Jeremiah Arkham - Black Mask
"All my life... I have been dancing on the edge of madness."
Player: Jere ~
Registered On: Mar 26, 2012 22:05:58 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 314
~ Relationship Status: The More the Merrier
~ Character Profile
|
|
Post by Jeremiah Arkham - Black Mask on Oct 31, 2015 10:09:22 GMT -5
It's nestled among other storefronts, but easily picked out with the large sign that denotes it's name as "The Red Room". The store front conjures images from movies starring icon silver screen actors and actresses like Audrey Hepburn. Beautiful, the glass clean. Once you step in, however, the scenery is modern and subtle. The wood paneling is dark, the floor sandy and the furniture taking its colors from what you've seen thus far. The tables are decorated in light colors, however, and stepping you'd not know this is the place for a Halloween party. Why overdo it? You and the other guests will take care of that. You look above you at the ceiling and its cracked glass effect where crimson light seeps through. This is the Red Room after all, but this isn't the room the bar gets its name from. You'll have to go up the elevator for that. Enter distinguished guest. Dr. Jeremiah Arkham has made sure everything is ready for your arrival. Have a drink first, mingle, eat. The night is at your leisure.
|
|
Deleted Member
Deleted
Registered On: Mar 29, 2024 2:55:14 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 0
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2015 14:51:56 GMT -5
She had taken off her mask an hour ago. It was getting in the was getting in the way of drinking. Barbara wasn’t usually one to go out partying, especially since the last time she went to the GCPD Masquerade Ball at Wayne Manor she ended up dawning the Batgirl persona all those years ago, but her friend who had promised to stay in Gotham for a while insisted in taking her along for the ride; now she had went off to go dancing the floor above. Damn you, Dinah. The redhead cursed her blonde friend, and cursed her father for inviting her in the first place. She sat in the corner; Barbara just tried to replay the scene in her head when Dinah asked if it was okay if she went to go dancing. She said it was okay to go off, she said she was sure of it, she leaned her head against the wall, in a drunken stupor; unsure of why she would constantly beat herself up about things like this. The cripple sighed and looked at her Halloween themed glass of scotch. A toothpick with a pumpkin shaped marshmallow smiled at her, which only managed to anger her. The headache began to feel better as she rested her forehead against the corner of the foundation and tipped her glass over.
What a bummer. Barbara considered several times leaving Dinah to have fun; there was no way she was going to come back for her, even if she did, there was nothing that she could do in her wheelchair other than become a blockade on the dance floor. She missed it. Barbara use to be such a good dancer. A gymnast, a runner, and a hero. The depression began to set in, but only for a little while, as it quickly turned into anger. She saw across sitting at the bar, a man dressed as the Joker. How dare he. He doesn’t know who the real Joker is. It was some gag, some villain people idolized and thought he was cool or something. She grimaced and closed her eyes before the Joker accidentally saw her dogging him. What an ass. Her hands balled up into white knuckles and she rolled her head away from the scene to pretend that she was asleep. Maybe Barbara was just mad at him for the simple fact that he could still have the ability to walk around and chat up drunken women, in white face paint and red number 07 lipstick.
Maybe if she pretended to be asleep, no one would bother her. Though in her heart of hearts, maybe that’s exactly what she needed.
|
|
Deleted Member
Deleted
Registered On: Mar 29, 2024 2:55:14 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 0
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2015 20:30:52 GMT -5
Ah Halloween one of the best times of the year. it was the one time she could come in a semi-oni form and not worry about freaking anybody out. in fact the only reason why She didn't go full Oni form was that it'd be unbelievable as a costume. Her human form was like 5 ft 8 and weighed somewhere around 160 and her full Oni form was 7ft 7 in. and weighed nearly a ton. She was however able to keep the orange skin and black stripes and even was able to keep her claws.
