Event | Turtle Dive | January 16 - 19 | Everything's better down where it's wetter~

[hazelwood]

Characters: Any and all PCs, plus an offering of Lieuen
Date: January 16th - 19th
Location: All Sectors
Situation: Tu Vishan begins to dive to the ocean floor and the city of Keeliai seems unbothered by the process. Bonfire funtimes are made available to all!
Warnings/Rating: Underwater situations; to be updated as noted

>See the comments of this post for various situations and areas available for tagging.
>Each header will be set for a date and/or area.
>A unique thread under the bonfires is available for discussions with Lieuen, should there be interested parties.
>Feel free to start your own header for specific situations.
>Refer to the two OOC posts for further details. 01 | 02

Comments

[tuskenlancer]

No, you're a businessman and politician and lawyer. Who decides what proper observation is? You? Does the local population even understand what some of these drugs can do?

[She shakes her head, still hostile and clearly full of suspicion. Too bad for him if he doesn't want her to interrogate him - as far as she's concerned, someone has to.]

Regulation - oversight - is in place for a reason. And it's no good if the people helping make the regulations, the experts in the field, are the same people who are profiting from the business.

[She looks him straight in the eye, refusing to back down.]

People, or person.

[cowled]

The Emperor, if you care to be specific.

[But his tone is staying perfectly mild, because this is Batman we're talking about and frankly arguing like this is the least of his concerns.]

I cater specifically to the foreigners, people who have experience and exposure to what my company provides. I'm not flinging drugs into the street for the kedan to pick up at their leisure. Do you honestly think that anyone in their right mind would undergo an endeavour like this without proper safeties and protocols in place? Kedan physiology is far too complex to even begin to know how something as simple as asprin could affect them. My business is entirely transparent. If you'd like a tour of the facilities, copies of the paperwork, conversations with the local authorities as to the steps we're taking, you are more than welcome to them.

[tuskenlancer]

You're the one consulting with her. Telling everyone what needs to be done. What regulations are necessary.

[CT, on the other hand, is all over this. If she takes him at his word, he's covering all the bases. Most people wouldn't even bother to talk with the Emperor and make sure all the regulations were in place, not if they could avoid it. She shudders to think of what the Director would do in a place like this, with no oversight or accountability whatsoever.

And that thought, that firsthand knowledge that yes, there certainly are people with zero regard for safety or protocol, people who would take the opportunity for all it's worth without sparing a second thought for who might get hurt along the way - that's what makes her scoff openly at Bruce's question, staring at him in disbelief.]

In their right mind? Maybe not. But that doesn't mean there aren't people who would. People who do stupid, dangerous, illegal things every day, who - who get people hurt and killed because no one's watching them closely enough. Because they can and they don't care who gets hurt.

How do I know you're not one of those people?

[cowled]

I think you're giving me too much credit. The Emperor is by no means a pedestrian individual. She knew exactly the sort of regulations to apply to this sort of business without my having to offer input.

[And Bruce doesn't particularly like that, but at least she seems to have no idea of his alter ego.]

You don't know. Not for certain, and frankly given your attitude I doubt I could convince you one way or another.

[Bruce pauses a moment to take a drink, which he then cups between his hands.]

So. Come and work for me. Watch me yourself.

[tuskenlancer]

[What. Did she hear him right.

CT stares at him, unable to quite believe her ears.]

Work for you.

Work for you? Are you serious?

[And just in case her attitude wasn't coming through clearly enough on its own -]

You can't possibly think I'd fall for that.

[cowled]

Fall for... what exactly?

[The furrow between his brows is completely genuine, as far as Bruce Wayne-isms go.]

[tuskenlancer]

Work for you.

[no dude don't tell her you don't get this.]

Get put on the Wayne payroll. Sign the NDA, join the club, drink the kool-aid. Make your self-interest my own. Lose all objectivity.

[She snorts, and shakes her head, leaning back defiantly.]

