[ first, a link direct to his cooltalk. where his follower count has gone from whatever low tens it would've been when Fitz followed him to. 1.3k.
though there's no immediate indication as to why this might have happened on the page itself, an adventure into the comments of a few of his posts may shed a little light - "I don't know why everyone's shitting their pants over this guy, the other dude was clearly feeding him lines" "I was there???? wasn't even that drunk???? this was legit" "hey magic man guess what I'm thinking right now 🍆✨😘" "@svstrange u should post smth show everyone what u can do" ]
May have found an interesting in-road.
[ by found, we mean got drunk and forcibly but also accidentally created. he's in minute one of his fifteen minutes of fame, time to get opinions on whether or not it's worth pushing for an hour+. ]
Does it involve getting your kit off for the masses?
[ what the fresh hell happened here... the comments seem to indicate knowledge strange's power, which sets off alarm bells for fitz, though he tries to quiet them before the noise becomes too much.
No. But I did put on a little show of another kind.
Markus and I went out for a drink last night. Somewhere between there and the hangover I'm still nursing, I read a few minds for the crowd.
[ he's already done the panic, the frantic search for evidence of a glow. but no. and from what he can remember, once he got up on stage he was careful enough that it wasn't too big a risk.
a risk he should never have taken in first place, obviously. but one that's been surprisingly fruitful in a very short space of time. ]
No sign of any trouble but the count keeps going up. And I've already had a couple requests for endorsements.
[ fitz manages to find a few pics and shaky videos on stephen's tag, too. no glow, but still troublesome. he even breathes a soft, what the hell, and scrubs a hand across his face. ]
I know you know how reckless that was.
[ as a representative of their community, one of the few adults in the room, with him and Markus putting their bloody names on the displaced safehouse — he's not mad; he's just disappointed.
(and so the dad becomes the dadded) ]
Thinking of using it for your business proposal?
[ turn every threat into an opportunity, as they say in """corporate""" ]
[ the temptation to "sorry dad" for the second time in a week is strong. but it's an earned reply, and he's got a better trade-off to offer in response. ]
That was my first thought. And yes, possibly. Second thought, more relevant to you: if I could push this, grow the following, get a buzz. [ old man says "buzz", populace cringe ]
Keep it looking like parlor tricks. Making small errors here and there, picking out the occasional fine detail that could still reasonably just have been researched. Club gigs. Shady spots, hot spots. Private audiences. Parties.
Put me in the right room with people eager to see if I can get into their heads...
[ and there's no telling what he could learn.
he could do it, knows full well he could do it, there's no sense of "if" in the messages. it would take some work, some shitty ladder-climbing, but with the right marketing and promotion he could ultimately end up wherever they needed him. with his power, the intelligence it could bring...
the question is, does Fitz think it's worth the risk. ]
Oh, you mean rooms like Andrew's tenth birthday party 'cause I'm sure all the UN delegates will be at that one, or are you hoping for a New Vegas residency?
[ taking the piss, and harsher than he ought to be, too. if stephen's impressive enough, he may very well get involved in higher class affairs — or end up in a lab, under the knife.
[ and that, painful venture though it may have been, was really all the confirmation he needed that this plan isn't entirely deranged. ]
I've managed to avoid even one single "Renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Strange gone mad after accident?" report despite living in NYC and regularly looking like an extra from the Last Samurai. I, specifically, will be fine.
Feel free to discuss it with Carter. If there are any specific targets you think I should aim for, let me know. For now I'll see where it takes me.
[ or asking for advice on how to proceed? they'd left things somewhat murky on the network: is Stephen a contact or an agent? it's entirely up to him, and Fitz will advise, regardless. ]
See where it goes, for the moment. We don't have any marks that match your profile yet, but I'm sure some of the big spenders on our list will be inclined to novelty. And there's a chance someone will make themselves known to you, if you simply go on as you are.
[ they don't exactly have a crying call for their own independent intelligence network, and he did say he'd be back in touch. with medical knowledge and leadership already neatly checked off in his skillsets to use for the cause, may as well move on to charisma and mind-reading capabilities. ]
Good. I'll keep you updated. Thanks for the input. All of it.
[ it's not an inspiring statement of faith in the resistance, but it'll do, in the interim. ]
Any time. Thank you for your service.
[ light but also not, oops. ]
Be careful out there, Stephen. Remember this goes beyond you.
