meadowlark | @gaby

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@gaby

[ this was supposed to be one of Gaby's days off. in fact, she's not in the safehouse when the message comes in. ]

Turns out that we're missing two new faces around the safehouse.

I'd play a guessing game as to why I wasn't told, but I don't care. These two faces apparently murdered two people that night.

I don't know who they are, but I do know that they're locked up. Any guesses as to what's going to happen to them?

Genuine question. Because I don't know.

Oh, and because some of you think you can do whatever the hell you want around here: don't think the way out for them is a jail break. Don't even fucking try it. And no, Morningstar isn't in the business of breaking people out of jail, because that would be stupid.

[ she's a little angry. no. a lot. but mostly she doesn't know how to handle this one. ]

Look. You know something? Tell me. You won't be "in trouble."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

( there are a lot of details he could give here. that he's struggled with that for fucking years, that jason's--always been emotional, that his trip down death valley and into a lazarus pit really only made it five times worse. that he's struggling but doing his goddamn best. that a few years ago, he would have jumped for connor's throat without warning and had no regrets.

markus doesn't get any of that. )

don't patronize me

[Very clever.]

Do I ever patronize you, "Matches"?

maybe

( bitching at markus isn't going to get him anywhere. he's known markus long enough to realize jason--isn't going to get a rise out of him easy. that fighting him is useless and pointless. so he shifts tactics. )

maybe i'm a little into it

[But there he goes again, falling into that same tone, that same flippancy that started this mess. Markus can see it for what it is.]

Do me a favor?

depends on what that favor is, considering i'm already doing one for you

( by not breaking connor's face. )

Can you try not to be so inflammatory? Just for this one discussion.

You know it doesn’t take much to get poeple’s hackles up. And you’re particularly good at that.

i'm done
people want to fuck themselves over, that's on them

You don’t think there are any other valid points being made?

i think 'wait and see' works for some people

And what about 'wait and see, then judge a reasonable course of action from there'?

isn't that what we're doing?

Honestly, Jason, I hardly know what we're doing at this point. It seems like no one can seem to agree one way or another.

I don't like it, and I think it makes me a hypocrite, but I'm on the side of waiting to see what unfolds. In the meantime, putting energy into finding a new safehouse to relocate to, in case this one goes up in smoke as a result of being compromised, is a good way to kill time in the interim.

names

seems some people prefer i stay the fuck away from any safehouses we have up, so
good luck with that

Just take a glance around the post.

You know that’s a knee-jerk response to the situation at hand, don’t you? If you’re referring to Connor.

i don't believe that's all it is

Then what?

[A sincere question. He wants to know.]

you tell me, markus
why would connor go out of his way to intentionally piss me off, when we haven't had any issues previously
he's a fucking android who worked as an investigator, programmed to integrate with people
it wasn't him getting pissy and reacting
it was him trying to get a rise

[...Well.]

You're right.

[Jason is absolutely right, able to see just what lies behind the curtain, not as well-hidden as Connor probably thought. The other android had even admitted that much to Markus in their own correspondence.

There's a beat, a moment without a reply, because he's trying to figure out the best way to proceed from here.]

But if you knew that, then why did you take the bait?

It isn't all cold calculation in order to make you look bad, all just a plot to make you seem "unfit". Android or not, programming or not, he's just as stressed as the rest of us; what he is and what he was made to do has no bearing on that.

He's worried about what might happen if we make the wrong move, if we do the wrong thing. He doesn't want innocent people to get hurt, and I know you don't either. But when someone has decided, strongly, to err on the side of caution, and that same someone sees talk of murder, of explosion used as distractions, of a multitude of risks that might compromise everyone here? It's frightening. And it's going to make him want to garner visible evidence as to why all of it is a bad idea, even if that evidence happens to be directed mostly at you as a person.

[Which is, admittedly, unfair. Connor might have gone a little too far in that direction, which is one of the reasons why Markus was eager to step in.]

He isn't doing it just to spite you.

discrediting any immediate action by discrediting me because he's right and everyone who thinks otherwise is wrong

( he gets it. would have taken the same path if jason was determined to go his own way--if needing assistance and approval was a concern. but. )

he wants to do it his way, fine. i don't give a shit. got nothing to do with me. if the "displaced" get compromised, it won't be on me.
i'm done.

[It's hard to play mediator. Harder to put out those fires that threaten to burn bridges. He just hopes that Jason understands, inherently, that-]

In the end, we all want the same thing. We all want to keep each other safe.

I'm here if you need to talk more.

[Otherwise, he'll let him blow off steam.]

( speaking of burning bridges-- )

i don't give a shit about any of you
i protect my own, fuck everyone else
if doing that means separating from the herd of idiots who protect losers who can't contain themselves for four fucking seconds without committing murder?
fine by me

[Oh boy. Here we go.]

That's running on assumption. We need more information. Two people are dead, yes, but those that committed the crime might have been acting out because of the drug, fear, or both. I can't condemn them just yet, not without knowing the full story.

[Because that hits too close to home. Reminds him of Leo blaming him for Carl's death, and him being so quickly broken and discarded because of it.]

But that's not the point. Are you really telling me you don't care at all for any of the others here? That you won't put in an effort to save or help them if they ever need it?

no
i won't help them. why would i? what have they done for me?
what the hell has connor done to deserve my help?
all he's done is piss me off, and i'm sick of it
him and everyone else
so i'm done
good luck handling shit

( maybe markus has a point with that first but this now goes beyond just the whole. uh. murder incident. )

[He's starting to feel the clench of a stress headache. He's so tired of this human body, but Markus wrings out every last drop of patience, refusing to let it run dry.

Emotions are running high all over the place. Markus doesn't believe Jason is nearly as selfish as that, that this is only the result of being prodded in the wrong way, concerning a tenuous situation that none of them know how to really approach.]

And what about you and I, our friendship? Or when you told me about attempting to fix the world, about how useless it is, but we try anyway? That sounded like someone who wanted to help others, to me.

( markus already has jason under his thumb. already knows him deeper than the surface level bullshit he spouts out when he's angry. upset. like this. he knows jason isn't the heartless monster he's trying to seem like he is.

which means jason just has to push the envelope further. this is so much easier over text. )

it's all bullshit.
we're not friends, you were just a convenience. knew how to stich me up and came when i called for you
guy with a bleeding heart like you? easiest way to keep you on a leash was to pretend i had one, too

@gaby

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