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championoftime

21 July 2011 @ 02:11 pm

[Audio]

[Private to Mozenrath]

I have something I want to discuss with you.

Mr. Nygma approached me on wanting you to take a truth serum. I volunteered to gauge the truth myself psychically. [So much brain touching. He's been doing so much brain touching lately. He's going to have to wash his mind out again.] I've discussed it with your warden, and he's willing if you are. But only if you are and I'd much rather talk about it in person with him present.

[Private to Narvin]

We need to do that matter with Arthas. Tonight. I need the distraction and I'm not in a mood to have him trifle with me. You'll be safe enough. [Tiny pissy man is tiny and pissy.]

[Private to Arthas]

You've an appointment with the Doctor this evening. Let me know when you're in and I'll be about with my lovely nurse.

That sounded far more terrible than I intended. Ignore it. Just be in your cabin and inform me of when the proper hour would be to meet.

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championoftime: 7.2 - panicked motion

championoftime on July 22nd, 2011 06:43 am (UTC)
Order Narvin | Arthas | Doctor?

I'll be along shortly with Narvin, then.

[And he will be, with said little evil bureaucrat in tow.]

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Narvinektralonum: nervous

timesbureaucrat on July 22nd, 2011 07:06 am (UTC)
Order Narvin | Arthas | Doctor

[Narvin has met up with the Doctor so the two wee Time Lords converge on Arthas' rooms together. Narvin raps on Arthas' door with a loudness born of fake confidence, then steps away (and slightly behind the Doctor). He can't quite tamp down all his fear.]

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Arthas Menethil: cowl

darknessb4me on July 22nd, 2011 07:22 am (UTC)
soundz good

[The door on most days would open more dramatically, but this time it just swings on its hinges to reveal a sullen Arthas, clearly none-too-comfortable in his borrowed modern clothes. The room behind him is an empty white cube. Someone pissed off the Admiral. He doesn't step aside immediately, instead cocking his head at Narvin inquisitively.]

Oh. I know you.

[After that, which apparently passes for a greeting, he backs into the room to let both Time Lords in and takes a seat on the floor.]

Furniture is gone.

[In case you didn't notice.]

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championoftime: 7.2 - do you believe all this?

championoftime on July 22nd, 2011 07:30 am (UTC)
[Spam]

[He glances over his shoulder incredulously at the oh so brave Narvin, but he looks into the room, though.

It reminds him of a Zero room! That's comfy. And at least between the lot of them Arthas is probably the most sensible at the moment.]

Well, we'll make due, won't we? So, we were thinking of a rather simple starter. One of us gives you a command. Sit. Stand. Raise your hand. That sort of thing. All with a psychic push and the other directs you on resisting it.

Edited 2011-07-22 07:30 am (UTC)

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Narvinektralonum: stripe

timesbureaucrat on July 22nd, 2011 07:51 am (UTC)
[Spam]

[There's something vaguely ego-shattering every time Arthas only barely remembers him. Intellectually, he knows that Arthas has killed thousands of people and it's not surprising that his death doesn't stand out. But in his hearts (or his ego), it's off-putting that he was *that* unmemorable.]

It might be a little disconcerting or unpleasant being psychic commanded, doing things you didn't authorize your body to do...but do try not to kill us.

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Arthas Menethil: stark

darknessb4me on July 22nd, 2011 08:03 am (UTC)
[Spam]

[There's a SUSPICIOUSLY LONG PAUSE here.]

Yeah.

[He's not looking at either of them and he's slowly flexing his hands and re-curling them. This is ...nervousness, actually. But he's working not to let that be apparent.]

What do I do? Just resist it?

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championoftime: 7.2 - intense glare

championoftime on July 22nd, 2011 08:09 am (UTC)
[Spam]

[He notices the flexing and keeps an eye on it, and while he's willing to get closer to Arthas, he also keeps himself sort-of-between him and Narvin.] It's more difficult than resisting it. Say... if you were told by me to "raise your hand" with no pressure behind the words- there was none then -you shouldn't especially feel the need to.

But if there's influence it'll feel as if you came up with the idea yourself.

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Narvinektralonum: contemplative

timesbureaucrat on July 22nd, 2011 08:19 am (UTC)
[Spam]

[Narvin is happy to keep the Doctor between them for now.]

