Henwen

Four Score and Five Years Ago...

I used to be fairly active on this site but that was five years and who knows how long ago.

Life has taken me odd directions since then, and I like to think I'm in a much better place since then. Live and Learn and all that rot. I've got a good thing going, but 2021 has got me hurting real bad for company of any sort.

So I went scrolling through the archives and thought I would blow the dust off this particular adventure and see if I could find the old spark of inspiration again!

So Hi Yall. The pigs have flown and Henwen is back online.

Retrogarde [Fantasy Noir]

*GASP* Is This... Fantasy Noir!?

This is my favorite thing! My aestetic! My Jam!

I'd love to play my horrible chainsmoking PI Miles Hardy (which came from a diffrent game entirely that died a premature death).

OR maybe make something new? A speekeasy booze running chorus girl perhaps? You gotta have shady speakeasies for your mob boss meetings right?

The Lucidae

@Spud BAM! NEW POST!

I actually had a lot of fun working on this one, it helps that i'm not hounding myself about cranking them out as fast as possible now. Still, hope my sluggish pace isn't grinding your gears any. I'm still here! Just at a new and improved lower and slower speeds.

Did you get the bit earlier where Naomi was talking about 'not replacing brotherhood"? THat was her suggesting that Noah had been bumping uglies with Valko, and Loire was his new boytoy. Lol, poor Viva, at this rate everyone in the galaxy is gonna know before her!

Valko's gonna start shaking down this showdown next go-round! Viva's gonna get to finally lash out with all her pent up aggression. And Noah can feel free do do something stupid soon cause all hell is gonna break loose and then it wont matter anyways...

(And i hope youve been keeping an eye on ALL our attackers. one may have slipped away from us! shhh dont worry i have plans ;)

The Lucidae

Rolling off the bed, Valko moved to land noiselessly on his hands and knees; If there was one thing he knew, it was how to take a fall. Soldier crawling his way across the floor, he kept low and out of sight- making his way to the hall where he could get a look around. The plasma pistol lying just beside the small lounge’s couch was a big giveaway that all was not well (as if he hadn’t noticed), and snagging it he made his way to peek around the doorway.

Three large assailants- judging from the pair of bulky shoulders and shadows cast on the floor and the ugly mug of the spacer holding a gun aimed at the center of the cargo hold... Make that four, as a bombshell blonde currently had a grip on their new doc. From their positions, he could guess that both Noah and Viva had got themselves nabbed as well. Joy.

Quick assessment over, he pulled back and quickly scurried back to the medbay and out of sight. Getting to his feet he deliberated for a second, checking the pistol’s charges- a full set, excellent, with the sound of things out there, these delightful warm-body targets were looking for their cargo... so that killed the lower approach, as that would be the first place they’d check- frontal assault was out likewise for even more obvious reasons- damn Noah getting caught. He would have loved a chance to double team that blonde bitch for stepping on their turf...
But that was besides the point (and there was also Viva to consider too, their folks would never let him live it down if she got hurt on his watch).
If you can’t go through, go under and if you can’t do that... Well, nobody ever looks up, not even in space it turns out.

Putting the gun in his pants behind his back Valko reached up and undid the mesh covering that doubled as the ceiling and exposed the Lucidae’s upper rigging. With a silent hop he pulled himself up in a deadlift, the strain pulling at his stitches and his rest-fatigued muscles. A quick swing, and a tuck and he looped his legs up as well, hanging upside down before a twist had him upright in the rafters.

His teeth flashed briefly in the dark, the light coming up through the mesh casting odd shadows on his face. It would take but a moment to work his way around to the cargo bay, and then he’d not only have the benefit of an advantageous position in cover with a bird's- eye-view... he’d take these fuckers entirely by surprise as well before he shot them dead.

His favorite kind of surprise.

