🌙 Inbox - Marc Spector's Dead Drop

[reflectedlight]

If he's told you how to find it, a loose ceiling panel above the Lyfe Boat on the first floor is where you can leave hand-written notes inside of library books if you're trying to reach Marc Spector.

If he hasn't told you how to find it, you shouldn't be here. Marc doesn't exist. You want Steven Grant's Inbox.

This functions like a normal inbox, but it is mostly text which can lead into spam.
Put date in the header, please!
Marc tags from reflectedlight
Steven tags from de_nile

Comments

[reflectedlight]

"What's gonna happen if you come clean? Worst case scenario, what are we talking?"

[mercurialize]

Now, that's a thought. What could happen if he was just.. honest about it all?

"Oh, you know, just.. worlds ending. Mine and whatever wrong ear hears about it." Is he exaggerating? It's hard to tell.

"You know," a hand leaves his pocket to gesture along as he speaks. "Back home there are legends about it. What I am, what I can do. I flaunt it to the right audience as a spectacle, use it to terrify and torment others. Most kingdoms know of me, even if they don't know my face. Fear, reverence, awe. Jealousy. Envy. But here?" You'd think he'd gesture with a hand but he taps his foot instead, it clangs on the tin.

"Here, there's too many variables. Powers I've never seen from people, Talent I can't explain or grasp. If! If they're even people at all. Back home, I'm safe. I can do what I want and I know my limits. I know all the possible threats, I can steer clear, be one step ahead. But I can't trust what I don't know and what I can't understand and that's this entire fucking place."

A 'go ahead' gesture, but it's just directed toward Marc. "No offense. It's not you exactly. You need to keep Steven safe, I need to keep this safe. I've seen what happens when these things fall into the wrong hands. Saved a world once, it gets old after the first time." And he just looks tired even by saying it and he regrets that much immediately. Everyone lost something with Black Barrow, some sanity, some hair, some their lives. Kylar doesn't know the extent of what's wrong with him but he can feel himself withering somehow despite it. His jaw sets a bit but there's an easier smile.

"If you actually get stuck with me, I'll consider talking about it. Deal?" He'll offer a hand to shake on it. Consider not.. guaranteed but maybe it's something.

[reflectedlight]

What.

Marc shakes his hand, but looks baffled.

"I mean, look. You got your right to privacy, and if it's not going to hurt me or Steven, that's all I really need, the rest is yours to... do what you want with. Tell me or don't, it's fine. And it sounds like you got it handled just not talking about it, unlike my shitshow.

You're famous at home?"

[mercurialize]

Handled, yeah. Sure. You can call it that. Except John could see right through him. Even talk to it without Kylar having any hope of blocking him or preventing it. It was like he was transparent. It's unnerving and he can't decide if John's an enemy with a kind smile or not.

Famous though? Did he say that? "What? You think someone like me is born with a title like Baron?" He thought this was fairly obvious, but maybe not. Or maybe Marc thought he was lying about the Baron and 'my Lord' comment. "Honestly, I'm more surprised you aren't famous, Moon Knight. Hard to get a title and not have some stories attached to it."

[reflectedlight]

"Mighta been a thing where you kill a Baron and you get their stuff, how should I know? Mighta been a - a present, for saving some princess from bandits. I didn't think you were an Avenger or something."

Marc doesn't know how Barony works, maybe it's like Mega Man.

"Oh, that. There've been a bunch of Moon Knights. Khonshu just gives whoever's working for him the title. People don't like, recognize me, though. Which is good, because the avatar of Vengeance thing comes with basically no perks beyond combat stuff, and I can still get arrested."

[mercurialize]

"Uhh.. High King, actually." Not that it matters, he doesn't get the kids back that title won't be lasting much longer. Not that that is any kind of priority. He hasn't done a damned Baron like thing since he actually earned the title.

He'll fold his arms. "You don't say, doesn't sound so different. Minus your... weird debt to the guy. Don't suppose you could keep the combat stuff but get rid of the asshole holding that debt over your head, huh?"

He tilts his head, just curious.

"Wait. You've been arrested? As in.. prison?"

[reflectedlight]

"I mean, they don't recognize Moon Knight, either. I don't save the world, I just go after small targets that Khonshu picks out."

Seriously, he's not killing like, dark lords or Thanos or anything, mostly just random assholes.

"Doubt it, the perks are from summoning his stupid ceremonial armor. I'd give it up if he'd leave me alone- and, no, not yet, but that's not because the international police aren't trying. Mercenary work isn't legal."

[mercurialize]

"And in exchange Khonshu let's you.. what? Live? Don't think you ever explained that part."

International... police? Police? Is that like a guard? Army? Nobility? He's never heard the term beyond a verb.

"I wasn't saying it was legal. Obviously not. More just wondering if you've ever been caught."

There's a hum of a thought, but for now he keeps it to himself. Timing is wrong.

[reflectedlight]

"No, I haven't been caught. I'm not important enough, and I'm smart.

Khonshu is... Khonshu's difficult. He brought me back from the dead, yeah, but if I don't agree to keep working for him, he's wants my wife for the next Moon Knight. He thinks this is really funny and keeps reminding me about it. Like an asshole.

