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[20/25 | LEILA]: piping up

"Yeah, um--" Leila bit her lip to sort out the words she needed. "If Melany's the one who's been ******** up the Court balance, like you suggested there, Kuroda? Most everyone else on that panel might be pissed enough to vote for her anyway."

[Temperance: 25/25 beginning to have a headache]

"Okay - so if we decide that death is the answer, here - specially Melany's death... How do we get her mask off? Do we charge in like a little army, guns blazing?" Temperance didn't want any single person to die, but it looked like this was turning into a good of the many versus good of the one situation.

Shun Kuroda 25/25

Shun nodded to the others at that, then paused. There was a slight bit of hesitation as he spoke up once more, "I could try to remove her mask from a distance, but... there is no guarantee that I would be successful."

Given his track record tonight, he didn't have a great deal of confidence in his abilities to do much of anything.

"Even then, removing the mask would not necessarily stop someone else from giving up theirs for her sake, if there is anyone who would do such a thing. It would have to be timed correctly."

He let out a breath.

"But first, who is still missing a mask so that we may shield them?"

A pause as he glanced to Chel.

"What. Was it glued on?"

Chel | 15/25

She looked at Shun and just stared for a second or two. Had he really just- .... glue ...?

"No- what? It doesn't work 'cause she's powerful as ******** and yer little mind lifty trick ain't gonna go unnoticed." She was somewhat serious, at least about this. "She ******** with my brain without liftin' a finger for tryin' to take her mask."

But Shun was like her in many ways; stubborn. She looked away, concern coloring her features. "Just ... be careful."

Juniper Wilcox

"This may be going out on a limb, but earlier I did manage to have a conversation with Melant and ask her a few things. She mentioned to me that she picked her tithe because of beauty. She likes beautiful things. Is there a way could could, I don't know, make a mask that isn't really a mask and see if we can get her to remove her own for it? " it was going out on a limb, but it was something. "Of course we'd have to make it gorgeous for her to Eben contemplate it. "

jeremiah mercer || 27/27 || ???

"For your consideration," Jeremiah said suddenly after Juniper spoke, "that the Lady Spinel is obsessed with beauty because what is under the mask is not."

The implication there was that she was, herself, a double perhaps.

It was very possible and not the most outlandish thing of the evening.

His fingers found Algie's arm and squeezed, for once trying to be the one that pushed out a calm feeling. Not that he could. "... but as this court was taken from the Sorrowful One, I would say that we do what we can to take it back for her. Perhaps that will bring some balance back to it. Whether making her tithe will do anything for the cage, I do not know, but it seems as if the answer is that it falling is more likely than it not."

Marcus 25/25 Addressing group

A visible shudder ran through Marcus with all the talk of killing and what basically amounted to whom to kill or try to kill. But-

When you were faced with hostile forces bent on controlling you through subtle means of suggestion you had to think about things that you didn't want to. That was just how the game of life was played. Or something.

"Uh, well." He started picking at a sleeve of his coat.

"That one woman- she said something both a bit disturbing but maybe it was a sort of clue? She seemed to have little to gain should we proceed as usual but was I felt she trying to persuade me to do something a bit drastic." He licked his lips as he shook his head repeating the words.

"Said, 'Aren't you curious to see what they look like under the masks?" Meaning I think, that someone on the council isn't what they appear to be. and 'A skin that is not theirs', meaning that someone is an imposter. Finally she said we should take a knife to their pretty faces. And despite Melany spooking me something fierce, I don't think her pretty face is the one to worry about." Said the man who attempted to flirt with her several times.

He cast a glance to Algernon. "It's Melany who will end the ball. Ball's not in her court. That said, we should try and keep it that way. Who ever our puppet master is has us here with the intent to upset the balance of power. Best option would be to keep the status quo for now. You can't just topple the figurehead and expect the country to fall. A true coup means you placate the masses with a false sense of accomplishment and set yourself up to take their place. You gut the system and replace it with ones that support you."

Marcus huffed, feeling a bit like he was not making sense to probably anyone but himself.

"I mean look at what happened to the Romanovs!"

Autumn Smith 20/25, following Shun in
Inspired by Shun's attempt at a pep talk, Autumn followed him into the meeting room. Her eyes were still red, but... there was a job to be done. ******** Alois. She'd save his stupid ******** a** even if he didn't think he wanted it right now, the ********. All of the missing were coming home tonight.

"They can't talk about themselves while they pretend to be someone else. Got that from one of 'em. So far, the only way I've found to get their masks off is to knock the s**t out of them." She gave a shrug, and leaned against the wall. While she addressed the group, her eyes locked on Jeremiah, for the next bit.

"Not sure if there's a less violent way. I tried the whole bit of names having power, like the chief said forever and a day ago, but I'm not sure how well that works."