bloodisthicker | PRISMATICA INBOX

[oh. Oh fuck. When Colress asks him that, his expression blanches a bit, because if he’s getting a question about what are presumably sordid secrets of his friend’s then...

...well, he was probably going to find out at some point, wasn’t he.]

...yes, I did. It’s somewhat-

[OH FUCK SOMETHING GRABBED HIS LEGS]

-argh, what in the name of- what is going on?!

...Ah.

[Colress mutters, as a sinking feeling settles into his stomach. He doesn't like where this could be going, and he wishes this could have happened under different circumstances.

—very different circumstances, as it turns out. Those sure are ghostly hands reaching out from his desk chair. They pin him down with ease, and no amount of struggling budges them.]

W-What—?!

[And it looks like he isn't alone in this. Tarrlok's under attack as well.

He inhales sharply, trying to push his newly-spiking anxiety down. He needs to keep his cool, or- Well, he doesn't know what could happen, but it can't be anything good.]

Tarrlok, I believe- I believe it's the application.

[But what could this mean? Do they need to read the questions? Well...if Tarrlok really got something about him, he wants to clear it up as soon as possible. So he'll be the test subject.]

What is the question on your end?

[...there’s no point in struggling, is there? Just some damned haunted nonsense for the two of them to deal with. Wonderful. Just.... great.

Tarrlok lets his limbs go slack and lets a frustrated hiss of a breath escape through his teeth.]

Of course it’s the application. Is there anything on this planet that isn’t haunted? Anyway, the question it’s making me ask you is...

[...he hesitates before asking, because does he really want to hear the answer?]

...”Did you conduct unethical practices as the leader of Neo Team Plasma?”

...

I doubt it will let us get away with lying.

[It isn't the fact that this haunted application somehow knows the parts of his past that he had kept locked away that gets to Colress. It's the fact that Tarrlok had to unlock it like this.

His silence speaks volumes, but his expression really seals it. Colress has never looked quite so ashamed in front of Tarrlok before.

He takes a deep breath, ignoring how rigid he has become in contrast to Tarrlok.]

I have no intention of lying. [...] After Ghetsis' first failure to seize control of Unova, he contacted me and requested my aid in realizing his desires. He wanted me to take control of Team Plasma's remnants, and develop technology to help him finally bring Unova to its knees, by any means necessary.

[Considering what he has said about Ghetsis and Team Plasma, there is no possible way he could've agreed to this though, right?]

I saw a once in a lifetime opportunity laid before me. Long had I searched for an answer to my coveted research: What brings out the most power in a Pokemon? Ghetsis intended to capture and use a very powerful Pokemon to aid in his destruction, and I was to enhance it with science.

I accepted his request.

[Tarrlok’s silent for a moment. There’s... well, he can’t say there isn’t some part of him telling him not to let Colress off the hook for that, that this makes him dangerous, that he’ll do it again the second he wants something out of it...

...but you know, he... maybe he would’ve gone with that kind of kneejerk reaction a while ago, but isn’t that kind of hypocritical? Well... maybe not if you’ve started to kind of hate yourself, too.]

...great.

[It’s all he can really say, honestly. It sure keeps happening, doesn’t it? His father, his brother, and now...]

That’s great. Guess it didn’t go well, did it.

[Yeah, he talked shit about Ghetsis, but they all do in the end when it goes to shit, don’t they.]

[Tarrlok's reaction leaves a chill within Colress, so much so that he can't bear to see the disappointment in his eyes. It's cowardly, but...he finds himself looking away anyway. The hands, seemingly pleased by this, writhe as though they're mocking him.

He wanted to be honest to his friend—to the man he's come to care a great deal about—and he's seeing the consequences of his previous actions biting him back in real time.

But he pushes forward with his explanation...even though he knows that nothing he says will probably bring back what they had mere moments before this nightmare.]

Not for Ghetsis, no. Despite the technology that I developed for him, despite forcing Kyurem to release its maximum potential, he was still defeated a second time- for good. But I got my answer.

