Handsome Jack - Hero of Pandora (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thedifferencebetween) wrote2018-06-07 12:35 pm
thedifferencebetween) wrote2018-06-07 12:35 pm
thedifferencebetween) wrote2018-06-07 12:35 pm
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Her fingers stay slow and careful, following his lead, tracing the hinges.] So all the pros of the OG face, none of the messiness of skin grafts. And you got to keep those cheekbones. Got to say, Handsome, you'd make a killing, where I come from. People would be lining up out the door.
[Her fingers edge toward the line of blue light, but don't actually touch.] So is that what's under here? Your r- uh, other face? [He hasn't had a mouth to kiss her with all this time, has he? Like Harleh cares abput scars.]
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[And he's done everything he can to maintain that. Which his wealth and access to cutting edge tech allowed him to do.]
And I probably could've back home, too, but...nah. I made this for me. Besides, it's not like there's a huge market for prosthetic faces - usually you die from the kind of shit you'd need one after. I'm just special.
[He survived. He shouldn't have, everyone who was there agreed. But here he was, still kicking, even after a number more 'you should be dead, dude' experiences.]
But no, there is...nothing remotely human under there anymore, babe! It's all roboware. Lights and wires and a screen display that doesn't display anything useful, nothing exciting.
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[Harley is, by nature, an incredibly nosy person. Comes with the therapist territory, really; you want to know people, learn them, figure them out. But she also knows when not to press. Instead of asking anything else, her touch withdraws even further; fingers stroke over the hinges, skipping the edge if the mask to trace the port that houses his wires.]
Bespoke faces, for everyone who doesn't look the way they want to. A cheaper line of off-the rack looks, maybe inspired by the Handsome man himself, hmm? Where I'm from, a lot of people've paid a lot of money for physical perfection.
[It's not a topic she has a lot of interest in; she's just making conversation, listening to the bits he lets dropped. What happened to the man? Fire? Laser blast? Futuristic alien bug monster?]
And then you wind up here, and you get a real mask. I'm telling you, Handsome; if there is a Fog God- which I'm not holding my breath about- she has a mean sense of humour. She'dve gotten along with my ex.
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[He's the top dog, king of the mountain, as close to a living god as Hyperion ever had or will know. And with that came custom, one of a kind everything. Including his fancy replacement face.]
And oh, there's definitely a Fog God. She is an actual living being of some kind, you can talk to her and shit. Lots of ominous vague crap, I guess, but still. I'm not a huge fan, but she did give me my music collection from home so she's done at least one cool thing. Oh, well, no, she also brought my best buddy and my kid here, too, so she did basically give me back my family.
[A pause, as Jack realizes he's yet to actually mention Angel to Harley.]
Bee tee dubs, I have a daughter. Wasn't trying to hide that or anything, I just got used to not telling people about her back home cuz it was safer. No telling who's a corporate spy or an assassin!
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Okay, woah; this is a lot. Like a lot a lot. [Her legs cross over his lap, and she leans forward until her knees are against her chest.]
One, what the hell is a kraggon. Two- she's real? Like, a person. Like you can talk to her and she talks back? What the hell is her number?? Because believe you me, I got some things to say to that particular woman.
[It's nice that Jack has people! People and family are important. But Harley's down her own ward- who she does not want showing up here, thank you very much- down her hyena, and down her freaking leg. And there's a real face she can take a baseball bat too?? Why didn't any of those damn pamphlets mention that!]
Three- does your music collection include anything from the American 1980s or 90s, because don't get me wrong, Ella Fitzgerald? The Ink Spots? Total classics. But I miss Madonna almost as much as I miss my boy Bruce, Handsome; if you can play me Vogue or Express yourself, I might legitimately cry.
And four- you got a kid? [Her face brightens into a broad, beaming smile.] Aw, I bet you're the coolest dad! All super hip and wild! Rooms and rooms full of the best fashion- getting her a flying car for her Sweet Sixteen- ripping apart any boyfriends who get too fresh. What's her name? How old is she? You got her picture?
