OFFICE HOURS

[didntgetdadslooks]

Got something you want to say to your good friend The Professor's Assistant? Come on in, don't be shy! Her official hours are daylight hours - girl has to sleep? after all, probably - but if you knock on the door at night she'll generally answer. Please just make sure to leave the in-game date and time in the header of your toplevel!

All comments are screened for confidentiality during the course of the experiment.

Comments

[nothingcanstop]

Obviously. ...What do you think about what she was trying to do?

[ That they were keepsakes of a previous set of people here
Another one of the "experiments" ]

[didntgetdadslooks]

Go back and change things? I... can't fault her for wanting to. I know there's plenty of moments I've wanted to take back, but... at the end, it still comes down to murdering people to do it.

[ I don't know anything about a previous experiment.
Those are the exact words I've always used. ]

[nothingcanstop]

...Yeah. And that's never justified...right?

[ Do you want to know what I think? ]

[didntgetdadslooks]

I think... you can't start weighing lives against each other. Especially when it comes to changing what's already happened. Not in a sense of "what did I earn" or anything, but... if you view life as some kind of open-ended morality problem, no one wins. Time travel sucks.

[ Sure. ]

[nothingcanstop]

[ She laughs, dryly. ] Yeah. Yeah, it does. Wish I could tell that to a few other people, too.

[ I think there was another experiment, and you were in it
I think you were one of the survivors ]

[didntgetdadslooks]

I'm just glad some people I knew before all this never figured it out.

[ She doesn't... really have a response to that for a bit. And then.

Well, I can't say I like that idea. But it would explain some things.

She picks up the carved owl she's been playing with once in a while.

I don't remember where I got this anymore. ]

[nothingcanstop]

[ ...Fuck. Della finds her left hand, the one that's not writing, tightening into a fist.

Is he going to do that to the rest of them, too? An infinite, endless experiment? Will he discard them, when it gets too much? ...Has Angel had a choice, at all? ]

...What...can you say, about your past? Now that you remember more.

[ I'm gonna look for more evidence of this
If I find something, I'll bring it to you
You deserve to know just as much as we do ]

[didntgetdadslooks]

[ Well if you live until endgame, Della, you'll know some of those things!

The thought seems to be making Angel a little nervous, but she's good at holding things back. ]

I grew up... well, that's not an easy term to use, but for most of my life I worked for a man named Handsome Jack. Managing his... affairs, I guess. He was the CEO of a major corporation, a position he needed me to get. It wasn't entirely different from this, if that says anything about the quality of my job.

[ Thank you
I doubt I can get into any secret areas myself so
Thank you ]

[nothingcanstop]

[ Yay, fun!! Love it! ]

Handsome...Jack? Boy, that guy sounds like an ego problem. You can't catch a break on bosses, huh?

[ I'll make sure not to talk to others about this out loud
We don't want him catching on

There's a moment's pause.

We'll do this together ]

[didntgetdadslooks]

[ We have fun here ]

I guess not. What I wouldn't give to just... work at a store at the mall or something.

[ Not even be unemployed, Angel? Really?

I'll help how I can.

She thinks for a second.

If anything happens to me get my key. Staff privileges will get you a lot of places in here. ]

[nothingcanstop]

[ Unlike so far, Della doesn't take a moment to make small talk first. She just instantly scribbles:

Do not talk like that
You're getting out of here too ]

...I can imagine. A bit of...normalcy, that probably sounds great...right about now.

[didntgetdadslooks]

[ I'll try but I'm just saying
you guys need to be ready just in case ]

I haven't been anywhere near normal since I was... ten? Somewhere around there.

[nothingcanstop]

[ Della puts her pencil down and fixes a look on Angel. It's steady. Determined. Firm. ]

Well... Normal is what you make of it, sometimes. When this job is over, maybe you should figure out what that looks like for you. ...No, I think you definitely should.

[didntgetdadslooks]

[ Angel looks back at her. She's... trying to be firm, but it's super not working. She mostly looks a little scared, which given how guarded she is with her emotions might be saying more than one would think. ]

I guess I'll see.

[ Then she blinks and the fear has retreated. ]

A sleep schedule would be a nice start.

[nothingcanstop]

...Another sleepover. That doesn't get crashed by a ghost this time.

[ It almost sounds like an idle musing. Almost. Della shifts, stands. ]

It's...getting late. I should go check on some of the others.