Viva closed her eyes in frustration dismay as their newest crewmember got snagged by Naomi’s goons. And still Noah just would Not Shut UP. His fierce denial that Loire was anyway associated with the crew would only make this crazy bitch more certain that he was lying- which he was. This situation was just getting worse and worse, goddamnit. They shouldn’t even Be in this situation, wouldn’t have ever been if it hadn’t been for that thrice damned Nth! THIS WAS ALL NOAH’S FAULT! And if they died because of this she was so going to haunt his ass.

"Do we have a deal or not? 60/40 is a fair cut, stop messing around Naomi" Noah said, unfortunately, negotiation and patience were certainly not two of his strong points and he knew the longer they lingered, the more chances Naomi had to discover Val wasn't dead and once she figured out he'd lied ... well she'd certainly not accept a 60 percent cut that's for sure.

“It seems that despite my efforts there is still a misunderstanding between us, Captain,” Naomi said as she looked up at Noah, a positively displeased look in her eye and her hand’s grip on Liore’s scalp tightened painfully. “The negotiations we are discussing was never over the Nth- cut or otherwise... and certainly nothing Fair.”

A manicured hand slid the skirt covering her thighs aside and she delicately plucked a wicked looking stiletto knife from it’s hiding place and flicked it open with practiced ease, “We are negotiating whether or not you can convince me that you value your lives enough for me to allow you to keep them.”

“And I must say Captain Noah, you have done a very good job of showing me exactly what you value. Your life, perhaps, but the lives of your companions...” the stiletto grazed its way down Liore’s cheek leaving a faint red line behind, ”No, not so much.”

“Still,” She continued, staring directly into Loire’s eyes where that secret gleam of madness could easily be seen hiding in their depths, her voice almost soft, “You’d be amazed what a few hours of agonizing screaming can do to sway someone’s priorities- if only to make it stop. And I do so love it when they beg.”

“I will have your entire shipment of Nth, Captain,” She said louder for all to hear, but still not breaking her unnerving gaze, “Whether or not I Have to bathe the whole of this vessel in blood to get it is immaterial. I could easily deliver the cargo to its rightful owner- ship and all for Sullivan to go scrabbling through your cold dead bodies to find it himself... and if it is NOT here like you so eagerly suggested well...” her smile was deadly, “He’ll be glad to see that I tied up at least one loose end for him permanently.”

The Lucidae

POST AT LONG LAST!
A million appollogices and my eternal grattitued at your unending patience!

BUT AT LAST! HERE IT IS! THE SHOW IS BACK ON THE ROAD BABY!

The Lucidae

The savage strike whipped her head to one side, the red hand print blooming high on Viva’s already bruised cheek and splitting her lip against her teeth, a raised scratch where the woman’s nail had snagged against her skin.
"Y'alright Vee?" he asked, daring to cast his eyes in her direction, but not moving his head too far lest he get beaten too.
“Peachy,” Viva sneered and spat blood to the floor- mostly from the bloody nose she’d had earlier, but it certainly expressed her feelings of the moment well enough. The brute then grabbed a hard handful of her hair and pressed the flat of his blade coldly against her throat, the razor edge a warning sting to accompany the pain on her scalp.

He gritted his teeth, it was all he could do to stop himself lashing out and getting them all shot. He looked over at Viva and willed her eyes to meet his, he was trying to talk to her with his eyes, to tell her that he was bluffing and that everything he would say was a lie to buy them time, a gamble to get them out of this. He didn't mean a thing. She had to play along but know he didn't mean it.
"You're right, I already lost Val ...and what use is just one twin huh? It's like a bike with one fucking wheel,”

“Заткнись вам мать!” Viva snarled at him. So much for the ‘concern’, if the bastard was going to gamble with her life then why’d he even bother. With all the bullshit coming out of his mouth it was a wonder the woman hadn't shut him up yet... maybe she was just happy to listen to the idiot dig his own grave, the smug smile on the whoremistress’s face sure gave that impression.

