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Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2021 12:00:15 GMT -8
Things were different these days.Pea green carpets, wood paneling walls, and drop ceiling he didn’t want to dare open for fear of asbestos, but it was perfect. A nice solid wooden desk was clearly the center piece that was complemented by the brown and beige tweed office chair a decade past its prime, which matched the couch and chair in the corner with a wood esque coffee table with faux gold bands around the legs with magazines piled underneath it. The chest high window behind him was complete with coarse orange woolen curtains that were fine at keeping the light out when needed, and along one wall, file boxes, probably a dozen or so. The sides showing age, the top not showing there had previously been a stack that was higher but had since been purged. Upgrades had come, and now he had a more modern place of business, but this was his escape. He kept the best liquor in the bottom drawer on the right, but that had since been drunk dry. He had a perfect view of the wall mounted TV, and could bask in the newly emptied walls. A small Zumanity poster being all that remained, and the remaining space clearly showing something had been there. The Chatelaine was seated in the old chair, looking out the small window behind him at the not so great view the humble piece of real estate afforded. There was no pomp today, black slacks, show sleeve button down with cuffed sleeves. Nothing special. He waited until there was a knock at the door, giving an affirmative come in, spinning around in his chair to greet the Bishop. “Do you ever feel like the world is going crazy around you?”It was point blank, but his voice hinted at an absent curiosity rather than an interrogation. Krakenbox Mitchell Carr
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Post by Mitchell Carr on Jun 24, 2021 12:14:35 GMT -8
He was wearing jeans and a jacket despite the heat, the pearlescent veins that occasionally needled like diamond ferrofluid buried as he made a conscious effort not to walk on his toes. Mitchell smiled around the scars as he took in the space and took off the sunglasses, metal hot from the punishing summer.
The former warm grey was long gone as blank marble shifted in carved sockets, but his friendly affect hadn't changed.
"Um, well to be honest it's always felt that that for me. Even Before," he chuckled. The environment he had been raised in was designed to have made them apprehensive of Outsiders.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2021 21:59:14 GMT -8
He motioned to the seats in front of the desk and shrugged at the couch, suggesting that either were available for the Bishop to take.
“Before, after, its all kind of a blur sometimes. All that mattered was if you were going to do it, get it done. The biggest thing that helped this was that I am always right.”
A sigh and a shrug.
“Until I realize I’m not. The house is clean until someone points out the imperfections. And in the end it doesn’t matter what I tried to do, just that I am wrong.”
“So while I think everyone is going crazy, it is probably me. Because I don’t know how anything works and thought I could find a way through it all. So yeah, I used regalia at Beltane, I wanted the edge when I wanted to explain how I wished Spring’s options didn’t look like garbage when seeking to rise in the court. One that was more fruitful than vapid nothingness, or daunting survival. Something Spring. Then when I see someone, strong in the season, earnest and real. . .I wish I had had the option.”
He leaned back. His cadence is straight forward if not casual.
“So Loki didn’t lie about that. Everything has a kernel of truth, but when it boils down, I let my own hopes get ahead of me. I was arrogant. Ignorant. And you deserve to know that. I should have taken getting shot as the sign that this wasn’t a lifestyle for me.”
He gently slapped his desk and let out a long breath.
“To the point I know. Didn’t see a reason to draw it out.”
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Post by Mitchell Carr on Jun 24, 2021 22:23:18 GMT -8
Mitchell was visibly confused as he tried to track the colourful cadence that Archie always delivered with, taking a seat at the desk with him in practiced motions as the other's Mantle made it feel like a stage play.
His brow pinched, "Oh, Beltane."
The tone was oddly detached, like it was a detail relevant for someone else to care about. "You were shot?" He hoped he was just lost on some metaphor, but the concern was legitimate. "What's been going on that you think everything in Spring sucks so bad? Your group suffered some extreme misfortune...Riley and Linden with the desert back in October...That was a lot for everyone, I think...I'm so sorry." He sensed now wasn't the time to launch into Archie's grief.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2021 23:12:56 GMT -8
“Was trying to figure out something about a glamour drug Cartwright overdosed on. It might have had something to do with Ambrosia, and when we tried to find out what happened one thing led to another and Fawkes ended up shooting me twice. Then a few weeks later we find out Ambrosia is dead.”
He explained almost nonchalantly. He had explained it enough time that the pain in his hand was an afterthought.
“Be it snarling, violence, whispering - whatever I seem to try and do, others in green are on the other side. I was stupid and thought that this a community that I could maybe do good with, but all I did was put myself out there, fuck up every step, and then be duly slapped down on top of that.”
“So yes, Beltane. This isn’t about me getting slapped around. This is about how I betrayed any trust we had. I’m not going to ask you to accept an apology. You would take it, and it defeats the purpose. It's self serving. It won’t help either of us.”
