CRYSTAL | MISS ME, DARLINGS?

[illithidnapped]

FORM: sending crystals, during the truth event, you know what to do
SENDER: your favorite rogue, Astarion xoxo
RECIPIENT: as always, everyone
NOTES: if you drank Truth Soup, cough up your feelings; if you didn't drink the soup, make it worse for everyone, I dare you

[Someone's bored tonight. And it's been over a year since the last time he felt restlessness stirring him into needling action— particularly when he's noticed a couple of blurted-out confessions running high and harsh in the air. He could sleuth around. Sniff about for any signs of volatile tampering (or ask if this is just the next phase of whatever sleepless affliction's still nipping at everyone's collective heels)....

But this is so much more fun.

Anyway— ahem, and all that:]

Name one thing you like about someone else in Riftwatch. Anything. Anything at all.

Bonus points if you feel like getting weird with it.

[And don't think he's generous enough to actually start this game himself: that, you're all going to have to do on your own.

Or maybe just ask nicely.]

Comments

[bouchonne]

Because - [ ugh. ] You've been around me, dear fellow. Even if I softened my words and offended no one, people still wouldn't like me. I'm penniless, scandalous, and perverted - a superfluous sort of man. So - be disliked and invisible? Or loathed and flamboyant? One's more fun, at least.

[propulsion]

I didn't actually write that down—

[ mumbled, because, soup won't let anything slide. Anyway. ]

Fun's not nothing but I don't like being manipulated. Mostly because it's pretty easy to do that to me but at the same time I have kind of a radar by now, okay. Or like a [ how many times has he had to substitute the word 'radar', at least he doesn't wait ] sense for it.

It's whatever. I like you sometimes, because you see the big picture and you're funny and I need some more goddamn friends on account of how big the picture is, and also I don't like you. A lot of the time. But that's what you want, so.

[bouchonne]

Mm.

[ A hesitation. ]

There's also that it's - Nastiness was my bread and butter for most of my life. Quite literally. If you're starving, but you can make someone laugh, sometimes they'll invite you for dinner.

[ He wasn't kidding about that penniless thing. ]

[propulsion]

Oh. Yeah, I've been just enormously wealthy from the jump so people actively tried to be my friend a lot.

[ Hm. Timing. Well— ]

Look I'm not telling you how to live your life. If getting nasty is more fun for you, then you do you. It's not actually gonna make me respect you, in the same way money wouldn't either.

[bouchonne]

And licking your boots would?

[propulsion]

No, dipshit.

[ Whew, thank you soup for finally having his back. On his end, he sounds more exasperated than cutting, but still. All this, for that? ]

Don't get it twisted, I love attention and a little ass kissery, due to the narcissism, but that's not—I actually don't know why I'm bothering.

[bouchonne]

[ A slight lift of his eyebrow. ]

The question was rhetorical, Stark. [ Though he received an interestingly truthful answer. ] I meant to illustrate that you don’t generally get much further by making yourself pleasing than you get being a shithead. You don’t make any efforts to make yourself pleasing, after all.

[propulsion]

Uh huh, [ flatly. ] There's a grey area here that you should think about operating in, at minimum with people who, again, can't emphasise this enough, aren't your marks.

And you're right, [ a little brighter. ] I'm just naturally like this.

[bouchonne]

I don’t have marks. I’m not a con man.

[ He’s a spy. There’s a difference. ]

[propulsion]

Sure.

[ Pinching bridge of nose. ]

Okay, I'm done. If you want you can punch me in the mouth next time I mention how much I miss my bullet blender, but at this rate I'm punching back, so.

[bouchonne]

What - done with me? Giving up?

[propulsion]

'Giving up'? What do you think we're doing here, exactly?

[bouchonne]

[ A slight hesitation. ]

My impression was that that…essentially meant fuck off and don’t talk to me again except for work. No?

[propulsion]

No. Well. Maybe for the next twenty-four hours.

[ A big sigh. ]

This just feels like we're not getting anywhere good and I'm actually trying to preserve something by quitting before it totally tanks, okay? So you take that however you want.

changed my mind, prior version of tag was boring

[bouchonne]

[ Byerly takes a moment, then says - ]

It's not something I can turn off. It's not - meant to be cruel. It's just not something I can turn off. [ And, reluctantly: ] I'm sorry.

[propulsion]

[ A beat, then; ]

Okay, well. Noted. I mean, I believe you, [ half-laughed, because: yeah. No one's lying, today. ] So I can work with that. I have worked with that.

I mean, she was a hot redhead with a wardrobe comprised exclusively of tight pants, so that earned a lot of forgiveness, but we'll figure something out.

[bouchonne]

[ He relaxes just a little. ]

So what you’re saying is I need tighter pants.