[ Ah… “Disgusting” as a word does fill in the remaining gap of that surprise a minute ago. No wonder it was surprising that Hugo wanted to touch his arm. He doesn’t outwardly react to that realization, but he notes it. As of late, he can even relate.
He’s about to apologize for the serious change of topic at the pause, but Gregor does speak up. Usually he’s the one to try and stay away from heavy topics, so his expression does turn lightly apologetic all the same. ]
…Your dreams, huh.
[ He does wonder if that’s related to that strange dreamscape, but it’s not like he has any particular insight. It’s just a curiosity, so he moves on. ]
I understand. Based on what others had described to me, I don’t know if there’s much benefit in knowing anyways. What useful information there was to be learned was at least past along to those of us that were left behind, but…
[ He shakes his head, but he gives Gregor’s arm a little squeeze of support before he pulls his hand away. He wipes that hand on his pants to get off the remaining residue, but with the other, he takes another, rather healthy swig of the wine. ]
I hate that it happened, obviously. I’ll do anything I can to stop it from happening again.
...yeah. I'll be all right, I've probably had worse, but not everyone is gonna be like that-- I can't say I like the idea of it happening to more of 'em.
[sure, it's a little rough right now, but he got through one nightmare. he'll make it when it comes to this one, he's sure.
his human hand taps idly on the tabletop, before he finally caves and reaches into the pocket of his jacket to pull out a pack of cigarettes and his lighter. after slipping one into the corner of his mouth, he sets the pack on the table between them in an open invitation, though he doesn't light his own immediately; instead he toys with the lid of the lighter as he continues.]
Thing is, I don't know that there is anything we can do. Not with what we seem to know right now. They've got an awful heavy advantage with their tech implanted in all of us, and the implications of them being able to just-- make a number of us disappear are... well, the implications are more or less that they can do what they want.
Have you? [ …Well, maybe that’s not a surprise, considering what he’d implied with his arm, now that he thinks about it. ] You’ve had it hard, then. I don’t say that to coyly ask for an explanation, to be clear. But you do have my sympathies.
[ That’s genuine, and it’s clear in his tone. Hugo is an empathetic person. Moreso than he likes, at times.
After a moment’s consideration, he hums out a sound that’s clearly a “why not”, and he takes the pack of cigarettes with a grateful nod. His smile is even briefly wry as he comments: ]
Now, I only smoke on rare occasions, so you’re not allowed to laugh if my first draw is more like a sputter.
[ But, hey, this definitely seems like the right mood for it. It’s why the smile doesn’t really last as he pops the cigarette out of the pack before sliding it back towards Gregor. At the very least, he’ll likely only have one. ]
—Admittedly, I have to say that you’re right. With what we know now, I don’t know if there is a way. However, I do think recent events will certainly push plenty of research from our more innovative minds in how to escape that shackle. That’s not my area of expertise, personally.
[ He pauses, considers for a moment, then decides to just admit it. He feels more comfortable with his imprints, ultimately. ]
[so no big deal. he's fairly sure none of it killed him, and therefore it wasn't as bad as it could've been.
he sparks the lighter's flame into life, taking care of his own cigarette before he leans in to hold the flame to hugo's; after tucking his lighter back into his pocket, he takes a long first drag, slowly exhaling a stream of smoke.]
So'm I, honestly. It's about all that I have any experience in-- I know urban warfare, but that's really the extent of what I can strategize about, you know? Theories, tech... that's all outside my usual realm.
[gregor is a man who carries out plans, not one who often makes them.
after another, briefer inhale:]
...I've worked for one of these companies before, is the thing. I know how it all goes.
[ Hugo holds out his cigarette until it’s lit and nods appreciatively once he draws it back to his own lips. Despite his concern, the first drag of the cigarette goes down easily, though he does chuckle because of it. It really has been a rather long time since he’s felt an occasion to smoke, so the concern was real.
His expression does turn more serious as Gregor agrees, but there is a little twinge of relief in it. He’s been lucky so far, he thinks. His intuition for who to be a little more truthful with has been working out for him so far. ]
And I may not have worked for them, but I’ve stolen from them often. So, I imagine there’s some overlap in our expertise, funnily enough~.
[ Hugo shrugs like that’s a casual thing to admit. Here, it is becoming much more commonplace, at least. He’d been hesitant before, but now that Patho-Gen has shown some of their hand? He truly doubts any Augmented would be likely to tattle, even if they found his work distasteful. ]
I didn’t exactly trust their telling of why we’re here from the start, but I can hardly take any pleasure in being proven correct. I don't trust any company that claims to want to save the world on principle, and it's only been proven.
Stolen from-- sheesh, I must've sounded ridiculous to you before, then, trying to insist on my job not technically being theft...
[which it still isn't, in most cases! but regardless!!
either way, he truly can't be one to judge, especially when it comes to getting one over on a corporation. stealing from your fellows is one thing, though even that can be forgiven in desperate times. from entities like that? it's more or less deserved.]
... I wanted to believe it, y'know. That they'd turn out to be different from the companies I've known-- that we'd really be helping out with something good for once. [a huff of a more humorless laugh, there, shaking his head before taking another drag.] Serves me right for that, maybe. There's still good work we can do here, and probably decent people in Patho-Gen's rank and file... but it's gotta be rotten at the top for something like this to happen.
