dear_mun | Mun had to leave the cinema before the end, spoilers avoided as much as possible.

Don't feel too bad. Way I heard, it was probably for the best.

He was enjoying it up until he had to leave. From what I can tell, this guy's easily pleased, though.

How long did he stay? I heard it was good up until the last half hour.

I don't think there was that long left. He was about 2 hours in.

Huh. Maybe it was better than he got told. Guess he'll find out for sure this weekend.

Don't believe everything you hear on the internet, kid.

I think the one thing to remember is that I'm not Jason Bourne, so don't be comparing me to him.

Not even if it comes from someone you know? And I thought I was suspicious.

Yeah, that's one reason why he wants to see it. The way he got told, you're more like me than like Bourne.

Other people's opinions don't matter.

And is that a good thing?

... yeah, now I see why she said that.

Depends on who you ask. As far as he's concerned it is.

Oh yeah? That something you'd say, huh?

I suppose that's good to hear. If your mun likes you enough to play you.

And all this bad review stuff floating around? My mun says that it's because people expected me to be exactly like Bourne.

You could say that. I don't really have a good track record when it comes to playing well with others.

Yeah, my mun likes guys like us. Of course, most people don't. They want the saps like Bourne who hold back.

You gotta admit, there were gonna be bad reviews no matter what. He already knew that. No matter how good you did, it still wasn't gonna be good enough.

[Aaron likes you, kid.]

Nothing wrong with holding back when it's smart. Of course, you never know it's smart until... afterwards.

And, yeah, I know. Can't please everyone.

[David's got a feeling he's gonna see eye to eye with you more than he ever did with Bourne.]

Bourne never got that. If he'd been anyone else, it would've gotten him killed a hundred times.

Screw 'em. People are going to see it, right? You can laugh all the way to the bank.

You heard the trailer. Treadstone had inconsistency. Bourne was a perfect example of that.

And it's a pity I'll never get to see a dime of that money. Could come in handy.

I knew Bourne, you know. Not too long ago. You could say we were... on the opposite sides of some issues.

Yeah, that does suck and blow. But if you're anything like me, you know there's plenty of other ways to get some quick cash.

...Baseball bat and an ATM?

And I can imagine. I'd like to meet him myself, measure him up.

Heh. That's one way to do it.

You would, huh? I think I could set something like that up.

Probably the most stress-relieving way.

And you could? Mun's going to go see the rest of the movie on Friday, probably. Maybe sooner. Might be a good time to see what it is I'm fighting against.

Nah. Stress-relieving is taking a baseball bat to a guy who can't keep his mouth shut. That shit's just plain therapeutic.

Remember that buddy I was talking about earlier? That's where Bourne calls home these days. So yeah, I think I could something up. Especially with Bourne probably headed to the place I just got sent.

And if he owes you money? Win-win.

And sure. If you could set it up. I know my mun wants me to meet him. Probably not going to be apping me into any games yet, though.

Looks like you got your wish.

Or your mun's wish. Which, let's face it, will probably never match up with what you want. Accept this early on. It will save you a lot of trouble.

Mine nearly had a rage aneurysm in the theater about--well, I won't say. Forces beyond your control. But she thinks you're all right. Saved the movie, even.

...still can't believe they're using that passport photo on the news. I hate that photo. Plus side is it doesn't look too much like me anymore.

Edited 2012-08-21 02:15 (UTC)

[See this look, Jason. This is Aaron totally sizing you up. His verdict: He can totally take you.]

Yeah? I seem to be saving a lot of things recently. And don't worry about spoilers. Hell, since he posted this, he's seen the movie three more times. Loves it. Even planning on apping me to a game.

And, if I'm honest, meeting you was one of the things we agreed on.

[He then folds his arms.]

You know that if we meet outside of here, in games and stuff, we won't know most of the things we do about each other, right?

[Note well this look, Aaron. It means: "In your tiny dreams, Flowers for Algernon. In your tiny, tiny dreams."

Bourne can convey many things with one locked-in straight face. As David might tell him, having been on the receiving end of this look and countless others like it, the possibilities are endless.]

Mine keeps saying, "Out, out, you demons of bad scriptwriting." And something about transparent sequel hooks. I've given up trying to understand her but I can still boss her around without much trouble.

Oh yeah? Which game are you looking at? Same one he's in?

[He shrugs a little. After years and years of vacillating in and out of RPs and dear_mun, he's almost used to missing parts of his knowledge some times and not others. He refrains from giving Aaron a "you must be new" straight-face...hey, his film's only two weeks old. Grasshopper has much to learn.]

Yeah.

[Then he offers a friendly-ish smile, or at least as friendly as he's capable of getting nowadays, which means it is somewhere between a smirk and a scowl.] Nice work in Manila.

My mun went into the movie with one thought: I'm not you.

[And, boy, is he not. Bourne's gaze is met with one of total lax uncaring. You might be Treadstone's token boy, but Aaron is Outcome, and Outcome won't take no shit from no-one.]

Nah, my mun mods a new game that's opening soon. He's sending me there. Halfway through the app, already.

Thanks.

[And then there's a pause.]

People died, you know.

So did she. She wanted to like it. She wanted to like it more than mine. She's mad Landy got shafted. I'll probably have to go back there, bust a few more heads to get my point across one of these days.

