infomodder | IC contact [Mask or Menace]

Moth doesn't have loyalty to the flame. Still burns it.

[This is edging into metaphor territory.]

Can use a fire for light, too. Doesn't mean it won't melt your skin off. Course, depends on the job. If you're using them for anything, can't just be pushing papers around, huh?

[You guys and your metaphors...]

Hardly a point in hiring a security consultant and having him run for coffee.

[Although... he might wind up doing coffee runs anyway.]

It's a matter of building trust, first.

[They fuel him.]

Consultants. [The worst job in the world.] You wanna build trust that you know what you're doing or trust in you as a person? They're two different things. Need to approach it a certain way if you're going to do both at the same time. They can trust one without trusting the other, even if you make the best cup of Joe there ever was.

[Trust him to do his job, not trust him as a person. It flips, too.]

And do you have any recommendations, if I wanted to do both?

[Because trust in that he knows what he's doing, he already has. It's what he was hired for. Trusting him as a person... well. He knows that's going to take effort. He's probably going to have to start doing some... actual superheroing. Sigh.]

Yeah. Got a couple, actually. First one would be not to tell people you're using them like they're using you. You blab your mouth, you'll end up telling the wrong person one day. Come back and bite you right in the rump.

[Censoring himself is...well, he's used to it. He feels the kid gets what he means either why. It's not meant as an adult-to-young-person scolding, nor is it meant as Will implying he'd tell on him. He wouldn't. He's hidden some pretty nasty stuff himself, and like hell does he want to get anywhere near the government if they have...proper files on his real career back home.]

Tell your teammates this, too? Anybody else?

I know that much. I'm taking a risk even talking to you like this. I took the preemptive of reinforcing the privacy levels of this conversation aside from it just being our one-on-one, but there's no safe way of communicating this, aside from us sitting next to each other in person, and writing our responses down on paper, and then destroying said paper afterwards. After all, they can track us via these tattoos. Who's to say they can't listen to our spoken words, or even thoughts?

[Surprise, actually also a member of the Tin Hat Club.]

I've told them that I took the government job for reasons. I didn't go into the reasons, but they're aware.

[Tin Hat Club, Fishing Hat Club, it's all good.]

If it's possible they can listen to our spoken words and even our thoughts then they'd already know exactly what's up. And be working a way to counter that and, eventually, screw you over. Might find it funny for a while, but humor fades. Eventually.

[Like whenever he realizes what certain questionable remarks made by a good friends mean, that humor will evaporate immediately.]

Told anybody the reasons yet? Do I get to be the first? Consultant to consultant?

[As long as there's not a bunch of horrifying murders in the works (or, really, murders in general), Will's a nice bet for people it's safe to tell. Tell, won't go anywhere, won't make him stop talking because he doesn't care. Has to pass downtime at work somehow, doesn't he?]

... They'd be pretty mad at me for not telling them first.

[And he sounds like he actually feel guilty, about this.]

Only if they find out.

[He's kept a secret before that led to the family and friends of two murdered siblings going without justice for weeks, possibly forever once he gets his name cleared. There's no reason "good" enough for that, especially not when the secret was kept to preserve innocence that he knew wasn't all there.

When it comes to keeping secrets, Will? He's got this.]

Could they even be of any help? Dealing with the government. It's...it's tricky business. Been doing it half my life almost. Take advantage of it or don't. Still have that same experience if you ever change your mind.

I don't think they'd be of any help, but it's my lack of explaining my actions that put me in trouble with them before. If I do that again, I'm definitely going to be punished.

[Maybe you just... shouldn't ask, Will.]

... I'll be telling them as well. And while I shouldn't be telling you, I hardly know you... You seem trustworthy. I'm typically a good judge of this. I'll hope my instincts are right.

It's not exactly a surprise. I'd be gaining their trust to hopefully be promoted. Find out information from the inside, rather than hack it from the out, like I had tried before.

Is being involved with stopping attempted theft and giving the police statements required afterward considered part of "fun?"

[ If only they were less observational people, and the would-be thief less greedy, this whole boat thing might have gone much... more... smoothly. ]

[Oh boy.]