As it was in her "Costume" she looked like a really large sumo woman with horns. part of her was wondering how long it would take people to notice that the blubber of Her costume wasn't fake. if one would bother to pay attention, it wouldn't be that hard,. Flesh on the human body didn't move like latex, not to mention that her fat rolls were more realistic than that of most fat suits. The odd part was that her Oni outfit she was dressed in wasn't that far different from a traditional sumo outfit and even stranger than that, she actually felt more comfortable in this form. felt more like her. Maybe one day she'd quit being a cop, and become a Sumo Wrestler, but she'd cross that bridge when she would get their.
aside from getting to be a horned Sumo for a day, this was the first day off she had in nearly two years. not that she wasn't offered time off, but rather she didn't take it. Well now Jim had given her the orders to take the day off and take the time to enjoy herself.
the moment she entered the room, the first thing everyone noticed was her costume. It had mixed reactions to say the least. some of the guys called her a fatty abd asked if she couldn't find the circus tent she belonged to, others at least got the fact that she looked like a sumo. One of the guys that dressed like Bane actually Knew that she was supposed to be an Oni and even challenged her to a sumo match. She happily obliged and won .
Honestly though, aside from that little Sumo match she did with the Bane Wannabe, she was bored she wasn't exactly a fan of dancing and let's be honest, who would want to dance with a Japanese ogress weighed 500 lbs.
However she looked over and was pleasantly surprised to see what appeared to be Barbara. Naomi hadn't seen her since before that incident, and anytime she talked to Jim about it, he acted as though she really didn't talk to him either. Still though Barbra looked Lonely. Naomi couldn't help but feel sorry for the young girl. There really was not much that a young lady in the wheelchair could do here. From the corner of her eye she saw a guy dressed in a Joker costume. she could see Barbara visibly tense.
"Really," she thought to herself. "couldn't you have been a little bit more considerate?"
Naomi saw Barbara turned her head and looked like she fell asleep. Naomi had a feeling this was a fake out. Contimplating a decision she decided to do the unthinkable and talk to the wheelchair bound girl.
she pulled a stool and took a seat next to Barbara. the stool visibly creaked and shook under her massive weight.
"Hey Red. I haven't seen you in a while"
|
|
Deleted Member
Deleted
Registered On: Mar 29, 2024 2:55:14 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 0
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2015 12:35:04 GMT -5
Retrospectively, she had been observant for most of the night, Barbara did see the sumo wrestler pick a fight with the guy in the Bane costume. What she had wondered was why no one—in a room full of cops—broke up the fight. It seemed petty on both ends, and Barbara could easily ignore it. She did, it had been a while ago, and Barbara had forgotten about it after her second drink. Well, in a way; her photographic memory wouldn't allow that.
Tired eyes slowly opened at the sound of a voice echoing to her over music and chatter. The redhead's drunken stare fell upon the sumo wrestler from earlier, she recognized her to be another one of her father's underlings. It made sense now, that no one would break up a fight between a cop, though it seemed more of a competition of strength than subduing an unruly patron. "Naomi," Barbara slurred through a tired and dizzy sensation at the notion of sitting up in her chair, "I knew I couldn't get any sleep in a room full of cops. Still picking fights I see?"
|
|
Deleted Member
Deleted
Registered On: Mar 29, 2024 2:55:14 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 0
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2015 15:23:09 GMT -5
Naomi crossed her arms and gave a bit of a grin. Course with a mouth full of fangs she didn't know it would look like a grin or a snarl. "I'm honestly surprised you recognized me under all of this bulk." "She let out a hefty laugh that caused her upper body to jiggle and shake. the normally toned cop blushed a little out of embarrassment.
"Sorry about that. I guess I'm not used to being super-sized."
" first of all he challenged me, second of all there is a major deference between a brawl and a sumo match. Sumo matches are less about violence and more about test of strength."
