The Hand That Mocked Them

Ljungtroll · 2022-05-20T03:53:14Z

Name: Hieronymus Heel Age: 10 years (mentally much older) Species/Race: Homunculus Appearance: Very large, swollen head that's quite soft and covered by a very loose gray knit cap, which is tied under a receded chin with a neat bow. Three withered arms, one of which grows out of his left shoulder blade and turns a wooden crank, which moves a pair of ingeniously crafted wooden leg prosthetics to compensate for his shriveled natural legs. The prosthetic device is steered by a series of strings tied to the fingers of his other two hands and is a four-legged structure, sort of like the carriage in the animated Beauty and the Beast. He has mismatched eyes both in size and color--the large one is brown and the small one is hazel. His body is very stocky but extremely emaciated, which emphasizes his severe scoliosis. Some of his teeth are growing out of the wrong parts of his gums, giving him a jutting underlip and making it difficult for him to close his mouth. His upper lip is almost nonexistent. He has two extra pairs of ribs, which makes it difficult for him to bend, and his limbs and neck are all double jointed. His ears are extremely undersized, as is his nose. He has no nipples but does have a very large scar where his belly button should be. He's about as big as a cat and, in addition, to the hat, wears a loose burlap skirt-wrap and a tattered shirt. He has extremely sensitive skin--sensitive to anything from the wrong fabric to the light of the sun to sand. It was nearly noon when Hieronymus Heel returned to The Bird's Helm, the inn in which he had reluctantly taken up residence. The sky that day was cloudless and threatened to burn Hieronymus's already itching flesh in the most horrible way, so he found himself huddled under a table waiting for scraps to drop from customers' plates. The day had been unproductive--this town had no books nor any alchemists or artificers to speak of, and there was only so much one could do even posing as a little person. Hiding his head and face was difficult enough without his legs and arm posing a problem, and he'd been nearly stomped on in several shops while making inquiries. He retreated early from his endeavors and resolved to save money by scrounging, which was more lucrative later in the day when the drunks could keep next to nothing on their plates. Hieronymus himself never drank; he was far too small and besides, drinking dulled the senses. A hounded creature such as himself couldn't afford to slip up. Hieronymus turned the crank sideways to bend and reached for a scrap of bread that had fallen from the customer's table and nibbled on it quietly, glancing around to gauge if anybody had seen. It seemed they hadn't, and so he crouched there chewing, a few crumbs falling to the ground from his mouth. (@TheMultiColoredCyr)

Ljungtroll

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Tue May 24, 2022 12:25 am

Ljungtroll says... · Tue May 24, 2022 12:25 am

"Why not?" Hieronymus asked, hurt.

"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik

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Teddybear

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Tue May 24, 2022 12:26 am

Teddybear says... · Tue May 24, 2022 12:26 am

"You are not a person, creature. You should not exist."

formerly TheMulticoloredCyr

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Ljungtroll

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Tue May 24, 2022 12:40 am

Ljungtroll says... · Tue May 24, 2022 12:40 am

"And yet here I sit."

"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik

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Teddybear

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Tue May 24, 2022 12:44 am

Teddybear says... · Tue May 24, 2022 12:44 am

"Yes, unfortunately, your master made that mistake."

formerly TheMulticoloredCyr

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Ljungtroll

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Tue May 24, 2022 12:45 am

Ljungtroll says... · Tue May 24, 2022 12:45 am

Hieronymus sighed. "Then I am not to blame for my existence, if blame is what you want to call it."

"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik

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Teddybear

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Tue May 24, 2022 12:48 am

Teddybear says... · Tue May 24, 2022 12:48 am

"That is hardly relevant."

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Ljungtroll

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Tue May 24, 2022 12:51 am

Ljungtroll says... · Tue May 24, 2022 12:51 am

"You treat me as if I'm to blame," he pointed out. "But that isn't so, according to you."

"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik

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Teddybear

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Tue May 24, 2022 1:01 am

Teddybear says... · Tue May 24, 2022 1:01 am

"It's hardly about blame."

formerly TheMulticoloredCyr

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Ljungtroll

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Tue May 24, 2022 1:02 am

Ljungtroll says... · Tue May 24, 2022 1:02 am

"Then what is it about?" he asked.

"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik

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Teddybear

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Tue May 24, 2022 1:07 am

Teddybear says... · Tue May 24, 2022 1:07 am

Kivvien sighed. "You are simply not a person. You are not whole. You're...a test tube. A cruel experiment."

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Ljungtroll

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Tue May 24, 2022 1:13 am

Ljungtroll says... · Tue May 24, 2022 1:13 am

"I know. But I don't see it as cruel. And I see myself as alive, at the very least. Eager to learn, to see the world. But my first duty is to my master."

"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik

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Teddybear

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Tue May 24, 2022 1:18 am

Teddybear says... · Tue May 24, 2022 1:18 am

"Why?" Kivvien asked. "If you are truly your own person as you say, why devote yourself to a man who does not treat you well?"

formerly TheMulticoloredCyr

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Ljungtroll

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Tue May 24, 2022 1:28 am

Ljungtroll says... · Tue May 24, 2022 1:28 am

"Because I owe him my life! And he treats me as well as I deserve. I make mistakes, I get punished, simple as that."

"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik

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Teddybear

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Tue May 24, 2022 2:10 am

Teddybear says... · Tue May 24, 2022 2:10 am

Kivvien just shook his head.

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Ljungtroll

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Tue May 24, 2022 2:13 am

Ljungtroll says... · Tue May 24, 2022 2:13 am

"All I ask is that I be referred to by my name. I won't speak for the entire remainder of our journey if I'm called Hieronymus for the rest of it," he suggested.

"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik

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