IC Contact Post

[pale_blue_arrow]

This is Brendan Frye. If it's urgent, you might have a better chance o' tracking me down on foot. If I'm not answering, chances are I've gotten in over my head with something, not that I'm refusin' to give you the time of day. So leave me some words and I'll get back to you as soon as I don't have a fire to put out.

Comments

[codeoracle]

you're...probably not wrong about that.

I have no ties with these people outside of Adachi and Yusuke. We find a scapegoat that works? Gaslight the hell out of them. Yusuke got involved to take the whole group out...working to get him out might just do that for us.

Look, I don't want you dead even if the Porter fixes that. I know it's not avoidable in every case but I'll make it my priority to make that a last resort...and if you end up going in anywhere, healing factor or not, I'm giving you one hell of a buff cycle.

[pale_blue_arrow]

poor guy. when this shit's done we're getting him a therapy animal.

i can do gaslighting. an ex-girlfriend tried it on me and i catalogued her techniques, i'm disturbingly well versed in this. anybody you feel comfortable outing on an anonymous network post as a member of constellation with details if you could? someone unconnected to yusuke, but someone who's done some criminal shit. make the other imPorts go on alert. actually, we need to wake the rest of the population up to this to begin with. what about an anonymous post made pleading to be let out of constellation, made with an IP address that's not in yusuke's city and with a writing style that's not his? i took college level literature courses, i could put out something convincing but vague.

i'm never letting anyone die if i can go in their place. you matter. i don't. you're not gonna budge me on this, though you're an angel for trying.

[lempereur]

Typically, we force confessions. But that would take too long. As far as recording one...maybe. He speaks just vaguely enough so that he isn't incriminated, everywhere but the team's own network. I am not willing to torture anyone else just to get a private audience with him.

I could leak Dooku's name right now, but the Constellation hasn't actually been caught doing anything wrong. Suspicious, sure, but not illegal. What good would that do?

I said no. I can stay as long as I have to if it means nobody gets hurt.

...how well do you know Futaba? You are not wrong.

[pale_blue_arrow]

we'll work on it. what're the chances he'd sweep for electronic bugs? or other recording devices in general?

throw someone else under the bus. why? because it'll shake people inside the organization who thought their net was so secure and so perfect and so infallible. because it'll make the other imPorts who've shrugged this off as no big deal go 'why is this such a big deal it required an anonymous leak' and the more people go 'no reason! nothing to hide here!' the more it'll look bad. because it'll get things off balance so you can establish yourself as looking into it and being concerned and keep dooku off any trace of what you're actually planning. it's the sacrificial lamb strategy.

i know futaba from one very intriguing conversation and she is smart as a whip. i trust her to run the numbers and remember the names and she's got your stamp of approval for contact, so she's trustworthy. i'm very glad she's on our side and not against us because they would never find the bodies if she went evil.

[lempereur]

I never have been. But it's possible, if they suspect. They caught Adachi by putting a bug on his ear. A tiny piece of flesh, or....something.

Every name I know, he knows that I know. And it isn't many. I know most of them only by their codenames. We would need to gather more.

She is amazing. We can all agree on that. I would be dead a dozen times over if not for her.

Invitation

[aberranthubris]

[ One day, this shows up in Brendan's mailbox. See you there? ]

[pale_blue_arrow]

when they go high tech, we go low. old fashioned tape recorders, the bulky kind, are made of enough plastic they don't ping most metal detectors. something to think about when you've gone over this more, when we're sure if that'd be plausible or not. we need to build a mountain of evidence, and making mountains takes time.

then you and futaba need to get to work unearthing a name you don't know. otherwise this'll become a horrorshow very quickly.

[lempereur]

She's working on it. They have people as good as what she does as she is, it's taking a while. But she will.

[pale_blue_arrow]

i'll see what i can do in the meantime. but it's honestly not going to be much. this is a big op, we're gonna spend weeks just in the planning stage, yusuke. i'm sorry. i want you outta this jam ASAP but there's no miracles in life.

but if shit goes south, tell me? not just because i'm helping you on this but because i wanna know you're okay.

