DUPLICITY: IC INBOX

[theansweris]

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[theansweris]

Yes, because this place could certainly never make someone act out of character for themselves.

If you wanted to move in, I could find Oswald and I another contract. Since it's apparently too full now.

[shadowstrikes]

yeah, i know my best friend and i know what this place does to people.

and while i appreciate the offer, you should all stay exactly where you are. if i wanted to move in, i'd already be there

[theansweris]

Sure.

I'm not so callous as to stand in the way of what little comfort any of us can find in a familiar face here. That's all.

[shadowstrikes]

and i appreciate that. real hard to tell coming from me, i know, but i mean that genuinely. i do appreciate it. and i mean it equally genuinely when i say this isn't about you. or your bird. or anyone or anything else in vrenille's dumb glass mansion. we'll make it work. we always do.

[theansweris]

I'm sure you will.

But I don't want to hear about testicular leashing again.

[shadowstrikes]

aww you sure? what if i become the mystical third person you'd consider doing that with?

[theansweris]

I'm pretty damn sure.

[shadowstrikes]

that's shutting down the possibility pretty quick

who knows, you might end up getting to like me when you get to know me a little better

[theansweris]

I possibly will. But the standard you're up against to make it onto that list is nigh on impossible.

[shadowstrikes]

i mean if the list only has two spots then yeah i'll give you that

but if it makes you feel any better leading people by the nuts isn't generally my thing. that was just a very specific reference

[theansweris]

I was unclear.

I would be willing to consider leading someone, *not* being led.

[shadowstrikes]

oh then you're right that sure is a moot discussion--you're not leading me anywhere by the balls

[theansweris]

I don't let myself be that vulnerable to *anyone*.

[cryfrustration]

"The woman who he--" vague hand gesture. "Yeah, I remember, but that's nothing like--!" Oh sod it. There's no reason to try and argue how irrational the fear was when they've already established, precisely, that it is irrational.

Not thinking clearly is putting it lightly, but, "Look my point is he can't go off killing people just 'cause he's not thinking clearly! And anyway, you can't be with him every minute of the day."

It scarcely needs saying, he thinks, since obviously Riddler is here right now and Oswald is out somewhere on his own. It's not as though his relationship with Ed and Riddler mean that Oswald has stopped living an independent life.

[theansweris]

They have established that there was nothing rational or even vaguely logical about Oswald's outrage and jealousy.

"It's less that I can't and more that we both choose that I not be. Ed would probably quite happily follow Oswald around all day with a lack of anything else in his life, which was another hilarious piece of the hypocrisy of that day, but I digress. Oswald has things to do, people to see, and I would go mind numbingly bored and start taking drugs recreationally to try and alleviate the incessant screaming of my own mind. And really, if the city didn't want things like this to happen, they shouldn't orchestrate it to, should they?"

[shadowstrikes]

Maybe you just haven't found the right someone for the job.

[theansweris]

No. No, I'm fairly sure that is not the case.

[cryfrustration]

"I think you'd both drive each other batty," Vrenille mutters, half to himself, as he shakes his head. Ultimately, though, he just has to sigh, deeply. Very deeply. It's hard to argue with Riddler placing the blame squarely at the city's feet that way.

"Yeah, yeah I guess," it's true, but he doesn't like it. And he doesn't like his suspicion that trying to confront Oswald about this would lead him no farther than he's gotten with Riddler. At any rate, he's not getting anywhere with it now, so he just accepts it as beyond his control and changes the subject.

"By the way, Hakkyuu's back in town."

[theansweris]

Riddler gives a small half shrug. They might drive each other insane, it's true. While they have a lot of overlap in things they enjoy, they also need time away from one another when the little habits and foibles start to get annoying.

Oswald especially needs time away from Ed and Riddler. They can be a bit much.

"Huh. I'm... not really sure what to say. I know you missed him, but I guess you didn't really want him back here to be your reunion?"

[cryfrustration]

"Hell, he's my best friend and I'm not really sure what to say." Vrenille rubs his brow with one hand and finds a free stool to perch on.

"I'm glad to see him, glad he's back, I guess in a selfish sorta way. But--" Where should he even start? He's certainly not going to try and unburden himself to Riddler. That would be an exercise in poor judgement if ever there was one. Ed, at least, would try to be slightly more empathetic, but maybe that's not even the point. On a strictly informational level, he supposes there are some things they should know.

"That's who I was talking to in that message you got from me--the one I didn't mean to send. It's something I said to Hakkyuu a couple days ago...'bout the guy he's gone 'n contracted with, actually."

[theansweris]

Riddler gives Vrenille his proper attention. He looks him over for a moment, trying to read what Vrenille thinks or feels about this. "I see. He's got a contract. And the guy is what, possessive? Territorial? Do you need him sorted out?"

It's well intentioned at least.

[cryfrustration]

Honestly, coming from Riddler, that's probably one of the most loyal and thoughtful reactions he could hope for, and it makes Vrenille smile at him with a strange sort of fondness.

"No, no nothing like that. The guy's...I dunno, maybe a bit of a trouble maker, but then so's Hakkyuu. He likes to get under people's skin, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised if he's managed to hook up with someone who'll do a bit of the same."

So no sorting out is necessary. He just wants to make sure they're all communicating--if he doesn't want Ed or Oswald to keep him in the dark, he's got to extend them the same courtesy.

"You, uh, might've seen the guy on the network not too long ago. There was a video of him...in jail for a citation he didn't pay." If Riddler's seen it, Vrenille thinks, he'll probably know right away. "It was...pretty brutal."

[theansweris]

"I know Hakkyuu likes to get under people's skin. He talked with Ed, remember?" And Ed had reacted badly. He was still coming out of his very tightly self imposed closet at that point, waiting for someone to beat him back into it.

Riddler's expression darkens slightly before it smooths away. "I don't watch them. I like information as much as any Gothamite, but there are limits. I won't help the city humiliate and punish and uphold their depravities on us." And if refusing to watch people being tortured is all he can do... it's something he will do.

[shadowstrikes]

i mean that's probably fair at least as far as vrenille is concerned. if you don't wanna do it with him then i'm pretty hard-pressed to think of someone better & like i said i don't know much about your bird buddy but good to know the two of you don't wanna nut-drag each other around. i guess

[theansweris]

Oswald is the point my world revolves around and I trust him, at all times, to be Oswald. If he's suggesting something like that, either the city has really done a number on him or he's angry and looking to lash out.