*** BlackHat has joined 333.07.333.06 <BlackHat> ^J help <BlackHat> help <BlackHat> J <BlackHat> Official business with Black Hat only. Don't waste my time.
[Black Hat isn't saying it to Flug directly. More of a verbalized thought, marveling at the extent to which Daniel failed. He continues his slow circling, testing the waters, looking for signs of damage. Flug's reactions have become normal in the time they've spent in Ryslig, no longer immediately cowering - something that he takes solace in. If Flug remembers Ryslig, it's his Flug entirely.
But still, he doesn't like the addition of memories. Ones that don't belong. Ones that can interfere.
Black Hat draws closer.]
What kind of memories? What did they tell you? What happened?
[So many questions! He needs answers - namely, how much does he still need to kill Daniel.]
"Well." [It's like being asked to explain the entirety of a subject in one go. How is he supposed to separate an entirely different life?]
"You weren't there." [That was the most distressing detail. Why hadn't they gone together? Flug continues to fidget with putting on his yellow gloves, a perfect metaphor for the state of his mind; functional yet lacking coordination.]
"And um." [Does he start with the tree of the lawn of the home he never lived in and how he watched it change with the seasons? His favorite cafe run by a monster that now didn't exist? The way he already couldn't seem to recall his past coworkers faces?]
"They tried to make me think I always lived there. Like a.. a normal citizen and oh boss they made me an accountant!" [Why? WHY did his alterate self choose that? It was so DULL, he was wasting away!]
"I ended up running into a bit of trouble. Had to become someone else so I... I lied. I snuck in with a batch of new arrivals, feigned being from another world myself and lived amongst the monsters."
[Finally the gloves slide on, Flug's expression mellows.]
"It was touch and go alone for a while but eventually I enlisted the help of Virgil and Florence-- still married-- and they helped me with my disguise's upkeep and keeping on top of whatever madness each month brought."
Of course I wasn't. [Black Hat hadn't been swept up in Daniel's ploy, spared the indignity of his entire existence being stripped from him and shoved into the shoes of a false life. Apart from that interjection, though, he remains silent, his gaze locked on Flug, listening intently to the recount.
An accountant? A number-pusher, solving financial woes of others? That's pathetic, even for Flug as a human. Black Hat almost finds it in himself to give the man a sympathetic and only slightly condescending head pat, as he certainly can see Flug in the roll of an accountant. Almost.
There's something akin to comforting in knowing that, even in a life as dull as the one he'd been assigned, Flug still fell to the wayside of society. Pretending to be a monster - he was always a monster of some variety, Black Hat wouldn't have hired him otherwise - it's ingenious, and the words make Black Hat visible relax, some tension leaving his primed posture.
Until Flug missteps. The sharpness is back in his eye in an instant.]
Virgil still married? [No, that's not right.] Who the hell is Florence?
[There's a snap in his voice.] We don't know a Florence.
[It's. They just are Florence! Flug can't have imagined them, he distinctly remembers them here in this base!!]
"They live with Virgil with their adopted daughter and ohhh my god their name really IS Floofty, isn't it?"
[Flug groans and buries his face in his hands.]
"I'll. I do remember, boss, I do. I'll get it right. Just. Just give me some time."
[What a headache. Don't give up on him, this can be fixed.]
"You and I were nagas once, we got holed up in a ski lodgd before and-- and back home I have a lab. We've made so many things together, in the name of villainy! With- with Demencia and... and 505?"
[The blue.. bear...?? He was real right? Oh no, oh no this is sounding less sane by the minute.]
What are you talking about? [Virgil's adopted daughter?] Yes, it's Floofty. Floofty Fizzlebean.
[And he's having to say that in all seriousness now. Oh, he's going to kill Daniel. Kill him, make him suffer horribly, it's all the same.
The man has scrambled Flug's brain. Normally Black Hat would be delighted to pounce on any opportunity to strike that bear from his doctor's recollections - it would be so delicious, stripping away that core blight on Flug's being - but he's gone and piled it in with Demencia and their home, and if he destroys the integrity of that one point, what of the rest?
Black Hat mentally curses Daniel again for losing him thisgolden opportunity. It's too risky, too, ugh, integral to undoing this mess. He huffs, dragging a hand down his face in frustration. Another deeply put-upon sigh, because he can't exactly storm off to bring vengeance on a man he still can't find, and Black Hat settles for... storming over to the bed and sitting on it, never breaking his stare with Flug.]
How long will this take? [He can't exactly leave Flug in this state. Black Hat puts his fingers together.] Sorting out the right memories from the wrong ones. You only had the wrong ones for a week.