[ Hugo laughs, since despite the otherwise dark tone of their conversation, he can’t help it. He tosses Gregor a playful wink, complete with bringing a finger up to his mouth. ]
Well, to be fair, my point of comparison was a little different anyways. Your job sounds more like what Hollow Raiders get up to. I steal much pettier things than that, but from more powerful people, so~.
[ He shrugs with a toothy little smile. Even if it’s a secret, he does have a flair for the dramatic, so he’ll never deny that he enjoys it. The thrill of a heist is part of why he’s stuck with it. Even so… ]
Do keep that to yourself though, hm? I’d rather not have any extra attention directed my way just by reputation.
[ He’d at least like to earn the ire by stealing something big first, obviously! ]
[ But even if the smile stays on his face, it does soften into a more thoughtful and gloomier one. As much fun as it would be to regale Gregor with charming stories of thievery, it also feels trite. That’s always been the tension with his work and something he’s been reexamining as of late. Thanks, Silco. ]
Well, anyways. You’re not alone there. I’d hoped for the same, even if I didn’t expect much. I don’t like it when cynicism is proven correct… But I also didn’t expect that the rot would be so extreme.
[ A shady organization was what he’d expected. It was unlikely that the story they were told was true, sure, but he’d thought their actions would be more subtle, more or less. Leave a question of their intentions, because the state of their world was true enough, and Hugo can understand that perfectly. But it’s so extreme and dehumanizing that he finds little room for forgiveness now. It’s why he pauses before continuing with a brief darkening of his expression, but he ends up just sighing heavily as he takes another drag of the cigarette too. ]
…Personally, I’m not inclined to help them again. Our help was never asked in the first place. Only demanded, and at a high personal cost. [ Transformation. Death. He doesn’t like any of it. ] I only see it more uncharitably now.
[he says with a grin that doesn't quite last, given the rest of the subject matter-- he's definitely going to want to ask about it another time, when they're not talking about something a little more pressing.
when it comes to that...]
I don't think I really care for helping out the company itself, nah. Not in their experiments, if I can help it. [seeing as they don't always get the choice. given what's come out about their methods and gregor's discomfort being there, he figures hugo has likely guessed that he didn't volunteer for that imprinting session.] But I don't think everyone in it is gonna be an enemy of ours-- I never cared about the company I worked for, either. Ditched it when I had the chance. If we meet 'em with nothing but animosity after this, it's gonna keep them aligned with it for their own safety; their higher-ups are gonna tell them it's their only option, and they'll believe that.
[he's got no empathy for whoever in the company was involved in this, but he also knows well enough that the left hand never knows what the right is up to in an organization like that. it's so easy to keep things under wraps and block it off in bureaucracy and secrecy-- and, of course, when people tar it all with one brush, a part of him can't help but remember hearing: those g corp scum all ought to be sent to the gallows, muttered behind his back.]
... for now, though, I'd rather just do what I can to help out the regular folks here. No shortage of need there.
[ Hugo listens seriously, and there are some points he finds he agrees with and others he would take more issue with. Gregor isn’t wrong that animosity would cause Patho-Gen to shore up their ranks, but Hugo is also doubtful of that one anonymous post in the first place. Is there anything they can feasibly take from Patho-Gen for themselves? That’s what he wonders, and he wonders how much violence it’ll have to come with.
So. It’s a little surprise how Gregor ends it, and it shows on Hugo’s face for a moment before his expression falters. He smiles, but it’s a little embarrassed and rueful. ]
…Right. Of course.
[ But even from his tone, that “of course” isn’t the most convincing. That’s clearly not what Hugo had been thinking about at all, and that’s why his expression tilts towards the apologetic. At least he’ll admit it, though it comes after a pause to tap off some ash as he takes a drink of wine too. ]
It speaks well of you that it’s where your thoughts go, you know.
[ Hugo also says that warmly. He clearly means it as a compliment, even if it’s not where his went. ]
Mine haven’t at all. Since so many of you “left”, I’ve been much more concerned about the Augmented, I have to admit.
W-well, not that I'm not concerned about us either... but if we can't work with the company, it's the other people here we're gonna need to have ties with, right?
[as ever, he's not particularly skilled with taking compliments, but he's relaxed enough in hugo's presence that he's stopped worrying about keeping the hood in place. the vines making up his hair have shifted it enough that he can see how they curl almost shyly, becoming an extension of his body language, and their movement exposes more of his new flora: mostly white baneberries, with a few stray yellow roses (though those look a little... off, somehow.)]
I mean, yeah, we could always tighten our ranks and keep to ourselves, but I don't think that'd go so well for us. Better to have people on our side.
[he pauses long enough to take a drink, which-- takes a little one-handed juggling of the glass and cigarette, but he manages.]
... besides, reminds me of home, a little. It's not as rough here as the Backstreets can get, but... I guess it's familiar.
[ That little stutter and the way those vines shift warms Hugo’s expression despite the topic at hand. It’s charming, and as he looks at more of the flora blooming on Gregor, there’s a little appreciation in his gaze too. Compared to other Augmented, there’s something rather lovely and whimsical about plants as part of the transformation. He doesn’t imagine Gregor feels the same way, though, so he keeps it to himself. ]
Mm, that’s true, and I wouldn’t discount the average person here, to be clear. It’s not as if they have anything to do with it.