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Post by Mitchell Carr on Jun 25, 2021 6:56:11 GMT -8
His eyes widened momentarily, "Oh shit. That's..."
Fawkes was one of the extreme cases he worked with. The Elemental was dangerous, sure, though explosive attacks on the Lost had specific triggers. Mitchell wasn't here to investigate, however.
"That must have been scary. Then frustrating, given the investigation had lost such a key witness." He knew Hartman wasn't part of Ambrosia's small social circle, or would have been involved with the occult work she had done for the court. That had been an intense month of grief for quite a few of their academic peers that had known the quiet recluse for years.
"It can all kind of stack where your choices feel like they don't matter."
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2021 14:35:11 GMT -8
“You’d think context is key, but it's not. It's about volume. Sure Loki was the one who stormed over, but you dig down and it was Eurydice - and if you look at what is asked for? I get it, she is angry that pressure was put on her Motley, and that yes I used a courtly regalia to try and figure out what was going on. So yeah, when it looked like I was trying to still get some good done I pushed. No one else was going to be able to do it.”
A soft sigh was issued as he ran a rand through his hair. He spoke evenly enough to not be completely ranting.
“It feels like a Netflix show. Witness at the time sure? Then a couple of months later she is dead. You know what I asked? You know what I was trying to get? What happened , because one of us was at least sure that Ricochet had been here. I’m now half convinced this oath stressing secret and a dead Spring courtier aren’t too far off and this was all a firm message to shut up.”
A pause, as his shoulder slumped.
“It's not that they don’t matter, because they do, otherwise someone wouldn’t want to put you in a hurt locker. So what it comes down to is you either need to hurt them worse, tow the line, or shut up.”
The slumped shoulders shrugged.
“So until you are as done with as everyone else, I always have to ask if that will be good enough.”
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Post by Mitchell Carr on Jul 2, 2021 8:50:43 GMT -8
The Dancer reflected back on what Loki had said at Beltane. "Oh um...the one where you can know people's deepest desires?"
He sighed silently as Ambrosia was brought up, nodding, "You wanted to learn what Sweeney wanted the most in the world to see if he was circulating a drug that was hurting us? Er- sorry," he chuckled, embarrassed that he was still having a hard time tracking what Archie was talking about and just repeating back his guesses like a parrot. "Are you saying that you think people only matter around here if others want to do violence on their behalf?"
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Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2021 21:37:19 GMT -8
Archie was all over the place. He needed to slow it down
“We had come across a burnt out warehouse, we knew that the whole drug thing had something to do with this location, some of the group that was looking into it swore that Fawkes knew something about it, but the nitty gritty details weren’t really a concern, we wanted to climb the ladder and make sure we were actually getting to the root of the problem. One thing leads to another and after vehement denial we had Sweeney there basically confirming something was indeed going on. So what was adding up was that sure, something had happened here, I just wanted to get past it and get to the next step of things and figure out what we could. So I applied pressure to try and get to the next step. Then bang.”
“Fast forward to Ostara in the planning phase, and the Queen tells me that Ambrosia is dead. Really feels like there is a connection between dark secrets and dead courtiers.”
He let the conclusion hang in the air.
“What I am saying is if you want to be involved people have to know it will hurt them worse to try anything. If you can’t do that, you are better off following someone who can, or just not doing anything. I was exposed, lashed at because there is no way of meaningful reprisal, and quickly people were scuttling out from under rocks to get their piece.”
“The conclusion is all the same - I don’t have a choice in what happens now. I have fall into line with expectations or I am a pariah, and then I have to decide to disappear or find a way to insulate.”
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Post by Mitchell Carr on Jul 5, 2021 22:58:04 GMT -8
Mitchell's brow pinched with concern, "But lets focus on that for a sec. We're both Emeralds, right?"
He glanced at the low window as his tone shifted for just a moment, like the echo of a mournful chorus. He sorted his thoughts, though wasn't radiating anything that felt like anger. "So, if you have a crime scene, and the Sun Banisher is brushing you off, that...probably means he's either telling the truth or it's a Need To Know secret. The fact that he shows up with his motley member means he felt he needed to involve him."
The Dancer was unware of the broader political implications and strokes of Archie's team comprising of a Summer courtier. "Sweeney explained something was going on, after Fawkes denied it. That tells me...he was probably outside any Winter bargains Fawkes was being held to, and was giving you guys a fair nudge that it probably wasn't great to keep digging. If there's a crazy conspiracy around Ambrosia that our allies aren't letting the public know the details about, okay, lets go with that."
His mouth twisted, not quite frowning.
"So...in that scenario, what gives you the right to alter his mind? I'm not interrogating you, I just want you to think about it."
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2021 21:03:29 GMT -8
He pursed his lips with the question.
“I asked you when you came in, do you ever feel the world is going crazy around you? If I have learned anything from dealing with starbound souls it's that when they start to think that, they are usually too far gone in their own world. The disappointing thing is I never saw it in the mirror.”
