fandomhigh | Working the Long Con, Friday, Second Period

It was a grumpy, rumpled librarian that stomped his way into class after the students had arrived, bonelessly dropping into his chair and kicking his feet up on to his desk as he fished about in his coat for some cigarettes.

The school board might make him teach -- again -- but they couldn't make him behave.

"Right, I'm Constantine, and you're most likely here because you're gullible and thinking this is going to be an easy 'A', a delinquent, or for some strange reason thought this was an academic class with philosophical value," he said, lighting up. "More the fools you, but I can work with it."

"So, let's start with the basics. A con is a game, one where hopefully you're the one writing the rules and the people around you are the pieces you're moving. Like how you lot probably showed up last week when I didn't." Because he'd been really really hung over on the mainland.

"It's a scam, a grift, a hustle, all those words designed to make it sound as shady as possible, although the number of reasons you could be running a con are infinite, at least when you're justifying it to yourself. It usually just boils down to one, very simple motivation: You want something," he continued bluntly. "So give me your name - or whatever the hell you want to be called for the purposes of this class, I don't care - and tell me one time you ran a scam on someone. Give me an idea of what you already know, kids, then we'll get on to Arts and Crafts."

...yes, that actually was as ominous as it sounded.

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"Fucking hells, it is you," John sighed, rubbing at his eyes. "Now, was this your sister's idea, your brother's, or your sister-brother's?"

"Of course it's me," Delirium responded, arching a brow, "Who else would I be?"

Beat.

"Ooooh.. " So many possibilities sprang to life in her head.

"Ahem. Delirium," Barnabas tried to redirect her.

"Huh? Oh. You left off my other sister and my other brother and my yet another brother," Delirium pointed out helpfully, "but it wasn't none of theirs. It was my own idea! My very own, thought up all by me!"

Beat.

She shuffled a foot against the floor. "Wellllll.. Lucien helped. A little."

"Didn't leave her out, love, I know Dee loves me too much to do this to me without being here to take a picture of my face when you arrived," John said easily. "--and only one of your brothers is creative enough to come up with a plan this mad."

And potentially Destructive.

"Did Lucien sign you up for this, then, or did you pick this class?"

"Just because you can't see her right now doesn't mean she's not always here," Del pointed out, "She's always everywhere all at once." Because: Death.

"There's a new one. Um. Brother. Sort of? He's not really new but he is really new but he's the same only he's not? And mad is me, not any of my brothers. Or my sisters. Not even Desire when Desire wants boy or girl or none of the above pronouns." Beat. "Dream's hair and coat is all white now instead of all black." That made perfect sense, right? "And Fiddler's Green wanted to stay gone and not be put back right and he's really sad about that but he respected Fiddler's Green's wish to stay with our sister. She'll take good care of him. She always does."

Beat.

Delirium beamed, "I picked it!"

Working the Long Con, Friday, Second Period

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Re: Talk and Stuff