I am perpetual

[dun_moch]

WHO: Characters signed up HERE
WHERE: Helix Station or meetings around Maurtia Falls, based on character preference
WHEN: During the first week or so of August
WHAT: Witnesses and investigators meet up to inquire into the activities of RISE, and hold the team accountable
WARNINGS: Talk of violence?

RISE has been controversial since the first day Major-General Olivier Armstrong announced the formation of a government-backed paramilitary squad with trial and sentencing authority over 'rogue imPorts.' Since then, the unit's history has continued to be shadowed by drama. For every successful apprehension of a supervillain, there's a complaint about unfairness toward some imPorts. For every swift response to a crisis, there are mutterings about indefinite detention or recruitment of criminals. And for every life saved, there are questions about the hard-line attitude of RISE's famously terrifying leader, Armstrong.

Something had to give eventually, and this inquiry is the result. Both critics and defenders will make their voices heard, and the investigators will have to determine what is the truth- and what should happen next. At stake is the future of the imPort community's primary law enforcers, and the question of how much they can be trusted to protect others.

Comments

INTERVIEWS

[dun_moch]

The witness interviews are one-on-one affairs, conducted in a discreet coffee shop or a stark, windowless police-style room within Helix Station. Each witness will be interviewed at least twice by different investigators, to ensure that multiple perspectives are gleaned from what they have to say. Aside from the randomly-assigned interviews listed below, all participants are free to set up new threads as they wish! Interview threads can be started by investigators or witnesses, there is no set format here.


RISE AGENT BARNABY BROOKS JR. will be interviewed by COUNT DOOKU and KITTY JONES

LUCIFER will be interviewed by CLARK KENT and TOHRU ADACHI

DORIAN GRAY will be interviewed by CLARK KENT and DARYL DIXON

KANAYA MARYAM will be interviewed by COUNT DOOKU and DARYL DIXON

SASAKI HAISE will be interviewed by TOHRU ADACHI and FLYNN SCIFO

RISE FIELD COMMANDER SABRIEL will be interviewed by TOHRU ADACHI and COUNT DOOKU

CARL GRIMES will be interviewed by CLARK KENT and KITTY JONES

EDWARD ELRIC will be interviewed by DARYL DIXON and FLYNN SCIFO

RISE AGENT JACOB TAYLOR will be interviewed by KITTY JONES and FLYNN SCIFO

INTERVIEW JACOB

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

RISE doesn't have a set uniform, so Jacob shows up to his interviews wearing a buttoned blue shirt and smart brown slacks. He wants to make a good, professional impression on behalf of his team, but he also isn't much for formal wear, and so avoids going the full suit route.

Jacob will be cooperative, at least at the start of the questioning. He sees the need for this inquiry, and wants to do the right thing- but he's not going to roll over on his teammates for anyone's political agenda, either.

[rathercommon]

[ Kitty has taken the time to look professional: she's wearing a suit of her own, both professional and feminine, and has her hair pulled back. She looks just a bit like a kid doing dress-up, admittedly, but her manner is serious and energetic, her voice crisp. ]

Hullo, Mr Taylor. Thanks for doing this.

[knightunerring]

Since Flynn's actual uniform looks woefully out of place on Earth in general, he's compromised only a little reluctantly with a suit. If it doesn't allow quite the same ease of mobility as his usual clothes, well, any situation where that would be an issue is much more excitement than he's expecting from this investigation. His smile is professional but genuine as he holds out his hand.

"Jacob Taylor? I'm Flynn Scifo. It's nice to meet you."

Sasaki Haise

[dualismum]

Sasaki will be wearing his Police uniform during the interviews, since he was working at the time (his boss didn't mind if Sasaki left, honestly. Either it's a perk of being an Import, or the man simply doesn't have that much need for Sasaki's help). In any case, he will also bring along a cup of coffee to drink during the interview, along his communicator in case anything is needed.

The only reason why he is here is simply because of Count Dooku. He couldn't help the man much during elections, but he has promised him he'd help him with his political tactics if it came down to it, and this was the moment where he'd prove himself, in a way. That's also why he will be cooperative, but he isn't here to drag Yuri through the mud even more; he has reasons not to be so angry, even if Yuri did try to murder him.

[sleight_of_hand]

Adachi spared a small smile when he saw the guy in uniform; he may have been a dick and stuck on himself, but he could at least pretend to appreciate another cop. He reached up a moment, adjusting his tie in a show of nervousness, before offering his hand.

"Adachi Tohru, former Inaba PD. Thanks for coming in for this investigation."

He added a bit of a nervous laugh; what, he totally wasn't the most incompetent one here, what are you talking about?

[knightunerring]

Flynn had been a little surprised to receive Haise's name on the list of people he was interviewing. Maybe not the best thing for a perfectly objective investigation, but one meeting really wasn't enough to qualify as a conflict of interest in his mind. Even so, his smile is a little warmer than his default polite expression when he nods and offers his hand.

