1) Misty has agreed to have the Yellowjackets keep a low profile this round. 2) She has also promised their votes in our favor, contingent upon none of the girls coming to any harm until the vote comes to pass.
[oh. koby's instinct is to spill, to lay it all out and beg jinx to reconsider, but -- maybe that's not the best thought. maybe he needs to think more like silco.
so:] What do you need me to do? It can be anything. I'll go back to Misty and play dumb. I'll pin the poisoning on someone else. Anything.
[it rankles at the justice that's such a fundamental part of him, but not as much as the idea of saturday dawning with one of those bodies blue-haired and still.]
1. I don’t believe you and Misty would define low profile similarly. 2. It appears they sought the vampires’ votes as well. I do not know what price they paid, but I doubt all can collect it.
1. For the moment, I believe we do. She's aware they drew too much attention to themselves this round, and has indicated they'd rather follow another's accusation, this time, than raise their own. 2. I have their ear, and their attention. Have you the vampires'?
The more of the board we can influence, the sooner the game ends. Whatever the motive for a vote may be, it will still count when it comes to filling the gaol.
You have the attention of a gaggle of frightened and fearsome teenage girls. Even if you believe Misty to be capable of discretion, I doubt they can be controlled.
The vampires are not a collective in the manner of the team. That they voted in unison seems to have been a concentrated effort on the part of one. Thusly, they may or may not vote as a unit again. I expect Lestat and Louis will remain coordinated — possibly with Armand, depending on the day — and have now gained control of the Yellowjacket voting bloc, if it remains intact.
Others like Good Stab and Spike seem somewhat unaffiliated.
Another trio within the group will coordinate their votes with one another, but their votes may differ. One feared how Saber would treat her, as a woman, and voted with sincere belief in Devon. Another simply thought him guilty, based on intelligence provided by Lestat. My beloved did not wish to make enemies or ruin credibility with his kind and followed suit, based on the evidence circulated from vampire to vampire.
Evidence that had been provided to Lestat, of course, by one of the Yellowjackets.
If I live to see the next vote, I might influence five of their number. If I do not, Astarion may be able to do so in my stead.
Edited (i’m sorry i can’t remember what vampires are public) 2025-10-09 08:04 (UTC)
I have one of their ears too if nobody else with it gets through to them or survives. Not that I rate my chances of outlasting anyone else very highly, but they're aware of the mistake made with Misty Quigley, and claim to intend to treat the voting process differently next time.
If we have any information approaching the next vote, they'll be receptive to it.
Edited (me not reading the edit. me then not properly editing for anonymity. Jesus Christ third time lucky) 2025-10-09 08:39 (UTC)
You begin by asserting that the Yellowjacket vote cannot be controlled and contradict yourself moments later by saying it is in the control of the vampires — who cast their vote as I did in order to secure that claim, and who did so to protect their own interests and, per your information, cannot actually be counted on to present a united front.
"Votes traded or gained are meaningless, if they’re turned upon the innocent," except that the vampires — and, it would seem, specifically Lestat — now have more sway over the girls' vote as a result. If you do influence them, and thereby the girls, you reap the benefit of that trade whether you like it or not.
This is not a fair game. All have had their powers stripped of them, and by night, are rendered incapable of defending themselves. And with so many of our number voting for personal reasons as opposed to rational ones, we won't save anyone by playing fair, either.
They can’t be controlled precisely because they’ve been bought at least twice, in addition to their temperaments. That does not make it any less worrying that they may align with Lestat and his numbers.
Again, I suggest you and Strange both check my missives for the term “fair.” Though, since you quote my words back to me in an attempt to dispute my points, you surely know this.
You can play both unfairly and poorly, Silco.
[ only time will tell whether the latter is true. ]
I cannot influence the girls. I doubt you have the power to do so, either. I can only sway those who trust me, and I will endeavour to do so to the benefit of all our innocents.
