Crisis with the Conscience [Zephyr and Silvio Interaction]
Feb 20, 2021 18:03:44 GMT -5
The Madness Menagerie likes this
Post by mystifyingoracle on Feb 20, 2021 18:03:44 GMT -5
OOC: Collab with The Madness Menagerie ! Enjoy!
“Thanks for agreeing to this. I feel kinda crappy asking you after I just offered to help you out with your needs at work, but…”
Silvio shrugs, leaning back in his tattoo chair and staring ceiling-ward briefly. Witch Dagger Ink was done with clients for the day, the smell of antiseptic cleansers from closing just beginning to fade.
“...you’re the Conscience of Carnage and I’d appreciate some outside perspective if you don’t mind providing it.”
Zephyr winces slightly as she sits back in a chair and smiles over at Silvio, "First time someone has called upon me to act as much, so color me a bit curious." She shrugs. "In all seriousness I'm happy to help."
“Thanks,” he says again. “If you want a soda or something to snack on, I got a mini fridge.” He gestures with a little jerk of his thumb. “So like...this weird shit with Mitch and LRK.” Sighing, he pinches the bridge of his nose. “Do I have a right to feel this...upset about the whole thing?”
Zephyr stays silent for a time as she chews on her words carefully. “Let me answer your question with a question, do you have any reason to believe that you shouldn’t be upset about the whole thing? I get the friendship you have has been -- Strained, to say the least but Mitch stole something he had an opportunity to earn and came up short. I did the same thing once upon a time and it only came back to bite me in the ass. In my eyes? You haven’t been upset enough.”
Well, that wasn’t what he’d expected to hear. Blinking in surprise, Silvio looks at Zephyr, one brow raised.
“I haven’t been?” he asks. “I just…” He makes a face, fingers snapping rapidly as he tries to think of how to translate the roiling mass of emotions that have been churning through his thoughts. “They were close, right? Honestly, if I didn’t know better, I’d say half the time they were about a heartbeat away from just making out in the ring. To see him just...totally turn on King like that without any explanation? Like...I have no idea what King did and he doesn’t know, either. And it makes me second guess everything I do or say around Mitch because I don’t know if it’ll set him off. He’s so...sensitive. He’s always been an emotional guy, but it’s like things have been cranked up to eleven lately. I feel like I’m walking on eggshells and I’m afraid if I say one, ‘wrong,’ thing, he’ll just decide to write me off.”
Zephyr stands, wincing as the red cuts covering her pale body all look angrier with every movement. Shrugging it off, she joins Silvio where he’s seated, “Listen, I don’t know Mitch like I know King. I’ve tried, he’s given me the cold shoulder and to be honest? That’s on him, so guessing at his motives for stealing is like… Trying to figure out which injury hurts the most after falling through a glass laden table from a forklift. I can only base what I say off of what I’ve actually seen, conscience or not. Last year, I… WE all got to listen to Mitch talk about how honorable he was, how much pride he’d fight for that title, and the prestige that he’d bring to the division should he win. He came up short against King and his response? He stole. Kinda makes me question everything he said about ‘honor’ and ‘pride.’ Not only did he steal, but he picked a moment where King wasn’t able to do anything about it, under the cover of darkness after the champ went through a vicious battle with your’s truly. That was MY hard work that let Mitch slip in and steal. It pisses me off that he took advantage of a moment that should have been, I don’t know, celebratory.” She smiles sheepishly at Silvio’s questioning glance, “Two monster warriors climbing out of the dust and rubble after they had a massive battle just to have a massive battle,” She shrugs, “It’s poetic to me. I live for that shit.”
“Jeez, that hadn’t even occurred to me,” Silvio says, running a hand through his hair. He thought of Insidious crashing Adrienne’s first victory at Carnage. “He...kinda overshadowed your guys’ match with stealing the belt and assaulting LRK. And then he...I mean, it feels like even though he did that, it’s not supposed to be any of your business?”
uh huh. not everything is about you, champ.
He felt a little jag remembering Mitch’s comment. Something about when Mitch talked like that - that self-abasement - made his chest tighten and he wasn’t exactly sure why.
