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madimpossibledreamer) wrote2023-01-06 07:57 pm
madimpossibledreamer) wrote2023-01-06 07:57 pm
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Shadowed Suspicion Chapter 269
Main Points:
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure/Buffy the Vampire Slayer AU
Chapter Summary: Kukulkan delivers an ominous warning before they venture further into the Jaguar House.
Word Count: 1197
Rating: Teen
Note: HERE THERE PROBABLY BE BUFFY/JJBA SPOILERS
Her vision is still a little vague, but then, between that and the slight hitch in his normally smooth breathing before it goes back to normal, she gets the feeling he’s been pushing himself without voicing it. Still, while Panzermensch and Whisper could act as von Stroheim’s and Darling’s eyes, it’s still better to at least have less of a handicap than before.
From the look of things, they’re back indoors. Stone to either side and beneath their feet, busy with carvings of various geometric shapes, what might be writing, what is clearly stylized statues of the Lords of Death they’ve met and other deities they haven’t. The stone beneath their feet is carved with what Darling vaguely guesses might be scales, but then again it might not be. The statues of Kisin and Akan specifically are coated if not entirely made of gold. She still can’t make out a lot of the smaller details. She still doesn’t see the fires either, but suspects these strange fires might be the source of light, because it’s clearly not coming from the nearly starless night sky, and the way it flickers sometimes looks like firelight. Small passages with equally small stairs lead off, one after another, and maybe that’s where they keep and release the jaguars? She probably could crawl through one, or get Whisper through it if he tucked all of his feathery wings around himself, but that’s probably not a good idea.
It takes Darling a minute to realize that it’s not entirely inside, even if it looks that way at first, because the ‘roof’ is dark enough it’s hard to pinpoint the stars, which are far fewer and in strange configurations. Maybe it’s just the fact that they’re in Mexico, and from what Darling remembers from class different stars and constellations can be seen depending on where you are in the world, but she also remembers learning about stars going supernova, that eventually even stars will die, and she shivers, because it’s like she’s seeing the end of the universe, up there in the near-empty night sky.
Why Kukulkan had wanted to wait is a bit confusing, unless maybe the deity wanted to stall a little, since it might take their new opponents a little while to find them. It’s not like there’s a break between the Houses. That would be too nice, most likely. “This is the Jaguar House,” Kukulkan announces. “The jaguars will likely not attack, given you carry Balam’s blessing, so this House would generally hold little danger for you.”
“That doesn’t sound particularly urgent,” the Captain states, flatly, from the mechanical sound checking her gun. Even with diminished vision, she could probably do that without even looking.
“Zipacna and Cabrakan are the types to take matters into their own hands, though they are not the most intelligent of the Lords. However, unintelligent and unobservant as they are, they’ve missed something vital in their own domain.” Mayan deities can’t get to the point, it seems. Darling would be more willing to listen if they weren’t on a deadline, but she’s also not going to interrupt and make their only allies in this land of death angry. “There’s another power here, a strange one I’ve never seen before. Not one of the rival gods or their servants, but something I’ve never encountered. Nor is it the work of the human who wishes to join the ranks of the deities. Old, but one I’d guess that tended to keep to itself, unlike the Lords of Death, the people they claimed as their own, or many.”
Through Whisper, the deity grimaces, sneering. “Never trust those who keep to themselves. Those who hunger can be predicted. Those who care can be trusted. When those motivated by neither finally decide to interact with the rest of the world, they cannot be bargained with.” That seems like a really cynical way to see the world, although perhaps it makes sense in a dangerous world like the one the Mayans lived in.
They’re not given a chance to respond, though, because when the Captain opens her mouth to ask questions about specifics the presence of the deity disappears. Von Stroheim must feel it too, because she just closes her mouth again, rolling her eyes.
“For a straightforward fight, this place is kind of empty,” Mr. Brown observes, bow at the ready. The Captain nods sharply. “And for a Jaguar House, there aren’t many jaguars. It’s like when you show up to a zoo and the animals aren’t feeling it so all you get to see is the cages and signs. You think they cleared out already?”
“I suspect a rudimentary ambush.” Probably a pretty good guess, since those two Lords of Death definitely seem the types to think they’re being subtle and stealthy when they’re anything but. “Advance. Carefully.” She doesn’t bother to answer the question about the jaguars, which answers without her having to say a word; she has no clue and doesn’t want to speculate without any more certainty.
They do, Whisper and Panzermensch on alert. And then Whisper spots something.
“Is that blood?” Darling whispers, and the Captain doesn’t even bother to glance in the direction.
“Yes, but not from a wound. It was placed there deliberately.” Her pistol is at the ready, pointing at every dark alcove they pass before moving smoothly to the next.
The teenager swallows at the thought. What, like it was…painted there? Sure, she’s heard punks talk about ‘painting the town red’, but it hadn’t been meant exactly that way. Violence, sure, and whatever blood came of that from splashes or whatever—
Oof. It’s not fun, thinking about this.
But that’s…well, she wouldn’t exactly call it accidental, but it’s a side effect. Not like this. And sure, someone might have used the blood of animals for the same purpose at some point, but even that’s disturbing. It’s worse, one thing to know they’re simply viewed as prey by the Lords of Death, and another thing to see evidence of that fact.
And then there’s a stone table to the side, covered in blood, but there’s what looks like a headdress and a skin, like they’d actually killed one of their priests here, but the blood looks fresh. What—
“No! Don’t get too close!” Mr. Brown yells, as one of the life-size statues detaches from the wall and with massive strength tears the entire table from the ground, holding it like it’s a baseball player and she’s the ball.
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure/Buffy the Vampire Slayer AU
Chapter Summary: Kukulkan delivers an ominous warning before they venture further into the Jaguar House.
