curiously | open rp post

[ Midwich in a trial is ... frustrating, but acceptable. Lots of corners, lots of high places. Lots of ways to stalk and sneak and spy, to render people defenseless, to cut them down. And with only so many ways between the two floors, it's hard to pull off a rescue in a hurry. He'd like it a lot more, particularly the atmosphere, if it wasn't for the memories of his attempts to flee the fucking place while being chased by its usual occupant.

Danny laughs a little, very short and sharp, when she stays on Legion. Which is ideal, so he's not particularly dismissive of it. He turns her recorder in his hand and stops just off to her right, considering the possibilities of what Legion really needs. ]

They wouldn't. They know I'd use it against them. Information is a valuable thing to have, and they might not be the sharpest knives in the drawer, but they're not stupid. [ Not stupid enough to give him any secrets without a fight, anyway. ] They rely on each other for everything. They're all they have - and that's a lot more than most of us can say. Of course, most of the rest of us aren't exactly sociable.

[ Danny being a primary exception, and even then, he's not exactly social. Just nosy and prying. It's not just survivors who have to deal with his intrusive nature. ]

You could always offer to listen in. Though they might not trust you, either, considering you're a journalist, too.

[ joey comes to mind a second time as she recalls everything they've spoken about so far, how remembering the offer of fresh pizza that comes by so rarely has her smiling even with the ghost face in front of her; zarina compares and contrasts information given and information already known to her. perhaps she's on the right track by comparison if jed says that they aren't as kind to survivors.

they're just kids, after all. even though they dig a knife into her body until she's on a hook or dies by too many stab wounds — it's always what she thought about the legion. not that jed knows that, not that he will know that now when she plans on visiting ormond later and seeing things for herself. zarina can't let him know when she plans to scope the resort out.

hopefully it isn't frank or julie at home. ]

Maybe when they aren't in the mood to kill me on sight. [ the smile still on her face, but this time less of being fond and more of knowing. ] I'd be surprised if any of them would grant me an audience like you did. Interviews are hard to get these days, I'm sure you can tell.

[ there are plenty of other killers she wants answers from, digging into their past not to use it against them but simply to see how and why they turn out the way they do. like the hillbilly, the wraith — is he around? is he watching them or in a trial? — and the nurse. her many visits to the asylum barely gives her any answer. ]

I've got to ask: Aside from the Legion, have you made any "friends" around here, too?

[ zarina says the word friends like how they use it to explain his former co-workers back in philadelphia. no one at the campfire likes him, so what are the chances that any of the killers like him? ]

Is that ever not the mood?

[ Sometimes, he knows. They have their moments of peace, their times when they're actually having fun outside a trial. When the bloodlust is sated or just going ignored. He catches the recorder between two fingers and tilts it, letting it hang precariously like he's about to let it hit the ground. ]

If you phrase it like you just really want to know, they might give in. Things that might scare the other survivors, you could say. Once they get on a given topic, they might start being a little looser with their words.

[ Which Danny would love to say he never does, but the fact of the matter is that he gets careless when he's angry, or too self-satisfied, or if he's flattered enough. It was something he'd learned to restrain back in the world, but here, where that sort of self-control isn't nearly as necessary? It's not exactly infrequent.

Zarina's question doesn't get him moving again, but he does smile under the mask. It's another leading question, one that a simple and thoughtless answer given could fucker him over, and so he considers how to answer without actively lying. No point in doing that unless it's absolutely necessary, after all; the truth is dangerous and damaging enough sometimes. ]

Some. [ Very detailed. But that's the whole point, really. To be infuriating. ] Not many. My ... colleagues aren't particularly fond of my tendency to sneak around on their property and take pictures of them that they weren't expecting. But they're almost as interesting as all of you. Why wouldn't I take my chances learning about them, when there's no real consequences for getting caught?

[ Death not being permanent, though he's not fond of the pain. Of course, the invasive nature of his work isn't the only reason some of them dislike him, but if Zarina wants that information she can find the right ones and ask herself. ]

[ did jed just give away a how to? perhaps it's a tactic that works with some killers that won't push her away after a question — or if they won't raise their weapon after a single word in the first place. there are, of course, exceptions like the man behind the white halloween mask, but there are also those who would rather devour her organs before anything else.