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A kraggon is an alien animal that lives on Pandora's moon. And yeah, you can just go outside anywhere and talk to her and she'll talk back. Nothing special needed! Which right there is proof positive she's not a 'god', if she's answering direct questions.
[Gods didn't do that shit, they were too busy running the universe or whatever.]
I do have some Madonna! But a lot of it's later music, from the twenty first century. That...that was the greatest era in music history, just some of the most fan-fucking-tastic artists ever came outta the early twenty first century. They don't make'em like that anymore and it's a crying damn shame!
[And then comes the barrage of questions about Angel. Probably should have been expected but he holds up a hand anyway. Some things he just isn't down to talk about in any detail, not at this point. They just had a whole conversation about how they weren't looking to get serious, and deets on his daughter are for Serious Partners Only.]
She's pretty much an adult, honestly, but...look, I hate to be a buzzkill and shit all over the mood, but there's a lot of sad and uncomfortable stuff in the family department for me. My girl's had it rough, didn't always have an ideal situation, we've had some hard patches - it's tough being a single dad and running the biggest empire in the galaxy! - but she's the most important fucking thing in my life.
And I mean obviously I'm the coolest dad, but...it's nothing personal, we just aren't really at a point where I'm comfortable talking much about my daughter. Like I said, single dad, been a single dad since she was ten, and obviously you are enthusiastic about the fact I've got a kid which is great! Love that. But I still like to keep some boundaries when it comes to new friends and new lovers, and you're both in one. Don't take this the wrong way, you are friggin fantastic and I dig you a metric fuckton, I'm hoping you and me have a long and lasting friendship with benefits. But shit happens and I've learned to prepare in case of said shit.
Oh, and her name's Angel.
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[Even her hair seems to slump a little, slipping limp down her back.]
Sorry. Didn't mean to touch a sore spot- I mean, I get it, I got people I don't want to talk about neither. [None of whom where here, which seemed- weird. Unlikely there'd be corporate spies or assassins- or all right, assassins hired to take down the Handsome Fam anyway- wandering around the peninsula.
And really she'd just been trying to compliment him some more, and now things are all awkward. You're the host, Harley girl; find a way to fix it!
There are only a few seconds of uncomfortable silence; and then Harley pulls away, standing and crossing to her desk. She scoops up the hyena figurine in one hand - and scoops up the bottle Jack brought along, because it looked yummy as hell- before returning, settling in her old position cuddled up close with her legs across his lap. The bottle is set on the coffee table for the moment; and she holds up the action figure. Up close, the hyena is wearing a tiny pink collar.]
See this? This is Bruce. He's my bestest boy in the whole world- whole wide multiverse, now, I guess. [Harley turns him over in her hands, one fingertip scritching behind his ears like somehow, wherever he is, he'll be able to feel it.] The asshole who sold him to me had him in this cage that was way too small for one hyena and all of his mess; and then he tried to get me to pay in sex. [Her nose wrinkles, but a grin starts to curl at the corners of her mouth.] So I killed him, chopped him up and fed him to my new boy. Brucie likes to change things up from dog kibbles now and then.
[Harley doesn't have kids to offer stories about in return to hitting too close to home; the closest she can come is Cas, and fair play to Jack, she's like hell telling anyone here about Cas. But Bruce is almost like a kid. She has to feed him and clean up his poop, and that's basically parenthood.]
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[He's not pissed off or anything, he's not shy about establishing boundaries. It happens, it's part of existing and interacting with other people.]
[But he shuts up and listens, eyeing the little figure in Harley's hands. Yeah. Yeah he really has a specific type. And it's weird that he's met more than one woman who fits it. Pretty awesome! But highly unlikely.]
Smart move. Sounds like a real lickbag. The dude, obviously, not your dog. Dog sounds cool as hell! Hey, you like cats? I'll take ya to cat town some time - my boss and I made a town for cats. So I do have a town here, it's just full of cats.
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I'd like that, Handsome. I'd like that a whole lot.