DUPLICITY | ic inbox

[biscuity]

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username: @ fray

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misfire | un: andrews (i'm not sorry, jenny), backdated to last night

[overarches]

what’s the right answer here? that i want to fuck you?

is it worse if i want you to fuck me?

as if i would want an apology for this. also assuming they never exchanged names in the tdm thread?

[biscuity]

[ Clary knows very few people in the city, none of which would use that handle, nor would any of them send her a text like that out of the blue. Although it feels like the middle of a conversation whoever "andrews" is—

She actually looks past the message and to the picture then, surprised to see a rather intimately familiar face attached. Well. Still pretty sure that message wasn't intended for her. ]

Is this how you start all of your conversations with people?

text | un: magnificent (misfire)

[high_warlock]

You are too kind to me, my darling. You awaken things within me that I thought long dead and gone. You make me feel fresh and new and alive like I haven't before.

[biscuity]

I had no idea you felt this way about me, Magnus.

[ Clary's well aware of the network issues by now so she's about 99.99% sure this isn't actually meant for her, but it still feels better to play it off with a joke than ask him who it's really for. (Were he not from her past she'd assume Alec, but she doesn't know if they've reached the same point here as they did back home.)

Honestly, it'd probably be safer to just ignore it, but she doesn't want him thinking he's being blown off by the intended recipient, either. ]

misfire — un: lightwoods

[distractly]

( typical to her normal style, there's a photo first, allowing the recipient a few minutes to put a story to it themselves, before she kindly steps in to provide some insight. it's not entirely clear from the image alone, but there's a pair of black spandex shorts tugged down past that line of her hip, sweat still subtly sheen across her skin, and whether her sports bra remains in tact, well. that's for them to wonder. )

Those few minutes just after a run aren't anywhere near as appreciated as they should be.

[biscuity]

[ There's no story that Clary's able to piece together in those few minutes except that this was most definitely not meant for her. Even that only comes into focus after about a full minute of her looking between the picture and the handle of the sender. Is it better or worse that it's coming from a friend of hers? (A friend who is undeniably beautiful.) She's honestly not sure, but she happily blames the warmth of her cheeks on the fact that she knows whose hip that is.

She's already typing a response by the time Izzy's text comes through, which just makes her pause briefly before continuing with what she was writing. ]

Uh, Iz?
That definitely didn't go to who you meant to send it to.
Just, you know. FYI.

[bloodofithuriel]

[ A series of texts that either come in very spottily, or don't come in at all until after the Network becomes unjammed. ]

Hey are you okay? Something's going on.
Are you in the Up?
Clary, let me know if you're okay.
Ok, there's something going on at the ████████, and Magnus can't get any portals to work to the Down.
Have you seen Izzy? Or maybe Ragnor?
Angel, Clary, please be okay.
Let me know when you get this?
Alec and Magnus are going crazy with worry, Alex's boyfriend is down there. I don't know what to do.
The SIN guards aren't ███████ ██ ████ ███ ████████.
The Up is throwing a fucking party right now this is ridiculous.
PLEASE let me know if you get these. I need to know you're alright.
I am very drunk. I am very sorry I am your brother. You deserve better family.
When they ███ that stupid fucking █████████ I am going to come find you and carry you back home.

VOICE — un: fray

[biscuity]

[ The messages come through out of order but in quick succession once the jammers are removed, which is only minutes before she finds out the elevator is working again. Already heading that way, Clary reads through each text as they come, confused about the sequence of them — but it's the one he sent when he was drunk that really makes Clary frown.

Rather than responding with a text, especially at the threat of being found and carried out, she calls Jace the moment she steps off the elevator in the Up. (Which takes longer than it should, annoyingly enough.) Even as the line is ringing, she's heading in the direction of the Up apartments, figuring heading to her place is the best bet until she finds out where Jace is. ]

@andrews

[overarches]

hey. i fell off the face of the universe and took the world's longest nap. that's a thing, i guess.

i heard i missed some chaos.
are you doing alright?

[biscuity]

Yeah, I'm okay.
I got stuck in the Down.
It was... definitely crazy, to say the least.

I was wondering what happened to you.
Are you alright?

text; un: finn

[resistingly]

Hey.

[ only now that he's texted this, he doesn't have a clever or witty follow-up. damn. ]

Just wanted to make sure you're settling back in okay. After everything.

[biscuity]

As settled in as I was before.
Is it weird that I find the Up more uncomfortable now?
It's like I'm hyper-aware of the surveillance or something.

