(no subject)

[the_hermit]

Who: Daniel, Henley, Jack, and Merritt
What: Merritt realizes Daniel's keeping something from the rest of the team and eventually finds out about the Bible. A team meeting is called, and they finally make a dedicated effort to finding Dylan's real name.


the_hermit: *why thank you*

the_lovers: *it's probably a good thing someone does*

the_hermit: *would make more "yo mama" jokes if that hadn't gone over like a lead balloon the first time*

the_lovers: *yeah. well done there, again, by the way*

the_hermit: *yeah, well. no one bats a thousand every game*

the_lovers: *really? 'cause he thought that was kind of his thing. or what he tells everyone his thing is, anyway*

the_hermit: *it usually is, but considering he can't even begin to get Dylan's name....*

the_lovers: *as much as he hates to be on his side for, well, anything ... that's different*

the_hermit: *he appreciates that, at least*

the_lovers: *he figured he might. but at any rate, so they're not stuck in emotes for the rest of time ... this is him, sitting on the couch, practicing card porn absently and looking a thousand miles away. for once, he's not actually practicing his magic -- nor is anything wrong. he's just lost in thought concerning the Bible, yes, but otherwise as well*

the_hermit: *wanders in, in search of something he left in here earlier, and pauses when he catches sight of that expression. and, wryly* Earth to Daniel.

the_lovers: *snaps out of it with a little start and glances over at him* Daniel Atlas here, sir. Reporting for duty, sir.

the_hermit: You okay there, Houston?

the_lovers: I thought that was you. I mean, Ground Control's in Texas, right? ... or Florida. Or ... whatever.

the_hermit: Pretty sure it depends on the mission. *but that's beside the point. and fine, then...* You okay there, space shuttle?

the_lovers: *he shrugs* I've got a lot on my mind. Nothing big, but ... *he pauses long enough to try and hide a smirk. his lips twitch, at least, if nothing else* ... I'd say you know how that goes, but that sort of requires you to have a mind, first.

the_hermit: *gives up finding what he left, moving on into the living room instead* That's why I pull things from you to fill up that big empty space. *and tilts his head a little. yeah, you asked for this one, Daniel*

the_lovers: Guess I can't really -- no. Don't start that.

the_hermit: Don't start what?

the_lovers: *frowns at him* Try and get in my head. You do the little ... *tilts his head, mocking Merritt* ... every time. And then you try to get all cute with the innocent act. *and you think, by now, he would have learned to look away, realized that that makes him a harder read, but no, there he is, looking directly at Merritt. and he wasn't kidding about having a lot to think about. he's thinking about the show -- if a month is really enough time, not that he doubts their ability to learn the material, he's just never planned a show for more than two people and he's afraid he might have gotten over-eager since they're all dying to get back on stage. he's thinking about pecking order around here -- he recognizes that Jack's the favorite, really it wouldn't take a rocket scientist, but that doesn't really bother him. what he's thinking about in that case is the fact that, without Dylan around, he's ... kind of in charge, if only by virtue of being the front man, and as nice as that is, he's also not sure what to do with it. what if something comes up and he can't handle it? why is he even worried about that when they're in the clear? and, finally, again, there's thoughts about the Bible -- what the hell is he supposed to do with it? he gets that Dylan left it and that it's a puzzle, but he's been all over that thing and nothing's coming to mind and it's ... intensely frustrating*

the_hermit: And yet we keep ending up here and you keep being so. easy. *moves to take a seat not directly across from Daniel, so it's easier to look away if Daniel ever figures that one out. more seriously, then...* The show's fine. None of us are amateurs, even if we hadn't done anything together before, and even if this wasn't a step down from what we just finished. *a beat...* And don't get offended, you know I'm a hundred percent on board with this one, but we're not robbing and framing half a dozen people with this one. *the stakes are lower, he means*

the_lovers: Yeah, I just ... *he doesn't want to somehow accidentally screw them. he wants Jack's comeback to be good, for Jack, for the audience, for everyone* ... I'd say forget it, but you probably got all of that as it ran screaming through my head, huh?

the_hermit: *looks amused* Maybe a little. *another beat, and, sounding sure...* It's gonna be great.

the_lovers: *like he's trying to reassure himself and doesn't really believe it* Yeah. *a beat and then with a little more certainty* Yeah, it will.

the_hermit: Good. Better. *and the squint's back* Okay, what else was going on in there.

