reverie⚡inbox

[striketwice]

REVERIE INBOX "THIS IS ALEC. MAKE IT QUICK." ⚡ voice . text . action ↳ OVERFLOW | REGISTRY

( code from supersuits )

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[vecna]

[But he should have known. Using his powers like that was too much at the time. Of course he wouldn't have been able to take it, of course he would wake up and just find himself in another prison-]

Yes.

[He doesn't expound on that, though, just looking at Alec expectantly. Did you figure it out, sir? That's one of his weaknesses that he said he'd let him suss out, after all.]

[striketwice]

[ How could Henry have known? What information did he have back then that could have possibly saved him? It's a cruel, cruel twist of fate that Henry has been trying to untwist ever since.

Alec looks at him, eyebrows raised. Everyone's memories are so fresh in his head that it's an easy thing to go back and rifle through the details. Alec always latches onto the details. ]

The radio?

[vecna]

[There we go. Not that he expected anything less.]

The radio.

[Suddenly, a little illusion! A boxy 1950's style radio sits on Alec's desk, next to his books. It hisses static, then starts playing that blasted song. Dream a little dream, indeed.

Henry looks at it like it's a mild annoyance he's long accepted.]

It just happened to be playing my father's favorite song. And music that holds sentimental value to a person is... [Frowning.] Hard for me to circumvent. I can't reach that part of the brain, and it opens up a little escape route for someone to use if they can get to it.

It's frustrating.

[striketwice]

Huh.

[ He moves over to the little radio, tries to give it a little poke, if only because he's curious about the nature of Henry's illusions. ]

You're right. That's one weakness I never would have guessed.

[vecna]

[He can poke at it, and it even feels real. Sounds real. He could probably turn the dials to change the station, too.]

You know what's ironic? I was the one who turned it on with my powers before I tried to kill them, just as a distraction. The "demon" in the house at work again.

Proof of just how little I understood my own abilities back then.

[striketwice]

[ Oh yeah, he's gonna fiddle with it. He's too fascinated not to. What other songs have you got for him, Henry? ]

I get it. You saw me back when I was a kid, too. I took out a whole city block with one spell. I was lucky the place was a dump. The cops just chalked it up to faulty wiring.

[vecna]

[Nothing but dull static noises. Though if he happens to keep turning that dial, there will be a very specific spot where he'll catch a few distant notes on repeat. Are you going to leave it tuned into that, Alec?]

I remember thinking that was impressive. I can take a few lights out, too, but not like that.

[Hm. Actually:]

I was surprised you chose the memory you did.

[striketwice]

[ He sure is. He fiddles with the knob minutely, curious to see if he can get it to come in any clearer. ]

... Nagito told me about what happened to his parents a while ago. He chalked it up to his terrible luck, told me he thought his parents hated him for it. I just wanted to show him he wasn't alone in that.

[ A shrug. ]

That's all.

[vecna]

[...He wonders what it must be like, to experience that deep, agonizing grief of losing a parent. Henry cannot help but feel as though he has been spared of something debilitating in its own way -- even if the reality is far less kind. His parents still impacted him; their love felt like a noose around his neck that he could never be free of.

Still, this discrepancy makes it hard to know what to say. In this, he and Alec do share a difference.]

...It helped him to see it, you know. I'm sure it did.

[He can offer that, at least.

The radio becomes clearer, meanwhile. Lyrics can be heard: ...make a deal with God, and I'd tell him to swap our places...]

[striketwice]

[ For Alec, it balances out, at least. The grief and deep, deep regret over the loss of his father is outdone only by the searing hatred he bears his mother. She got what she deserved, but sometimes Alec feels it wasn't enough.

Alec doesn't respond to Henry outright, but the small upturn of his lips must mean he's glad to hear it. He listens to the music a moment longer, then: ]

I never would have pegged you for a Kate Bush fan.

[vecna]

[Okay, but. What. A sharp little laugh, disbelieving.]

A fan?

[a b s o l u t e l y not]

You know this song?

[striketwice]

[ Oh, what's with that reaction? ]

Yeah? I grew up in the 80s, remember? I was twenty-something whenever this came out.

[vecna]

You better not tell me it's one of your favorites.

[He hates this song for how difficult it made things for him.]

That song was the last thing that stood between me and returning home. For a time, at least.

