be surprised? No. Is he? A little. He is anytime someone's capable of doing--doing what he thinks was done here.

[But the guy's a doctor, and doctors... he knows what they're capable of.

[So he bites back the "I told you so", and growls in the back of his throat instead.]

Got anything else you want to share with us? You know, confession time and all that?

Voice

[malfattore]

{Ah, he heard that little rumble. Smiles at it.}

Not particularly? Why?

{You really need the words? The admittance? Psh.}

Voice

[i_love_squats]

[Glad you enjoy it. You're going to hear it a lot from here.]

Might thought your crimes might be weighing on your conscience. If you even have one, that is.

Voice

[malfattore]

My conscience is healthy. Content. I know what I do and why. Whether others comprehend and accept it isn't my problem.

{Dark and murky as he is, the doctor enjoys many things! Life's pretty awesome when you're deranged.}

Voice

[wellsuited]

But you're a doctor.

[She's saying it to herself, mostly, trying to work through the confusion. She's not entirely surprised by what his dream reveals, not after talking to Riza.

But still.]

Voice

[malfattore]

Always and forever.

{No excuses, no nothing. Granted, the fact that he's a doctor doesn't mean he can't also be utterly mindfucked.}

Voice

[wellsuited]

I regret...

[A sigh. Regret is a good word for it.]

I regret that I will no longer be in need of your services.

Voice

[malfattore]

Mixing your business with my pleasure seems to be quite the unprofessional move, but it isn't my decision.

I respect your decision with equal regret.

{Mind you, no regret for the acts. He'll miss the income, though. Eh.}