anomaly 006 . fourth wall

[dinosize]

Noticed a few of you complaining that you were bored.

Extra hands are always welcome in maintenance.

Comments

[blueblood]

I'm not bored now that you're on my computer.

[ You are definitely not what she expected in her chat window, Stephen. ]

[dinosize]

Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to reach - anyone who isn't here.

[blueblood]

Where is here?

[dinosize]

...where is there?

[blueblood]

I'm at the Wilhern estate. Are you a reporter? It's not the first time we've been hacked by one of Lemon's men, but it's definitely the first time you got this far.

[dinosize]

Ah, no, this was a bit of an accident. I'm Stephen. I've... never heard of you.

Sorry.

[Private, at the end of the day]

[americasdirtiest]

[Well, today turned out to suck even more than Mickey thought it would on, like, an exponential scale. It's a day like he hasn't had since...

Well, since the last time he saw Ian, actually.

Two crying jags and what he refuses to admit was a panic attack later, he's exhausted, miserable, pissed off, and generally at loose ends. He knows what he'd normally do in this situation: shut everyone out, drink himself into a stupor, and get into some violence. He's all set to go down that route again, but... Iris checks in, and Needy checks in, and at some point it occurs to Mickey that it's a lot easier to want to shut people out when no one seems to give much of a shit about you in the first place.

Stephen doesn't check in, and Mickey is as embarrassed to discover that hurts his feelings as much as Bleu's insults. When he signs on to snipe him over it, though, he catches the tail end of what looks like something he shouldn't be seeing at all, and quickly hangs up again.

The impulses are the same: back off, put up a wall, say fuck it. Stephen's not his brother. He doesn't have to care what happens to him.

But when the day is done, he remembers Stephen saying I'll make you some better food, remembers Stephen barely even reacting when he came out -- remembers that somehow, against all odds, Stephen has maybe become, like, his second actual fucking friend ever -- and he finds himself picking the communicator back up all the same.]

You. Me. Beers. Guns. You in, Hart?

[Private, at the end of the day]

[dinosize]

[ He's shaking like a leaf. Stress and shock. Takes him a couple tries to respond. ]

Yeah.

[ Push himself further. That's usually the solution. ]

[Private, at the end of the day]

[americasdirtiest]

[It's not that he doesn't see it -- he does. But he doesn't know what to do with it, what's supposed to happen when someone puts their heart in your hands. He can't feed him, he definitely can't kiss him, and he can't hurt the people that made him like this. He can't even pay for his damn drink.

So he just nods, averting his eyes, as if to spare Stephen the embarrassment.]

Yeah. I'll see you up there.

[Private, at the end of the day]

[dinosize]

Range or CES?

[ It's saying something that he doesn't even push for CES. ]

[Private, at the end of the day]

[americasdirtiest]

Whatever, man. [By which he means the CES.]

I reserve the right to fucking bail to the range if it's some bullshit glacier in there or something.

[Private, at the end of the day]

[dinosize]

You go in first.

[ He doesn't want to see anything familiar. ]

[Private, at the end of the day]

[americasdirtiest]

[He hangs up with a wordless grunt of acknowledgement and puts the communicator in his pocket, freeing his hands to trudge up top with a six pack and his favorite gun. He's back maybe ten minutes later, camera turned outward to give Stephen a view of the CES's current output: a broad swathe of desert, wrinkled with dunes, spotted with stunted trees and patchy grass.]

[isahumanbeing]

Stephen?

[dinosize]

No.

[isahumanbeing]

What-- Stephen. Where are you?

[dinosize]

No. I wasn't looking for you.

[isahumanbeing]

Wasn't looking--?

Stephen. You're--How are you alive?

[dinosize]

Blame it on time travel.

[fuckton]

Asshole, if you've got something to say maybe say it to my post rather than be all fucking passive aggressive about it.

[dinosize]

I honestly couldn't find it again. Everyone's really chatty today.

[fuckton]

Sounds like fucking laziness to me.

[dinosize]

Probably.

Sorry.

[fuckton]

I'm going to be working in the pub.

[dinosize]

Maintenance has more fun.

Anya bakes things.