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Political Savages

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  1. #21
    Jacque's Avatar
    Jack
    Striking Looks
    (Handsome)
    Presence
    (Credence)
    Mask of Tranquility
    New Identity
    (Alexander Krait)
    Resources
    Jacque
    Behavior

    Goes by Jack.

    Educated, scholarly, lawyer, scientist.
    Jack's outward demeanor and tone are a baseline of respectful and calculated.

    He actively debates, persuades, negotiates and even at time tries to intimidate, as core skills of any lawyer worth his salt.

    +1
    SL
    4
    PRE

    "I am simply asking that whatever I share in conversation at this table not be repeated in any shape or form outside of any agreement that might be made to settle matters with your cousins. There may be some interesting information or there may not be. You are not obligated in any shape or form outside of that, nor would such a thing invest you in my future. I would like to trust you because of your candor. I don't trust you because of what we are." Tilting his hand, "Lies on the other hand... they are a cumulatively expensive thing. You can send me a vague text to solidify your commitment to that discretion." Just because the Herald had refrained from using his authority to any real extent thus far didn't mean that he wouldn't come down on the Priscus if he did something as silly as try and snake out of a boon he promised.

    "Garcia, aggressive?" A faux scoff, "That is not like him at all." Cracking a grin, "Jokes aside, I admire his boldness most of the time."


    Blood Hunt:

  2. #22
    Garrett Prosper's Avatar

    Supplicant of Terror
    Presence
    (Gregarious)
    Garrett Prosper

    4
    PRE

    Prosper nods, not showing any signs that the request is unreasonable or bizarre.

    Sending in reference to date that I owe you a major favour for private information, while receiving equivalent compensation to initiate a neutral exchange. Reminder of the fine print: I will not be giving this to be used in a capacity of family matters. If your banker requires vocal confirmation, I would appreciate a phone call or meeting them in person next business venture.


    He doesn't send it, flashing it for Jacque to have a look. "A bit steep, but I am sure you understand with this Major I can request you recind any title, or ask for a substantial favour. However, this is not my first rodeo? I request that a rider be attached that this Boon not be used in the capacity of Clan politics. I am not having my involvement in this situation halt because the Priscus of Gangrel was Boon locked. That just puts you in the cross hairs of my Clansmen and that would be naive failing on my part."

    He smiles at the comment on Garcia, "He is probably one of the most dangerous Kindred I have met in a while, and fucking awful at checking his temper. We get along in the sense that we have not killed each other yet." Why did he make that sound fun?

    OOC: If the Storyteller wants a literal Comms post, I can make one, for now feel free to just reference the post as required!

  3. #23
    Jacque's Avatar
    Jack
    Striking Looks
    (Handsome)
    Presence
    (Credence)
    Mask of Tranquility
    New Identity
    (Alexander Krait)
    Resources
    Jacque
    Behavior

    Goes by Jack.

    Educated, scholarly, lawyer, scientist.
    Jack's outward demeanor and tone are a baseline of respectful and calculated.

    He actively debates, persuades, negotiates and even at time tries to intimidate, as core skills of any lawyer worth his salt.

    +1
    SL
    4
    PRE

    Jacque nodded, reading over the text, "To that point, I'm sure you're aware that as the Prince's voice, any request that would go directly against Her will is worth significantly more than this boon." He grins, "But you don't strike me as the type that would take that approach. You're far more subtle." Thinking over the details as a whole, "Likely a moot point but just change the 'I' to a 'We' regarding family matters and that should be agreeable."

    "Now that's surprising for you to say. Following his stunts in court, he seemed to be consistently taking ques from your actions." He smirked, "I would have asked what your secret is, but I half-expect the answer would be something to the tune of not being an asshole."


    Blood Hunt:

  4. #24
    Garrett Prosper's Avatar

    Supplicant of Terror
    Presence
    (Gregarious)
    Garrett Prosper

    4
    PRE

    At Jacque's comment, Garrett can't hide the amused grin. Well aren't you precious. "Jack if you are new to the Boon economy, you can say as much. Here," he made the small edit, "We are going to make it a Minor. I do not think you understand what a Major actually entails, and I am not interested in taking advantage of you in this specific scenario. A Minor means that the request should put your person in danger, like lets say something potentially illegal under the Prince's law, yes? Maybe my English is failing me, but I cannot just mind read Alessandra's preferences. Quite frankly, they appear to change month to month. I will not play that game with you, and you are an independent, and not her unreleased Childe. It would be your fuck-up if a Kindred in the future called in a Boon that placed you in an awkward position. I understand in this scenario you are simply trying to secure your future, but an Invictus would be laughing at you right now, because you just told them what your word is worth. Kindred in Europe who have a Major over me can literally call me any moment and demand my presence. That is a thing, Jack, and it does not go away. We live for a long time."

