entrancelogs | open } she's had her fill of destinies and that's why she flew away

[Will: 3 (+ 4), so 7, so n o p e]

Jay and Tim have to keep moving. Neither of them are particularly great in a fight (even now, with the new bodies and the new powers), and so far the most effective way to avoid get killed by a multi-legged rock monster has been to not stay in one place long enough for any multi-legged rock monsters to find them.

They haven't run into anything for a while, though, so when Jay catches sight of Georgia--well, senses that there's a conscious creature around (detect thoughts, 1st round) and then actually looks up and sees her--he manages a hesitant wave. He's in his default form, a scrawny, pale, faceless thing with bulbous yellow eyes. He regrets not shifting to something a little more pleasant to look at before this conversation, but what's done is done.

"Georgia, right? How're you...holding up?" Wait, she might not recognize them as easily as he recognized her. "It's, uh, Jay, and that's..." He gestures to the avian guy next to him, wearing a satchel full of herbs and glass bottles. "That's Tim."

At least he's been sticking at Jay's side and ensuring that nothing worse has happened to him since. Even if he's - difficult to look at, with the elongated limbs, the lack of a face, the pale skin stretched over a sepulchral frame.

He doesn't detect the precise moment in which he enters her crosshairs, but he's only rolled a 6 for a will saving throw, which means the spell has already begun to take effect.

He blinks round, amber eyes, shifting from foot to foot.

"Some event, huh?" At least he sounds the same.

Georgia's crit fail wis check means that her expression is almost comically taken aback when they approach, at least until Jay introduces them and Tim speaks. Then she relaxes sligthly, nodding. There's no reason to lie about that, even if they could while caught in her spell.

"And I thought I had it bad." Really, past looking like an illustration for some of Buffy's more obnoxious stories and cleavage, she's downright normal. "Yeah, it's... different. Kind of insane, even for Wonderland."

"Definitely different." Instinctively, he checks the area, his line of sight lingering on the humanoid holes in the walls. He doesn't want to be caught off-guard if another one of those creatures crawls out. (Spot: 11 + 4 = 15) The nearest cluster of holes looks clear.

"I mean, for me, things've been...rough." Had he meant to say that? He was trying to reassure her, not-- "My 'spells' or whatever are basically useless against those things. I think Tim's probably the only reason I haven't been snapped in half yet."

What. What. It's--it's true, but not...what.

He shoots Tim a look, somewhere between confused and apologetic.

Uh????

Tim stares at Jay with something approaching incredulity, or as close as he can get to emoting as such when all he has are eyes and a beak. That's a level of frankness he's not come to expect from Jay historically, and particularly now, with things being - the way they are between them, maybe the way they always have been, it's not what he'd call typical.

"That's 'cause I don't want more nightmares of you dying, you asshole," he snaps, with considerable more force and bluntness than is standard for him.

The spell definitely worked. Georgia wishes she had Coke or popcorn or something. Granted, these aren't truths she needs or particularly wants. They're personal and none of her business. But it's probably good for them to talk out.

"My spells aren't especially combat-related either, but I guess I know how to use a sword now. Still, it's good having someone to watch your back."

Jay stares at Tim, brow (well, the ridge of pale, hairless skin that operates roughly the same way as a brow) furrowed, until Georgia speaks again.

At her comment about swords, Jay snorts. "Lucky. All I've got are these." He holds out his spindly hands. Without shifting, his best bet is to try and slap the monsters to death. "And yeah, it's good. It's always helped, even back home. Honestly, the few months Tim and I were working together were probably the safest I've felt since--alright, what the hell is going on?"

He felt safe?

Tim gapes at him, for the moment speechless. Which is likely for the best, given everything. Jay's just as confused as he is, he's certain, which leaves only one culprit. Given the identity of who it is they've just encountered, he can make an educated guess.

"You - is this your spell, or whatever?" He can't bite back the swell of rage that colors the words into a snarl. "Great. Thanks for that!"

"Obviously." She raises her eyebrows slightly at the snarl, eyes widening slightly, even as the rest of her expression remains as impassive as ever. Oh, she misses her sunglasses. She never learned how to control her eyes the way she controls the rest of her face. She's never had to.

She's bound by her own spell too, since she didn't even try to make the will save against it. She's never wanted to lie anyway. It's only fair that she holds herself to the same standard she forces on other people. She doesn't resist as the explanation pours out.

"I have a spell that makes it so no one can lie around me. Do you really expect me not to use it? It's one of the only good thing about this moronic event."