(zarina wonders now and then if the hag is starved prior to being sent to a trial with how much blood she drinks off sharp claws. how cruel of the entity.)

a raise of her bow; how unsurprising to hear that the ghost face takes pictures of other killers — she does the same thing when given the chance, along with video clips considering the technology her camera has — though she wonders how much of their privacy he invades and how often. if his words are to be trusted then he certainly has favorites... right? he says some for a reason. ]

Don't suppose you have some of those pictures right now, do you?

[ curiosity, of course, conquers everything else. it conquers the fear of being killed over an interview. it conquers the fear of the unknown when she travels to the prison for her research.

what kind of pictures did jed olsen take of the killers, zarina wonders. maybe there's a web to find. ]

[ If Zarina wants to risk her life on his advice and try to chat with - or interview - the Legion, he'll gladly let her in on a few secrets and then laugh about it afterward. Besides which, sending her to focus on their secrets for a while doesn't hurt. He wants the attention, but if she digs too deep, looks for the forbidden things, well ... he's not about to let that slide. Better to redirect her attention to other people, and wring any new information out of her later.

Her question, though, has him turning to face her, considering his options. And her options, too. ]

I've got a few. [ More than a few. He was busy before they started their little chat. But why let her know that? ] But if you want to see some of my work, you're going to have to let me in on another secret. Maybe not so deep and dark this time, since I don't mind showing off, but ... I'm sure you understand.

[ In truth, he'd gladly share a handful with her - not the really condemning or interesting ones, but the simpler ones, the less invasive and secretive ones. None of them like him, and none of them like the survivors; it's almost an enemy of my enemy situation, if the hatred didn't extend to his opinion of the survivors and theirs of him. Still. If it'll get them after the other killers, he's not going to be shy about showing off, like he said.

But he needs to have his requirements, his limits - he doesn't give things away for free unless he wants to get back double later. Watching Zarina closely, he reaches back behind himself, gets his camera and brings it back around front. The silver casing gleams a little dully out here, but it's still the camera that she's seen before more times than she'd probably like - though this time not pointed at her while she dies. ]

[ there is a long, long pause from zarina as she looks towards jed — pictures that he's taken despite her assuming it will never be any of his secrets. they would still be pictures he takes from certain angles that she hopes are new to her, that she hopes to find and figure out his angles and steps... figuring out how and why the ghost face works the way he does has always been a wandering thought to zarina.

what other secrets will she allow herself to speak to him? with certain secrets shelved and away from his sight and the others not hers to give, what else can she offer him? zarina isn't in desperate need of his skills for now.

there isn't a reason to tell jed how her father dies and what she did about it or the other. ]

I don't have anymore secrets to give, or at least the kind of secrets you're into. [ clarification, of course. ] The others I have are from those I interviewed that I haven't slipped into any of my films. Not sure you're into that.

[ zarina kassir is a woman who's met many, many people in her line of work. surely as a journalist, jed understands that — not everyone they interview is a good person with reliable information every time.

the hand with the knife settles down against the hood of the car she sits on, but zarina doesn't let go just yet. ]

Edited (when you miss a bunch of letters to type in) 2021-03-25 01:54 (UTC)

[ He turns on the camera and glances down at the photos on it while he waits for Zarina to reply. Mostly kills. Some things from stalking in trials. More than a handful of shots from stalking outside of them, primarily the other killers, busy with their lives or unlives. Evan resetting traps. Max testing his chainsaw on a dead cow. An almost touching photo of Rin and her great-to-the-nth-power grandfather at the shrine, not talking, just being there. What would she give to have some of these? Would she even care, since they came from him?

But she turns down the opportunity, because the 'kind of secrets he's into' aren't on the table anymore, apparently. She doesn't leave, doesn't hold out his knife, just keeps watching him as he turns his attention back to her, considering a response.

Danny does like to show off. ]

Nothing at all? No little jokes you were going to give me instead of your unfortunate failure to get your first attempt to bring justice to the world? I won't show you anything upsetting, if you were worried about that.

[ Probably. But he means no photos of her dead or dying, or any of the others in the same positions. At least, for now.

