towerofanimus | the devil has a sharp tongue

Characters: France and YOU.
Setting: Various
Format: Action, though I can match.
Summary: A thief in the night has Fran turning a different shade of devil.
Warnings: Manipulation, partially clothed demon!France, and other unsavory things. Gore. Bad behavior the longer the month drags out.

[ October 14th, evening ]

[ When France woke up dressed like a dashing devil, he'd thought to himself Well, it's better than last year! before getting out of bed and starting to collect candy. He could play games-- especially if the warning of 'or else' hung over his head so cheerfully. Collect candy, go about his day, look handsome... typical French routine come this time of year. With less scantily clad 'nurses', unfortunately.

The second message alerting residences that candy would be harder to come by came several days later. The 'or else' became a little more worrying in France's mind. He didn't LIKE what the tower did most of the time -- and that was on the good days where there weren't direct threats!

It's while he's sleeping on the 14th that something goes terribly awry and he's woken to being strangled by his vest. Checking the contents of his pumpkin, he realizes that half of his candy is gone. If you see him in the halls, be warned that he's a desperate man searching for over a dozen chocolates. He's not going to be all that pleasant. Deeply sorry. Care to help a man out, or is that impending doom keeping you tight-fisted?]

[ October 15th, post death ]

[ Whatever attempts France goes through on the evening of the 14th failed around the time he braved the forest. There'd been little he could find before his costume finally cinched the last breath out of him and when he wakes in the morning the situation is not a pleasant one.

It's not that he's died that bothers him the most. Not at all; he's grown a little accustomed to the idea in this place. He just..doesn't recall how he's gone from a glamorized demon to a more literal version, grotesque red skin, horns, and all. Maybe you'll spy him in the cafeteria, or roaming the halls. Maybe he's hiding away while trying to look for chocolates in hopes to cure his current ailment. He's not dangerous to stop and question yet. ]

[ Later in the month ]

[ Have a confession you need to let off your chest? A moral dilemma? Come to papa. He won't hurt you. Much. ]

(ooc: Playing it by ear here. He's not as social toward the beginning but expect that to change toward the end of month where he's set on manipulating those with weak conviction. Modest? What's that... )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Lied to...? [It's shock that replaces the hurt look now.] You... You truly believe I've been deluded most of my life?

[And that's what makes her sure he's not really himself right now. It still hurts to hear him talk this way, but she can reassure herself a little that this is because of some outside influence. And she'll put a stop to it, definitely.]

"I can do nothing"? [She huffs, now looking quite determined.] You should know that words like that will not sway me. If anything, they will make me even more determined to help.

[smoothly] We are all lied to at one point. You'd be foolish to think you have it all on good faith.

What would you do to help me? I tried consuming chocolates. Then, I tried collecting the quota again. Nothing worked. Now, here I am!

[He lets her go to turn slightly, head canting down to draw in her attention to the tail he miraculously grew. Sarcasm, included.]

Stubbornness will not rid me of this, will it?

[It's good that she has seen far, far stranger things as a Heroic Spirit, or that would have just been the last straw. She doesn't look scared, just... angry. Frustrated. And it's all directed towards the damned administrators, because this is all their fault, of course. They're the ones manipulating and torturing him and who knows how many others...]

There must be a solution. Something we have not been able to figure out quite yet. The people of this tower were able to reverse what happened last month, weren't they? Perhaps this is no different.

[Anger, hurt, pain... it was all delightful to this incarnation. He leaned down so they were staring eye to eye at her question]

Do you know what they did last year? I am thankful I was not awake for the process that made me like this. I was last year-- so were the others. I looked the most tame of them.

They split me from collarbone to naval and took everything, while I was awake. It was without compassion. [smiling, he straightened up] But that was just the start. They had everyone else grow increasingly paranoid to those that had surgery done. One of my closest friends shot me in the cathedral because he'd become so paranoid he was sure I was a monster.

Let that sink in. Death was the only cure, and ma petite, I have already died.

[And that brings her horrified expression back. She knew the administrators did horrible things, she knew they had done very, very bad experiments in the past... but she had never heard details. Nobody she knew talked about their first-hand accounts of their captors' cruelty.

But even that news isn't enough to crush her. Her determination will shine through to the bitter end.]

But this... experiment, torture session, whatever it is... it is different from that time, is it not? There is a chance that we can do something to reverse this!

You don't think I've tried, Jeanne?

[A different approach, perhaps, is necessary]

You are not the only stubborn, strong-willed person in this tower trying to make it by I'm afraid. This lottery they have? The winners and the losers? We have all lost, no matter how cunning they are.

[He gave her a patronizing smile]

What's your plan, ma belle? Raze one hundred beasts? I would be careful, the tower might put more people in a clever disguise.

[Jeanne visibly flinches at that. That... is still a sensitive subject, even though it's been some time since that incident, and it really does hurt to have him bring it up. This whole conversation is painful and if it had been anyone else, Jeanne would have broken it off by now...

But he is her friend. He's someone she wanted to look out for. She can't just leave him like this!]

I don't know, yet. But I will find a way! [She turned the tides of a long, bloody conflict. She can certainly do something like this!] I will find others who wish to reverse this curse as well! A plan can most certainly be formed if we have the right people!

[He knows it's sensitive-- and if he has the mind to recall it after this is all done he may even hate himself for awhile. And then scold her for putting up with him, because damn it, she shouldn't have had to deal with that.]

You better hurry then, child. Before you know it they'll have died and they might not be as calm as me.

[They'll kill you.]

[She nods, and normally, that would be enough to send her off running to find someone to help. But... not in this case. She bites her lip, eyes slowly scanning his new appearance before returning to meet his gaze.]

I do not wish to leave you alone, though. I am... concerned. [Maybe she can take him along with her?]

[Only Jeanne would look at him a second time, faithful to him as she is. Her dedication was a double edged sword as she had a certain loyalty and therefore vulnerability to what he did. The woman was incredibly grounded in her convictions and perhaps those convictions would be good for him in the long run. Or they could hinder him and anger some of those homicidal urges he was supposed to have. Either way she'd die. Eventually.

He almost looks amused]

Concerned that someone will harm me? How?

I do not know. But... if you have been changed like this, then it is quite likely that others have been transformed as well. They might have become things that are far, far more dangerous than what they normally are.

You do not have to come with me if you do not wish, but... I will do what I can to defend you if someone tries to attack, should you agree.

the devil has a sharp tongue

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