the_lovers: It's a work in progress. *it's also a little ridiculous and he knows it. like Merritt said, the stakes are lower and he hasn't had stage fright like this since he started doing magic back when he was a teenager* But, okay, you had your fun. You made me look like some nervous kid about to his first, I don't know, dance rehearsal or something. You can stop now.

the_hermit: No, I actually can't. What was the other thing? You can't figure something out.

the_lovers: *look a little like a deer in headlights because, yeah, Merritt's getting close and he's ... really not sure how he'll react to him not telling the others something. it's not that he's trying to screw them or whatever, he just ... wants to get in on the game, too, but covertly, so everyone shits themselves when he figures it out first. it's all in good fun, as far as he sees it, but he's not sure the others will see it like that* I'm pretty sure you can, actually.

the_hermit: Not if you keep thinking it. What aren't you telling us about?

the_lovers: Okay. Okay, I'm suddenly picturing Scarlett Johansson naked. *a beat* Red hair Scarlett. *because he has a thing for redheads. and fuck, Merrit. just -- fuck*

the_hermit: *rolls his eyes and does sit back a little, but...* Is there something we need to know? *seriously, dude.*

the_lovers: *debates that for a moment and then finally breathes out a sigh, setting the cards down on the table to unearth the Bible from the clutter there* I found this the other day. I figured it probably didn't belong to one of us ... *a beat* ... unless you want to tell me you actually believe in a giant, magic man living in the clouds and controlling our lives, and in that case, I'll probably tell you they have medication for that now. *that said, he offers him the Bible. it's a standard hotel Bible, a Gideons Bible, but it's ... old. how old, it's hard to tell, but it's got that old paper smell. the left-hand corner -- the one against the spine -- is cracked, too, peeled away from the spine a little bit, and the little cloth bookmark is frayed, one string hanging off of it that looks like, if it was tugged, it'll pull the whole thing apart*

the_hermit: *and his frown goes more curious as he reaches out to take the Bible from him. and to that question...* Not so much, no. *turns it over, carefully, like he's afraid it will actually fall apart if he looks at it wrong* Where'd you find it?

the_lovers: It was sitting on one of the shelves -- *he gestures* -- the day after ... Dylan went back to work. *still uncomfortable calling him Dylan. yep*

the_hermit: *and the curiosity builds at that as he turns it back over to hold it properly, opening the front cover* Huh.

the_lovers: *and inside, there's an inscription -- Lionel Shrike. November 23rd, 1978* You can probably guess who I figure it belonged to.

the_hermit: You think? *keeps looking through it, still being careful*

the_lovers: Well, you know, not everyone can be as ... *makes a gesture to indicate the Mentalism thing* ... as you are.

the_hermit: *without looking up* Because that was so taxing on my powers of observation.

the_lovers: Yeah, I figured. *and just by looking at it, there's nothing immediately interesting about the Bible. it's just a book*

the_hermit: Have you figured out anything else about why he left it? *since there had to be a reason, since, like Daniel said, none of them are that religious as far as he knows*

the_lovers: I think you missed it while you were messing with his phone, but ... he said he'd throw us a few bones, name-wise, for us to chew on when he was gone. *a beat* I'm guessing this is that.

the_lovers: Not that I could tell you how.

the_hermit: It would make sense. *and falls silent for a moment, before....* The most obvious is that his name is something biblical, but that might be too obvious. And there's a lot of names in here.

the_lovers: Okay, beyond the obvious, I couldn't tell you how. *he was thinking it was something biblical, too, but like Merritt said, lots of choices there* I feel like there's something more to it.

the_lovers: I mean, that's ... kind of his thing, right? Layers or whatever? *like what he planned to get them into the Eye and pretending to be the opposition and all*

the_hermit: *nods* Right.

the_lovers: I wish I could tell you what the trick is, though. I've tried everything short of, like, literally pulling it apart.

the_hermit: You've tried everything you know. Another of his things was getting us to work together. *a beat* But books don't have a lot to say on a.. psychic level. *or at least not on his brand of it*

the_lovers: *a little guiltily* Okay, point.

the_hermit: *eh, he's been making it a personal challenge instead of trying to pool their resources, too. which is why he won't give Daniel any more crap than that about hiding it* You'd've known by now if he'd said anything to Jack about it. *and if he had said anything to any of them, it would probably have been Jack, for the reason Daniel was thinking before*

the_lovers: You mean if he outright told one of us.