Still, he's willing to accept an end. This was valuable on its own, and now that he's proven he can avoid burying his knife in her chest in favor of a conversation, maybe this can happen again. Little meetings, little encounters. Little trades. Until one day she's giving away too much, and he's still got all his own secrets. ]

[ little jokes — the slightest view of a grin appears that's accompanies by a slight chuckle creeping from her throat, and then a soft sigh follows. ]

It's not that I have interesting secrets that I don't plan on sharing. [ an outright lie. not that jed knows the secrets she hides from him. ] I'm just an open person who would answer a question if asked. And also ask in return.

[ in other words: a simple conversation between people like how zarina initially intends it to be. the trade of valuable information has always been part of her career — payment for results and answers, like how one bribes a guard to look away while she sneaks around taking necessary documents while no one notices. of course, conversation naturally leads to a trade of information.

as a show of good faith — ]

Feel free to ask a question. I probably have an answer for it.

[ zarina already has a plan should he ever ask about her father or if she's in love at least. she always did even before being taken by the entity. ]

[ An open person. A lot of them are, really, but mostly because they lived dull lives with no real secrets to keep. Aside from a handful, and Zarina, he knows, is one of them. Someone like her can't have led a dull life, no matter how hard she might try to paint herself to him as just someone trying to do their best, investigating wrongdoings and only sometimes succeeding. Or at least, that's how he's starting to take it.

No, she's open because she's naturally honest, but even the most honest people hide things. And his life has been spent finding those hidden things, that sense of privacy, and tearing them open. He'll get to the core of her eventually. It's not as if they don't have time.

As for the chance to ask a question ... he pauses, considers it, watching her from a still position not far from where she's sitting. He slips his camera away but keeps her recorder in his hand, still visible, and he's still considering turning it on just so she has a reminder that she agreed to chat with him, which she might regret in the future. Once he gets someone in his head, they generally never leave. ]

How about ... who's your favorite killer to deal with? I know we're all the nightmares that would haunt you if you could ever sleep, but some of them must make you sigh with relief instead of trying to find someplace to hide.

[ He knows she won't say him. He has a few suspicions of his own. But even if she doesn't have an answer, the way she responds will be enough information for him. Mostly this is just curiosity, but there's always a way to use information, no matter how useless it seems at first. Even the little things can turn out to be critical at the end of the day. ]

[ her favorite killer to deal with isn't even caleb when they have to argue in the end depending on what happens, but already another comes to mind in an instant as she lets out a smile. ]

The Nurse. I've seen how she's killed people when not sacrificing them. [ the way she closes her eyes, the lack of blood — ] It's like she gives us mercy over enjoying bloodshed — makes me think that she still has a certain amount of humanity left despite what the Entity changed her into.

[ because everyone — besides the demogorgon — was a human being. is a human being. some are unrepentant, but not irredeemable unlike the ones she can count in her hand. zarina already wonders who would can be redeemed by the time everyone is able to escape.

it would prove that they changed, right? or given a second chance. ]

How about you, but a survivor?

[ Zarina's answer genuinely surprises him, but he doesn't show it, other than another slight tilt of the head. Sally's never been anyone's favorite that he's known of, being about as dangerous and determined as any of the rest of them ... but the logic is sound, and from what Danny knows, it's not that far off the mark.

Or at least, the bit about not enjoying the bloodshed as much. There's only so much of her left that's human. Her mind is so far from its anchor that it seems like only suffering draws her back into herself - or drags, as the case may be. ]

That's something to think about.

[ It's his only response to that; he was honestly expecting her to say Philip, or Caleb, or try to be cute and say him knowing there's no possible way he would ever be anyone's favorite for any reason. Her return question, almost a challenge, makes him hmm to himself, taking her recorder in both hands where she can see it. ]

You're all fascinating in different ways. I can't pick just one. [ Which is not as far from the truth as it could be, and the way he says it is almost genuine enough to believe. ] You're near the top of the list, of course. Jane. Nancy. Yui. Dwight can be fun to have in a trial, at least up to a point.

[ All people who're like him enough to admire, or easy to harass and infuriate. And, of course, the people who he wants to see afraid of him, really afraid. But that's everyone at the end of the day. ]

[ the mention of yui's name has zarina raise a brow. why yui? zarina doesn't know anything about her past beyond a street racer and what kind of person she is to friends. courageous enough to try and save others, just like david and bill and ash.
zarina makes a small mental note to ask yui why the ghost face bothers her. ]

So you bother them, is that right? [ bother, of course, she means in various forms. bother by talking, calling, in trials, texting — the list goes on. ] I'm guessing it's because of the nature of our work.

