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Post by Henley on Sept 24, 2021 22:16:17 GMT -8
"You know what question I'm super bored of being asked, Yuan? What do you want. Henley?"
The table for two was out at the edge of the dazzling rotating restaurant atop the Stratosphere. That night, the weather was still nice, Summer's raging heat cooling down to a more temperate Autumn evening. It was ten at night, and Henley looked snappy as hell even in what looked like a dressed down version of an outfit. Blue-tinged skin poked up from a perfectly pressed Armani dress shirt tucked into bespoke pants with perfect creases. And were those Fluevogs?
Drinks settled down before them, whatever they'd ordered before when they were having small talk. For Henley, it was a Woodford Reserve Old Fashioned, single cube, easy on the syrup -- a guy he'd known was crazy about the syrup and it had stuck.
"It isn't that it is not pertinent. Far from it, but it's rather personal. Have you ever found that people are far more interested in what you're after because of your vibe? More than others with a sadder or angrier mien?"
Vibe. That was one way to put a Mantle in public.
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Sept 25, 2021 10:20:15 GMT -8
He had been surprised by the invitation. In a good way. The Stratosphere was surprisingly affordable, considering the location. Dressed in a long sleeved rugby shirt stripped in wine and blue with a powder blue shirt peaking from underneath, grey slacks and black shoes, the Beast came nowhere near Henley's level of snazziness. But even in the cheaper looking outfit, he looked perfect - not a hair out of place, not a wrinkle on the clothes. Even the lighting of the skyline seemed to fit him, somehow. He wondered what the other patrons were thinking about him.
Henley's statement drew him out of his reverie and he chuckled at it.
"I have been asked that question a lot, lately. I don't mind it, though. It came from friends who wanted to help me." He took a sip through a straw of something the menu had called The Green Claw.
"Usually, it's the other way around. People ask me to guess what they want, like it's some party trick." He paused again, frowning slightly before relaxing his features.
"And with the recent scandals, can you really blame people for wanting to know our motivations?" Afterparty was still fresh in everyone's memories, but in Spring's in particular. The rumour eventually tickled down to Yuan, who had been appalled that someone who was favoured by Spring would use Its gifts in such a way.
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Post by Henley on Sept 25, 2021 13:30:25 GMT -8
Blink. Sip. Henley flashed a smile that had a bit of an edge to it, setting the glass down on the table and lowering his voice to not be overheard.
"Abso-fucking-lutely, I can blame them."
He rapped a knuckle once, twice, on the table, taking a moment to think and let the passion cool.
"A couple of low-ranked people showed their asses in public, and what, suddenly we're all stereotyped as brain-scramblers?" He raised an eyebrow. "On that standard, we could stereotype Summer as a bunch of morons based on the idiots who attacked the reserve, Fall as a bunch of psychos for last year's shit-show, and do we even need to get into Winter?"
He shook his head, letting out a low, sardonic chuckle.
"Stereotypes are just a bad plan. There's always a bad apple or two in every crowd, but me? I trade stocks. What's so bad about a decent rate of return?"
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Sept 25, 2021 14:37:19 GMT -8
The Playmate listened to Henley explain the various stereotypes about the other Court with a chuckle. "And they aren't?" he offered jokingly. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding." Yuan did believe in giving people second chances and room for growth. However, snap judgments, imperfect as they were, helped him find an angle for social interactions and adapt to different situations. It also helped saving his skin in the less savoury layers of mundane society.
"Yeah, no, I suppose you're right. Although I'm not sure I understand what the stock market has to do with anything." He took another sip. He liked the way the ginger beer tickled, which helped cover the unfortunate taste of Jameson. "Is that where you learned Mandarin?"
"But on a serious note," he continued, lowering his voice in return. "We must have fucked up somehow, since Spring's cutting the power supply." He let out a sigh. Henley likely won't care. No one had so far.
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Post by Henley on Sept 27, 2021 13:01:32 GMT -8
"I know a couple of significant business languages for doing work in Asia, yes, and I'm working on more," he replied, sipping his tasty beverage with a bit of glee in his eyes at the flavor. He shook his head and waved his hand in a little two-fingered wave about the point where he didn't get the stock market thing, switching to Mandarin. "It's a figure of speech, like me saying I did nothing wrong, I just do my job, so why am I being stereotyped?"
The point about the power supply being cut caused both of his eyebrows to pop, and he stopped thinking about the mundane.
"What's happened?"
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Sept 28, 2021 15:18:53 GMT -8
The smile that appeared on the Beast's face was one of gratitude. Henley had solved their secrecy issues and levelled the playing field: wordplay was difficult for Yuan, who's knowledge of English was mostly conversational. He shrugged.
"It's hard to say. It happened around the Ritual incident. Healing just... stopped working. Can't even purge drugs out of someone's system. And we're still expected to patch people up. It's been taking a toll on those who bear the Shield."
And on me, he added mentally. The Summer Games had been a prime example of reckless competitions with the expectation that the Antler Crown will continue its duties regardless. Yuan's fist tightened before he registered it was happening. By then, it was too late to play it off. "Makes me angry, you know? No one's helping."
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Post by Henley on Sept 28, 2021 16:58:50 GMT -8
"Sure, sure. Something must be wrong, you're right... what does the Archivist say about it?"
Right to the point. Ultimately, most people wouldn't know enough about the rituals to have any idea how to diagnose whatever the issue was here. The Archivist was their best shot at solving that.
"The Market might be able to help with healing fruits, if we can get shipments enough through. Not that that solves the whole problem, but working that angle may save the burden-sharers some slashed wrists."
As if to punctuate the point, he flicked his own.
"Other Spring blessings still work. At least, mine do."
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Sept 28, 2021 17:19:54 GMT -8
"I haven't asked. People I've spoken to before just bushed it off and I was starting to think it was my own anxiety. That there were more pressing issues."
His eyes flickered to the scar and he was tempted to reach out. He checked himself, and stopped the motion. "Fruit would be good," he agreed instead. "We might need something to get us by for the time being."
He took a long sip, mulling over the tatters of his own little plan. "I was going to ask Icarus. He's Autumn, maybe he knows something. The Season says he's trustworthy."
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Post by Henley on Sept 29, 2021 16:55:09 GMT -8
"Some people are idiots who don't understand how important our ability to heal is."
Henley frowned, staring out the window toward the lights of Las Vegas. A hand came up to signal for another beverage.
"I think we should ask the Archivist before we go outside the Court. It would look suspicious to people looking for a reason, running to Fall first. I'll go with you, actually. I'm familiar enough with magic to have a place in the discussion."
Icarus was swimming in their Court's Goodwill, but Noir was their guy, certainly privy to the secrets of Spring, right?
"How you keeping up, housing and cash wise? Got a nice enough place to stay and all that?"
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Sept 30, 2021 22:27:02 GMT -8
"I don't really know... them? I have to work a lot, so I haven't been very active in the community." He nodded as Henley stated his expertise. It was more than him, which stopped at "weird things exist."
The question about his living accommodations caught him by surprise, however. He never did like talking about his mundane stuff with other Changelings. The last thing he needed was a 'Holder showing up at work.
"I live out of the Hollow I built myself. Cash is... scarce, but I get by. I don't need to pay rent, so it's not that bad." Yuan leaned over his drink and sipped from his straw. He remembered when he needed to break into empty houses when the nights were particularly chilly. They weren't fond memories.
The Playmate shifted in his seat a little. Most Courtiers he knew were choke full of money. There was an expectation from other Courts, almost, that Spring Will Provide. In turn, his own lack of wealth was not something he usually publicized.
"Thanks for helping me with this, it means a lot. I had no idea where to begin."
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Post by Henley on Oct 1, 2021 12:57:14 GMT -8
Henley waved off the thanks casually. "Giving a shit about the basic functions of one's Court working should be a base expectation for any Lost," the Ogre replied with a shrug. "You need anything, come see me. I don't do handouts, but you're also clearly not asking, which I like. I do have reasonably straightforward work available at a living wage that doesn't require any paperwork to be in order."
The second drink arrived, and he sipped it with a considering look on his face.
It wasn't all that good an Old Fashioned. Whatever.
"Met anyone interesting in the community recently?"
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Oct 2, 2021 12:34:11 GMT -8
"I'll keep it in mind, thanks." He couldn't exactly explain to an almost-stranger about his situation. One didn't simply drop crippling debt to a criminal organization at polite conversation.
"Someone interesting?" The Playmate thought about if for a minute. "I'd say you definitely count." He chuckled, an almost crystalline sound that organic vocal chords would have a hard time reproducing.
"There's also Victor. He's an Autumn courtier who claims to be really good at cleaning up." The mention of cover ups didn't seem to phase him in the slightest, as he took another sip of green nonsense. "Oh, also Blaze, but she's Winter so who knows what she does."
"How about you? You seem well-connected."
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Post by Henley on Oct 3, 2021 21:57:34 GMT -8
"I do, don't I," the Ogre said with a quiet chuckle, glancing out the window at the Vegas skyline before returning his attention to the pretty Playmate. Blaze he'd met, Victor he hadn't -- and though he didn't really need cleaning services, it never hurt to know someone who could handle that sort of business. Sometimes, shit happened. They were supernatural beings. A botched janitorial job could lead to witch-hunters.
"Oh, certainly, in the sense that I'm quite close to the markets both mundane and beyond. However, I've not yet had much of a chance to get to socializing with others of our society. Frankly, after all that happened last year with the Crisis, I wasn't sure I wanted to. It struck me as vaguely dangerous." He shrugged. "I appreciate you pointing them out, though."
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Oct 5, 2021 23:05:17 GMT -8
"Yeah, no worries. I know what you mean, though. Kept my head low too." He played with his coaster and the small pool of condensation water that had accumulated. It had been a rough year for everyone.
"I feel like I've derailed the conversation. We were talking about people asking us what we want." He tried to go for another sip, but only drew melted ice and grimaced. Pushing his drink away, Yuan looked back at Henley. "I never finished school, so I'm not good at vague philosophical concepts. I feel like it doesn't have to be complicated, or be this big deep- no, profound ideal."
"Tomorrow is never a sure thing, so I try to remind people to enjoy today."
Before the inevitable end.
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Post by Henley on Oct 6, 2021 12:55:35 GMT -8
"I was talking about how tired I was of people asking," Henley quipped, sounding amused. "But yeah. That's a good way of putting it. No day but today. Like RENT said."
He downed the last of his glass, letting out a satisfied sigh and leaning back into his chair. The empty glass twirled delicately between long, lanky fingers.
"Speaking of hard decisions that make living life a little easier... youu bent the knee to one of the Knights yet?"
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