    He chuckled quietly at his musings about his relationship with the Lord. "Fight in a war. Fear our situation. Be a stranger surrounded by monsters that do not respect you, and then earn it. Be ready to gamble your safety on something stupid, like who can mask their condescension better with a handshake. Maybe I am his type," he starts laughing, remembering the stabbing and then the subsequent call for another outing.

  5. #25
    Jacque's Avatar
    Jack
    Striking Looks
    (Handsome)
    Presence
    (Credence)
    Mask of Tranquility
    New Identity
    (Alexander Krait)
    Resources
    Jacque
    Behavior

    Goes by Jack.

    Educated, scholarly, lawyer, scientist.
    Jack's outward demeanor and tone are a baseline of respectful and calculated.

    He actively debates, persuades, negotiates and even at time tries to intimidate, as core skills of any lawyer worth his salt.

    +1
    SL
    4
    PRE

    Jacque arched an eyebrow at the unexpected reply, "A matter of inconvenience and awkward positioning is one thing. A life ending one is quite another. Perhaps we are misunderstanding each other and a minor would be more agreeable. I'm not certain how you're seeing that as a slight on the value of my word. I was only expressing that I would not give you a life boon's worth of favor for calling in a Major."


    He shrugged his shoulders at the commentary of the Prince's moving targets. "Perhaps we can delve into those feelings a bit later after the intended discussion? We are in agreement as soon as you hit send." He drinks the last of martini before sliding the glass to the edge of the table.


    Blood Hunt:

  6. #26
    Garrett Prosper's Avatar

    Supplicant of Terror
    Presence
    (Gregarious)
    Garrett Prosper

    4
    PRE

    Jacque's clarification was appreciated: was he worried Prosper was going to somehow use a Major to force him to attack the Prince?

    "I took what you were saying as: 'you can take my Boon, but you cannot use it if it displeases Alessandra'. Which I, in turn, felt was silly, because I cannot anticipate what would displease Alessandra, and your prestation has nothing to do with her in the eyes of a Harpy. No worries, Jack. I did not intend on using a Boon to have you attack someone for me, and now with a Minor that would be a ridiculous anyway," he said evenly. "If anyone ever tries to abuse your debt in such a manner, you inform the Harpy." The alteration was made to indicate Jack's request of pronoun and downgraded to an exchange of Minors.

    Once the Ventrue gives the thumbs up, he sends it to him with Rebecca Simmons CC'd.

  7. #27
    Jacque's Avatar
    Jack
    Striking Looks
    (Handsome)
    Presence
    (Credence)
    Mask of Tranquility
    New Identity
    (Alexander Krait)
    Resources
    Jacque
    Behavior

    Goes by Jack.

    Educated, scholarly, lawyer, scientist.
    Jack's outward demeanor and tone are a baseline of respectful and calculated.

    He actively debates, persuades, negotiates and even at time tries to intimidate, as core skills of any lawyer worth his salt.

    +1
    SL
    4
    PRE

    He chuckled. His words were again seeming to be misunderstood. This time it didn't matter and he simply nodded to let the message fly.

    "Let's see, I was born in France during the Winter of nineteen twenty-four. My namesake as I'm told was because the nurses told my mother that 'Jack Frost must have kissed my eyes'." The Lord chuckles quietly to himself. "I don't remember much about my father. I know he was American and he wasn't around long. He returned to France in search of my mother after the conclusion of the first world war, he made a small family and some short years after found himself another French girl to fancy."

    "You don't live well in a small commune with such scandalous gossip, so she took me and my siblings and immigrated to England where we started a new future. With a significant amount of homeschooling, that lasted about a decade and we shipped off to America for better opportunities." He chuckles ruefully, "Out of all the habits and knowledge she instilled on me.... reading the newspaper was never one of them. I was enrolled in high school, then graduated early and jumped directly into Stanford within only a couple of years. My mother left us in the care of one of her friends while she returned to our homeland."

    "She never returned, but through that friend and college rumblings I heard more and more about the unrest in Europe. At the time, I was too young to appreciate the scope of the problem growing overseas. I was almost sixteen when the drafts started, and a year later was Pearl Harbor. There was a tremendous sense of pride and unification in country. I remember turning eighteen and eagerly waiting for my summons to do my part in service to my country. I kept to my studies waiting for the inevitable day that never came." Shaking his head, "It wasn't until some years after the war that I finally discovered that I was never called upon because I was never in the damn draft pool. We were all undocumented overstays and my mother had deported voluntarily so that the government wouldn't find us when they came looking for her."