[ If things got tense, that would change, he’s sure. The Augmented are very firmly outsiders here, so he feels like they’re on the back foot, but. It’s a cynical thought, and it’s one he doesn’t like to indulge, even if he thinks it’s realistic to consider it. Talking of home is a better topic then, ironically. ]
But I feel the same, actually. Ah, maybe in the reverse direction, since New Eridu is very much the opposite of “rough”, but… There’s plenty that’s familiar, yes. Though they’re doing better here to not need to go digging around in lost areas, admittedly. Hopefully they won’t have to either, since that would be too much of home, I'd think.
[the warmth in his expression is reassuring-- gregor definitely prefers to try not to bring people down too much, and considering where the conversation started off? that's an improvement. his vines settle, more at ease.]
What are those lost areas like, anyway...? If you've ever been into them. Figured you might have, if you can handle yourself well enough to get around corporate security.
[other places are always curious to him, after all. from what he's heard, the city is different from many others; it makes him want to know more about them and what they're like, how other people live. what they know and what they're accustomed to.]
Oh, plenty of times, yes. Even entering them is illegal, since they’re quite dangerous, of course, but! There’s no better way to make a quick, untraceable getaway~.
[ Now that it’s out there, he’s light-hearted about his thievery, but it’s also because he doesn’t exactly think it’s wrong. But naturally, rather than get into his personal principles, he just hums thoughtfully as he takes a lengthy drag of the cigarette to mull over how to explain it. Even if he goes into the Hollows frequently, that doesn’t make them easy to explain to someone without any context for them at all. ]
…Well, I might as well start with that “untraceable” part, I suppose. A key feature of the Hollows and why they’re so dangerous is that they’re labyrinthine phenomena. It’s truly impossible to navigate them without the usage of quite advanced, algorithmic maps, to simplify the process significantly. The space inside them is always shifting, so even if the affected area might only be a few blocks in reality, you could travel the area endlessly without making it out.
[ He taps some ash off again as he shrugs. ]
Any organic matter inside the Hollows eventually gets corrupted by the Etheric concentration present inside them. They’ll become warped, and if it’s an animal or a person, they’ll become monsters we call Ethereals. So, you don’t want to enter one without those maps. An ugly death awaits you unless you’re remarkably lucky, to put it simply.
A few blocks...? They're that big on the outside already-- how do these things pop up?
[concern edges out the curiosity, here, because he can't help thinking there are a lot of people who could be affected in one go, if these hollows simply... happen. and if people inside turn into something inhuman when they can't make it out...]
Sounds like they could cause all kinds of trouble.
If I could tell you, I’d not only be a hero, but an extremely rich man. So, no one knows. That’s part of the problem.
[ He shrugs, though even as he does so, he knows that probably seems callous. His expression becomes a little uncomfortable for a moment as he thinks about how to explain, but it just ends up coming out as a little sigh first. ]
…Not to minimize them. They’ve just been around for so long that they were just a part of everyday life. I actually understand and sympathize with the plight this world faces, since there’s some similarities to mine. Most of the world has already been swallowed by the Hollows. New Eridu and its surrounding outskirts are one of the last bastions of civilization left.
[ So, it’s some trouble, yes. ]
Our technology is quite advanced, though, so where the Hollows pop up and how they expand is something that can be predicted and tracked. It’s bad, yes, but it’s at least manageable in similar ways to any other natural disaster.
...Kinda like our City, then. It's the City because-- well, if anything's out there past the Outskirts, we sure don't know anything about it. Hard enough to go into the Outskirts themselves and survive in the first place.
[it's hard to imagine anything else out there, and the city is so immense that it's easy to assume it holds everything there is. besides, he's seen part of the outskirts for himself, and it's no wonder most wouldn't dare to wander out.]
And at least you've sort of got a handle on 'em by now. From the sounds of it... pretty impressive that you do have some civilization left.
[ He smiles again, and this time it’s tinged with a little relief. It feels like such a difficult thing to explain without sounding cruel, but thankfully, Gregor seems to understand. ]
Seemingly so. I wonder if Patho-Gen picked people like us because we already have some experience with dire phenomena~.
[ Joking. Though he’s interested by where the various worlds overlap, they’re also so widely different that he thinks the selection process is essentially random. It’s personally interesting to him, though. ]
But, yes. More or less. It’s hardly perfect, and there was a massive disaster within my lifetime, but… To take a slightly romantic view of things, humanity really does come together to survive. Life in New Eridu is even pleasant, I think. There’s a lot of work and sacrifice put into keeping the Hollows at bay so people can carry on perfectly ordinary lives.
[ Not that he’s a part of it, but. He finishes off the cigarette with a pleased sigh, then stubs it out in the ashtray. ]
Well, it's... in some ways, it's like you said. People can end up coming together sometimes, and you can still find things that are worthwhile underneath everything else.
[it's not that he hates everything about the place. the city is all that he ever knew, before coming here, and he knows that there is good to be found in some of its people, but...
but.]
It's not run by people, exactly. I mean, sure, people run the companies, but when corporations run the City itself...? Everything is focused around keeping them going, if you get my meaning, and it's only the folks with connections and certain means that get to live any kind of safe life in the areas they watch over.
