Adventures in interspecies dating

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Interspecies Love Meme

Vampires and humans. Angels and demons. Ghosts and the living. The idea of "opposites attracting" is hardly a new one, but with the rise in popularity of supernatural creatures, aliens, and other sentient beings beyond our human understanding, the forbidden romance trope has been injected a shot of fresh blood- sometimes quite literally.

This meme does just that, taking the whole "not meant for each other" thing to it's most logical extreme. Of course, it's not always angst and depression. These days, mermaids and bird-people can have their relationships in peace to some degree.

Rules

• Comment with your character, putting any preferences you have (ie, "humanoid characters only," F/M, etc). Also, be sure to note your character's "species" for others to reference (Name | Character | OTA | Human, ghost, mutant, alien, vampire, god, zombie-catgirl hybrid, etc).
• Reply to others. If your characters aren't different species, feel free to AU or anything else like that.
• Use the rng to determine your prompt.
• Also I didn't think I needed to say this, but be excellent to each other. Dick comments and anon bullying are not on.

Prompts

1. Meeting: Did you know there were, I don't know, werewolves before this? Or maybe you thought all aliens were evil. Will this...thing change your perception?
2. Falling in Love: You know you're not the same, but your feelings don't care.
3. Self-Hate: Perhaps you're mad at the being you're in love with, yet you're more angry at yourself.
4. Can't Be Together: Whether for self-inflicted reasons or societal rules, you can't be in love with who your heart has chosen and it's putting a strain on you.
5. Pushing You Away: Things are getting too intense, and for both of your sake, you want to make friend/crush/lover hate you.
6. Beauty & the Beast: One of you is beautiful, the other hideous. Maybe, though, the beautiful one is ugly in the eyes of society, depending on where you live. Whatever the case is, you don't look the same.
7. Confession: Screw the rules, you're going to tell that sweet girl/guy/other how you feel! What can go wrong? Or this is something you've put a lot of thought into and you're scared, but you're going to do it.
8. First Time...or Not: Finally, the two of you are taking the next step and getting physical. It may go off without a hitch, depending on your...you know, or- OH GOD, HOW IS THAT GOING TO GO IN HERE. Wait, you have a...?
9. The Kinky Option: Hey, maybe being different will pay off. Think about it. A long tongue? Ghost powers? Sounds like it could be fun in the bedroom.
10. Prejudice: "What are you doing with that dirty monster?" "You know we can't be involved with humans!" "We don't take kindly to your type around here." Why can't people just leave you two be?
11. Facing Your Instinct: It's hard to be with someone when you want to suck their blood. Or eat their brains. Or possess them.
12. Because of Me: Your lover has been dragged into your fight or hurt by others of your kind. Now they're in the crossfire.
13. Standing Up For You: Hey, knock it off! I don't care what you think, he's perfect in my eyes.
14. You Don't Know You're Beautiful: The fluffy option where you're trying to make your loved one see just how much you care and how they're beautiful to you, no matter what.
15. Gifts: Show your affection with a gift from your culture.
16. Starting a Family: Can you even reproduce? Is it something you want to consider? Perhaps it's new ground to tread, so you'll have to be the first to think about it.
17. WILDCARD

Comments

Paladin -|- D&D (OC) -|- OTA

[i_paladin]

[tiefling: androgynous, sex fluid, generally uses female pronouns.]

[anarchyrules]

(( Hello there! I'm fascinated- how would you feel about a fellow unconventional warrior of a god? In this case, one that is also a robot. ))

[i_paladin]

[i can dig it! Do you have a preferred gender?]

[anarchyrules]

(( Appropriately I asked a computer to decide for me, and RNG said woman. I then asked it for some prompt numbers and got 12, 8 and 4. I'm super cool with the lot of them, so if you'd like to pick I'll happily start us off! ))

[i_paladin]

[12 sounds super good, paladin is neutral good so I think that would be interesting. And no worries!]

[anarchyrules]

(( Okie dokie! Let me know if this is cool. ))

"Friendly folks, aren't they?" Deadlock really wished his voice could be anything but a fearsome tone torn right from the nightmares of men. He was, after all constructed for the purpose of fear. A machine built to dole out punishments for war criminals so horrendous the enemy would tremble at the thought of him coming for them. It didn't turn off. Not even when he was reduced to a smoking, sparking torso strapped to her steed thanks to a recent bout in a Tiefling ghetto. Perhaps it hadn't been the best idea to turn up in his golden body- he hadn't had the heart to fight them off seriously. He'd never starved as he's never had a stomach, but sympathy had set in.

He was nicer, sometimes, than he liked people to know.

"I should be fine if we can find my vehicle." He kept saying that, as if his missing ship was not about half of their conjoined quest that had brought him to her realm of reality.