The young Trainer who defeated him believed in her Pokemon. She stood firmly in her belief that the true power of Pokemon is drawn out by love and trust, not forcing it out like Ghetsis instructed me to do with Kyurem. I followed her on her journey, challenging her and aiding her in her confrontation with Neo Team Plasma—the team I led—to ultimately see which stance was my answer. I wanted hers to triumph, but the truth of the matter is that I cared more for results. I was prepared for Ghetsis to end up destroying Unova, and I would have been satisfied as long as I obtained results.

[Well. There it is. It's off his chest. He knows he would've had to say something about this some day, but having it dragged out like this, and watching Tarrlok lose his respect for him...he wishes that the hands would just take him.

He shakes his head.]

I was a fool.

You were, yes, but you got what you wanted out of it. Isn’t that right?

[There’s the unspoken question of what’s to stop you from doing it again in his tone, but he’s not sure if he wants the explanation. He’s not sure if he’d actually buy any denials at this point, anyway.]

So, what skeletons are getting dragged out of my closet? There’s a variety to pick from.

[He deserves this. He knows he does. But it doesn't stop the metaphorical knife from twisting further into his stomach.]

...Yes, that is correct. But I also learned a great deal from those events two years ago. It was because of her that I changed my approach to science.

[He knows there's no redeeming himself now, but he can't go without saying that. A small part of him hopes that he can get across how much he has tried to improve since then.

...Ah, yes. There's the matter of Tarrlok's question, isn't there? M-Maybe they should get everything out in the open before continuing, if there's even anything that can be said at this point.

Colress glances up to read it. He takes a deep breath...]

"Who taught you how to bloodbend?"

I’m sure you did, but no one ever really changes as much as they’d like to think they do. I’m sure that’s out the window the second you stop getting anything out of it.

[...........yeah. Anyway. That question, huh. Sure. It’s about what he expected.]

That would be my father.

[That response kind of seals it for him. He has no rebuttal for that- or at least he's had the wind kicked out of him enough that he's not sure he wants to even try. He's hurt Tarrlok enough at this point, hasn't he.

...]

What...is bloodbending?

[There are obvious connections to be drawn from the term alone, but he wants to hear it from the person who apparently does it.]

...

It’s just what it sounds like. Water comprises a great deal of the bodies of living beings, right? There’s your answer.

[Yikes.

He supposes that waterbenders would've eventually come to take that into consideration... But it just goes against what he'd come to know about Tarrlok. It doesn't sit well with him.]

You don't put it into use often, do you? I just...can't imagine you wanting to know how to do something like that.

I never did unless it was required of me. It wasn’t something I ever wanted to learn to begin with, but what I want never really mattered.

[....................are they free of hands, then]

[Yes, the hands have been gradually residing since Tarrlok gave his honest answer. Colress hasn't even taken notice though, because their conversation has his full attention. The whole thing with his secret was really bad, but this has just become a shitstorm at this point.

Colress seems taken aback by what he's hearing. Tarrlok was forced into this?]

Tarrlok, I...

[He desperately wants to say he's here to listen, because it feels like he's finally on the edge of knowing what has been eating at Tarrlok these last few months. He wishes an application hadn't given an unfortunate push to bring this to the surface, but...it could be progress.

But would Tarrlok even want to say anything more to him at this point?]

...

[There’s a lot he wants to say that he’s not sure he wants to say to Colress right now. But then, who can he even say it to? It’s not like he actually deserves Korra and Asami’s sympathy, and he’s been trying to make up to them... to what end? It’d be nice if he could change things, sure, but.

...]

He... my father was a mob boss trying to make Republic City his personal speakeasy until Avatar Aang stopped him. Aang took his bending and assumed that was good enough, so when he escaped from prison and changed his face, it wasn’t a priority to track him down.

He couldn’t take revenge himself, so that’s what we were for. I don’t know if he always intended that or if he just got a bright idea when he found out we could do it. Maybe he thought he’d changed until then, maybe he didn’t. I don’t know.

[... why’s he continuing to explain it. It’s not like it matters, does it?]

[Oh, Arceus.

It's a lot to take in, but he's really glad that Tarrlok didn't just hang up on him the moment they were freed from the app's trap. What Tarrlok is saying explains so much about his reaction to Colress' own secret. He had a pretty damn good example of how a person truly didn't learn from their past transgressions at their core.]

