text — uns: joe & nicky

[malta]

I don't know if anyone else has watched the documentary about the mayor, but it's a good watch. Is there TiVo in the future? Do you remember TiVo, amore? It recorded the TV, we had one in that hotel in Châtelet. Oh.

[ yes, joe is talking to nicky at the same time and clearly everyone is being gifted his stream of consciousness thoughts/words. local grandpa needs to stop going on the internet. ]

For those of you that haven't watched it, it's a gripping tale of the mayor's rise to power and his almost downfall when his wife shockingly spoke out against the government spending. Alexandra was sent to the labour camps and if she's alive, she's been there for nine years. They also had a daughter who they purposely kept off the record so there is little known about her, freckles, mostly. She would have been 17 when her mother was imprisoned and she would be about 26 now. Jesus, she's a baby, Nicky.

[ sorry all 26 year old orbers, you are baby children. joe doesn't make the rules. ]

How old was that boy you spoke to? Hmm. Nicky spoke to one of the law students, Callan Dela Cruz, a very sweet boy. You should all read his articles, he's an exceptional journalist. Okay, I'll stop, floor is yours, habibi.

[A private smile is exchanged between them, Nicky as always enraptured by Joe's effervescence.]

Callan was very charismatic, self-assured. I didn't get his age, amore. It wasn't the focal point of our conversation. What he did tell me was that "the fox," disappeared four years ago, and among the various theories are notions that the fox was a government agent who captured the fables all along. There are also many who think that they are in the labor camp or detained and in holding.

Callan himself believes that the fox, the hare, and the wolf were all founding members of the fables and like family.

[Nicky's quiet for a moment, his own brain meandering around the details, putting things together for himself as well as their team. Quietly. Thoughtfully.]

Even though the wolf hasn't been seen for years, Mr. Dela Cruz believes they're still around. Eye witness reports have put a person with a wolf mask in the Third Circle.

[ another brief pause. ]

Right, that's what we've got.


[ joe is green and nicky is blue. ]

Comments

text | un: 182

[fuchsiative]

[ guess she's a baby child. ]

if this guy's really as in charge of the place as it seems
i'd take the documentary info with a grain of salt
or like... know it's probably heavily sugar-coated

it would be nice to be able to talk to his wife
anybody get arrested lately?

[malta]

[ sorry, buddy ]

Oh absolutely. He got a groundswell of sympathy after her trial so he clearly knows how to spin circumstances to his favour. Most of the citizens here genuinely believe his daughter suffered enough of a shock she needed to be squirreled away from society though I have a very gruff coworker who called bullshit on that immediately. Freckles was grounded so she wouldn't join the Fables and skew favour away from the Mayor

Considering the last two missions I've been on, it's only a matter of time before someone finds themselves imprisoned

[fuchsiative]

grounded or like...
grounded?

[ is she dead, jim ]

it happened in the mission before the train too?
no offense but how did this team ever succeed

[malta]

I couldn't tell you, but I don't think the mayor would kill his daughter, word of that getting out would undermine his power irrevocably. She's probably alive in case he needs to produce Freckles as proof

[ its not that joe thinks the mayor is a good guy not capable of murder, it's that murder would probably go poorly for him and the mayor is very, very clever. ]

Power in numbers, can't arrest everyone

[fuchsiative]

oh sure, whip out the daughter when sympathy ratings need to be refreshed
that's 100% what a politician would do
ugh gross

the documentary wouldn't have happened to show where he lived, would it?

[ a Dangerous Idea is starting to form in her head. best nip it in the bud before it blossoms. ]

sounds like a jinx waiting to happen

text | un: andy

[oiorpata]

👏👏👏
👍👍👍
😃

[ this definitely took like mega concentration but daisy has been teaching her emojis and she desperately needed to one up joe's struggle so she tried SO FUCKING HARD. ]

[malta]

[ HE DOESN'T NEED EMOJIS ]

[oiorpata]

🖕🏼

💖🖕🏼💖

[malta]

I hate you

[oiorpata]

You're a shitty liar.

text; un: rita.farr

[farr]

Don't let that little Callan fool you. He's a breaker of hearts, that one!

[ is someone holding a little bit of a grudge that she was turned away? possibly. ]

The most that he told me was that he really believes that neither side would ever find a compromise in this war of theirs. The Fables truly believe that they have the means to put the government's funds to better use than they're currently using.

[malta]

Was he unkind to you? I can have a talk with him

Though regrettably I think he is right. There is rarely compromise in revolution and that is what they're seeking.

[farr]

He let me go on and on about my brilliant ideas for the Arch's next epic play, only for him to brush me off with that fake little smile that clearly suggested he thought himself better than me.

I know that smile. I perfected that smile. Do you think just anyone can forge their way into becoming best friends with Joan Crawford? No. That takes well practiced tolerance in one's facial expressions. It is a prime survival skill.

And he used it on me like I was a child for him to pat on the head and send me on my way.

[ phew. text or not, she needs to take a breath. clearly, this sort of thing gets to her easily. ]

So what exactly are we supposed to do? We're not getting involved in this fight, right? I would assume we just need to figure out which one of these groups has the orb and be done with it. I mean, are we actually any closer to getting that answer?

[malta]

You were best friends with Joan Crawford?

text; un: stargirl

[bossily]

Freckles is all that's known about the daughter? Seriously? Talk about a purposefully insignificant detail.

[Except the fact that freckles are one of the very few things mentioned about her besides her age is curious, and definitely something to take note of.]

We should look to see if there have been any recent sightings of Alexandra. If any of us wind up in the labor camps, we may be able to seek her out for a conversation.

[malta]

Freckles can be significant!

[ joe has freckles this is freckle slander! ]

But it was by design, they didn't want her to be raised in the public eye so her name and any pictures are restricted information so she could live a private life until her "illness".

Your optimism is using "if" is admirable. I could probably drum up a sketch of her but it would be just as easy to look up her picture, her trial was televised after all. As was her speech.

[bossily]

Thing is, if I were 17 and my mum was sent away to a labor camp? I'd likely fall ill with a contagious bout of revenge. Symptoms could range from wearing animal masks to hide my freckles and other key identifying features, to inspiring revolution and anarchy.

Think getting a good image of the mother may be the way to go. I imagine talking with her would be one hell of a conversation.

[malta]

It is often the young who feed the resistance

text; un: nicky

[ghiro]

I can't imagine a figurehead dictator would put her somewhere out of reach. He would know where she is, at all times, and might have agents watching her every move.

Not out of loyalty but to cover his bases. I have seen it before.

[bossily]

I think the government here knows everyone's moves at all times. The level of tracking here is unlike anything I've ever seen.

[ghiro]

It is something, but it gives me more questions than answers.

Would you have any ideas on how to move within the blind spots of these eyes, despite it?

[bindsthedead]

Anyone can wear a mask. But perhaps Mr. Dela Cruz knows more than he's saying.

But it does sound like whoever the Fables were, they're close. So if we find the true identity of one of the three, it might lead us to the rest, and possibly the orb, if it's with their group.

The mayor was seriously injured four years ago, wasn't he? Right around the time the Fox dissapeared.

[malta]

Undoubtedly, but I'm not sure he's willing to give up his sources, journalists are notoriously tight-lipped on their Deep Throats

He was, yes. There are rumours that the mayor tried to negotiate with them after he recovered, but there is no proof of that from either side so who knows if it is actually true. I haven't gotten close enough to him to ask

[bindsthedead]

That would make more sense if the Fables weren't the ones who supposedly injured him.

I've gotten into the militia, and I'm trying to get close to the mayor. I'll tell you what I find out.

[malta]

It's common enough for groups not to take credit for assassination attempts, especially of a politician who is generally well thought of and with a failed attempt, but it could have also been a ruse to fan the flames of resentment toward the Fables and raise more sympathy and affection for the mayor

Excellent work! I work on the 34th floor so much of my information comes through the rose-coloured glasses of my coworkers so they're not seeing the red flags