I can handle this kind of work, it's not fun but it's ... fine. I don't want her to have to do it."

[mercurialize]

He's not important enough or the ones he's killing aren't? Kylar keeps that debate to himself.

"Lemme guess. You haven't told your wife about any of it."

[reflectedlight]

"... She knows I'm Khonshu's avatar. She's alongside me on missions, usually, she's a better planner. Better at lying, better connections in the underworld, that kind of stuff.

Doesn't know he's threatening her, no."

Also, they're divorcing, but that's not something Marc wants to get into, purely for Marc is very sad and very tired and doesn't want to think about that reasons.

[mercurialize]

"She has better connections to the underworld than you do? Really?"

Color him surprised. From his own experiences, he would've never guessed.

"I guess that explains why your god's making that threat in the first place." It sounds entirely plausible.

[reflectedlight]

"Oh, yeah. I was in the army, and I'm ... American, which doesn't mean much to you. She's been working in the Middle East and North Africa for like a decade as, uh ...

I don't know a nice way to say antiquities thief.

Just... different culture, she grew up in it, she knows it better, her family's established. And I don't do stealth much. She does."

Shrug.

[mercurialize]

"So you're the murderer and she's the thief. Interesting duo you make."

Sounds lucrative, really. Wetwork and thievery don't tend to cooperate, the two professions don't even acknowledge the other and wetwork always considers themselves the best of the best in the Shinga and all its underworld webbing. Kylar doesn't know the last time he bumped into a real thief that wasn't a double crossing noble or a guild rat.

He thinks for a minute, almost a hum within the thought.

"Think you'll stay once you graduate? Aim for a deal? Could protect her. Could protect Steven and you. Keep Khonshit off of all of you, might salvage the abilities, if you even wanted to keep them. Admiral can do a lot more than find two kids for someone."

[reflectedlight]

"Well. I mean, she's got a whole - I'm not going to be able to explain it, she steals mostly from Western collectors, there's this whole political, colonial-"

Too complicated. He waves. "... never mind.

And - none of that's why I love her.

"I don't know. I kinda left right in the middle of, uh - ... I said I don't save the world, but this guy Khonshu has me after is sure trying to end it."

[mercurialize]

Western... yeah, he doesn't get it. He lacks the context. She steals from other thieves? That's his best guess as to what Marc is trying to explain with all the contextual gaps.

"And whatever it is you're supposed to be going after, that's the thing that did you in? Or was it some kind of freak accident that caused you to wind up here?" He's been in freak accidents, they aren't fun.

[reflectedlight]

"Yeah. Cult guy, got shot and fell out a window. Bad luck."

[mercurialize]

"Got shot with an arrow to the back once while impersonating someone else." It's supposed to make you feel better, Marc. "Worst part, if I hadn't been using an illusion to make myself taller, the shot wouldn't have been fatal. Oh. And I knew the guy who did it. He had the fucking balls to apologize as I was losing consciousness." Scarred Wrabble was one of the good ones. If wetboys could have friends, he'd probably be the closest to a 'friend' Durzo dared admit to. Maybe co-conspirators was a better way to put it. Yet he still went for Durzo's head. Just part of the business, alas.

An open hand shrug. "Bad luck."

[reflectedlight]

"You can get the other guy as many times as you want, the other guy only has to get you once."

Marc makes a cut-throat gesture. Game over. Sucks.

"Shitty line of work."

[mercurialize]

"Ehh.. more or less. But as I told you before, I wanted this. I still do. I'm good at it."

He can't help but grin a little.

"You know, I tried to quit. Leave everything behind. It lasted two months. I moved, set up an apothecary. I was doing honest work. Believe it or not."

He shakes his head with an exaggerated frown.

"Worst mistake of my life."

[reflectedlight]

Alright, yes, you have caught him and his hey remember that part where John Wick retired? shit he's doing -

"You already had enemies, huh?"

[mercurialize]

"I apprenticed to the best wetboy in Cenaria. I had enemies from day one."

He shrugs. He is and was well aware what he signed up for, there are zero regrets about it and that is maybe hard to convey to Marc.

"But it wasn't me they were after. An old friend tracked me down, came asking for my help, get back into the business. Things were bad." He sighs heavily. "He was shot with an arrow in the neck, mid-conversation. I buried him myself. I left after that. Elene hated it, hated me. But I had to."

[reflectedlight]

"Oh - partner?"

This is the first time he's heard that name. Girlfriend, wife, platonic female professional you are both too emotionally weird to label as a friend but you can trust to fly a helicopter for you any time, any place, zero questions asked, something in that zone?

[mercurialize]

He folds his arms, heaving a heavy breath. It takes him a moment of just breathing to get stability. "Wife." He says it quietly.

"She died."

To his credit, he's no longer a puddle on the floor any time he has to explain it. But it still hurts.

[reflectedlight]

Marc huffs out a rough breath. Fuck. That's gutting.

"It's not right," he says, by which he means: people that are trying to just live in a regular way getting obliterated from death in a random direction, when people that basically dare it to happen every single day keep living. "I think about this place - why it does this. Why it pulls out guys like me, instead of somebody who really deserved to keep going. "We don't have to -" get into it. We don't. "We can talk about something else."

Peace offering.