[lempereur]

I have no delusion that this will happen overnight. I am in a good position now within the organization, I can wait, as long as I get things handled outside of it.

Making amends, fixing my mistakes.

....I don't know if this counts. I just wanted to say hello.

I will keep you informed.

[pale_blue_arrow]

i managed to wreck the drug rings back home in three weeks but they'd already had a previous inside betrayal and also, i didn't have people nagging me not to die. this is trickier.

i suggest cuddling your boyfriends a lot. you need emotional support. shove two mattresses together if you have to in order to make it work. cuddles, art movie, snacks. a night of normal.

none of our conversations go the way either of us planned. it's unmazing and no, that's not a typo

you better. or else i'll ask futaba and get her to nag you. she seems nice, nice girls nag.

[codeoracle]

Probably. [One of his boyfriends kind of is one, but you know. Details.]

I don't have a compiled list, but I'll get you one. We'll have to make sure we're thorough. I'm not sure if this will be a quick job or not...depends on their organization...how easy the doubt is to sow with their members...But having your skills will definitely make aspects of this easier.

I'm not expecting you to budge. You're probably at least half as stubborn as I am. I'm just saying I'm going to make sure it is the last possible scenario. And even then I can buff your defense--seriously, it's a power thing. So...last possible result is /anyone/ dying here.

[lempereur]

Did that drug ring include violent telepaths and shapeshifters? Everything is trickier here. It was much more simple for our team when we were the only ones with otherworldly powers.

I'm sorry. I don't mean to drag you into this.

Futaba is the kindest person I know. She's incredible, but persistent. Be assured that she will push me if I need it.

And I will start on the snuggling right away.

[aberranthubris]

I know that. However, I have to keep letting you know that you can trust me as much as you need to keep telling me that you can't, until you do. It's a dialog that we just have to deal with.

I don't think that poverty has anything to do with how likely someone is to read your diary, though. Not everything is about money and resources.

If you look at decency as something that only can be purchased with funds, then sure, it would be something you only can afford but most of the time decency isn't about money at all.

[pale_blue_arrow]

most people who tell me i can trust them have, in the past, been trying to get me into bed with them. and yeah i can hear you protesting that all the way from here before you even type it, that's not you, but it's taking a while to deprogram that impulse out.

i look at it this way: i have an ex back home. kara. awful person, from start to finish. but her mom is dead and her dad is perpetually drunk. she got into the drug dealing game to keep herself alive back in middle school. she pays the bills in her house. she's the reason they didn't lose the house to begin with. she is ruthless, the best liar i know and she has done things i don't tell people about because i don't know if they'd believe me. but she cannot afford to go straight. being a non-criminal would mean not having money for shit as basic as food, let alone college or a future. it would also make every criminal contact she's ever had turn on her. and the cops in san clemente wouldn't protect her, because she's black and they don't give a damn about black people.

i repeat myself, it's something some people cannot afford. it costs them all their friends, resources, and safety. i didn't part on great terms with kara but even i would rather have her be a criminal and be alive rather than see her try to go all noble and get shot or worse. not everybody always has the chance to be good. not unless you've got a time machine.

[pale_blue_arrow]

no, but that doesn't change the fact i want you out of it and want it uprooted and burned and the ground beneath it salted.

if you hadn't i'd've found my own way in, let's not kid ourselves. besides, you need the emotional support. well, more emotional support, i assume your boyfriends are also supportive. and futaba. futaba seems supportive in her own way, i just don't want to cross her.

good. go forth and snuggle them long and hard and no, that's not a sex joke. i'm sure you're going to get enough remarks about your sex life from dumbasses to last you a lifetime, though. people always have their minds in the gutter when it comes to poly relationships. apparently i'm the only one who ever mentally mapped out the kind of pillow forts that could be made with three people working on it.

