(no subject)

[sonofrapture]

This is ridiculous, I don't have time for this. I have work to do, places to go, people to see... all that jazz. And you don't even know what you're doing!

[He rubs his face, frustrated, and mutters to himself.]

My father is not going to be happy about this.



((OOC: AU Jack is from the fabulous fic Batya, from just after chapter one.))

Comments

omg yES

[did_unkindly]

...Your father.

[ Same face. Same voice. Much less expensive fashion sense. Oh, and caked in dry blood and grime and who knows what else. He's not like, raving or tumorous or anything, but there's a light behind his eyes betraying the fact that he's recently spliced.

Jack Ryan, meet your double from another lighthouse! ♥

There's half a pep bar hanging out of the side of his mouth. Jack actually stopped eating in order to respond to this incredible dad-related statement. ]

HAHAHAHAHA ALREADY THIS IS BETTER THAN I EVER DREAMED

[sonofrapture]

[Well that's a horrifying image. Horrifying enough that Jack stops right in the middle of lighting a cigarette to stare open-mouthed in shock.]

What the hell happened to you?

i'm so glad I'M SO GLAD

[did_unkindly]

[ Jack's face darkens. He's not a huge fan of being gawped at.

On the bright side, it's very easy to turn the conversation around on him! ♪ Maybe he's born with it, maybe it's programming ♫]

A lot.

[ ...although that doesn't mean he's super into elucidating. Instead he wrinkles his nose at the other Jack's suit. It's too tailored. It makes him think of Ryan. ]

What are you wearing.

oh god this is going to end in tears

[sonofrapture]

[Well then, dammit, he's not going to elucidate either. Two genetically engineered test tube babies can play at that game.]

What I always wear.

[He finishes lighting that cigarette and takes a drag off it.]

it's ok i won't tell dad we cried if you don't

[did_unkindly]

[ The smoking reminds Jack that his midmorning snack is still hanging out of his mouth. He takes it out, and rolls it restlessly between finger and thumb.

He's not stopped scowling at the other Jack's clothes. Imagine trying to fight in that. It must be so restrictive. ]

It looks new.

[ Did you know that that can be an accusation? Now you do!

Disclaimer: Jack's standards for calling clothes 'new' range all the way from 'fresh off the shelves' to 'blood-free and not full of bullet holes'. ]

ok good

[sonofrapture]

[He hears the accusation. How could he not? It's his own goddamn voice! He glances back up, eyes looking over the bloodied and dirty and torn clothes and he takes his cigarette between two fingers and exhales a long stream of smoke.]

It's not. It's clean. And I don't wear it every day.

[did_unkindly]

Why not?

[ If you asked him, Jack wouldn't be able to articulate exactly why this bothers him so much. It's just so... it doesn't line up with anything he's experienced. He's sure he wasn't like this for the brief time he was topside. He knows he's not like this now. He doesn't know if he might've been like this earlier, in the time they scraped out of his memory, and that's a sore spot that didn't need scratching -- especially when his only tried and true method for dealing with things that unnerve him is to lash out at them.

...but seriously 'how dare you have clean clothes' is the stupidest criticism ever jack, what are you four ]

those icons are going to be a Huge Problem for me fyi

[who_is]

[ what

what, what. what

okay. Atlas is too surprised at first to keep himself from looking it, but he recovers quickly enough. ]

And your father has plenty enough to be unhappy about, I imagine?

not sorry at all

[sonofrapture]

[Jack blinks. He has no clue who this is but he feels like he should, for some reason.]

He's a busy man.

And between you and me, I'm not entirely sure anything makes him happy.

you're a monster

[who_is]

[ After a very quick assessment of the situation — the kid's appearance, talk of a father who doesn't sound like a Kansas country bumpkin, and mentions of some business that apparently does not involve beating splicers' faces in — Atlas very quickly decides that the best course of action is to play it cool. ]

Between you and me, huh... If you ask me, that's hardly the sort of thing you'd need to keep in confidence.

you're the one playing Atlas

[sonofrapture]

[He flashes a grin and shrugs his shoulders.]

