Stalwart's page

The W-HCY studio has set up chairs in a semi-circle with an array of cameras trained on each seat to catch every decent angle of the participants in the interview.

The backdrop appears to be that of an English manor, with wood paneling and pleasant décor. Connie (and her guest) again is brought through the giant media building at the center of Halcyon City.

As she is brought in and handed over to makeup and wardrobe, Connie catches a glimpse of William engaged in a heated debate with one of the directors.

"--completely projecting the wrong image," he is saying.

"People think of magic, and they think Old World. This is the perfect backdrop for this kind of interview. Mr. Grumman picked it out himself."

"It screams 'Hogwarts' and I'll not be having it..."

Connie isn't able to hear much more as she's pushed into a makeup chair. "Hey! Remember me? I'll be working on you again today," says the familiar makeup artist, armed with a number of brushes and powders.

"Mmmmyeah sorry, gonna have to change at least a few plans there." Connie takes out an answering makeup kit, every tube, bottle and case still sealed, though the labels are scratched off or blacked out to mark them unsellable. "No shade on you, I liked your work last time, but if I were here to take a shot at any of my brothers, I would absolutely use you as a vector."

"Um, what?" Karli asks, clearly not getting Connie's meaning. She eyes the makeup kit. "Uh... do you have sensitive skin or something?"

Shin pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, standing there by Connie's side. He's looking out for anyone paying more than cursory attention to them aside from their make up artist.

"Oh, did you not watch my last interview? Magic is real, Karls. A vanishingly small number of Mathers are trustworthy, and even if Dear Old Dad didn't or wouldn't ask them to do it, it's very likely at least one of my brothers thought about using you to poison me. So uh, sealed products only, and I brought brushes too. Seriously though, love your work ."

Karli grows suddenly pale. She looks over her high-end makeups and brushes like they'd transformed into snakes. "Um, seriously? No one's been by here, and, well... you think they're poisoned? That's crazy."

"Oh they're probably fine. And I'll be happy to give them a full look later to make sure no future guests catch a stray that was intended for me... Should we get started though? Punctuality and paranoia are two things you can rely on learning in the Mathers household."

"It's a precaution, but there's no harm in taking it," Shin says as he nods to Connie. "She just wants to be as comfortable as possible for this interview. You understand how it is when you're about to face family in a stressful situation. Every little bit helps," He says to get Karli on board.

The makeup artist still looks unsure, but uses the products brought in by Connie. In short order, she has the Mathers daughter camera-ready.

The director somewhat urgently gestures for Connie to take her spot, seated in between Jean-Paul and Tim. William is looking smugly satisfied as set dressers are removing the wood paneling and opening up the backdrop to reveal the Halcyon Skyline behind them.

If you're expecting me to be bummed about Hogwarts not being the vibe then you really really must believe in the death of the author. Not aspirationally
With a smile that's all innocence, Connie drags her new chair formerly belonging to an unseated Mathers over to one end of the row so that she has at least one brotherless direction to turn her back.

One of the technicians steps in and stops Connie from moving the chair. "They're all lit properly, dear. Please don't move them; we'll have to readjust all the lighting."

"Did Gare-bear not tell you? Seating choice was one of my preconditions for the group interview. I can drag another one back to the mark if you like."

The tech throws up his hands. "Ugh! First it's the backdrop! Now it's seating arrangements! I suppose next someone will be needing special microphones!" He has Tim moving in one so that Connie can sit next to him, and thus directly across from William. The youngest Mathers arches an eyebrow at her. "Constance," he says simply. His eyes flick over to Shin standing off to the side. A corner of his mouth twists upward in disdainful amusement, and then his eyes move to study something else in the room seemingly having discarded the Protégé into his mental rubbish bin.

Connie greets her younger brother quickly as, "Hailmary," before following his gaze to Shin. "Mm. Your mistake to dismiss him. By all accounts he's actually shockingly good in bed. Oh, or if you were thinking about fighting him instead, I'd rather have him at my back than ten of you. True for the sex thing too, but that's for a lot of other reasons."

Shin crosses his arms and stands off stage, keeping his eyes sharp. He may not be in uniform, but he still has some gadgets at work. His glasses for instance had a HUD link to Clocktower set to help him hone in on potential hazards he might otherwise overlook. He sets his field of vision across Tim, getting a sense for what kind of a threat he might be to Connie and himself. Being that he was a monstrously well-built man, it might be safe to assume he's a physical brawler. He didn't think that Mathers would look kindly on 'all brawn, no brains' though.