Depends on who you are. Some people consider that fun. Some do not. Care to tell me what exactly happened?

[ Flower crowns. That is - roughly half of who was there probably found it fun. Annie finds it reminiscent of the job she's quite firmly no longer employed as. ]

Someone was looking to take advantage of people's distraction with the fish to relieve them of valuables. Expensive trinkets were involved. People were shouting about pressing charges after he was caught.

He worked under the Captain of the boat.

[ The usual, really. ... It's a very sad standard for "usual." ]

[It is a must. Needless to say, this information Does Not Please Will. At all. Fishermen, boaters, captains...he's dealt with them all his life, knows the sorts the business attracts and the sorts that can get away with too much because of people being overly kind and giving them chance after chance even when they don't deserve it.

Still doesn't mean he appreciates it.]

No that doesn't sound like fun for anyone. I didn't know he had someone like that on his crew. I apologize you had to go through that. That's not what I intended. It's also rather rare, in my experience. How long did you get to stay on the boat without all that nonsense?

[ Some people get disillusioned and desperate. Others want easier answers, or to feed habits they don't want to own. Yet others re new and feeling like they can get away with anything after a period of establishing lassitude... Annie doesn't know which it is. It's asking a lot for part of her to care.

She still wonders. ]

There's no reason to apologize. The Captain didn't seem any more aware than you were before now. As for the other, we were halfway out. There were a lot of yellow-green fish before then.

[And some people drink too much and show up for work late and get free passes because they're a friend of a friend of the boat captain's and he's begged him (or is paying him under the table) to keep him on. Either or!]

Did you like it while you were halfway out? If you want to try again, I can get a smaller boat that serves the same purpose. Stay out as long as you like and I promise I won't try to pick your pocket.

[ People do the damnedest things for the damnedest reasons. Makes interpersonal relationships hell to navigate. ]

It's not like there'd be much to pick, even if you wanted to.

[ A ring, maybe, with a needle that folds out, her government ID, this communicator, a key. Annie travels light. ]

I wouldn't mind getting a second chance, but it hardly seems reasonable to bring just one person out. There're probably others you can think of who might benefit, too?

[ Fewer expectations on her, less of a need to worry about her own reactions. If they're adequate or not, well, that's a different story, but she'd like the idea of semblance of group anonymity. Being part of the background is much more comfortable than anything that has to stand out, even simply by lack of numbers. ]

[Will's rather the same way, traveling light. They might get a baggie of dog treats for their trouble before they get much of anything else. Who wants that?]

You know anybody else who might want to go? Boat I'm thinking of can fit 8—9, actually, but that would be the spot for whoever's at the helm. Taking a group is generally better when you can pick that group. I've just been going with the the owners to get a feel for what's here that might not be present back where I'm from.

[Will in a group of strangers when he could do it with a few or by himself. Willingly. Haha.

Hah.

Hahaha.]

[ Ace. Ace wants that. So does Scooby Doo. ]

One or two, maybe. I don't have the largest social group.

[ Or any. Reiner comes to mind - and after Reiner, Artemis. Minako might like this too. She's just wary about encouraging the blonde in anything other than irritating the hell out of Jean. ]

Possibly a third.

[Trustworthy isn't something he gets often, but it's not entirely off the mark. Trustworthy to keep his mouth shut? Sure. Trustworthy to not get driven overboard (nautical jokes!) and possibly kill people? Not...so much. Unfortunately.]

Mmhmm. [Completely amused right now, that's Will.] If you get that information from the inside, how do you plan to use it? Can't just announce it to all of us like you did last time. Gotta be careful who you tell what you find to, too. Gotta be careful you don't do some sort of HIPPA-violation. Something that seems small to most people but would get you in lots of trouble. Prison time. Fines. Do not hire lists. All that life-destroying stuff.

[He has...no idea if the kid knows what HIPPA is. Hopefully his tiny explanation gets the point across.[

[Ace is the biggest badass in the entire City. No one else compares.]

Don't have to have a large social group. Nothing wrong with that. I don't have one, either. [Or...any, at this point. Throw him in the broken pony home with Chilton, toss away the key. No one's going on boat rides with him there.] As long as you're happy, that's all that matters. I can handle one or two or three. Just need to know when and I can get on it.

