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Post by Artie Cade on Sept 6, 2017 21:55:49 GMT -5
Artie was...relieved? He wasn't sure. But either way, Loki had gone and he had promised they'd see each other again, so that was something. Finding himself trembling with nerves, Artie snatched his cane again and limped toward where Mystique had gone. He made sure to keep a pleasant face, nodding to the guests who greeted him as he slunk through the crowd.
This hadn't gone well at all.
When he finally came upon Mystique, he cleared his throat and didn't wait for her to turn around.
"Uh....Mystique...?" he asked in a small voice, "Would you mind....coming with me? I'd like to talk to you and Barbara in private if that's...if that's all right."
If that's all right? Artie Cade asking for permission still wasn't something he'd gotten used to in his now-older years. He certainly didn't consider himself some sort of crumpled old man, but half of him was scarred all to hell, covered in bullet holes or almost entirely dysfunctional. So he couldn't really assert authority like he used to, and he'd come to find that it mellowed him a good deal.
Well, that and having two rather rebellious daughters. He'd put in his time, he always felt.
He gently held a hand out to Mystique and ever so softly held hers to distract her from her work.
"Please? Just for a little moment?"
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Mystique
Villains 
Raven Darkholme is not a woman to be trifled with.
Posts: 107 
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Post by Mystique on Sept 6, 2017 22:39:41 GMT -5
Mystique had busied herself with the buffet table. She wasn't honestly doing much. Just making everything look full, really. Rearranging, rearranging, rearranging, and making herself look busy.
All she could think was ... how could she not see that Artie and Barbara were together? How could she get her hopes up like this? She had never been a homewrecker. She had never been the kind of woman that would sleep with a man or a woman and expect them to leave their other half for her. And she'd slept with both of them.
She wasn't ... crying, exactly. She wasn't angry, either. She was just ... numb. In all her years, she could have never seen this coming. She could have never wanted to see this coming.
And so, she busied herself with the buffet table.
When Artie approached her, she jumped. She hadn't expected him to come to her first ... if at all. Her heart soared until he mentioned Barbara. She didn't know what to anticipate. Her mind raced with whatever possibilities she might face. He was going to have to choose between them, she was sure. Or choose neither. The way she saw it, there was less than a 30% chance he'd choose her. After all, she was a mutant. It hadn't bothered him before, but why choose a mutant when you can have a human?
All of these thoughts raced through her head within seconds before she could look him in the eye. When she did, she could feel a lump in her throat, and suddenly it was hard for her to speak.
Then he put his hand on hers, and she looked away. She felt inexplicably choked up. Slowly, she nodded and looked at him with an almost knowing sadness.
"Alright," she finally said. "There's a study down the hall to the left we can use. Go find Barbara. I'll make sure no-one's in there."
And with that, she slipped her hand away and shuffled off, covering her mouth as she forced her way through the crowd to the study.
She cleared it out of party guests and sat at the desk, letting herself sob softly. She had let herself fall in love again. For the first real time since Rothchild, she had felt a sense of adventure, and now it was all going to end. And why? Because she was stupid enough to blind herself to reality. She was letting herself live a fantasy.
No, not a fantasy.
A lie.
And now, she was going to have to watch the man she loved break her heart.
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Post by Artie Cade on Sept 8, 2017 17:21:45 GMT -5
No words escaped Artie's mouth even as his lips moved to try to say Mystique's name as she walked away from him.
He tried to say her name again, but it caught inside of him again.
....this was all going so wrong.
So very very wrong.
But he had to get it settled. He had to.
With some more determination, or as best as he could manage, Artie limped out of the room and began to search the others down the hall that Barbara had fled to. He knocked on and checked three...then four....then the last one was...locked?
He gave the door a soft tap with his cane.
"Barbara...?" he called, "Barbara are you in there? It's me, it's Artie. Will you come out? Please? Or...may I come in?"
