therookery | Crystals or Action, choose your own adventure

FORM: Sending crystal plus (see notes).
SENDER: Cosima
RECIPIENT: Rifters (others opt-in)
NOTES: Catch-all for threads about amputation (so content warning for that being discussed, though I don't expect anything too bloody). Happy to match prose or brackets, as ever. See further notes under the cut.

Cosima wouldn't flatter herself she knows everyone in Riftwatch well, but she's been here a long time and she's been leading a division for a respectable bit of that now. She has names and faces for everyone, and at least a vibe on most of the people she doesn't know well. That makes this slightly easier, but only slightly.

The entire point of seeking people out one-on-one is that making an official announcement will give the discussion she wants to have too much official weight. But that does mean tracking everyone down individually (though at least Research members who aren't in the field will come to her for their normal check-ins, if nothing else). Still. She's put this off too long, and it's not going to get any simpler if she continues to procrastinate.

If she hasn't gotten to you yet, you may notice her walking through the Gallows with a bit of extra purpose. Nothing seems to be immediately on fire, at least.

[OOC: Choose your own adventure with this very un-formatted flow chart:

1.) RIFTERS who want a thread: Good news, Cosima is tracking down every one of you to talk about amputation and anchor shards! She'd lean in person, but OOCly if you'd rather a network thread, we can just handwave that your character is out on an assignment and do it by sending crystal instead.

2.) RIFTERS who don't want a thread right now: You can assume Cosima tracked you down (unless you took truly extraordinary measures to avoid her). We can either handwave or talk OOCly about it, as you like.

3.) NATIVES with anchor shards: If you want to chat too, Cosima's not hunting you down but wouldn't avoid a conversation if you clocked what she's up to and want one.

4.) NATIVES without anchor shards: Look, if you want to talk about anchor shards for some reason, hmu. (Otherwise her inbox is open.)

For all of the above, just jump in if you'd like. If you'd like me to write a more customized starter, reach out on plurk or discord and I'll take care of you.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

An interview arranged via crystal, Petrana is anticipating Cosima’s arrival when the door to her — and Bastien’s — office opens,

“Provost,” she says, pleasantly, offering the nearest chair to her desk with a gesture. “You have rather pre-empted me.”

Given the topic,

well, she’s spoken with Strange already. It can’t be that much of a shock.

"Madame de Cedoux," Cosima says pleasantly in turn as she comes to sit. "I appreciate you giving me the time. I suspect our conversation will be a bit less theoretical than a lot of the ones I'm having. Dr. Strange mentioned he's spoken to you already on the topic I had in mind."

Despite his very best efforts, Petrana thinks but chooses not to say; perhaps an observation better suited to a missive intended for Wysteria de Fonce’s eyes, in fact. Instead, she inclines her head, acknowledging—

“I have been making preparations,” she says, “so that my position need not be neglected during whatever absence is required for recovery— arrangements for my work and projects, prioritisation, etcetera.” What can wait; what shouldn’t. What information would be necessary to make someone else picking up said projects a smoother, less disruptive process.

In the event that something does go— worse, a blueprint that can be used moving forward, until the position can be more permanently filled.

“I intend to have that provided to relevant parties, including the division heads, prior to proceeding.”

"Appreciated, though if I can say — your work habits to date meant I was pretty sure you'd be thorough ahead of time. And I assume Strange has given you the exhaustive rundown of the risks." Given that Petrana's preparations go as far as not surviving, it seems fair to expect; Cosima imagines, too, that Stephen was a bit raw from Ness's scare going into the conversation and therefore less inclined to surgarcoat anything.

"The reason I'm talking to most people is to make sure they're not assuming that I think something I don't about the choice. Since you've already made your mind up, I doubt my position is as relevant to you but..." A little shrug, not quite a sigh. "I guess I do want to make clear that bodily autonomy is my priority. You've got all the information we have, and I just want to make sure you know that me making a different choice on myself isn't any kind of judgment on yours, now or in the future."

She's not sure whether that's something she needs to clear the air about, but she'd rather say it unnecessarily than leave things murky. She knows she doesn't have Petrana's own finesse, so the best she can do is honesty. Cosima's not in charge of the rifters as a group, but she is the only division head who is a rifter herself. It feels like a bit of a weight in this area particularly.

Briefly — at least, in the middle of what Cosima’s saying — Petrana looks, if anything, puzzled by the fact this is being said to her. By the end of it, though, even if it isn’t something that she would have thought on her own, she looks more thoughtful, understanding,

“A reasonable concern,” she allows, meaning broadly, in Cosima’s position. If she held the ambassador’s role, still, perhaps she would be handling her own choice with especial care. That it is a rifter in charge of research, specifically, has a heft to it that she can acknowledge.

“For my own part, I don’t consider my choice, yours, or anyone else’s to necessarily reflect on one another. As you know, the de Fonce theory remains that— a promising likelihood, but not a true guarantee. To know more, we must see more, and though I will not claim a selfless dedication to science,”

with a small, self-deprecating smile,

“it is worth acknowledging that my position is uniquely suited to further that end. The anchor-shard in my hand has no use bar its control over my movements; I have never utilized it in the field and do not intend, ever, to do so in the future. It is a lesser loss to the greater cause in that way, a means to add to the little that we know of our circumstances and our options that does not risk a loss to the work that cannot be done by others.”

The comment gets a small, mirroring smile from Cosima. "Strange made the point, too, that a small sample size is better than a single instance, which is the most doctor thing to say." This is something of an aside; at the very least, she doesn't seem to expect Petrana to respond to it. "But. I take your point. And if it's not too forward to say, you in particular were never someone I worried about acting impulsively or before you gathered as much information as possible. I can't say the same for every person in the organization, but it felt ... I don't know, seemed easier to talk to everyone as a rule, instead of deciding where to draw the line."

A small pause, and then: "I mean, that said, I'm also doing it one-on-one for a reason. But." Some people are going to need urging that others have no need to sit through. "I really hope it does go well for you. Sincerely. Your anchor may not be a loss on a practical level, but you would be."

“I find myself thinking a great deal about that, particularly in light of…”

It is difficult to face down the decision she’s made in Marcus’s absence; not knowing but only hoping for when they’ll see him again, that confiding in him will be by letter and carefully written letters, at that. The difficult feeling that her inability to leave is what ties Julius here, even knowing that he is more than capable of deciding what he feels is right and necessary. Even knowing that, right now, it still feels right and necessary to remain here, the state of her anchor-shard notwithstanding.

Finally, shaking something off: “It’s gratifying to know that my work is valued,” she says, firmly sincere. “I understand it can be difficult to see the accomplishments of it, often.”

"Hey, I'm a researcher from back home. I get that like ... military campaigns are driven by the big-picture scale, it seems like. But a lot of time it's hard to see why groundwork is valuable until you've already done a lot of it. Your area isn't mine, but I get the principle."

A little smile as she adds, "I know we don't work together much, but it's also ... I don't know. We've both been here a long time. The longer I'm here, the more it's nice to have people who can remember the stuff we've been through, I guess. I know you remember when it felt like three or four of us constantly yelling in the face of the why should I care strain of thought from some of the earlier rifters. Nice that seems to have largely died out, honestly."

Crystals or Action, choose your own adventure | Open

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