I did what I could with the time and the tools at my disposal. If you truly trust me so little as to believe that I would willfully hurt you, then so be it.
if it ain't willful, then you didn't think about me for a goddamn second in my book? that's worse
( vanya taught her the worst cruelty isn't always a sharp backhand — sometimes, it's just this. carelessness, the step you take without looking down to see what you're trampling on. vanya didn't mean to make her the victim of their marriage, either — she was just the inconvenience that could be scrubbed off of a shoe. a life too small in the vast, wide scale of his world to deserve an apology. not even the consideration of one. so negligible he probably never even realized he'd stomped out her guts at all. same now as she was then.
excuses don't fix shit. i never meant to doesn't breathe new life into the girl you flattened — that ant you squished — when you were rushing to get ahead. crushed is crushed. an insect never forgets the force of every boot that's pressed down on it, or the impressions it left — neither does ani. made to be reminded by another man: this is your place, ani. this is where i think you belong. in the fucking dirt with the rest of the worms, the bottom-feeders, everything the world buries. small, again. hurt, again.
she just didn't think silco would be the boot this time. didn't think he'd use the second one to kick jinx down there with her. after a beat, the kind of fury that's become more like a resigned, familiar ache (what were you expecting, anora?): )
whatever, dude go have fun fucking around and finding out with nurse fucking ratched
[ There's an initial instinct to defend himself— but it doesn't serve them to double down and let a miscommunication put an end to what they've been working towards here. He made a mistake. He did.
He has no love for a Reverend turned Shepherd, but he remembers what he said about the threat of paranoia. ]
Anora.
[ No time now for easier names. He needs her to hear him. ]
This started at my suggestion. My intention wasn't clear, and I didn't go on to clarify when he volunteered to speak with her on the basis that it would be a waste not to utilise the skills we each have at our disposal. He was clear on his planned angle - the leverage of his vote - and I didn't sufficiently consider the implications when I encouraged him to speak with her anyway.
I'm no happier than any of you about the result, but this was a miscalculation on more than just his part, and the tide changed so quickly we barely had time to think, let alone to talk, while the vote took place. The progress we made in spite of those circumstances and the position we're in now says everything it needs to about how effective we have the potential to be as a unit, but if we can't keep our heads, we're dead in the water. Some of us more literally than others.
[ So, ultimately, they have to decide what they're going to be. A group of individuals scrambling to survive - or a fucking council. ]
@ merlin If we put this to a vote and the majority rules against, would you let the alliance with Misty go?
( not a capitulation, so much as this: they can't mop up that mess now. there's only time to focus on what they can fix, not the shit they can't unfuck. and, besides, )
but just to make one thing clear: unless we're sharing blood or a bed, i don't answer to anora. it's fucking ani don't put my name in your mouth like that again. ok?
Then your joint foolishness and carelessness has endangered Ani and Jake. You disgrace yourself by minimising the harm done not only to them but the ability of any of us to trust you both. Votes traded or gained are meaningless, if they’re turned upon the innocent.
It is Koby who acted swiftly and decisively to protect those we all know to be innocent. He is the only one who made the progress you speak of, when neither you nor I swayed any of our number.
We would do well to recognise all our shortcomings, not simply the ones you’ve been forced to apologise for.
[ literally what did they do besides show up and talk shit yesterday. gale gave them the warning about the yellowjacket vote, and they still fumbled the numbers in favour of hairbrained schemes. ]
Until the moment it does or does not become apparent that one of those girls is a wolf, there is no disadvantage to appearing friendly. I have already paid the requested fee by casting my vote, and the only other favor promised in return was that we do not harm the girls, which I presume none of us had any intention of doing, regardless.
If you worry that association will taint your reputations, you needn't. I've given her none of your names. I'm the only one implicated. If you're unhappy that our line with her is one built upon a pretense when the intent to undermine, then you're being naive. If you don't trust her, neither do I. We already know to not to take anything she says at face value. If you don't like her, I don't care. That isn't the basis of the game, and even less relevant when lives are at stake.
At best, we gain a chance to sway their vote or prevent another pointless sweep from happening again. At worst, you suffer nothing, because I already have.
If this still doesn't make sense to you all, then tell me how you propose we cut the cord without making an enemy.