[For a second his concentration wavers and he glares up at something invisible. And inaudible, to Cross. Still, he mutters, "No, I know it's a perfect--this is not the time or the place. Shut up. Keep your Sherlock references to yourself." He looks at Aaron and rolls his eyes as if to say, 'I apologize, my mun is an idiot.' Then, returning to the subject at hand, his tone briefly turns critical.]

You didn't have to kill those security guards. The LARX asset didn't care who he killed as long as he got the two of you.

[There's a minute twitch that could be a shrug. Albeit a slightly irritated one.]

...but as Vosen said one time - and I'll sadly have to agree with him here - "don't second-guess an operation from an armchair." I'd have probably done it differently. You did it your way. That's fine. You're not me. You're not supposed to be.

I wasn't talking about the people I killed. Or that LARX goon. I know the job, okay?

[Aaron's expression is now totally serious.]

They didn't have to die. None of them did. And they all died because of you. You know that, right? All of this, is because of you.

[Bourne immediately drops all pretense of collegiality. His gaze turns icy; Cross has just picked at an old wound. There is a distinct chill in his voice as well.]

Don't presume to think I haven't paid a heavy price for my actions. Don't think I wouldn't move heaven and earth to undo what's happened. And don't presume your hands are bloodless, that I'm the only one who's done wrong.

It's rotten, Cross. The whole damn system's rotten and trying to prune it out has made the rot strike deeper. I've seen too many good people die because of it. But even if I hadn't struck back, if they'd kept up their end and left me alone...it wouldn't matter. Good people would still be dying, but more quietly. Like they used to. No snipers in Waterloo Station, back to a quick knife in the ribs in an elevator at night.

They'd have found some way to get rid of you when you'd outlived your usefulness. Maybe a poison pill disguised as a chem upgrade. Maybe make it look like a gas leak suffocated you in your sleep. But to them, we're expendable. Well. We were. Now we're liabilities.

Edited 2012-08-21 07:54 (UTC)

Yeah?

[Aaron's voice is of a matching frigidity, his blue-eyed gaze fixed on Jason, not moving.]

Do me a favour, then. Don't think you're the only one who realises he's been used. I know what I've done. I know what I...

[There's a pause here, a lengthy one, as Aaron looks away from Jason. Outcome without the Emotional Noise.]

He called us the Sineaters. Morally indefensible. He said that right after...

[And another pause, he looks back to Jason]

Don't preach to me about bloody hands, Bourne. I've known that the system is rotten, it's always been there. The threat of death, knowing that your every move is watched and every single one could be your last if you do something wrong.

I'm done. CIA, NRAG... All of them. They can call me a liability, fine. If they come after me, they're gonna pay.

Morally indefensible? Yeah. You want to know when I snapped out of their conditioning? I was sent to kill a man on a boat. Nykwana Wombosi. Didn't know why; wasn't my place. Gained his trust, got to know him, all under a cover. Standard stuff. I get on the boat and he's surrounded by maybe twenty of his kids. They didn't tell me that. They just figured I'd kill all the witnesses. They wanted me to be the machine LARX became. "Treadstone without the inconsistency", they said? Mine calls it "Treadstone with sociopaths". I wouldn't do it. Couldn't. Nearly got me killed. Then I became a liability. I stopped eating the sin and started eating the sinners instead.

[Bourne listens patiently to Cross's tirade - then he nearly smiles.]

Good. That's what I told them. And it worked for a while.

[Until it didn't.]

Edited 2012-08-21 12:35 (UTC)

You've got that backwards. I'm Treadstone without the inconsistency, but that's only because they had us roped in tight with the chems.

LARX is Outcome without the Emotional Noise. I didn't like what I was doing, okay? What happened in that war-zone...

[He'd rather not talk about it... So he won't.]

The second I got viralled off blues was my freedom. The key difference between us is the genetic mutations in my body, and the fact that I wouldn't do half the things you did.

My apologies. She was a little distracted at that point. And now I know why I don't like taking pills. [Except Advil. If you get between him and his Advil YOU WILL DIE. And he will wash down the ibuprofen with your blood.]

Most people wouldn't. [Then again, most people didn't get the one person keeping them human killed for being too close. You don't get that kind of crazy determination unless you've been there. Which, unless Marta meets with an unhappy end in the next movie, Ludlum forbid, Aaron's free of for now.]

Just, uh, do me a favor. If you come across something called "fanfiction"...don't read it, turn around, and walk quickly away. Don't look back. That's advice from me and her. Mostly from her.

Also any book with your face on the cover. I guarantee it will make no sense whatsoever.

My mun avoids FanFiction like a plague and, luckily, he knows not to give me books that I can prove him wrong with.

...Plus, there's three others who look like me in here. It's kinda... Well, lets say I'm getting used to the weird shit that goes on around here.

[And don't even joke about him losing Marta, or he will kill you. When it happens, he might accept it, but...]

Mun had to leave the cinema before the end, spoilers avoided as much as possible.

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And this is why I'm not allowed to tag after three in the morning. My tags get stupid.

Your tags get awesome. You're awesome.

Pshaw. Flattery will get you...places. I think this is the most he's ever said in one go. Ever.

Aaron really knows how to poke buttons in people's heads. :3

And Jason knows how to smash people who do that to him. :3

Bring it.

Old Muse dispenses some useful advice for existing in the IOC realm.

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