THE EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLING OF FENIX DOWN | PLAYER PLOT

[aelwyn_aberration]

Aelwyn has been tasked with developing a plan to kidnap and assassinate Fenix Down and his circus after a conversation with Nia Lehrer authorizing this, provided she makes it impossible to trace back to ADI.

She’s going to be asking for help with this, but importantly she’s absolutely NOT going to reveal this to the network at large, because she doesn’t trust people to not give her speeches about cringe shit like “Murder is wrong!”, “Kidnapping is wrong!”, “What the fuck!”, and other assorted hot takes. OOCly, I’d also prefer not to have it leaked. Arguments about the ethics of it are fine, though!

Her plan revolves around fabricating a false cult based around The Dark called the Shadowcats, based upon her own experiences with working for a spooky shadow cat named Kalina. She wants to create numerous false flag incidents to back them up and make it seem like an on-the-rise organization with a grudge against Fenix’ circus. From there, they’ll kidnap Fenix Down, get as much information from him as humanly possible, and then stage his murder elaborately. The amount of answers they get from Fenix Down is dependent on the amount of players.

They’re going to be in regular contact with Nia and overseen by Austin, a senior agent at the ADI, who will ensure they’re not using powers. They can get around him if they try really hard, but he's good at his job.

This will naturally have consequences of various kinds depending on how it shapes up, but I’m absolutely down for any further additions people have in mind if they want to get involved! Listed consequences include:

- Burns (1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree are all options) - All troupe members can inflict these
- Chronic pain (it would be up to the player the specific location and nature/degree of what this is, but it should be something that would present a potential disruption to their life/activities they enjoy) - Fenix can inflict this
- Temporary (or permanent) vision or hearing loss - Roderick and Penny can inflict these if they're engaged.
- Capture and torture (and eventual release as a potential trade for Fenix) by one of the other avatars in Fenix's troupe.

Aelwyn, for one, is going to come out of this much more heavily marked by the Desolation, and with a brand new book to experiment with too.

Comments

[henchgal]

While Meredith is not going to be involved in the actual takedown, she would be willing (eager) to help with the falsification of records and news articles and such to help fabricate the cult's history.

She would rope in anyone on the media relations team who's good with this sort of work to help make this happen--I know Ainsley's player wanted her in the MR department, so this could be a chance for Mere and her to Do A Thing together.

(I just started a thread with her about working in the department, so this would actually be a great hook to run with, if you're good with that. But also, anyone else in that department who wants in from this angle would be Neat.)

[welladjustedwhitly]

I don't really know what's going on, or if this ties to game stuff before Ains & I showed up but either way: My current tactic is going to be just throwing Ainsley into the deep end so I'm here for it!

[aelwyn_aberration]

Absolutely! Aelwyn will be largely content to let Meredith run that side of things, because she knows that's where she shines.

[citizendetective]

OH BOY

How easy will it be for characters to find out about this? Will it be purely word of mouth from other PCs, or would it be possible for ADI to tap them in too? I have a just-apped character (this journal) who'd be totally up for this, but she's obviously never spoken to Aelwyn or the other major players in the plot, so I'm not sure if she'd be struck out as an option just based on that. Likewise, Callisto would be very willing to serve as muscle if they wouldn't consider her too much of a wildcard to involve (which, if they would, fair enough).

[aelwyn_aberration]

No pre requisite CR necessary! I think ADI sending people Aelwyn's way is definitely something that would make sense, and Aelwyn would want to involve people who have never met Fenix or the circus, so she'll be happy to take Misty aboard.

Callisto can be called in on an emergency? Since Aelwyn knows she's down for violence, but she's not going to trust her with too much for obvious reasons!

[ployboy]

False flag incidents you say...

Jim here can bring to the table
• an (in)famous social media persona
• a history of leaked magic through said means
• because of his (ahem) proximity with Jeff Calhoun, he has access to Fenix's personal business card/phone number
• in the flesh, he's met and played up the Jim-sona with Penny specifically

Timmy won't like killing ANYbody, to put it mildly. Interrogation and baiting the Big Bad, though? I believe he could be persuaded, by sheer amount of guilt if nothing else.

Look man all I want in life is deaf!techno!tim to the rescue......

[aelwyn_aberration]

Yes, Timothy Jimothy Drake, please send other people out on wild goose chases that AREN'T AELWYN.

Tim can definitely be sent in to lure Fenix out for the actual kidnapping though, yep! Would Tim try to prevent the killing from happening?

[worthallthis]

Winter is, ironically, down for murder but not for torture or like... all the complicated stuff. He will make a sniper nest and shoot anyone you need shot from 500 yards, but he will not participate in trying to get info out of anyone or be good at lying about the other stuff. He is not good at lying, period.

[aelwyn_aberration]

Aelwyn is more likely to want Winter as backup and muscle, maybe taking part in the actual kidnapping itself and guarding to ensure Fenix doesn't get loose. Sitting in for the actual interrogation or taking part in the smokescreen operation is definitely optional, and she won't ask anyone to take part in it if they don't want to.

[lesbeau]

Sign Beau the fuck UP. She came in after the circus but this is the best chance she's seen to get some real answers about the nature of these avatars (and also the eye really, really wants to get some fuckin answers out of Fenix...)