And though I recognize that my standing in this group is now that of pariah, I'll make two requests: first, if there's any more information any of you are withholding, I'd advise you share it, if not with the group then at least with a member of it you trust; and second, if any of you plan to nominate yourselves again next turn, I'd know it now, too, the better to make up the wasted vote.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
@merlin
1) Misty has agreed to have the Yellowjackets keep a low profile this round.
2) She has also promised their votes in our favor, contingent upon none of the girls coming to any harm until the vote comes to pass.
no subject
but he knows the game can't be won by playing entirely fair, so:]
Good to know.
I can keep an eye out for the girls. I've spoken with Melissa before, she seems the most reasonable.
→🔒 perma private.
[ Momentarily, a second text, this time locked: ]
Jinx intends to go after them.
Nothing you or I can say will stop her.
Something to be aware of.
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Why? I know she was going after Armand, which makes sense, but
Are you sure? Can I try? I can try.
They're
Dangerous. Really dangerous.
no subject
The accusation against you.
She saw them clearly. What they were doing.
As far as I know, she's told no one else of her intentions.
[ i.e., if you try to talk to her, she will know i narced. ]
But if you think you can stop her, do with it what you will.
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so:] What do you need me to do?
It can be anything. I'll go back to Misty and play dumb. I'll pin the poisoning on someone else.
Anything.
[it rankles at the justice that's such a fundamental part of him, but not as much as the idea of saturday dawning with one of those bodies blue-haired and still.]
no subject
Stay with her, if you can.
She doesn't want my company, at present.
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@gawain
1. I don’t believe you and Misty would define low profile similarly.
2. It appears they sought the vampires’ votes as well. I do not know what price they paid, but I doubt all can collect it.
no subject
2. I have their ear, and their attention. Have you the vampires'?
The more of the board we can influence, the sooner the game ends. Whatever the motive for a vote may be, it will still count when it comes to filling the gaol.
no subject
The vampires are not a collective in the manner of the team. That they voted in unison seems to have been a concentrated effort on the part of one. Thusly, they may or may not vote as a unit again. I expect Lestat and Louis will remain coordinated — possibly with Armand, depending on the day — and have now gained control of the Yellowjacket voting bloc, if it remains intact.
Others like Good Stab and Spike seem somewhat unaffiliated.
Another trio within the group will coordinate their votes with one another, but their votes may differ. One feared how Saber would treat her, as a woman, and voted with sincere belief in Devon. Another simply thought him guilty, based on intelligence provided by Lestat. My beloved did not wish to make enemies or ruin credibility with his kind and followed suit, based on the evidence circulated from vampire to vampire.
Evidence that had been provided to Lestat, of course, by one of the Yellowjackets.
If I live to see the next vote, I might influence five of their number. If I do not, Astarion may be able to do so in my stead.
no subject
Thank you for the information.
I have one of their ears too if nobody else with it gets through to them or survives. Not that I rate my chances of outlasting anyone else very highly, but they're aware of the mistake made with Misty Quigley, and claim to intend to treat the voting process differently next time.
If we have any information approaching the next vote, they'll be receptive to it.
no subject
I hope we have the chance to make a difference.
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[ At this point, his own most realistic hope is to survive long enough to make a useful corpse. ]
🔒
🔒
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"Votes traded or gained are meaningless, if they’re turned upon the innocent," except that the vampires — and, it would seem, specifically Lestat — now have more sway over the girls' vote as a result. If you do influence them, and thereby the girls, you reap the benefit of that trade whether you like it or not.
This is not a fair game. All have had their powers stripped of them, and by night, are rendered incapable of defending themselves. And with so many of our number voting for personal reasons as opposed to rational ones, we won't save anyone by playing fair, either.
no subject
Again, I suggest you and Strange both check my missives for the term “fair.” Though, since you quote my words back to me in an attempt to dispute my points, you surely know this.
You can play both unfairly and poorly, Silco.
[ only time will tell whether the latter is true. ]
I cannot influence the girls. I doubt you have the power to do so, either. I can only sway those who trust me, and I will endeavour to do so to the benefit of all our innocents.
I hope you will do the same.