    Tilting his hand over while resting his gaze on Garrett, "So you want to know what you're dealing with with me. I'm old enough to recognize the eternity that is our curse. My eternity is feeling the weight of shame for being an unwitting draft dodger. No matter how many lifetimes I'll walk the nights, that will always be my greatest embarrassment. That makes Pride is a tricky thing for me as very few can claim a right to judge me harsher than I already do myself."

    "I've subsequently never been in war, nor negotiated for my life, never lost control and I've never experienced the sleep or Fog that goes with it." He drags his finger along the edge of the table, "I've also not experienced the sunrise or sunset since my danse began some sixty odd years ago. Command over animals I presume? Or did the Dragons conquer another significant aspect of the curse?" he asked with a glimmer of curiosity.

    "I coped with my shame by delving into studies even further, ironically calling forth the idiom of being a Jack of all trades, master of few. When I started running out of avenues of new knowledge to pursue, the weight of my past continued to grow on my shoulders. It was by some chance encounter that I met my Sire and through several conversations he embraced me somewhere in my thirties. He stuck around long enough to teach me how to honor the traditions and protect the first but he too vanished after only a few years." he shrugged, his eyes glancing briefly to the door in anticipation of that next round of drinks.


    Blood Hunt:

  8. #28
    Garrett Prosper's Avatar

    Supplicant of Terror
    Presence
    (Gregarious)
    Garrett Prosper

    4
    PRE

    Garrett listens with more attention than usual, not blinking as much as he should while the fidgeting halted. When the hostess returned, he simply requested straight whiskey while waiting for Jacque to bounce his own preference and digest the information in the small handful of minutes it took for the kine-enforced interlude.

    "You are a unicorn?" he blurted, snorting with amusement at himself. "Forgive me, that was rude. When someone tells me they have been dead for sixty years and have never Frenzied baffles me, so perhaps you have been touched by God," or delusional, but truthfulness came in shades when it came to how one viewed themselves and attached relevant experiences.

    "Aside from your Embrace, obviously," he said, casually. It wasn't in his nature to pounce on low hanging fruit, perhaps Jacque was just embarrassed by the fact or conveniently forgot. The ladder concept made him a little jealous. "I did not mean to needle at that specific button, but I will say now with context that I was not looking to shame or belittle your lack of service. I witnessed the culture of recruitment, but...it likely paved your ability to maintain your calm with the Curse. That is just my take, anyway," he shrugged. Was he seriously that much of a sheltered book worm that the Second World War flew right over his head? Garrett couldn't fathom it; being at the epicenter.

    The fact that he was motivated by twin factors of guilt over losing a chance to prove himself, tied with the uncontrolled abandonment of both parental figures explained his interest with trying to be everyone's friend. Garrett wasn't a psychologist, but the connections were rapid with his bloodline and focus. He wasn't sure if the Ordo Dracul would have simply fed into his feelings of inadequacy, being a flimsy platform to withstand the psychological and physical torture involved with forcing Change. Lets hope Derek doesn't lose himself, he sighed inwardly. Lina's rapid recruitment of wayward Kindred rubbed him the wrong way, sometimes. Her ambition and blunt perspective in being a prodigy blinded her to how corrosive self doubt was to the spirit. Blackbird was a hard lesson.

    "There are specific studies geared towards overcoming aspects of Topor," he explained to Jacque, throwing him a bone. He had already explained that was his specific area of interest.

    The leave of the Sire after strangely loose expectations from a Lord hammered home the lack of support systems. "Huh. You have been extremely fortunate to have avoided any unpleasantness so far. Well, in the sense of things beyond psychological setbacks. That is more than a blessing than anything else, the gap just becomes obvious when you try and bridge to the harder histories. You will find most Kindred will actually enjoy that about you, most of this is a flash in the pan." He would have done better as a Mekhet, but then Kindred kept telling Garrett would have done better as a Ventrue. Fate was a funny thing.

  9. #29
    Jacque's Avatar
    Jack
    Striking Looks
    (Handsome)
    Presence
    (Credence)
    Mask of Tranquility
    New Identity
    (Alexander Krait)
    Resources
    Jacque
    Behavior

    Goes by Jack.

    Educated, scholarly, lawyer, scientist.
    Jack's outward demeanor and tone are a baseline of respectful and calculated.

    He actively debates, persuades, negotiates and even at time tries to intimidate, as core skills of any lawyer worth his salt.

    +1
    SL
    4
    PRE

    The hostess placed her two glasses on the table and then nodded at Garrett's request, the door locking behind her as she swiftly left the room.

    Jacque grins at Garrett's amusement, "I'm sure you've caught on that I'm not that easily offended. I simply like to point out when things are not appropriate. That being said, there is nothing to forgive. I have felt the beast, closer than comfortable plenty of times but never lost control. I spent a great many years staying under the radar, watching my mortal ties age and return to the ground. I thought at some point early on I could cure the negative aspects of our condition. I carefully tested and observed and analyzed. That could have lent itself well to knowing my limits without crossing the threshold."

