asipofbride: <user name=ponponpon> (pic#16369667)
nicholas d. wolfwood ([personal profile] asipofbride) wrote in [community profile] kaisou2024-05-12 12:15 pm

[sermon ?] —if you wanna cry, use my heart

WHO: Nicholas D. Wolfwood and you.
WHERE: the Metaverse - Noman's Land
WHEN: the month of May
WHAT: sọ̸͒m̷̥̽ĕ̷̛̜̺t̶̐̃ͅ𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰

the Eye of Michael and Nicholas D. Wolfwood, Pastor of the St. Michael's Church, do hereby enter into the following contract with respect to their work. the Pastor agrees to faithfully perform all duties as commanded in the Eye of Michael, effective ████ ███, █.█. ███, and to abide by all rules and regulations swearing in the name of the two Angels sent by God.

the Pastor agrees to receive immortal glory from the Priest ███████ through the Suffering of the Holy Angels.

in the event of abandonment of his duties, or in the event that the Executive Board determines that there is sufficient cause, the Pastor shall be permanently expelled from the Eye of Michael and St. Michael's Church, and the family members of the Pastor shall be Subject to the same punishment.


WARNINGS: medical experimentation, insects, body horror, needles, religious trauma, gore, death.


???NOMAN'S LAND — summaries and links

♫ HUNGRY!


Are you ever going to be fast enough to outrun everything, Judas?

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOPELAND;
The Dormitories and the Laboratories
Hopeland Orphanage, in its good and not so good days. Shadow Wolfwood will tell you to go the Laboratories; the Eye of Michael's enforcers wait to inject you with the drugs in Wolfwood's vials and make you better. Livio wants you to find the other children and bring them back to safey, but will eventually leave to find Wolfwood himself no matter how fast you go. Fight your way through the lab or save the children; both choices deliver you to the belly of the Eye.


CHILD OF BLESSING;
The Eye of Michael HQ
The Eye of Michael's training facilities and Plant storage. Once you're far enough in, you'll meet another Wolfwood who wants nothing more than to shoot you dead; you can either confront him or go around him. Going around him leads to a repeating looping of classrooms and expendable young Eye of Michael goons; going through him will be a battle to not get shot by a skittish, defensive little gunman who's very good at what he does. Both paths will lead to Legato Bluesummers and an older, enhanced Livio. Disabling or killing Legato and Livio will let you out into Julai in the middle of its last hour.


HIGH NOON AT JULY;
Julai
The city of Julai in its final day. You're emerging from ground zero of the Eye of Michael's weird cult tower and the city is being overrun by a giant plant organism that looks like Vash's mother. The military think you're part of it and will try and stop you, and the people of Julai are being menaced and mulched by the plants. Help them, or run. If you linger for too long, Millions Knives will find you and attempt to reduce you to fertilizer despite the best efforts of the Humanoid Typhoon that Wolfwood remembers. Eventually, the twins will go up--and everything will go white when they come back down.


HUMANITY;
In Kaisou
Trying to enter the Metaverse immediately after the July Incident is an exercise in futility. Wolfwood's space is just white static and the phantom feeling of coarse sand and unrelenting heat on your skin. You have been returned to Cathedral Hill for at least a night.


THE RUNNJING MAN;
THE the Outskirts of Julai;
Julai City is a hole that seems to span forever and all that's left are clouds of glimmering Worms and a rusted metallic scrapyard. In the center of the scrapyard, you'll find Nicholas D. Wolfwood at odds with Nicholas the Punisher. They're bound to the duty that they can't put down, the Cross Punisher standing like a tombstone in the middle of a sandy arena. The bigger, hungrier Worms will try their luck with bringing down all of you fresh hunks of meat. Save Wolfwood. End this.
jackdawvision: (can we keep our bearing)

[personal profile] jackdawvision 2024-05-13 05:11 am (UTC)(link)
You go ahead, Vash, we’ll go after little Wolfwood.

[Yes, he is in fact ready to argue with a holy knight and a demon. Squishy and overconfident as he is over what he can handle. But he looks at them both and says,] I can handle myself. And I’m not going alone, either—whatever might be waiting for us, three can handle it better than two. Even a very capable two.
advivo: (pic#16391668)

[personal profile] advivo 2024-05-13 09:42 am (UTC)(link)
[ any other day dante might have argued further, but they don't have time for it. so dante relents, throwing his hands up in defeat. ]

I don't have time to be babysitting you, Ed. [ shroud can live through what is coming, dante can live through what is coming, but edward? as far as dante is concerned he is little more than a guy with a sharp knife. ] But fine, whatever. Do what you want, but don't go slowing us down.