[gregor takes a long drag from his cigarette, there, almost enough to burn down what remains of it.]
Everyone else, they get left to the Backstreets to make whatever kinda living they can. And when those big overseeing corporations come to blows with each other and go to war...
[he goes to stub his cigarette out in the ashtray, but misses, glancing down in confusion.
--ah. his hand shook a little, there. he fumbles to snuff it out properly with nothing but a little sigh, none of the usual awkward apology.]
Let's just say the place runs like a well oiled machine in... more or less every possible way.
[with a horrible efficiency. a cold and unfeeling calculus that he's seen in action.]
[ Get the meaning, but that’s all he says as he listens quietly otherwise. It’s another similarity, but this is the sort that isn’t so fantastical. The way that there are dangers like the Hollows that echo across worlds is interesting, and it’s probably the sort of thing that more learned people would even want to study. It’s the idea that something you consider rather wholly unique wasn’t so at all.
Business, though. It’s not surprising that they echo, but it’s disappointing. TOPS, Gregor’s corporations, Patho-Gen, and more that he’s heard of from others. Human greed is a sad constant.
There’s a longer pause before Hugo responds, though he punctuates it by finishing off his glass. A shame that he doesn’t really get a buzz anymore, since he’d normally be feeling its warmth by the end of a first glass, but old habits and all. He pours himself another, then tips the neck of the bottle Gregor’s way to ask if he’d like a refill too. ]
We have a similar system of corporations. TOPS, they’re called. Don’t ask about what the acronym means, since it’s terribly annoying~.
[ He’s light-hearted about that, but it’s true. It’s the sort of non-acronym where the letters don’t match the meaning, but he supposes some old bastard from a generation or two past decided “TOPS” was catchier than anything else. ]
But they’re part of the work and the sacrifice. I don’t know if it’s as harsh as yours, but… It’s still a well-oiled, brutal machine. That’s similar, I imagine.
[ He pauses again, though this one is briefer. It’s something he’d kept secret in New Eridu for practical reasons, but those don’t mean anything here. It’s just strange to admit when it comes up because of how guarded he’s been about it. ]
I would know. I was born into one of the TOPS families, so I was acutely aware of my family’s cruelty. [ To others. To him. But he’s more inclined to talk about the former. ] That’s why I left it as soon as I was able.
[he nudges his glass toward hugo in answer to that silent offer-- yes, he's definitely going to need a refill, especially with the topics they've been landing on.
specifically with this one.
it isn't as if his coworkers don't already know, but similarly to hugo, it just isn't something that gregor tends to share outside of their company. it's practical not to be linked in that way to something he wants nothing to do with, even if that's a tie he just can't seem to cut despite all of his efforts to do so.
once the glass is refilled, gregor takes a bracing sip from it.]
They're called Wings, in the City. My mother's been a Director in two of 'em.
[that's not a similarity he expected to find, but... well, with someone else who's from a place that has some parallels to home and from what sounds like a similar background, it's easier to admit to.]
Not that I'd say I exactly grew up getting any of the benefits of it, but I've seen how they work well enough not to try and chase that.
[ At first, Hugo takes the question and the long pause with the refill as judgement. He can’t blame Gregor for it, the same way he wouldn’t blame anyone from New Eridu for having reservations about associating with someone like him. Once you know what TOPS is capable of, anyone associated with them is untrustworthy at best. From what they’ve shared, he has to guess that it’s probably similar for Gregor.
So, when the pause is explained, it’s not what he expects. His eyes widen in surprise, but it’s quick to turn into a laugh instead. It’s incredulous, but it’s also warm. ]
Ha— I know you’re serious, but it’s such a surprising overlap! Either there’s nothing unique in the many worlds or we must have been fated to meet~.
[ There’s the flirting again, though he’s actually more serious about this offhand comment than others. It’s kind of incredible that a true random chance of getting stuck in a room to make some extra cash led to this, isn’t it? The more he runs into strange, impossible coincidences like this, the more he’s starting to believe in fate.
His laughter fades off as he takes another sip of his wine. He really hadn’t expected to get into this at all. He would have pointedly stayed away from it, in fact, but even the way Gregor phrases his own hesitations opens him up at bit to speak about it with a wry smile. ]
It was a family business in my case. We didn’t have much choice in the matter, at least so far as my father was concerned, so. Striking it out on my own was much more to my taste once I’d had enough of the bullshit.
[ It’s a little breach in Hugo’s otherwise polite, well-spoken demeanor, but it’s certainly telling about his opinion of his family. ]
Is that why you went into the military? To avoid chasing that life?
-yeah, maybe we kinda were. Guess that's a type of fate that isn't so bad, 'ne?
[better than the way fate usually goes for him-- because normally, in his experience, he's only been fated to fail. set up for it over and over.]
I'd like to say you're right about the military.
[but of course, the fact he has to say this at all means it isn't the case; he has another drink, shaking his head slightly afterward.]
The army I was in, though... it belonged to the first Wing she had a position in. Specialized in genetic augmentation. All of G Corp's soldiers had 'em done.
[there's a noticeable shift in his tone, one that's a little more-- dull, maybe. less energy to it, more like reciting something memorized, or putting intentional distance there.]
Wasn't any choice in the matter as far as she was concerned, either.