[i_paladin]

The hooves of the steed make no noise in the dark, green dense forest they ride through. Outside the city gates it was the only way to find cover, to lose the trouble that was following them. So the deep terror of his voice swells and rumbles through the trees and branches, causing Paladin to momentarily tense, her heels ready to dig into the beast's side in order to bolt off into the darkness.

"I am still unsure why we had to go to the city in the first place." The easy, neutral voice tense with a growl of anger that wasn't fully directed at him. Going home, if one could even call it that, brought up a multitude of emotions and memories she had purposely left behind. So the complaint isn't new.

"The trader at least indicated we were on the correct track," ducking her head she misses a branch. "Your body: a small price to pay I'm sure."

[anarchyrules]

"I've other limbs. What I did not have was any indication as to where to find them. I thought a paladin of all people would understand sacrifice for the mission." It was always difficult to discern how he intended a statement to be taken with his voice, but time and practice would note the subtle inflections that indicated that was more of a joke than anything. Deadlock rarely seemed interested in sacrifice... aside from those dark rituals of his, even if their purpose was always benign and victims always malicious. Still a difficult one to place on the moral line.

"Unless you only love me for my body, at which point I say we turn around and I'll headbutt their ankles until they give my arms back." That was at least more obvious jest. Even in pieces he always seemed to keep a controlling sense about him, like everything was always going exactly to his plan. Not entirely true. But not untrue either.

[i_paladin]

"What good is a sacrifice when it is your own and compromises the mission?" He can play her like a fiddle sometimes, the joke just goes right over her head. Not a hard feat to accomplish when she is already worked up over what has happened thus far.

Even as she sits and simmers with frustration, there is a hint of a smile in her voice when he suggests turning around.

"I'll turn around and leave you here, let the beasts and monsters have use of the rest of you." By the end of her threat she is fully grinning and fighting hard to keep it out of her voice.

[anarchyrules]

He's proud of himself for alleviating some of the weight from her. Though he did run a full gamut of emotions, he chose only to show a small spectrum of them. His image was very important to him and thus there was a limited number of ways his pride would let him let her feel better about the situation.

"Some threat that is! You're the most frightening beast I know of." The effect of it was somewhat dulled when he tipped his head up, as if to look down a nose he did not have from a position where he was far below her. Though after a few seconds he added- "Barring myself of course."

[i_paladin]

Paladin scoffs. "Fearsome beast indeed," her appearance might be considered fearsome but the Paladin is rather easy going, rather congenial. That fearsome beast only comes out when she feels a great misdeed has been done, when a wrong needs to be righted. When she is blasting the face off of an elemental that just won't fucking die.

"And of course," Paladin is willing to concede that point. He can be the most fearsome. If this was a contest she wouldn't even think about entering.

"The trader said he heard that a caravan of hobgoblins had your ship, or heard of it, he wasn't entirely sure. They were only a half a day out from the city." A hand passes over her dark eyes, rubbing the weariness from them. "We - I should rest before then."

[anarchyrules]

There was no denying it. He was not just frightening, in appearance but his enjoyment of the smiting the wicked part of the job was perhaps a bit excessive. How could he not? It was literally what he was made for. Perhaps made a little too well, considering he had happily punished his creators for their sins as much as his enemies.

"Ah, yes. I'm so used to operating with my own kind- sleep is more of a luxury for a robot." He was sure there were endless questions and answers they could both spend days telling asking and replying to, but Deadlock preferred a slow trickle of information back and forth between them. As if their differences were more matters of trivia than vital to their existences. "I may be lacking in limbs presently, but I'll make a fine lookout."

His voice was even more sinister than usual as he finished that comment, his blue optics fading to a blood red. He could not smile nor frown, face always solidly set in a stance half way between both. But a subtle inclination of his head offered a vicious grin. It took great poise to seem incredibly dangerous when just a head and torso.

[i_paladin]

A shameful confession: Paladin doesn't exactly understand the concept of a robot. It makes sense, there is no electricity within her world, so the idea of a self contained, animated, being that is human but not? As far as she is concerned he is a steel golem made with some massive, powerful magic: magic she doesn't even remotely have a grasp on. What matters is that he is powerful himself and they have formed an alliance of sorts.

And currently: that he needs no sleep.

"A fine plan," she doesn't stop immediately. Instead, she does her best to find a clearing, a shelter of sorts. It's not really in her skill set, but after roughing it more than once, she knows what to look out for. Paladin finds it under an outcropping of massive rock that forms an over hanging shelf of sorts. With a grunt, Paladin slides from the saddle and starts setting up camp.

