[ even if tyke asked (though to be honest, irene is hardly banking on that), she wouldn't give a straight answer. she knows what she meant by it, but that's for only her to know. it keeps her on top of this so to speak. ]
I didn't put pineapple on yours. If your issue is merely with the pineapple.
Though, truly, I seem to have forgotten when pineapples became synonymous with nefarious deeds.
[And then, after a minute, wherein Taylor tries to weigh how much she'd rather avoid people up against seeing or eating these pizzas in person (and did that mean Irene had made one just for her? Why?):]
It makes the pineapple less sour. I used to know individuals who couldn't eat pineapple unless it was on pizza. It's hardly a nefarious thing.
[ tyke can't see irene's lip upturn into a small smile, and to be honest, it's half the reason irene chooses to smile before she sends back her reply. ]
In the kitchen on the fifth floor of the passenger quarters. I trust you can find it easily enough.
[Taylor doesn't respond to the rest, mostly because there's no point. Not when she can just do it and prove how easy it was without needing to agree (or argue) about it. She's there quickly enough, three dogs trailing along behind her, quiet and obedient but clearly alert to their surroundings.
Taylor's wearing the jumpsuit, as Irene would most likely expect, but the arms are tied around her waist to leave the white undershirt exposed. Her black hair's a mess, badly cut from where the blonde grew out, and she doesn't look like she's been sleeping properly, but she wears all of it like she wears her attitude: belligerent and unapologetic.
She recognises Irene from her first video, but seems to forget or simply doesn't care that there's no way for the woman to recognise her in turn - approaching her without any sort of greeting whatsoever.]
[ As soon as Irene notices her, she tries to take in the small details about her. The dogs, three, all seemingly loyal and attentive when it came to taking in their surroundings. She expected to see the jumpsuit, but not in the way that she's wearing it.
Though perhaps she should have, since why wouldn't someone who lectured her on the point of the jumpsuit just merely attempt to make the jumpsuit slightly different. The hair is interesting to Irene, she hadn't necessarily pegged her as someone to dye their hair, but perhaps she should have.
Irene finds all the things about her rather intriguing and decides that she might need to do the speaking first. ]
I misbehave at home, of course I know nefarious individuals. [ a beat. ] They're well-behaved.
[ coming from irene, saying that anything around you was well behaved is a compliment. ]
[Taylor hasn't really spoken to anyone much since the fear gas, closed herself away in her room for a few days before Tommy managed to draw her out. Since then it's been broken text conversations with people on the network, jogging in mostly-silence with Tommy. She still isn't comfortable, and it's evident both in the set of her shoulders, the tiny shifts they occasionally make, and how long it takes her to reply.]
Your nefarious individuals, or my dogs?
[There might be something there, wondering exactly how Irene knew her pineapple-on-pizza eating friends. They'd talked about BDSM and espionage (she'd denied the latter; Taylor still considered it open). It wasn't surprising she knew (actual, pineapple related foodstuffs aside) nefarious individuals, but did she work with them, or was that part of her leash-holding?]
[ Part of Irene's job is to notice those tiny shifts. Anything about a person that might be interesting, that might be a tell for their feelings, she has to notice. (It's not like Sherlock's but that's the beauty of it.) Everything means something and it's all being noted as she looks at her. ]
Both. Though, unfortunately, my nefarious individuals can be slightly unruly when they want to be. Sometimes you can't control them no matter how much you pull on a leash.
[ Irene knows her friends because of what she does. The truth is, as much as some people like to claim, not everyone is dominant at heart. So many people with secrets were submissive and so open when she wanted them to be. The one nefarious individual she never has fully learned to control is Moriarty and that's who she can work with. At least for now. One day perhaps she'd hold all the leashes like she wants to. ]
[There is a conflict, often, in the way Taylor views herself and how she talks about herself - in how she allows others to talk about her. A hairtrigger aggression against insults on her intelligence, against language she finds patronising, but she cannot accept compliments on the same, on her character or her actions (no matter how true they might be). They're met with confusion, shrugged off, cut down in importance, or outright denied.
There is only one thing she is consistently accepting of, maybe even proud of, and that is the good behaviour of her dogs. She knows how well-behaved they are, how well-trained. The only caninapath in the history of the Academy, perhaps the only one to exist, and that only meant no one could deal with dogs like she did. And they were far easier to deal with than humans.]
No.
[She's unsurprised that Irene's nefarious friends are unruly, and she's unsurprised that her dogs aren't. One thing to note, though, was that Irene had noticed their behaviour at all - but maybe that wasn't surprising either, with all the talk of leashes. Taylor still lifts her chin, though, something about the other woman (her manner, the way she talked) drawing out her need to challenge, even where she feels raw and brittle.]