"Mr. Haise. I didn't expect to meet you again like this. You didn't mention that you were an officer."

Lucifer

[angelfire]

You know what's really not in and never will be? Velvet. Lucifer is trim in a dark red velvet jacket over a surprisingly plain black t-shirt and black nondescript dress pants. He drops himself into his chair in the interview room like it's his to fall into, stretches back so that the front legs lift off the ground, and then drops them back down, leaning forward as his interviewer enters behind him.

"Come on, then. I'm excited to get started."

He would be. RISE is far more interesting to him undermined, with their power base uncertain, and he's prepared to wrap his silver tongue around delivering on their demise.

[sleight_of_hand]

Adachi tried not to sigh in exasperation. No... just, no. It was like Dooku knew that this would be the number one way to piss him off to high hell. Stupid assholes all around him why couldn't he get a damn break...! He turned his focus to his notepad, flipping over to a fresh page. He was half tempted to just get a whole new notebook for how this part of the interview process was going to go.

"So. What's been your relationship with RISE so far?"

LET'S INTERVIEW DORIAN

[brushoff]

Dorian looks dressed to the nines, in designer tan slacks and an ungodly preppy polo. A pair of aviators sit on top of his head as he checks his phone. He's very laid back, even with people talking about RISE or those they hired or whatever. Dorian may keep cool but he is entirely here to just cause trouble and drag Yuri and Jacob through the mud as much as possible.

Grudgey? Yes. He doesn't care.

He sips on a black coffee as he waits for his interviewers to arrive. Perfectly nonchalant. And certainly not deliberately causing trouble, no way no how.

[dirtyredneck]

Daryl showed up dressed the complete opposite of Dorian. His dark jeans worn and torn at the knees. Dark button up shirt loosely buttoned with the sleeves cut off. Black leather vest long since giving up on ever getting the cleaning it deserved. Crossbow slung across his shoulder and knives visible at his belt. Dorian was his final interview and when he pulled out the chair, he set his crossbow down so he could lean back in it and kick his feet up. Some of the now-dried mud crusted up on the bottom edges fell off and onto the table while he got his notepad settled on his lap.

The government issued communication device was set on the table so Dorian could see it turned on and recording the conversation.

"Name's Daryl."

CARL GRIMES

[112ounces]

Carl dressed as he always dressed: blue-gray plaid shirts and jeans, wearing his father's deputy hat, black leather eyepatch across his right eye. He doesn't feel as exhausted as he was in the first day of August, but he still feels tired. He probably looks tired as he feels - he doesn't bother to look in the mirror nowadays.

He sits down in the chair, in the stark room of Helix. He's not worried, or even afraid.

In fact, he doesn't feel anything at all.

He studies at his interviewer, but never says a word.

[rathercommon]

[ It's a little easier to be confident interviewing a kid, rather than a grown-up. Even if this kid, well...gives Kitty the creeps, just a little bit. Obviously, back during the occupation, he'd been playing a role just like she had, but there'd been something sort of chillingly authentic about the way he'd played it. It wasn't fair to remember it, but...Well.

She's still polite when she sits down across from him, smiling cordially. ]

Hullo, Mr Grimes. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE

[glowsferatu]

Kanaya doesn't go halfway when it comes to how she's dressed, she has a dress planned for each separate interview. She's very carefully composed on any good day, but when today she especially means to come off professional and credible. She couldn't get anyone to care about the fledglings while they were all still (arguably) alive, or even after half of them were murdered. If she's going to be given a platform, she's going to use it as bet she can.

She might have preferred moving this to her own office, it's in the same compound, after all. But while she's done her best to elevate the Helix Station's drab and severe decor, the room they've chosen looks deader than she is. She's never been more disappointed in the neighbors, and that's saying something.

bless you for that heading

[dun_moch]

"Greetings, Kanaya."

Dooku and Kanaya have spoken many times on the Network, but this is the first time they have encountered one another in person. She makes a good first impression on the Count as he strides into the room, cape swishing behind him- her green dress matches his taste in fashion.

But Dooku is not here to talk fashion, which he makes clear by setting his phone on the table in front of him, audio-recording function ready to go. He also sets down a notepad, and scrawls out a heading in practiced, formal script.

"If you are comfortable and ready, I would like to begin. With your permission, we will record this session for the record."

[dirtyredneck]

Daryl came in, mood sour already, took the chair opposite Kanaya, flipped it around so he could straddle it, and sat down with zero preamble. A pad of paper already filled with scribbled notes and a pen were set unceremoniously on the table while his crossbow got settled with far more care on the floor next to him. For all that he was sitting casually enough, he did sit up straight and meet her eyes as he pulled his government issued device out and flipped it on. He'd been advised to record everything in addition to the notes he made. At least the thing was useful for that.