He was a little off guard when Conflux promoted his prowess in bed though, but tried not to let it show on his face. "Try not to look like you're sniffing sour milk when you're looking at us. Makes you look bad," He advises.

The same flustered director shoos Shin away from the stage and then starts waving his arms at Connie and Tim. "Enough of that! No muttering! The mics will pick it all up!"

Tim inclines his head politely. "I apologize for my sibling, sir." He turns to her. "Seriously? You can't stop being petty for one moment?" He gives a grin to the director and his teeth gleam under the stage lighting.

The director appears mollified. "Right. Yes. Thank you, young man." He finishes by glaring hard at Connie, then turning to move Shin to a distant corner of the studio.

Connie rolls her eyes. "Kiss ass says what?" But mostly she settles in and waits for Gurmman.

Shin settles out behind the cameras' view, nodding to Connie and showing her that he's got his eye out, before making sure to keep his focus on her erstwhile siblings.

William and Jean-Paul have a brief exchange and they sit down in their appointed seats. Tim lounges back in his seat with a practiced air of total confidence.

Lights blaze as Gary Grumman takes his place opposite the semi-circle of young Mathers. Camera operators get behind their lenses and the director gives the signal that recording has begun.

Gary plies his practiced smile at the primary camera. "Good evening, and welcome to the final episode of Halcyon Today's look into William Westscott Mathers: sorcerous revolutionary or megalomaniacal magician?

"I'm joined by several of Mathers' family -- before he allegedly pitted himself against the Alliance of Heroes, he was first and foremost a family man. Adopting children from across the globe, he was clearly more than your typical despot with plans for world domination."

The cameras pan across the guests. "Joining me today are four of his seven children. William Junior, Jean-Paul, Constance, and Tim Mathers."

Gary turns to William. "As the second eldest here in the studio, let's start with you. You've known William Westscott Mathers the longest. Is he the villain the Alliance says he is?"

William's face is stern as he regards Gary. "Of course not. I'm fully aware that there's going to be a perceived bias in my experience with my father. I mean, how can my word compare with those of actual Alliance members? I can only hope that my twenty-seven years of experience with my father will lend some credence to what I say: he only has Humanity's interests at heart. Magic is a gift that should not be locked away."

Gary tilts his head in interest. "Fascinating. Is this sentiment shared by the rest of you?"

Tim jumps in immediately. "Oh, of course. Think about it; they teach math, science, literature in school. Why not magic? Because there's not enough of it to go around. Dad was going to change all that."

"Yeah. And all out of the goodness of his heart. Look, whether or not the magic should be out there is a really complicated topic... Which is exactly why that's where his water-carriers are trying to take you. Demons. Abductions. Funneling that power in a transparently self-interested way.

"Discuss."

Gary follows up on Connie's statement. "That's a good point. The Alliance's official statement was that William Mathers -- senior -- was not providing magic to all, but magic to a chosen few. His chosen few."

Tim responds quickly. "I don't remember the part in history class where the whole world got together and voted to lock magic away. Oh, right. Because it didn't happen. But Doctor Infinity did just that. And others before him. Houdini. Maskelyne. Herrmann. All the way back to Merlin. Taking it upon themselves to keep magic from the masses."

"You say that," Gary says, "but how was this not a power grab? And why not tell people first? Get support? Jean-Paul? You've been quiet so far. What do you say?"

The middle Mathers child stirs at being thrust into the spotlight. "Well, Dad's always been, you know, close to the chest."

"And it's ridiculous to believe that the released magic would be available to everyone," William interjects. "It takes study. Discipline. Practice. Just like not everyone can be a doctor, or an engineer, not everyone can become a sorcerer just because magic was reintroduced. Only those willing to put in the time and effort."

"Again, really not interested in getting dragged into philosophical questions about the availability of potentially dangerous resources at this juncture. Even if you subscribe to the idea that giving himself phenomenal power that lesser beings don't deserve is a noble thing * * cough, cough, fascist* *, he still had to capture and abuse children to make it work."

Tim scoffs at Connie. "'Capture and abuse children'? Are you serious? Do you really think Dad's capable of that?"

He turns to Gary, leaning forward. "Constance has some problems with authority. Oppositional defiance. Just like how she couldn't even agree to a simple seating arrangement without her having to move us around."

"Connie, and our father's a capable guy after all. And what, you're saying Captain Stalwart completely misunderstood that whole situation? His jaw-ship himself? Now who has the issue with authority."

William sighs. "Captain Stalwart is a great many things, but an expert in magic he is not. I'm sure he's being quite sincere, but remember most of the available information from the Alliance is from Feya Firestorm -- a neophyte member of that team of aliens, robots, and enhanced individuals."

