[ Matt's eyes go wide. It doesn't help that his brain is hardwired to follow Matthew with Harcourt Jamison you're in trouble now. ]
Oh, don't worry! They're not-- [ He scrubs a hand up his left cheek, over a faint hairline scar. ] Okay, this is hard to explain, but most Satanists don't believe in or worship Satan exactly? It's more like a reaction to Christian orthodoxy. I promise, they're not spine-shivering types. Most of them are vegans.
[ He huffs out a sigh. ]
Which is what makes this so, kind of extra frustrating. [ Matt takes a pause to breathe, get centered, and consult his notes. ] For the video I saw, it depends what you mean by good. There wasn't a smoke machine or heads rotating 360 degrees. It was more like ... highly personal vlogging, combined with an "exorcist" who wears leather jackets and promises things won't get too Jesus-y.
I think that's part of the in. He's not trying to convert anybody, per se. He's just alleging that malevolent spiritual entities are real, they can cause this whole slew of problems, and the way out is to let him exorcise you, and-or to participate in workshops to build up your psychic defenses.
[ Matt pulls out a slip of paper from between the pages of his notebook. It looks like a cross between a call for zine submissions and an ad for a yoga retreat, and after the "free initial consult," prices start at around $45. The word demon doesn't actually appear anywhere on it; instead, there are references to "toxic, harmful energy" and "spiritual vampires." ]
The actual exorcism was ...
I mean, he's using some interesting techniques, and the person being exorcised looks sincere. If you aren't necessarily a skeptical person, it seems like there might be something to it.
[ Hardison hears him out with full chin-on-hand, elbows-on-table attention. It's too late for Nana re: the spine shiver, but it's not too late to learn some wild shit he didn't ever think about before. The brain is only getting bigger. The knowledge pool can only be useful going forward.
He'll be updating Nate and Sophie on how cool they're doing as a 3-man crew in no time. Take that, mom and dad. Hope the honeymoon is pleasant, XOXO. ]
Gotta love the timeshare sales pitch for spiritual wellness. If by love, you "mean be sickened by", which you know I do.
[ He opens his laptop and starts getting his requisite poking-around avenues all primed up for go-time. Where there's flyers, there's hope. And probably a website or an e-mail or a mobile phone or a satellite to re-task. Whatever works. ]
Sounds like a pretty hot ticket place to go looking for marks. People who already feel disenfranchised, complicated relationship with the orthodox... pff, exorcist in a leather jacket. Man, you might as well roll up to a T.V. psychic. At least they don't prolly hypnotize you or something while they rip you off.
[ That's his bet. Hypnotism. Definitely not at all because he's still salty about the time he got hypnotized. (Okay, maybe about half because of that.) ]
[ In a way Matt can't name, or even consciously recognize, he's touched by Hardison's attention. Even the way he whips out his laptop mid-conversation speaks to an urgency, an instantly-taking-him-seriously, that Matt didn't necessarily expect. Not even from people who solve problems.
He frowns abruptly. ]
Wait, do you think that's happening? Is hypnosis a real thing?
[ Hardison's face scrunches up, the better to put his full distaste on blast. ]
Oh, it's real, brother. I got hypnotized into playing the world's hardest violin solo. Without any of my prior consent and knowledge, I might add. [ NATE. ] Y'know, it's a trust thing. It's about trust. You gotta ask before you start incepting a man. I'd've probably said yes, I wasn't on that job to embarrass myself. But that's--
[ He waves a hand. ]
It's not even worth talking about. I'm not gonna cross the job streams, that's unprofessional, I apologize. It is real and there are people it works on. Not everybody across the board. But some people.
[ Matt, sadly not a stranger to 'without my prior consent and knowledge,' looks pretty deeply concerned as Hardison shares this story!
The piece about the world's hardest violin solo is puzzling, but not the core of the issue to his mind. ]
Ah--
No, no worries. I don't think it's unprofessional--I had no idea there was anything to mesmerism or hypnosis or any of it. [ He frowns. ] I'm sorry about the way that happened. I honestly don't know if that's what's happening here; I don't know what to look out for.
[ Hardison internally votes that they keep this one. That's the appropriate level of moral outrage to have in these moments. Someone with sense about this specific thing that he has sense about.
And also very gracious about his consult getting very salty about mind games. He has good taste in cafes. He seems kinda weird, but open-minded and concerned with the welfare of strangers. These are all the facts Hardison needs. Matt is Good. ]
I appreciate that. Thank you. And I'm just keeping things on the table. There's a little bit of anything to everything, y'know? Even if it's not exactly what people say it is. [ The anything is mostly grifting. ] We start diggin' around, I wanna be ready for however deep the dirt gets.
