inbox;

[nonfictional]

Comments

[oddswerebad]

I've seen her.

Saga has some sort of power over it? If she's willing to use that...

If so, then the main contingencies would probably be based on whether she's out or not in a state where she could - or possibly would - deal with him.

[nonfictional]

It was a group effort. My wife, too.

[ He winces. Just thinking about this shit is bringing on a migraine, but at least he can recognize it for a tension headache and not Scratch trying to worm his way in. ]

I can tell--sometimes--when it's going to happen. If I feel him I'll send out some sort of message.

[oddswerebad]

[He nods. He's better at focusing on the practical but he manages;]

I'm sorry. I'm sure it's not - easy.

[nonfictional]

Don't-- [ Alan's jaw is set. His voice hadn't risen, but there's still an edge. One he actively tampers down. ] --Don't apologize.

[ And with a sigh, he'll lean forward and put his head in his hands. ]

Hopefully it won't even matter--you should have an easy time with me otherwise. I'm not looking to get into anything, I just want to write.

[oddswerebad]

[Any edge is enough for Nico to retreat into himself. He shrinks back when someone he knows, let alone a stranger.]

You should have free time.

[nonfictional]

Too much of it.

[ Those hands on his face slide down, as if the act of rubbing his cheeks and jaw can shake out how fucking tired he feels, far too self absorbed to pick up on the little shift. Nico looks about the same as he does: tired. And now the important, ground breaking shit is out of the way. ]

So. What about you?

[oddswerebad]

Uh. What about me?

[He's not trying to avoid the question. It's just that there's a lot of... stuff that could go under the question.]

[nonfictional]

[ Alan's voice is light, not at all upset or accusatory, just curious. ]

Considering I just admitted one of the reasons I'm probably here, I figured a bit of a background on my new warden wouldn't be out of pocket to ask for.

[ He'll lead the witness, though. Start with something simple. ]

You look about as tired as me.

cw epidemic that targeted children; not directly stated child abuse (as medicial experiment)

[oddswerebad]

[It's a simple question, but the answer goes back to the start.]

More than a decade ago... in, uh, my universe and according to my personal timeline, the United States was hit by a... disease that they call now IAAN. Out of children between the ages of eight and fourteen, only two percent survived. I believe the percentage has continued for the next group of kids who turned eight.

[He can say that much at one remove. He tugs at a loose thread on his cuff.]

The government wanted to figure out what caused the disease. I spent a lot of my life in labs.

[nonfictional]

[ Well. Alan asked. He watches the other carefully as he speaks, though it's a little hard to hide the shock on his face at everything being said.

Maybe, he thinks, Nico deserves more than a nap. But it explains the haunted look and the haggard ideals from someone that Alan still very much views as a kid, 20 or not. ]

I'm sorry.

[ What else are you supposed to say? Alan's reeling, taken aback. ]

[oddswerebad]

[Nico wraps his hands around his now cool cup again. His words are almost neutral, because how could he capture it all in tone. He lived through it, and he saw the people who didn't. He knows what was done to the kids that lived.

He half-shrugs.]

Now you have one of the reasons I'm here.

[He doesn't think it's a fair exchange to have put this on Alan, but Nico's not sure he could answer the smaller question without the wider context.]

[nonfictional]

[ He can venture a guess, and so he does: ]

Part of your deal with the warden to fix it?

[oddswerebad]

[He nods.]

I want to bring them back.

[It's a lot more complicated than that in practice, but that's the driving force.]

[nonfictional]

That’s really admirable. [ He genuinely means it. ]

Hopefully you get to sooner, rather than later. Do you have to graduate a person specifically, or does it all accumulate? What are the economics of this sort of thing, anyway?

[oddswerebad]

The person you're, uh, paired with has to graduate. [He shrugs.]

It's a direct exchange, but there's still... incentive to helping others, because that can contribute to your 'goal'.

[nonfictional]

Huh. So it's like helping points or something. A determined system.

[ Alan is thinking way too hard about this. ]

Do you know how much you need to do?

[oddswerebad]

Not really. There's no set points or list of stuff to be dealt with.

[He'd really prefer it if there were.]

You have to figure out what works for whoever you're dealing with, and you don't know if you're right or wrong until... the end, I guess.

[nonfictional]

That's a lot of uncertainty. But trusting in the process--that's half of anything, I think

[oddswerebad]

I know that people... graduate, and the Admiral fulfills his deals. [So he trusts the system far more than he's ever trusted another.

He pauses a moment, but this is a chance to practice his conversation.] Why did you decide to be a writer?

[nonfictional]

Kind of bullshit that you guys are in the dark, too. [ He's just saying. ]

I can't really imagine doing anything else. I've always had a vivid imagination and I've always been drawn to stories, it just felt natural.

[ A beat. He's hoping this doesn't come across as egotistical as it probably will: ] I'm good at it, too.

[oddswerebad]

[It's not as if Nico disagrees.]

That's good. It's nice to do something you're good at.

[He doesn't consider it an egotistical thing to say. After all, he can say precisely what he's good at.]

I don't read a lot, but I think writing books is very impressive.

[nonfictional]

It's a lot. It's also worth it.

What do you do as a hobby?

[oddswerebad]

[He thinks about that for a moment. He doesn't have a lot of what he'd call 'hobbies'.]

I like strategy games.

[nonfictional]

[ Why is he not surprised it's the nerdiest type. ]

Board or video?

[oddswerebad]

Board games. Video games are interesting too.