maskormenacelogs | [OPEN] See what delights in sylvan scenes appear...

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[OPEN] See what delights in sylvan scenes appear...

WHO: Haen Hithiel & OPEN
WHERE: Mostly Maurtia Falls but can be elsewhere on demand
WHEN: Throughout July
WHAT: Catch all for July, some open starters, lmk me if you want something specific!
WARNINGS: None yet

A. CAFÉ - Maurtia Falls

Haen adores the summer weather, (though is grateful that Pennsylvania isn't as scorching as Florida) and has taken every opportunity to go shopping when she's able. It's her treat, she reasons, considering how much time she devotes to others, and she can admit she's a little vain. Today she's lounging at a sunny outdoor café and wearing one of her favourite outfits.

The amount of people which give her friendly greeting as they walk by suggests she comes here pretty regularly, but then again, she's picked up a fair amount of public attention since Baelish made public a few months ago that they were an item.

B. HOSPITAL - Maurtia Falls

Normally happy as a sunflower, the one time that Haen doesn't like an audience is when she stops by the hospitals and hospices in the city. These are the times she prefers to fly under the radar, stopping by with smiles and kind words and empathy in spades. There are some things that she can fix and she does, ills and hurts that can be mended while she's there but the nanites interfere with her genessi ability and sometimes render it temporary.

There could be nothing crueler, Haen thinks.

Some bodies just start destroying themselves again once her changes wear off, and she's learned not to offer to everyone, much as she wants to. Sometimes she has to sit down after leaving the patient rooms of those she can't fix, because it feels like someone's pulling her heart out of her chest.

It's a hospital-- people cry all the time in these places. She's just blending in.

C. AMBASSADORIAL OFFICE - Maurtia Falls

With Baelish having announced his mayoral intentions the month before, Haen tries to spend a few afternoons a week at the ambassadorial office, helping to make calls on his behalf to drum up support. It's not that hard-- she loves to talk, she's good at reading people, and Baelish has done a lot of good for the city already.

Even though that election is still months away, that doesn't stop her from flashing beaming smiles when she gets an endorsement, even a tentative one, and whomever is nearby might just find themselves being hugged, as if she can't contain her excitement to just herself.

D. MIRACLE SPRINGS - Outside Heropa

Haen both loves the work she does at Miracle Springs, and conversely feels very guilty about it. She's paid well (more than well, extraordinarily so), she gets to see people making themselves into better people, and she gets to be a part of that. But the clientele at the healing resort is very select due to the exorbitant prices, and today after her shift, she's settled in the lounge area with a pile of bank and trust pamphlets in her lap.

E. WILDCARD - Anywhere

Hit me up at

sojourney if you want a different starter!

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Please do not hug the Sith Lord Haen, he's just here for politics. He does manage to muster a smooth smile for her enthusiasm as he approaches her desk, however.

"Lord Baelish's campaign preparation is proceeding well, I take it?" Dooku observes with a wry air as he takes in Haen's smile.

The Sith Lord could stand to be hugged a little more, in truth, but she'll accept the smile instead. "Petyr has an uncanny talent for being successful, doesn't he?" she replied, laughing a little. The casual use of his given name stands out in the formal office, where he's Ambassador Baelish to most everyone else. "Ooh, but it makes me mad to hear how he wasn't given these sort of fair chances in his own world."

She adds a note to the ledger in front of her, and offers Dooku a hostess-worthy smile. "Can I get you something, Count? Are you here to speak with Petyr?"

Following their conversation about Haen's incubator project that had turned to the possibility of growing crystals, Haen had invited Anakin over to her house in Maurtia Falls. She was fascinated by the concept that crystals could somehow be living, because her genessi abilities could only manipulate living structures.

Her Tracerie sits on the table, a delicate, silver metal-linked glove that had opalescent fiber strands connecting at various points.

"Come in, come in!" she beamed at his arrival. "Welcome to Maurtia Falls, unless you've been here before, although that's really no less of a welcome because that would be rude, and it would be very bad first impression to make-- although, now would our conversation on the network count as a first impression? I might have phrased some things differently if that was the case... no, probably not. Oh, now you'll think I'm indecisive, I'm really not, I promise."

The other thing about Haen? She talks. A lot.

"He does indeed," Dooku agreed readily, still smiling while discreetly trying to sneak a peek at what was in that ledger Hane was writing in. The Count's hunger for knowledge was almost as strong and constant as his appetite for power- the two were largely the same, in his view. "Our community is fortunate to have his leadership. That is why I am here, in fact- thought I might drop by to offer my congratulations to him in person. He has once again predicted the victorious candidate in a De Chima election."