[ Irene's profession demands that she know how to give a compliment when they're needed. Sometimes people are like Tyke and don't want to hear them (ninety percent of the time, Irene can figure out why and use it to her advantage, but she can't figure out why Tyke wouldn't like them) while others are like Neal and thrive on hearing them. It's a form of positive reinforcement no matter what kind of person is on the receiving end.
Humans can be identical to dogs when properly trained. (Irene doesn't really do puppy play, but sometimes a client wants it and she is The Woman.) Tyke's control over her dogs is fascinating though, Irene can control a person better than anyone, but she didn't even come close to this control. ]
Smart.
[ A compliment and one that Tyke can easily respond to with anger, and Irene is expecting it, to be honest. Irene has the urge to raise an eyebrow at how Tyke lifts her chin, but she stops herself. (Tyke isn't a sub disobeying, she's a woman just like Irene who presents a challenge.) She shrugs before shaking her head. ]
From you? No. From someone else, maybe. You insult my observation skills if you thought I would expect another answer. [ a beat. ] Do you still want it?
[Ordinarily the compliment given like that would have Taylor reacting in anger, or at least rising to it like an insult, even though Irene continues on to say it was expected. But she's still feeling worn through and drawn out, raw-edged in a way that makes some parts of her feeling more sharp than usual, and others weaker. There's anger still there, confusion and distrust against words like that, but it's muted down to a tensing of Taylor's jaw, a sharp shift of her shoulders. She looks away, turns to pull herself up to sit on the counter, finding something solid in an action she knows isn't acceptable to most, that leaves her hunched over herself slightly. Her dogs gather together on the floor under her feet, settling themselves down.]
Don't know your observation skills. [They'd only spoken via text previously, though Irene had picked over words like someone with an eye for detail. But Taylor had gotten enough so far, amends it even if the idea of leaving it hanging like something Irene still had to prove does appeal to her.] Didn't.
[A frown, for a moment, but if Irene's trying to mean something else with that question, Taylor isn't willing to trip into it.]
[ Despite the fact that Tyke's reaction isn't nearly as overt as it usually would be (and Irene thinks certainly not as violent), Irene notices the subtle things. The shift in her shoulders and the tensing of her jaw make Irene realize that perhaps compliments aren't the way to go. Or if they are, they need to be subtle, focused on other things that aren't Tyke herself. Irene doesn't stop her when sits on the counter, she hardly minds it and she's nearly certain that Tyke would sit on it to spite her if Irene raised an objection. Her eyes focus on the dogs for a good minute before she finally looks back at Tyke. ]
You haven't seen them in full action. Don't is still perfectly acceptable. [ It's technically true, while Irene was able to pick the words, text always makes it harder on Irene unless she knows the person. You can't read emotions from texts after all.
For once, Irene didn't actually mean anything by the question and it shows in how her lips quirk up when she moves to grab the pizza. It's has half it topped with chicken and half of it topped with pepperoni. (She remembered, oh yes she did.) ]
I wasn't sure which one you'd like more. Thankfully I didn't include pineapple, otherwise, I fear what you might have done to it.
[Taylor watches her, still frowning slightly. Hadn't expected Irene to concede that point - a point Taylor had already given her - not sure why she has. The same frown gets turned on the pizza, and she looks at it quietly for a long moment. Being told there was pizza (for her) and being confronted with it in reality were two different things. She suddenly feels even more uncertain than before, tension bristling up her spine, like she should forget the whole thing and leave. But sitting up on the counter had trapped her in that, the dogs under her feet and Irene right in front of her.]
Would've picked it off.
[Half-mumbled. She can do basic problem solving like a topping she doesn't like on a pizza, no problem. The whole situation, though, that wasn't basic.
She glances up from the pizza, uncertainty warring with something defensive (and maybe slightly wounded) in her expression. Irene didn't know about the fear toxin, didn't know about what Taylor had done to Tommy, but there was a part of Taylor that thought she should. Should see it in her with those observation skills of hers: see how much of a fuck up she was, how she wasn't worth any sort of attention or random space pizza with her favourite toppings on it.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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there's a pizza right in front of me that debunks that claim.
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It is impossible.
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You were saying?
1/2
Where the fuck did you get pineapple?
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1/2
And I may have had to go to one of the supper decks kitchens to find it. It was worth it.
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I promise I haven't done anything particularly nefarious to it besides making it a bit too crisp.
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You put pineapple on it.
That's nefarious.
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I didn't put pineapple on yours. If your issue is merely with the pineapple.
Though, truly, I seem to have forgotten when pineapples became synonymous with nefarious deeds.
1/2
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Where?
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[ tyke can't see irene's lip upturn into a small smile, and to be honest, it's half the reason irene chooses to smile before she sends back her reply. ]
In the kitchen on the fifth floor of the passenger quarters. I trust you can find it easily enough.