When fighting against the more skilled psychic influences, the first and sometimes most difficult step is simply consciously recognizing that there is indeed an outside influence meddling with your mind.

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Arthas Menethil: collar

darknessb4me on July 22nd, 2011 08:24 am (UTC)
[Spam]

[Arthas just shakes his head faintly through all of this, though he's not really sure what he's disagreeing with. His stomach had immediately flopped at - "you came up with the idea yourself." Because no he didn't want that to happen again, not having any idea how much of himself was real and how much was seamlessly added in by something else that wanted to hurt people-

His voice comes out cold and clipped.]

That's not always going to be possible outside of a controlled situation like this one.

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championoftime: 7.2 - sideglance

championoftime on July 22nd, 2011 08:32 am (UTC)
[Spam]

And that's why you learn in the controlled situation.

Do you recall learning to write as a child, Arthas? The way you had to train your hand to move, letter by letter? Over and over until you could make it legibly?

And then, from there, you had to learn how to spell with those letters? It did get easier. But it's not something we may instantly provide you with.

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Arthas Menethil: silent

darknessb4me on July 22nd, 2011 08:39 am (UTC)
[Spam]

Don't actually remember a lot before age fifteen or so. I don't imagine I'd have had a lot of patience for it, though.

[That's about as neutral a tone as you can get.]

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Narvinektralonum: hmm

timesbureaucrat on July 22nd, 2011 08:47 am (UTC)
[Spam]

Patience will be necessary for this. But humans are one of the more psychically adept races in the universe. And your mind is still human. With a bit of diligence, you should be able to learn to recognize the taste...[not quite the right sense]...the sensation of most types of psychic intrusion even during a crisis.

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Arthas Menethil: beyond this place

darknessb4me on July 22nd, 2011 08:51 am (UTC)
[Spam]

[There's a short, ironic bark of laughter at the idea that his mind is still human and he stands.]

Fine. Which of you is going to push first?

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championoftime: 7.2 - determination

championoftime on July 22nd, 2011 09:05 am (UTC)
[Spam]

He is. But first, he's going to say it without doing it. And then with doing it. Pay extremely close attention.

[And his eyes drift from watching Arthas's face back to his hands.]

You may find you also enjoy the sound of his voice more. For no other reason than suddenly you want to hear it, though it's not actually changed.

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Narvinektralonum: i can kill u with my brain

timesbureaucrat on July 22nd, 2011 09:21 am (UTC)
[Spam]

[He has a sudden, fleeting temptation to make Arthas dance ballet, or cluck like a chicken or some other petty jibe. But that would be counter-productive. And he's just been talking to the Doctor about how the revenge should stop. He should heed his own words.]

Arthas, raise your right hand. [Said without any psychic push behind the words. Just ordinary sounds, vowels and consonants. Then he swallows once, nervously, takes a deep breath, and focuses his mind.]

Arthas, raise your right hand. [This time the words aren't just heard but also planted directly into Arthas' mind as he says them, making them Arthas' own thoughts as well as Narvin's.]

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Arthas Menethil: stark

darknessb4me on July 22nd, 2011 09:30 am (UTC)
[Spam]

[And the hand goes up just like that. Arthas doesn't seem to have noticed it. There's absolutely no psychic resistance at all; it's like electrocuting someone that's already standing in a tub of water.

He puts it down, still apparently unaware anything's happened, but now there's a sort of animal panic in his eyes he's forcibly keeping down. His voice is very tense.]

I was just testing. I did that on my own, it's fine. When- just start the real test, stop fucking around.

[His eyes dart between the two of them.]

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championoftime: 7.2 - peek!

championoftime on July 22nd, 2011 09:37 am (UTC)
[Spam]

[He's afraid, and the Doctor starts listening very close to his intentions, see if the urge for safety moves drastically toward one of destruction.]

No. You knew it happened. A part of you did. Think of when you first started to feel that... irritation, that apprehension. Your mind knew what that was.

[He looks to Narvin, seeing if he's ready to brave another attempt.]

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Narvinektralonum: intense

timesbureaucrat on July 22nd, 2011 11:31 pm (UTC)
[Spam]

[Narvin nods once, although it takes effort not to tremble. He's frighted of Arthas under the best of circumstances. Added to that is his anxiety about direct telepathic contact unmediated by any technology. Plus small scraps of Arthas' own terror leaking through into his mind. They all contribute to an urge to abandon the project and run. But he said he'd do this, so he'll do it.]

