[He nods, before tipping his head to the side to head towards the door.]
C'mon. I know a place.
[And take them to a place he does, a quiet little bar not far from the office which is less frequented by young professionals, which means it's quiet enough that they can talk without being overheard or drowned out. After they have their drinks and are tucked in a back booth, Carroll takes a deep breath.]
( Connor likes this side of Carroll. Knowledgable. Take charge. Quiet, but there are things brewing under the surface. He kind of always knew something was under there, but not what. He also has Donna's words in the back of his mind.
Man, old Connor would have this guys' legs up over his head by now. His phone vibrates in his pocket. Probably some guy on Humpr. But, he's fine right here. )
I don't think I'll ever stop having questions. And, I'm kind of surprised I haven't encountered any of this until now. ( he is questioning Eve's ethereal, timeless beauty now, though. maybe she was a vampire. ) I guess, if you come from this outlandish, monsters and magic are real kind of a childhood, why'd you settle for being a paralegal?
[He leans back in the booth, running his finger around the rim of his drink.]
I like the law. I was always really good at writing those persuasive essays, you know? If I had the time to sit down and pull my citations and write it all down, I could always make my case. Problem is, I'm shit on my feet. I have an eidetic memory, but I'm not like Mike Ross where I can just pull it out my ass at a moment's notice. It's like ... I have to go in and dig through the file cabinet to find what I'm looking for. It takes time and you can't just stand there and think when you're in court.
[Personality-wise, being a full lawyer was never going to fit.]
Paralegal is the best of both worlds. I can use all the law knowledge I have an make the arguments when writing the brief but I don't have to make an ass of myself actually arguing it.
( And, besides, he was infamous. Almost disgraced the law altogether. But now, saving the Earth one case at a time. )
I don't know, I couldn't see you making an ass out of yourself. ( He'd have to say something to do it. ) So, is your -- file cabinet digging, is that - magic? Is Mike Ross magic?
[Carroll on the other hand ... well, he might be a little more complicated.]
I'm not a witch, but it is a ... power. I got it when I turned twenty. I have the eidetic memory, but the downside is the file cabinet. Everyone in my family has one. We're not really sure where it came from.
[Though maybe they should probably figure that out.]
Power. Not all of them are filing cabinets, but they all have their own downsides.
[He's not going to lay them all out, as they're not his secret to tell. Especially since Connor is going to be meeting all of them in about six months.]
With power. If there's one thing I learned, not everything has an upside.
( Sometimes upsides aren't worth it. Or apparent. Besides immediate gratification and anything HUMPR related. There are strings to family, to friends, to decisions, to believing in people. And limits. Love doesn't solve everything. )
You can search for it, find what good you can, sometimes it's all just bad. I'm guessing your brothers' powers, like everything else, have the good and the bad.
And they're parlor tricks, in the grand scheme of things, really.
[Except for Cal's which is a bit messier, but again, they're not getting specific. For his brother's privacy and not because he has a sense that Connor might be intrigued and that's not a thought he needs.
Ever.
And not because he's jealous. Because he's not.]
Anyway, Beck's the only one who actually followed in Ma's footsteps deals with the supernatural on a regular basis. The rest of us are normal people. We just happen to know more than the average person about what's out there.
So, not normal. As much as you want to be. ( Something else he knows about. ) Normal's overrated. And, once you surpass it, you don't really go back. I know why you would want to. I tried. Multiple times. Find the good. Find normal.
[Carroll shrugs as he takes another sip of his drink.]
My Ma was a Watcher but my dad wasn't. My brother's a baker but his late wife was a witch. Donna runs a law firm, and she isn't the only supernatural person who works there. I grew up knowing all this stuff was out there so it's always been part of my normal. Most witches or vampires or whatever just want to live their lives. They're not planning grand supernatural power plays.
I don't know all the details on that. Above my paygrade. But ... there's a lot of crazy witch stuff happening right now. My brother almost got blown up a couple weeks ago. And Harvey has some high level covens as clients.
Blown up.( That's his least favorite type of blowing. ) Focusing on the almost. And you've been around all this your entire life. Was your childhood, like, dangerous?