[ she understands that jane is a star, nancy's a journalist, dwight tends to get caught with one swing of a locker... but, again — ]

Why Yui?

We all know the ups and downs of public media. I'm sure you and Jane would have loved to interview me. Well, maybe not Jane, but if not you then Nancy.

[ Learning about their particular frame of mind when working, how they did their jobs ... it's familiar and unfamiliar all at once, and mostly, yes, he just likes to harass them, so they know even if they'd lived at the same time they wouldn't have ever had a chance to catch him.

Her question narrowing it down to Yui, though, makes him pause. It's in a very same vein as her, just from a different angle. And yet ... ]

Has she told you much about her life before this place? Anything beyond being a biker and a gang leader?

[ Information is his other stock-in-trade around here. It makes life interesting, and his own life a little more valuable (sometimes). There's reasons to lose out on a full four-man kill in a trial - and sometimes, listening is more worthwhile than killing. ]

[ jane and nancy. two people that zarina consider herself close friends with, nancy being the little sister despite the time discrepancy between them — she hasn't even been born yet by the year nancy disappears from hawkins — which is why her brows furrow. she can only imagine the talks he has with the other two if hers is anything to base it on.

the topic at hand, however, is yui: ]

No. I didn't bother her about her past too much, but it certainly sounds like you have.

[ though curious like a cat, zarina would never bother her friends about such sensitive topics. maybe later on when she gets concerned for their well being — if they're feeling off, she would ask what's bothering them and more — but within the first few days? it's tempting, but she considers herself a decent enough person not to snoop into their past.

not yet, that is. ]

Did you?

[ He knows everybody's pasts. Well - not everybody's. Some people just don't talk about them. But everyone who's ever said a word, everyone who's ever confided in another person - he knows those pasts. It's almost uncanny, but that's his second-strongest skill, right after planning and executing a murder.

But to give it away ... well, Zarina's been polite enough, and traded information, and if this gets back around to Yui it's not exactly going to bite him in the ass. He'll give her a freebie for once. It isn't a hugely valuable or dangerous secret to know, after all, and in the end it'll just make him look even more dangerous - or just creepy, since some people seem to think that's a proper description for him. ]

I like finding out about them. Most of you have pretty boring stories to tell, but some - like yours - are worth digging into.

[ He's silent a moment, fingers locked around her recorder. ]

She had a stalker, in her early racing days. Nothing serious right up until he tried to kill her. Apparently I remind her of him. It made her edgy right off the bat, and I can't resist making that kind of thing worse.

[ And making it worse. Her instant, not-exactly-irrational hatred had his attention immediately. Now, when he can't find anyone else to harass and stalk, he does it to her, because she'll react like she's been electrocuted. ]

[ listening to jed talk about how he finds out about everyone's stories — about yui's — and how there are those "worth digging" into only strengthens her resolve on keeping her newfound relationship a secret to the world, but most especially a secret from the ghost face. he's someone who takes secrets and uses it for his own pleasures.

jed olsen is a terrible, terrible man, she thinks to herself. how she can only imagine the usual cool and tough yui being stalked and toyed by him, her trauma activating. this would explain those few trials they were in together against the masked murderer. ]

You're such an asshole. [ a fact. here comes another: ] And a creep. Good luck on finding more material on me when I don't have much.

[ despite the offer of her answers to his questions, zarina knows how much to give and how much to keep from his ears at the very least. or so she hopes. ]

At one point in your life, have you ever thought of putting the knife down? Just be a decent person?

[ Under the mask, Danny smiles, something genuinely amused and more than a little cruel. I've been called a lot worse he thinks, but doesn't get a chance to say, because Zarina keeps going, the disdain maybe not in her voice but in every word she says. People don't like him not just because he's a killer, but because he's a bastard about it even beforehand.

He wonders how she'd feel if she could see his notebooks. All the information he found on his victims before this place. The schedules, the hobbies, the tics, the ones who locked their doors twice and the ones who always forgot. Would she call him a creep and an asshole again? Find stronger words? Lose words entirely in the face of just how much of a monster he is? Unfortunately he'll never know, because she'll never see those notebooks, but it's something to think about.