Arthas, step backward. [Just words.]

Arthas, step backward. [A psychic command.]

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Arthas Menethil: YOU.

darknessb4me on July 23rd, 2011 12:21 am (UTC)
[Spam]

[If anything, it's easier this time - Arthas steps back instantly and in fact seems to be standing at attention for a moment.]

I ... only heard it once, I can't-

[His neutral expression is cracking into something like desperation.]

I didn't have a choice.

[The way his shoulders curve and he shows his teeth when he says this seems to completely contradict the words.]

Stop looking at me like I'm some kind of rabid animal you can't keep a leash on.

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championoftime: 7.2 - investigating

championoftime on July 23rd, 2011 01:52 am (UTC)
[Spam]

You're not going to notice if you're panicking. [The Doctor made a slight gesture, just indicating for him to settle down.]

We'll wait until you've settled to try again.

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Narvinektralonum: troubled

timesbureaucrat on July 23rd, 2011 03:26 am (UTC)
[Spam]

I'm not staring at you. [He says to Arthas, although his eyes are wide with barely-suppressed fear and his voice is getting increasingly clipped and higher pitched.] And I'm not panicking! [He says to the Doctor. Then realizes that the Doctor wasn't talking to him (probably) and looks away in embarrassment. He takes a deep breath and weaves a few extra partitions in his mind.]

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Arthas Menethil: tch

darknessb4me on July 23rd, 2011 04:37 am (UTC)
[Spam]

You're both just-

[He suddenly starts pacing rapidly back and forth along the back wall. Pent-up fight-or-flight with no outlet.]

I bet you think this is funny. I'm not panicking. I don't panic. I do things. If there's a problem, I take care of it.

[He's addressing either thin air or one of the walls at this point.]

Try it again.

Edited 2011-07-23 04:37 am (UTC)

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championoftime: 7.2 - so do you want to have lunch

championoftime on July 23rd, 2011 05:36 am (UTC)
[Spam]

Arthas, if I were looking for a little petty, vindictive amusement it quite honestly wouldn't be at your expense. And you are panicking. That's why you do things. But while he is concerned for his welfare- [he thumbs over his shoulder at Narvin] -a sword or anything else absent a body to fret over won't be so responsive.

If he tries again, he'll put a bigger space between them. That way you can really wait for a change and consider what's happening. Can you do that?

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Narvinektralonum: contrast

timesbureaucrat on July 23rd, 2011 05:59 am (UTC)
[Spam]

[Narvin has calmed himself now. Partitioned away the memories of bleeding out in a stairwell and put extra barriers between his mind and Arthas' so they don't create a feedback loop of fear.]

Whenever you're ready, Arthas.

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Arthas Menethil: snarl

darknessb4me on July 23rd, 2011 06:05 am (UTC)
[Spam]

[Something about being the only nerve-wracked person in the room any more makes him grind his teeth.]

I wouldn't have come here if I wasn't ready. Just go.

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championoftime on July 23rd, 2011 06:10 am (UTC) Expand

timesbureaucrat on July 23rd, 2011 06:28 am (UTC) Expand

darknessb4me on July 23rd, 2011 07:06 am (UTC) Expand

championoftime on July 23rd, 2011 07:12 am (UTC) Expand

[Spam] (TENSES BAH!) -

timesbureaucrat on July 23rd, 2011 07:38 am (UTC) Expand

darknessb4me on July 23rd, 2011 08:01 am (UTC) Expand

timesbureaucrat on July 23rd, 2011 08:22 am (UTC) Expand

[Spam] this is totally karma for arthas -

darknessb4me on July 23rd, 2011 08:47 am (UTC) Expand

championoftime on July 23rd, 2011 09:04 am (UTC) Expand

timesbureaucrat on July 23rd, 2011 09:14 am (UTC) Expand

darknessb4me on July 23rd, 2011 09:42 am (UTC) Expand

championoftime on July 25th, 2011 05:54 am (UTC) Expand

timesbureaucrat on August 4th, 2011 04:05 am (UTC) Expand

darknessb4me on August 5th, 2011 06:36 pm (UTC)