[striketwice]

I can take it or leave it.

[ That's him with like 99% of music, anyway. ]

Somebody kept slipping out of your grasp with it?

[vecna]

[But what’s that 1 percent.]

Yes. This one girl used it as shield against the invasion of her mind. And she was such an easy target, too — so torn up over the death of her brother. It should have been simple.

[He says this all too casually. Henry remains a Big Bad at his core, but at least with a new path ahead of him, this is only frustrating to think about, and not much else.]

Well. It worked out in the end, either way. But I’m still not fond of the song.

[striketwice]

[ I guess you'll just have to ask huh.

Alec hadn't realized that things like grief opened up someone to being an "easy target" but he supposes on some level it make sense. That kind of thing gets into your head, he'd know. Must make it easy for someone else to get there, too. ]

No? You might almost be able to argue that you and I got to meet because you were cockblocked by Kate Bush.

[vecna]

[Cockblocked by Kate Bush… please don’t say those words in that order ever again, Alec.]

No, we got to meet because you and I met whatever criteria there was for the Warden to bring us in here as inmates. I’m not giving that song more credit than what’s due.

[Speaking of songs, he does wonder—]

You’ve figured out my last weakness, so how about an exchange of information? What would be your song?

[striketwice]

[ He just laughs. Henry's really not kidding when he says he hates that fucking song. ]

I think we've moved past "exchanges of information", Henry. You can ask me a question just because you want to know the answer.

[ That said, he regards the radio a moment. It's kind of startling how quickly something springs to mind, but then again, Alec has so few good memories. The options are slim. ]

Doubt you'd know it, unless one of the guys at the lab was a big fan of rock.

[vecna]

[He quirks his smile. They are indeed way past the point of “exchanging information” but he thinks it’s amusing to frame it that way, Mr. Info Broker.]

If they were, they wouldn’t have told me anyway. I’m pretty sure Papa instructed the other orderlies to not interact too heavily with me.

[He was an orderly, but he was still One, which straddled the weird line between test subject and employee. Neither one or the other.]

But that doesn’t matter. I’d like to hear it.

[He tilts his head towards the radio. Maybe if you tune it a little more, Alec!]

[striketwice]

[ You're hilarious, Henry.

He looks from Henry to the radio. He gets the hint, at least, and starts fiddling with the dials again. Static and more static, until at last the sound of a guitar riff begins to become clear. ]

... It's scary how you can do that.

[vecna]

[Isn't he? :) ]

You don't mind, do you?

[Casually plucking little tidbits of information out of Alec's head, remembrances as they float to the surface. Henry has realized he never wants to betray his trust by diving in completely without permission, but skimming the surface is fine, right?

He listens for a bit, regardless of the answer. It isn't exactly his taste in music (he would argue he doesn't have one), but this was apparently from his lab era, so he never got to hear how it changed over the years. Minus whatever Eddie Munson blasted in the Upside Down and... Kate Bush.]

What is it you like about this? [No judgment, just sincerely curious.]

[striketwice]

Nah, I don't mind.

[ It does come back around to trust, and in this case Alec trusts Henry never to take anything that isn't willingly given. Besides, he has no secrets worth keeping here. Not between them. Like he said before, all Henry needs to do is ask. ]

About the song? [ Hell, he's not sure he can find the words, really. ] I dunno. Takes me back to one of the few moments I can remember being happy, for one.

[vecna]

[The trust runs deep; that's saying something for a man who likes to steal away agency from any given individual's memories. But Alec is and always will be a special case.

The few moments he can remember being happy, though... Henry tilts his head a little, hazarding an easy guess as to what that could mean.]

Time spent with your father?

[striketwice]

Kind of.

[ Another shrug, and he turns his back to the radio, leaning against the desk. He's doing that thing again, that crossed arm thing that his dad did. The song carries on behind him. ]

I used to use the extra space in the garage to work on my magic. Dad had this radio he always kept on when he was working. [ A pause. ] It was one of the good days.

[vecna]

[Henry does note the parallel of body language. He shifts his own a little, clasping his hands behind his back.]

So, a song bolstered by fond memories.

[He imagines those are few and far between for Alec after the death of his father. That makes this song playing on the radio so much more poignant.]

It's good that you have one. [Lightly, since it will never apply:] Your own tune to escape with.