[ He shrugs - it seems like a tired gesture. Like a man who is resigned to his fate. ]
He would have tried to stop me had he known. He is...rather gentle, and sensitive.
[ There are many other virtues he would like to extol on Hythlodaeus' behalf, but he finds his voice trailing off into silence. (He doubts they would be interested in hearing it anyway.) ]
...I do not regret killing them, [ he mutters. ] Is that what you wanted to hear? The confession of a murderer?
[ Though their conversation at the apothecary shop was brief, Juzo rather got that impression of Hythodaeus as well. That must have hurt all the more, then, to have someone so sweet-natured taken away and killed. Some people really will stop at nothing to get what they want.
As to that last part, something like a bemused snort escapes his barrel. ]
I’m just here to pick up some groceries. [ He lifts the paper bag he has in one hand, as if to prove his point. ] I don’t want anything from you.
Would’ve been nice to get a confession a few weeks ago, maybe, but all that’s in the past now, isn’t it? You’ve done your time, and I got no reason to keep houndin’ you.
[ By the narrow look Emet-Selch gives him, the Ascian doesn't entirely believe they're so ready to let it go. ]
...You'll have to forgive me for not telling you earlier - I wasn't about to let myself be caught and executed before I eradicated every last one of those vermin.
[ It comes out bitter and sarcastic. He's really not entirely sure how to handle Juzo's seemingly indifferent attitude. ]
[ That look is awful hard to miss, the way distrust seems to roll off the other man in waves. Juzo isn’t bothered by it, really; he’s got one of those faces that people tend to mistrust on principle, not to mention the stigma against people as stuffed full of technology as he is. ]
Yeah, I figured.
[ He idly blows another plume of smoke into the air. ]
You know I’m not a cop, right? I’m a Resolver – folks got problems, I try and solve ‘em. The city had a problem. Problem’s over. I got no more stake in this, and I’m sure not here to look down my barrel at you.
[ A 'resolver'? More like a revolver, if he's going to be quite frank. ]
...That is quite a generous mindset.
[ But if they truly mean what they say, antagonising them further won't serve any purpose. He purses his lips and looks them over properly. Now that he thinks about it, how DOES a man(?) have a gun for a head? ]
How in the heavens did you come to have a body like this?
[ He lifts a shoulder in a half shrug. He’s not sure he’d go so far as to call it “generous”; more like realistic. His own world is a mess of dirty politics and so many problems, he’d go crazy if he did more than what he was simply paid to do.
Ah, there it is. He was wondering when the subject of his appearance would come up, because it always does. He breathes out a small laugh, taking the cigarette from his mouth to flick some of the ash away. ]
It was a gift from the military. [ The way he says “gift” suggests it’s a mixed bag at best. ] They built up folks into super soldiers. The war’s long over, now, so I’m just tryin’ to make a living.
[ Emet-Selch doesn't seem too awed by the idea. He has seen mechanical augmentation before, although not to the same lengths as they've apparently gone to with Juzo. To think that he had thought that infusing a magitek core with a person's soul had been the pinnacle of fusion between man and machine.
He extends a hand out, palm up, to Juzo. ]
May I?
[ He's intensely curious about how it works. Is the man's brain somewhere in the chamber? For that matter, what about bullets? Mouth? Digestive tract?? ]
[ Juzo doesn’t pull away, but neither does he move. In fact, he goes startlingly still in a way that would be almost impossible in a more organic body. His muzzle ticks downward, ever slight, as his gaze flicks to that offered hand. ]
That depends entirely on what you’re tryin’ to do.
[ There’s something wary in his tone. Less because he’s afraid of the other man, and more because there are a very, very select few who he trusts to lay their hands on him. ]
[ The fingers of his outstretched hand curl in until a single digit is left pointing at Juzo's head. ]
To touch, mainly. I shan't go near anything you don't wish me to, nor will I interfere with it. In my home world, magitek has yet to advance to such a state where a man's soul can fuse with machina.
[ Juzo remains still for a heartbeat or two more, staring down Emet-Selch’s outstretched finger, before giving a shake of his head. His easy demeanor seems to return as he takes a long inhale of his cigarette, exhaling the smoke off to the side. ]
Sorry, but I’ll have to pass. The only person allowed to put their hands on my mug is my personal engineer.
[ “Magitek” is a new one on him, though he can get the meaning well enough. He supposes what’s around Camelot could be described as such. ]
Sounds romantic when you put it like that, but they didn’t fuse my soul with anything. They cut me open and stuffed me fulla wires and metal and all manner of things. Rebuilt me from the inside out.
[ His hand falls back to his side without argument. He doesn't look offended. ]
I see.
[ The dismissive comment only makes him all the more curious about how the man ticks. Despite all the tinkering he has seen done to a living person's body, it seems impossible to go this far.
If he were still the person he had been before being stolen from his home world, he might have ignored the man's preferences and aggressively examined them anyway. But...he is supposed to be a better person than that. He can be if he makes the effort. ]
It sounds like it would have been easier to simply build warrior machina. Then they would not need to fuss over their soldiers growing a conscience and disobeying orders.
[ Being a walking weapon of war means Juzo isn’t keen on letting just anyone touch him, even with this place taking most of the power out of his Extensions and the ammo out of his chamber. Certainly not some guy he only knows for his string of gruesome murders, and barely knows at that. ]
You’d think so. Guess there’s just somethin’ about a human being’s capacity to wage war that they just couldn’t capture.