“Really it doesn’t matter what the outcome was, I could have just not. It really just becomes too easy you know? Wearing masks, firing arrows, holding decorum. Regalia lets us do so much more. Sometimes we care, sometimes we don’t. I didn’t read a situation where we would. I became zealous.”
“And if I try to accept any other truth, be it the Arrayer or with you then I am just going to feel it all again. I already lost my reputation, so unless I want to just retreat permanently I have no choice but to accept the truth as the Knight Commander put it.”
“I am sure if people even heard I had invited you to talk there would be side eyes about what angle I am trying to play. You can’t take back a headline, as a fun fact.”
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Post by Mitchell Carr on Jul 11, 2021 12:39:24 GMT -8
"Well, that's stressful," Mitchell admitted. "You put yourself out there, and things weren't turning out, and getting it done properly sounded really important. They call us Fairests because we're expected to take point, but we're also extra keyed up when our direct intervention causes problems with the people we're wanting to help. Or in your case, the fear of inaction. The rest of the Lost group us together because our magic comes with martyr complexes, a lack of self awareness, and a lot of pride in our ideas."
If the Dancer was aware of how odd that sounded, coming from him, he didn't signal it. "What Fawkes did wasn't moral, but I can easily track that in his reality he was justified every step of the way. Messing with a Torrent's free will hits harder for them, um...the same way that you probably feel sick or violated when people attack the people you're looking after—or destroy the things you have earned through your work. He wanted to hurt you as badly as he felt you hurt his motley mate, whether he pretends it wasn't personal or not. I'm sorry that things escalated so badly that you were put in that position."
His attention was harder to track now that his eyes were solid white, but his head cocked to regard Archie again as he spoke. "Have you talked to anyone about bad your anxiety's gotten? None of this has to be happening to you—it sounds like it's affecting you to the point that's hurting your life. And you're right—most people would end up in this spot if they had super powers that could stop their triggers from showing up."
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2021 17:09:50 GMT -8
Logic could help with processing. It was at the very least something to file away. “I am fine, I just need to take the time and pick up the pieces, put them back, and it will sort itself out. Once that is done, and everyone has had their piece they’ll crawl somewhere and cackle like hyenas and I can get on doing something else.”As he spoke he ducked his head, fingers running across his eyebrow with a breath. An understanding of what the Bishop was trying to get across, but he wasn’t sick. The insinuation seemed to put the Chatelaine in a more defensive position.
SK- Archie — Today at 5:58 PM
Mirror Mirror
Keep the emotional wall up
Comp + Sub
@dicecord-CoD roll 6
Dicecord-CoD
BOT
— Today at 5:58 PM
@sk- Archie rolled 6 dice and got 1 success. 8 5 3 1 2 7
Mavspade - Riley — Today at 5:59 PM
SK- Archie — Today at 5:59 PM
Mitch tiebreaker
@dicecord-CoD roll 7
Dicecord-CoD
BOT
— Today at 5:59 PM
@sk- Archie rolled 7 dice and got 2 successes. 5 9 1 6 2 7 8
SK- Archie — Today at 6:00 PM
Archie tiebreaker
@dicecord-CoD roll 6
Dicecord-CoD
BOT
— Today at 6:00 PM
@sk- Archie rolled 6 dice and got 3 successes. 1 4 4 4 10(8) 8
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Post by Mitchell Carr on Jul 12, 2021 10:31:59 GMT -8
Well, Carr was familiar with avoidance. Hartman was following Spring's rhetoric, but at the cost of no long radiating his usual wide-eyed friendliness.
His smile was soft, "I'm sure you've already got a plan laid out to get things rolling again." A pair of swallows warbled outside the low window as the light shifted to colourful glass as the weight of Mitchell's Mantle influenced the room. "You're not interested in getting rid of the stuff that's still going to hold you back?"
The talent agent for sure knew what plateauing was.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2021 11:17:50 GMT -8
“How do you get rid of people? I already have my lawyer getting rid of my first problem, but the rest? It is easy enough to say cut out negativity, and just not let those problems into your life. But then you can’t explain how you are required by magical oath to attend to and interact with, and be around that same problem. How do you articulate that you have one foot in a community that is perfectly fine with what has happened? I can’t just go around saying the cartel muscle is actually a member of status in my special club. And it isn’t something that is worth fighting because there was a consensus it looked like. You think I haven’t watched tape, know who talked to who, know who did nothing, or took advantage of the situation?”
He stopped and pinched the bridge of his knows as chaotic streams of consciousness just poured out. Mitch was right.
“I should do it, you're right. See someone, that is.”
Oscillating anxiety, paranoia, rage, despair was the start of a spiral. And out of everyone who could have been mad and just let it happen the Bishop was near the top of the list. Yet here he was.
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