"Mr. Mathers, the Alliance has defended this world from countless threats. Are you truly sure your father was not one of them?" Gary asks pointedly.

"That, of course, is yet to be decided in a court of law. I understand the rush to label someone as the next big villain of Halcyon -- especially an older, white male. They make excellent villains, don't they? -- But until all the information is in, weighed, and judged, I simply am not ready to accept such a label on our adoptive father. And it shames me that some of my siblings are so willing." He casts a side eye at Connie.

"Oh jesus f+*$ing christ tell me you're not going to complain that our father is getting 'cancelled' for something as petty as, you know, the abduction of children. Look, you're not gonna catch me disrespecting the man here, but I also can't just lie. I can't lie about what I saw, and I can't lie about the kind of man he is. No matter what else you might think about his whole grand design, that's what he was doing."

All attention turns to Connie. "Do you want to talk about what you saw?" Gary inquires, leaning forward a little.

"Yes, Conflux. Are you revealing your role with First Class on national television?" William asks.
Horizon — 04/22/2023 11:54 AM
Shin stands in the shadowed part of the studio outside the frame the cameras focused on. He looks for any signal from Connie to step in to intervene.

b]"Good lord, William, I knew you were getting up there but are you that old?! Even if you're still on Bing, if you put in 'who is Conflux' you get pictures of my un-masked face! And some links to an IT consulting and analytics firm. No affiliation. I'm not gonna get into specifics about a situation that's quite literally pending trial-"[/b] She squeezes her eyes shut tight against a sudden pulse from the migraine that had been building in her brain for hours. "f$*!, f$#$, f+*@ity-f$!+. S$+@, sorry. Bleep all that I guess." she finished through gritted teeth.

Gary half rises from his chair. "Is everything all right?"

Jean-Paul snorts. "Looks like someone Infini-searches herself."

Tim leans back, appraising his distressed sibling with a curious eye. "I remember that look. You still gotta go all the way to the breaking point, don't you?" He snickers in amusement. "And you always break."

Gary is on his feet and moving to Connie's side. William catches his hand before he touches her shoulder. "Don't worry. This is just more of Constance's drama."

Shin doesn't want to fight Connie's battles for her. But from where he's standing, it's three-on-one and Connie is in distress at the moment. If they have to cut him out in post, that's fine. But he is going to her side and kneeling by her.

"Your brothers are all real charmers," he comments sarcastically. "Forget about them for now. What do you need?"

"Yeah why not Jean-Paul. Oxytocin, endorphins, lowered blood pressure..." Connie squeezes her eyes shut. The pain doesn't subside. But that's okay. You just have to make it twenty more seconds. What can't you take for twenty seconds? Then just twenty more after that. And after that. And after that...

She opens her eyes, gaze locking on Shin's. "Thanks bud. I just- I can't let them be the only one that people hear. Not about him."

She leans forwards, gripping the side of her chair. "Okay. So no specifics. Or at least not from me. Timbo? No secrets among family, right? You wanna let Gare-bear in on what's happening? With my drama? It's fine by me."

The director steps in, shouting for the cameras to cut. Gary shrugs out of William's grip and steps up to Shin. "Give her some space, son. We're taking a break. You okay?" he asks Connie.

Bodies start shuffling around. Shin feels hands grip his upper arms and move him away from the studio. Karli is suddenly there in his place, leaning over Connie with terrified eyes. "Are you okay? Need me to call 911?"

William stands and moves clear of the sudden rush of bodies as it's looking like there's a medical emergency happening. The other Mathers stay rooted in their chairs watching on with interest.

Shin generally looks a little concerned as everyone seems to flock in to check on her even though she seemed ready to push forward with the interview and press her brothers. He pulls away from whomever has their hands on him though. "I have first aid training, I was already checking her condition," He says in annoyance, trying to see how Connie is doing with all of the attention on her.

"Oh for f~*$'s sake! We're not taking all that s%&& from the top or anything are we? I get the headache and everyone else is running around like the ice pick is in their skull? Shin, how bad was that from the outside?"

He pushes in close enough to her side to whisper back. "Well, you look pale and feverish to everyone. Was this some magic attack on you?" He asks, looking at the brothers and narrowing his eyes.