[ Matt nods slowly, although he's not totally sure he understands. Ideally he doesn't need to, with Hardison around.
There is one point on which he feels solid, though: ]
Speaking of deep dirt ... is there anything I can do to help as this goes on? Like I said, not a great liar, but with time to rehearse I'm okay. And I have some subject-matter knowledge on all this occult stuff.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bless these con angels
Oh, don't worry! They're not-- [ He scrubs a hand up his left cheek, over a faint hairline scar. ] Okay, this is hard to explain, but most Satanists don't believe in or worship Satan exactly? It's more like a reaction to Christian orthodoxy. I promise, they're not spine-shivering types. Most of them are vegans.
[ He huffs out a sigh. ]
Which is what makes this so, kind of extra frustrating. [ Matt takes a pause to breathe, get centered, and consult his notes. ] For the video I saw, it depends what you mean by good. There wasn't a smoke machine or heads rotating 360 degrees. It was more like ... highly personal vlogging, combined with an "exorcist" who wears leather jackets and promises things won't get too Jesus-y.
I think that's part of the in. He's not trying to convert anybody, per se. He's just alleging that malevolent spiritual entities are real, they can cause this whole slew of problems, and the way out is to let him exorcise you, and-or to participate in workshops to build up your psychic defenses.
[ Matt pulls out a slip of paper from between the pages of his notebook. It looks like a cross between a call for zine submissions and an ad for a yoga retreat, and after the "free initial consult," prices start at around $45. The word demon doesn't actually appear anywhere on it; instead, there are references to "toxic, harmful energy" and "spiritual vampires." ]
The actual exorcism was ...
I mean, he's using some interesting techniques, and the person being exorcised looks sincere. If you aren't necessarily a skeptical person, it seems like there might be something to it.
these are the heroes gotham needs
He'll be updating Nate and Sophie on how cool they're doing as a 3-man crew in no time. Take that, mom and dad. Hope the honeymoon is pleasant, XOXO. ]
Gotta love the timeshare sales pitch for spiritual wellness. If by love, you "mean be sickened by", which you know I do.
[ He opens his laptop and starts getting his requisite poking-around avenues all primed up for go-time. Where there's flyers, there's hope. And probably a website or an e-mail or a mobile phone or a satellite to re-task. Whatever works. ]
Sounds like a pretty hot ticket place to go looking for marks. People who already feel disenfranchised, complicated relationship with the orthodox... pff, exorcist in a leather jacket. Man, you might as well roll up to a T.V. psychic. At least they don't prolly hypnotize you or something while they rip you off.
[ That's his bet. Hypnotism. Definitely not at all because he's still salty about the time he got hypnotized. (Okay, maybe about half because of that.) ]
no subject
He frowns abruptly. ]
Wait, do you think that's happening? Is hypnosis a real thing?
no subject
Oh, it's real, brother. I got hypnotized into playing the world's hardest violin solo. Without any of my prior consent and knowledge, I might add. [ NATE. ] Y'know, it's a trust thing. It's about trust. You gotta ask before you start incepting a man. I'd've probably said yes, I wasn't on that job to embarrass myself. But that's--
[ He waves a hand. ]
It's not even worth talking about. I'm not gonna cross the job streams, that's unprofessional, I apologize. It is real and there are people it works on. Not everybody across the board. But some people.
no subject
The piece about the world's hardest violin solo is puzzling, but not the core of the issue to his mind. ]
Ah--
No, no worries. I don't think it's unprofessional--I had no idea there was anything to mesmerism or hypnosis or any of it. [ He frowns. ] I'm sorry about the way that happened. I honestly don't know if that's what's happening here; I don't know what to look out for.
no subject
And also very gracious about his consult getting very salty about mind games. He has good taste in cafes. He seems kinda weird, but open-minded and concerned with the welfare of strangers. These are all the facts Hardison needs. Matt is Good. ]
I appreciate that. Thank you. And I'm just keeping things on the table. There's a little bit of anything to everything, y'know? Even if it's not exactly what people say it is. [ The anything is mostly grifting. ] We start diggin' around, I wanna be ready for however deep the dirt gets.
no subject
There is one point on which he feels solid, though: ]
Speaking of deep dirt ... is there anything I can do to help as this goes on? Like I said, not a great liar, but with time to rehearse I'm okay. And I have some subject-matter knowledge on all this occult stuff.