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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2021 14:37:39 GMT -8
“Let me also say having someone who can sell ice to eskimos also helps the cause, it wasn’t like those meetings were fun. Do you know what mingling with Mormons is like? I’ll tell you what - dry. In more ways than one. Most exotic drink you could get your hands on was some spicy water and even then they would give you the side eye. But it goes a long way selling an image of progressiveness to have someone outside the mold and out of the fold. So combine that with the right incentives and bada bing, bada boom - we are doing some good in the world and making up for what could otherwise be called poor introductions.”
It was worth noting he had had a part in putting the speaking event together, it wasn’t as altruistic as the event seeking out someone like Fire but having it described to them the value of having someone like Fire.
Meanwhile, to Alecto.
“I can understand on some level. The Meadows has provided me a nice safe place to call home but at the same time it can sometimes feel like a gilded cage. The life we live though, right? Things don’t come as freely nor are they as consequence free. I used to be able to travel willy nilly, now it's a weeks if not months in advance hassle if I feel that is worth it. I really do think we can benefit from any kind of closeness we can derive. Wouldn’t you all agree?”
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Post by Alecto on Mar 21, 2021 10:22:18 GMT -8
She had seen it, but it wasn't her direct experience. From her understanding, the Italian mob had been driven out and essentially replaced with the LDS church quietly buying up the vacuum of investment and real estate.
Kai was being quiet for the open friendly girly who had slid in with a plate of food and a big grin.
She wasn't about to criticize any of Danica's efforts; she was sure batting at that issue would make anyone feel like they weren't just demanding more of society in a dead vacuum. Her anxiety was felt. That would be hard; surrounded by those who inherently didn't get it. Forcing compassion and education on a group that held the cards and didn't want to be chided was its own kind of harrowing when you knew and lived through the consequences of misdirected fear. Alecto was raised old fashioned herself, and still watched women preach sex positivity and rage against the machine that put sex workers through the meat grinder, and even was up to chanting for protection right alongside them.
However, she could never shake her distaste on certain aspects of the lifestyle, and the sorrow, addiction and metal illness born of commodifying your body and weathering men judging the meat quality. She remembered her own mother presenting her with an appointment for a boob job at sixteen; with a proud announcement about women taking charge of their bodies while writing the check to the male surgeon that pocked and prodded her insecurities. At her mother's.
Empowerment. Taking charge. Celebrating our bodies without the male gaze while the role models were being advised by PR teams on how to get kids to buy their product and buying their own bullshit as they raked in millions.
'Your choice!'
She wouldn't want her own daughter doing it.
Realizing she had zoned out on a completely different train of thought of sexuality and business in Vegas (because Mormon perspectives were inherently tied to business practices); she was staring at the claw trenches in her aging sun-baked skin.
"Smaller world for us," she agreed, snapping back to the present with Archie's optimistic notion of community.
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Post by Kai Rose on Mar 21, 2021 11:26:28 GMT -8
It never happened, but for once in Kai Rose's life, her inner turmoil was complex enough that it could not be deciphered by someone.
She snapped out of it, though, realizing that she was being rather unsociable in that instant. A smile animated across her face as she came back, considering the idea that the Mormon Church might be changing. That they had actually requested her was a step in the right direction. It was one thing to grab a celebrity and make a scene of trying to Improve The Image. Groups did that all the time to try to look 'woke'. Grabbing someone with no public recognition might be something more genuine.
"I'll be very curious to hear about your experience, Dani. I'd imagine you're going to run into some people who don't want to hear it, but that's always true of organizations with some die-hards."
The point about 'any closeness you can find' was met with a pulse of sickly green overridden by a splash of gold.
"I dunno, man. Some kinds of closeness is good; others can be toxic. But I get the sentiment. Megan, you been in town long? Where you from?"
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2021 17:56:20 GMT -8
Alecto and Kai both seemed to have something on their mind, or troubling them. However, in the midst of a bar, and coming off his own speech and food for thought. He was worried that maybe he was losing the audience...Public speaking, while he did plenty of it he was never particularly gifted at it, nor was he captivating it seemed. Perhaps one day he would shine - but tonight certainly wasn’t it. Alecto at least agreed to the sentiment. That was nice. “Rose colored glasses right? No pun intended. I just haven’t seen the benefit of scattering to the wind. Like Megan said, smaller world - I didn’t catch it though, what brings you out for a drink tonight?”
It was a chain of questions. Strong King - Archie — Today at 6:44 PM
Hopping Bar
What kind of mood is hovering Alecto's distant mood
Wits + Empathy
@dicecord-CoD roll 6
Dicecord-CoD
BOT
— Today at 6:44 PM
@strong King - Archie rolled 6 dice and got 1 success. 5 7 7 10(4) 4 4
Strong King - Archie — Today at 6:45 PM
Hopping Bar
Sensing the nature of Kai's motives
Wits + Empathy + Specialty
@dicecord-CoD roll 7
Dicecord-CoD
BOT
— Today at 6:45 PM
@strong King - Archie rolled 7 dice and got 1 success. 7 10(6) 5 7 1 3 3
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Firebringer
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Elemental Ifrit, Presence 3 (Intimidating)
Posts: 634
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Post by Firebringer on Mar 23, 2021 23:03:21 GMT -8
Fire looks over at Kai, "As an activist in general? It's... it's been quite a bit of hell over the last few years. Not even just for community rights, just... everything, especially as a member of the community speaking out. Though, I don't know. I find a lot of this in general really weird. I never expected myself to be the person doing the talking. I pass out fliers, I get signatures, I'm the hype, make the crowd passionate and angry person. I can incite passion, but working that different angle is throwing my brain for a loop. I'm kind of terrified, honestly."