And then she asks him something that makes him look at her a little more intently. He could laugh, but that wouldn't give quite the right impression. Instead, he pauses for a few long seconds before replying, and then: ]

No.

[ It's not smug, or mocking, or even annoyed. It's just a simple, straightforward, one-word answer. No, he's never considered it. Not once in his life. Not since he picked it up in the first place and took his first life and got away with it.

And speaking of knives - he holds out her recorder, fingers opening up so she can take it back. But if she takes it his hand stays out until the knife is back in it. She could try to run with both, but no matter how disgusted she is, he's got the feeling she won't. ]

[ the way he only says a single word with no hesitation whatsoever — how it reminds zarina more of clark stevenson when she interrogates him on why the man murders her father. there was no regret in his voice and there's none in jed's.

when zarina was young, her mother tells her what tabwa is. how allah will always accept those who seek to repent for their evil deeds, recognizing the wrong they've done, and never do it again. how allah welcomes them back with open arms should they be true to themselves. though zarina isn't religious, it's a lovely concept that she sometimes thinks of when meeting certain people who has at least an ounce of regret.

jed olsen wouldn't even think to attempt tabwa as given by his answer. he will always be a murderer, a stalker, a monster in disguise of a man. that much is clear to her as her eyes shift towards her recorder and his knife.

for the briefest moment, zarina imagines herself throwing the knife across the junkyard while running with her recorder. it's a tempting thought that has her twirling the knife in her hand by its handle, but eventually — there would be nowhere else to run but beyond the fog and hopefully reach either the campfire or glenvale in time.

it's a concept that she doesn't want to find out just yet — she has nothing to slow down jed if he runs when there are no pallets outside of a trial — which is why, eventually, she takes her recorder back and places the knife in his hand. ]

See you, Jed. [ a hint of resentment in her own voice. ] Don't try anything funny on me the next time you see me.

[ a hopeless warning — it's to make a point — and departure greeting. after all, goodbyes mean forever and — though she wishes it was her last goodbye to him — she's still stuck in the entity's realm.

unfortunately, due to zarina's nature, she's still endlessly curious about everything and everyone around her. that includes the ghost face, as much as she would like to deny it. ]

[ Zarina's eyes never move from his face - well, his mask - and she doesn't say anything in response to his single-word answer. She doesn't look afraid or any more hateful or disgusted, either, but he's got the feeling those things are burning inside her, her thoughts like fire as she tries to grasp what the hell he really is on the inside. Or maybe just wanting to get the hell away from him before he changes his mind and stabs her.

The truth of the matter is that what she's seeing - the mask, the outfit, the knife once she hands it back - is the real him. Under the mask, the human skin is the disguise, and always was. Sure, he had to hide to stop himself from getting caught, so on the surface the mask hides who he is - but that's just his identity. It's not him.

And here, he'll never have to worry about being caught again. There's no more chances for retribution and destruction. No more possibility that he might end up in prison, or taken down in a hail of bullets, or revealed by a newspaper as anything other than a suspect. There's downsides to the fog, but there's more than enough upsides to make up for it.

Zarina takes back her recorder, and she gives him back his knife. An edge of tension in him he didn't realize was there relaxes - because it's his knife, damn it - and he puts it away, snaps it back into place in its sheathe at his lower back. The resentment in her voice makes him smirk under the mask and he gives her a little wave. ]

Don't worry about that. I'm not really a funny guy.

[ Though he knows exactly what she means. And fully intends to ignore the warning. Zarina still has secrets and still has stories to tell; he's not going to let up on her, particularly if she doesn't intend to let up on him. For the moment, she'll get some distance. Time to let the disgust settle and give way to curiosity again. She wouldn't have agreed to meet him in the first place if she didn't want to know more about him, and he hasn't done anywhere near enough to scare her off for good.

Not that he'd let her stay away, anyway.

He watches her disappear into the darkness before he takes off himself, knowing he's not particularly welcome in this part of the fog and wanting to avoid getting his skull caved in if he can help it. Like in Midwich, the resident of this particular part of the Entity's realm will prioritize killing him over Zarina if given half a chance. ]

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writers block really be like: what's up 🙃

oh boy do i know how that goes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-la2O4Ej28 me upon replying to this tag

hellls yes

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