This was all giving Artie some mild shaking throughout his body. He wasn't used to this sort of thing, stress of this nature. Usually he could sort things out with at least some degree of deliberateness but having been so long outside of matters of the heart, it all seemed so foreign to him.
What if Barbara wasn't interested in there being...well, three of them?
Or Mystique?
What if they both left him?
This notion caused a pain in his chest, directly in the center...which was half a relief as it wasn't medical.
But at the same time it was worse when he realized how heavily this was all weighing on him.
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Cheetah
Villains
This sort of thing doesn't happen to Barbara Minerva. I don't let it.
Posts: 129
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Post by Cheetah on Sept 9, 2017 14:20:09 GMT -5
The knock at the door was a surprise, even though it shouldn’t have been. That’s how distracted Barbara’s mind was. She should have heard Artie approaching. Instead, she was still trying to shake the feeling of a blade against her back. The more she thought about it and Loki, the worse she felt. She had briefly thought about changing, opening up a window, and just escape from the party that way, but something stopped her from following through on that decision, so instead she had pressed her back to a wall and stayed there, hoping whatever she was feeling would pass.
It took her a few moments to reply to Artie. She wasn’t quite sure of her voice and how it would sound. Barbara was not a woman who got scared. She simply wasn’t the sort who cowered. She much preferred to confront things head on and stubbornly refuse to give in. Even when the Nazis were bombing England, she was one of the stronger women in her region. She had to be. Her estate housed more than a few families whose houses were lost in the Nottingham Blitz. It wasn’t proper for a woman giving refuge to people to be scared. Perhaps that was why she took up smoking then. It did calm the nerves.
“I… I’m here, A-Artie.” She voice was shaky, and Barbara internally cursed herself. “The door is locked. I’ll be right there.” Standing, she quickly made her way over to the and took a deep, calming breath before unlocking and opening it. She had no idea how she looked, nor did she desire to check her appearance despite there being a small mirror in the room. From her experience, deities loved to appear behind her in the reflection and the thought of Loki doing such a thing made her back twinge as she opened the door.
“My apologies for… leaving so abruptly, Artie. I,” She closed her eyes, trying to fully shake whatever had a hold on her. Only then did she notice that she had no desire to look the man in front of her in the eyes. “I felt…. I needed some time away. Have I ruined the party with my actions? I can and will apologize to any and all I offended. Especially Mystique and Mr. O-Odinson.” Again, her back tightened.
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Post by Artie Cade on Oct 25, 2017 0:58:54 GMT -5
Artie couldn't recall seeing Barbara in such a state. Instinctively he grasped her hands gently and kissed them, looking up at the woman and running a hand down her face.
"No, dear, no no no of course not....!" Artie said softly, "Everything is all right, I was just hoping you might come with me, so we might perhaps talk together? The three of us? That is, uh, you and Mystique and I...? It will only be a moment, just come with me would you? Please?"
Gingerly, pushed on by the urgency he felt, he guided her out of the room and led her slowly down the hall to the door to the study. He cautiously opened it, moving into the room steadily and releasing Barbara's hand.
"I uh..." he stammered, feeling terribly self conscious as he carefully shut and latched the door behind him, "I had hoped that this might be....easier to do when the time was right not...exactly now. Not tonight in the middle of all of this. Mr. Odinson is a uh...long time friend. He's a rather odd man, I guess you'd say, but he means well. I guess I didn't anticipate his actions here tonight."
Artie limped slowly further into the room. His bad knee was throbbing, but he suspected only because his subconscious wanted to distract him.
"Mystique....Barbara..." he said, looking back and forth between them, "I know I've been....a bit back and forth on this, I uh....I'm not very good at maintaining relationships. At all. A-and so this whole notion might seem....archaic? I think that's the word I'd use? W-well what I mean to say is uh....if the uh..."
He paused for a moment and lit a cigarette swiftly, grumbling as he did with how much time it took even in a short instant.
"....I'd be...honored if the three of us...if we all....were...together?"
Artie let that sit in the air for a moment as he exhaled smoke slowly and quietly.
"....that is, the three of us, because I find I can't....love you any less, Barbara, and I'm beginning...to feel the same for you, Mystique...does that make sense?"
He ran a hand over his head through his hair. It all seemed insane. Or greedy, wanting them both as completely as he did.
"God damn, this doesn't sound right does it, I.....I don't know how to say it. I think the three of us make more than business partners....if that....sounds more eloquent? I-I'd like it if we tried...perhaps to make it...work, if you think it could? Do you think...?"
His hands grasped at theirs, holding one in each hand and looking back and forth between them.
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Mystique
Villains
Raven Darkholme is not a woman to be trifled with.
Posts: 107
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Post by Mystique on Oct 31, 2017 17:09:35 GMT -5
Mystique barely had time to dry her face when the door opened, but dry her face she did. She took a deep breath and prepared herself for the worst, but what Artie had to say was .... surprising.
She didn't know what to make of it.
At first, she thought it was a joke at her expense. That since she was the obvious switch, that this was a terrible invitation into a threesome. A poorly timed, poorly worded, poorly executed invitation.
But the more she stared at Artie, the more she could see some kind of hope in his eyes. That wasn't the hope of a skeevy man trying to get his rocks off between a pair of beautiful women. It was closer to the hopelessness of a man that didn't know how to make a choice and didn't want to hurt anyone. The hope she could see was that they could see what he could see: A future where they could all be happy.
But Mystique didn't know how she felt about the proposition. She knew she was falling in love with Artie, that much she did know. But what she had with Barbara? She could hardly call it more than a one night stand. A singular act of lust after a stressful day.
She looked at Barbara, as though trying to consider a real relationship with her, and she couldn't see one. Not where they were, right there, in this room. Not because they could be considered rivals vying for the same man, but because she didn't see Barbara as much more than a friend.
Then she looked back at Artie and saw that look in his eyes. That heartbreaking look, and all she could feel was an overwhelming desire to make the hurt go away. She had forgotten about her own pain, and was now solely focused on his. She couldn't stand to see him look so upset about anything.
"Artie, I..." She didn't know what to say. The truth would destroy him, surely. That she didn't want them to all be together. That she only wanted him.
She squeezed his hand gently and tried to consider her next words very carefully.
"I want you to be happy," she said. "Whatever that takes, I'm willing to try."
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Cheetah
Villains
This sort of thing doesn't happen to Barbara Minerva. I don't let it.
Posts: 129
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Post by Cheetah on Nov 3, 2017 17:40:26 GMT -5
He touched her hand, thank God for that. Had Artie placed his hand on the small of her back, Barbara likely would have screamed and backed away from him. He asked for her to join him and Mystique to discuss something, but before she could answer at all, he was leading her with an odd sense of urgency to another room. Once inside, Barbara acknowledged Mystique’s presence with a slight nod before positioning herself against a wall. She should have done more than just a nod, her manners were mentally reprimanding her for not doing so, but she felt to still be in a state of shock. Even the sound of the door being locked momentarily made her heart beat faster.
“An odd man?” she asked. “Artie, he’s not a man. He’s a god. Loki of Asgard.” Barbara waited for the blood eagle imagery and pain to start again once she mentioned his name, but nothing happened. At least simply saying his name did no harm. Not that she would press her luck any further.
Listening to Artie stammer about and flounder with his words, something he wasn’t usually prone to do, Barbara blinked, a bit confused by what he finally managed to get out. A relationship between the three of them? Her stomach twisted, and for many reasons. She wasn’t a sapphite. Yes, she did have that moment with Mystique after they first met, but she had been a man during that. As funny as it sounded, that did make a difference to Barbara. She had never been with a woman and couldn’t see herself with one in the near future.
Then there was the matter of her husband. Urzkartaga.
For the first time tonight, she was able to think clearly about the god, perhaps due to the fact that Loki was absent. Whether she knowingly or unknowingly reached out to the jungle god, she felt the sensation of invisible arms wrapping about her waist and hold her close. Her eyes closed and she breathed in his scent, finally able to ease whatever tension she was holding in her body. His presence, whether it was real or not, was a comfort. And it was one she was grateful to have. Of course, she couldn’t tell what the god was thinking, or if he was even aware of her escapade with Loki , but she would likely deal with it all later.
Artie taking her hand woke Barbara from her thoughts and she blinked, swallowing before she answered him. “I will try, Artie. But, you are aware of a certain factor that may try and stop this relationship, yes? I can’t guarantee anything, but I will try.” That was honestly the best answer she could give, and it was truthful.
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Post by Artie Cade on Dec 11, 2017 14:57:46 GMT -5
Artie looked as if a hundred years of a weight had been dropped from his shoulders. He gently squeezed both of their hands gently and kissed them, looking between the two women.
"I can't say how relieved I am....yes....try. That's all I want. And I know Loki well..." he said in a progressively darker tone as he looked at the door, "Didn't think I'd ever see him again. And the first thing he does is fiddle in my affairs....shocking."
He sighed and looked down at their hands. So different. But felt so perfect in his bony hands.
It had never occurred to Artie to pursue something like this...but he cared for them both so dearly, he'd fight Barbara's god or Mystique's demons to keep them safe. It was rare that Artie felt someone precious enough to be protected for no pay or trade. But these two were different.
And it felt right.
He drew in a long breath and withdrew a cigarette, setting his case on the nearby table for the ladies if they wished to partake. He lit his and exhaled smoke at the ceiling.
"I can make a lot of things..." he mused, "...but I'm certainly no wordsmith, as this whole fiasco has proven."
Artie offered a light chuckle, trying to cut the thick tension in the room.
"Didn't exactly go according to how I'd hoped," he went on, "Thought I'd have at least the chance to wine and dine you both properly, just the three of us, to bring this all to light. But....thank you....thank you both so much for giving us a chance."
He beamed at them, so incredibly relieved that words could hardly adequately express it.
If either had denied him, he would feel incomplete. Which was a curious sensation. Rarely did he pay much attention to that feeling, and only just recently had he realized its presence.
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Mystique
Villains
Raven Darkholme is not a woman to be trifled with.
Posts: 107
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Post by Mystique on Dec 16, 2017 0:39:28 GMT -5
It was unfortunate that Mystique did not share the same relief that Artie had felt. She looked between Artie and Barbara and felt ... well, she wasn't sure what she felt, but it wasn't comfort. The only thing that seemed to help was the smile on Artie's face. He was happy. In the long run, that was all that mattered to her. She could deal with a little bit of unease if it meant she could see that smile on his face.
And really, the unease was only there because she knew Barbara wouldn't accept her as a woman. She hadn't accepted her advances until she shifted into a man. Were this 80 years ago, it might not have been a problem, but who she was in this life? She was a woman.
For someone that could change who she was at any given time, she found she didn't want to change for Barbara. Not when Artie had proven to be so accepting of her natural self.
She slowly took a cigarette and lit it, not quite looking at either of them. She was trying to let this all sink in. It was a lot to grasp. She didn't like this arrangement, but she was going to have to reconcile her own hangups. She knew that.
She exhaled her breath of smoke and looked at Artie.
She wanted to kiss him, but she felt self conscious about it. With Barbara watching, it was hard to gauge how to go about it.
In the end, she gently took his hand and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips, though there was the hint of more longing behind it. She managed a ghost of a smile, still quite shaken from the emotions Loki had stirred up, and squeezed Artie's hand.
"You know I'd do anything to make you happy, right?" she asked in a small voice. It was, more or less, a genuine question. They hadn't known each other for that long, and he was well within his rights to kick her to the curb. A thought that brought her emotions back up into her throat where they threatened to make her voice crack.