"It's nothing my brothers did or are doing. It's not an attack. If you've got some sort of gizmo that instantly cures headaches I'd try it though. Or even if it just works on cramps. All that aside, external view time. Can I go back on looking like this? Or will I look like the only one of Dear Old Dad's kiddos to not toe the party line is strung out on junk?"

b]"Maybe taking ten minutes in makeup to relax might take the edge off,"[/b] Shin suggests. "I didn't think to bring any of my medical tools with me. I have...gum? If that helps?"

Horizon's narrow-eyed stare is met with indifference by most of the siblings until he eyes Tim. He meets Shin's eyes evenly and smirks.

Go ahead and take a condition, Horizon, for that miss

Again Shin finds himself guided away from the scene. "Maybe you'd like to watch from the booth, young man," one of the security staff suggests, though it doesn't sound like a suggestion.

Karli stays in Connie's field of view as she pats some sponges across her brow. "You sure it's just a headache, sweetie? I have some over-the-counter stuff if you'd like."

She has Connie close her eyes as she starts using the big makeup brush. Her voice is soft and reassuring, just like the brush dancing along her cheeks. "You know, sometimes the pressure of the cameras can get to people. Just remember, you're doing great. Gary's going to take good care of you. Keep your eyes on him and try to block everything else out, okay? How about taking a deep breath for me, okay?"

Shin, however, isn't being treated as daintily. The security staff are insistent that he moves away from the stage.

What do you do?

(Taking afraid)

(Assess: Who is in the Greatest Danger (i.e. is this a f!+*ing trap), and what here can I use to cover our escape)

Connie looks around at the state of the studio and her brothers having quiet conversations either amongst themselves or with other network employees. At the moment, the thing in most danger is her reputation as being someone who can keep it together under a bit of pressure. Escape doesn't seem like it would be a problem; she could probably demand to go, leaving Gary with the choice to either edit around her departure or conduct the rest of the interview with her siblings as if she'd never been there in the first place.

Connie's eyes stay relentlessly opens as she blocks Karli's brush with her hand. "Yeah yeah. Just... give me a second."
She fishes out her phone, and quickly types out a reply. Starbucks off 4th. Two hours. Ask your questions there and you'll get your answers. Or don't. Up to you.
"Okay. Let's do this. Feeling better already."

Shin thought that she looked like she needed some blankets and a hot bowl of broth, but that was unlikely to happen. He's scowling as he's effectively pulled away from Connie, but doesn't resist as he steps back and continues to worry.

"I get it, we need to give her space," He says through grit teeth. But he can't help but wonder if Connie's paranoia is right and if he needs to step in and get her out of here.

Karli takes a step back. "Yeah. You do look better. Okay, here," she gently tucks a few stray hairs into place and helps her up.

Connie's return to the array of chairs gets the studio back in action. Gary smiles warmly at her and signals for the interview to resume.

Once the lighting and sound is re-checked, he begins. "Don't worry. Magic happens in the editing booth. So, let's continue.

"William, when were you adopted?"

He does some calculation in his head. "About thirty-two years ago. Give or take. I was thirteen, and a refugee orphan from one of Rodovka's internecine struggles. It certainly changed the trajectory of my life."

Gary nods, absorbed in his story. "I could only imagine. Jean-Paul, what about you? When were you adopted? "

Sitting up from his slight slouch, he shrugs. "Fifteen years ago, I think. It was a surprise to me, since I was almost sixteen when he adopted me. But, you know, that's what he did."
Gary turns to Connie. "And let's hear from you. When were you adopted?"

"When I was eleven years, eleven months, and eleven days old. Or right after he picked out this one," she points her thumb at Tim with a bitter smile. "Right before he got going on taking him home though."

Gary quirks a smile at all the elevens. "That's unusual." He tries to parse out the timeline. "So, you say that your father picked out Tim first for adoption, but then adopted you ahead of him. Interesting. Do you know why?"

Tim smirks at the question, but it's similarly bitter. "That's... family business." He glares at Connie briefly -- a familiar look that conveys his ire that he might be denied a glorious destiny and it's all her fault. It's gone in a moment.

William clears his throat. "What my youngest brother means is that our father had his reasons for everything he did. It's common for practitioners of magic. Think of common everyday activities like horoscopes, Feng Shui, magnets, and the like. Most of those have their roots in actual magical practices. For someone Gifted, following those rituals can produce verifiable results. So, the order in which he adopted us was... no doubt important."

Gary nods sagely. "All right. We've talked some about how the man was as a father. But what about his life before that? Do you know where he learned magic? What was his own upbringing like?"

As Shin watches from the sidelines and avoids getting checked by security again, he takes a look at the brothers, trying to read their reactions from this line of questioning. Of the three, he felt that Jean-Paul was probably the one whose motives were the most vague. Could he potentially be an ally?

