zauneyete | SYNFLUX INBOX

[Oh, good, he got it. A little message for you, sir. Enjoy your teddy bear.]

Thanks. No questions regarding the contract?

[As if all of that was strictly business.]

[ what the fuck is he supposed to do with a teddy bear, verg? It's going to single-handedly ruin his intimidating image!! ]

The contract? Oh, no. Rather standard. Everything was laid out rather clearly.

[ In fact... ]

Did you write it yourself?

[ strictly business here
he didn't even come over and slit his throat ~~or something else~~ for calling him daddy
must be in a good mood. ]

[That's the point. :)]

Mm, yes, I did, actually. I used to run an Office, you know.

[He was used to all the legalese and contracts, here.]

[ hdu verg stop keeping him on his toes!! ]

Did you?

[ He sounds a little impressed. A little. Maybe it's dampened by the smile of that damn teddy bear staring at him. ]

And what kind of office did you run? [ a beat. ] I cannot imagine you whiling away your time on menial work.

An Office of Fixers like myself. We took on odd jobs here and there. Paperwork was part of it.

[His tone practically sounds like a shrug in and of itself.]

In the end, its still just a business.

Hm.

[ Which says all of nothing what he's thinking but you know. It's silco. ]

Bureaucratic of you all. [ With a half, laugh. ] I can see the appeal, although it does make an unpleasant job even more unpleasant, doesn't it?

[ Well, if you aren't a freak like Silco who likes the logistical side. ]

You're a businessman, yourself. You have to agree....in the end, all people care about sometimes are figures and forms.

[The City IS, in fact, capitalism hell to its core.]

[ Businessman...? Well, he supposed there's something to that. ]

That's the only language that speaks in such circles, yes. It's a reality I had to confront when I was a boy.

It's why I'm so good at bookkeeping now, after all. Sometimes one has to learn to speak the language to get around it.

[ silco probably would have done ok in the city up until he gets murderated by something way more powerful than him ]

[Thinking of Silco as a child seems like an almost alien idea. It feels like he just came out as withered and rough as he is now.]

It's always been about survival for you....much like the Backstreets of home. People from there do their best to get to the Nests, but...take them from the Backstreets, can't take the Backstreets out of them.

[imagine if verg met twink silco]

The backstreets sound a bit like the undercity. But what of the nests? What kind of place is it that people work themselves into that's so different?

[he just eats him for dinner lbr]

In most Nests, a place of security. Freedom from the dangers of the Backstreets. A chance at good schools, a place to stay, well-paying jobs. But even getting into the Nest is only a first step. Its doing your best to stay that is the true suffering.

[ ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ]

Oh? How so? What does it take for an individual to stay? If they can make their way out of a place like the backstreets... they must be impressive as it is.

[:)]

Usually? Being good enough to keep their job at whatever Corp is at the heart of that part of that Nest. Easier said than done. One setback could get you kicked out, and you're back at square one. That, or whatever work you do can kill you. Or worse.

Hah, about as unforgiving as every day is where I am from. The Nest hardly sounds much better.

[ He can...appreciate that though... Silco you're so messed up. ]

What can be worse than death?

Well, as an example, being changed, warped, or possessed by whatever Singularity a Nest has. Sometimes death would be a mercy in that regard.

That bad, hm?

[ He doesn't even know what that means, really. He can at least draw a conclusion about what they could be, but the depth of it... hm. ]

Are they forever gone, if they lose themselves like that?

Most of the time, yes. For example, Abnormalities in L Corp could sometimes parasitize workers for their own needs if they weren't careful.

[Which is what Lobotomy Corporation is all about!! Sometimes people get jacked by SCPs! It's fine.]

There's always danger. Nests just dress it up prettier or hide it well from the general public.

Ah. What an achievement, to make it out of the backstreets and into yet more danger.

I assume the same danger exists where they come from as well, hm? Just a... slightly better life, for the nearly the same risk?

[ Silco actually can't say which is worse, and he thinks it's probably...both. ]

Well, Backstreets are worse. You have the Sweepers, for one thing. A natural phenomenon of beings that "sweeps" the Backstreets at a certain time at night. If you're out there, you're good as dead. Gets rid of all the dead bodies, though.

[He talks about it like its just a bad weather formation, or something. A natural part of Backstreet life.]

I could go on and on. Either way, Backstreets people find themselves surviving at all cost, sometimes. People disappear all the time. You can even be turned into an experimental subject for a Corp if you're not careful. Nests at least have a semblance of a life. You can imagine how appealing that is.

Struggling to survive versus at least having a warm bed and food, and the ability to go out at night?

[ Yeah, he can understand why that's desirable. Those sweepers... sound useful. Well, except for the rampant eliminations. ]

I can understand the appeal. Did you frequent the backstreets? Or were you from one of those Nests?

I know of the Backstreets well enough. Lived in a Nest when I became a Color. Somehow felt off...

[me like its never been confirmed he's from the Backstreets but his apartment in the Nest is soooo not comfortably lived in let me just Have this]

[ Silco's going to assume it even if they don't confirm it. ]

Hah, well enough, huh? Maybe that's why you bother talking to me at all, hm?

[ silco please... ]

Did it feel off because of the rot at the center? Or because it was ill-suited to you?

...I don't think you want my answer.

[VERGILIUS PLEASE!!!]

Mm. Both, honestly. The whole City...has its rot I wish could be burned away. I never did like the fame that came with my position, either.

Don't tell me, are you afraid you're going to hurt my feelings? Don't worry, you can't.

[ why do they play these games ]

You don't seem the type that would enjoy fame. You seem more suited to keep a low profile.

Why would you think I would hurt your feelings? How very interesting.

[A low hum on his end, almost a purr, but it settles into a sigh.]

That would be me, yes. I have my freedoms. But I could do without the fawning.

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