the_hermit: Right.

the_lovers: *is silent for a moment following, obviously thinking if the fact that he's drumming his fingers against his thigh is any indication, and then ... * Okay, so ... we've all sort have been playing this as one giant pissing contest, right? You trying to pull it out of his head, me with this ... *he gestures to the Bible* ... and, like you said, the whole team building thing is ... kind of his thing, too, so ... *what if they all have pieces of the puzzle, whether they realize it or not, and the reason none of them are making progress is because they're trying to solve it solo?*

the_hermit: *finally looks up at him again at the drumming, so he can watch him again. and, finally* I won't argue with you on that one.

the_lovers: *dimly amused* Which begs the question ... team meeting now or later?

the_hermit: My schedule's pretty clear for the night. *he's good with now*

the_lovers: *already getting to his feet to start for the stairs* Let me go raise the rest of the natives.

the_lovers: *knock, knock Jack*

the_death_card: *is sprawled out on his bed reading* Come in? *looks up once he finishes the sentence*

the_lovers: *nudges the door open and leans in, jerking his head back, presumably to indicate the steps* You got a few minutes? Merritt and I are calling a village meeting.

the_death_card: *and sets his book aside to start getting up even as he shrugs* Sure.

the_lovers: Cool. *and that said, he slides back out of the room to go down to Henley's room*

the_death_card: *heads downstairs, claiming a spot on the couch*

the_highpriestess: *comes downstairs a few seconds later, Daniel hot on her heels, and looks between Jack and Merritt as she settles in a chair* Okay, so ... what's going on?

the_lovers: *gestures to Merritt. the Bible, if you would, sir*

the_hermit: *passes it over and settles back*

the_lovers: *takes it from him and passes it to Jack first so he can look at it* If you wouldn't mind giving that to Henley when you're finished. *a beat and then a little louder, addressing all of them* Okay, so Dylan said he'd leave us clues to his name while he was out, right? I found that a couple of days ago.

the_death_card: *takes it from him, eyebrow raised - though the confusion clears once he realizes what it is and what the inside cover says. glances up at Daniel, briefly, looking back at the Bible as he looks it over* Find anything in it other than.. *other than the cover. hands it over to Henley*

the_highpriestess: *takes it with a mumbled thanks and proceeds to thumb through it a little more intently, though she does pause for a few seconds on the inside cover*

the_lovers: Yeah, no, not really. *a beat* Merritt and I got to talking about his motives, though, and how team building is just as much as thing for him as pulling a Batman Gambit is, so ... we figured maybe we should stop the whole dick measuring contest thing. See if anyone has any insights or anything else to add, anything they might have found.

the_hermit: I don't, for the record. I'm kinda up against a wall on this one.

the_death_card: Yeah... he said you might be. But... uh... the other night, he asked me if we'd found anything he'd left, and... there's something about the art, too. I've kinda been looking at it, but... *between rehearsal starting and so on, he hasn't made a lot of progress*

the_lovers: But you haven't found anything yet. *frowns a little, though not specifically at Jack*

the_highpriestess: *looks up from the bible* Not that I think he'd be that obvious, but ... did you look for a signature or whatever?

the_lovers: Have any of us? It might not be on all of them. Or ... *or there could be something else left as a clue on the art. either way*

the_death_card: I kinda looked on my card and the group picture, too, but if there was anything... *he abruptly stops as what he was about to say actually registers, and he immediately gets up, climbing over the back of the sofa*

the_hermit: Uh oh.

the_lovers: *watches Jack, a touch suspicious* Uh oh?

the_death_card: *comes back a moment later with the group picture - his card's in his room, but he'd set this one in the kitchen once he put it in the frame Dylan brought - climbing back into his seat. and while he's carefully taking it back out of the frame* I was gonna say "if there was anything, it was hidden pretty well", and considering his tattoo... *he doesn't know if any of the others have even seen it, but it's kind of beside the point....* and yeah, he has the whole teamwork thing going, but he's also all about stuff being hidden, and... *sets the picture on top of the frame in his lap, rubbing his fingers together briefly, and once he has a spark going, touches the page lightly*

the_lovers: ... he has a tattoo? *this is news*

the_highpriestess: Yeah, it's on his back. You can see it, sometimes, if he's not wearing a shirt under his work clothes and he bends over. * ... and Daniel is staring at her* What?