that is also a suggestion. make a pillow fort with your boyfriends. it's what i'd do if i were you.

oh and tell your boyfriends that if they hurt you i know how to make hallucinatory drinks, hotwire cars and break into houses and i have demonstrably no chill so they'd better treat you like their siren prince or else. :)

[pale_blue_arrow]

we could steal a baby fox for him. or is that too on the nose?

this is not gonna be a quick job. not if we care about being caught, which, given yusuke's position, we sure as fuck do. i was able to speedrun shit back home because i had nobody else i needed to worry about getting found out. yusuke's position means this may take a couple of months. which i hate already, but so long as he gets out alive and we tear constellation down, set it ablaze and piss on the ashes, that's really all that matters. planning will have to wait until we have more details, though. plus i need to be brought up to speed on what you know, too, make sure we don't miss any details. that might have rough consequences here.

if anyone has to die, first possible result is /always/ me, angel. i appreciate the thought but this is gonna be a shitshow.

[lempereur]

Even so, I did not contact you to make your life more difficult, or to enlist your help. Although, I think I will need all that I can get. So, thank you. Sincerely.

You are the first of what I am sure will be many to bring up our sex lives. I may as well start getting comfortable with it now.

They treat me better than I deserve, don't you worry.

[pale_blue_arrow]

i'd volunteer my help for anybody in your situation. this just isn't right. you deserve better than this. i'm just sorry i was an asshole before. if i'd been helping you out sooner maybe we could've avoided some of this.

i'm not gonna bring it up on a regular basis or anything. you're smart enough to know communication is key - everybody talk it out and it works out, blah blah blah. it's the same as a normal relationship except cuddling involves more limbs. but yeah, expect people to act like this is somehow scandalous. people are prudes sometimes. just remember you don't owe anybody an explanation. if you're happy, that's all that counts.

they had better, with what you're going through. you need all the support they can give plus a therapy animal of some kind. maybe a shiba inu. although that's what couples do when they get really serious, they either move in together or they get a pet. and you might not wanna send that 'i am very serious' vibe just yet. still, it's an option to consider.

[lempereur]

It started before we met. I would say we are more than even. If anything, I will be in your debt, assuming we both don't get ourselves killed.

We know. We have done plenty of talking about it. I am prepared for questions, but whatever most people think of me is of no concern.

I can hardly remember to feed myself, most days. I do not need a dog.

[pale_blue_arrow]

oh, we're gonna get grievously injured and drink heartily when this is over. but you're not gonna get dead. futaba would kill you if you did. and then i would. and then your boyfriends would, too.

you're luck you're thin enough you guys can all fit on one bed. that whole twink artist look is very 2004 but it has its' advantages. well played.

it'd instill a sense of responsibility in you. plus animals raise serotonin levels in the brain. i'm not even fucking kidding, scientific studies were done. they literally produce joy.

maybe get a low-maintenance pet. a cat. kitsuke.

[lempereur]

That sounds pleasant. The drinking heartily bit.

I have no idea what that means.

My roommate has two dogs already.

[pale_blue_arrow]

we should all get drinks and make fun of a bad movie together. unwind. act our actual age for once.

sorry. i grew up near LA and i absorbed a lot of their terminology. i need to work on that, don't i?

then maybe try hanging out with the dogs. it helps your mental health and you're stressed, so. worth a shot.

[lempereur]

So many awful ones to choose from...

I like the way you talk. When you are not angry. It's eclectic.

[codeoracle]

might be a bit much. He has access to a cat anyway.

At least we both know it's not going to be a quick thing. It'll be easier to bring you up to speed by sending you what I have. Or well...what Akechi has. Nothing more than names for now, but it will give us people to look into. Expect that list to show up in a secure message soon. It's that and whatever he's told you really--and whatever I get once I get into their systems.

Like I said, you're at least half as stubborn as I am. But...I know we're getting into something that'll get messy.

[The secure message that comes through is the notes, already translated. Enjoy that, Brendan.]