She lets out a slow breath, trying to calm those nerves, opening up a little bit about it, "It's hard finding the energy or the kinder words when you are trying to convince people of your right to exist and love and be shown more than baseline human common decency. I don't believe in tolerance either with all of this. It isn't enough for people to tolerate my existence, because it's a free pass to just continue to hate on the inside and in private. But echo chambers and cognitive dissonance. I've got hopes though."
Another long sip of her drink. She tries to use the tingle of the alcohol to soften the edge of her emotions on this topic. It is hard to talk about. It's another reason she is so terrified of speaking, but she's going to have to do it and prove to herself that she can.
"But yeah, anyway, Archie poses a lovely question. What's goin' on, Kai?" She asks, putting on a smile. If there is something up with Kai in a concerning way, Dani is too distracted by her own thoughts to actually pick up on it, even though she's trying to pay attention to her.
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Post by Kai Rose on Mar 24, 2021 22:57:01 GMT -8
Being the one doing the winning of individual minds rather than stirring general sentiment was a tough change. It was a time of new activism. People often were happy to jump to aid whatever cause made them feel good in a small way. Share a video. Like a post. Maybe make the occasional Tweet about how shitty something is. Thing was, when you got enough of that social media sentiment going, you could actually make a difference. But that didn't deal with the problem Firebringer was talking about, which was dealing with hate that had been driven underground. "The fact that you are willing to try is admirable." There was a set in her teeth suggestive of a certain lack of forgiveness for any of it, the crimson flashing over her skin hinting at her true emotion about it all before gold pulsed from her core and drove it out.
Her reply to their question was simple. She leaned in and muttered, "Having a drink and a meal." The emphasis suggested Harvesting, rather than wanting anything from the back. "I like to just be around people, especially when I'm not actually with them. It's calming, like a neutral buzz that settles the mind. They don't need anything at all."
She paused, getting to the point. "Do you ever wonder what life would be like if there wasn't conflict?"
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Post by Alecto on Mar 27, 2021 18:33:27 GMT -8
"Shouldn't be an issue if you set boundaries. We sometimes don't have a lot of control over that, though, do we?" The Beast seemed to muse on something for a moment, her face hardening.
"I've been here a year and a few months," Alecto said, offering Kai an easy smile. "And, Georgia, originally. Yourself?" She wondered if the other had some bad experience with the Lost, given the stereotypes of the community.
The Summer courtier's question made her snort with surprise, "That's a big one. Some people believe life's all about conflict. What kind? I don't know if it's living if everyone always agreed with one another and we never had to struggle with a choice."
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Firebringer
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Elemental Ifrit, Presence 3 (Intimidating)
Posts: 634
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Post by Firebringer on Mar 28, 2021 0:21:06 GMT -8
That fire behind Kai's words - she felt that. It resonated with her. Fire nods and it felt good to talk about it and have someone actually understand in a way you can actually see.
Fire takes a moment to consider Kai's question though, consider Alecto's response and she says, "Without conflict, there wouldn't be any growth. We'd stagnate. Or, at least, the growth wouldn't be as quick. Then again, perhaps there is a degree to which that is better. Slow growth without pain versus pain with mass growth."
"But yeah, I absolutely have imagined it. Just... people walking along, minding their own business. No one fighting on the street, no drugs being passed around to ruin lives, no crimes against humanity, no cops being cops, no murder, no-well, obviously-... yeah, that would be a nice world."
It really would be nice. "It's hard to dream like that though."
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2021 14:21:17 GMT -8
“Going to have to agree with Megan, what is the scope of what we are talk about here? Just eradicating it all in general? I wasn’t a huge fan of Wall-E and while it looks comfy it doesn’t seem like the ideal kind of life. Gives me a shiny dystopia feels.”
It was an interesting proposition, to muse on the nature of what eliminating opposition would do. Though as much with violence it was about eliminating the drive to push oneself. It really was more the idle musings of the old flower child way, which made it almost funny since it was coming from someone with Rose in their name, and somewhat ire inducing since the same person openly supported Solomon who seemed keen to criticize culture. A lack of conflict made everything homogenous didn’t it?
“What sort of picture do you paint, Kai?”
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Post by Kai Rose on Mar 30, 2021 12:22:42 GMT -8
Kai nodded, the opener a question tossed out to provoke thought.
"It is hard, isn't it? I'm not trying to paint a picture, really. I don't know how, not for this. To imagine it is impossible, because people are people and conflict is inevitable in human interactions. But especially for us, how much of our identities are tied up in the fights we fight? And what would be our purpose if there was nothing left to fight?"
