infomodder | IC contact [Mask or Menace]

Graham.

[Because he doesn't really know Will, last names is the best option for how to address Will.]

You said you wanted to speak to me when I was out of confinement.

I did—

[Wait, that sounds wrong.]

—do. Everything work out all right in the end? You're out and about. Talking. Assuming the scolding wasn't too. Harsh.

[He hopes he didn't take that job. His experience isn't everyone's, but the government can be one hell of a cruel mistress.]

Everything worked out. Your fear of torture so far has been unfounded. The only punishment I faced was from my own teammates. I appreciate your concern though.

[He totally took the job. Sadly, he only sees pros, not cons.]

["So far"—did the kid have experience with the government back home to negative degrees or had Will (and perhaps a few others) instill worry about it?]

Take the job? Comes with a title, I imagine.

[A nice title and, hopefully, not losing his mind. A title that people respect, even.]

[His own father is his negative experience with the government, but mostly it was Will.]

I took it, yes. No title, outside of just security management.

[Totally not losing his mind. Not even a little!!]

You really have been scarred by something, haven't you?

[There's a moment of silence before he answers. He's made his job clear publicly, not sure if anyone else read along (who would care?), and unless certain people have been spilling anything about him, he could get away with it. Could. Maybe?]

Dunno if you'd say scarred. Been burned might be more appropriate. [Even though burns lead to scarring, there's a difference there. Burning implies he just got tired or had too much. Scarring implies...damage. Ruined. Broken. He doesn't like that.] Worked with the FBI for a long time. Had a bellyful of everything. My job, the way it was run. That would be more. Accurate.

[Not. Really.]

[He's read along. He's read and listened and watched everything he could, honestly. A stalker... yeah, maybe a little. Although he hasn't read much private information (despite easily being able to hack it), unless it was entirely vital for him to. Which, there hasn't been much.]

I see.

[Burned, scarred. Whatever answer Will gives, he gives for a reason. Inumuta has no reason to doubt him... so far.]

Burned, then. Regardless, if you're worried about me being burned as well, you don't have any reason for concern. One, I don't plan on staying long enough to get tired of it. Two, I believe being burned means I'd have to have loyalties to who I'm working for to begin with. I'm using them, as much as they are using me.

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.

[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.[

I announced it after I was caught. I'd already admit to my crime, telling the Network about my fate was hardly going to change anything for me.

My sole goal is finding a way back to my own world. That's it. I couldn't care less about the state of this world and it's future. I'm not the first to say I'm not happy with being here, and I won't be the last, but I don't see a point in complaining if there's something I can do about it. My life here is only temporary. I'm not going to spend it worried about whether or not I'll be hired anywhere else here if it means releasing information that will lead to an answer that we need.

[He doesn't know what HIPPA is, but he can pick up what it is from context.]

So. You wanna find a way back to your own world, that's it. Not a way back for everyone, just you and...whoever else you know.

[Teammates would be from his own home, too, maybe? His voice is gradually growing into more a mutter as he continues. Unimpressed.]

Wouldn't need to release information to anyone if you don't look for a way for all of us. Temporary life for you, might be forever for everyone else. That what I'm hearing?

I believe you're putting words in my mouth. The way the Porter works is that we have control over it's locations, or we don't. Finding an answer for myself is finding an answer for everyone. I'm not that selfish.

[Will's going to remain mum's the word on the first part. It might be hot in the shop and his day before might have been crappy, but there's no need to really get into an argument. He's probably already being grouchy enough.]

Are you open to the real answer being the one you don't want it to be? [Acceptance is the first step, wasn't that what Will had said? Going into something without accepting the answer could be the last one wanted...] All the evidence in your face that it can't be done, would you accept that?

[Being stubborn might as well be genetic, for how hardwired it is into Houka's personal code.]

It's been done before. It can be done now. I refuse to give up on an idea that hasn't infinitely been proven otherwise. While the fate of my world is apparently saved... There are people I need to see. I can't accept that I won't see them again.

[Will's getting that much. Kid's stubborn, kid's a kid (in his head; he keeps getting called old for a reason), kid's got good experience with computers, not sure if the kid's got good experience with Certain Kinds of work and how he'll have to behave in order to not only keep on the crew but move up.

Not everyone has pesky empathy skills and all that.]

And if it's infinitely proven otherwise? You do all this work, get the answer, it's not what you wanted—what then? [How many times had they found answers they didn't want, didn't want to see, refused to accept could ever be possible? How many times would it happen again, how would it happen when Will went home to a hospital and spat fire and venom and spit about how he didn't do it with tons of evidence thrust in his face saying he did?] There's a few outcomes. One is what you want. One is not what you want. You go into it convinced what you don't want is impossible, you'll. Damage yourself.

[If he was cracking around this for something minor, Will wouldn't be saying as much, making it seem intense. This was a big thing, though. Going home. Getting everyone home. I can't accept that I won't see them again—that was plenty intense on its own.]

[...He didn't really think about it too much, honestly. He knows there's the possibility for failure in his plans, but out of desire to ignore the negative, he's stopped considering failure as a possibility. For Lady Satsuki.

He's not liking this conversation much anymore.]

A risk I'll take.

[In case the hacking attempt wasn't obvious, he's a biiiiit reckless.]

IC contact [Mask or Menace]

5-30-14

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lateee, sorry!

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