duplicity inbox | un: r.lyall

[craftylikea]

I am afraid I can't answer you at the moment. Please leave your message and I will respond as soon as I possibly can.

Comments

( text | un: wardwell )

[sathan]

Mr Lyall. I've been informed that you're familiar with the man I'm contracted with. Perhaps it would be prudent to meet.

( just what had alessandro been saying? )

[craftylikea]

[Ah, well, this is....a curious message? Lyall isn't sure what to make of it, so as a result he is...exceedingly polite. It's his way in the face of the unknown. Fall back on a stiff upper lip.]

I am quite unclear as to which man you are referring to, I am afraid.

( voice | un: nightingale )

[ettersberg]

[ they'd been terribly in love, hadn't they? they'd been terribly in love and happy together and nightingale had woken up with a smile. it hadn't lasted, of course, because he'd then recalled that he doesn't know this man at all, not really, no matter what the dream may have told him.

and yet, the dream happened and he's reasonably certain it wasn't only his dream.

still, he likely wouldn't have contacted lyall at all if not for the fact that recent developments in the city are somewhat reminiscent of the war, if not for the fact that he is, admittedly, worried. if not for the fact that dream or no, he remembers caring about this man. ]

Mr Lyall.

[ the formality seems strange, now. ]

I apologise for contacting you so unexpectedly. I merely wish to ask if you are all right.

voice

[craftylikea]

[...Oh.

Ah, it is strange, isn't it.]

Mr Nightingale.

[It's strange on his tongue, remembering that dream. In some ways it had been something that he...doesn't have now. A love that was not bittersweet. His time with Alessandro is borrowed now and had been fraught then for...most of the time they'd shared.

But it hadn't really been theirs, had it? So, there's a stilted politeness to his tone. To match Nightingale's, no doubt. But pleasant enough, kind enough.]

No need to apologize, I appreciate the consideration.

I am doing...as well as can be reasonably expected, I think. Trying to steer well clear of everything though I suspect that will become more difficult if this all persists. And yourself?

text;

[demonicmiracle]

If Jonathan Sims is looking for his boyfriend when he wakes up, which he bloody better be, you can tell him that Martin's at my flat. Sims knows where I live.

[This is a little more blunt than Crowley usually is, but he's feeling not sure where he and Lyall stand, so he's keeping things short and to the point.]

[craftylikea]

Thank you. I will tell him.

[...Whether or not he asks, honestly. Although Lyall can't imagine that he won't.

And then, because he worries about Martin despite not having seen him in...a bit.]

This must be very hard for him. How is he?

gift delivery: 12/20

[compellingstatement]

[Lyall's gift appears at his work station at Alessandro's shop. Jon's not much for in-person gift-giving, and he's nervous about leaving anything in the house for the elves to mess about with.

It's a fancy tie with sheep and no attached note. Enjoy your mysterious baa-nefactor.]

Post-Christmas; un: thearchivist; text

[compellingstatement]

[It's 2 AM, and Jon hasn't slept in about 48 hours when he has his brilliant idea. He's been thinking about ways to thank the other man for helping him when he woke up from the coma and here it is, staring him in the face.]

Professor, I've just had an idea about what we can do for your tethering situation.
Something that might let you tether to non-werewolves.
You're familiar with the Repair Shop in Insincerity?
It's risky, but there might be something we can get there.
The pricing structure is utterly ridiculous and we'll have to see what the charge would be, but there might be a potential magical solution there.

[craftylikea]

[Lyall has long since stopped being surprised at the hours that Jon keeps, so the time of the texts isn't alarming. Though he might have something to say if he knew that the man hasn't slept in two days.

The contents are curious and...he won't let himself be excited by them. But he is cautiously intrigued.]

I have vaguely heard of the Repair Shop.
You really think that's something that could be achieved there? Do you have personal experience with the results?

[nighttemplar]

[The message comes not from some poor messenger but a beautiful clockwork carrier pigeon. It will find Lyall and offer up it's belly to be opened.

Inside is a single slim slip of paper. On it, in Alessandro's familiar handwriting is two words. The words are short but the penmanship is slightly more bold than usual, as if he's putting his focus completely on writing them ]

Ti amo.

[craftylikea]

[The carrier pigeon is a delight and a bit of a mystery. Lyall is almost instantly sure he knows who it comes from - he knows his lover's work, or at least his tendencies towards design and also the artists he works with here to carry out the finer details - but isn't sure why he's receiving something this way.

The message itself is....a shock. Lyall blinks at the words for several minutes before he gently folds the note and places it in his vest pocket. He has stopped carrying around Alessandro's journal but now he seems to have something to take its place.

He does not speak to Alessandro of this, at least not just yet. He knows his lover has trouble saying these words out loud and he will not try to force his hand by bringing the note up. It is enough.

(Though, certainly, the next time he sees Alessandro the man will get what might be an oddly affectionate look and a lingering, soft kiss. Seemingly out of the blue.)]

un: thearchivist; text

[compellingstatement]

[So, Alessandro is all about fighting problems head on. Mainly via murdering them. That isn't really what Jon needs at the moment. He... probably should have talked to Lyall days ago. Before he said yes to Elias, but better late than never.]

I need to tell you something, but you can't tell Alessandro for the moment.

text

[craftylikea]

[Well, that isn't concerning at all.]

