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[needtoruleit]

[after the whole fairytale ending which we just won't mention (first and last time he will ever be glad that the heroes came swooping in to defeat the bad guy and rescue the damsels in distress, okay?) it is full get-back-to-work mode.

He's back where he should be-- free to do as he pleases, locked away in his lab, dressed in red. ...It would strike him as surreal if he wasn't so wrapped up in his work, so eager to be doing something, that he's bouncing between several projects at once and has no room for anything else in his brain. Accidentally elbowing the journal open and onto the floor finally gets him to pause and remember that he has some messages he should probably send out]

filtered to Delirium

I... I think I'm getting close to what you wanted.

filtered to Ray

Hey, any progress?

filtered to Hank

Just... checking in, I guess.

Willow [whoop, nope, scratching that out pretty quickly.]

[clearing his throat then]

So... I have a question for the newbies. Well, anyone who's been here for less than a year, I guess. And this is a real question; I actually want an answer.

How much do you hate this place?

Comments

Dictated forever

[whichwayyoulean]

[The Once-ler actually takes a moment to consider this answer, staring at the unless-es which are scrawled all over his walls and ceiling]

It's better than where I came from. But I'm not sure if that makes it worse or not. It almost feels like a punishment, being stuck in this beautiful place. Rubbing salt into the wound, you know?

[needtoruleit]

Yeah, I do.

And that does make it worse.

[whichwayyoulean]

And then people tell you that you should be happy here. Like there's something wrong with you if you're actually miserable in a creepy magical prison.

Goggles

[fishy_go_byebye]

Wanted?

[Forgotten already? Why yes, yes she has~

Del

[needtoruleit]

Yeah, the formula... we talked about it...

[oh, how did she put it?]

You wanted everyone to be yours?

Del

[fishy_go_byebye]

A slice of home...

[She sounds longing right there.]

[prettyknives]

It's not so much hate as fury, for me.

[needtoruleit]

[oho, interesting]

What's the difference between the two, for you?

[prettyknives]

Fury involves a lot more anger.

Billy

[cheerupemoborg]

[There's a frantic scribbling over the journal before he sees this and throws up a hasty filter.]

Hm? What happened?

Hank

[needtoruleit]

Nothing, I just... you know. Getting back to work. Wanted to know how things were progressing.



...Also maybe wanted to know if you had any experience with dosing large populations with mass amounts of a hallucinogenic compound. Stuff like that.

Private

[jimfromit]

"Hate" is such a strong word.

Now "bored" on the other hand sums up my feelings about this place perfectly.

Private

[needtoruleit]

How long have you been here?

dictated;

[dumbasswithahat]

Uh, I really can't say that I hate this place.

Im coming from much worse.

[needtoruleit]

Really? How much worse?

[fly_little_bird]

[Quietly]

I don't hate it at all.

[needtoruleit]

[...a sigh.]

Well, you should.

[peacockherald]

I would not say I hate it, per say. Merely... I do not wish to be here any longer than I must.

[needtoruleit]

That's an awfully... [reasonable? rational? patient? nope.] ...complacent opinion, isn't it?

[thehistorian]

More than words can convey.

[needtoruleit]

[FINALLY.]

That's more like it.

Filter forever

[ectobabble]

Well, some - I've managed to come up with a design for a scanner that'd incorporate both the elements of a standard PKE meter and this spectrometer you gave me. Won't know how well it'll work until we actually get something cobbled together, though.

[needtoruleit]

If you've got a basic design, I could probably do the... cobbling.

[in this lab he hasn't told you about]

[sixguns]

I'm not too keen on how it works, but 'tis better than the alternative.

[needtoruleit]

And how's that?