"I ..." She stopped herself, just short of speaking that dreaded 'L' word. It was too soon for that, she was sure of it. That didn't make it untrue, but this wasn't the time or the place. "... I just want you to know that. That I'd bend over backwards if it'd make you smile."
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Cheetah
Villains
This sort of thing doesn't happen to Barbara Minerva. I don't let it.
Posts: 129
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Post by Cheetah on Dec 30, 2017 16:15:44 GMT -5
Artie looked so happily relieved, and it hurt Barbara to think about what would happen if she couldn’t make Urzkartaga understand the current situation. Sleeping with a man was one thing, but having it be a part of a relationship with another woman? that would most definitely be something they’d be discussing, or the god would be outright rejecting. She would need to play things carefully and slowly.
“He was hardly fiddling with your affairs, Artie. At least, not until the very end. You were simply a guest at the party, not the host.” Although, that did bring up the question of how Mystique knew the god. “I almost want to ask how both of you met him, and if it was under similar circumstances as to how I just did. But now is probably neither the time nor place for such a discussion. Unless all the guests have left.” She now felt ashamed for ruining all of Mystique’s hard work. “I am sorry, Mystique. I made an ass of myself and caused a scene with Loki.”
Barbara then noted the blue woman’s behavior with Artie; how chaste she was being, but how the reservedness of her body language was unnatural. Her kiss and the way her voice cracked when she spoke… They both loved Artie dearly, but Mystique seemed to be even more so in love with him, if possible. That was a funny notion to think about since the two of them didn’t meet under the most pleasant of circumstances. In fact, Artie had tried to kill her after she had succeeded in blowing up his ferris wheel and causing thousands of dollars in damage, as well as injuring innocent people. Yet here was plain evidence of their love. Barbara felt unusually hampered by this fact, almost obligated to leave during Mystique’s show of affection towards Artie. Was it her own manners showing through or was it due to her worrying about what Urzkartaga would do should she linger for too long?
Not quite feeling like a cigarette at the moment, Barbara followed the slight scent of alcohol towards a small cabinet where a decanter full of scotch resided. Pouring herself a glass and tasting the amber liquid made her relax, exhaling softly once the first swallow was taken. It gave her enough ease of mind to ask what was in her mind. “Would you like me to step outside for a moment? I get the feeling the both of you have something to discuss and it isn’t meant for three people to hear. I'm sure there will be more than a few moments that may merit such privacy.” She didn't want to sound snippy, but this was the truth. They were quite the odd little threesome, everyone with their own secrets that couldn't be told right away.
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Post by Artie Cade on Apr 24, 2018 15:01:30 GMT -5
Feeling quite relieved but still a bit apprehensive about the whole ordeal this evening, Artie smiled at Mystique and then at Barbara, the smile fading to a more relaxed expression as she spoke.
It's true, he wasn't the host. But he hadn't been referring to the party.
"By 'affairs' I more, uh, meant....well, the three of us," he explained, "Not the party. It certainly isn't mine, I know. But here comes Loki, interfering with my life after being gone for so long....I guess it was just...a shock."
He hadn't reacted very well and began to regret his treatment of Loki. It was a steady feeling, like slipping slowly into bath water. He had, after all, missed Loki terribly and now he hoped he hadn't driven him off.
Artie looked back at Barbara then at Mystique.
"Oh...! Uh..." he thought about her offer as he smoked, "Maybe you should return to your guests, yeah. We won't be long."
He moved over to Barbara and kissed her hand, smiling up at her.
"You are, after all, such an excellent host at these sorts of things."
He spoke sincerely and winked up at Barbara before moving back into the middle of the room near Mystique. Barbara was being very gracious about all of this. So was Mystique. It really did bolster his confidence in the whole thing, which was some job to do on occasion. Artie was a man constantly in conflict with his own mind, but it felt much more at ease at this present juncture. Which really was more than he had hoped for.
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