Just... better? I don't know. I'd say don't start shit with people, but I do that all the time. I think you've been doing fine. Even you and Finnick seemed to be getting along when you tormented me in the shop.
I understand jokes. Your delivery could use some work.
[...but that was why he had liked that joke. Because he could eat a clock. It was FUNNY. what is wrong with you, Nina. ] But I asked if you would. Not me.
[Time to have someone intervene because the joke is already dead, they don't need to keep killing it.]
[He closed his eyes, looking like he was in actual, physical pain. Well, penance was not supposed to feel good, else it would not be penance, would it. Maybe that was another difference between his world and everyone else's--in his, laughing at somebody else hurt. ]
If it is effective, it might purge my soul of its corruption. [Might. Enough so that it was worth the attempt. And judging by how badly it hurt, he could hope it was at least effective.]
Nina, you cannot refuse an order from an Inquisitor. [Not and be like...alive for much longer.]
[The Inquisitor has seen Gadriel naked, though, so that's a horror show for further discussion and mental damage.
[He sighs, because he's thought about this. He would rather his penance have been something less painful, like throwing himself naked into a bed of cactuses.]
I would imagine she thought I was too prideful and needed to be humbled.
Inquisitors do not abuse their power for their own amusement, Nina. It is a sacred duty they have been given. [And Gadriel is hopelessly naive.]
She took on the duty. The Inquisitor knows what it means, and what the sacred duty of an Inquisitor is. [He doesn't just go up to random women asking for punishment. That's a kink. This is the safety of his soul.
It would be a violation of a sacred pledge to abuse power like that. [Did he think she was mean? Yes. Did he think she was abusing her power? No. Incomprehensible.
[He makes a frustrated sound. She would never understand this.] Nina. Where I am from, we are a brotherhood. We are never alone, even in our worst hours. We can count on others to lift us when we fall, to fight for us when our faith falters. [He sounds sorry that she does not know what that feels like. To always have the support of at least two hundred other brothers. And how awful it felt to have that stripped away. ] We 'solve our own shit' by asking for, and getting, aid. That is how it works.
That must be nice. ( She said bitterly and immediately regretted doing so. Nina did not have that for a long time, however. And even once her family formed and she had people to call on, she couldn't always. Too often did she only have herself to rely on, and even if that wasn't true now, here in Caldera, she still felt... jealous. )
[The sharpness in her voice hit him like a blow. This is what happens when you try to explain, Gadriel. You cannot tell a joke correctly. You cannot explain how lost you feel without angering your closest ally.]
I am sorry to have upset you. I was tryin-- never mind.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Be better at WHAT. [Please don't say humor especially right now.]
People need to stop being so imprecise.
And to understand jokes.
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I understand jokes. Your delivery could use some work.
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[By picking out items you would wear for sex. It's all context. Context matters.]
What was wrong with my delivery?
It was over TEXT. [How can you screw that up?!?]
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I couldn't figure out your tone, and also... you would eat a clock, so maybe that was just a bad joke to start with.
Here's one my dad always loved: why did the scarecrow win an award?
Because he was outstanding in his field! ( complete with an upward inflection. Really selling this stupid joke. )
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Well. I only wanted to help.
[...but that was why he had liked that joke. Because he could eat a clock. It was FUNNY. what is wrong with you, Nina. ] But I asked if you would. Not me.
[Time to have someone intervene because the joke is already dead, they don't need to keep killing it.]
...I do not understand it.
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It is some kind of bird. [It has the word 'crow' in it. There is no fooling him. ]
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Then, she just starts laughing. Like, crying, coughing, wheezing laughing. )
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[Nina, can't you do anything right? This is not when you laugh. You laughed at the wrong time. He hadn't told a joke yet.]
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( give her a second. She has tears in her eyes. ) Fuck. Well if you came to make me laugh, you managed it.
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I am glad you are amused, Nina.
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It is penance. [Which means it is supposed to hurt. But maybe not hurt like your own closest sister laughing at you.]
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I still don't know why you need to do that. Does it make you feel better?
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Nina, you cannot refuse an order from an Inquisitor. [Not and be like...alive for much longer.]
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[He's not crazy enough to address her by anything other than her title. Be careful, Nina.]
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You sure she's not just fucking with you?
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Nina.
The Inquisitor and I are
definitely
Not 'fucking.' [Why would you put that image into his brain?]
She told me to do it.
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Second of all: not what I meant. I mean was she messing with you. Why would your penance be to tell jokes?
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[The Inquisitor has seen Gadriel naked, though, so that's a horror show for further discussion and mental damage.
[He sighs, because he's thought about this. He would rather his penance have been something less painful, like throwing himself naked into a bed of cactuses.]
I would imagine she thought I was too prideful and needed to be humbled.
Inquisitors do not abuse their power for their own amusement, Nina. It is a sacred duty they have been given. [And Gadriel is hopelessly naive.]
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( thank God Gadriel can't see Nina rolling her eyes so hard they almost fell out of her skull. )
She's not even an Inquisitor from your world. How do you know she holds the same values and standards?
Also, stop doing what everyone tells you to do. Be your own man and solve your own shit. You're not too prideful.
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It would be a violation of a sacred pledge to abuse power like that. [Did he think she was mean? Yes. Did he think she was abusing her power? No. Incomprehensible.
[He makes a frustrated sound. She would never understand this.] Nina. Where I am from, we are a brotherhood. We are never alone, even in our worst hours. We can count on others to lift us when we fall, to fight for us when our faith falters. [He sounds sorry that she does not know what that feels like. To always have the support of at least two hundred other brothers. And how awful it felt to have that stripped away. ] We 'solve our own shit' by asking for, and getting, aid. That is how it works.
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That must be nice. ( She said bitterly and immediately regretted doing so. Nina did not have that for a long time, however. And even once her family formed and she had people to call on, she couldn't always. Too often did she only have herself to rely on, and even if that wasn't true now, here in Caldera, she still felt... jealous. )
If it makes you feel better. Whatever.
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I am sorry to have upset you. I was tryin-- never mind.
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voice >>>text
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