You may be right about that.

you're the one with the icons

[who_is]

[ Weirder and weirder. It's all jarring enough that Atlas has some momentary difficulty getting a read on the kid; he'll have to resort to the basest of basic tactics. ]

And you, ah... You feel just fine about that?

that is true bwahahahaha

[sonofrapture]

[Meanwhile Jack still has the nagging feeling that he should know this guy, but he can't put his finger on it.]

About what? Not needing to keep it in confidence or the fact that he's never happy?

[ryanizing]

"Your father."

[ .....

what in everything that is holy is happening here ]

[sonofrapture]

[Uh oh.

That tone, he's heard it before, the one where something presented to him is so utterly unbelievable to him that he simply refuses to accept it as fact.

All Jack can think, for a moment, is what did I do this time?

But then he stops, because why would Ryan ever disbelieve him about that?]

Yes...?

[ryanizing]

[ Ryan is smart. Calculating. Which is why he doesn't open with a series of obvious questions, and instead looks across at the man he's studied so closely, the one he knows too well. ]

... Something is very different about you, boy.

[sonofrapture]

[He stands his ground and stares back, and it's obvious that this is yet another one of those situations where something is wrong. This isn't his father.

Well, it's Andrew Ryan, but it's not his father.]

How so?

[ryanizing]

You're referring to me as your father, for one.

[ He scoffs at the idea. There's no love lost between the two of them in any world, but the idea of an heir--

... Friendly or not, impossible or not, it's... intriguing. ]

[sonofrapture]

Because you are.

[Definitely not the Andrew Ryan he knows, then. But is he as different from the man he knows as he seems to be from the other Jacks?

He watches the man warily. He doesn't seem that much different, that's for sure.]

I hope I'm not late to the party... again...

[obeyseventually]

[Doesn't he feel terribly uncreative chiming in now - but then again he's probably better conversation than the other guy. Uh, the other-other guy.

Anyway, here's another friendly, familiar radio-voice for you, Jack:]

Fuck what your father thinks.


And I guess fuck your mun, too, but defying them is a little harder than sticking it to any of our parents.

NOT AT ALL welcome to the show

[sonofrapture]

[Wow okay this is definitely not expected, having not one but two other selves wandering around, and neither one of them really sounding exactly like him. What the hell is going on?]

Now, I'd love to just throw it all behind me and forget about it, but things aren't exactly that simple.

;u;

[obeyseventually]

[Pause for a thoughtful drag of his cigarette.]

They aren't, are they? Heh. Never is with us, is it?

[If we have visuals yet, uhhhh, this Jack's got blood on his sweater too. Maybe not as much as mr. table-manners upthread, but he's definitely been in his share of fights. He also looks really goddamn tired, so no surprise that he's reclining on the comfiest thing nearby instead of standing, though it could just be how pale he is making the bags under his eyes stand out. On top of that, it also looks like he hasn't shaved in a few days, so no, he's not as groomed as the other Jack, either.

Then again, if we're sticking with the 'friendly radio voice thing' and leaving the appearance as a surprise for later, the only indicator of his state is how hoarse and tired his voice is.]

[sonofrapture]

[Visuals are great, because this particular Jack is wearing a fine tailored suit, and looks impeccable, just the way the heir of the "King of Rapture" should look.

He narrows his eyes slightly at the sight of the blood, though, and finally, he can't help himself.]

What is it with all the blood? What's going on?

[obeyseventually]

[Oh, you sweet summer child.]

[Jack squints a little back, though there's a slight raise in one of his eyebrows. He shrugs, after a moment.]

I'm not a very popular guy, I guess.

Where are you from?

[If you leave the answer at Rapture, so help him...]

[sonofrapture]

[He is the sweetest of summer children. He's never even held a gun before.]

Rapture, obviously.

[And yes, he leaves it there, because he is from nowhere else. He has only ever known Rapture. They tell the public he's from the Surface, but that's not the truth, and surely his... doppelganger knows what he knows.

Except his doppelganger is also spattered in blood.]