Despite at how much Barbara was probably trying to hide it, Naomi couldn't help but sense that something was eating at Barbara . The last thing she wanted to do was a mind read, mainly because one it was probably unnecessary, and two she wasn't needed to be interrogated. What she did decided to do was take those glowing fiery eyes of hers and make direct eye contact with the commissioners daughter
"Come on Red. I've known you sense you were a little girl and I know when your performing a fake out. Why don't you tell Miss Tifa Lockhart what's eating at you?
|
|
Deleted Member
Deleted
Registered On: Mar 29, 2024 2:55:14 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 0
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2015 18:11:25 GMT -5
"I've got photographic memory. I remember lights, sounds, certain feelings, everything." Barbara said leaning her head back and shutting her eyes, "And I wasn't aware that you were going for Final Fantasy VII's Tifa Lockhart, you think with a costume like that you'd want to wear something a little more subtle." Barbara wasn't ready to have a heart to heart conversation with someone who pretended to know her, she was less inclined to do it with a meta. She was only about half glad that she worked the deal out with Selina in order to get the Blacklist from the DEO. She knew her powers, she knew everyone's powers, she knew how to keep her mind at bay. Oracle was a dangerous woman, despite her weak and brittled exterior. If this persisted, she was going to do something rash.
"I wasn't going to argue semantics on who was starting fights. Merely observing." She had always hated the "be careful what you wish for" thing; the only thing she wanted to do was to leave without being burning bridges.
|
|
Deleted Member
Deleted
Registered On: Mar 29, 2024 2:55:14 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 0
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2015 23:28:28 GMT -5
Naomi shook her head and scoffed part of it was out of disappointment and another part was out of frustration 'Fine. you want to get all Billy Badbutt on me then fine I'll leave." She then snatched the glass of scotch from the counter. She didn't care anything about how Barbara would react. If she wanted to do something rash then fine maybe it would give Naomi to take her down to the station and get her to talk to people. "But drinking yourself to death isn't going to fix your pain or solve your problems. and don't believe that somehow you're going to be able to intimidate me by showing me how big and bad you are. Don't think your the only woman that has gone through crap in her life "
As she began to walk off, a clever thought came to her mind. Barbara's mind was as tight as a drum so maybe this would work, and maybe it wouldn't but maybe if Yakasuma could cast a fear spell on her, it might cause some of her inner feelings to bubble to the surface. Course granted if i did work then there was a very high likelihood that Barbra would go into a public state of panic.
"No I just can't do it."
|
|
Deleted Member
Deleted
Registered On: Mar 29, 2024 2:55:14 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 0
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2015 13:02:18 GMT -5
"Wait..."
The redhead reached out, as Naomi was too far to grab, and the table between them wasn't helping. Barbara wasn't sure what she was doing, she wasn't sure about anything. "That was... the alcohol talking." she lied, the redhead felt anything to keep any sort of company attainable in her vicinity. At least, she felt like she lied, it could be her drunken stupor telling her what she wanted and what she didn't want. "Y-you wanna get some dr-drinks or something? I uhh.. spilled mine. We can talk."
The crippled looked away and sunk in her seat. She didn't like that Dinah was probably off grinding against some random upstairs and she was down here verbally assaulting anyone who came near her. If anything, Barbara hated herself for comparing herself to anyone.
|
|
Deleted Member
Deleted
Registered On: Mar 29, 2024 2:55:14 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 0
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2015 13:55:28 GMT -5
"3...2..1" Naomi mumbled to herself
"Wait..."
Ah...there it was. What she was looking for.
"That was... the alcohol talking.... "Y-you wanna get some dr-drinks or something? I uhh.. spilled mine. We can talk."
Naomi didn't quite know if that was the alcohol talking, or if Barbara actually feared being alone. She was hoping the later, but for all she knew that could have been her own wishful thinking that maybe there was still some shred of the Little redhead girl that Jim show pictures of back when the two were pen pals.
the cop came back with a bit of a smile.
"You seriously thought I was going to leave? your not the only one good a fakeouts. I apologize for my whole "Little girl comment when you get to be my age, anyone below 20 some odd is still little. Course weren't you like a teenager when Jim first brought you in?"