[ Though the subject stays heavy. It’s no surprise, he supposes, because part of that serendipity would also mean that their pasts are difficult, right? So, as soon as the connection is clearer, Hugo’s expression turns apologetic. He’d hoped that the military would be Gregor’s escape like thievery was his own. It seems to be the opposite. ]
…I’m sorry. I came over to be a comfort, yet here I am digging up your past.
[ Hugo’s voice is gentle when he says it. He doesn’t miss that shift in tone nor the implication in that augmentation. Terrible parents is another thing they share, seemingly. He could open up about his own circumstances, but he hesitates. He’d justify it and say that it’s because he was trying to cheer Gregor up and be good company (which is true), but selfishly, it’s more that he understands the distance in Gregor’s tone. He doesn’t really want to talk about a past he tries to bury either.
Instead, he reaches out again to gently set his hand on Gregor’s chitinous arm again, though he’s still careful to avoid plants with his chilly touch. At the very least, that detail of where this arm surely came from means he wants to be sure Gregor knows he won’t recoil from it. ]
I hope you’re freer from her now, at least. Besides the obvious of being in a new world, but… Well. It’s hardly the same, but I do understand how we carry these things with us, you know?
[those things aren't mutually exclusive. sometimes there's comfort in just being able to say it, knowing it'll be more understood than it normally is... okay, and also in being listened to in general, when he's used to being brushed off or dismissed.
he lets hugo's hand settle on his arm, not flinching from the chill of it on the less sensitive chitin.]
But it's something I'm used to carrying, so-- you don't need to worry about that so much.
[even after all this, it's difficult to answer with the truth of the matter, so he doesn't; it's not quite as easy to admit he's failed where hugo succeeded. that maybe he never will be free of her, save for being separated from his own world.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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He’s about to apologize for the serious change of topic at the pause, but Gregor does speak up. Usually he’s the one to try and stay away from heavy topics, so his expression does turn lightly apologetic all the same. ]
…Your dreams, huh.
[ He does wonder if that’s related to that strange dreamscape, but it’s not like he has any particular insight. It’s just a curiosity, so he moves on. ]
I understand. Based on what others had described to me, I don’t know if there’s much benefit in knowing anyways. What useful information there was to be learned was at least past along to those of us that were left behind, but…
[ He shakes his head, but he gives Gregor’s arm a little squeeze of support before he pulls his hand away. He wipes that hand on his pants to get off the remaining residue, but with the other, he takes another, rather healthy swig of the wine. ]
I hate that it happened, obviously. I’ll do anything I can to stop it from happening again.
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[sure, it's a little rough right now, but he got through one nightmare. he'll make it when it comes to this one, he's sure.
his human hand taps idly on the tabletop, before he finally caves and reaches into the pocket of his jacket to pull out a pack of cigarettes and his lighter. after slipping one into the corner of his mouth, he sets the pack on the table between them in an open invitation, though he doesn't light his own immediately; instead he toys with the lid of the lighter as he continues.]
Thing is, I don't know that there is anything we can do. Not with what we seem to know right now. They've got an awful heavy advantage with their tech implanted in all of us, and the implications of them being able to just-- make a number of us disappear are... well, the implications are more or less that they can do what they want.
no subject
[ That’s genuine, and it’s clear in his tone. Hugo is an empathetic person. Moreso than he likes, at times.
After a moment’s consideration, he hums out a sound that’s clearly a “why not”, and he takes the pack of cigarettes with a grateful nod. His smile is even briefly wry as he comments: ]
Now, I only smoke on rare occasions, so you’re not allowed to laugh if my first draw is more like a sputter.
[ But, hey, this definitely seems like the right mood for it. It’s why the smile doesn’t really last as he pops the cigarette out of the pack before sliding it back towards Gregor. At the very least, he’ll likely only have one. ]
—Admittedly, I have to say that you’re right. With what we know now, I don’t know if there is a way. However, I do think recent events will certainly push plenty of research from our more innovative minds in how to escape that shackle. That’s not my area of expertise, personally.
[ He pauses, considers for a moment, then decides to just admit it. He feels more comfortable with his imprints, ultimately. ]
I’m more of a direct action kind of fellow.
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[so no big deal. he's fairly sure none of it killed him, and therefore it wasn't as bad as it could've been.
he sparks the lighter's flame into life, taking care of his own cigarette before he leans in to hold the flame to hugo's; after tucking his lighter back into his pocket, he takes a long first drag, slowly exhaling a stream of smoke.]
So'm I, honestly. It's about all that I have any experience in-- I know urban warfare, but that's really the extent of what I can strategize about, you know? Theories, tech... that's all outside my usual realm.
[gregor is a man who carries out plans, not one who often makes them.
after another, briefer inhale:]
...I've worked for one of these companies before, is the thing. I know how it all goes.
no subject
His expression does turn more serious as Gregor agrees, but there is a little twinge of relief in it. He’s been lucky so far, he thinks. His intuition for who to be a little more truthful with has been working out for him so far. ]
And I may not have worked for them, but I’ve stolen from them often. So, I imagine there’s some overlap in our expertise, funnily enough~.