“...Do you feel like he was trying to make it about himself? Or even just not let the spotlight drift?” Silvio shakes his head. “I don’t know what he was worried about. I thought he was going to be the first one to get a shot at LRK with the title, anyway.”
Gingerly hopping up onto a nearby stool, Zephyr again shrugs, “Don’t know the guy so this is based on my observations, but yeah, that’s definitely what it felt like. Truthfully, I just wanted a crack at King. There’s something to be said about the people that can stand toe to toe with a monster like that and live to tell the tale, even getting in a few of their own shots along the way. The title? It’s only added pressure, sure the perks with being a champion are nice, but at the same time, I just enjoy being in a good battle. Never had any intention of jumping in line, but all of a sudden my desire to bask in the glory of battle is overshadowed by a former contender for the belt, stealing said accessory from the champion, who happened to have his back turned, and was nowhere near ready for a sneak attack. Hell, if Mitch had just gone to King as a potential challenger and said, ‘You me, one on one,’ I would have been surprised if King had said no. Stealing the strap just feels so… Out of place in their saga.”
“I’m so sorry that happened,” Silvio says. “For what it’s worth, I loved the fight and I can’t wait to see you and King go at it again.” He gets to his feet, ambling over to the mini fridge and taking out a couple of ginger ales, offering one to Zephyr. “When he asked me...no...chose me to fight King...it didn’t feel like it was an impulsive decision. He went through a list of people he was considering and the reasons why he wasn’t going to choose them before he got to me.” He cracks open his own soda, staring at it for a moment. “I’ve...reached out to Mitch; tried to support him. I know what it’s like living rough and having to support your family.”
Your sick family. Silvio got that, too, though he wasn’t going to mention Pen’s condition to anyone Mitch hadn’t already told about it.
“I was trying not to get into what was going on between him and LRK unless I was asked by either party, but...then he went and made it my business. I’m friends with both of them.” He waves a hand. “Or at least I was. I don’t know how Mitch thinks of me now. I’ve been there for both of them; reached out to them to offer help when they needed it. But of the two? LRK has been the only one who has ever reached out to me. Mitch...doesn’t. And,” he snorts, “I had a lot of voices - internal and external - telling me he’s been using me. I’ve been in the dark about all of this, so I just asked him for a little reassurance and when I did, and asked him to do something for me? He got pissed.” He sighs, sipping from his soda. “Was I out of line asking him? It just feels like...because I’m his friend, he expects me to support him no matter what he does and do it with a smile. If the point of the match was to mess with King’s head, then why mess with mine if you want me to win? If anyone on the roster knows the power of getting into your opponent’s head before a fight, it’s yours truly. If he didn’t choose me to play mind games and this was all impulse, why is it in the video package he released, he literally goes through the options he’s considering before coming to the conclusion that I’m the best choice?”
He spreads his arms, raising his brows.
“Am I just taking crazy pills, or is it reasonable to have some apprehension about the motives behind all of this?”
Zephyr accepts the ginger ale thankfully and rubs the cool condensation on a few of her cuts before sighing in relief before cracking it open, “So that thing about friendship and supporting his choices? That’s supposed to be a two way street. You support him and he’s supposed to support you. That’s always been what friendship has been in my eyes or any kind of relationship for that matter.” Zephyr’s eyes flicker as Belle’s image appears before her. She smiles warmly, “Everything else? No, you aren’t taking crazy pills unless you have a prescription that you aren’t being honest about. But then, I think that would be a completely different conversation.” Taking a drink, Zephyr smiles, “It kind of amazes me how many people forget that type of thing.”
Silvio lets out a snorting little laugh. “Nah, nothing like that. I just...really wanted an outside perspective on this. Make sure I wasn’t flying off the handle or anything.”
He rubs his forehead, brow furrowed.
“...I don’t know why, but there’s something else about this that’s really striking a nerve and…I’m trying to figure…”
sure. I’ll be there, empty-handed as i should be.
