[The amused smugness is already annoying, and Shaw's expression, already flat, flattens further still.]
How about we don't play a game of semantics at all.
[He doesn't look like he's trouble, or in trouble - and she's gotten a name and a face to match to it. She doesn't remember anything specific about a "Lestat" from the inmate ledger, which means that nothing about him had jumped out at her when she'd read through it. Clearly that means she can move on.]
[ His smile stays in place. Sure, they don't have to play semantics. There are plenty of other games at his disposal.
Lestat instead fixes her with a look of intent, and invites himself into her mind, starting to pick apart what might make her tick before he lets her know he's in there. ]
[Good news, buddy: as far as minds go, you picked a great one. That said, her emotional landscape is pretty boring - she's not even apathetic, she's just blank. There is stuff in there, but it's buried down deep and hard to find, muffled like it's been smothered in a big, heavy blanket. She didn't put the blanket there, and she's making no effort to keep it in place; this isn't a trauma response or self-protective measure. It just is.
But more interesting, perhaps, is the destabilization of her mind. One of the louder noises coming out from under that metaphorical blanket is uncertainty: she has what she feels are very good reasons to believe that what she's experiencing here on the Barge might only exist inside her head, but she's not sure, and she feels powerless to prove anything to herself either way. What's more, she also has what she feels are very good reasons to believe that, if this is real, there's a chance that her ability to control her own actions will be stolen from her. She might have people controlling her without her knowledge. She might be used, by them, to harm people that she doesn't want to harm.
Absolutely none of this shows on her face as she watches Lestat for a while longer. When he doesn't speak, she rolls her eyes, and moves to walk past him.]
[ It's a strange mind, to be sure. Usually Lestat has to sort through all sorts of loud thoughts to find what he's looking for, but her mind seems to present something all on its own.
Of all the gifts he possesses, he utilizes the idea of control the least. Rarely does he have a problem making people do what he wants them to do, so he lets that skill fall to the wayside. But the idea that the woman in front of him seems to be particularly concerned of that exact thing? He'd be remiss to pass it up. ]
Wait a moment, would you?
[ It's unclear if he says it out loud, or if it's just his voice echoing inside of her head. Either way, should she try to keep walking away, she may find herself feeling unwilling (or unable) to. He needs to keep her there a little longer so he can find who it is on this barge that she likes enough to make harming them worth while. ]
[Her legs still at his words, even as she tries to push them forward.]
What are you--
[Her body realizes what's happening before her brain does, and she tenses up, muscles taut with a panic that's highly unusual for her. No, no, no, no--]
No.
[The word slips out through gritted teeth, and though her feet are stuck in place, she's still able to whip out a hand towards him, aiming to throttle if necessary.
She's new, and the people who matter most aren't here; if he's digging for people that she likes, he'll have to wade through them first. There's a tall, quiet man who always has her back, and advocated for her when no one else did; there's a nervous, guilt-ridden man who sits at a computer desk and must always, always be protected. There's a dog who likes ear rubs and big bones and being slipped french fries on the sly. And there's a woman with long, wavy hair who smiles, who laughs, who takes her hand and holds it, who curls around her in bed and whispers It's okay, Sweetie; you're safe, they can't get to you, they can't control you, you're in control--
But there's also Taylor, a young, traumatized girl who can barely string a sentence together but still has to suffer through being an inmate; she's holed up in Zero right now. There's B, a fellow soldier, who she trusts more with her secrets than she does most. There's Franky and Quill - also soldiers, also easy to see eye-to-eye with and respect. There's Doug Eiffel, who's annoying, but in a way that feels homey. Eiffel isn't a fighter. Eiffel isn't safe. Eiffel has already been hurt and threatened more than once during this flood; just a few days ago, she'd stumbled across his body.
[ He doesn't mind the wading. He's not going anywhere. She's certainly not going anywhere. It's too bad she's so resistant to the whole thing because it makes it all the more appealing to him.
Eventually he finds someone interesting. He recognizes the face all too easily, and it's almost too much of a coincidence. A sign, really, and he'd be remiss not to listen to it. ]
Doug Eiffel.
[ He says the name out loud thoughtfully. He even taps his chin. ]
I do hate unfinished business. I think you can help me.
[ It makes the whole thing feel all that more dramatic, doesn't it? (un)Fortunately, she's right in the assumption that it isn't true at all. And while it would be fun to let her go and leave her wondering if he could, he decides to just show her that he can.