[ Not that she's doing anything that will get her into trouble (outside of flirting and hooking up with a lot more Doms than she probably should but it's not her fault she's naturally gravitated towards a lot of them). ]

text; un: flyboy

[withinreach]

Are you busy tonight?

[ He could offer up some context for asking, but... no, if she's out or having a good time with someone he's not going to pull her away from it. ]

don't look at me while i tag out of order COMPLETELY

[biscuity]

[ It's the fact that he doesn't offer any context that piques Clary's interest exponentially. ]

Not really. Why? You gonna whisk me away to another club?

text; un: flyboy

[withinreach]

So there's no way to tell you about this that isn't awkward as hell, but I've been labeled as a submissive. If they even know how or why this happened they won't tell me.

I've heard of people being swapped before, I just didn't think it would be like this.

It shouldn't matter, but I hate it.

[ He's not even sure which part makes him the most angry right now. Being screwed around with, with the idea that his memories have been altered somehow, with the fact that this has messed with Finn too - or just at all of it in general. ]

text → audio

[biscuity]

[ It takes about 1.5 seconds from Clary reading his message to switch over to audio, hoping that he'll pick up. There's probably a reason he stuck with texting but she needs to hear him, not just read lifeless messages. ]

What do you mean, they switched you? How is that even possible? [ But then, how is any of this possible? ] Are you okay?

happy birthday clary

[high_warlock]

[ He doesn't announce it, not really. But the box appears on Clary's bed, wrapped up in shimmering purple paper and a brilliantly gold bow, with a whiff of telltale blue magic. It's noticeable and whenever she finds it, he's sure she'll know it's from him. After all, he addressed the card "To Biscuit."

Inside Clary will find a small assortment of goodies: a color wheel necklace, some sticks of charcoal that will smudge on the page but never wind up on her hands, a fresh art journal, and a color-changing Bob Ross coffee mug. ]

[bloodofithuriel]

[ On the afternoon of her birthday, a flower delivery arrives. Attached is a small package containing a carefully wrapped necklace, and a card that was written in Jace’s messy scrawl. ]

Clary,
Happy Birthday. You’ve been a guardian angel to me in ways you don’t even know yet. Please consider this card an IOU for one dinner at the time and place of your choosing.
-Jace

text; un: flyboy

[withinreach]

[ So Poe's been in bed, staring at the screen for a good hour trying to think of what he should say. Not saying anything at all isn't an option, as it rarely is for him. He just... needs to know that she's okay. ]

I've missed you.
I know it actually hasn't been that long since I saw you, but it kind of feels like last week took up a few years worth of time.

[biscuity]

[ There's an odd rush of nerves when she sees Poe's name pop up on her device, the past week not only leaving her struggling sometimes to parse out reality from whatever the city did but also making her wonder how much of it is going to impact her real relationships with people in the aftermath. But it's nothing compared to the warm excitement that spreads through her when she reads the first part of his message. ]

At minimum. I'm honestly wondering if I should start saying I'm older than I actually am.
But then you'd have to do that as well, so maybe not such a good idea.

I've missed you, too.

▐ GIFT DELIVERY 🎲

[sidehustles]

All SCRATCH STAFF will be receiving the following during their last shift before the holidays:
• PTO through the New Year ( the Scratch will be closed until Jan. 2nd )
  
• A bomber jacket ( front | back ) with employee's name embroidered on the front ( over the "P" )
  
• One enamel lapel/collar pin of nine (9) different potential styles ( 1 | 2 - 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 ) and 2 pairs of cuff links
  —NOTE: player can choose the style their character receives; ICly the distribution is random.
• Coupons for: three (3) free cocktail* / small plate combos; $50 in casino chips; one (1) voucher to submit a "theme" for future Scratch events / parties
  —NOTE: *cocktails can be substituted with an equivalent portion of Scratch-exclusive drugs; coupons are redeemable on or off-shift.

Also included is a printed greeting card, which reads:

Clary Fray,
🎄 SEASONS GREETINGS 🎄 & ❄️ HAPPY HOLIDAYS ❄️ FROM YOUR EMPLOYERS AT THE SCRATCH.

- ♠️

gift delivery | yule

[perfectible]

[ Wrapped beautifully and left at Clary’s door, Betty’s had someone make a game custom-made. ]

We’re still getting to know each other but who doesn’t love a fun game?
- Betty

ATTN: CLARY FRAY

[duplicitymods]

❝

DUPLICITY CITATION No. 17999 Violation: Interfering with the duties of a SIN Guard Fine: $100 Payments must be received within 30 calendar days, or debts will be handed over to the Remittance Facility.

❞

on feb 14th!