Jay gives Georgia a long, disbelieving look...and then his gaze slides over to Tim. No one can lie, huh?

He knows. He lived past Jay, and he knows what happened next. He had, what, months more than Jay did? Years? And he was withholding information from Jay right from the start. Jay has to make him talk. He has to--

Stop. This is familiar. This is familiar, and it's wrong, and he doesn't want Tim's blood on his hands a second time.

But he has to know.

He glances back at Georgia, briefly. She's watching. Whatever either of them say, she can hear it.

Alex believed it could spread just by word of mouth, or at least that's what Tim said. If you knew about it, you were infected, and you had to die. Jay still has his doubts, a few million viewers' worth. But Georgia's not an anonymous viewer, separated from the story by glass and wires and probably hundreds if not thousands of miles. If there's a chance she can be infected--or, at least affected--by proximity, Jay has to keep her out of it.

He has to be careful with his questions. Can't have Tim saying too much.

"Tim?" He waits until he's sure he's listening. "What happened to--" No, no, too much. This time, he speaks more carefully.

"Do you know what happened to Jessica? After the tape?"

Simple question. Yes or no.

George gets nothing more than a furious look, seething and cold and twisted with utter rage. She let this happen. She let this happen, facilitated this, and now Jay - of course he's taking advantage of it.

The muscles in his throat work silently, flexing. At least he doesn't have a jaw to clench to betray him. He can't bullshit his way out of this one. He can't lie his way out. But he can step around the question, make sure no deliberate answers come boiling out.

His breath is ragged.

He's not alone, at least. Instead of a bottle of pills, it's a peculiar orange stone clenched in one fist, talons clinking quietly over the surface, buried as it is in his pocket.

"What makes you think I know?" A question for a question. No rules about that, are there? And - no. Turns out there aren't, because he can get away with saying it, and nothing's being forced out of him. "You know I don't remember when I'm - like that."

Edited 2017-06-27 02:14 (UTC)

Well, Tim's discovered one of the loopholes, at least. It can't force you to tell the truth. It can only force you not to lie. And she's pretty sure he's getting as close to lying as the spell will allow, since he's asking questions and stating She also doesn't have the power to lock them in place, or isn't using it if she does. There's nothing to stop them from leaving her zone of truth. Nothing but them not knowing how far it stretches.

She meets Tim's look with an impassive glare. That much rage over losing the ability to lie... she's disappointed, honestly. She thought he understood her better by now. If he's so determined to rely on his precious falsehoods, she sees no reason to tell him how to escape the spell. He can figure it out for himself or he can suck it up and be honest.

She's putting together a few things herself. You know I don't remember when I'm like that. So Jay knows. And considering his cryptic remark about Tim having known how to manage something... she's guessing he'd been referring to that. It's another piece in a puzzle she's been putting together for a long time now.

"Who's Jessica?"

This isn't how it was supposed to go. Absolutely no part of this is how it was supposed to go.

"She's..." Tim got around it, somehow. Evading the question doesn't count as a lie, it seems like, and Jay stutters as he tries to put together a sentence that will work. "She's...a guy I knew's girlfriend's...roommate."

He shoots Tim a glare. "And I 'think you know' because--" Dammit. "--I don't think you'd put that much effort into hiding it if..." He can't say what happened on the tape, not in front of Georgia. "...if the easy answer was all that happened."

But that's not enough, and more comes spilling out unbidden. He shouldn't have started the sentence the way he did.

"And if you don't know, that means the answer's not in Wonderland, and I don't want to..." He can't get out of this one. "I don't want to die again not knowing."

Fuck. Fuck her, and fuck Jay for going along with this. He can't hide. Not from either of them. They're a menace together, jabbing the questions in where they hurt the most, because you missed someone and that won't mean anything, anything at all, because they're digging into things that shouldn't be unearthed. Because he tried, he tried, didn't he? He tried to keep her safe. From Alex. From Jay and his prying eyes and his fucking camera and his earnest intent.

"You - "

No.

If he starts talking, there's no guarantee he'll be able to stop himself. He might just keep going, and if it all rushes out, it'll all of it be for - nothing.

He's backing away from the pair of them, reaching to run a hand through hair he doesn't have. Shaking his beaked head, frantically, before pinning George with a look that falls somewhere between pained and horrified.

"You promised."