If Dooku knew anything about Baelish, he had done far more than predicted the outcome. Dooku had spoken to him about Sam Merlotte as early as the April Swear-In, which had opened Baelish's library. Even then, it had been clear that Lord Baelish intended for Merlotte to be an Ambassador- one way or another.

"But I am perfectly happy to speak to you if he is unavailable, my dear," the Count added with a warm and friendly air. He didn't have that much of a connection with Haen, especially not compared to Petyr, but he hadn't forgotten how powerful she was- how she had devastated the Russians with a casually-engineered plague. That was power that Dooku would always be interested in.

Edited 2017-07-13 21:42 (UTC)

At a quick glance, the ledger appears to be of various businesses and organizations in Maurtia Falls, which seems normal enough if Haen is doing endorsement calls, but there are sub-columns under each entry of numbers that look like neither dates nor money, and the occasionally drawn chemical compound.

"He's just having a meeting," she confirmed, checking the stately clock on the wall. "He shouldn't be much longer, if you wanted to wait, and I'm happy to entertain you in the meanwhile. And I've been meaning to tell you, I'm looking forward to the next installment of Counting Truths!"

Interesting. It seems to the Count that Haen is devoting her scientific talents to Baelish's work as much as she is her administrative abilities. Unfortunately, he cannot decipher the meaning of the numbers or symbols- his mind runs toward politics, not science.

"I would be happy to wait," he says smoothly. He's especially happy to hear that Haen has been listening to his show. "And thank you, that is quite nice to hear. It is always encouraging to know I have listeners within the imPort community. Tell me, which has been your favourite episode thus far?"

Haen goes to the modest serving bar at the side of the room. "Something to drink, Count? Coffee, water?" There were stronger options as well, some of the people who came to speak with an Ambassador expected a certain level of sycophancy, particularly if they held positions of influence or power themselves.

"I think June's interviews about the nanites are something that's been on a lot of people's mind, particularly of late," she said as she poured herself some coffee.

"I know it's been on mine, especially when it interferes with things I'm trying to do. I didn't care much for Doctor Crane's opinions about Maurtia Falls in May," she sniffs, because the allusion that the city was somehow worse for corruption than before its Ambassador appointment nettled her.

Petyr Baelish returns to the office with a stack of folders, setting them down on the desk beside Haen. He reaches out to pull his own desk chair over to sit beside her -- withdrawing a pair of reading glasses that he puts on precariously.

"I have school records here. Test results. Drop out rates. Teacher lay offs. Disciplinary measures. Even murder records for high school students. There are also criminal records for many teenagers. I want to pour over this and compile that data into a plan to improve the overall picture of this city's educational system. There will be a debate at the town hall this upcoming Thursday, and I want to be armed with a precise plan."

Even though his victory with Sam Merlotte's win had only been a few days ago, Petyr is already throwing himself right into the next goal.

"The question is less how we can improve the school systems. I see the problems there. But how can we make those school systems a strong pillar to break the influence of criminal families weighing on their children? How can we take those children and have them break the cycle their families have kept going for generations upon generations?"

This is where he relied on Haen's far more modern insight.

"Black tea, if you please," Dooku says, as he takes a seat. He rarely drinks alcohol, particularly in the day. He certainly hopes Baelish has decent tea on-hand.

Dooku smiles when Haen sniffs at Crane's recent antics. "Doctor Crane is a man who delights in provoking others, in my experience. My advice to you is to not engage with him more than is necessary, lest you encourage his attempts to observe your reactions. But I'm curious to know more about how the nanites have been obstructing your work," he adds. Her biological work, or her political work? Either is of relevance to Count Dooku.

One benefit for Haen having worked months at the Lucky Cat Cafe, was she made excellent teas and coffees, and so Dooku will have a cup set before him in short order.

"It's not his provocations that are my concern," Haen answered. "August's Swear-In two years ago was when I arrived... the one that the fear gas was released at." It had been two years, and she had been around other imPorts long enough to both not be surprised by such things, and aware enough to use her own abilities to counter the worst of them. But at the time, she hadn't realized what was going on, and the hallucinations had been particularly potent.