I won't. [Well, he's unlikely to. Depending on what Jon actually tells him. But he won't break trust easily.] What is it?

[tornadoed]

[ she'd debated between voice and text. he seems more like the kind of man to send proper letters or appreciate a call, but she's more comfortable with just texting.

she's debated not contacting him at all, but the memory of his head between her legs and how pleased he'd been to be pushed down won't leave her.

so ]

hi
how's it going?

there's really no good way to start this conversation, but
can we talk about what happened at the party?

[craftylikea]

[This is...a slightly unexpected message. Lyall, much to his chagrin, cannot say that he remembers every person he slept with during that time when lust overtook the entire city but he certainly remembers Dorothy and their time together.

It wasn't regrettable - none of what he remembers is regrettable, really - but he still feels...a bit embarrassed by his fervor through all of it. And he wonders what Dorothy wants to discuss.]

Ms Gale. We can, of course.
What would you like to talk about?

un: thearchivist; text

[compellingstatement]

When you have a moment, I would appreciate your thoughts on something.
Specifically this.

[He sends screenshots of his conversation with Diva.]

I repeatedly warned her boyfriend not to tangle with Elias.
He seems to have done so.
I hadn't realized he'd already signed a contract with the man and tried to enlist this woman, his girlfriend, to stop him being an idiot.
Now she's dragged into it and a psychotic vampire.

[craftylikea]

This is a predicament, definitely.
If she were from my world, I would say she was a queen in danger of swarming.

[Sorry for the terminology, Jon. It's just what it is.]

Usually the danger comes from a hive swarming at the loss of their queen and not the other way around. But nevertheless.
In my personal experience it is near impossible to reason with a queen in that state. Though I also understand that she may not be exactly like the vampires of my world. Still. It sounds as if she need more ties to hold her back. More balance.

[Immortality, in Lyall's world, often comes back to the ties that hold one back from monstrosity.]

truth meme continuations

[craftylikea]

Alessandro #1

[craftylikea]

(from here)


Perhaps that is true as well. But I think you have continued to change here. Before I even arrived. I think your fondness for Jon says as much. At the very least.

( text | un: mrs.s )

[aeva]

Mr Lyall, it's Suzanne, I was wondering if you'd like to meet for some tea.

[craftylikea]

It would be my pleasure, though I hope it won't be too much of an inconvenience if I request that we meet in the evening.

Do you have a preferred establishment?

action

[compellingstatement]

[This is more of an in-person conversation, as much as Jon really doesn't want to face Lyall while he has to explain. He's already been causing problems for his contract partners of late with being jailed. This isn't going to make the werewolf happy. Still.

It's the wee hours of the morning when Lyall's returned from work that Jon raps on the door of his room.]

Lyall? Do you have a moment?

[craftylikea]

[Lyall is almost ready to cross over to Alessandro's room and slip into bed with him when Jon knocks on his door. Jon's still being awake is...unfortunate, but Lyall has long since realized that keeping a consistent sleep schedule is something he may never guide Jon towards. It doesn't stop him from trying but it does make the times he's faced with his failure a little less sigh-inducing.

So. He comes to his door in a dressing gown.]

Yes, of course. What do you need, Jon?

fibber overflow

[craftylikea]

jacob frye

[craftylikea]

(from here)

May I ask where you are originally from? Or at least the general level of technological advancements, I suppose.

As to the contraption, it is a polariscope. Meant to reveal imperfections or stress inside gems or glass.

text un: scholar

[mysireskeeper]

You do not know me but I ask you to trust me. Wherever you are, what ever you are doing please return to Dominant's side. URGENTLY.

[ooc: threadjacks are welcome! David will get out when either Lyall and/or Sandy show up.]

[craftylikea]

[Lyall is at work when he gets this message but luckily it is work that he can easily abandon given the nature of the business.

For half a moment he considers whether this might not be some sort of trap. But in the end, his concern for Jon wins out over caution. He does have a knack for getting himself into trouble.]

Where is he?

text; un: scorpionem

[transgressings]

[ the ongoing poetry text thread, as promised, which mostly consists of snippets she occasionally recalls that bring him to mind, and are shared without any further context — sometimes only part of the poem itself rather than the whole. ]

The face of all the world is changed, I think,
Since first I heard the footsteps of thy soul
Move still, oh still, beside me, as they stole
Betwixt me and the dreadful outer brink
Of obvious death, where I, who thought to sink,
Was caught up into love, and taught the whole
Of life in a new rhythm.

gift delivery

[compellingstatement]

[Lyall's gift is left on his bed one evening when he's out to work. When he gets home, he'll find a box containing a new mug, a set of wool mittens, and a gift card for a shop called 'Sceyence!' It's a shop with a variety of scientific equipment for anyone who might want to build out a lab and such.]

un: thearchivist; text

[compellingstatement]

How would you feel about having a werefox in the house?
Just to visit and play with the Captain.

[craftylikea]

[A werefox. Lyall is aware that other worlds must have other rules to play by, but something like that is unthinkable in his. The mass of a fox is small, much smaller than most adults. And mass cannot simply disappear.

But that is mostly irrelevant.]

I suppose I would not mind them if they would not mind me.
Real foxes are a bit of a tricky business. Like dogs.

[Dogs do not get along well with werewolves.]