Two Chats with Alex Bexley

OPHRT Interviews

Alex Bexley was kind enough to do a two part interview with OPHRT.

Part I

Rep: Hi, Alex. Welcome back.

Alex: Thanks… it’s a big relief for me.

Rep: Why don’t we start with why you left us.

Alex: I was a victim of my own curiosity… I saw what happened when she hooked up with Carth. She became his favorite little drug. His love and hate combination that wouldn’t survive the separation. I wanted to know what it felt like to feel that drug in my blood.

Rep: What did it feel like?

Alex: Don’t take this the wrong way, don’t hold it up to scrutinity – she was more than I could ask for, but none of what I need. So, don’t take this the wrong way, but nothing is for real, she’s only an illusion and impossibility. I mean, please, really, don’t take this the wrong way but – but – when I stare at the sun, she’s what I see.

Rep: Is that good?

Alex: It was great. She made me feel…powerful. In control. Determined to the end, ruthlessly and violent, ruler of the earth, subordinate the universe. I commandeered my own fears. It was – amazing.

Rep: So – what went wrong?

Alex: No clue what exactly occurred, my vision sort of fogged and my memory blurred. Suddenly I felt… like I got the world inside my head and it was ticking like a bomb. Going down the wrong way on a one way dead end street. In place of my hope, there came this fear… I wasn’t sure if I could go that far, but I never thought I’d crash so hard. I didn’t realize what I’d found, because it didn’t hit me until I slammed into the ground. Off a forty story building. It sort of… screamed at me, without a sound.

Rep: That must have been a shock. I’m sorry, Alex.

Alex: Surprised? That’s a straight lie, should I say it. Just completely stunned, paralyzed, emotionless…. Hypnotized.

Rep: How – How did she manage that? That feeling?

Alex: It’s her nature. She’s always been that way.

Rep: Could you explain?
Alex: She’s like…. Driven by testosterone, adrenaline and pheromone… the crowning glory of creation, Satan’s incarnation. No, not Satan. Super-human. She’s a rabble rouser in your face, a proclamation of defense, outrageous the innocent, unyielding to consequence, and she’s a rabble rouser till the bloody end.

Rep: How did she become that way? She used to be different, didn’t she?

Alex: Sure. She grew up. Our fault – the Pride’s. Between Carth, Mundal and I, we sorta… influenced her. Maybe she was born this way. I don’t know.

Rep: What’s she like? Personally?

Alex: There’s two sides. One is sweet, innocent, adorable, the most loveably damn creature in the world. The kitten.

The other is the tigress. She needs new enemies, new strategies, she needs the pain to feel something, she needs to shed skin, to be like her again… a brand new her. Every night she needs to become something new, to shed her old self and reemerge brand new. She reads the writing on the wall, but the message is all wrong.

Rep: Why?

Alex: Imagine yourself in her shoes. Life’s perfect – Carth as a lover, Jack’s a brother, John as a father. Then – everything goes to hell. Two of ‘em die, one gets on opium, and everyone who used to help you out disappears. You’re left alone in a cutthroat industry – half of which you’ve fatally annoyed, the other half you’ve royally pissed off by being who you are… a bolt of lightening, and out of the blue – no forewarning – all the heat’s on you. Under scrutiny, whether guilty or not, trying to hide, going underground, under heavy surviellince, it looks like you’re trapped, systematic deprivation, process of elimation, demonized and sacrificed, noose is tightening, no return left to burn, your face is in the mud, and the end of the story is written in blood…. Of course you would turn into either a corpse or a tigress, if you were Regent. She chose to fight rather then to run.

Rep: And that’s… that’s the creature you thought you loved?

Alex: No. I know I love her. I’ve loved her since Carth loved her. Always will. She loves me too, always has, always will. Our bloodlines cross – we can’t help but love each other. If you were part of the Pride, you’d love her too.

Rep: Then… why are you here?

