[ 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.]
[ It’s subtle, but the way that Hugo’s smile minutely relaxes is genuine in a way that not many of his smiles have been. He doesn’t mean for it to be that way, exactly, but he’s just a man that’s learned to wear many masks and smiles out of self-preservation. That caution isn’t always warranted, but it’s a hard habit to break. So naturally, it’s relating to someone and being helpful that chips away at it, however slight. ]
Well, I understand that too. It’s the kind of weight that’s perfectly familiar.
[ But he’s also carefully neutral, not prying into what that might mean for Gregor or giving any indications of his own. Maybe one day they’ll talk about it, but tonight isn’t that night. It’s why his warm, serious tone is quick to turn airy and playful again as he continues. Since the chitin clearly isn’t as sensitive to his touch, he taps his fingers against it mischievously to match his tone. ]
However, be careful with your compliments~. I’m terribly weak to them, you know, and especially from someone handsome.
[really, he'd have gone with any change of subject. any diversion. they're obviously mutually aware of their preferences not to get too deep, hugo could say literally anything and gregor would go right along with it.
what he opts to turn to makes gregor's eyes widen behind his glasses, a few of the extra eyes hidden in his flowers opening along with them, before he does his best to look relaxed. play it cool. sooo chill.]
From-- Hugo, bud, I think you might need to get your eyes checked.
[he manages an awkward little laugh, there, shaking his head. right! great joke, hugo.]
[ Hugo laughs with a sly smile as he takes another sip of his wine, but it’s notably not of the tone where he would go “oh, just kidding” and back off. ]
Hm? I’m being serious. I don’t give out flattery just for the sake of it~.
[ …Okay, that’s a lie. He absolutely flatters people just because it’s fun, like in this very moment. He’s being mischievous, sure, but he’s completely sincere with his compliments. ]
Though, if you don't like it, I'll back off, to be clear. It's no problem~.
[oh. wait, what? he isn't just messing around? well-- no, clearly he is messing around at least a little bit, but is he really saying that isn't part of it--]
Well, I don't know if I'd say I dislike it...? Just, uh, not used to things like... you know.
[being complimented in general, really, but especially about his looks.]
Then it sounds like I’ll have to shower you in compliments to make up for lost time~.
[ He can read between the lines of Gregor’s awkwardness considering the story he’d just shared. Honestly, Hugo can even relate to that, because how many years had he spent loathing his own appearance? His mismatched eyes had been a source of misery since the day he was born, but that too is a dark subject that he doesn’t want to broach.
(It’s almost funny, how it seems to come up between them so readily.)
This is something he can easily keep light, though. His smile reaches to the corners of his eyes, still mischievous and playful, but warm. ]
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a little shallow. When we met, I was glad that if I would be imprinting with someone I’ve just met, it would be someone I’d have no problems holding hands with.
[SHOWERED in compliments?? save him, he might not survive it... sure, rodya is playful with him sometimes, but in between teasingly calling him 'babe' even she still gets grossed out by his appearance. this sort of outlook on him is-- it's harder to wrap his head around. to see the same thing hugo is seeing.]
...guess if that was your impression, you're really serious about being used to seeing things like this arm, aren't you.
[ The more Gregor rejects his flirtatious teasing, the more he wants to do it… But even if his smile becomes a positively impish grin, he does relent. There’s fun in not overdoing it, after all! ]
I am~. Honestly, it’s common enough to see people with animal features where I’m from that it was a bit jarring to get here at first before more of us Augmented had, well… You know.
[ Changed more. But he’s vague because he feels like if he gets to into that, their conversation will take a somber tone again. ]
Granted, with partial Thiren, it’s usually things like ears or a tail rather than an arm, but it’s still not that strange.
Something like that wouldn't be completely out of place at home, either... though I guess prosthetics and augmentations like that are more out of style these days. You're more likely to see a fully mechanical body, or some extra limbs-- sometimes head replacements like Manager Bud's too. Saw a few before who've swapped 'em for cameras and screens.
