The Thaumaturge [Chapter 14 Poll]

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS!

Make sure you are up to speed on The Thaumaturge before reading further and voting in this poll, please!

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I just posted Chapter 14; read that first before proceeding. Also, this poll is only open for a week -- I've gotta get a second chapter done this month so I need to know what the answer is!

I figured I’d kick off this story arc with a slightly different, more abstract poll that reflects one of the major focuses of the coming chapters. 

It’s going to influence not only what Matt does next immediately, but will also help to shape the ‘arc’ across multiple chapters; it won’t determine the future forever, but it’s setting the starting point.

On a scale of 1 to 4, just how pissed is Matt at Lauren and Viv, at this point? More detailed descriptions below.

1: Matt is forgiving.

Yeah, they fucked up, Viv especially, and this is an outrageous secret to have kept. The three of them need to clear the air. But they’ve mostly done their best to help him. Hell, Lauren fought werelions for him. And Matt’s kept things from them, too. Like Matt told Diana: everybody makes mistakes.

2: Matt is distrustful.

This is a huge secret to have kept from Matt. And it’s one more time when they’ve done nothing but treat him like a convenient, albeit important power source. A means to an end. 

Sure, perhaps he can still work with them. But if that’s going to happen, they need to be a means to achieve Matt’s goals, too.

3: Matt is pissed off.

At worst, the two of them view Matt as nothing more than a tool; their efforts to help him have been nothing more than sharpening a knife, changing the oil in an engine. Replacing the batteries in a flashlight. 

At best, maybe they’re just totally fucking inept. Either way, Matt can’t trust them, not really. If he gets into real trouble, maybe they can help; otherwise, time to prioritize alliances elsewhere.

4: Matt is done with them.

They’ve apparently killed a thaumaturge before and didn’t tell him. Then they helped Matt walk into a situation that they knew could’ve killed him. 

These aren’t friends. 

They’re his enemies.

(Note: Just in case it’s not obvious, you won’t be voting Lauren and Viv out of the series or into roles as villains with votes of 3s and 4s, although Matt will certainly be treating them differently!)