“...it…”
Silvio blinked, eyes distant as he felt an icy jab, some self-preserving impulse, jolt through him.
not everything is about you
“...out…”
Climb off your high horse an’ walk among us peasants
Mitch’s voice melted, mingling with another in his mind.
He stands stock still, color draining from his face, fingers around his soda can trembling.
Zephyr watches Silvio curiously, “Looks like someone connected some dots together. Are you ok?”
He swallows hard around a lump in his throat, blinking rapidly before shaking his head.
“No...yeah?” He sighs, taking a big swig of his soda. “...I don’t know. Fuck. This just got more complicated than I thought it would.” Setting his drink down, he turns and paces a tight circle around his tattoo chair. “Goddamnit…” Turning to Zephyr, he gestures to his tattoo chair. “I don’t suppose you have a few inches of un-lacerated skin I could put a picture on? I gotta get outta my head for a minute.”
Zephyr’s eyes widen in shock before she shrugs and sets down her drink, “Sure. Could always use a new tattoo. Ironically enough, my hands seem to be the most clear.” She takes a seat and spreads her hand out, “Kind of caught me off guard though, anything you’re in the mood to tattoo that might help more than anything else?”
Silvio shook his head, taking down a book of tattoo flash. “Nothing in particular. I just have to focus on something else.”
He pauses, tapping his fingertip against the book.
“Although...Y’know, I really am sorry about your fight with King ending like it did. How about we take some time and design something together to commemorate that fight? You can get it tattooed or not - up to you. But why don’t we figure out a way to celebrate since you don’t feel like you got the chance?”
A glazed look comes across Zephyr’s eyes as the possibilities start to stretch out in front of her, “I’d… Really like that. Or just a commemorative tattoo to celebrate my time recently. I’ve come an incredibly long way from when I first started…” Flashes of the animalistic persona known as ‘ZQ’ replace the possibilities, all of them punctured by the screeching laugh of Su. Shaking her head a new image started to form itself to replace the images of the past, “Belle…” Zephyr blushes slightly and hones in on Silvio. “I’m in love with the idea!”
Smiling, Silvio set aside the book of tattoo flash and went to get his pencils and sketch pad. “Alright, Ms. Quinn,” he says, turning back to her. “Let’s make a masterpiece.”
Crisis with the Conscience
“Thanks for agreeing to this. I feel kinda crappy asking you after I just offered to help you out with your needs at work, but…”
Silvio shrugs, leaning back in his tattoo chair and staring ceiling-ward briefly. Witch Dagger Ink was done with clients for the day, the smell of antiseptic cleansers from closing just beginning to fade.
“...you’re the Conscience of Carnage and I’d appreciate some outside perspective if you don’t mind providing it.”
Zephyr winces slightly as she sits back in a chair and smiles over at Silvio, "First time someone has called upon me to act as much, so color me a bit curious." She shrugs. "In all seriousness I'm happy to help."
“Thanks,” he says again. “If you want a soda or something to snack on, I got a mini fridge.” He gestures with a little jerk of his thumb. “So like...this weird shit with Mitch and LRK.” Sighing, he pinches the bridge of his nose. “Do I have a right to feel this...upset about the whole thing?”
Zephyr stays silent for a time as she chews on her words carefully. “Let me answer your question with a question, do you have any reason to believe that you shouldn’t be upset about the whole thing? I get the friendship you have has been -- Strained, to say the least but Mitch stole something he had an opportunity to earn and came up short. I did the same thing once upon a time and it only came back to bite me in the ass. In my eyes? You haven’t been upset enough.”
Well, that wasn’t what he’d expected to hear. Blinking in surprise, Silvio looks at Zephyr, one brow raised.
“I haven’t been?” he asks. “I just…” He makes a face, fingers snapping rapidly as he tries to think of how to translate the roiling mass of emotions that have been churning through his thoughts. “They were close, right? Honestly, if I didn’t know better, I’d say half the time they were about a heartbeat away from just making out in the ring. To see him just...totally turn on King like that without any explanation? Like...I have no idea what King did and he doesn’t know, either. And it makes me second guess everything I do or say around Mitch because I don’t know if it’ll set him off. He’s so...sensitive. He’s always been an emotional guy, but it’s like things have been cranked up to eleven lately. I feel like I’m walking on eggshells and I’m afraid if I say one, ‘wrong,’ thing, he’ll just decide to write me off.”