Her eyes widen at that and she stands up, glaring at Tim. Her world is important to her, and the idea that she's breaking it actually rankles. "Oh, don't give me that! You're still not under fucking investigation! I cast the spell before I even saw you cause I thought it would be nice to have ten fucking minutes with no one lying to me and for once, I had the means to make it happen. God, is asking you anything at all forbidden by that stupid promise? Is there anything at all that's safe to ask about?"

She wasn't trying to take advantage. She had no end goal in mind, not this time. It would be nice to keep the spell for when she does need it, but she doesn't foresee any particularly key investigations happening while everyone's elves or whatever. She just wanted to know no one was lying to her for a change.

But then there's Jay, who had clearly been waiting for this opportunity. Who clearly has made no such promise to Tim, who wants the truth and is willing to push until he gets it. She can't exactly blame him. In a lot of ways, she was the same before she died. In some ways, she's the same now, or at least she hopes she is, if something important comes up. But Jay, Jay has questions, Jay is pushing Tim even as he tries to evade and lie for himself. The suspicions that have been swirling in George's head finally coalesce and she turns on him.

"Were you the one who published Tim's medical files?" There's a dangerous note in her voice (intimidate 29) as she meets whatever it is he has that passes for eyes. Her eyes aren't what they used to be, but they're creepy in their own right now. She can use that.

At her words, Jay's stomach drops.

"Yes."

It's out before he can stop it, barely more than a whisper, and he knows he can't just leave it at that. He starts to ramble an excuse--an explanation, and if Georgia's spell drags more out of him than he intended, he doesn't notice.

"Look, I mean, it wasn't--I didn't think I was gonna see him again, and then someone--" He shoots Tim a meaningful look. "--someone gave them to me. They left the files out for me to find, on purpose, and they were--were marked, like, like they were trying to tell me something."

He's pacing, now, staring at the ground as he talks.

"I had to keep a permanent record of what was there, in case something happened to the files. And...and this isn't, this doesn't fix it, but whoever gave me the files redacted a--a lot. So it was just the things they wanted me to see.

I mean, maybe I...maybe I shouldn't've just...posted all of it, but at the time it felt like--like it was just part of everything else."

Oh, well, that just makes it all peachy, doesn't it? Just because she's equal-opportunity here doesn't make any of it justified, particularly not while Jay is there. And Jay keeps talking, keeps digging himself under the ground, and it's all Tim can do to keep himself from burying his face in his hands right then and there.

He can't explain any of it. Maybe if it was just him, him and George, it would be fine, and he could live with it. He's had his boundaries and his privacy breached too many times to count at this point; what would one more be?

But then there's Jay.

"Shut up!" His voice tears, hoarsely. "Just - shut up, Jay!"

"It's you. You're the fuck-up." Of course he is. Wonderland doesn't do coincidences, and Tim obviously has conflicting emotions about Jay. Clearly he cares about him, and not just because he blames himself for Jay's death. He also seems half-terrified of him, or of what he might find out. It all adds up all too clearly, so clearly she'd wonder how she didn't put it together before except she's pretty sure she had. She just wasn't willing to let herself make accusations until she had proof. And here it is. Jay is the unprofessional, amateur mess that left Tim terrified of George for all the wrong reasons for so long. The reason he's still terrified of her, or maybe terrified of the combination of her and Jay.

And he's still trying to protect Jay. Fucking incredible. She'd wonder how he'd still consider Jay a friend after all that, but well. She's still friends with Buffy. Shit's complicated.

Still, she's been waiting for this chance for a while. Ever since Tim told her what had happened the last time someone found out his secret.

She glares at Jay. "You already told me you're not a journalist, so it seems like a waste of time to ask if you've heard of journalistic integrity. But I feel like basic human decency shouldn't be too much to ask. What the fuck? He's your friend."

'He's your friend.'

Jay's mind locks up.

Is he? Is that what they are?

'He's your friend.'

It doesn't make sense. They don't trust each other. Tim lied to him and hid things from him and became something else and dug his thumbs into Jay's throat. Jay kept secrets, told him it was all just for a movie until Tim's fist connected with his cheekbone, knocking him out of alignment, making him drop the camera. It kept rolling, though, and it did until Jay died. He told the viewers everything he knew. He had to.

'He's your friend.'

It's not right.

But you can't tell lies here.

'It's you. You're the fuck-up.'

Jay doesn't deny it. He can't. It's the truth.

He's your friend.

It's George who says it aloud. And it's the truth, or she assumes it is, because she can say it and apparently mean it. And what's he supposed to say to that? What the hell's he supposed to say to the fact that Jay's standing rigid, clammed up, frozen on the spot?

He's your friend.

