Template:Featured Articles/24-2020

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Moment of Awesome - Topaz: After several significant events, Topaz approaches Amanda Sefton with a life-changing decision.


Topaz had leaned back comfortably on the couch - after months of sleeping on it, she felt pretty okay about lazing about on it. "Cheers," she said, taking one of the mugs. She looked at the tea for a moment, trying to figure out where to start. "I'm sick of the libraries," is what she finally said, looking up to meet Amanda's gaze. "I'm sick of the libraries, and Avalon, and I know, that sounds absolutely mad, I've always been fine with just hiding in the background while everyone else does the hard work, and yeah, that sounds terrible, because it kind of is. I'm useless. And I know I have plenty of other options if I just want to be useful, but we both know I wouldn't last on those. And it'd probably be a waste of the powers I have." Her general personality wasn't much of a secret. "I know what I'm asking for and I know what I'm getting myself into." Amanda had probably figured out where this was going, but Topaz said the words anyways. "I want to join you lot. I'm talking to you first out of respect and..." Now she averted her gaze, suddenly interested in the ceiling, "you're important and your opinion matters to me. But there isn't much you could say that would scare me off at this point."

Of all the things Topaz could have wanted to talk about, joining the Trenchcoats was the last she'd expect. Amanda blinked and took a sip of her tea before settling into her favourite armchair, the big squishy one that was good for falling asleep in.

"Okay," she said at last, almost hearing Remy's snort in the back of her mind. "I'm not going to insult you by asking if you're sure. But with all you just said about being in the background and being useless, tell me this..." She leaned forward, setting her mug down on the coffee table and looking directly into Topaz' eyes. "Why should we take you?"

"Believe it or not, I have my own bag of tricks." Topaz didn't even flinch at the question. "I'm only useless if I make myself useless. But if you don't mind a moment of bragging, I'm good at what I do. My magic isn't just for bringing stuffed animals to life and using them to harass people in the library. Not that you all are in need of more magic," she added that last part dryly, "it's just part of what I am. I can fight. I can guard. I can fill almost any role you need. And that giving inanimate objects life thing isn't just a party trick - they're all spies. And yes, I've learned how to control them. I can't talk to them exactly, but I'm at a point where I can get general information about their surroundings, at the very least. For example-" She paused, then closed her eyes and sighed. "Someone just spilled a drink on a couple books. Letting that go for now."

She focused back on Amanda. "Second, empathy. I know you've got a telepath and Doug's skills, but I can do more than just sense and drain emotions. I can get in someone's head and make them feel whatever I want. It's pretty useful in a pinch. And no, I haven't been experimenting on anyone here or outside the mansion. The few times I've done it, it's been warranted.

"Third, and yeah, this one's a little weird but just hear me out - there's a surprisingly large magical community on the Internet. A lot of them are just pretending or trying to 'get into' witchcraft," she rolled her eyes slightly, "but if you ask the right questions, you can figure out who's real. It's something I've been working since... whatever year we turned into fish. And I've been careful. I have a VPN and whatever other security a mansion laptop comes with, and I don't use any variation of my real name. Names. But it helps to keep track of the small things that slip under the radar sometimes."

Here, she finally hesitated, her eyes flitting to the left for a moment before refocusing on Amanda. "Fourth... you know me. Which I'm aware hurts me as much as it helps, but the point stands. You've known me for seven years. You've seen every dumb mistake I made and breakdown that I had. You have more than enough reasons to tell me to get out and not bother you again. But you don't. I like to think you trust me." She shrugged. "But more importantly, you know when I get something in my head, I don't let it go. And yeah, that has its drawbacks. It also means you know I won't back off something when it gets hard. And I know things get hard with you. Like I said - I know what I'm asking for."

She finally broke eye contact for real to take a sip of her tea. Lukewarm. How long had she been talking? "If you really, really think it would be a disaster, then okay. I'd probably go get a second opinion from Marie-Ange, though. But if you say it's a bad idea, say it because I'm not qualified or I can't handle anything. Don't say it because you want to protect one of your kids."