[ the threat of exposure affects them all. as the man who once led the organisaton tasked with rounding up inhumans, fitz knows how swiftly they can be eradicated. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
@stephen.strange, ic oct 10th, mid-afternoon
though there's no immediate indication as to why this might have happened on the page itself, an adventure into the comments of a few of his posts may shed a little light -
"I don't know why everyone's shitting their pants over this guy, the other dude was clearly feeding him lines"
"I was there???? wasn't even that drunk???? this was legit"
"hey magic man guess what I'm thinking right now 🍆✨😘"
"@svstrange u should post smth show everyone what u can do" ]
May have found an interesting in-road.
[ by found, we mean got drunk and forcibly but also accidentally created. he's in minute one of his fifteen minutes of fame, time to get opinions on whether or not it's worth pushing for an hour+. ]
no subject
Does it involve getting your kit off for the masses?
[ what the fresh hell happened here... the comments seem to indicate knowledge strange's power, which sets off alarm bells for fitz, though he tries to quiet them before the noise becomes too much.
a spy is wont to prefer secrecy. ]
Go on then.
no subject
No. But I did put on a little show of another kind.
Markus and I went out for a drink last night. Somewhere between there and the hangover I'm still nursing, I read a few minds for the crowd.
[ he's already done the panic, the frantic search for evidence of a glow. but no. and from what he can remember, once he got up on stage he was careful enough that it wasn't too big a risk.
a risk he should never have taken in first place, obviously. but one that's been surprisingly fruitful in a very short space of time. ]
No sign of any trouble but the count keeps going up. And I've already had a couple requests for endorsements.
no subject
I know you know how reckless that was.
[ as a representative of their community, one of the few adults in the room, with him and Markus putting their bloody names on the displaced safehouse — he's not mad; he's just disappointed.
(and so the dad becomes the dadded) ]
Thinking of using it for your business proposal?
[ turn every threat into an opportunity, as they say in """corporate""" ]
no subject
That was my first thought. And yes, possibly. Second thought, more relevant to you: if I could push this, grow the following, get a buzz. [ old man says "buzz", populace cringe ]
Keep it looking like parlor tricks. Making small errors here and there, picking out the occasional fine detail that could still reasonably just have been researched. Club gigs. Shady spots, hot spots. Private audiences. Parties.
Put me in the right room with people eager to see if I can get into their heads...
[ and there's no telling what he could learn.
he could do it, knows full well he could do it, there's no sense of "if" in the messages. it would take some work, some shitty ladder-climbing, but with the right marketing and promotion he could ultimately end up wherever they needed him. with his power, the intelligence it could bring...
the question is, does Fitz think it's worth the risk. ]
1/2
[ taking the piss, and harsher than he ought to be, too. if stephen's impressive enough, he may very well get involved in higher class affairs — or end up in a lab, under the knife.
fitz swallows. ]
no subject
I don't like it. I don't like any of our own standing out, and I don't like you doing it, specifically.
[ as one half of the safehouse team — and as a friend. ]
Might even catch the attention of the third party.
[ that was! very hard! for him to admit! ]
no subject
I've managed to avoid even one single "Renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Strange gone mad after accident?" report despite living in NYC and regularly looking like an extra from the Last Samurai. I, specifically, will be fine.
Feel free to discuss it with Carter. If there are any specific targets you think I should aim for, let me know. For now I'll see where it takes me.
no subject
[ or asking for advice on how to proceed? they'd left things somewhat murky on the network: is Stephen a contact or an agent? it's entirely up to him, and Fitz will advise, regardless. ]
See where it goes, for the moment. We don't have any marks that match your profile yet, but I'm sure some of the big spenders on our list will be inclined to novelty. And there's a chance someone will make themselves known to you, if you simply go on as you are.
no subject
[ they don't exactly have a crying call for their own independent intelligence network, and he did say he'd be back in touch. with medical knowledge and leadership already neatly checked off in his skillsets to use for the cause, may as well move on to charisma and mind-reading capabilities. ]
Good. I'll keep you updated.
Thanks for the input. All of it.
[ concerned mockery and honest feedback both. ]
no subject
Any time.
Thank you for your service.
[ light but also not, oops. ]
Be careful out there, Stephen.
Remember this goes beyond you.
[ the threat of exposure affects them all. as the man who once led the organisaton tasked with rounding up inhumans, fitz knows how swiftly they can be eradicated. ]
no subject
I do.
Talk to you later.
[ when exactly "later" will land, who knows. some other time. ]