Haven't you ever heard of a conflict of interest? I'm not putting myself in that position again. Don't insult me by asking.

[cowled]

[EYEBROW RAISE... no he's still pretty bewildered.]

I'm not meaning to be insulting. I understand your concerns and I'd like to do whatever's in my power to allay them.

[tuskenlancer]

[No, apparently he doesn't understand anything at all. CT gives him her most scathing look, not having any of it.]

Maybe this isn't within your power.

[cowled]

[The look he gives her is... not necessarily calculating, but it does show that he's listening. That he's been listening. And then he simply nods.]

All right. Not all things are. But I am sorry you feel that way, and if there's anything I can do you need only ask.

[He shifts his attention out over the gathered crowds.]

I don't believe I've gotten your name.

[tuskenlancer]

[There's still something about him that rubs her the wrong way - something about his attitude, how he refuses to rise to her even when she's telling him off. She's pretty sure she's never going to ask him for anything, but at least he's not acting like he has all the answers to everything anymore.

She shrugs - now that Carolina's gone, there's no need to hide who she is, and she doesn't hesitate to use her real name - or at least the most real one she has now.]

CT.

[cowled]

Like the State?

[He's actually making a joke.]

[tuskenlancer]

Yes.

[She looks back at him, perfectly serious.]

[cowled]

Is that where you're from?

[Sure he'll pretend obliviousness.]

[tuskenlancer]

No.

[Still completely serious and humorless, shaking her head slightly.]

I'm from Rhode Island.

[cowled]

I've been there several times on business. A decent place.

[He leans back a little on the bench he's on, takes a slow sip from his cup of cider.]

As much as everyone expects me to be a fan of the big cities, I find I actually prefer mountains more than anything, though.

[tuskenlancer]

[CT makes a face, wrinkling her nose slightly and shaking her head.]

They look nice, but they're too cold.

[cowled]

[He nearly froze to death on a mountain once, when he was younger than she is now. And so, it earns a laugh.]

You think? I find the cold rather exhilarating. In the right circumstances, of course.

[tuskenlancer]

[CT just shakes her head again. She's still eyeing him warily - she may not be yelling at him anymore, but she still doesn't entirely trust him, or anything close.]

What circumstances?

[cowled]

[He leans a little to her side, as if he's about to share some Great Conspiratorial Secret.]

I'm quite the experienced mountaineer. It's... an incredible experience, to watch the sunrise from the top of a mountain on a nice, brisk morning.

[... pause.]

Of course, that could be the decreased oxygen levels playing havoc with my brain chemistry.

[tuskenlancer]

[She nods slowly, her expression still thoughtful and serious.]

I wouldn't be surprised if it was.

[And her tone is so flat and dry, it's impossible to tell if she means it or not.]

[cowled]

[He laughs.]

Are you always this hostile, Miss Connecticut?

[tuskenlancer]

[CT scowls. That's one of those questions that's impossible to answer, like you don't talk much, do you?

She glances down at her lap, hands fidgeting despite herself.]

Not always.

[cowled]

Just around arrogant billionaires?

[Hm. The fidgeting is an interesting point, further driving home the fact that she uses her hostility as a sort of shield. Actively meant to deter people.

But the passion with which she'd responded to his admission of what he does here...

She's been used in the past for an agenda not her own. The experience sat poorly with her. But she's young, and like the young she only knows how to lash out to keep people at bay. Being as he is, Bruce has found, is a far more efficient method. Lashing out lets people know you're hiding pain. Playing the profligate tends to create the assumption you don't feel it at all.]

[tuskenlancer]

[And CT, despite how perceptive she's capable of being, has fallen for Bruce's act. She's getting no impression of understanding from him. An arrogant billionare, yes - not completely selfish, perhaps, but almost entirely clueless, all the same.

Still, no one likes being accused of hostility. She presses her hands together to keep them still, lips in a thin line as she studies him.]

What do you think?