Naomi decided to cast a sobering spell on her. Whether it would work or not honestly varied, but if it did it would at least remove her out of her drunken stupor who knew maybe it would actually make Barbara feel better.
After pausing a few minutes, Naomi decided to not hold back any punches.
"Did you know that when I was your age my husband raped me?"
|
|
Deleted Member
Deleted
Registered On: Mar 29, 2024 2:55:14 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 0
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2015 15:12:52 GMT -5
Feeling energized, Barbara felt the urge to order some more drinks, a passing butler walked by and she called for him, "Scotch, neat. You?" Barbara asked, before attending her attention back to the off duty cop. "Well, I'm... I'm twenty-four actually. Just had a birthday last month. But, whatever. That's not important."
Barbara felt like she meant well, but wasn't sure just how she would go about carrying on a conversation that she didn't want to have. Then Naomi dropped the bomb. What the hell? The redhead began feeling uncomfortable, and unsure how to respond, there was only a few things she was unsure of--most of which couldn't be calculated with equations and formulas.
She sat there for a moment, trying to think up a response to Naomi; Barbara squinted and rested her elbows on the table, thinking if she could make light of the situation by cracking a joke. Then immediately voted against it. The only thing she really wanted to know was where she was going with this statement. "Uhm, wow. Okay, so... what happened?"
|
|
Deleted Member
Deleted
Registered On: Mar 29, 2024 2:55:14 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 0
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2015 19:06:54 GMT -5
Naomi at first smirked a bit. "Yeah I know. it's a bit of a bombshell." she found herself pausing though once she realized something that she did not think out very well. If she were to tell Barbara the truth, she'd have to tell her secret. She could just lie and make up a story, but that would make her ultimately something she would not want to be and frankly she felt like Barbara needed to tell the truth after pausing for a few brief seconds. Naomi contemplated a decision and decided to do something she hoped she would not regret. "Look there are things about me that not even the DEO knows about. Stuff I've made sure was kept completely hidden . I have little doubt that you know I'm a metahuman but you don't know half of what i'm capable of or even where I came from."
she then paused for another second or two. "You know what. Maybe it would be easier if I just showed you."
Naomi slowly put her finger tips on the side of Barbara's cheeks so to hopefully not startle the girl she then transferred images of the cops past. She figured it would be best to do so in a The Mirror of Galadriel style with bits and pieces of minute long burst rather than showing every graphic detail.
First she showed Barbara her Inauguration as the princess, then she showed her the invasion of the warlord Trecoron and the Ultimatum
"You are to agree to marry my son by sundown or I will personally make sure that you personally see each and every one of your subjects bleed to death from their eyeballs."
"No don't. I will marry him."
After that, she showed her what it was like after the marriage and the abuse. She decided to do it only from a Vail with auto only
"This is my kingdom. now" SMACK and you...belong...to me!."
"Please I beg of you. Stop."
After that she showed a scene of her feeling to a cave. Followed by an image of her turning into the Oni known as Yakasuma for the first time as it happened. First her body changing shape growing bigger and bulkier followed by the changes to her hair and nails.
"What...What is happening to me? Please stop....NOOOO!!!"
The final set of images she showed Barbara was an image of her kingdom burning to the ground. Final she ended it with a picture of Naomi changing from her princess outfit with her kingdom in the background to her cop uniform with Gotham Streets in the background.
With that, Naomi decided to put the visions to an end.
|
|
Deleted Member
Deleted
Registered On: Mar 29, 2024 2:55:14 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 0
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2015 20:53:36 GMT -5
Barbara slapped her hands away from her face once she was out of the trance; wide-eyed and hyperventilating, she backed her chair into the wall, and held her chest to feel her heart pounding against her chest. A whine escaped her, and she closed her eyes trying to forget what she saw, cursing under her breath. The only question that kept flowing through her mind was: why? Why did she show this to her? She had to calm her mind before she returned back to Naomi, anger and fear, a mixed emotion of uncertainty and hatred. She understood though. Understood what she was, and how she got here. While it seemed as if she was skipping through to get to the important bits; Barbara's perfect memory recall made it evident that she sat through the Princess's entire life in a mere sixty seconds.