She's ready enough to move past that to the other inquiry. "At home, genessi Morphs and Tweaks and Fixes are permanent, unless they're undone by another genessi. Here, the nanites begin rewriting my changes after about three days. It's very rude! I could get so much more done if that didn't happen. Of course, I've been finding ways to work around it, not everything I do gets changed back, or I'd have nearly no clients."

Since few other worlds, if any, seemed to have people like genessi, Haen was used to providing context for her explanations. "For example, if I speed up someone's healing to fix a broken bone, the enhancement would wear off after the three days, but the bone is already healed-- it won't spontaneously re-break. But a change like giving someone an extra set of limbs, those sort don't want to stay put."

Data aggregation had always been Segan's forte (being a Templatist) more than Haen's, but the task isn't an unpleasant one and the company more than makes up for it. She leans over and gives him a quick kiss when he sits next to her, before picking up the first folder of papers. These were things with the tangible results that she appreciated him working on so much.

"Good guanines," she murmured, noting the high percentages in some of the less than reassuring categories. "Look at some of these-- 64%? Atrocious. Bad upbringing can be just as hereditary as bad genes. Don't worry dearheart, we'll have something confident and organized for you to present."

"I see. That must be quite frustrating. To see your fine work undone after only three days..."

Dooku's voice is mild, but inwardly his interest has sharpened. So she can enhance others with her power, as well as heal or sicken them. That opens up entirely new possibilities for an ability that was already deeply impressive to the Count.

"I am curious. If the nanites were no longer an obstacle, is there any limit to the number of people you could permanently... 'Morph,' as you put it?"

He's already envisioning legions of genetically-improved natives flocking beneath Haen's banner.

If she could help grow a kyber crystal in true, he would be indebted to her for the rest of his time in America. Luke deserved a working lightsaber and, as his father, he felt it his duty to provide him with one. Then they would have no cause to fear anyone, really. Two Jedi - or Sith - could take out a drove of enemies without breaking a sweat!

Anakin smiled and blinked at her greeting. "You know, you can take a breath now and then."

He was touched by the welcome nonetheless and he approached her at a relaxed pace, trying his best not to look over-eager.

"I think you sound great." and she was cute - not that he would be telling her that to her face, "The crystals I'm looking to replicate are forms of living energy. They respond and vibrate with the Force." he lifted a hand and brought a random knickknack to him by utilizing said Force, "The crystals are the perfect companion for a Force-user."

Baelish returns the offered kiss easily and effortlessly. It's kept as chaste and quick as the one she offers, and he goes back to the paper work -- only glancing up when she makes her exclamation. "Maurtia Falls has its reputation for a reason. And that reason is that they start off far too young. Which unfortunately means...they die too young as well."

Pulling up the paper of reportable deaths just from the high school alone has a number that is way higher than it should be. "And that doesn't even account for the missing persons. One thing we need to filter funding into is to give these schools stronger after school programs. Sports, the arts, anything to keep as many off the streets and out of trouble. But what sort of things could we do within the city to give adolescents a better place to spend their free time than stealing, selling drugs or worse?"

"Oh, there's no limit of numbers now," Haen laughed. "Just however many I can work on before I need a bit of a break. Although I haven't got any replacement filaments for my Tracerie, so I have to be careful not to overdo it."

"Your... Tracerie." Dooku frowned thoughtfully for a moment, then took a guess from context. "Is that a device your ability relies upon? If so, I am sure technical talent could be found to help repair it. Or even duplicate it, if you required a spare."

And Dooku might know just where to find that kind of talent. He kept trying to make connections with mad scientists for a reason, after all.

Haen laughed brightly at his comment. "Oh don't you worry, my lungs operate at peak efficiency, just like the rest of me. Lovely side effect of being a genessi, you never have to worry about not having the best of the best inside of you! But you're very sweet to worry, dear."

"Living crystals," she echoed with obvious delight. "I admit you've got me excited for seeing one!"

Her mouth opened in surprise as he levitated one of her shelf decorations to him. "Oh meiosis, that's amazing! Is it really so easy for you to do things like that? Did it take you very long to learn?" And then a thought struck her. "Are there others here that are from your world as well?"

She didn't have the Tracerie with her at the office, or she'd have let Dooku take a look at it. Despite this, she mimes a glove-like apparatus that goes all the way up her forearm. "All genessi need one to do major work," she answered; it was not widely known by anyone that Haen technically didn't need hers... it was a secret she had shared with very few people.

"But not for everything," she added, turning so her back was to Dooku and pulling her long red hair over her shoulder, exposing a black double-helix tattoo at the base of her neck. As he watched, it began to rotate on her skin, the fine control of individual pores of skin making the movement of the shape appear seamless.