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[Taylor doesn't respond to the rest, mostly because there's no point. Not when she can just do it and prove how easy it was without needing to agree (or argue) about it. She's there quickly enough, three dogs trailing along behind her, quiet and obedient but clearly alert to their surroundings.
Taylor's wearing the jumpsuit, as Irene would most likely expect, but the arms are tied around her waist to leave the white undershirt exposed. Her black hair's a mess, badly cut from where the blonde grew out, and she doesn't look like she's been sleeping properly, but she wears all of it like she wears her attitude: belligerent and unapologetic.
She recognises Irene from her first video, but seems to forget or simply doesn't care that there's no way for the woman to recognise her in turn - approaching her without any sort of greeting whatsoever.]
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Though perhaps she should have, since why wouldn't someone who lectured her on the point of the jumpsuit just merely attempt to make the jumpsuit slightly different. The hair is interesting to Irene, she hadn't necessarily pegged her as someone to dye their hair, but perhaps she should have.
Irene finds all the things about her rather intriguing and decides that she might need to do the speaking first. ]
I misbehave at home, of course I know nefarious individuals. [ a beat. ] They're well-behaved.
[ coming from irene, saying that anything around you was well behaved is a compliment. ]
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Your nefarious individuals, or my dogs?
[There might be something there, wondering exactly how Irene knew her pineapple-on-pizza eating friends. They'd talked about BDSM and espionage (she'd denied the latter; Taylor still considered it open). It wasn't surprising she knew (actual, pineapple related foodstuffs aside) nefarious individuals, but did she work with them, or was that part of her leash-holding?]
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Both. Though, unfortunately, my nefarious individuals can be slightly unruly when they want to be. Sometimes you can't control them no matter how much you pull on a leash.
[ Irene knows her friends because of what she does. The truth is, as much as some people like to claim, not everyone is dominant at heart. So many people with secrets were submissive and so open when she wanted them to be. The one nefarious individual she never has fully learned to control is Moriarty and that's who she can work with. At least for now. One day perhaps she'd hold all the leashes like she wants to. ]
Expecting a different answer?
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There is only one thing she is consistently accepting of, maybe even proud of, and that is the good behaviour of her dogs. She knows how well-behaved they are, how well-trained. The only caninapath in the history of the Academy, perhaps the only one to exist, and that only meant no one could deal with dogs like she did. And they were far easier to deal with than humans.]
No.
[She's unsurprised that Irene's nefarious friends are unruly, and she's unsurprised that her dogs aren't. One thing to note, though, was that Irene had noticed their behaviour at all - but maybe that wasn't surprising either, with all the talk of leashes. Taylor still lifts her chin, though, something about the other woman (her manner, the way she talked) drawing out her need to challenge, even where she feels raw and brittle.]
You?
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Humans can be identical to dogs when properly trained. (Irene doesn't really do puppy play, but sometimes a client wants it and she is The Woman.) Tyke's control over her dogs is fascinating though, Irene can control a person better than anyone, but she didn't even come close to this control. ]
Smart.
[ A compliment and one that Tyke can easily respond to with anger, and Irene is expecting it, to be honest. Irene has the urge to raise an eyebrow at how Tyke lifts her chin, but she stops herself. (Tyke isn't a sub disobeying, she's a woman just like Irene who presents a challenge.) She shrugs before shaking her head. ]
From you? No. From someone else, maybe. You insult my observation skills if you thought I would expect another answer. [ a beat. ] Do you still want it?
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Don't know your observation skills. [They'd only spoken via text previously, though Irene had picked over words like someone with an eye for detail. But Taylor had gotten enough so far, amends it even if the idea of leaving it hanging like something Irene still had to prove does appeal to her.] Didn't.
[A frown, for a moment, but if Irene's trying to mean something else with that question, Taylor isn't willing to trip into it.]
The pizza? Yeah.
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You haven't seen them in full action. Don't is still perfectly acceptable. [ It's technically true, while Irene was able to pick the words, text always makes it harder on Irene unless she knows the person. You can't read emotions from texts after all.
For once, Irene didn't actually mean anything by the question and it shows in how her lips quirk up when she moves to grab the pizza. It's has half it topped with chicken and half of it topped with pepperoni. (She remembered, oh yes she did.) ]
I wasn't sure which one you'd like more. Thankfully I didn't include pineapple, otherwise, I fear what you might have done to it.
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Would've picked it off.
[Half-mumbled. She can do basic problem solving like a topping she doesn't like on a pizza, no problem. The whole situation, though, that wasn't basic.
She glances up from the pizza, uncertainty warring with something defensive (and maybe slightly wounded) in her expression. Irene didn't know about the fear toxin, didn't know about what Taylor had done to Tommy, but there was a part of Taylor that thought she should. Should see it in her with those observation skills of hers: see how much of a fuck up she was, how she wasn't worth any sort of attention or random space pizza with her favourite toppings on it.]
Why are you doing this?