The redhead place her hand against her mouth and moved it to her forehead wiping the sweat off before returning her gaze back at the halfling. "Don't..." She whispered through loud music and chatter. She shook her head and couldn't figure any other word out. Not for a while at least. "Don't use your crazy powers on me. Not anymore. Okay? Are we clear?" Barbara didn't like getting her mind messed with, even if someone was just trying to show her a moving picture show, it made her uncomfortable that some being could invade her most private of spaces.
"Why did you show me that?"
|
|
Deleted Member
Deleted
Registered On: Mar 29, 2024 2:55:14 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 0
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2015 23:02:45 GMT -5
Naomi couldn't help but be a bit amazed at Barbara's reaction. Confront her with something she doesn't know, can't know and has no way of controlling, and it's like the girl crumples like a napkin. "That's what pees you off so much isn't it? the fact that your stuck in that wheelchair and there is not a darn thing you can do about it. The fact that despite all of your knowledge there wasn't one blasted thing you could do to keep yourself from getting hurt.'
Naomi paused for a sec before continuing.
"You do realize your not alone right?" if you want to know why I showed you who I was, that's why. I wanted to show you that your not the only woman that has gone through crap in her life I don't know what it's like to loose my legs at this point in my life the only way it could happen is if I made it happen on purpose. But I do know what it's like to feel violated I know what it's like to feel helpless, and I know what it's like to watch everything you love either turn against you or burn right in front of you."
Naomi put her arms in a crossed position.
"and...Maybe that's one reason why I'm not as Sympathetic to people like you or the Batman as much as I should be, for some odd reason I can't understand what trauma would be so reality shattering that one would be so willing to throw their lives away, or I guess in Batman's case go down a path of madness. I don't know maybe I'm just some crazy exception that by alrights should have drowned herself in a gutter."
Naomi couldn't help but snicker a bit. "sorry about my little tie raid about batman there. I've only seen the guy up close twice, and when I encountered him he seemed so...angry. Like underneath some weird attempt at composer he's like a snarling beast waiting to lash out. Then again maybe I'm just mad he had the gall to call one of my deputies retarded. Naomi took a sip from her drink. "You know if the reason your so angry tonight is because you can't get up their and dance, I can somewhat fix that. Sadly it's not a permanent fix, the spell would only work for an hour or two but it'd be enough for you to get a good dance or two and to remember what it's like."
|
|
Deleted Member
Deleted
Registered On: Mar 29, 2024 2:55:14 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 0
|
Last Edit: Nov 3, 2015 14:19:17 GMT -5 by Deleted
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2015 14:12:58 GMT -5
“I think that would piss anyone off, Naomi. Who doesn’t like to feel like they’re in control of their own life? When something is taken from you, why would anyone blame you for being jaded, or haunted?” Barbara asked in response to her perceptive and yet almost fabricated evaluation of her condition, the state of her legs would never get better. Not without some sort of miracle.
“Of course I’m not alone; I have a lot of support especially in the past few years since I was shot. I’m also not oblivious to the fact that many people have had a rough life. I’m not a robot, Officer Yakasuma, I have a heart.” It felt like there was an argument rearing its head around the corner. Barbara felt like she kept assuming things that just weren’t true about her. The only real things that constantly depressed and bugged her were on a deeper and spiritual level. Like how she felt that people had to be gentle with her and what it meant to be a cripple. Yes, she was bothered by dreams late at night, and yes, she kept feelings bottled inside, but above all, Barbara wanted to feel in control.