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

[anarchyrules]

An equal confession: Deadlock knows a little too much about biological life. A part of him he will never admit to yearns to be amongst them. It just seems so cliché to be a Pinocchio and he refuses to be a cliché. To him, humans are the ones with the power beyond magic. A link in the chain of nature that stretches back infinitely. It's hard to resolve in conjunction with his beliefs as a follower of Khaos.

"You're doing a lot for me already," he replied with a further head tip that made his unmoving mask a smile. There was one exception to his horrendous tone and that was- "Yuk-yuk-yuk."

He had two forms of laughter. One was as a spine tingling malevolent laugh suitable for only a monster. The other was how he laughed when he told a dirty joke, warm and offbeat even with the grinding voice he'd been given. "But if you want to do more... I'd like to hear what you have to say about yourself."

His phrasing was specially calculated to imply he knew more than he did and just wanted to know what she'd want to share.

[i_paladin]

The first thing Paladin will do is start a fire. They are far away enough from the city to be safe from the group that they were fleeing from at the immediate moment. Anyone wants to come this far out of city limits was welcome to and see what happened along the way. Most people wouldn't dare, not at night.

Once the flames are crackling and she doesn't have to tend to it constantly, Paladin starts with the bedroll. It's when she tosses back her hood finally to shake out her shaggy teal hair. The Tiefling is onyx black: from the tips of her swept back horns at her temples, to the tip of her fin tail. The only color on her is her electric blue irises and a equally blue scar tattooed horizontally across the bridge of her nose.

"Say about myself?" Turning her head she looks at the machine still strapped to the horse. "Why, I'm not sure there is much to say about me. Do you have a particular question you'd like an answer to? For starters: I don't snore at night, or so I've been told. I enjoy fine wines and not sleeping out in the open."

[anarchyrules]

It's another thing that puts a certain distance between them. To him the heat of the flames is just something sensors measure and inform him of, rather than something truly felt. He's not sure how much he feels at all. He does know he feels something when her hood goes down and he's actually thankful for his unreadable expression. It means he doesn't have it written on his face how fascinating he finds her appearance.

"All good information. Strictly speaking, we have all three in common." This is the best kind of correct. Technically correct.

In terms of colour scheme he's something of the opposite to her at the moment, wearing the gold plate that had gotten him so thoroughly disarmed and delegged. A part of him notes once he gets to his spare body, they'll match much better. "I'd liked to know more. Anything is acceptable- both in terms of what you'd want to tell me and what I'd like to hear. The one law I enforce is... Do as thou wilt."

[i_paladin]

A lot of people find her appearance fascinating: in a bad way. Usually that involves cries of outrage, sometimes thrown holy symbols which is just annoying as it is insulting. Paladin looks like a humanoid demon, the curse of her race, so on one hand she doesn't necessarily take offense in the reactions, but on the other it generally means she has an uphill battle winning people over.

Given how he looks she was pretty sure he wouldn't have a negative reaction or throw anything at her. Mainly because he doesn't have any arms.

"Excellent," she pushes the roll out on to the ground and smooths out the bedding. "Remind me to give you a Smedley bottle if we get close enough to my home, a fantastic vintage." Bedroll down she starts on the horse, feeding, watering, it's important for such a beast. It also brings her closer to the being strapped to it's back. They'll need to do something about that.

"How should I know what you'd like? I do not know you." Her voice lowers when she is next to him, that easy murmur. "My name is Paladin which is also my occupation. What is yours? And where would you like to be? I doubt horse minds you very much but if you would like to be elsewhere that can be arranged."

[anarchyrules]

It's something Deadlock understands well. Humans made robots, had them fight their wars and then feared them for their heroism. It had been hard for most robots to accept after the Fourth Oil War that had lead to their prominence- so many had spent their last moments in a smelter asking why humans didn't love them the way they loved humans. Deadlock though... he had been built special. He'd been made to understand the darkest side of living beings. It gave him a unique perspective on hate and therefore acceptance.

At the most basic, everyone deserved the chance to exist.

"I am Deadlock." His lack of limbs had no impact on the darkness that radiated as his introduction continued. Without changing a bit, he gave an impression of being gigantic, of being a part of the shadows and smoke and what lay beyond them. "Grand Wizard of the Knight Martial, Dean of the Kollege of Khaos, the square within the circle, apprentice to the warlock, holding of the Ace of Swords. I am all these things and many more."

All the pomp faded as quickly as it had arrived as he answered the second question. "Please hang me from a tree by my cloak, so it appears I am standing to attention."

[i_paladin]

Paladin stops doing what she is doing when he starts talking which kind of annoys the steed because that was his dinner he is currently not getting and frankly that's rude. Except this is the first time this being has spoken more than a few words at a time and he's so... different she has no idea how to interact with him, or know what to do with him.

