inverted_fairytale knightmare Once upon a time... in a place that was neither new nor ancient there lived a curious boy. His curiousity was a source of concern to his mother and father who were poor and had little schooling Inevitably, it came to pass that, while he was still young (maybe too young) his own knowledge and unending curiosity pushed him to seek beyond the bounds of his place in the world Enchantment, desire and technology overtook him, and as his father fell ill, the young man fell in with theives and chemists and assorted libertines. when Love, in all its splendor, deemed him unworthy when he answered its first summons... he fell into the ways of leisure and crime Oddly resplendent in his raven-black armor, he continued, a master of the knife, the club and the gun dispensing the magic potions that his masters, The Chemists, had created in their lairs. This was one half of a brilliant disguise, the other half, the one he showed his family and his childhood friends, wa that of a pious and humble young man with a serious mind and a sensitive nature Inside, beneath the skin, he was all chaos and disorder, having none of the calm and will of his darker persona and none of the faith or sweetness of the lighter one. His father long dead and his mother now dying, the three faces began to merge, but with a stolen measure of the magic potions, he was able to fool those around him (he discovered that these were also of great help in salving the wounds inflicted by his encounters with the creature called Love...these and night's spent in the arms of Love's sister, Sex) As his mother died, he abandoned the Chemists and the legion of libertines. He did battle with the family of dragons called the Addictions and defeated them (but every so often,the ghosts of the Dragon Opium and the dragon Al-Ghul still stir) He learned the ways of circuitry and radio waves and machinery and lived quietly, looking to invent a new self. He gave shelter to a band of misfits. All around, the people spoke of how virtuous he had become. One of his misfit charges was an enchatress who had once lived among nomads. Unbeknownst to the man, she was schooled in the treachery of the Chemists. Acting on his unspoken attraction to her rival, she turned his charges against him and lured him within reach of the ghost-dragons he had put behind him not so long before. The rival, a sweet, quiet girl with sleepy yet mischeivous eyes had been driven out by he arrival of the enchantress. She had told the man of her own battles with the dragons and how she had been a subject of the Chemists once. Love, it seemed, was poised to strike yet again. Knowing this, he drove out the misfits and the enchantress and spent a spell wandering the night as he had when he wore his black armor. He sharpened his wits and sought the counsel of Sex who came to him in the guise of a luscious red witch. In her arms and tasting her pleasures, he became sure that this was not his destiny. He fulfilled the oracle's demands of blood - allowing her to carve decorative wounds on his body, and seed - shuddering with pleasure as she took him in to her body and into her mouth. She sent him off with her blessing to look for Love again...the girl with the quiet eyes. But first he had to find the courage to speak again for he had been silent for some time. Finding it some weeks later, he sought her out and their courtship dance had begun and for many months they seemed happy...until she betrayed him for another. He forgave her the betrayal and it seemed as if they had grown closer, seemed as if they were on the verge of becoming One. And just as he thought he had found Love's mercy in the guise of this wonderful girl, she walked away and delivered the killing stroke...reopening the wound that would tear away the bright face and leave only the darkness and disorder beneath it. The truth is...beauty usually kills the beast 000527 ... marked . 031104 what's it to you? who go blather from