"If you know of anyone trustworthy to take a look at my Tracerie," she said after a moment, letting her hair fall back into place. "I'd be very appreciative of it."

"It's not just the children you have to mollify, but their parents as well. We have to make them see the value in what their children are getting, and see it as something that they cannot achieve through their means. One thing especially that will add to that is the ability to carry a reputation -- a good one, mind! -- to other cities. So whatever we do, it should definitely be headed here where we can grow it, but something that gives it coverage in other locales as well..."

She's definitely getting into the idea, and she has a keen mind for ferreting out what people are going to want even before they know it.

By the end of the brainstorming session, they've put together a proposal for a city-wide youth initiative that encompasses both sports and arts, and drawn up a request to refurbish one of the downtown buildings that has recently gone to foreclosure as a new "Endeavor Center". The site will have enough space for some intramural teams to practice, and one large projection room that can be converted to a theater area, with still space for costumes and props in the general proximity.

The initial outline also drew up the groundwork for the various groups to play and perform in other cities as well, although that would come later and be based on interest shown. Still, it was a smart business move to show that they had plans for it as a possibility and a long-term goal.

Of course, that will require some approval outside of the Ambassadorial Office's purview to be signed off on, but Haen flashes Baelish a cheeky smile. "Just leave the convincing to me," she assured him. She could convince people of just about anything if she put her mind to it, and if she ran into resistance, the redhead also had enough money saved from working at Miracle Springs to grease a few palms.

And failing that, she could always kiss them; her Porter power of suggestibility didn't just work on imPorts.

Haen honestly is Baelish's perfect match. She has the willingness to aid him in his goals and the ability to see the overall picture knowing that the ends justify the means. He certainly has no qualms about allowing her to talk to whoever needs talking to, trusting her to get the job done even better than he can in some cases. So, he waves his hand as though to say 'it's all yours' before leaning back in his seat to stretch.

"I do think it would encourage a new, interesting dynamic to unite the youth of each of these porter cities. They are the future, after all." And the future voters. They'll grow up remembering just what Petyr Baelish and his lovely Haen Hithiel did for their youth. And often a little bit goes a long way.

Petyr looks at Haen for a moment before he speaks: "I've heard rather conflicting views on my goals to leave the ambassadorial position behind to pursue a mayoral path. Count Dooku views it as a downgrade, believing I have more power as an ambassador than as a mayor -- that I would be confined to the city alone in my plights rather than being able to represent imPorts across the board. Senator Hundred views it as a step in the right direction, saying that we cannot get ahead by simply holding an imPort ambassadorial position -- knowing that the government does not truly take ambassadors seriously. What do you believe?" He's resolved to this path, but he is curious about Haen's opinion.

Edited 2017-07-30 04:02 (UTC)

"I know many scientists who might be suitable. I will make the appropriate inquiries," Dooku promised her in his sombre voice as she turned back. "You deserve the very best equipment at your disposal."

He recognized that she was showing a certain amount of trust in him just by telling him this much, and with that little tattoo display. An encouraging sign.

"How were you able to do that, just now?" He inquired, wanting to both know more and reinforce his interest. "Can you control the pigment within your skin?"

"How do you know you have the best of the best?" wasn't that a genetic thing? No one could really choose how all their parts functioned. Even he - with his odd parentage - had to rely on his mother's genetic strengths and weaknesses (which, thankfully, for the latter, were few).

"Yeah. I could always harness the Force, but it took me awhile under my Master -" ex Master, "to get the hang of it."

Pulling out his lightsaber, he began to, carefully, take it apart. Within, there was a glowing crystal. He plucked it out and levitated it towards her.

"My son and grandson are here - as well as a Count, a bounty hunter, a smuggler, a pilot, a droid and maybe a few others."

The promise is enough to elicit a bright smile from her; a genessi's Tracerie was an extremely personal thing (much the same as, not that she knew the comparison yet, a lightsaber was). It was customized specifically to work with a certain alcheregis gene, and further developed based on their individual style and strengths.

"Mhm," she agreed. "Well, not the pigment itself so much as the cells it's in. Just a little shuffle and shift! When genessi get registered, they get this mark on them, wherever they want. It's a bit of proof that you're a real genessi, to be able to do this without your Tracerie... if a genessi can't even do this much without it, you definitely don't want them mucking about in your code, that's for certain."