[ with that he moves over to vash, taking the human typhoon's flesh hand in his own for a moment. ] I'll catch up with you later, angel. [ he brings it up to press a kiss to vash's knuckles before letting go, turning on his heel to walk back over to jun. ]

Come on, kid. Lets get moving.
whiteshroud: (jun124)

[personal profile] whiteshroud 2024-05-13 10:19 am (UTC)(link)
[Goddammit Edward. Shroud is practically shaking in frustration because not only is this not the first time this week he's had to deal with Edward being stupidly stubborn, but because this is possibly the worst time for it.

Fortunately for all, Dante speaks up before Shroud can follow through on the intrusive thoughts to break Ed's bones to keep him from coming along. Dante's right. They have to keep moving. There was a mission to complete. If Edward keeps insisting on coming, that's his own choice.

Attachments are obstacles, focus on the mission. Attachments are obstacles, focus on the-

He turns and starts following in the direction Wolfwood look. It's quiet, but if one listens close enough they can hear Shroud muttering a string of Japanese and Italian profanities.]
Edited 2024-05-13 10:20 (UTC)
jackdawvision: (fate; do we really have)

[personal profile] jackdawvision 2024-05-13 10:39 am (UTC)(link)
[He bristles when Dante says "babysitting," eyes going hard and flinty.]

I'm fast enough to keep up.

[As Mary Read, may her soul rest in peace, would attest: trying to talk Edward down from a choice he's made is like trying to talk to a brick wall. Or a drowning rat determined to get to the piece of cheese at the bottom of the pool. It'll be his own bullheaded spite that kills him if nothing else does, she would say.

At least this time he's fully aware what he's doing, what the consequences might be, even if he doesn't know exactly what's waiting for them. He can guess.

He falls in step right behind the two, taking up the rear and pulling his hood up over his head.]
advivo: (pic#16381525)

[personal profile] advivo 2024-05-13 11:12 am (UTC)(link)
[ dante doesn't have to speak the languages to know shroud is pissed off, the mutterings still loud enough to be caught by his demonically enhanced hearing─ but he says nothing. for once dante is no nonsense and laser focused, eyes sharp and muscles tense. there is no telling what is going to be around the corner.

it doesn't take long for the hallway of the orphanage to crack and crumble away, stark white replacing old walls. each step makes his stomach sink more and more. he can hazard a guess where the path is leading them, begging the question as to why shroud was so against company. the implication of him understanding, even on some level, the shit wolfwood's been through sits heavy on his shoulders.

fuck.

he pushes the thought aside, buries it deep, and decides to unpack that later. get nick out of here first, that's all that matters. ]


Only one way to go.

[ and that's the doors straight ahead. ]
whiteshroud: (jun132)

[personal profile] whiteshroud 2024-05-13 12:32 pm (UTC)(link)
[After he got the swearing out of his system, Shroud becomes silent as they walked further in. Mentally, he's preparing himself for what he knows is the likely scenario here. He remembers Wolfwood sharing stories of the torments the Eye of Michael put him through. It had been a half-joking conversation, acting like the time Wolfwood got folded into a chair was funny and not horrific- the kind of gallows humor that survivors cling to like a life raft.

But the tone aside, Jun had never doubted for a second what Wolfwood was saying was anything but the gospel truth. It'd been what made Jun feel comfortable around him - he understood.

The walls were now giving away to the look of medical labs. How many times had he been in places like this? If he didn't have a mission to complete, he'd probably run the other way. But knowing that's not an option, he's already prepping himself with the next best survival tactic: not letting his mind linger in the moment. Don't let himself think of his companions. Focus on his own survival.

As they walk through the doors, he eyes the cross-shaped tables. The audacity of them hit him in the face. Now in survival mode, the gallows humor once again comes out]


Oh cool. Never been crucified before.
jackdawvision: (and bones and a serpent's head are)

[personal profile] jackdawvision 2024-05-13 03:01 pm (UTC)(link)
[Edward had been expecting a prison, one like a brig on a ship, or perhaps like the one he, Anne and Mary had been kept in. He'd expected, to some degree, to maybe see signs of torture here and there. This is—nothing like he thought it might be, and when he quickly blinks into his second sight to check, everyone in the room not the three of them is blood-red.

Well, uh, fuck. He flicks out both hidden blades.]


Get your weapons out, now. [This he says just as the doctors and soldiers are beginning to turn towards them.] They want us dead or worse!
advivo: (pic#16383113)

[personal profile] advivo 2024-05-13 10:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Wouldn't recommend it, honestly.