"Fizzlebean." [Flug repeats nodding, as if it were the name of some long forgotten ancient artifact. Did that make Virgil's full last name Alexandrescu-Fizzlebe-- no, no they AREN'T married. The doctor's gaze follows Black Hat over to the bed, still in a bit of awe, despite the stress from his floundering. He doesn't want to risk Black Hat not being there if he looks away.]
"It's only been a week?"
[Of course. It was always only a week. Ryslig's favorite interval. Just saying those words unleashes a deluge of deja vu. It felt like there was so much more than a week in his head and yet it made sense when Flug thought about it. Of all the 'false' memories; those seemed the most prominent, any older detail felt full of such obvious vaguery in comparison. How long would it take to fix this?]
"A..couple days? Three at most, m-maybe? I just need to get back to what's normal. Reestablish my old routine. They say it takes a certain amount of days to form a habit."
[Typically around 21, but Flug will do better than that. He has to. Black Hat won't accept otherwise; his own standards won't allow it.]
"Though um. O-occasional reminders might help speed it along?" [Pretty please?] "It. It wasn't just me, right?"
One week of you and some ninety percent of the monster population, gone in a blink. Daniel is responsible. [And he will pay is the unspoken addition.] Anyone you met there was not here.
But yes - your routine. [And Black Hat will be there every step of the way, lurking, watching, because he is not having Flug snatched out from under him again. Prepare for a good three days of a hanger-on, Flug, if not more.]
And what sort of... reminders will you need?
[He's opening the floor to anything, anything Flug might come up with. He's not losing this mind, this scientist of his, not to false memories inflicted by a fourth fanatic.]
"That many?" [It was hard for Flug to even concieve.] "I spent more time among the monsters than the humans." [But if everyone he knew became humans with false memories as well then what of his neighbors? Were the monsters there fabrications, or humans pulled from here as well? Lucky bastards if they were.
So the world felt real because it was populated by real people... And Black Hat was left here, stranded after such a mass exodus... the claw marks on these walls make a lot more sense.]
"If that's the case... they'll need time to sort themselves out too."
[So they have some time, Flug doesn't have to risk embarrassing himself by not being at 100% immediately, though Black Hat's being receptive relaxes him some. He thought he had a lot more convincing to do.]
"Oh. Um. Well I'm not sure yet. Just clarify little things? A lot of my memories first came back in dreams so..."
[You can imagine there was some false information in there.]
"I'll answer anything, or I'll just recite bits of info and you can tell me if I'm telling it right?"
[Which might be just a hair too much of trust than anyone, even Flug, ought to be putting in the demon's hands.]
"Like last week. Well not my last week-- last-last week. We uh.. weeee Oh! We were looking for moss!"
[Well, that's something at least - spending more time amongst monsters than people. Flug knew still what he was, even if his memories were false.]
I don't care about their memories. [I care about yours. The unspoken truth; Black Hat wants Flug, his Flug, the one that belongs to him, untampered, intact, unsullied. His. His, his, his.
Flug's suggestions are acceptable. Black Hat gives a curt nod, and fills in the rest.]
We found it, made the poultice, did your little science experiment, and then you vanished.
"O-oh." [Yes, that must have been jarring. Flug had the 'benefit' of waking up under the assumption things were 'normal' but Black Hat not so much.]
"Yes. Yes for your teleportation extension, from Mana! You burnt a.. bakery?.." [An indignant flash.] "And my notes!"
[Aren't you so glad he is remembering things again? HUFF.]
"Okaaaay... so far so good. Hm maybe I should be keeping track of some of this." [Flug mutters. He'll just go to get a notebook-- ANOTHER ONE-- from the kitchen.]
[Flug is remembering some of the more immediate details prior to his disappearance. That's some comfort, even if Flug is berating him for it. Black Hat huffs in response, not willing to bring up that argument again.]
Yes, yes. That all happened. We discussed it and settled the matter.
[Alright, maybe not entirely, but if it makes Flug stop harping on the notes thing, Black Hat is wiling to tweak those minor memories a bit.
When Flug asks about tea, though, Black Hat sits up a bit straighter.]
Tea?
[Is that really what Flug is going to pick up on? Surely he doesn't intend to walk out, does he?]
"Tea." [Flug reiterates. Do they... do they not drink tea? No he's sure they do. There's nothing conflicting about that. Does Black Hat think he'll make it wrong? Has he ever made it wrong? He didn't think he did? Well. It won't make itself while he's just standing in here! The arachne gestures.]
"I'm just grabbing another notepad, I thought if I was getting up, I'd... offer?" [But if you don't want any, he'll just head for the door, here.]
[Oh he does. He does intend to leave, and Black Hat, having not seen him for a week, had him whisked off from his own lair, is not having it. There's a flash in his, and a burst of flame, and suddenly the demon is between Flug and the door.
He scowls down at Flug, and none too gently grips him by the shoulders and shoves him back from the doorway, towards the bed he had just vacated.
[That flash of fire and the demon appearing gets a very strong yip of alarm; yeah Flug definitely isn’t used to his boss both being real AND his ability to simply pop in at a moment’s notice.]
“O-or, or not???” [So no tea??? Flug stammers, both unused to this treatment and finding it terribly familiar to older memories. He doesn’t quite ‘sit’ down on the bed, it’s more like a prolonged fall he tries to control and only manages to keep upright long enough to stumble backwards onto it.]
“Did. Did you want to ask one?” [Because Flug sure has a lot of questions about this sudden reaction. A few smaller eyes glances at the bed— this being here wasn’t part of it, was it?]
[Did he? No, Black Hat doesn't want to ask a question. Not right now. The warp to the door was half-instinct, a refusal to let what belongs to him out of his sight, where it could be snatched away in a flash. He stands still, staring at Flug.
Then, he walks over to the bed and sits down next to Flug, never taking his eyes off the arachne.]
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evilopportunityemployer) wrote2019-04-25 07:38 pm
no subject
[Black Hat isn't saying it to Flug directly. More of a verbalized thought, marveling at the extent to which Daniel failed. He continues his slow circling, testing the waters, looking for signs of damage. Flug's reactions have become normal in the time they've spent in Ryslig, no longer immediately cowering - something that he takes solace in. If Flug remembers Ryslig, it's his Flug entirely.
But still, he doesn't like the addition of memories. Ones that don't belong. Ones that can interfere.
Black Hat draws closer.]
What kind of memories? What did they tell you? What happened?
[So many questions! He needs answers - namely, how much does he still need to kill Daniel.]
no subject
"You weren't there." [That was the most distressing detail. Why hadn't they gone together? Flug continues to fidget with putting on his yellow gloves, a perfect metaphor for the state of his mind; functional yet lacking coordination.]
"And um." [Does he start with the tree of the lawn of the home he never lived in and how he watched it change with the seasons? His favorite cafe run by a monster that now didn't exist? The way he already couldn't seem to recall his past coworkers faces?]
"They tried to make me think I always lived there. Like a.. a normal citizen and oh boss they made me an accountant!" [Why? WHY did his alterate self choose that? It was so DULL, he was wasting away!]
"I ended up running into a bit of trouble. Had to become someone else so I... I lied. I snuck in with a batch of new arrivals, feigned being from another world myself and lived amongst the monsters."
[Finally the gloves slide on, Flug's expression mellows.]
"It was touch and go alone for a while but eventually I enlisted the help of Virgil and Florence-- still married-- and they helped me with my disguise's upkeep and keeping on top of whatever madness each month brought."
no subject
An accountant? A number-pusher, solving financial woes of others? That's pathetic, even for Flug as a human. Black Hat almost finds it in himself to give the man a sympathetic and only slightly condescending head pat, as he certainly can see Flug in the roll of an accountant. Almost.
There's something akin to comforting in knowing that, even in a life as dull as the one he'd been assigned, Flug still fell to the wayside of society. Pretending to be a monster - he was always a monster of some variety, Black Hat wouldn't have hired him otherwise - it's ingenious, and the words make Black Hat visible relax, some tension leaving his primed posture.
Until Flug missteps. The sharpness is back in his eye in an instant.]
Virgil still married? [No, that's not right.] Who the hell is Florence?
[There's a snap in his voice.] We don't know a Florence.
no subject
[It's. They just are Florence! Flug can't have imagined them, he distinctly remembers them here in this base!!]
"They live with Virgil with their adopted daughter and ohhh my god their name really IS Floofty, isn't it?"
[Flug groans and buries his face in his hands.]
"I'll. I do remember, boss, I do. I'll get it right. Just. Just give me some time."
[What a headache. Don't give up on him, this can be fixed.]
"You and I were nagas once, we got holed up in a ski lodgd before and-- and back home I have a lab. We've made so many things together, in the name of villainy! With- with Demencia and... and 505?"
[The blue.. bear...?? He was real right? Oh no, oh no this is sounding less sane by the minute.]
no subject
[And he's having to say that in all seriousness now. Oh, he's going to kill Daniel. Kill him, make him suffer horribly, it's all the same.
The man has scrambled Flug's brain. Normally Black Hat would be delighted to pounce on any opportunity to strike that bear from his doctor's recollections - it would be so delicious, stripping away that core blight on Flug's being - but he's gone and piled it in with Demencia and their home, and if he destroys the integrity of that one point, what of the rest?