Alex: Because the reason Regent and I are falling apart at the moment is because I tried to separate the love/hate combination. I tried to love her and only love her. It doesn’t work, she tried to only love me, and that failed to. Love and hate combination. Just like Carth and her. They barley survived the separation, so I know Regent and I have no chance in hell.

Rep: Oh…

Alex: I’ve nothing left to ask for her. She’s given her all. She’s a Nietzscheist. Don’t be surprised if she dies in a week. I’ve got to run. Good night, all.

Rep: Welcome again.

Alex: Thanks.

Rep: So, your relationship with Regent has officially ended. How’s it feel?

Alex: Like hell.

Rep: Take it from the top. What happened? Why’d she walk out on you?

Alex: I suspended her. From the NAL.

Rep: Why?

Alex: She – she was shadow dancing, and I found out.

Rep: Shadow dancing?

Alex: Yeah. Shadow dancing.

Rep: I’m sorry, but I’ve never heard of shadow dancing. Could you explain?

Alex: The reason you’ve never heard of it is because it’s been banned for the past twenty or so years.

Rep: So – what is it?

Alex: Shadow dancing is the most dangerous form of lying out there. The liar becomes the marks obsession, their riddle, their personal paradox. The liar makes themselves into a mystery that the mark has some sort of weird, zealous passion for solving. But there’s never a solution – just more questions. Any time the paying client needs the marks normal life and thinking process thrown off, they ask the liar to show up. If the liar was good enough, talented enough, all they have to do is walk past the mark in the street, not saying a word or giving a hint of recognition, and the mark will be thrown off for a week. They’ll barley eat, barley sleep, and generally freak out.

Rep: It sounds very effective. Why was it banned?

Alex: A lot of liars got hurt. The marks obsession gets borderline psychotic, out of control, and the liar can’t keep the situation from getting out of hand. Marks would turn against the liars, getting violent. A lot of good liars got bullets in their head, in broad daylight, because of shadow dancing. Omen, the liar most compare Regent to, who some even claim she’s a reincarnation of, was beaten to death by a mark in ’67. The better you are, the more likely you are to get hurt.

Rep: And you thought Regent was going to get hurt?

Alex: I knew she was going to get hurt. Just being herself, without the glittering magic of lies, she’s a paradox, an obsession, a drug. She’s naturally a godlike shadow dancer. Not only is she way too good at it, she loves it. She loves that mix – volatile, fast paced, subtle yet powerful, and those molting hot servings of passion and danger on top. When I first got elected, before Makiavalli and Byleth or Chietan died, I made Regent promise me – swear to me that she’d stop. Carth swore to me she’d stopped as well, told me he’d notify me if she started again. I should’ve known better – he loved her as a shadow dancer, loved to watch her work her magic. I loved to watch it too – you never knew what an awesome talent she has until you saw her work the evilest type of lie of ‘em all. But I was always terrified to watch – I knew, one of these times, the situation would blow up all over her pretty face.

Rep: But she didn’t stop.

Alex: Of course not. That would have been moderation. Regent doesn’t play that way. I found out from one of my informants that she’s been shadow dancing for Mundal, Jack, and Da Gant. Woozy too, before the great battle between those two a few months back. Totally, she’s wracked approximately 15,000 shadow dancing points since I first got elected.

Rep: So you banned her?

Alex: Yup. Told her I couldn’t stand her getting hurt, that I wanted her to take it easy. Focus on the more important things in life. She told me that unless I backed off and let her breathe she would walk out on me. She’d go underground and shadow dance until it killed her, and then she’d do it some more. I pleaded, I begged, I made a damn fool out of myself. But I wouldn’t lift the ban until I got her word to stop. She wouldn’t cave – I couldn’t cave. She walked out.

Rep: No more Regent?

Alex: No more Regent. She’s left the public life until I lift the ban. She’s in the shadows – dancing in them too, I presume.