He forced it upon you...but you resisted, didn't you? From what you have told me, you've walked a completely different path.

...I wish I could say that I did. I went along with it when I was a child because there was nothing else I could do, but...

[...sigh.]

I don’t know if there was a point in it. I thought I was taking a different path from him, but the other people from my world have made me realize I only thought I was. I just had a different name and different optics for what I did. I know my brother did the same thing, from what they’ve told me.

[He's definitely not going to blame Tarrlok for going along with it, because man...that's a really tough situation to be stuck in. To be saddled with a power he never even wanted...ugh.

But what Tarrlok's saying about the present is worrisome, to say the least. He so badly wanted to get back home to try to set things straight, but...]

This discovery is what has been eating at you, isn't it? Please, I want you to tell me about it. If...you are willing after what you have learned today.

[Arceus knows they've both made some serious fuck-ups, so if it will help to talk it out, he wants to be that person to lend an ear.]

[...there's a part of him that still wants to reject this, the part that's been overriding any desire to keep this civil instead of being bitter and angry about the whole thing... but he's tired. He's tired, and maybe he does want to believe people can change. Even if he still doesn't actually believe it, he wants to.

Maybe not even for his own sake.]

...The more I look at myself, the more I realize I've just been doing the same things as him. It's been a touch more legally sanctioned, sure, but...

[sigh.]

The Avatar confronted me about it and I apparently wound up bloodbending her and kidnapping her.

[Colress can't hold back a flinch. There's no denying how bad that sounds, and truthfully, it's not something he he would've ever imagined Tarrlok doing. Looking back on things, was he just never getting the full story of Tarrlok's exploits...?]

Did she give you the full context? Why in the world you would resort to that? And...what happened after?

[He just can't wrap his head around it. It's a shock to the system to hear when he'd built up such a different image of Tarrlok prior to this.]

[Tarrlok shakes his head, his brow furrowed.]

I... don't have full context, but I can hazard a guess. Shortly before I was spirited away here, I arrested her friends on some technicalities to try and force her to fall in line instead of being a vigilante.

[...he resists the urge to try and defend his actions, because honestly, now that he's been taking a good hard look at himself, it's pretty indefensible...]

I can only assume that I ended up provoking her and things came to blows... or maybe she provoked me. I'm not sure. Even if my methods are fairly extreme, I wouldn't bloodbend anyone unless the situation was extremely dire, and... well, bloodbending is extremely illegal for obvious reasons. I assume that's why I ended up kidnapping her.

[...sigh. okay.]

Apparently it wasn't the best way to cover things up, since apparently everyone found out about it anyway. Including the Equalists, who I've... told you about.

[Colress listens quietly and attentively, but his expression is pretty strained through the whole explanation. It's quite a blow to hear that Tarrlok had been doing this kind of stuff even before his arrival... But the fact that he isn't defending these actions and seems remorseful does soften that blow. After all, Colress obviously can't talk. This is just...very regrettable, all around.]

Yes, I recall the Equalists. You had hoped to work with the Avatar to defeat them. [Obviously, that did not work out.] Did they track you down...?

Edited 2019-11-12 01:27 (UTC)

They found the location where I was holding the Avatar, yes. Amon showed up to take care of me personally, because as it turns out, he's actually my older brother.

[....his life is a fucking pulp radio show.]

[Tarrlok why is your life literally like the drama shows you like so much.]

The leader of the Equalists is your brother?! Goodness... [That kind of leaves him at a momentary loss for words. As if this could get any more baffling.] I- I cannot imagine having to learn of this second-hand...

[This also leaves him with a question that he's hesitant to ask:]

He didn't gravely harm you, did he?

It was certainly not how I would’ve preferred to learn about it, and... really, I thought the Avatar was lying at first. But there was no way she could’ve known I even had a brother otherwise, and... well, he was a genius when it came to waterbending. Apparently that’s how he can take people’s bending-he does something with bloodbending to block people’s chi?

[HE REALLY DOESN’T KNOW...]

Apparently he does take my bending and imprisons me, but... I don’t really know what happens from there. I know I apparently clued the Avatar in on everything about my family, but Amon and I disappear after he’s defeated.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject