american hustle, voice testing.

[eager]

I got this, I got this. Look, whatever you got to throw at me, I can take it, I can make it work, I can run with it. I know what I'm doing, alright? You know that.

[ Debatable, but— ]

Come on, you already brought me all the way out here, I'm not goin' back. Not until I got something to show for it.

Comments

[nattering]

[ ... huh. ]

That's a lot more enthusiasm than most people show around here.

[eager]

Yeah, well, I'm not gonna be most people.

[ It's not arrogance so much as it is a weird, inherent determination, combined with the vague sense that his tongue works faster than his brain necessarily churns out the words to match. ]

You see an opportunity, you grab it. Don't you think?

[nattering]

Sure. [ nothing wrong with determination. ] It just depends on the opportunity.

[actualbear]

Blah dee blah blah bleep bloo. I gotta tell you, dude, all I'm hearing is daddy didn't love me enough as a kid.

[eager]

Opportunity to do anything you want. I mean— this place is crazy. I got a lot of ground to make up, lot of bridges to un-burn. Might not be the thrill ride of your life but it's something. Not that the management's not seriously giving me the chance to argue my case, here, but I'm not goin' down easy.

You headed anywhere, then?

[eager]

And where'd you get your psychology degree?

[actualbear]

From the school of hard knocks and straight talking, my brother, you feel me?

[nattering]

And if you're okay with being able to do whatever you want within certain boundaries? Personally, I haven't been finding myself too limited in life lately. [ it's conversational, though, not argumentative. different strokes for different folks, right? ] Still, I can see why it might be an opportunity worth taking.

Not as far as I know. My whereabouts are controlled by someone who likes to think of herself as "hard to pin down", which is a euphemism for "has a short attention span".

[eager]

[ In a tone that's more confrontational than conciliatory: ] I'm not your brother, but I think I get the idea. Anyway, getting Freud to roll over in his grave's got nothing to do with it.

[eager]

[ It's probably the best tack to take with Richie, given how quickly he tends to get fired up about anything, let alone an argument. ]

Boundaries, no boundaries, I can push the envelope. Anyway, you and me, we're in the same boat. I mean, I'm here — not that I'm complaining. Along with a whole bunch of other sad saps with too much time on their hands.

[actualbear]

[ Max just lifts his eyebrows and widens his eyes in a way that belies many a night spent on conspiracy theory faux-documentary pizza-aided binges. ]

Or does it?

[sidearms]

Word of advice? You may want to go about dialin' back some of that fresh-faced, schoolboy enthusiasm. 'Round these parts, that attitude'll only get a man into trouble.

[nattering]

Not completely taken with your headspace company?

[eager]

Nah, nah, you know, never seen a bigger group of deadbeats. They all either don't wanna be here or they don't know what to do with themselves — gets me down just being around 'em. You, you're okay, though. Looks like you know what you're doing.

[eager]

I— what? [ There is something unsettling for Richie, it seems, in getting so definitive a response. ] No, look, wise guy, I dunno who you been talking to but my record checks out straight, alright? Who are you, anyway?

[eager]

Who're you supposed to be, John Wayne's stupid cousin? [ Richie DiMaso, ladies and gentlemen. ] The tall, dark, mysterious thing working out for you better, then?

[nattering]

Well, I'm sorry you feel that way. Doesn't sound like a very encouraging set-up. [ joan's company is... just a bit peculiar. but nice. ] Though I'm glad I can keep up the pretence of looking like I know what I'm doing so well.

[actualbear]

[ For some reason, this appears to be the right answer because suddenly Max is smiling and shrugging amiably. ]

Ah, I'm just joshing you, buddy. The name's Max, and no one ever tells me anything.

[eager]

It's kinda motivating, if y' know what I mean. Reminds me I gotta work for it.

[ He pauses (his company would probably argue that he's the one bringing the vibe down, but, meta), the set of his shoulders shifting as he settles his hands at his hips. ]

Yeah, you don't have anything to worry about. Fake it 'til you make it, or something like that.

[eager]

You and me both, then.

[ He still looks nothing if not uneasy — it's rare that he gets to speak to anyone who can switch demeanor so quickly. Con artists are one thing but this is another, entirely. ]

Richie. Nice to meet you. What d'you do, then, besides playing Lucy from Peanuts?

[actualbear]

[ If Max had a sufficient level of awareness of the emotions of others (read: any), he might feel bad about Richie's level of unease. If he also had the capacity to feel bad, which he generally doesn't. ]

Pffffff. Doin' stuff is for chumps and people with mortgages, ie. chumps.

[eager]

[ There's a comeback in there somewhere, Richie's sure, but he lives with his mother, so as much as he might want to make some argument about adulthood and the paying off of a mortgage, it's a moot point. ]

So, you're, what, unemployed? Squatting? Freeloading?

[nattering]

[ motivating for you, joan thinks, lightly. ]

Work for what? To be top of your management's list for being dropped off somewhere creepy and probably life threatening? [ (': can you tell how enthused she is by the concept ] Not sure if "making it" is what I'm aiming for, but thanks for the vote of confidence anyway.

[actualbear]

I prefer to think of myself as a lovable rapscallion who coasts through life on a series of profitable misadventures and intermittent moonlighting as an unlicensed limo driver.

[eager]

Hey, c'mon, cheer up. It's not all creepy space stations and cities — most of the guys up here aren't goin' anywhere but it's not like you can't do something with longevity. Ask 'em to change bits of your history, your world, literally anything. End up on the wrong side of a gun, ask 'em what'd happen if it hadn't been you. Anything. What's— what's your name?