the_lovers: Nothing. Never mind. *he might be a little jealous, if only because he assumes Henley was staring at Dylan's ass. but at any rate, he looks over at Jack just in time to see him touch his fingers to the page. the sparks race along the curve of the lines, like they did with Dylan's tattoo ... and, as Jack hoped and just before they dissappate, having reached their end, light up Dylan's initials etched in the corner, in the shadows of the couch on the page*

the_hermit: *looks briefly amused at Henley and Daniel, though the amusement fades as he scoots forward on his chair as Jack starts the spark, leaning forward to watch the picture light up* What is that? J-S?

the_death_card: *nods, looking up at the others once the light's faded again* Looks like it.

the_lovers: Okay, well, that's definitely another clue. *not that he feels it helps much at this point*

the_hermit: We know there's twenty-five letters it doesn't start with, at least.

the_lovers: Yeah, true. *a beat* And some of the names in that -- *he gestures to the Bible* -- I'm not sure he would have made it to adulthood if they were his. *what shall we name our son so he does not get the shit kicked out of him at school?*

the_hermit: And considering his family's not hispanic, that probably rules out the big one. *considering it's only really popular among that culture*

the_lovers: *just snorts. that's kind of a shame. it'd be kind of hilarious if Dylan's real name was Jesus*

the_highpriestess: *makes a small, amused noise and goes to pull the bookmark out of the Bible to see if there's anything particularly interesting on that page. the only problem? when she tugs on it, the loose string catches on her nails and starts to unravel and even when she stills her hand to keep from doing any more damage to it, it keeps going like a lit fuse on a powder keg. oh. oh, she is so fucked when Dylan finds out she destroyed his father's Bible* Uh ... guys?

the_death_card: *looks over - and then leans forward to set the picture on the coffee table* What'd you do?

the_hermit: *and he says that at the same time he says...* Good job.

the_highpriestess: Besides completely fuck myself? I just went to move the bookmark. *the string unravels into the spine and stops there for a moment. for that moment, it seems like maybe it's not so bad, maybe Dylan will forgive her destroying the bookmark, maybe she can take her hand back, now. she tugs a little, both at the string, still caught on her nail, and her hand, tenatively, and as she does, the spine of the book cracks loudly, pages sliding out of it like falling dominoes while others fall out, scattering in all directions like molted feathers. when it stops, Henley takes her hand back in earnest, hurriedly and with a little cheating, her fingers almost translucent for a second, and then passes the Bible off to Merritt like it's suddenly caught fire*

the_death_card: Whoa.

the_hermit: *takes it from her, adjusting his hold quickly to keep from dropping it* Yeah, whoa is right.

the_lovers: *bends down to pick up one of the pages that fell out*

the_highpriestess: Okay, that was traumatic. *a beat* Can someone tell me what the hell just happened?

the_death_card: *follows Daniel, picking one up that slid over to them, turning it over and then looking to Merritt*

the_hermit: *flips a page, dislodging another one that seemed to be stuck, and he catches it, frowning at it and then at the ones still in the book - and abruptly laughs, lifting the loose page to indicate it* The Gideons just leave New Testaments. *lifts the Bible, in turn* This is the Old Testament.

the_lovers: ... How is that funny?

the_highpriestess: *not answering Daniel and to no one in particular* Well, I'm going to guess I didn't actually break it.

the_hermit: *rolls his eyes* It's like the apartment again. *it's not exactly funny, it's just impressive as hell*

the_lovers: I'd ask where the big reveal is, but ... *maybe this is just putting the flower in the vase*

the_hermit: Or it could just be another hint. *sets the loose page aside to close the Bible around his finger, checking the covers to see if anything changed, there*

the_highpriestess: You mean beyond his name probably being Old Testament? *beyond the pages changing, nothing else seems different at the moment. the book's still in bad repair, the corner near the spine still broken. the inscription is still there in the front. and so on*

the_hermit: *frowns* I meant that was probably the hint, yeah. *when nothing else seems different, he looks back to Jack* You think...

the_death_card: I can't do every page...

the_hermit: *seriously? focus, people.* Just... try the inscription. *holds it out to him*

the_death_card: *takes it back, setting it on his lap, calling up a spark again and touching it to the inscription*

the_lovers: *leans over to watch as light traces the curve of Shrike's name. rather than fade as it reaches the end of the E, though, it washes over the page in entirety, lighting up the gold decoration that line the edges of the page, then jumps down to the next page, to chase the gold at the page's edge there, too. it continues until it reaches a certain point and then rather than just lighting up the edges, it burns the decoration away, all the way down to the bottom of the book before it disappears. so, now, they're left with a very specific area left highlighted* I feel we're getting warmer.