[ Hugo shrugs like that’s a casual thing to admit. Here, it is becoming much more commonplace, at least. He’d been hesitant before, but now that Patho-Gen has shown some of their hand? He truly doubts any Augmented would be likely to tattle, even if they found his work distasteful. ]
I didn’t exactly trust their telling of why we’re here from the start, but I can hardly take any pleasure in being proven correct. I don't trust any company that claims to want to save the world on principle, and it's only been proven.
no subject
[which it still isn't, in most cases! but regardless!!
either way, he truly can't be one to judge, especially when it comes to getting one over on a corporation. stealing from your fellows is one thing, though even that can be forgiven in desperate times. from entities like that? it's more or less deserved.]
... I wanted to believe it, y'know. That they'd turn out to be different from the companies I've known-- that we'd really be helping out with something good for once. [a huff of a more humorless laugh, there, shaking his head before taking another drag.] Serves me right for that, maybe. There's still good work we can do here, and probably decent people in Patho-Gen's rank and file... but it's gotta be rotten at the top for something like this to happen.
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Well, to be fair, my point of comparison was a little different anyways. Your job sounds more like what Hollow Raiders get up to. I steal much pettier things than that, but from more powerful people, so~.
[ He shrugs with a toothy little smile. Even if it’s a secret, he does have a flair for the dramatic, so he’ll never deny that he enjoys it. The thrill of a heist is part of why he’s stuck with it. Even so… ]
Do keep that to yourself though, hm? I’d rather not have any extra attention directed my way just by reputation.
[ He’d at least like to earn the ire by stealing something big first, obviously! ]
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Well, anyways. You’re not alone there. I’d hoped for the same, even if I didn’t expect much. I don’t like it when cynicism is proven correct… But I also didn’t expect that the rot would be so extreme.
[ A shady organization was what he’d expected. It was unlikely that the story they were told was true, sure, but he’d thought their actions would be more subtle, more or less. Leave a question of their intentions, because the state of their world was true enough, and Hugo can understand that perfectly. But it’s so extreme and dehumanizing that he finds little room for forgiveness now. It’s why he pauses before continuing with a brief darkening of his expression, but he ends up just sighing heavily as he takes another drag of the cigarette too. ]
…Personally, I’m not inclined to help them again. Our help was never asked in the first place. Only demanded, and at a high personal cost. [ Transformation. Death. He doesn’t like any of it. ] I only see it more uncharitably now.
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[he says with a grin that doesn't quite last, given the rest of the subject matter-- he's definitely going to want to ask about it another time, when they're not talking about something a little more pressing.
when it comes to that...]
I don't think I really care for helping out the company itself, nah. Not in their experiments, if I can help it. [seeing as they don't always get the choice. given what's come out about their methods and gregor's discomfort being there, he figures hugo has likely guessed that he didn't volunteer for that imprinting session.] But I don't think everyone in it is gonna be an enemy of ours-- I never cared about the company I worked for, either. Ditched it when I had the chance. If we meet 'em with nothing but animosity after this, it's gonna keep them aligned with it for their own safety; their higher-ups are gonna tell them it's their only option, and they'll believe that.
[he's got no empathy for whoever in the company was involved in this, but he also knows well enough that the left hand never knows what the right is up to in an organization like that. it's so easy to keep things under wraps and block it off in bureaucracy and secrecy-- and, of course, when people tar it all with one brush, a part of him can't help but remember hearing: those g corp scum all ought to be sent to the gallows, muttered behind his back.]
... for now, though, I'd rather just do what I can to help out the regular folks here. No shortage of need there.
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So. It’s a little surprise how Gregor ends it, and it shows on Hugo’s face for a moment before his expression falters. He smiles, but it’s a little embarrassed and rueful. ]
…Right. Of course.
[ But even from his tone, that “of course” isn’t the most convincing. That’s clearly not what Hugo had been thinking about at all, and that’s why his expression tilts towards the apologetic. At least he’ll admit it, though it comes after a pause to tap off some ash as he takes a drink of wine too. ]
It speaks well of you that it’s where your thoughts go, you know.
[ Hugo also says that warmly. He clearly means it as a compliment, even if it’s not where his went. ]
Mine haven’t at all. Since so many of you “left”, I’ve been much more concerned about the Augmented, I have to admit.
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[as ever, he's not particularly skilled with taking compliments, but he's relaxed enough in hugo's presence that he's stopped worrying about keeping the hood in place. the vines making up his hair have shifted it enough that he can see how they curl almost shyly, becoming an extension of his body language, and their movement exposes more of his new flora: mostly white baneberries, with a few stray yellow roses (though those look a little... off, somehow.)]
I mean, yeah, we could always tighten our ranks and keep to ourselves, but I don't think that'd go so well for us. Better to have people on our side.
[he pauses long enough to take a drink, which-- takes a little one-handed juggling of the glass and cigarette, but he manages.]
... besides, reminds me of home, a little. It's not as rough here as the Backstreets can get, but... I guess it's familiar.
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Mm, that’s true, and I wouldn’t discount the average person here, to be clear. It’s not as if they have anything to do with it.
[ If things got tense, that would change, he’s sure. The Augmented are very firmly outsiders here, so he feels like they’re on the back foot, but. It’s a cynical thought, and it’s one he doesn’t like to indulge, even if he thinks it’s realistic to consider it. Talking of home is a better topic then, ironically. ]
But I feel the same, actually. Ah, maybe in the reverse direction, since New Eridu is very much the opposite of “rough”, but… There’s plenty that’s familiar, yes. Though they’re doing better here to not need to go digging around in lost areas, admittedly. Hopefully they won’t have to either, since that would be too much of home, I'd think.
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What are those lost areas like, anyway...? If you've ever been into them. Figured you might have, if you can handle yourself well enough to get around corporate security.
[other places are always curious to him, after all. from what he's heard, the city is different from many others; it makes him want to know more about them and what they're like, how other people live. what they know and what they're accustomed to.]
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Oh, plenty of times, yes. Even entering them is illegal, since they’re quite dangerous, of course, but! There’s no better way to make a quick, untraceable getaway~.
[ Now that it’s out there, he’s light-hearted about his thievery, but it’s also because he doesn’t exactly think it’s wrong. But naturally, rather than get into his personal principles, he just hums thoughtfully as he takes a lengthy drag of the cigarette to mull over how to explain it. Even if he goes into the Hollows frequently, that doesn’t make them easy to explain to someone without any context for them at all. ]
…Well, I might as well start with that “untraceable” part, I suppose. A key feature of the Hollows and why they’re so dangerous is that they’re labyrinthine phenomena. It’s truly impossible to navigate them without the usage of quite advanced, algorithmic maps, to simplify the process significantly. The space inside them is always shifting, so even if the affected area might only be a few blocks in reality, you could travel the area endlessly without making it out.
[ He taps some ash off again as he shrugs. ]
Any organic matter inside the Hollows eventually gets corrupted by the Etheric concentration present inside them. They’ll become warped, and if it’s an animal or a person, they’ll become monsters we call Ethereals. So, you don’t want to enter one without those maps. An ugly death awaits you unless you’re remarkably lucky, to put it simply.
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[concern edges out the curiosity, here, because he can't help thinking there are a lot of people who could be affected in one go, if these hollows simply... happen. and if people inside turn into something inhuman when they can't make it out...]
Sounds like they could cause all kinds of trouble.
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[ He shrugs, though even as he does so, he knows that probably seems callous. His expression becomes a little uncomfortable for a moment as he thinks about how to explain, but it just ends up coming out as a little sigh first. ]
…Not to minimize them. They’ve just been around for so long that they were just a part of everyday life. I actually understand and sympathize with the plight this world faces, since there’s some similarities to mine. Most of the world has already been swallowed by the Hollows. New Eridu and its surrounding outskirts are one of the last bastions of civilization left.
[ So, it’s some trouble, yes. ]
Our technology is quite advanced, though, so where the Hollows pop up and how they expand is something that can be predicted and tracked. It’s bad, yes, but it’s at least manageable in similar ways to any other natural disaster.
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[it's hard to imagine anything else out there, and the city is so immense that it's easy to assume it holds everything there is. besides, he's seen part of the outskirts for himself, and it's no wonder most wouldn't dare to wander out.]
And at least you've sort of got a handle on 'em by now. From the sounds of it... pretty impressive that you do have some civilization left.
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Seemingly so. I wonder if Patho-Gen picked people like us because we already have some experience with dire phenomena~.
[ Joking. Though he’s interested by where the various worlds overlap, they’re also so widely different that he thinks the selection process is essentially random. It’s personally interesting to him, though. ]
But, yes. More or less. It’s hardly perfect, and there was a massive disaster within my lifetime, but… To take a slightly romantic view of things, humanity really does come together to survive. Life in New Eridu is even pleasant, I think. There’s a lot of work and sacrifice put into keeping the Hollows at bay so people can carry on perfectly ordinary lives.
[ Not that he’s a part of it, but. He finishes off the cigarette with a pleased sigh, then stubs it out in the ashtray. ]
What about your city? What’s life like?
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[it's not that he hates everything about the place. the city is all that he ever knew, before coming here, and he knows that there is good to be found in some of its people, but...
but.]
It's not run by people, exactly. I mean, sure, people run the companies, but when corporations run the City itself...? Everything is focused around keeping them going, if you get my meaning, and it's only the folks with connections and certain means that get to live any kind of safe life in the areas they watch over.
[gregor takes a long drag from his cigarette, there, almost enough to burn down what remains of it.]
Everyone else, they get left to the Backstreets to make whatever kinda living they can. And when those big overseeing corporations come to blows with each other and go to war...
[he goes to stub his cigarette out in the ashtray, but misses, glancing down in confusion.
--ah. his hand shook a little, there. he fumbles to snuff it out properly with nothing but a little sigh, none of the usual awkward apology.]
Let's just say the place runs like a well oiled machine in... more or less every possible way.
[with a horrible efficiency. a cold and unfeeling calculus that he's seen in action.]
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[ Get the meaning, but that’s all he says as he listens quietly otherwise. It’s another similarity, but this is the sort that isn’t so fantastical. The way that there are dangers like the Hollows that echo across worlds is interesting, and it’s probably the sort of thing that more learned people would even want to study. It’s the idea that something you consider rather wholly unique wasn’t so at all.
Business, though. It’s not surprising that they echo, but it’s disappointing. TOPS, Gregor’s corporations, Patho-Gen, and more that he’s heard of from others. Human greed is a sad constant.
There’s a longer pause before Hugo responds, though he punctuates it by finishing off his glass. A shame that he doesn’t really get a buzz anymore, since he’d normally be feeling its warmth by the end of a first glass, but old habits and all. He pours himself another, then tips the neck of the bottle Gregor’s way to ask if he’d like a refill too. ]
We have a similar system of corporations. TOPS, they’re called. Don’t ask about what the acronym means, since it’s terribly annoying~.
[ He’s light-hearted about that, but it’s true. It’s the sort of non-acronym where the letters don’t match the meaning, but he supposes some old bastard from a generation or two past decided “TOPS” was catchier than anything else. ]
But they’re part of the work and the sacrifice. I don’t know if it’s as harsh as yours, but… It’s still a well-oiled, brutal machine. That’s similar, I imagine.
[ He pauses again, though this one is briefer. It’s something he’d kept secret in New Eridu for practical reasons, but those don’t mean anything here. It’s just strange to admit when it comes up because of how guarded he’s been about it. ]
I would know. I was born into one of the TOPS families, so I was acutely aware of my family’s cruelty. [ To others. To him. But he’s more inclined to talk about the former. ] That’s why I left it as soon as I was able.
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[he nudges his glass toward hugo in answer to that silent offer-- yes, he's definitely going to need a refill, especially with the topics they've been landing on.
specifically with this one.
it isn't as if his coworkers don't already know, but similarly to hugo, it just isn't something that gregor tends to share outside of their company. it's practical not to be linked in that way to something he wants nothing to do with, even if that's a tie he just can't seem to cut despite all of his efforts to do so.
once the glass is refilled, gregor takes a bracing sip from it.]
They're called Wings, in the City. My mother's been a Director in two of 'em.
[that's not a similarity he expected to find, but... well, with someone else who's from a place that has some parallels to home and from what sounds like a similar background, it's easier to admit to.]
Not that I'd say I exactly grew up getting any of the benefits of it, but I've seen how they work well enough not to try and chase that.
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So, when the pause is explained, it’s not what he expects. His eyes widen in surprise, but it’s quick to turn into a laugh instead. It’s incredulous, but it’s also warm. ]
Ha— I know you’re serious, but it’s such a surprising overlap! Either there’s nothing unique in the many worlds or we must have been fated to meet~.
[ There’s the flirting again, though he’s actually more serious about this offhand comment than others. It’s kind of incredible that a true random chance of getting stuck in a room to make some extra cash led to this, isn’t it? The more he runs into strange, impossible coincidences like this, the more he’s starting to believe in fate.
His laughter fades off as he takes another sip of his wine. He really hadn’t expected to get into this at all. He would have pointedly stayed away from it, in fact, but even the way Gregor phrases his own hesitations opens him up at bit to speak about it with a wry smile. ]
It was a family business in my case. We didn’t have much choice in the matter, at least so far as my father was concerned, so. Striking it out on my own was much more to my taste once I’d had enough of the bullshit.
[ It’s a little breach in Hugo’s otherwise polite, well-spoken demeanor, but it’s certainly telling about his opinion of his family. ]
Is that why you went into the military? To avoid chasing that life?
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[better than the way fate usually goes for him-- because normally, in his experience, he's only been fated to fail. set up for it over and over.]
I'd like to say you're right about the military.
[but of course, the fact he has to say this at all means it isn't the case; he has another drink, shaking his head slightly afterward.]
The army I was in, though... it belonged to the first Wing she had a position in. Specialized in genetic augmentation. All of G Corp's soldiers had 'em done.
[there's a noticeable shift in his tone, one that's a little more-- dull, maybe. less energy to it, more like reciting something memorized, or putting intentional distance there.]
Wasn't any choice in the matter as far as she was concerned, either.
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[ Though the subject stays heavy. It’s no surprise, he supposes, because part of that serendipity would also mean that their pasts are difficult, right? So, as soon as the connection is clearer, Hugo’s expression turns apologetic. He’d hoped that the military would be Gregor’s escape like thievery was his own. It seems to be the opposite. ]
…I’m sorry. I came over to be a comfort, yet here I am digging up your past.
[ Hugo’s voice is gentle when he says it. He doesn’t miss that shift in tone nor the implication in that augmentation. Terrible parents is another thing they share, seemingly. He could open up about his own circumstances, but he hesitates. He’d justify it and say that it’s because he was trying to cheer Gregor up and be good company (which is true), but selfishly, it’s more that he understands the distance in Gregor’s tone. He doesn’t really want to talk about a past he tries to bury either.
Instead, he reaches out again to gently set his hand on Gregor’s chitinous arm again, though he’s still careful to avoid plants with his chilly touch. At the very least, that detail of where this arm surely came from means he wants to be sure Gregor knows he won’t recoil from it. ]
I hope you’re freer from her now, at least. Besides the obvious of being in a new world, but… Well. It’s hardly the same, but I do understand how we carry these things with us, you know?
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[those things aren't mutually exclusive. sometimes there's comfort in just being able to say it, knowing it'll be more understood than it normally is... okay, and also in being listened to in general, when he's used to being brushed off or dismissed.
he lets hugo's hand settle on his arm, not flinching from the chill of it on the less sensitive chitin.]
But it's something I'm used to carrying, so-- you don't need to worry about that so much.
[even after all this, it's difficult to answer with the truth of the matter, so he doesn't; it's not quite as easy to admit he's failed where hugo succeeded. that maybe he never will be free of her, save for being separated from his own world.]
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