Zephyr stands, wincing as the red cuts covering her pale body all look angrier with every movement. Shrugging it off, she joins Silvio where he’s seated, “Listen, I don’t know Mitch like I know King. I’ve tried, he’s given me the cold shoulder and to be honest? That’s on him, so guessing at his motives for stealing is like… Trying to figure out which injury hurts the most after falling through a glass laden table from a forklift. I can only base what I say off of what I’ve actually seen, conscience or not. Last year, I… WE all got to listen to Mitch talk about how honorable he was, how much pride he’d fight for that title, and the prestige that he’d bring to the division should he win. He came up short against King and his response? He stole. Kinda makes me question everything he said about ‘honor’ and ‘pride.’ Not only did he steal, but he picked a moment where King wasn’t able to do anything about it, under the cover of darkness after the champ went through a vicious battle with your’s truly. That was MY hard work that let Mitch slip in and steal. It pisses me off that he took advantage of a moment that should have been, I don’t know, celebratory.” She smiles sheepishly at Silvio’s questioning glance, “Two monster warriors climbing out of the dust and rubble after they had a massive battle just to have a massive battle,” She shrugs, “It’s poetic to me. I live for that shit.”
“Jeez, that hadn’t even occurred to me,” Silvio says, running a hand through his hair. He thought of Insidious crashing Adrienne’s first victory at Carnage. “He...kinda overshadowed your guys’ match with stealing the belt and assaulting LRK. And then he...I mean, it feels like even though he did that, it’s not supposed to be any of your business?”
uh huh. not everything is about you, champ.
He felt a little jag remembering Mitch’s comment. Something about when Mitch talked like that - that self-abasement - made his chest tighten and he wasn’t exactly sure why.
“...Do you feel like he was trying to make it about himself? Or even just not let the spotlight drift?” Silvio shakes his head. “I don’t know what he was worried about. I thought he was going to be the first one to get a shot at LRK with the title, anyway.”
Gingerly hopping up onto a nearby stool, Zephyr again shrugs, “Don’t know the guy so this is based on my observations, but yeah, that’s definitely what it felt like. Truthfully, I just wanted a crack at King. There’s something to be said about the people that can stand toe to toe with a monster like that and live to tell the tale, even getting in a few of their own shots along the way. The title? It’s only added pressure, sure the perks with being a champion are nice, but at the same time, I just enjoy being in a good battle. Never had any intention of jumping in line, but all of a sudden my desire to bask in the glory of battle is overshadowed by a former contender for the belt, stealing said accessory from the champion, who happened to have his back turned, and was nowhere near ready for a sneak attack. Hell, if Mitch had just gone to King as a potential challenger and said, ‘You me, one on one,’ I would have been surprised if King had said no. Stealing the strap just feels so… Out of place in their saga.”
“I’m so sorry that happened,” Silvio says. “For what it’s worth, I loved the fight and I can’t wait to see you and King go at it again.” He gets to his feet, ambling over to the mini fridge and taking out a couple of ginger ales, offering one to Zephyr. “When he asked me...no...chose me to fight King...it didn’t feel like it was an impulsive decision. He went through a list of people he was considering and the reasons why he wasn’t going to choose them before he got to me.” He cracks open his own soda, staring at it for a moment. “I’ve...reached out to Mitch; tried to support him. I know what it’s like living rough and having to support your family.”
Your sick family. Silvio got that, too, though he wasn’t going to mention Pen’s condition to anyone Mitch hadn’t already told about it.
