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[crazyequalsgenius]

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[crazyequalsgenius]

"Bold of you to think I wouldn't ask anyway," Moriarty says with a wink. But he's been thinking about this, and there are questions he'd normally ask.

But then there's the fact that none of this, other than standard mores of human behavior, is normal. And Scratch knows that, too, he's quite sure. So, the question is the same one he's attempting to answer minute by minute.

"How much is different for you, here: what did the Fog God nick from your bag of tricks? . .. And how are you planning on surviving as a fish out of water?"

[tolduimapsycho]

"Sure. I just want you to know what a treat it is."

He grins, arrogant and amused all at once, waiting for the question...and when asked, he lets out a little sigh, passing the bottle back.

"Oh, pshhhh...basically everything. I can handle the light better than I could before, but...powers? All gone. Didn't used to get hungry, or tired, or anything. I could Take people. Control shit. Had to go along with the Narrative, to some extent, but...otherwise? Pretty free reign. Not now.

There's disdain in his tone - he doesn't seem like he much enjoys being human, when it comes down to it.

"I'm just waiting not to be human again, first off. I've been here before, see - last time, I got turned into a centaur. Kinda cool. But then I blinked out, and next thing I know, I'm human again stuck in a fucking closet.

But otherwise...I'm gonna do what I'm supposed to do, probably. Wreck Alan Wake's shit. Now I just have other havoc I can cause, too. And once you're a monster, murder is just kind of...expected. You get a pass on it.

I like that part."

[crazyequalsgenius]

"Fine by me, but I'm used to being the special one." Girls, girls, you're both insufferably egotistical, we get it. Jim winks as he takes the bottle back, deliberately letting his fingers brush Scratch's a bit more than necessary. Nothing is more magnetizing than evil, and Scratch is exuding it in spades, which means Moriarty is completely engaged in the conversation: something that's rare and wonderful for him. True connection of any kind is so sparse that it's requiring all of his self control not to act like a starving man in the face of it.

He savors every word of what he's told, and finds that he actually empathizes with the feeling of being reduced. Even if he doesn't have the sort of powers Scratch did, his power lay in information, in contacts, in control. And all of that is gone. He still isn't sure how much of his vast knowledge even applies here. Rage threatens to lock and shudder every muscle in his body just at the thought of it -

But then the other shoe drops: he's one of the people who's been and gone. Jim has only met a couple of them, so far, but the concept absolutely fascinates him. Sadly, it's the same story he's gotten from them: one moment, monstrous, the next, wham, human in the house of traps. One more mystery to unravel.... another frustration on the pile. Once you're a monster, murder is just kind of ... expected.

Jim's discomfort and simmering anger shifts slowly into an indulgent smile. "Yeah, me too. Everything else is hot garbage, though. ... Can we rewind a tad? What was that about a narrative, sounded like maybe with a capital N?"

[tolduimapsycho]

The graze isn't missed - Scratch lets it linger, licking his lips a little as his dark eyes slide from the bottle of whiskey to hands and finally to Jim's face. Yes. He's enjoying this too, and he doesn't bother to hide the fact. It's good for him, too, being honest like this.

He watches the journey that the other man goes through over the course of his words, the range of emotions, the questions flittering though his eyes. The Herald of Darkness likes inquisitive humans. He likes talking about himself, about things most can't comprehend. Or most don't want to, anyway.

That smile is returned with one of his own, head nodding at the question.

"Yeah - of course we can.

Back where we came from...the Darkness can give people power. Artistic people. Creators. It looks for ways to get out. Alan Wake...was one of those. And since he's a writer, his manuscript, his Narrative has been something we've both been bound by.

I can't step too far away from what he's written, and neither can he.

Or...we couldn't, I guess."

[crazyequalsgenius]

Even though Scratch had lost his power, then, he was free in a way he hadn't been ... and so, it seemed, was Alan. Which raised a question he'd been waiting for the right moment to ask:

"So if you aren't bound to each other anymore, why live with him? Free entertainment?"

[tolduimapsycho]

The question is one Scratch, admittedly, probably could have guessed was coming...but it doesn't make it any easier to answer, really. He takes up the bottle, taking another hearty belt of whisky to give himself a moment to think.

Not that he thinks too hard. Best not to.

"...Eh...yeah. Pretty much. I've had one job, so long as I've been what I am now.

Now I get to fuck with him where more people can see. Why would I pass up the opportunity to wreck his life in a whole new world, y'know?"

[crazyequalsgenius]

"It's a remix," Jim says in agreement and understanding. He can also guess at what's underneath: the same sort of thing he's struggling with. The sort of thing people like them don't admit even under pain of death ... that they don't know what to do.

At least misery and company get along, and under the right circumstances, that could be a lot of fun. God knew he was fond of a good unfounded lash-out, and the humans of this place were used to it, expected it, even.

"I've been thinking ... we can get away with a hell of a lot under this 'I can't help it I'm becoming a monster' clause."

[tolduimapsycho]

"Exactly. Same shit, new locale. Mostly."

At that last bit, though, any pensive behavior vanishes in favor of a fresh wicked grin, a leaning forward of his body as he passes the bottle back. "Hell YEAH we can. It's pretty much a license to kill, because us poor, hapless monsters have to eat. We just can't HELP it."

The grin broadens further.

"Especially with new powers we're not used to growing in. Miss my old shit, but looking forward to seeing what my new toolbox looks like."

think this is a good spot to wrap this one?

[crazyequalsgenius]

"I have to admit, that part's got me the most curious of all," Jim says, taking the bottle back. Having not had any powers to speak of to begin with, the potential to end up with something out of a pulpy horror novel seemed like a novelty.

Raising the bottle to Scratch in a toast of sorts, he winked. "Here's to new friends."

Yeah!

[tolduimapsycho]

"It'll be fun watching you get handed superpowers, I think. Something tells me...I don't think you're going to be boring with them."

Scratch leans back in his seat, lounging, his crocodile smile fixed and toothy over his glittering dark eyes. He tents his long fingers in front of him, lifting his chin a little in acknowledgement of the wink.

"Yeah.

To new friends...and all the trouble they can get up to."