Colonel Frank Archer (
sadisticwarfare) wrote in
pokebox2014-09-23 10:48 pm
LOCKED TO
viliorate
[Profits have been way down in the last three months, and if things keep going this way, they won't last another three. Archer has the papers out in front of him, scouring everything to see where he can make cuts, yet again. He knows no one's going to be pleased, but they're going to have to remove another act. He's been told that cutting people from the circus is like throwing out a family member, but the fact of the matter is that the money he's making won't support everyone. It's not as though Archer is hoarding all the money for himself - though he's not exactly as generous to the others as he could be - but he's never really felt like part of the circus "family". They're the family members, he's the landlord.
Archer twirls his pen between his fingers as he examines the numbers again, finally selecting a couple of sheets with acts that he could possibly cut. He'll have to get Kimbley to look over them before he makes a final decision. Kimbley isn't his partner or his adviser, but Kimbley is his friend, and he'd rather have a second opinion on all this.]
Archer twirls his pen between his fingers as he examines the numbers again, finally selecting a couple of sheets with acts that he could possibly cut. He'll have to get Kimbley to look over them before he makes a final decision. Kimbley isn't his partner or his adviser, but Kimbley is his friend, and he'd rather have a second opinion on all this.]

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No way. They're my friends, Archer.
[Arguing about this is pretty pointless, so he looks at what act it is just the same.]
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[Well, there sure are some familiar faces on that page. How do you feel about Marta and the other
chimerasacrobats, Kimbley?]no subject
Still, they're family. He feels hesitant about it.]
I'm not going to tell you "go ahead, fire them," you know?
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[Archer sighs and hands over the next sheet. That one has the strongman Roa listed.]
If you refuse to give an answer, I'll just handle this myself. I thought it would be nice to have a second opinion, but clearly I would have been better off not bothering.
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I can't believe you're acting like this is a bother to you and not a travesty that you're throwing people out on the street.
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[He gets up from the desk, having gone from looking content to livid rapidly.]
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[Okay, that's not entirely fair since Kimbley lives there too, but...]
Fine, whatever! I don't care what you do, but keep me out of it!
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[Archer slams his hand down on the desk and stands, eyes narrowed. He doesn't look like he's going to move to attack or anything, but it's obvious he's pissed.]
I'll handle this myself from now on. Consider your opinions noted.
[They'll be ignored, of course.]
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[He's going to dramatically storm off and cool his head. Smoking outside and generally looking like he's going to clock the first person to approach him is definitely a sign that something's very wrong but at least people are giving him space.]
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He's tempted to ignore it and let Archer leave without him because he's known Archer for years and knows that yes he will in fact actually do this, but if he does they're still going to be not speaking to each other tomorrow.
So he finds Archer before the man has a chance to drive off without him and wordlessly gets into the passenger seat.]
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He's not going to raise hell, not tonight. Right now he's wishing there was more than he could do. He doesn't want his friends to get fired and there's no way in hell Archer isn't aware of that.]
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Archer finishes cooking and pours the soup into two bowls. He brings one to Kimbley and promptly takes a seat in the living room, turning on the radio to focus on that rather than on his companion.]
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...really, he knows Archer better than just about anyone so it's not like he's going to be capable of staying angry at him for very long, but he's still too proud to speak right now.]
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He's not nearly as angry as he was earlier when he finally crawls into bed.
Are you too mad for cuddles? Because that's about the only way he knows how to apologize.]
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I apologize for snapping at you.
[At least there's that?]
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It's fine. I...
...you'll think of something, right?
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I always do.
[Admittedly it's usually not a great decision for everyone else, but he's managed to keep them from failing completely so far. That's got to count for something, right?]
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You're so good to me.
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[He smirks at that, but the expression is gentle and obviously teasing.]
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But he doesn't mind.]
You remember how we met, right?
[And how much of a shit Kimbley was...]
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