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[forensicks]

[Walter has recorded a video message from the point of view of someone who has just come through the door into his cabin and sees Walter at his desk in the chair turned around to face the viewer. He gives a little salute-wave.]

Didn't get me. But nice try.

Comments

[forensicks]

"Well, it would explain why you were so rough. In your fight with that guy."

Sorry, what he heard was not really about werewolves even though that's objectively very cool.

"What I don't understand is... What did you even say that made so many wardens take his side? Did you tell him it's his fault Firefly got cancelled?"

[ukan]

He laughs. "No I think it's just that he's popular. If he hadn't been none of them would have cared. I once knew a difficult inmate who was beaten unconscious by his warden in a hallway; no one stepped in and nothing was done against the warden after. This ship is a bit of a popularity contest, if you want to know the truth."

[forensicks]

"That's it...?!" Lark does seem worryingly indifferent about this, but it's impossible to deny that Walter has already known of cases "they" didn't care about exactly like that, and the description of what Lark said had been vague. "I mean, it does seem objectively true. Is that who tends to graduate too...?"

[ukan]

"Yes and no. The people who make no connections never graduate. But plenty of unpopular inmates make it. Hilbert is still pretty controversial, but I like him." A lot, these days, though he started out resisting the man.

[forensicks]

"Oh, Ken's warden?" Walter feels he must be missing something to think of him that way as opposed to whatever long history he has. "That's a relief. I don't think I'll ever do numbers quite that high."

[ukan]

"What numbers? You mean in popularity?" He waves a hand. "You'll do fine. You haven't even killed anyone yet, have you?"

[forensicks]

"You know, do numbers on Twitter? ...ok, Nielsen ratings?" Lark comes off nearly the same era as Walter and when it comes to light that he spent the decade it took for Twitter to "blow up" (get big) here, that's gonna be sad. He was already about to drop it as the concept of popularity was clearly conveyed, but then the question comes.

"No!" He rolls his shoulders nervously. "I may have hurt a certain guy in a car in my dream because he took off his seatbelt. But he's gonna be fine. I think."

[ukan]

"Well clearly he shouldn't have taken his seatbelt off. Did you know I came back here because my husband refuses to wear a helmet? He does stunts for Instagram and won't wear protective gear." So here Lark is, to make sure his idiot reckless husband doesn't die.

[forensicks]

"Oh..." Did he get hit and die and now Lark wants to revive him? Walter starts with: "Did you meet him here?"

[ukan]

"I did," he says with a small and involuntary smile. "We were both inmates. He graduated first. We live in California now. I think you would've liked him."

He thinks everyone would like Alec, even the people who hate him.

[forensicks]

"I'd like to think that," Walter says, since it seems to be the thing to say. He's starting to worry about being caught with idle hands and settles to sit down at one of the multiple nearby tables, wiping it over and looking up at the other man. "Was he human like me?" It would make sense if he needs the helmet and seems to be fair game since Lark is a werewolf. "I still don't always know who used to be an inmate, or who their wardens were back then."

[ukan]

"He's what's called a transgenic. He has the genes of hawks and cats in him. He was engineered to be a super soldier for the government, but then of course the government collapsed." And where does that leave the super soldiers of the world? "He was a cage fighter for a while. Which was stupid. If you're ever on the run, don't fight people in a cage for money."

[forensicks]

"Awwww, you're cats and dogs!" Walter is getting used to these unlikely sentences. "But I can see how that would have been traumatic for him... Don't worry. I know I'd lose."

[ukan]

Lark can't help but laugh. Yeah. They really are. "You have no idea. Sometimes he sends me videos of actual cats and dogs getting along. When he's annoyed with me he sends a video of a cat beating up a rottweiler."

[forensicks]

"He uses the regular off-barge Internet for that?" Walter whistles, putting away some of his cleaning supplies as he's finished an area. "I love that stuff, you're lucky I can't just scroll through it all day."