"'M Daryl."

Edward Elric

[fullmetalbrat]

Edward's opted for the coffee shop setting rather than shut himself up in a small room of a building held by people he doesn't trust. Not that he trusts the coffee shop much more, but at least it's less confined. He's worn his standard "uniform"—a long red coat over a stark black top and and pants and a pair of crisp white gloves to make sure his automail is hidden from view, and he's ordered himself a plain black coffee and some sort of savory pastry while he waits for his interviewers to arrive.

INTERVIEW for BARNABY BROOKS JR.

[attainment]

As someone who's used to living under public scrutiny on the daily, Barnaby manages to wear interviews and similar engagements like a second skin, arriving to the appointed meeting place with a light pink dress shirt, a dark tie and a calm, placid smile.

As a RISE agent, he'll do his best to give a balanced assessment of his experiences inside the organization so far. He has no desire to throw anyone under the bus, least of all for someone else's political gain. At the same time, Barnaby has very real reasons for wanting some reform, and an open inquiry is the first step in earning and maintaining the public's trust.

WITNESS MINGLING

[dun_moch]

After interviews have been concluded, rooms will be provided for the various witnesses to gather and have a frank discussion on the issues surrounding RISE. Things may be awkward, considering the witnesses include both RISE agents and RISE's biggest critics. You may now begin with the airing of grievances, but just keep it reasonably civil and don't stab anyone- this means you, Carl.

[112ounces]

fuck you dooku you're not his dad

Carl can say the interviews were as fun as he expected to be: as in, none at all. He's tired, more in his mind than in body. And when Carl is in this state, he either sits down and watches TV while not really watching it or pig out on food until he gets bored of eating.

Considering that neither options are available, he just sits down in a remote chair, looking at all the other witnesses, wondering what they brought to the table. Did they hate RISE as much as Carl does? Or are they supporters of them, and should he treat them with as much care as he did with strange survivors back home, treating them like potential threats?

He looks out at the window, staring at a pair of sparrows chasing each other. He sometimes think it might be easier to be something like a sparrow - there's no hatred to nurse, no fathers to grieve over, no RISE member to consider as a mortal enemy.

Those musings were quickly broken when he senses someone coming near. He locked eye contact with his lone eye at them, waiting for them to move or saying anything.

[dualismum]

Once he was done with his interviews, Sasaki grabs his cup of coffee and heads towards the room other witnesses currently are. Honestly, he doesn't feel all that comfortable, specially because he doesn't have much against RISE personally (besides being- somewhat angry about Rick's death, but he talked to Rick about that) but he knows his testimony is mostly a negative shade on the organization, and there are some RISE members around.

In any case, he moves to sit near a window, drinking his coffee peacefully. he also takes the communicator, to check the network , and keep himself busy.

[angelfire]

"Look at this. It's like being back in that submarine--all my old friends."

Lucifer is not content to sit around quietly and muse about his misgivings the way that others might be. He's going to make a noise, he's going to get in their faces. He wants Olivier to know that he's here to undermine them, because he wants her to try and justify herself. Making his enemies jumpy is the plan, and so Lucifer swans into the room with all his usual fervor, eager to make as much of this about him as possible.

Because he is the star of the show, isn't he? No?

"Why the glum faces?"

[brushoff]

Dorian is also not one to sit around quietly. He's also the sort of person to willfully antagonize people so guess what everybody, he's going to be deliberately obnoxious. Dorian's leaning against the wall, sunglasses still perched on top of his head, as he pulls out his phone and starts to text something.

There's a pause, then he asks the room. "Should I use hashtag 'RISEinquiry' or hashtag 'RISEinterviews'? This is going out to thousands of Bwitter followers and I don't think any of you used either of those hashtags."

Is he really that vacuous? No. Is he emphasizing his vacuousness in order to piss everybody off? Yes.

INVESTIGATOR MINGLING

[dun_moch]

The investigation team has their own debriefing after interviews have wrapped up, as well as 'check-in' meetings during the process. It's a modest affair, just a chance to compare notes while sitting around a table. What have your characters learned from their questionings? Does RISE need to change, and in what ways? What should go the final report to Ambassador Baelish?

Don't forget, however much Count Dooku talks about truth and justice, this inquiry is political, and involves the ambitions of powerful people. You can also use this thread to go talk privately with investigators if there's something you don't want to say in front of the Count's dark, piercing eyes.

OTA investigators

[dun_moch]

Dooku is often found at the head of the table during meetings, or making the rounds among his investigators. Beneath his genteel manners, his proud and confident bearing leaves no doubt that he is in charge of this team, and that he expects results. He's open to any questions investigators may have about the process or results, and will likely have a few of his own regarding how things are proceeding.