[after all, why augment your eyes to be those of a beast when you could have high-tech apertures installed? why animal ears when you could get some that tune into radio channels and do their own automated sound dampening? if you're going furry in the city you're doing it for the love of the game.]
Ah, then that’s similar as well, actually… We have plenty of people that are fully mechanical or have advanced prosthetics. I’ve been lucky enough to avoid losing any of my limbs, but it’s not exactly uncommon. Such is the danger of the Hollows at times.
[ He pauses, considering, but no. He can be normal about this, he decides. His expression doesn’t change to much from his conversational smile, though it does soften at its edges. ]
An old friend of mine wasn’t so lucky, just to say how common it is. He lost both of his legs and an eye during a Hollow disaster, but nowadays? He’s doing quite well, I’d say. Having prosthetics does have its advantages, since you can put some fancier tech in it. I imagine his kicks are devastating to Ethereals, you know~?
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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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Well, I understand that too. It’s the kind of weight that’s perfectly familiar.
[ But he’s also carefully neutral, not prying into what that might mean for Gregor or giving any indications of his own. Maybe one day they’ll talk about it, but tonight isn’t that night. It’s why his warm, serious tone is quick to turn airy and playful again as he continues. Since the chitin clearly isn’t as sensitive to his touch, he taps his fingers against it mischievously to match his tone. ]
However, be careful with your compliments~. I’m terribly weak to them, you know, and especially from someone handsome.
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what he opts to turn to makes gregor's eyes widen behind his glasses, a few of the extra eyes hidden in his flowers opening along with them, before he does his best to look relaxed. play it cool. sooo chill.]
From-- Hugo, bud, I think you might need to get your eyes checked.
[he manages an awkward little laugh, there, shaking his head. right! great joke, hugo.]
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Hm? I’m being serious. I don’t give out flattery just for the sake of it~.
[ …Okay, that’s a lie. He absolutely flatters people just because it’s fun, like in this very moment. He’s being mischievous, sure, but he’s completely sincere with his compliments. ]
Though, if you don't like it, I'll back off, to be clear. It's no problem~.
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Well, I don't know if I'd say I dislike it...? Just, uh, not used to things like... you know.
[being complimented in general, really, but especially about his looks.]
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[ He can read between the lines of Gregor’s awkwardness considering the story he’d just shared. Honestly, Hugo can even relate to that, because how many years had he spent loathing his own appearance? His mismatched eyes had been a source of misery since the day he was born, but that too is a dark subject that he doesn’t want to broach.
(It’s almost funny, how it seems to come up between them so readily.)
This is something he can easily keep light, though. His smile reaches to the corners of his eyes, still mischievous and playful, but warm. ]
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a little shallow. When we met, I was glad that if I would be imprinting with someone I’ve just met, it would be someone I’d have no problems holding hands with.
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[SHOWERED in compliments?? save him, he might not survive it... sure, rodya is playful with him sometimes, but in between teasingly calling him 'babe' even she still gets grossed out by his appearance. this sort of outlook on him is-- it's harder to wrap his head around. to see the same thing hugo is seeing.]
...guess if that was your impression, you're really serious about being used to seeing things like this arm, aren't you.
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I am~. Honestly, it’s common enough to see people with animal features where I’m from that it was a bit jarring to get here at first before more of us Augmented had, well… You know.
[ Changed more. But he’s vague because he feels like if he gets to into that, their conversation will take a somber tone again. ]
Granted, with partial Thiren, it’s usually things like ears or a tail rather than an arm, but it’s still not that strange.
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[after all, why augment your eyes to be those of a beast when you could have high-tech apertures installed? why animal ears when you could get some that tune into radio channels and do their own automated sound dampening? if you're going furry in the city you're doing it for the love of the game.]
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[ He pauses, considering, but no. He can be normal about this, he decides. His expression doesn’t change to much from his conversational smile, though it does soften at its edges. ]
An old friend of mine wasn’t so lucky, just to say how common it is. He lost both of his legs and an eye during a Hollow disaster, but nowadays? He’s doing quite well, I’d say. Having prosthetics does have its advantages, since you can put some fancier tech in it. I imagine his kicks are devastating to Ethereals, you know~?