She's great at interrogation and has enough Eye Juice to fuel one of her at-home powers too, which is basically a monk version of forcing a Zone of Truth. She also just trusts Aelwyn to be doing this for the right reasons (even if that's slightly a mistake in this situation on her own judgement). So like, sign her the fuck UP

EDIT: almost forgot to mention but RE discord discussions as well, if Jon is in Martin is. He is not as useful for the interrogation part but he is good with computers and good at looking unassuming while doing illegal and/or shady shit.

[aelwyn_aberration]

Aelwyn's intentions aren't actually bad, she just thinks he's bad news. The fact that she'll come out of this as the Desolation's special girl is just happenstance. But yeah, Aelwyn knows Beau is down to clown (murder), and it's one of her favorite things about her.

We'll see if they can sneak the technical monk power past the ADI's overseer by virtue of "This is just regular human capability, you could do it if you weren't a fucking scrub."

[musicdied]

Yelena is here for murder and interrogation. And false flag bullshit, if they need to make an actual showing outside of seeding stories in media, social and otherwise.

She would probably advocate for just wiping out the entire avatar clownshow so the survivors can't come back looking for vengeance later, because if you're not going to murder efficiently, don't murder at all.

[citizendetective]

She would probably advocate for just wiping out the entire avatar clownshow so the survivors can't come back looking for vengeance later, because if you're not going to murder efficiently, don't murder at all.

Misty will probably back her up on this, tbh.

[worthallthis]

See this is the part you use Winter in his sniper nest for.

[aelwyn_aberration]

Aelwyn will also vote in favor of this, to be honest. Though they might need to change the cover they're using from The Dark to The Slaughter, since Aelwyn would still like to have this remain unconnected to ADI as far as the public is concerned.

[citizendetective]

Misty is incredibly new, but is going to be recruited by ADI to participate in this, a fact for which I am very sorry. She'll likely really enjoy the experience from start to finish, and while she's new enough that she won't have any contacts or influence to bring to the table, she'll have a wealth of ideas to help flesh out the fake cult and their activities. She also knows Way Too Much about kidnapping best practices and crime scene staging, and she'll be very invested in making sure that everyone involved is staying safe and not leaving any incriminating evidence behind.

[aelwyn_aberration]

In a series of events surprising absolutely nobody, Aelwyn likes this woman already.

[the_archivist]

I am absolutely down for Aelwyn blackmailing Jon into performing an interrogation. He's fallen a bit off the wagon during the last event so he's at decent strength.

[aelwyn_aberration]

Think of it this way, Jon, this way nobody gets tortured.

[cacophonish]

Okay given the ADI's active involvement and NO POWERS rule, Jeff probably won't be able to participate.

(Plus there's the fact that Aelwyn's already aware that he is a threat, and potential complications from this month's event, SO...)

But! If she wants some sketchy help on the sly, unofficially, he'll volunteer to spread some Spiral havoc at the circus to get some of the other fire clowns out of the way. He's going to be hangry, and he's about to have some shiny new magic he wants to practice, so it'll be killing two birds with one stone.

(And idk maybe he wants to see if he can get his hands on the circus's mind bendy mirror while everyone else is dealing with the Fenix situation)

This is of course a long shot offer, since Jeff's LIKELY considered more of a liability than an asset, but I thought I'd offer all the same!

[aelwyn_aberration]

Depending on how their current thread and the event pans out, Aelwyn might reach out to him. She at least knows that he's got a very short leash with the ADI and with all their mutual friends so she's not as worried about him fucking them all over.

[canofmanji]

Considering their rocky start I'm thinking Aelwyn isn't going to want Manji's help, however! He is gullible at times so he could be useful for spreading rumors/misinformation if needed!

[aelwyn_aberration]

..........She will absolutely send him on wild goose chases and use technology he doesn't understand to add more credibility to the claims behind whichever cult they use as a smokescreen LMAO.

[whisperedone]

Garner doesn't know Aelwyn yet, but he'd be down for hunting things (it is his aligned entity and I would love for him to get his Hunt on) he's also already blind, so going after the person who can cause blindness would be his go-to! Additionally, he can murder ortorture as needed without powers.

[aelwyn_aberration]

DND characters who are down with murder gotta stick together. He can just be sent her way by the ADI.

[thedoctorsmate]

Donna doesn't like Aelwyn at all, but... she's here for the admin side of this operation. Thinking the best way to get her involved is via Meredith. So long as no one tells her murder and torture are involved, she'd be happy to help out with the media side of things.

[aelwyn_aberration]

I think it would make more sense for Meredith to bring her in, yeah. Aelwyn has zero respect for Donna sobs............

[bloodalwaystells]

Jaeger hasn't actually met Aelwyn yet, afaik, but he's a very scary Security professional with a lot of experience in dealing with 'difficult' people and situations. He's got experience in tactics and interrogation, up to and including full lethal force, and he'll be willing to participate in the mission, though he likely won't engage in straight-up torture. He *will* fight as needed, though, and if he can offer any help in setting up false incidents, he's willing to share ideas from his past work as magical security for a blood cult. :>

[aelwyn_aberration]

They spoke briefly in a meeting a while ago, and Aelwyn thinks he has a good head on his shoulders, so she'd definitely be happy to bring him in on this!