“Most cops aren’t. Bullock hates Batman, and my father doesn’t like to talk about him, but it’s just something no one can understand. Not unless you know him on a personal level. He’s fighting a battle we know nothing about, just as all of us are.” Barbara took a beat and pounded her drink, knocking it back and swallowing the glass of scotch like it was water. “My dad likes to tell me this story; back during the WWII era in the 1940’s, FDR got up on the radio and spoke to the country. For the first time, everyone heard the President’s voice and it was a big deal at the time. Everyone knew the stakes of the war, but no one knew FDR. No one personally knew him, not like those closest to him. As you know he was suffering from Polio. He couldn’t stand, he was bound to a wheelchair, but he still did his job. We all knew the war we were fighting, but no one knew the war he was fighting. We can’t judge Batman on your perception of him.”
Barbara didn’t think much of Naomi’s proposal, for the simple fact that she had already thought of it long and hard way before she even asked it. She knew what would happen if she had her legs back for a few hours. Barbara would get caught up in what she was doing, and when whatever affect wore off, she’d be back in her chair, probably fall down and crawl back, or even worse, someone would help her back up. “No, thank you.” Barbara began, “I remember what it’s like to dance. I have a photographic memory, remember?”
|
|
Deleted Member
Deleted
Registered On: Mar 29, 2024 2:55:14 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 0
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2015 16:08:44 GMT -5
Naomi couldn't help but smile. She didn't know why. Maybe it was just a knee jerk reaction. it was obvious she made a mistake at some point down the line, she didn't know where. Maybe her mistake was getting involved, so she decided to just back up.
if I'm wrong about you, then tell me so. Maybe I'm making horrible assumptions about you. Heck it wouldn't be the first time. but If I am tell me why and how. Like Why do you sit in the corner by yourself drinking down scotch like it's water when you could just as easily be up their dancing or at least talking with others and having a good time? Why is it that up until I performed that little fake walk away that every word that nearly every word that came out of your tongue seem to come across as bitter sarcasm if it wasn't let me know because that is sure what it seemed like
Now it was Naomi's took a sip of her coke and gazed in the distance.
"I don't know maybe I'm the one that's jaded. Being alive for over 500 years watching Humanity make the same mistakes over and over again tends to do that to a person."
At about that time, the music changed to a very rock type style the lyrics slowly getting louder.
"I took a walk around the world To ease my troubled mind I left my body lying somewhere In the sands of time But I watched the world float To the dark side of the moon
I feel there is nothing I can do, yeah...."
there was a certain amount of irony in those lyrics for Naomi. Maybe it's because for her she actually felt exactly the same way.
"Look you and your dad seem to act and appear as if you two know batman better than anyone of us cops so maybe you can explain to me I don't understand Maybe I don't understand the war he himself his fighting, but you know. When someone from Afghanistan is suffering from PTSD and decides to shoot up a bunch of criminals, we still label them as Psychopaths. We still put them in mental hospitals for them to seek treatment. Yes Batman hasn't killed anyone...yet but you know he still beats criminals right up until that point. I'm sure he's hacked into several computers without authorization or at the very least you can't tell me he doesn't do it through some form of illegal means. Heck the only person the guy ever seems to talk to is Jim and even all of those conversations end up off the record. If he actually worked more with the cops publicly I wouldn't mind it so much. But as it is he can beat criminals to a pulp without having to answer to anyone, commit who knows how many cyber crimes yet somehow we are supposed to be ok with it because he's batman and he's fighting the war no one else can? I call bull. I guess what bothers me the most about it is that it seems like when he gets involved, those close to him get hurt. Quite frankly I'm surprised Batman hasn't tried recruiting you in to his crusade considering how close you are to Jim."
Naomi found herself tensing up. She realized just how much she hated what Batman does and what it seemed like he stood for.
"There is a saying that goes along the lines of It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me. Now I don't lnow who Batman is underneath. He could be a an ex-criminal, he could be a War Vet. Heck for all I know he could be Bruce Wayne. Either way what he does is very little different than any of the criminals he claims to be fighting against. "
Naomi took a sip of her drink and began to chuckle. "I was kidding about that part about Mr. Wayne. There is no way he could be the batman. The guy brings to much life to the party. Speaking of which where is Mr. Wayne? he's generally all about coming to these "Support the boys in blue" types of parties.
|
|