"I'm assuming you're okay with 'Dreadlock' because I am going to be honest: I don't think I can remember all of that." Nor does she totally get what all of that means, all of the titles he has from a world much different from her own.

Going back to the horse she looks at Dreadlock and then at the trees around them. This might be a little problematic. Paladin isn't exactly tall and climbing trees isn't a skill she has mastered but he said please and that goes a long way. "If I break something hanging you from a tree I will be severely cross," but there is a tree and there is a low hanging branch close enough for it to happen. There is a lot of heavy breathing on her end and the horse ends up helping as well, which is very nice.

In the end she stands in front of him sucking on a scraped knuckle as he hangs by his cloak from the tree. "How's that?"

[anarchyrules]

He chuckled at her answer, an unpleasant cackle suitable for only the most villainous yet without the malicious edge to it that such a person would have. He was just scary. He couldn't help it. He's heavy too, even as just a torso, but the deed is managed. Once hung, his cape falls around him and hangs in a manner that makes him appear to be whole, his disablement a secret just between the two of them.

And the Tieflings currently stripping his limbs for valuable pieces.

"Magnificent, my dear." A quick twist of his neck has him swaying side to side joyfully. Even if he isn't alive, he still finds ways to enjoy life to its fullest. His glowing optics an amused shade of yellow. "Once I'm repaired, I'll see to it you're repaid for your efforts. I understand kindness is difficult to extend to..."

A tip of his head indicated himself in general before he completed his sentence. "One such as me."

[i_paladin]

Maybe its the cynic in her, or maybe it's the sinister way he laughs and twists in the shadows of a wicked looking blacked tree, but whatever way he repays her it's probably going to give her nightmares. He's just not the kind of guy one looks at and thinks: o dear our interaction is going to be filled with sunshine and rainbow kittens.

"Well," the Paladin replies: "it could be because you look fucking terrifying." And this is coming from a Tiefling. Like, Paladin wasn't there when the pact with the demon was made, but his ancestor made a pact with a devil: that kind of fortitude toward darkness rain in her veins.

A shrug and Paladin turns back to the horse to get back to her previous chores. "You were in need of help." Plus, there were many a time when she was in a position such as he and wouldn't no one stop to help the likes of her.

[anarchyrules]

Her description of him elicits another round of laughter, his cape fluttering as if there's arms under there pulling it closer. A glint shines off of one eye, his head tipping to produce an angle that most resembled a smile. "I do, don't I? I was made to be. I was designed well. A little too well, some might say."

That's where they differ. Deadlock made his deals himself. Except unlike most who eventually paid more than they bargained for, he tended to come out with more than he went in with. First a mere machine and now... Him.

"I was constructed by humans for the purpose of judging the worst of their kind. Judging and punishing. What better way to reduce the number of their crimes than to fear me and my knights?" With every word his voice, as much as it can, softens. "Little did they realise... I sought real justice. Not victory's justice. They never expected a slave to punish his masters."

A grim chuckle once more before he concludes- "Built a little too well, you see."

[i_paladin]

The Tiefling barks out a laugh or a noise of surprise and disbelief. "In your world humans need a group of you to judge and punish those they feel have misbehaved? Everywhere I've been they seem to excel at such things, almost seem eager for it." But Paladin ain't bitter.

To be fair things have turned around considerably recently and the towns she rides into these days tend to be a lot less hostile than they used to be. The evil is in the city, that's the current working theory.

"Ahhhh..." Horse fed and her own rations in hand, the worn rider sinks back down on to her bed. "That's the first mistake, a rookie mistake, making the worker smarter and more terrifying than the master."

[anarchyrules]

"There's only so much fear humans can have for their own kind. You see, humans have a curious fault in their minds. They separate everything into two groups, no matter how illogical. Good, evil. Black, white. Cat, dog. Them, us. Much like the tales told to children, I was made to be the monster that comes to get you if you've been bad. I could only do that effectively by being 'the other.'"

Otherness being something they share, apparently. The rampant hatred of robots stems from humanity's fear of them, he believes. Despite how illogical it is to mistreat them as if they were other humans that needed to be kept under the thumb with force, it made them feel better.

"They never realised... the worker is always stronger."

[i_paladin]

It has been a long day but even so, Paladin feels drawn into the conversation: chewing over the points robot friend has made. "I've never thought about that before," and then the Tiefling adds: "at least not in those terms."

Truth be told, being what she is, she thinks about it quite often. Granted: people's responses to her as of late, at least in her area of roaming and protecting have been vastly different than it once was.

"So what made you turn away?" Opening up a canteen, Paladin takes a long drink and sighs at the taste of the cool water. "Do you eat? Drink? I don't mean to be rude here."