[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~?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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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~?