diff --git a/twofatal.md b/twofatal.md index 57b8b8e..5a3adfb 100644 --- a/twofatal.md +++ b/twofatal.md @@ -143,10 +143,42 @@ unfortunate because this is what she thought: They're going to kill me. -Inexplicably this hurt Gideon's feelings. Eighteen years of abuse, contempt, scorn and downright shitty treatment was bad, sure. Even years of completely unsubtle and unrelenting hints that she should kill herself, rude of course. But never before now had it occurred to her that collectively, or individually, the vile cult in service to Derketo, the fetid and divine bitch of fecundity and decay was embarked upon relentless program whose destination was Gideon's own annihilation. They would not kill her ceremonially, the way they killed thousands every year for their gross goddess's glory. They would not kill her judicially as punishment for her legitimately blasphemous sins against their bullshit theological code. They would not even do her the courtesy of hiring even a fourth-rate guild member to stab her in the back (as if, lol) or poison her (not that the cult kitchen wasn't coming pretty close on daily basis). No, the slimy low-life clergy of the half-baked cult of Death was going to murder Gideon through pure bureaucracatic apathy. They would collectively, but apparently without any organized design, asign and re-assign Gideon to a series of posts, offices and obligations which would inevitably and unstoppably lead to her death. Her current assignment was case and point. Even now, in this moment of relative stability, having killed seven revenant guardians and arrested her charge's plunge into the abyss without joining her, Gideon's prospects of surviving this errand were hovering at about 37 percent. If she fell now she would die. If she failed (to retrieve the precious royal mummy) but lived, she would be sent on a worse quest immediately. If she succeeded, she would also be sent on a worse quest almost immediately. +Inexplicably this hurt Gideon's feelings. Eighteen years of abuse, contempt, +scorn and downright shitty treatment was bad, sure. Even years of completely +unsubtle and unrelenting hints that she should kill herself, rude of course. +But never before now had it occurred to her that collectively, or individually, +the vile cult in service to Derketo, the fetid and divine bitch of fecundity +and decay was embarked upon relentless program whose destination was Gideon's +own annihilation. They would not kill her ceremonially, the way they killed +thousands every year for their gross goddess's glory. They would not kill her +judicially as punishment for her legitimately blasphemous sins against their +bullshit theological code. They would not even do her the courtesy of hiring +even a fourth-rate guild member to stab her in the back (as if, lol) or poison +her (not that the cult kitchen wasn't coming pretty close on daily basis). No, +the slimy low-life clergy of the half-baked cult of Death was going to murder +Gideon through pure bureaucracatic apathy. They would collectively, but +apparently without any organized design, asign and re-assign Gideon to a series +of posts, offices and obligations which would inevitably and unstoppably lead +to her death. Her current assignment was case and point. Even now, in this +moment of relative stability, having killed seven revenant guardians and +arrested her charge's plunge into the abyss without joining her, Gideon's +prospects of surviving this errand were hovering at about 37 percent. If she +fell now she would die. If she failed (to retrieve the precious royal mummy) +but lived, she would be sent on a worse quest immediately. If she succeeded, +she would also be sent on a worse quest almost immediately. -"Well fuck me" Gideon said somberly, breaking her 47 second non-swearing steak. By chance she happened to be holding the deceased princess right up to face level as she spoke. The thing had, as her worst fears predicted, come competely unraveled so Gideon found herself staring into two dry sockets where centuries ago, a princess's pretty eyeballs once functioned, fully. Also in accordance with her worst fears, the naked corpse, stripped of bandages revealed nothing remained to preserve her modesty. Thankfully time had transformed the Princess of Misery's mamaries and putenda into pure, un-suggestive abstractions thus protecting Gideon's innocent eyes from fatal psychological trauma. Wrinkling her nose she continued the one-sided conversation. +"Well fuck me" Gideon said somberly, breaking her 47 second non-swearing steak. +By chance she happened to be holding the deceased princess right up to face +level as she spoke. The thing had, as her worst fears predicted, come competely +unraveled so Gideon found herself staring into two dry sockets where centuries +ago, a princess's pretty eyeballs once functioned, fully. Also in accordance +with her worst fears, the naked corpse, stripped of bandages revealed nothing +remained to preserve her modesty. Thankfully time had transformed the Princess +of Misery's mammaries and pudenda into pure, un-suggestive abstractions thus +protecting Gideon's innocent eyes from fatal psychological trauma. Wrinkling +her nose she continued the one-sided conversation. -"I'm starting to feel seriously unappreciated around here." she confided to the nude and dead body. -"But fine, I take the hint. I'm out of here." And so, then and there, she decided to escape. +"I'm starting to feel seriously unappreciated around here." she confided to the +nude and dead body. "But fine, I take the hint. I'm out of here." And so, +then and there, she decided to escape.