☞ 017. (video)

[wouldnotkindly]

So, yesterday... [Jack looks significantly better than the last time he showed up on the network, but today he looks ill at ease. He doesn't seem to have gotten much sleep in the time since, either.] That was supposed to be our fathers haunting us, right?

I guess the City has a loose definition of what counts as a father. [A man who built a city at the bottom of the sea. A conman who sometimes called him boyo.] Either that or it couldn't pick just one.

[Then he sighs tiredly and drags a hand over his face.] Would've been better if it didn't even try. But that's too much to ask, isn't it?

Comments

[rudeandginger]

You could always try me.

[wouldnotkindly]

[He supposes that's fair.]

Two men who tried to kill me. One who was my biological father, and... [He pauses, not really sure how to concisely explain.] And one who was responsible for everything else in my life.

[rudeandginger]

I'm assuming this isn't the 'loving and caring' type of responsibility.

[wouldnotkindly]

No. [That comes out a bit more adamantly than he intended, and his voice softens when he continues.] No... Absolutely not.

[rudeandginger]

So what did they do?

[wouldnotkindly]

[Where does he even begin?

He starts to speak, stops, and seems to think better of it.]

I... I'd rather talk about it in person. [He's not sure if he minds Turlough knowing the extent of it, but that doesn't mean he wants it aired to the public.]

[rudeandginger]

If you insist. Do you have any food in the house?

[wouldnotkindly]

Yeah, of course I do. [Though he's not exactly much of a cook, so don't expect him to make anything. He has more of a specialty with liquor these days, anyway.]

[rudeandginger]

[Suits him just fine, as long as there's something to eat. He's not picky, not after boarding school.]

Alright, I won't be long.

[wouldnotkindly]

All right.

[And in the meantime, he's going to break into some of that liquor. Not too much; just enough to provide the liquid courage he needs to talk about himself, what with all he's recently learned.]

[rudeandginger]

[He doesn't knock, as usual.]

Starting without me?

[wouldnotkindly]

[Jack is only a little surprised this time.]

Uh. [He briefly glances down, then offers Turlough the bottle.] Sorry.

[rudeandginger]

[He takes the bottle from him, pouring himself a good sized glass.]

Why would you be sorry for that?

[wouldnotkindly]

[That's a good question. Jack leans against the counter, watching him.]

I don't know... The way you put it, I guess.

[rudeandginger]

[He downs about half of his glass in one go before he saunters over to lean against the counter.]

Alright, so I'm here now. Are we going to get the sharing time over with?

[wouldnotkindly]

[Getting right into it. Again, he isn't really surprised, but a slight frown comes to his face as he tries to settle on where to begin.]

I...told you about how I ended up in Rapture, right? And what happened after.

[rudeandginger]

You mentioned a plane crash.

[wouldnotkindly]

Yeah, well... As it turns out, it wasn't an accident.

[He's taken the bottle back by now, and he stares down at it.]

I was an assassin — a sleeper agent. The only reason I even exist was to kill a man...the man who founded Rapture. They needed someone with his DNA to infiltrate his defenses, and...

[He trails off then; this is where things start getting weird. Turlough might be an alien, sure, but how much weird can he take?]

[rudeandginger]

And so they made you?

[wouldnotkindly]

[Jack looks over to him, mildly surprised that he got it that easily. Before he speaks again, though, he's staring back down at the bottle.]

Yeah. [And drinking from it.] They... They bought me from his mistress before I was even born, took me out of her, bred me in a lab and — and genetically conditioned me... [His hand tightens on the bottle.] And then they put all these...fake memories in my head, so I wouldn't remember, and they sent me to the surface. Until they needed to use me.

[rudeandginger]

[He slinks his way over until he's leaning up against the counter next to Jack. There really isn't much to say to that, is there?]

I think you're going to need another drink.

[wouldnotkindly]

[No, there really isn't. Again, though, Jack is honestly somewhat surprised that Turlough hasn't had a stronger reaction to any of this so far.

Maybe it's a result of the drink he's already had in him. That might also be (at least partially) why he doesn't instinctively move away when the smaller man slinks over to him.]

You have any suggestions?

[rudeandginger]

[He's seen a great deal in his days.]

Don't you have anything else in the house?

[wouldnotkindly]

Yeah, uh...

[He has to glance around a bit before remembering that the cabinet is right behind him.] Here. [Thanks to his job at the Blue Light, he's been able to keep it fairly well stocked.]

[rudeandginger]

So, this was what you found when you went home, was it?

[He pours them another two generous glasses and hands Jack's back over.]