[ dante almost wishes he could be surprised, but he isn't. not by the cross-shaped tables, not by the personnel with their creepy masks, and certainly not by the implications the room as a whole has. he glances to edward at his warning and laughs a bitter sound. ]

They don't want you dead, Ed. They want you 'remade'. [ with a surge of red energy devil sword dante appears in his hand and dante shifts his weight. ] We tried to warn you!

[ the devil hunter launches himself toward the horde of personnel moving toward them, his expression a mixture of manic joy and unbridled rage. if they have to cut down some assholes to get to wolfwood then he'll do just that. ]
whiteshroud: (jun66)

[personal profile] whiteshroud 2024-05-14 02:07 am (UTC)(link)
[It can't be seen thanks to his hood, but Jun nearly scoffs at Edward's exclamation. Yeah, no shit they're in danger, this is exactly why he tried to caution you away. ]

Wolfwood was a test subject in a cult's experiments to make the perfect soldier.

[Of course Dante would opt to fight. Jun on the other hand, doesn't summon his blade. Instead he stands back, knowing full well how this is going to end. How it always ends. Even now as Dante cuts through, more are taking their place.

The ones who openly fought the handlers never lasted long. ]


Last chance to turn back Edward. If these are his memories, we're not fighting through this.

[He's not going to waste his energy even trying. Instead, he's heading for that cross shaped table and the faceless personnel waiting there. He rather get this over with. ]
jackdawvision: (a life you've been given)

[personal profile] jackdawvision 2024-05-14 08:46 am (UTC)(link)
What the fuck do you mean remade?!

[Life is hard when you’re a pirate from the first half of the 18th century and you’re facing down futuristic cattle-prods with like. Antique guns and fancy knives. The faithful rush after him and Dante, and to Edward’s credit, he puts up a hell of a fight. Stubborn and defiant till the end—perhaps that’s what the Assassins recognized in him.

With a natural 20, he even pulls off a flashy little dodge-kill, rolling over one of the faceless faithful and jamming his blade into their neck just as another tries to stun him.

Then he notices Shroud going quietly, and calls urgently out,]
Shroud! Bloody hell, man, what are you—

[The problem with Eagle Vision is you can’t turn it on in the middle of a fight. Edward has never quite been able to muster the concentration and peace for that. It’s a shame, because perhaps then, he might’ve noticed the needle creeping up behind his ankle.

He doesn’t, not until it wraps around him and quite literally trips him.]


Dante, run! [is all he manages to get out, before he’s locked in, struggling and kicking all the way.]
advivo: (pic#16394264)

[personal profile] advivo 2024-05-14 09:30 am (UTC)(link)
[ dante knew how it was going to end the moment he summoned his devil sword to his hand. he isn't stupid, there wasn't a way he could have made it through this without a scratch but he had to try. he's never been the kind of guy to go quietly into that good night, no, dante would fight tooth and nail until his last breaths.

it's just the kind of guy he is.

(4) but even the legendary devil hunter dante can get overwhelmed, he can make mistakes and stumble. shroud might have noticed how reckless he fought before the personnel finally managed to get one up on him, the devil sword dante hitting the metal floor with a heavy thunk. this was inevitable and it's then that the fight leaves his body. ]


I ain't running, Ed. But you should've. [ it's the last thing he says before the faceless personnel force him down onto the table and lock him in. ]
whiteshroud: (OW)

[personal profile] whiteshroud 2024-05-14 12:22 pm (UTC)(link)
What must be done.

[Is all he'll answer to Ed as he gets himself up on the table. It's a mercy he's allowed to keep his hood. This way, he can maintain some dignity. His companions won't see the look of terror in Jun's eyes, or the way color has drained from his face.

As they strap him in, Jun will avoid looking at Edward. He doesn't want to see his friend genuine struggle for survival before he's overwhelmed and broken down. Instead, he focuses his gaze on Dante. The devil's hunter's movements are a lot more reckless than usual, with an air of defeat to them. It's as if it's more Dante lashing out with his own attempt to keep his dignity before the inevitable comes.

A Sparda through and through. Jun always admired that family's tenacity.

He'll turn his head away as he feels the last strap getting tied around his leg, letting his gaze go to the ceiling. No more thinking of the others, it'll only make what's to come more difficult. He draws in a few deep measured breaths, trying to calm himself. These experiments are always less painful if you manage to keep yourself calm.

Oh Lord, Father in heaven.
I have to admit, I'm terrified.
None of the prayers feel right in the moment.
So please-


He can feel the needle going into his arm, a burning sensation spreading as it's serum enters his veins.