    The waitress returned, and after Jacque pressed the button to allow her access she quickly placed the Savage's requested drink in front of him before again leaving the room and the door locking behind her. It seemed Vivian York had instructed swift service of her guests. He'd have to make a point to thank her later.

    "I remember you mentioning that study during our last talk. I was more curious about you watching the sunrise." It was still fascinating how they worked to pick and manipulate specific parts of the Beast, but it always seemed to fall short of fully remedying it. Day walking would be quite major though.

    "I adapted to the situation the best I could. I learned to hide my Beast to not provoke responses from other predators and kept to myself mostly. Sacramento was a significant change of pace for me." He pauses to sip from his new drink, "So, how exactly do you recommend I proceed to have less of these types of spats, insults and misunderstandings and more of what you'll say I'll find Kindred will enjoy?"


    Blood Hunt:

  10. #30
    Garrett Prosper's Avatar

    Supplicant of Terror
    Presence
    (Gregarious)
    Garrett Prosper

    4
    PRE

    That wasn't how Frenzy worked, per say, but Jacque wasn't privy to two centuries of studies like members of Prosper's order. One couldn't just predict the slip; a simple cough of a cigarette lighter or a snide remark from a competitor could set off an older vampire sometimes. No one was ever in complete control of their emotion or physical state, that wasn't how the world worked, that wasn't how the Curse worked. It was something Kindred society has been fighting against for centuries, and why the secrets of the Dragons were held with such fascination. To wish one could simply live like a Kine and keep to themselves to never feel the Beast was the dream of a Fledgling. But, the Lord could continue living in that comfort if he chose to; the Savage wasn't his Sire. As he admitted, he simply lacked tempering, and apparently had the luck of some kind of favoured chosen of Fate.

    "Ah. That is hard to put into words...another time, maybe?" Garrett said, brow furrowing. He wasn't sure how to connect with this Kindred, and parse what it was like to experience the shock of a condition that was so unnatural at this point. Jacque's perspective was distinctly alien and completely different from his own.

    "I think you just need to start talking to Kindred you get into disagreements with, like they are another person, rather than lapsing into citation. I am not sure if you have photographic memory? Speaking to another as if you are in a debate has its place, I am just not sure if you have the...social experience of when that works in your favour or not?" At this point Garrett was clearly stumped. He didn't teach etiquette: he was a Gangrel. It was beat into him with raw failures and weighted consequence. Jacque had just told him he had not failed enough to really know where to start. Garrett couldn't tell him to just pray his allies kept him shielded from harm when retribution was unavoidable, or allow small failures to knock some experience into him before it really mattered.

    "I do not know what else to tell you that others have not already. I already explained that at some point you just need to decide what hill you wish to die on. I do not know how to tell you how I can move between monsters and balance on that razor's edge; it has been a part of my personality as long as I can remember, Jack. I made mistakes and learned from them. You seem to insist a mistake does not exist, and everyone else is in the wrong, so why bother worrying about it? Unless you are prepared to say you fucked up. But you do not, you think everyone else is crazy. I cannot force that cultural bridge to happen for you."

    He blinked, "How do I put this...if I were to focus my blood once more, I naturally carry the capacity to win a room in the same manner that the Daeva do? Not that I have really...needed it," he explained, trying to convey the nature of his upbringing, "I have not had your issue. When I lost an argument, there was consequences, and when I won, there sometimes still was. It really just came down to getting hurt sometimes, and learning where the invisible line falls. If I decide to bait Garcia into an argument because I am bored, that is the gamble I choose to take. If I piss off the Prince because of a slight I do not really comprehend, instead of arguing I offer her a Boon appropriate to the offense, because she is Invictus. I think your intent is consistently misinterpreted, but you do not know how to convey it once you are put on the defensive? Maybe? And I think you take great offense to that and stand your ground because you are worried about the bullying increasing. Thing is: Kindred stop once they have won, or if they continue, the rest of the Court turns on them for being shitty." He bites his tongue. Normally the Keeper or the Harpy would be in charge of such measures.

    "It might just be the fact that the way you speak sometimes inherently comes off as void of charisma. You have an honest air about you. So, when you dismiss someone's experience as just simply wrong, it creates the situation that you are now fighting the stacked offense that you are now condescending. You also do not have the position of rapport that gives weight to your authority on the matter. You have the Prince's ear? The Seneschal likes you. You should be fine," he shrugged a shoulder with a slight frown. Asking a Kindred whose bloodline was literally known for being social creatures of instinct felt like a dog asking a cat about their perspective on catching birds. How did a cat teach a dog their natural agility?

    I am good to start wrapping this Scene!

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