Nah. We had slightly different rules for safety than everyone else. Like you don't verbally invite someone in. But vampires weren't showing up at my house trying to kill us every week.
[Possibly helped that Catroina hadn't been assigned a Slayer, and also he was one of the younger set.]
So witches are nasty because spells can cause big damage. But spells have two, sometimes three components. Verbal, somatic and material. Disrupt any of those, and they can't get a spell off, so blunt force usually does the trick. Plus spells take time, so if you hit them hard and fast, it tends to work out better for you.
Thanks, for trying to walk me through this. But, it's not my first time in over my head. And it is my first time without a body at my feet, at least. ( He leans back, looking into his drink. ) I figure I can joke about it, being the subject of a Netflix miniseries and all.
[There's a small smirk before the reminder of the documentary makes him wince.]
Right, about that documentary. Cormac might have dropped that into the family group chat, so if you do come to the wedding, there's a chance that some of them will have probably watched it.
[Bradan will definitely have watched it. Bradan is the worst that way. But he does not plan to leave Connor alone with Bradan, so that will hopefully be avoided.]
( Mistakes will be made, Bradan will make to all of his brother's significant others at some point.
But, in the here and now. )
Guess I'll have to fact check them in real time.
( Which is fine. The documentary took liberties. The reenactments were the more dramatic than the interviews. That they tracked down Simon Drake was not something Michaela needed, but there is no proof anywhere. Just like there's no proof about what happened with Sam. )
[Honestly, he should know better than to rely on Colm, Cormac and Brogan to be looking out for his best interests. They are all very easily distracted.]
Only one of them will probably be an ass about it, but it's because he's over-protective.
[More because Bradan has an incisive ability to see through people, especially his brothers and well.
Connor is his type. If Carroll dated frequently enough to have types. (He does, it's nerdy girls that like to infodump about their special interests and guys with too much charm of his own good.
And the problem is Bradan knows it all too well. And he's more of a mother hen than their actual mother. Catroina comes to histrionics when castles explode and people are hurt, but is fairly hands off when it comes to their personal lives.
Bradan knows that sometimes it's the personal that can hurt worse.]
Oh, I'm sure he'll take that very seriously. Up until you're alone with him at a table, three drinks in, and realize you may have told him far too much.
( But maybe there's a first time for everything. Before he was part of a documentary topic, he was enigmatic. Mysterious. Cocky. And then he got married. And then he went to jail. )
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everyonelives2025-07-26 07:05 pm
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I'm going to be at this all night. I'll take the drink. If you're offering.
( He can also pay. )
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C'mon. I know a place.
[And take them to a place he does, a quiet little bar not far from the office which is less frequented by young professionals, which means it's quiet enough that they can talk without being overheard or drowned out. After they have their drinks and are tucked in a back booth, Carroll takes a deep breath.]
So. Got any more questions Donna didn't get to?
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Man, old Connor would have this guys' legs up over his head by now. His phone vibrates in his pocket. Probably some guy on Humpr. But, he's fine right here. )
I don't think I'll ever stop having questions. And, I'm kind of surprised I haven't encountered any of this until now. ( he is questioning Eve's ethereal, timeless beauty now, though. maybe she was a vampire. ) I guess, if you come from this outlandish, monsters and magic are real kind of a childhood, why'd you settle for being a paralegal?
no subject
[He leans back in the booth, running his finger around the rim of his drink.]
I like the law. I was always really good at writing those persuasive essays, you know? If I had the time to sit down and pull my citations and write it all down, I could always make my case. Problem is, I'm shit on my feet. I have an eidetic memory, but I'm not like Mike Ross where I can just pull it out my ass at a moment's notice. It's like ... I have to go in and dig through the file cabinet to find what I'm looking for. It takes time and you can't just stand there and think when you're in court.
[Personality-wise, being a full lawyer was never going to fit.]
Paralegal is the best of both worlds. I can use all the law knowledge I have an make the arguments when writing the brief but I don't have to make an ass of myself actually arguing it.
no subject
( And, besides, he was infamous. Almost disgraced the law altogether. But now, saving the Earth one case at a time. )
I don't know, I couldn't see you making an ass out of yourself. ( He'd have to say something to do it. ) So, is your -- file cabinet digging, is that - magic? Is Mike Ross magic?
no subject
[Carroll on the other hand ... well, he might be a little more complicated.]
I'm not a witch, but it is a ... power. I got it when I turned twenty. I have the eidetic memory, but the downside is the file cabinet. Everyone in my family has one. We're not really sure where it came from.
[Though maybe they should probably figure that out.]
no subject
( Of powers? With power? He's rapt with attention, though. )
no subject
[He's not going to lay them all out, as they're not his secret to tell. Especially since Connor is going to be meeting all of them in about six months.]
no subject
( Sometimes upsides aren't worth it. Or apparent. Besides immediate gratification and anything HUMPR related. There are strings to family, to friends, to decisions, to believing in people. And limits. Love doesn't solve everything. )
You can search for it, find what good you can, sometimes it's all just bad. I'm guessing your brothers' powers, like everything else, have the good and the bad.
no subject
And they're parlor tricks, in the grand scheme of things, really.
[Except for Cal's which is a bit messier, but again, they're not getting specific. For his brother's privacy and not because he has a sense that Connor might be intrigued and that's not a thought he needs.
Ever.
And not because he's jealous. Because he's not.]
Anyway, Beck's the only one who actually followed in Ma's footsteps deals with the supernatural on a regular basis. The rest of us are normal people. We just happen to know more than the average person about what's out there.
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[Carroll shrugs as he takes another sip of his drink.]
My Ma was a Watcher but my dad wasn't. My brother's a baker but his late wife was a witch. Donna runs a law firm, and she isn't the only supernatural person who works there. I grew up knowing all this stuff was out there so it's always been part of my normal. Most witches or vampires or whatever just want to live their lives. They're not planning grand supernatural power plays.
no subject
( He just needs a little clarification about that part. )
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I don't know all the details on that. Above my paygrade. But ... there's a lot of crazy witch stuff happening right now. My brother almost got blown up a couple weeks ago. And Harvey has some high level covens as clients.
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[Possibly helped that Catroina hadn't been assigned a Slayer, and also he was one of the younger set.]
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[Then he shrugs.]
I played rugby in school.
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( He's seen the muscles you hide. )
Thanks, for trying to walk me through this. But, it's not my first time in over my head. And it is my first time without a body at my feet, at least. ( He leans back, looking into his drink. ) I figure I can joke about it, being the subject of a Netflix miniseries and all.
no subject
Right, about that documentary. Cormac might have dropped that into the family group chat, so if you do come to the wedding, there's a chance that some of them will have probably watched it.
[Bradan will definitely have watched it. Bradan is the worst that way. But he does not plan to leave Connor alone with Bradan, so that will hopefully be avoided.]
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But, in the here and now. )
Guess I'll have to fact check them in real time.
( Which is fine. The documentary took liberties. The reenactments were the more dramatic than the interviews. That they tracked down Simon Drake was not something Michaela needed, but there is no proof anywhere. Just like there's no proof about what happened with Sam. )
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Only one of them will probably be an ass about it, but it's because he's over-protective.
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( He's not needy, so he doesn't need to ask if it's that kind of date. It's in, like, seven months, anyway. )
What if I promise to treat you nice?
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Connor is his type. If Carroll dated frequently enough to have types. (He does, it's nerdy girls that like to infodump about their special interests and guys with too much charm of his own good.
And the problem is Bradan knows it all too well. And he's more of a mother hen than their actual mother. Catroina comes to histrionics when castles explode and people are hurt, but is fairly hands off when it comes to their personal lives.
Bradan knows that sometimes it's the personal that can hurt worse.]
Oh, I'm sure he'll take that very seriously. Up until you're alone with him at a table, three drinks in, and realize you may have told him far too much.
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( But maybe there's a first time for everything. Before he was part of a documentary topic, he was enigmatic. Mysterious. Cocky. And then he got married. And then he went to jail. )
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