[And find something to take that isn't the Good Ol' Boy boat trip snack and beverage combination. No beer. Welp.]

[ Bias detected, sounding the Bias Alert...!!! No large social group? Annie keeps that in mind. She wonders if it has anything to do with his profession from back home... or a lack of willingness to want to deal with the living around these parts anymore. Or something else.

There's always room for something else. Though he'll have to quit insisting on her being happy as anything other than a metaphor. Annie and Happy converges once in a blue moon, and is usually left beached on Repression Island in the offseason of happy: the rest of the year. ]

When is it going to be most convenient for you to borrow the boat?

[ She more or less knows her and Reiner's schedules - the rest are up in the air. For... the sober boat trip. Kind of Will to reel himself in away from creature comforts of the more standard, time honored, traditional sort. ]

[Totally biased. Doesn't like people, doesn't care to put more in his social group. Oh, right, and then killed and ate people (presumably) so they're all a little side-eying him at the moment. That kind of dropped the social circle.

Content. If not happy...fine with it? At ease. Not left wanting.]

Weekends are probably the best. I can close the shop up for a day during the week if that's better for you. It's my shop. I own it. I can do whatever I want with it, that's what I'm saying. If it means closing it down for a day, I can do that. It's not a huge deal. Red snapper season's been going on long enough that I've gotten a huge chunk of business already, one day lost wouldn't hurt me at all.

[He has...no idea if anyone else knows fishing seasons like he does (does anyone even care?), but he's tossing it in there because no, he's doing really, really well as it as. He can afford to take a whole week off if he wants. Sober fishing trip might also involve his dog, if she's not opposed. He'll just toss him overboard if he tries to pee in the boat. Look, it'll be a good time. Dog and fish and sunscreen and free soda or Gatorade or something.]

[ Cannibalism does tend to put a damper on things. Even if you only spit, and never swallow... for some reason, no one looks at you quite the same way after you've bitten a man in half. There's no doubt behind any of it, either.

Conflicting agendas are difficult things to juggle. So is contentment. Can someone who's never really allowed herself to be much of anything for her own sake recognize contentment? Ease? To not be wanting, that's simpler to understand... on a physical level. ]

The weekend is probably better for us, too. It's easier to free time up on Saturdays and Sundays.

What's red snapper season?

[ She has no idea about specific fishing seasons. She's aware of them, in the vague sense of knowing different fish are found in market at different points in the year, but it hasn't been part of her connected reality.

Neither have dogs, making them more of a novelty she's encountered here. It's as likely that she'll end up paying attention to the dog as the fish. One's easier to touch than the other. Learning how the dog can swim might even add insight into her own, well, still in progress set of swimming skills. So to speak.

... what the hell is sunscreen? Adventures. To infinity and boomeranging back around again. ]

Fine by me. Just give me a head's up. You know the seasons of the year? It's a little like that, just with fish. They have regulations so people don't catch too many and deplete the species to an endangered point. It comes and goes, different times of the year, and you can only bring back so many. That depends on what type of boat you're in, too. If you're doing it for recreation as opposed to some on-hire vessels, you might be able to keep more. Certain kinds you can catch in certain areas all year long that you can't do in others. So what you might be able to catch and keep in the Atlantic all year long could be different in regards to the Gulf, as it is with this particular fish and plenty others. They have to be a certain size, too, or you better throw them back. People go a little hog wild when seasons open because there's a short window to bring those kinds home. Legally, at least. You can get pulled over in your boat at any time and have it checked. If you're obviously illegally catching fish out of season, that's going to be trouble. It's basically a bunch of mumbo jumbo that no one really cares about other than fishers and people who enforce those laws, in my experience.

[There are rules about fish and no one gives a shit but Will explained it anyway. At least he followed it by telling her he's well aware few people give a shit. Maybe her eyes didn't gloss over so hard they fell out of her head.

Sunscreen and fish and swimming lessons and playing with a dog, the list of activities keeps growing.]

IC contact [Mask or Menace]

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