So he plants the seed wordlessly in her mind. He fills her with the obligation to get Doug Eiffel and to see him dead, followed with the promise that she can go right back to being herself once it happens.
Lestat won't follow her around to make sure she does it. He's fairly confident that she will. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[ His eyebrows raise a little, and he looks a bit too pleased with himself. ]
In the larger scheme of time? I've been here a blip. But a month seems to be a reasonable enough time to assume I'm no longer new, no.
feel free to do the attack whenever! (meaning the mindfuck bit; i'll drop info when he moves in?)
How about we don't play a game of semantics at all.
[He doesn't look like he's trouble, or in trouble - and she's gotten a name and a face to match to it. She doesn't remember anything specific about a "Lestat" from the inmate ledger, which means that nothing about him had jumped out at her when she'd read through it. Clearly that means she can move on.]
no subject
Lestat instead fixes her with a look of intent, and invites himself into her mind, starting to pick apart what might make her tick before he lets her know he's in there. ]
no subject
But more interesting, perhaps, is the destabilization of her mind. One of the louder noises coming out from under that metaphorical blanket is uncertainty: she has what she feels are very good reasons to believe that what she's experiencing here on the Barge might only exist inside her head, but she's not sure, and she feels powerless to prove anything to herself either way. What's more, she also has what she feels are very good reasons to believe that, if this is real, there's a chance that her ability to control her own actions will be stolen from her. She might have people controlling her without her knowledge. She might be used, by them, to harm people that she doesn't want to harm.
Absolutely none of this shows on her face as she watches Lestat for a while longer. When he doesn't speak, she rolls her eyes, and moves to walk past him.]
no subject
Of all the gifts he possesses, he utilizes the idea of control the least. Rarely does he have a problem making people do what he wants them to do, so he lets that skill fall to the wayside. But the idea that the woman in front of him seems to be particularly concerned of that exact thing? He'd be remiss to pass it up. ]
Wait a moment, would you?
[ It's unclear if he says it out loud, or if it's just his voice echoing inside of her head. Either way, should she try to keep walking away, she may find herself feeling unwilling (or unable) to. He needs to keep her there a little longer so he can find who it is on this barge that she likes enough to make harming them worth while. ]
no subject
What are you--
[Her body realizes what's happening before her brain does, and she tenses up, muscles taut with a panic that's highly unusual for her. No, no, no, no--]
No.
[The word slips out through gritted teeth, and though her feet are stuck in place, she's still able to whip out a hand towards him, aiming to throttle if necessary.
She's new, and the people who matter most aren't here; if he's digging for people that she likes, he'll have to wade through them first. There's a tall, quiet man who always has her back, and advocated for her when no one else did; there's a nervous, guilt-ridden man who sits at a computer desk and must always, always be protected. There's a dog who likes ear rubs and big bones and being slipped french fries on the sly. And there's a woman with long, wavy hair who smiles, who laughs, who takes her hand and holds it, who curls around her in bed and whispers It's okay, Sweetie; you're safe, they can't get to you, they can't control you, you're in control--
But there's also Taylor, a young, traumatized girl who can barely string a sentence together but still has to suffer through being an inmate; she's holed up in Zero right now. There's B, a fellow soldier, who she trusts more with her secrets than she does most. There's Franky and Quill - also soldiers, also easy to see eye-to-eye with and respect. There's Doug Eiffel, who's annoying, but in a way that feels homey. Eiffel isn't a fighter. Eiffel isn't safe. Eiffel has already been hurt and threatened more than once during this flood; just a few days ago, she'd stumbled across his body.
Eiffel needs to be protected.]
no subject
Eventually he finds someone interesting. He recognizes the face all too easily, and it's almost too much of a coincidence. A sign, really, and he'd be remiss not to listen to it. ]
Doug Eiffel.
[ He says the name out loud thoughtfully. He even taps his chin. ]
I do hate unfinished business. I think you can help me.
no subject
[She hisses through gritted teeth.]
You can't make me.
[Except she's not at all sure that that's true.]
no subject
[ It makes the whole thing feel all that more dramatic, doesn't it? (un)Fortunately, she's right in the assumption that it isn't true at all. And while it would be fun to let her go and leave her wondering if he could, he decides to just show her that he can.
So he plants the seed wordlessly in her mind. He fills her with the obligation to get Doug Eiffel and to see him dead, followed with the promise that she can go right back to being herself once it happens.
Lestat won't follow her around to make sure she does it. He's fairly confident that she will. ]
Enjoy the rest of your day, Shaw.