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@guinevere
yeah
it's gonna be a no from me, big dog
✌️
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( — she fingered out, with intense passive aggression. )
what shade of lipstick you wanna borrow?
for the next time you pucker up for misty's ass
i'm thinking fuck me over fuschia's your color
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If you truly trust me so little as to believe that I would willfully hurt you, then so be it.
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in my book? that's worse
( vanya taught her the worst cruelty isn't always a sharp backhand — sometimes, it's just this. carelessness, the step you take without looking down to see what you're trampling on. vanya didn't mean to make her the victim of their marriage, either — she was just the inconvenience that could be scrubbed off of a shoe. a life too small in the vast, wide scale of his world to deserve an apology. not even the consideration of one. so negligible he probably never even realized he'd stomped out her guts at all. same now as she was then.
excuses don't fix shit. i never meant to doesn't breathe new life into the girl you flattened — that ant you squished — when you were rushing to get ahead. crushed is crushed. an insect never forgets the force of every boot that's pressed down on it, or the impressions it left — neither does ani. made to be reminded by another man: this is your place, ani. this is where i think you belong. in the fucking dirt with the rest of the worms, the bottom-feeders, everything the world buries. small, again. hurt, again.
she just didn't think silco would be the boot this time. didn't think he'd use the second one to kick jinx down there with her. after a beat, the kind of fury that's become more like a resigned, familiar ache (what were you expecting, anora?): )
whatever, dude
go have fun fucking around and finding out with nurse fucking ratched
🔒 perma private.
no subject
He has no love for a Reverend turned Shepherd, but he remembers what he said about the threat of paranoia. ]
Anora.
[ No time now for easier names. He needs her to hear him. ]
This started at my suggestion. My intention wasn't clear, and I didn't go on to clarify when he volunteered to speak with her on the basis that it would be a waste not to utilise the skills we each have at our disposal. He was clear on his planned angle - the leverage of his vote - and I didn't sufficiently consider the implications when I encouraged him to speak with her anyway.
I'm no happier than any of you about the result, but this was a miscalculation on more than just his part, and the tide changed so quickly we barely had time to think, let alone to talk, while the vote took place. The progress we made in spite of those circumstances and the position we're in now says everything it needs to about how effective we have the potential to be as a unit, but if we can't keep our heads, we're dead in the water. Some of us more literally than others.
[ So, ultimately, they have to decide what they're going to be. A group of individuals scrambling to survive - or a fucking council. ]
@ merlin If we put this to a vote and the majority rules against, would you let the alliance with Misty go?
no subject
( not a capitulation, so much as this: they can't mop up that mess now. there's only time to focus on what they can fix, not the shit they can't unfuck. and, besides, )
but just to make one thing clear:
unless we're sharing blood or a bed, i don't answer to anora. it's fucking ani
don't put my name in your mouth like that again. ok?
(no subject)
no subject
It is Koby who acted swiftly and decisively to protect those we all know to be innocent. He is the only one who made the progress you speak of, when neither you nor I swayed any of our number.
We would do well to recognise all our shortcomings, not simply the ones you’ve been forced to apologise for.
[ literally what did they do besides show up and talk shit yesterday. gale gave them the warning about the yellowjacket vote, and they still fumbled the numbers in favour of hairbrained schemes. ]
(no subject)
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not really here, but
@guinevere
not here
no subject
If you worry that association will taint your reputations, you needn't. I've given her none of your names. I'm the only one implicated.
If you're unhappy that our line with her is one built upon a pretense when the intent to undermine, then you're being naive.
If you don't trust her, neither do I. We already know to not to take anything she says at face value.
If you don't like her, I don't care. That isn't the basis of the game, and even less relevant when lives are at stake.
At best, we gain a chance to sway their vote or prevent another pointless sweep from happening again. At worst, you suffer nothing, because I already have.
If this still doesn't make sense to you all, then tell me how you propose we cut the cord without making an enemy.
And though I recognize that my standing in this group is now that of pariah, I'll make two requests: first, if there's any more information any of you are withholding, I'd advise you share it, if not with the group then at least with a member of it you trust; and second, if any of you plan to nominate yourselves again next turn, I'd know it now, too, the better to make up the wasted vote.
not here
(no subject)
super not here
super not here x2
super not here III