Just... stay by my side, okay?

The burning spreads quickly through his body, making his organs feel like they are burned to cinders. His eyes will squeeze shut, and hallucinations of his loved ones will call out to him. Pay them no mind- he keeps telling himself. They're nothing more than siren songs.

He manages not to scream through the pain, but only just, unwilling to give these memories the satisfaction (19). ]
Edited 2024-05-14 12:22 (UTC)
jackdawvision: (and bones and a serpent's head are)

tw hallucinations, past character death, gore

[personal profile] jackdawvision 2024-05-14 02:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[There's nothing that must be done about this, get up, man! is what Edward would've yelled at Shroud. He'd have yelled it through the beatings and the pain, because he's gotten beaten up more than once to have a fairly good pain tolerance, but even hardened skin can't stop the needle from slipping into his veins.

Any thought of dignity or pride slips away from him as the sheer agony hits. He screams, a purely animalistic shriek of sheer pain and terror, this is so much fucking worse than any pain he's ever felt. Any words he might've had for anyone melt away in the face of this torment, worse than a gibbet in the hot sun or a broken nose or a broken bone, and his vision blurs—everyone around him in blood-red, with two streaks of blue in this sea of crimson that blurs and drowns him and—

If he turns his head he sees Caroline, her eyes bright, calling his name and reaching for him. When he tries to reach for her despite the restraints, she flinches away and weeps, weeps, weeps: you promised me, Edward, no more than two years, you promised, why are you leaving me what keeps you wandering don't I make you happy weren't we happy why didn't you come back for me

He blinks, and Mary's there—Kidd—Mary, her form shifts in front of his eyes. Is her hair down, are her lips red, are her eyes bright and her mouth turned up in a grin or have they dulled in death? But they're fixed on him as she smiles at him and calls his name, calls him friend, says, I'll be with you

(her corpse had been so cold)

—her head lolls and he's never seen her cry before, never heard her say, you spiteful lout, there's no one left in your life to care a whit for what you call courage—Adéwalé holding out his hand to lift him up only to let him go, only to let him fall, only to say, you run your schemes and your plans alone and lose the faith of your crew, your friends, those people you're holding on so tightly to, so how long will it take you to break their trust—Thatch, grinning at him through that long black beard of his, clapping him on the back, in this world or the one below

(the sword had torn a gash right through Thatch's throat and it bled bled bled and he was dead before he hit the ground and had he been looking at Edward, the whole time, asking him save me)

—red blood on the Jackdaw's deck, red blood slicking his hands as he tried to stem the blood from Zulius's neck, Diarmuid calling for him to go and take Ritsuka with him, a glint of steel in the darkness, blue and red and gold blurring together, the crystal skull shining in Roberts' hand as he reaches for it before its teeth clamp down on him and send shockwaves of fiery agony through his entire being—

How can anyone survive this? How could Wolfwood survive this? You should've run, Dante had said, but Edward couldn't run—why? Because of his pride? Because of his own spiteful stubbornness? Because he was too damn curious for his own good? (Because he wanted to be good, and protect someone he cared about for once in his goddamned life?)

He thinks—

He thinks he sees Wolfwood.]
advivo: (pic#16380081)

[personal profile] advivo 2024-05-14 10:27 pm (UTC)(link)
[ it should be agony, it should be burning him from the inside out but after twenty years of fighting─ of being stabbed, ripped, skewered, shot, torn apart ─dante feels nothing. the serum pulse through his veins, breaking and healing and encouraging growth, and dante bears it all silently. edward's screams filling his ears as his vision blurs and the ceiling melts away─

─then it isn't edward's screams echoing in his ears. he can hear his mother crying out as the demons descend, as flames lick at the closet she left him in. she sobs vergil's name begging him to come out of hiding. reds and oranges and yellows fill his vision as eva reaches out to him. be strong now, be a good boy, start again with a new name, a new life, help me, help your brother, if only you hadn't fought i would have lived i would have─ dante inhales sharply, eva's voice like knives in his ears. it isn't real, he tells himself, none of this is real. the dull burning in his limbs, his mother's voice in his ears. the visions of her and vergil laughing and waving and reaching out begging for him to save them.

grin and bear it, grin and bear it, it'll be over soon.

yet it feels like it goes on for hours, for days. the figures of his mother and vergil shift and melt and then it is the girls standing there, smiling. he can't hear them, not with his pulse thundering in his ears, but he is sure they call out to him. he left them behind after all, wrote a will and everything. trish smiles the same way his mother once did and lady waves. dante laughs a breathy and broken sound, fingers twitching and their smiles melt away─ they're fine, they're fine, don't let it overwhelm, it'll be over soon.