“I was trying not to get into what was going on between him and LRK unless I was asked by either party, but...then he went and made it my business. I’m friends with both of them.” He waves a hand. “Or at least I was. I don’t know how Mitch thinks of me now. I’ve been there for both of them; reached out to them to offer help when they needed it. But of the two? LRK has been the only one who has ever reached out to me. Mitch...doesn’t. And,” he snorts, “I had a lot of voices - internal and external - telling me he’s been using me. I’ve been in the dark about all of this, so I just asked him for a little reassurance and when I did, and asked him to do something for me? He got pissed.” He sighs, sipping from his soda. “Was I out of line asking him? It just feels like...because I’m his friend, he expects me to support him no matter what he does and do it with a smile. If the point of the match was to mess with King’s head, then why mess with mine if you want me to win? If anyone on the roster knows the power of getting into your opponent’s head before a fight, it’s yours truly. If he didn’t choose me to play mind games and this was all impulse, why is it in the video package he released, he literally goes through the options he’s considering before coming to the conclusion that I’m the best choice?”
He spreads his arms, raising his brows.
“Am I just taking crazy pills, or is it reasonable to have some apprehension about the motives behind all of this?”
Zephyr accepts the ginger ale thankfully and rubs the cool condensation on a few of her cuts before sighing in relief before cracking it open, “So that thing about friendship and supporting his choices? That’s supposed to be a two way street. You support him and he’s supposed to support you. That’s always been what friendship has been in my eyes or any kind of relationship for that matter.” Zephyr’s eyes flicker as Belle’s image appears before her. She smiles warmly, “Everything else? No, you aren’t taking crazy pills unless you have a prescription that you aren’t being honest about. But then, I think that would be a completely different conversation.” Taking a drink, Zephyr smiles, “It kind of amazes me how many people forget that type of thing.”
Silvio lets out a snorting little laugh. “Nah, nothing like that. I just...really wanted an outside perspective on this. Make sure I wasn’t flying off the handle or anything.”
He rubs his forehead, brow furrowed.
“...I don’t know why, but there’s something else about this that’s really striking a nerve and…I’m trying to figure…”
sure. I’ll be there, empty-handed as i should be.
“...it…”
Silvio blinked, eyes distant as he felt an icy jab, some self-preserving impulse, jolt through him.
not everything is about you
“...out…”
Climb off your high horse an’ walk among us peasants
Mitch’s voice melted, mingling with another in his mind.
He stands stock still, color draining from his face, fingers around his soda can trembling.
Zephyr watches Silvio curiously, “Looks like someone connected some dots together. Are you ok?”
He swallows hard around a lump in his throat, blinking rapidly before shaking his head.
“No...yeah?” He sighs, taking a big swig of his soda. “...I don’t know. Fuck. This just got more complicated than I thought it would.” Setting his drink down, he turns and paces a tight circle around his tattoo chair. “Goddamnit…” Turning to Zephyr, he gestures to his tattoo chair. “I don’t suppose you have a few inches of un-lacerated skin I could put a picture on? I gotta get outta my head for a minute.”
Zephyr’s eyes widen in shock before she shrugs and sets down her drink, “Sure. Could always use a new tattoo. Ironically enough, my hands seem to be the most clear.” She takes a seat and spreads her hand out, “Kind of caught me off guard though, anything you’re in the mood to tattoo that might help more than anything else?”
Silvio shook his head, taking down a book of tattoo flash. “Nothing in particular. I just have to focus on something else.”
He pauses, tapping his fingertip against the book.
“Although...Y’know, I really am sorry about your fight with King ending like it did. How about we take some time and design something together to commemorate that fight? You can get it tattooed or not - up to you. But why don’t we figure out a way to celebrate since you don’t feel like you got the chance?”
A glazed look comes across Zephyr’s eyes as the possibilities start to stretch out in front of her, “I’d… Really like that. Or just a commemorative tattoo to celebrate my time recently. I’ve come an incredibly long way from when I first started…” Flashes of the animalistic persona known as ‘ZQ’ replace the possibilities, all of them punctured by the screeching laugh of Su. Shaking her head a new image started to form itself to replace the images of the past, “Belle…” Zephyr blushes slightly and hones in on Silvio. “I’m in love with the idea!”
Smiling, Silvio set aside the book of tattoo flash and went to get his pencils and sketch pad. “Alright, Ms. Quinn,” he says, turning back to her. “Let’s make a masterpiece.”