"Tell you what, I can cut you a deal, how about 60/40? You know how much Nth we have, 60% is a hefty chunk and we've already done most of the work, you can't get a better deal than that." He hoped it would pay off, it had to pay off he had no other options left.[/i]

“My my,” Naomi laughed throatily, her voice cruel, “You are quite the chatty one aren't you. If you are going to blather on so, it should be what I want to hear... But that would require you to listen...” The blonde woman trailed off sharply, her eyes darting to the hall between her hostages.

“Taggart.” Naomi commanded sharply, but her head muscle was already on the move
Three great strides and the man snagged the dark haired doctor roughly by the scruff, throwing him down the hall to land in a pile at his mistresses feet.

“Well now. What do we have here,” Ms Dybbuk mused, the whine of a plasma pistol repriming cutting through the air as the man holding Noah freed up one of his hands to level his weapon at the new threat.

“The boy Crux’s body is not yet cold and you’ve already gone and replaced him have you...” Sliding silkily off her seat, Naomi knelt down to grab Lior by the chin, examining his aristocratic features, and carding her hand through his mussed hair, “That is a surprise, I must say. It takes a truly heartless individual to cast aside bonds so easily... I should know, but I didn’t think you were the type to be so insensitive after losing a ‘brother’ after all...”

“But then again...”She smiled prettily as her gentle hands turned mean, gripping his hair and pulling his head back to expose his neck and putting the doctor into an extremely vulnerable position. Her free hand grazing her nails down his throat and the hickies barely concealed by his collar, “Perhaps ‘brotherhood’ wasn’t exactly what you had in mind to replace.”

Valko frowned from his position on the gurney, his mirth at taking the flustered doctor off balance cut short as the sounds coming from the cargobay slowly permeated his drug addled mind. They were not the right sort of sounds that he should be hearing- A woman’s voice that was not his sisters, and a familiar electric sound that was slowly but surely pressing alarm buttons in his brain. It took a moment but eventually it clicked... And Valko grinned.

They had unwelcome company.

The Lucidae

*Drags self back in here by own ear*

Im here! Im Here! Forgive this poor peasant her tresspasses! *wallows*

The Lucidae

OH! Hey Spud! Check this out!

Camren Bicondova

So i dont know if you are following the new batman tv show Gotham (i'm not) but i just came across this actress and OH MY GOD she is VIVA! Also her hair is amazing and the next time i get mine cut i'm whipping out these pictures of her. Cause look at it, its a beautify curly halo of tousled curls and perfection.

The Lucidae

ANNNND POST!

Valko is having fun trying to press Liore's buttons! And by 'press' i mean find the biggest baddest glowingest buttons and slam down on it repeatedly. This time its less "lets make em mad" and more "lets scare the shit outta em". Valko's got a thing for being scary these days, likes being intimidating and feared.
He'll get his opportunity to save the day ina bit. Did ya notice the way i've sent nearly all the weapons down the hall in his direction? Pfft i'm always way to heavyhanded with the foreshadowing, but its so fun.

And Wooo Naomi is hella fun to write. I love me some savage killer women. I can't wait to see how Noah reacts to being so outclassed by somebody who sees right through him. Although, Naomi may have made a wrong move by targeting Viva, cause Noah usually goes for looking out for Numba One first. She's just a big fan of the 'i'll make you watch' tactic- and while she doesn't know it, with Valko awake, Noah wouldn't be able to say "fine i dont care do it" cause he'll know Valko will care very much.

Heee! Plots are Happening! WOo! Viva wont react well to being the 'damsel in distress' just so you know, so expect things to all go to hell the next go round.

The Lucidae

"I understand, family is very important, I don't blame you." he said, then he recalled Valko looking him up and down and asking if Loire was the one "fuckin'" Viva.
"I sure am glad you didn't lash out at me back there, since you thought I was sleeping with Viva, you're a pretty tough guy. You do know I'm not sleeping with her right? And that I'd never hurt her, just so we're clear."

"Oh sure you're not sleeping with her," Valko said, his overly toothy smile never wavering, "I was mostly yankin' Vee's chain- gotta keep her on her toes. But you..."