[withinreach]

[ Now that Poe has a key to Clary's apartment, which just so happened to be very convenient timing, it's actually very easy for him to sneak in while she's out to leave a box of (non-aphro'd) chocolates and a small bundle of flowers just inside her apartment, arranged in a spot where the brilliant orange-red blooms will catch her eye the moment she walks in the door. There's a small handwritten note attached. ]

These reminded me of you.
Happy Valentine's Day, sweetheart.
-Poe

TEXT | un: fray

[biscuity]

[ The flowers and chocolates are a surprise — an almost worrisome one when she first sees them, concerned the city's up to some kind of trick again — but they're nothing compared to the thrill she gets reading the card. Particularly the pet name he wrote, something he's never called her before. (At least outside of the fake life they'd been tricked into believing was real.)

She's already biting into one of the chocolates when she sends him a text, the smile on her face making it perhaps a bit difficult. ]

If I had known you'd surprise me with presents, I would've given you a key a long time ago.
The flowers are beautiful, and the chocolate's even better. Thank you for both.

voice; un: flyboy

[withinreach]

[ A text would have made more sense. It would be easier to just write it out and wait for the inevitable call that would come through as soon as Clary saw it, but somehow it just feels wrong to tell her like that. He doesn't know why, but after a solid half hour of deafening silence in the apartment he's calling her with no real plan to speak of. He's already back on his feet and pacing by the time she answers, his free hand raking through his hair. ]

Clary. Hey.

[ It's immediately clear from his tone that something's wrong, not least of all because he has no idea where to even start. He's just caught up in the sound of her voice on the other end of the kine, just for a second, it's a flicker of relief that's something to hang onto as long as possible. He only wishes he could be in denial right about now, but he knows. ]

I need to talk to you.

[biscuity]

[ The fact that Poe is calling at all is enough to make Clary's stomach drop to the floor, so the tone of his voice just makes her worry grow exponentially, even as she tries to tell herself to breathe, that she's probably making a bigger deal out of it than she needs to. ]

Yeah, of course.

[ There's noise in the background, suggesting she's out instead of at her apartment, but she steps somewhere a little quieter, the hand not holding her device to her ear gripping anxiously at her bent elbow. ]

What's going on?

( text | un: diaz )

[heliophilous]

so, hey

i'm gonna be in jail for a week.
it's okay don't be worried
no bail though.

HONESTLY MARCOS

[biscuity]

uh sorry WHAT?
are you serious???

[ She's worried enough she's not bothering with proper punctuation. Good job, Marcos. ]

ATTN: CLARY FRAY

[duplicitymods]

❝

DUPLICITY CITATION No. 18183 Violation: Attempted Break-in at People Zoo Fine: 1 week jail Payments must be received within 30 calendar days, or debts will be handed over to the Remittance Facility.

❞

IT'S AN ICEBREAKER

[perfectible]

HEY! MEET BETTY. YOU TWO SHOULD TALK ABOUT: THREESOMES.

[biscuity]

This has got to be the most innocuous way the city's ever tried to get people together.

( icebreaker text ; un: diaz )

[heliophilous]

MEET MARCOS. YOU TWO SHOULD TALK ABOUT TEMPERATURE PLAY.

[biscuity]

For the record, I know you didn't actually send this.
But I'm curious anyway.

text; un: flyboy

[withinreach]

[ Poe's not usually one to isolate himself, but after Gwen vanished? He needed some time and space to sort himself out once the sharpest edge of that absence had worn down to something bearable. Though he wasn't going on any week long benders or anything as extreme he hasn't been having a great time, and it's not long before he realizes that he needs some fresh air.

He's missed Clary, even though it hasn't actually been that long since he was with her, at her apartment. ]

I want to see you.

oh i'm sorry was this supposed to be an easy/quick text convo??? whoops

[biscuity]

[ Clary has, of course, been worried over Poe — he's been through so much in the time she's been in the city and it feels like it's unrelenting — but she also understands that he needs time to process, whatever that means. So she does her best to give him space, admittedly busying herself with extra shifts at Pose and the Scratch, distracting herself the best way she can.

Even when they're together, she tries to just be with him, to let Poe take what he needs from their time without pushing for anything more.

It's a really weird situation to be in, knowing that the guy she cares about — the guy she loves — is mourning the loss of his girlfriend. But it's not like things have been uncomplicated with them from day one, so she takes it in stride, just like the rest of it. And she certainly doesn't expect anything to change, though she'd be lying if the thought of having more time with Poe didn't make her stomach flutter with excitement.

Just like the text he sends does, pulling her focus from the schedule she'd been working on for the studio. ]

Now?
Or is this you asking me to clear my plans for the evening?