dante grits his teeth and clenches his fists, even as the girls shift and merge into an image of wolfwood. even as the grin on his face melts into pain, as the screams in his ears become cries for help, even as wolfwood begs and pleads and crumbles before his eyes. dante grins and bears it.

it is all he can do. ]
whiteshroud: (jun50)

[personal profile] whiteshroud 2024-05-14 11:02 pm (UTC)(link)
[Jun can hear the screams of his loved ones. August fussing over him, Abel calling out to him, Ryouta yelling his name. But each time, Jun refuses to look. He'll force his eyes to open, but chooses to focus on a single light on the ceiling. Even as the hallucinations try to move in front of his vision, he stares right past them and at that light.

There were Greed in the Eclipse that'd lure humans in with the voices and appearances of people they cared about. Again and again, the Orden had drilled in this lesson. This was no different.

Pay them no mind, pay them no mind.

The pain was growing in intensity. It was like his regeneration ability when he forced it, but on overdrive. It both felt like an eternity and far too fast. Human bodies weren't meant to grow and heal this quickly. If he had more presence of mind, he'd think about what it means for Wolfwood. But right now? He's too much in survival mode to tap into empathy.

Just get through this, get through it. It'll be over soon. God, let it be over soon.]
jackdawvision: (survived only to continue the curse)

[personal profile] jackdawvision 2024-05-15 03:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[Bang.

Edward comes back to himself with a hoarse gasp, eyes wild, nightmares receding into the back of his head. He's shaky on his feet when he gets up, which is odd coming from someone who's usually so fast and agile. He doesn't look at anyone, which is even odder coming from someone so stubborn and loud. He looks shaken, down to his core, like he'd really not expected to walk right into this and then to walk out of it alive again.

When he makes it out, bile rises in his throat as something tightens painfully around his chest, roils in his stomach. When the other two come out he's slumped against the wall, hand over his mouth, having what he thinks is a breakdown and what someone else might realize is a panic attack, and it takes him a moment longer than usual to shake his head and even register that anyone else is outside. He staggers to his feet, swallows the bile back.]


Where next?

[It's hoarse, but it's there, in his voice: a refusal to back down. He's thrown his lot in with these two and he'll keep going.

Just. Give him a second to recover. It's fine, he's fine, it's all just fine. Everything is fine.]
advivo: (pic#16365783)

[personal profile] advivo 2024-05-17 11:02 pm (UTC)(link)
[ the gun nestles so comfortably under his chin, the metal cool against his burning skin. even the wolfwood's lips feel cool against him and he wishes hopes years for them to be real, for this nightmare to just be over─

bang.

dante comes back to himself with hardly any noise, the restrains open with a pop almost too sharp against his ears and dante sits up slowly. there is a sharp pain behind his teeth that fades quickly into an unpleasant pressure, but he ignores it. unlike edward, dante is steady on his feet, getting up and walking out as though he hadn't just gone through any of that at all. he doesn't even look at edward when he exits the room, his gaze focused straight ahead as he listens for shroud to join them. ]


Forward, the only way we can go.
whiteshroud: (jun67)

[personal profile] whiteshroud 2024-05-17 11:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[Out of the corner of his eye he sees Wolfwood looking down at him. He resists the urge to look at him, instead continuing to focus on that light. He only winces when that headpat happens, that gesture of affection feeling so wrong amidst the torture. It reminded him of some of the Krusnik agents, who would try to act sweet to hide their monstrous natures.

Feeling a gun against his head is a more welcomed experience. Just do it, he finds himself thinking.

Bang.

All at once, it's over. Jun jolts back to reality. Whatever twisted experiment these echoes wanted to put him through was now over. Part of him felt relieved, but the other part of him...

He's slow at getting out of restraints. He's smaller than the other two, so maybe the researchers reason he's struggling more with the after effects. They don't notice his eyes following the other two, making sure Edward and Dante are safely out of the room.

They are also too late to notice the holy blade manifest in Jun's hands.

As soon as Edward and Dante are clear of the door, there is massive explosion of light energy in the medical lab they just left. It nearly causes the door itself to get blasted off its hinges and whatever's in the room that doesn't get immediately incinerated gets thrown around with loud crashes.

Shroud comes out a moment later, his holy sword once again put away. He is steady on his feet, and he is not going to address what the fuck happened back there.]


Take slow, deep breaths, Edward. It'll help.