the_hermit: Narrowed it down even more, at least.

the_death_card: *hands it back to Merritt* That was also kind of traumatic. For the record.

the_highpriestess: At least it wasn't me, this time. *a beat* No offense.

the_lovers: So what're we left with?

the_death_card: None taken.

the_hermit: *finds the end of the remaining gold to mark it with his hand - which happens to be the first page of Exodus* Genesis.

the_lovers: That's, like, creation myth stuff, right? *he knows literally nothing about the Bible beyond the fact that it's a nice work of fiction starring those God and Jesus fellows*

the_hermit: *nods* Creation, early history of the Middle East and Africa, yeah.

the_lovers: Okay, well, we can probably at least rule out the actual ... "and then God made Adam from mud and sticks" part. *which is only about four chapters of Genesis. sorry, Daniel*

the_hermit: Probably. *and as he's flipping through* Unfortunately, there's a good handful of pretty common names in here.

the_highpriestess: Including those starting with J? Because I seem to remember there being a lot of ... Japheth and Judah and so on. *and those aren't all that common. ... then again, though, she can also think of Jacob and Jason and Jarod, too, so ... *

the_lovers: Wow. *both at the fact that she knows that and the fact that they named people that, back in the day*

the_death_card: *looks up at her from watching Merritt* His father's name was Lionel. *so it's not outside the realm of possibility that Dylan's real name is something unusual*

the_highpriestess: And? *Lionel doesn't really seem like that weird a name to her? dated, maybe, but he was born, what, in the 1940s, probably?*

the_death_card: *shrugs*

the_hermit: Never met a Japheth, but Judah's not that weird with the right beliefs in the family. But there's also Joseph and Jacob. And maybe Joshua, though that might be the wrong book.

the_lovers: *is silent for a moment and then* Think he'd be pissed off if Henley Googled "J names in the Bible" and we printed out the list and crossed out anything that was too stupid?

the_hermit: He said no Googling. But considering we narrowed it down this much on our own... *up to them*

the_highpriestess: Well, it's either that or we make our own list ... which will probably end up being the same thing and used the same way. *them writing down every J name they come across and then crossing out the ones that are too bizarre*

the_lovers: *looks to Jack as if he's waiting for him to weigh in*

the_death_card: At this point, we might as well. *Google, he means, because yeah, what Henley said*

the_highpriestess: *can't help but smirk a bit as she gets to her feet* I'll be right back, then. *she heads upstairs and returns a few minutes later with said list, setting it down on the coffee table where they can all look at it* Okay, this was what I could find. It's not broken up by Old or New Testament, though, so ... we might be able to narrow it down to the less weird ones and then narrow it down further by checking to see if a name on the list is actually in the Old Testament.

the_hermit: *shifts forward in his chair again so he can see better* You can probably cross out that entire middle section. Considering I'm not even sure how some of those would be pronounced.

the_highpriestess: *leans over the list and crosses out the middle section. also circles anything that looks immediately, remotely modern to her -- Jacob, Jesse, Joachim, Joel, Jonathan, Jordan, Joshua, and Jude -- before leaning back* Okay.

the_death_card: *taps on "Joseph"* It's definitely Old Testament. *he worked in a theater*

the_highpriestess: *makes a little face -- how could she forget that one, seriously? -- and leans to circle that one, too* Right.

the_lovers: Let me see that? *points to the pen and when Henley hands it over, he circles John, too*

the_lovers: *and James*

the_death_card: *holds his hand out for the pen, too, to circle Josiah*

the_lovers: ... Josiah? Really?

the_death_card: *shrugs* I knew someone.

the_lovers: *seems to consider that for a moment and then shrugs* Fair enough. *looks to Merritt as if he expects him to take a turn*

the_death_card: And... it's probably the same thing as Jesus, but *circles Jose* And there was that football movie... *circles Julius* and NCIS. *circles Jethro, and then holds the pen out to Merritt*

the_hermit: *takes the pen, leaning forward to cross out Julia, Judith, and Joanna*

the_lovers: *looks at what he did to the list and snorts* No, those are good. You should have left those on there.

the_hermit: This is why I do the mental stuff. *circles Jason and James and crosses out a few more Henley missed in the first run through that are among the more unlikely*