Word Count: 1197
Rating: Teen
Note: HERE THERE PROBABLY BE BUFFY/JJBA SPOILERS
Darling’s vision returns slowly, so that she can see shapes, but she certainly appreciates it when Mr. Brown pauses to heal her, after the Captain’s arm, of course. She can hear the crackling of fire from somewhere. Now that she’s starting to get used to the temperature again there’s a little chill in the air, but it’s more the cold of a desert night (assuming she’d even experienced that and it wasn’t an illusion from the last Underworld they’d been in). If fires even are present, they’re either too distant to be of any help or offer no heat despite sounding exactly like real fires. They sound like they’re right next to her, though.
Her vision is still a little vague, but then, between that and the slight hitch in his normally smooth breathing before it goes back to normal, she gets the feeling he’s been pushing himself without voicing it. Still, while Panzermensch and Whisper could act as von Stroheim’s and Darling’s eyes, it’s still better to at least have less of a handicap than before.
From the look of things, they’re back indoors. Stone to either side and beneath their feet, busy with carvings of various geometric shapes, what might be writing, what is clearly stylized statues of the Lords of Death they’ve met and other deities they haven’t. The stone beneath their feet is carved with what Darling vaguely guesses might be scales, but then again it might not be. The statues of Kisin and Akan specifically are coated if not entirely made of gold. She still can’t make out a lot of the smaller details. She still doesn’t see the fires either, but suspects these strange fires might be the source of light, because it’s clearly not coming from the nearly starless night sky, and the way it flickers sometimes looks like firelight. Small passages with equally small stairs lead off, one after another, and maybe that’s where they keep and release the jaguars? She probably could crawl through one, or get Whisper through it if he tucked all of his feathery wings around himself, but that’s probably not a good idea.
It takes Darling a minute to realize that it’s not entirely inside, even if it looks that way at first, because the ‘roof’ is dark enough it’s hard to pinpoint the stars, which are far fewer and in strange configurations. Maybe it’s just the fact that they’re in Mexico, and from what Darling remembers from class different stars and constellations can be seen depending on where you are in the world, but she also remembers learning about stars going supernova, that eventually even stars will die, and she shivers, because it’s like she’s seeing the end of the universe, up there in the near-empty night sky.
Why Kukulkan had wanted to wait is a bit confusing, unless maybe the deity wanted to stall a little, since it might take their new opponents a little while to find them. It’s not like there’s a break between the Houses. That would be too nice, most likely. “This is the Jaguar House,” Kukulkan announces. “The jaguars will likely not attack, given you carry Balam’s blessing, so this House would generally hold little danger for you.”
“That doesn’t sound particularly urgent,” the Captain states, flatly, from the mechanical sound checking her gun. Even with diminished vision, she could probably do that without even looking.
“Zipacna and Cabrakan are the types to take matters into their own hands, though they are not the most intelligent of the Lords. However, unintelligent and unobservant as they are, they’ve missed something vital in their own domain.” Mayan deities can’t get to the point, it seems. Darling would be more willing to listen if they weren’t on a deadline, but she’s also not going to interrupt and make their only allies in this land of death angry. “There’s another power here, a strange one I’ve never seen before. Not one of the rival gods or their servants, but something I’ve never encountered. Nor is it the work of the human who wishes to join the ranks of the deities. Old, but one I’d guess that tended to keep to itself, unlike the Lords of Death, the people they claimed as their own, or many.”
Through Whisper, the deity grimaces, sneering. “Never trust those who keep to themselves. Those who hunger can be predicted. Those who care can be trusted. When those motivated by neither finally decide to interact with the rest of the world, they cannot be bargained with.” That seems like a really cynical way to see the world, although perhaps it makes sense in a dangerous world like the one the Mayans lived in.
They’re not given a chance to respond, though, because when the Captain opens her mouth to ask questions about specifics the presence of the deity disappears. Von Stroheim must feel it too, because she just closes her mouth again, rolling her eyes.
“For a straightforward fight, this place is kind of empty,” Mr. Brown observes, bow at the ready. The Captain nods sharply. “And for a Jaguar House, there aren’t many jaguars. It’s like when you show up to a zoo and the animals aren’t feeling it so all you get to see is the cages and signs. You think they cleared out already?”
“I suspect a rudimentary ambush.” Probably a pretty good guess, since those two Lords of Death definitely seem the types to think they’re being subtle and stealthy when they’re anything but. “Advance. Carefully.” She doesn’t bother to answer the question about the jaguars, which answers without her having to say a word; she has no clue and doesn’t want to speculate without any more certainty.
They do, Whisper and Panzermensch on alert. And then Whisper spots something.
“Is that blood?” Darling whispers, and the Captain doesn’t even bother to glance in the direction.
“Yes, but not from a wound. It was placed there deliberately.” Her pistol is at the ready, pointing at every dark alcove they pass before moving smoothly to the next.
The teenager swallows at the thought. What, like it was…painted there? Sure, she’s heard punks talk about ‘painting the town red’, but it hadn’t been meant exactly that way. Violence, sure, and whatever blood came of that from splashes or whatever—
Oof. It’s not fun, thinking about this.
But that’s…well, she wouldn’t exactly call it accidental, but it’s a side effect. Not like this. And sure, someone might have used the blood of animals for the same purpose at some point, but even that’s disturbing. It’s worse, one thing to know they’re simply viewed as prey by the Lords of Death, and another thing to see evidence of that fact.
And then there’s a stone table to the side, covered in blood, but there’s what looks like a headdress and a skin, like they’d actually killed one of their priests here, but the blood looks fresh. What—
“No! Don’t get too close!” Mr. Brown yells, as one of the life-size statues detaches from the wall and with massive strength tears the entire table from the ground, holding it like it’s a baseball player and she’s the ball.