She tapped her fingers on the table, staring into the void.
"I don't know. When I think about it, all of our clubs, they exist in reaction to something. To what happened. How we deal with it. What would it mean for us? What would we even be without it?"
She shook her head, plainly uncomfortable.
"I recognize the thought isn't fully formed, but this conversation has me thinking about it in our context. It's like a sliver in my mind, thinking about their social issues and feeling... apart...?"
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Post by Alecto on Apr 3, 2021 13:10:39 GMT -8
Alecto sniffed, missing her cocktail already being drained. "You're speaking for yourself, Kai. Do you consider your world revolving around that kind of conflict? I get those who work in security sign up for that sort of thing, but, you don't have anything you're coming back to?"
Even as she said it, the Beast realized it was a contentious topic, and worse, potentially rude; but the idea of not having to fight her fight was more a glimpse of an ideal future than a crisis of identity. She couldn't keep her concern out of her tone, which could come off as condescending without context.
"I don't. But, I'd like to think I have a goal I'm racing towards when I do what I do. Not a nebulous one. I think signing up for eternal war means something pretty specific about the individual." Like that scene in Sicario when the FBI agent is asked if she had a family before she was allowed join the task force in Ciudad Juárez.
She hadn't really thought far enough what would change.
Where she would be once the dust settled.
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Firebringer
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Elemental Ifrit, Presence 3 (Intimidating)
Posts: 634
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Post by Firebringer on Apr 4, 2021 12:48:24 GMT -8
More directed toward Megan, "Oh, don't pretend for a second you aren't a part of an eternal fight in some way shape or form. That it isn't a defining part of your life wherever you go, whatever you do. It isn't just paranoia to say that. It is just a reality. You're out and if you don't fight in your own way, do what you can to survive, then you go back or die. Accept it or not, it is what it is." Fire shrugs. It is reality for her.
"We all have goals for our lives, dreams we want to attain, to come back to. We have conflicts and fights we fight first to get there. What if the bigger one that impedes us was just gone? What if the littler things keeping us from our smaller, normal goals were just gone? You could be the person you want to be, the person you actually are. What would that be like? Without that struggle, would some part feel empty though? A weird thing missing? At least, that's where my brain went with that." It is an interesting thought to her, trying to imagine existing as the person she is. But then, what kind of person is that?
"You'll still always need stimuli of some kind though, bouncing off of experiences to show who you are. My brain just goes into all kinds of self-actualization things." Then again, what is a Fire without conflict? That is another question that bubbles to her mind.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2021 6:59:52 GMT -8
”Really I think if we want to distill this to club talk really devalues the origin of us as individuals. Find me a human that deep down doesn’t have feelings, wants, hopes, dreams and can have it all without nary an obstacle presenting itself? Just because we can sometimes have the privilege of peeking behind the curtain to see nature a little truer than others can.”
Kai was nobody - quite literally, she had admitted as much when they had their last meeting. That same tunnel he had seen her peering down at the spa that he had seen in other young minds was growing more apparent.
”A quick question, Kai, what is your downtime? What do you do between smashing rocks, and club work what else do you do with your time?”
Was this a distillation of wrath, wrought by living in a Summer trench? It was easy to view the world aggressively when aggression was one’s life, and in his brief experience the Knight of Scales was not one who seemed to encourage a work life balance.
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Post by Kai Rose on Apr 15, 2021 14:49:25 GMT -8
Kai let the different arguments wash over her: Alecto's assertion that she had a goal, Firebringer's acceptance of eternal war, and Archie's holding fast to Spring's tenets. His question warranted a reply.
"I guess I'm just trying to find a home, like everyone else. The cabin with Ivory is a start. I'm going to upgrade my work here soon, too. I made the right friends to get a ticket." If you catch her drift. Papers were never easy to come by, and you needed okay paperwork to be to slip under the radar and make more than she did. "Maybe I'll make some money. Get a house. Get a tiger, like Icarus. I don't know." She chuckled. The Spring Courtier was the expert on all that. "I think figuring out more about where I came from will help me figure out where I'm going."
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2021 8:19:31 GMT -8
“Tigers are fine and dandy until you watch that Joe Exotic thing, Tiger Lord or whatever it was. Makes me squeamish - something about animals and cages just rung a little too close to home. But first and foremost - let me say congratulations on the ticket Kai, it's a big step for us to get one. Especially when things are murky.”
Was opportunity knocking? Perhaps something could come from this. Something that could help him pay a debt.
“I know this is an aside - but if you are looking to try and dig I do have a couple of guys I lean to, mostly to find out if someones boyfriend or girlfriend is cheating on them, its a nice contract incentive for some young dumb kids but they are good. I could get them on the payroll to suss out some information. Likewise, I have a few in’s at some places if you are looking for work, may be able to put in a good word.”
It was something that could help the Summer find their roots and perhaps amend their philosophy.
“And don’t think of this as a hand out, there are a few things I could use a hand with that I am less equipped to deal with and could use the help.”
I help you, you help me.
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