Black Hat mentally curses Daniel again for losing him thisgolden opportunity. It's too risky, too, ugh, integral to undoing this mess. He huffs, dragging a hand down his face in frustration. Another deeply put-upon sigh, because he can't exactly storm off to bring vengeance on a man he still can't find, and Black Hat settles for... storming over to the bed and sitting on it, never breaking his stare with Flug.]
How long will this take? [He can't exactly leave Flug in this state. Black Hat puts his fingers together.] Sorting out the right memories from the wrong ones. You only had the wrong ones for a week.
no subject
"It's only been a week?"
[Of course. It was always only a week. Ryslig's favorite interval. Just saying those words unleashes a deluge of deja vu. It felt like there was so much more than a week in his head and yet it made sense when Flug thought about it. Of all the 'false' memories; those seemed the most prominent, any older detail felt full of such obvious vaguery in comparison. How long would it take to fix this?]
"A..couple days? Three at most, m-maybe? I just need to get back to what's normal. Reestablish my old routine. They say it takes a certain amount of days to form a habit."
[Typically around 21, but Flug will do better than that. He has to. Black Hat won't accept otherwise; his own standards won't allow it.]
"Though um. O-occasional reminders might help speed it along?" [Pretty please?] "It. It wasn't just me, right?"
no subject
But yes - your routine. [And Black Hat will be there every step of the way, lurking, watching, because he is not having Flug snatched out from under him again. Prepare for a good three days of a hanger-on, Flug, if not more.]
And what sort of... reminders will you need?
[He's opening the floor to anything, anything Flug might come up with. He's not losing this mind, this scientist of his, not to false memories inflicted by a fourth fanatic.]
no subject
So the world felt real because it was populated by real people... And Black Hat was left here, stranded after such a mass exodus... the claw marks on these walls make a lot more sense.]
"If that's the case... they'll need time to sort themselves out too."
[So they have some time, Flug doesn't have to risk embarrassing himself by not being at 100% immediately, though Black Hat's being receptive relaxes him some. He thought he had a lot more convincing to do.]
"Oh. Um. Well I'm not sure yet. Just clarify little things? A lot of my memories first came back in dreams so..."
[You can imagine there was some false information in there.]
"I'll answer anything, or I'll just recite bits of info and you can tell me if I'm telling it right?"
[Which might be just a hair too much of trust than anyone, even Flug, ought to be putting in the demon's hands.]
"Like last week. Well not my last week-- last-last week. We uh.. weeee Oh! We were looking for moss!"
no subject
I don't care about their memories. [I care about yours. The unspoken truth; Black Hat wants Flug, his Flug, the one that belongs to him, untampered, intact, unsullied. His. His, his, his.
Flug's suggestions are acceptable. Black Hat gives a curt nod, and fills in the rest.]
We found it, made the poultice, did your little science experiment, and then you vanished.
[He growls.] I woke up and you were gone.
no subject
"Yes. Yes for your teleportation extension, from Mana! You burnt a.. bakery?.." [An indignant flash.] "And my notes!"
[Aren't you so glad he is remembering things again? HUFF.]
"Okaaaay... so far so good. Hm maybe I should be keeping track of some of this." [Flug mutters. He'll just go to get a notebook-- ANOTHER ONE-- from the kitchen.]
"Do you um. Do you want some tea?"
no subject
Yes, yes. That all happened. We discussed it and settled the matter.
[Alright, maybe not entirely, but if it makes Flug stop harping on the notes thing, Black Hat is wiling to tweak those minor memories a bit.
When Flug asks about tea, though, Black Hat sits up a bit straighter.]
Tea?
[Is that really what Flug is going to pick up on? Surely he doesn't intend to walk out, does he?]
no subject
"I'm just grabbing another notepad, I thought if I was getting up, I'd... offer?" [But if you don't want any, he'll just head for the door, here.]
no subject
He scowls down at Flug, and none too gently grips him by the shoulders and shoves him back from the doorway, towards the bed he had just vacated.
You're not going anywhere, Flug.]
no subject
“O-or, or not???” [So no tea??? Flug stammers, both unused to this treatment and finding it terribly familiar to older memories. He doesn’t quite ‘sit’ down on the bed, it’s more like a prolonged fall he tries to control and only manages to keep upright long enough to stumble backwards onto it.]
“Did. Did you want to ask one?” [Because Flug sure has a lot of questions about this sudden reaction. A few smaller eyes glances at the bed— this being here wasn’t part of it, was it?]
no subject
Then, he walks over to the bed and sits down next to Flug, never taking his eyes off the arachne.]