Valko trailed off, a knowing glint in his eyes as he repeated his earlier wandering gaze and took in Loire's still disheveled appearance. He'd noticed that the doctor hadn't reacted to his earlier teasing until he'd mentioned lads- the man's slight smile a mix of relief and disbelief was very telling, "You've been bumping uglies with somebody for sure. I've got three good guesses who and the first two don't count."

He laughed at the doctor's expression, taking delight in treading all over whatever delicate sensibilities the educated man may have.

"Now Noah," He continued after his mirth subsided, although he did flash a grin at the mention of his prime suspect, "Unlike Viva, Noah can take care of himself more often than not. Noah wants to play "Doctor" with a Doctor I ain't gonna tell him no. So If you wanna play 'Cabin boy' to his Captain well then have at it..."

"Just you keep in mind our little discussion yeah?" Val's voice remained casal, but had taken on a dark timbre, "Fuck around all you want, but Noah is as much my kin as Viva is. And if anybody, Anybody Fucks with my family...

"I'll end em." Valko bit the words out with savage relish. Then smiling innocently at the doctor, "Just so we're in the clear ya know."

<VoV>

"Naomi babe, howya been?" Noah asked nonchalantly, "You look good, though I can't say the same about the company you keep." he looked up at one of the big henchmen she'd dragged along and added as a side note "No offence buddy."
He looked over to Viva and motioned for her not to draw her weapon, "It's alright Vee, Naomi's a civilised woman. I'm sure we can work something out without making a mess of the Lucidae's lovely cargo hold, and Ms. Dybbuk's lovely dress."

The big man, either Brody or Craven, merely snarled at Noah's cheek and continued to pat him down for concealed weapons- being a little rougher than necessary. The other man approached Viva, leering at her as he groped through her pockets. The plasma pistol taken from her pocket and was thrown to the floor where it was kicked down the hall and well out of reach- along with any other weapons that were found on them.

"How considerate," Naomi purred as she watched them, "I see my reputation has preceded me... "

Switching her legs she ruched up a bit of her lacy skirt, flashing a tantalizing peek of creamy thigh, "I've heard quite a bit of your own reputation Noah Rhoads, Captain of the light freight star cruiser Lucidae."

She recited it with ease, enunciating it clearly as if to a small child. Standing up she slinked towards them as she continued, "You, Captain, are a small time smuggler. A criminal with delusions of grandeur. Which is the absolute worst kind of criminal you could be.
"A humble criminal lives longer..." She crooned, running her elegantly manicured nails down his cheek, "But you have too much ego to ever be satisfied with Humble, don't you. Just look at you, how young and handsome. Tsk, such a shame. "

"You thought it would be a good idea to play with the big boys," She said stepping aside as the two brutes secured their arms behind their back, "And ended up stepping on the wrong person's toes. Mar Sullivan doesn't suffer fools, Captain. And that is what you are..." Naomi turned to Viva and repeated her caress on the girl's cheek, "So now you are going to suffer the consequences of your foolishness."

"Is this the one, Pet?" Looking Viva over with an impersonal judging eye Naomi asked the filthy creature that was still back at the crates,"She's the one that struck you, yes? Well now, we just can't have that can we."

Quick as a flash, Naomi struck Viva a vicious slap across the cheek that whipped her head to one side.
"Oh no," Ms. Dybbuk said in dismay as she turned away, "I've broken a nail- That's going to cost you."

At a wave of her hand, the grunt that had Viva's hands behind her back quickly pulled them up into a painful looking hold. Dragging her head to one side with a grip on her hair, the man shoved a knife to her neck before she could do more than yelp.

Returning to her original perch on top of the crates, she seated herself like it was a throne, "You are not in a position to negotiate Captain Rhoads, so I am going to dictate the terms. You are going to Tell me where the Nth is, or your little crewmember here is going to suffer greatly for your arrogance. You've already lost one Crux twin after all... can you really afford to lose another?"