"DNA has a peak point which it can't go past," Haen replied with a smile. "So once you reach that, it's pretty simple to keep it maintained at that level-- like keeping something rolling is easier than getting it started."

Haen very carefully cupped her hands around the glowing crystal, appropriately reverent of it both in its unfamiliarity and importance-- also that she didn't know how fragile it might or might not be.

"Oh," she said, sounding a little breathless. "It does feel like it's alive, doesn't it?"

And then the rest of what Anakin said sank in, particularly one of the given titles. "Count? You mean Count Dooku?" she asked. "I know him."

"Truly fascinating," Dooku murmurs, and it isn't idle flattery. While the Count himself is not a scientist, he did acquire at least a passing knowledge in genetics while secretly arranging the creation of the Republic's clone army back in his own Galaxy. "Then Genessi are marked and registered... just like imPorts."

Which is a noteworthy parallel between universes. But not the topic that is most on Dooku's mind just now. "With your genetics knowledge, I imagine you must have a certain professional insight into the 'clone kits' that were recently distributed," he speculates, deliberately inviting her to chatter out her thoughts on the matter.

To be remembered in such a way makes Haen feel indescribably content, but she still gives him due attentiveness at the question, and it takes several moments for her to ponder her reply.

"I think the Count has a point that in terms of immediate visibility, a mayor has a smaller scope than an ambassador. But as a mayor, you represent all of Maurtia Falls, not just the imPort community. It makes things like this--" She gestured toward their paperwork for the proposed center. "--more meaningful because it is less about integrating imPorts and instead treating everyone more equally."

She patted his arm, grey eyes warm. "But it's not really the government that we want to take your position — whichever it may be — seriously, is it? It's the people in the city; in all the cities. It's just like the vertical rails at home, in the Tower... the magnetic disks are the government, and the people are gravity. Not all the magdisks need to fail for gravity to take over... just the right ones."

"Yes, a little bit the same," Haen agrees. "If a genessi is caught doing genework and they're not registered, they can get 'exported' out of the Tower. If they're very lucky, they might get a sponsor in another Tower, but usually they're sent to a Roller to work."

She wrinkles her nose at them. "I did take a look," she agreed. "But I don't much care for the slipshod way they've put things together. It will work, I suppose, but if that was work done by a genessi we'd call it a 'dirty Morph'."

Did he have an idea of what she was talking about? Well. An idea. She'd spoken about her world a little bit and he knows the concept of gravity. But all in all, it didn't matter. In the end, the point was that the citizens were more important. And they were the voting masses, so he had to appeal to them.

With a nod, Petyr leaned in to gently place his hand behind her head and guide her into a kiss. And after a few seconds, he pulled back -- a tiny bit of warm fondness infusing his expression. "You have quite the mind for politics and projects, sweetling. I would be tempted to suggest that you run for ambassador when I step down from the position, knowing what a perfect team we are. But I fear people may not vote for you knowing how close we are. There are some who are suspicious of me for little reason."

There are also those who are suspicious of him for major reasons. But it's the former that baffles him more than anything. The latter is just full of Starks.

"You bring it out in me," she replied, not minding at all that it was his schemes and machinations which gave her something to direct that part of her personality toward.

Haen hummed lightly at the thought. "I don't think I'm particularly suited to that kind of position," she said, not by way of putting herself down so much as stating a fact. "I like to be a little more free. Besides, I don't want to be otherwise occupied when the next step comes along!"

Expectant. A mayor is, as they've just concluded, too limited to be an endgame.

"Aye. A queen must remain free to move about the board. She is the most important piece in the entire game. Even the king is hindered in his movements." There was a glint of amusement behind his eyes as he leaned back in his chair. "As a boy, I often imagined a day where someone like me could become a king. Someone who was not born to the right family or did not have the brute strength to carve out their path by force."

His fingers danced in her hair, toying with the deep copper strands. "Children often dream of the most fanciful things, do they not? And then as we age, often times those imaginations become thwarted by the realities surrounding us. But I've never lost that imagination. And because of that -- well, there are an infinite number of possibilities. We will leave a mark on this world. An unforgettable legacy."

Slowly he pulled his hand back. "My only hope is that you will find that legacy just as satisfying."

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[OPEN] See what delights in sylvan scenes appear...

C, post-election

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closed to Anakin;

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C!

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Sorry for the delay!

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Sorry for the delay back, lol!

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We got this.

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ohhhh yeaaaahhh /koolaid man

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