He's your friend.

Well, that would fucking explain it, wouldn't it? Why Jay was just another casualty to Tim's name. Why he ended up one of trail of bodies that Tim leaves behind in his wake. Because he counted as his friend on some level, and that's what happens to people who call themselves Tim's friends. It's what'll happen to George, eventually, because she called him a friend once too, and his mind had devolved into a wordless, screaming panic that he couldn't talk himself down from.

Tim's eyes drag shut. The pressure in his chest, compressing his lungs, is painful.

"You know?" The words are trembling as badly as his shoulders, as though wracked by an invisible gale. "God fucking forbid any of us have a single damn thing to hide from you, Georgia."

He turns, and he starts to walk. He needs -

He needs out. Gone. Away. He needs shelter from this, from you're the fuck-up and he's your friend and the absolute silence from Jay that's more telling than anything in the world.

It won't shut away the cold lump in his throat, the heat in his eyes, the tension that vibrates down every damn nerve in his body.

But it's a start.

She misses her sunglasses. Her face doesn't give away much even without them, but there's enough of a flinch that it's not impossible to read. She doesn't look at Tim, though. She keeps her focus on Jay.

"I hope you understand that that shit won't fly on my site. We tell the truth, but we aren't a tabloid. People are allowed their privacy."

Jay won't look at her. His eyes flick up briefly, following Tim, and then focus on the ground again.

"I wasn't doing it for...for hits or views or anything. I just--" It's hard enough explaining things like this without 'magical' influence. "--I just needed help figuring out what to do next."

It was a message, and it was all he had at that point. He was alone. He needed to talk to somebody about it.

That's not what they're talking about now, though, is it?

"Look, I won't...Everything goes by you before it gets published, right?"

Please don't let this turn her against him. Please don't let this cost him his job. (He doesn't even have the job yet, a part of him scolds. Just an offer, and an offer can be rescinded at any time.)

"So--so you can toss out anything if it doesn't meet your standards."

"That was always going to happen." Jay's job isn't in as much danger as he thinks, mostly because Georgia was never hiring him for his ability. She was hiring him to keep an eye on him. Even before she'd pieced things together, she'd known he might be trouble. But she's in no hurry to assure him his position is safe. Not right now when she's busy raking him over the coals. She stares at him, sizing him up as she takes his measure.

"You've never had a real team, have you?"

She doesn't think about the ways she's lucky very often. Being assassinated and cloned and experimented on tends to skew your view of your life pretty negatively. But there are some ways she is very lucky. She has Shaun. Even when they were separated, him thinking she's dead and her trapped in the CDC, she knew she was loved, and she knew when she found him they'd be unstoppable again. She had Shaun, and she had Buffy, and they had their handpicked team of betas, and her parents may have been terrible, but they did make sure she got the best journalism training available, even if it was mostly to make sure she didn't besmirch the brand.

Jay clearly didn't have any of that. No wonder he's a fuck up.

She huffs out a breath. Yelling at him might be fun, but it's hardly productive.

"Please attempt to show the barest minimum common sense. I am available if you need help or advice, but I'm not here to babysit you. I don't want to have to reject things."

"Of course, sure, I'll--I'll try my best."

The offer's still on. Somehow. Somehow. He can't screw this up. At least 'I'll try my best' is true enough that he's able to say it.

"And--and no, it's just been me, most of the time...that I can remember. And Tim, for a few months." Again, he looks up, staring in the general direction where Tim started walking. This feels too familiar, in the worst way. ('Do me a favor and stay out of my life!') He unconsciously shuffles in the same direction. "But that--that didn't really...pan out..."

It's an evasion, but not quite a lie.

"Sounds complicated." And while his evasion isn't subtle, she doesn't need the details enough to push. Personal issues aren't her business. It's how she's managed to keep her own personal life a secret for so long and not felt too much like a hypocrite for it. Tim and Jay's relationship doesn't matter to her past how it might affect Jay's work.

"I'm never alone. I have Shaun. Nothing but death can tear us apart, and here not even that." There's no danger that things with Shaun won't pan out. Having him is the one thing in the world she can be confident about. "You're going to need to learn to work as part of a team. When you get stuck, you ask for help. And not by posting confidential material."

(no subject)

burntvideocassette - 2017-07-03 06:26 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

choosetruth - 2017-07-05 13:11 (UTC) - Expand

open } she's had her fill of destinies and that's why she flew away

sideburns liar and camera liar are here to party

emphasis on party

emphasis on LIAR

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)