13 on PtM, focusing on Jean-Paul: What are you really planning? What do you intend to do? How could I get you to support Conflux?

Sorry for your really good roll, but I don't think it's possible to glean those answers from Jean-Paul's actions and demeanor. He's closed off, short in his answers and flat in his affect. Which at the very least tells him that he's trying to be secretive not just to outside observers like Horizon, but also his own siblings.

"...I don't think I can tell you anything that's not already in the public record. The Matherses and the Westcotts have been around a while, and, evidently, here we are still. If you're looking for more, you could take a WASPy background, season with Eton and at least a dash of Blavatsky, and who knows, you might even be right. But best to do digging on his early secrets with people who were there and can talk about it."

William leans forward. "Our father was apprenticed to very accomplished arcanists, including Doctor Infinity. After Infinity's disappearance, he traveled the globe dealing with magical threats and phenomena. Unfortunately for him, magic does not draw the same accolades as your science or meta heroes."

Jean-Paul crosses his arms and rolls his eyes. "A lovely spin on Dear Old Dad's life, Will. Yeah, he traveled the world. And yeah, he 'dealt' with magical threats," he says using air quotes. "But a lot of those were only threats to him. Because he kept making deals and bargains. Demons, fae, boggards, angels, daemons, even entities that will drive you insane if you know enough about them... Dad didn't discriminate who he'd screw over."

Connie gives Jean-Paul a hard side eye. I... Am surprised he's going into that level of detail in such a public venue without being cut off.

Similar surprised looks appear on William's and Tim's faces.

Jean-Paul continues like no one is reacting. "So, yeah. But what's really impressive is that all his kids are similarly pieces of trash. Even me. And even this one," he juts his thumb in Connie's direction, "who loves to pretend to be a hero. But Constance is just as f%~~ed up as the rest of us."

"He gets bleeped for saying f*#% too, right? I'm not sure I'm the focus of today's little confab, but uh, is being a hero somehow not allowed if you're f!$~ed up?"

Gary gives Connie an annoyed look. "We can bleep a one-off expletive, but please refrain from stringing them together." He resumes his interested expression. "This is revelatory. Were none of you aware of your father's history? Why haven't any of you mentioned this before? William Westcott Mathers making deals with demons?"

Shin looks a bit relieved to see that Jean-Paul is taking pressure off of Connie here and getting the focus now. Though he's quiet and not drawing any attention to himself since he doesn't want to get kicked out.

Connie looks up at the ceiling while trying to word her answer. "I'm not describing what our father did as moral, sane, or even smart. However, oversimplifying extradimensional beings for a broad audience poses its own dangers. There's a lot of baggage associated with different sorts of creatures, and when people assume they know the rules because things seem to align with a mythic framework that they're passably familiar with, they can get in a Lot of trouble. It can also encourage people to assume that every person with a reminiscent name or appearance is truly a representative of that supernatural ordo, and that brings its own prejudicial troubles, even if your only link to angelic or demonic beings is cosmetic. "

Tim laughs, an infectious, charismatic chuckle. "You're going to put the audience to sleep, going on like that. Seriously, give the editors a break." He turns to Gary. "What she means is, there are entities out there depicted in popular culture far differently than what they actually are. And since most people get their information from movies and shows, the misconceptions can get you into trouble.

"Just like how superhero movies don't get it right." He turns to the camera with a smile. "Except for Behind the Mask, of course." That gets a laugh from Gary and the crew.

"Yeah, so while 'bargaining with demons' is something we generally default to being a bad thing for pretty solid reasons to be fair, you really want to look at the details of what's getting used as payment, and for what before you decide that a pact with the fae or with angelic beings is any better.

"There's a lot of different things that can demand your firstborn child, and in my not particularly humble opinion, they should all be told to get f-, uh, stuffed."

Tim raises his hand. "Um, isn't there a demon on your team now?"

"See that's what I'm talking about. Cosmetics can make people trust or mistrust even when there's nothing morally or ethically attached to them. Devil Diva has a provocative name, and a provocative look, but she's fought as a hero, even when persecuted for her appearance."

Wearing a "gotcha" smile, Tim continues, "So which is it? Is it all right to make deals with devils? And to put them on your team? Or should we avoid them?"

"You're the only one saying she's a devil, Tiny Tim."

"Just me and her agents, cape watchers, teammates... you... or does she not go by Devil Diva?"

Connie snorts and rolls her eyes. "You must get really confused at sports games."

Shin can't help but crack a smile at Connie's retort.