[ A man will do a lot of things he’s not proud of for glory and country. So many of them probably thought they were really doing something good, something grand, when they went under the knife.
Maybe Juzo did too, before they stripped his memory from him.
He gives another exhale of smoke. ]
Well, I think I’ve taken enough of your time. Give your buddy Hythlodaeus my regards.
[ Ah, he can't help the sardonic smile which spreads across his face. The mortal capacity for war and bloodshed is quite something else. He should know: he had been manipulating it for thousands upon thousands of years. ]
I will. And I shall pre-emptively extend his most enthusiastic request to join you for tea sometime.
[ Because he can well imagine Hythlodaeus eagerly going out and befriending strangers like that. He tries not to feel too envious as he lethargically lifts a hand and waves goodbye to Juzo. He was never so good at making friends. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
He would have tried to stop me had he known. He is...rather gentle, and sensitive.
[ There are many other virtues he would like to extol on Hythlodaeus' behalf, but he finds his voice trailing off into silence. (He doubts they would be interested in hearing it anyway.) ]
...I do not regret killing them, [ he mutters. ] Is that what you wanted to hear? The confession of a murderer?
no subject
As to that last part, something like a bemused snort escapes his barrel. ]
I’m just here to pick up some groceries. [ He lifts the paper bag he has in one hand, as if to prove his point. ] I don’t want anything from you.
Would’ve been nice to get a confession a few weeks ago, maybe, but all that’s in the past now, isn’t it? You’ve done your time, and I got no reason to keep houndin’ you.
no subject
...You'll have to forgive me for not telling you earlier - I wasn't about to let myself be caught and executed before I eradicated every last one of those vermin.
[ It comes out bitter and sarcastic. He's really not entirely sure how to handle Juzo's seemingly indifferent attitude. ]
no subject
Yeah, I figured.
[ He idly blows another plume of smoke into the air. ]
You know I’m not a cop, right? I’m a Resolver – folks got problems, I try and solve ‘em. The city had a problem. Problem’s over. I got no more stake in this, and I’m sure not here to look down my barrel at you.
no subject
...That is quite a generous mindset.
[ But if they truly mean what they say, antagonising them further won't serve any purpose. He purses his lips and looks them over properly. Now that he thinks about it, how DOES a man(?) have a gun for a head? ]
How in the heavens did you come to have a body like this?
no subject
Ah, there it is. He was wondering when the subject of his appearance would come up, because it always does. He breathes out a small laugh, taking the cigarette from his mouth to flick some of the ash away. ]
It was a gift from the military. [ The way he says “gift” suggests it’s a mixed bag at best. ] They built up folks into super soldiers. The war’s long over, now, so I’m just tryin’ to make a living.
no subject
[ Emet-Selch doesn't seem too awed by the idea. He has seen mechanical augmentation before, although not to the same lengths as they've apparently gone to with Juzo. To think that he had thought that infusing a magitek core with a person's soul had been the pinnacle of fusion between man and machine.
He extends a hand out, palm up, to Juzo. ]
May I?
[ He's intensely curious about how it works. Is the man's brain somewhere in the chamber? For that matter, what about bullets? Mouth? Digestive tract?? ]
no subject
That depends entirely on what you’re tryin’ to do.
[ There’s something wary in his tone. Less because he’s afraid of the other man, and more because there are a very, very select few who he trusts to lay their hands on him. ]
no subject
To touch, mainly. I shan't go near anything you don't wish me to, nor will I interfere with it. In my home world, magitek has yet to advance to such a state where a man's soul can fuse with machina.
no subject
Sorry, but I’ll have to pass. The only person allowed to put their hands on my mug is my personal engineer.
[ “Magitek” is a new one on him, though he can get the meaning well enough. He supposes what’s around Camelot could be described as such. ]
Sounds romantic when you put it like that, but they didn’t fuse my soul with anything. They cut me open and stuffed me fulla wires and metal and all manner of things. Rebuilt me from the inside out.
no subject
I see.
[ The dismissive comment only makes him all the more curious about how the man ticks. Despite all the tinkering he has seen done to a living person's body, it seems impossible to go this far.
If he were still the person he had been before being stolen from his home world, he might have ignored the man's preferences and aggressively examined them anyway. But...he is supposed to be a better person than that. He can be if he makes the effort. ]
It sounds like it would have been easier to simply build warrior machina. Then they would not need to fuss over their soldiers growing a conscience and disobeying orders.
no subject
You’d think so. Guess there’s just somethin’ about a human being’s capacity to wage war that they just couldn’t capture.
[ A man will do a lot of things he’s not proud of for glory and country. So many of them probably thought they were really doing something good, something grand, when they went under the knife.
Maybe Juzo did too, before they stripped his memory from him.
He gives another exhale of smoke. ]
Well, I think I’ve taken enough of your time. Give your buddy Hythlodaeus my regards.
no subject
I will. And I shall pre-emptively extend his most enthusiastic request to join you for tea sometime.
[ Because he can well imagine Hythlodaeus eagerly going out and befriending strangers like that. He tries not to feel too envious as he lethargically lifts a hand and waves goodbye to Juzo. He was never so good at making friends. ]