@peter.benjamin

[thwipandrelease]

So I know I can't be the only one who's had the unexpected pleasure of coming into possession of messages that aren't intended for my consumption. I'm not talking about you getting someone's private love letters or metaphorical cat video links, which I've gotten and deleted.

If I were back home, I'd be sliding this info to my nearest and dearest investigative journalist type. Since I'm not, well, I guess I've got to take matters in my own hands.

It's an interesting read, so, I'm just going to include the unedited details for all.

[what follows is a copy of the message that peter had received earlier, sent from lydia gill-jade, which seems the sort of thing that would come up in a current headlines search if it weren't presumably a secret. well, so much for that, huh?]

Maybe it's just me, but do people usually name successors for campaign donations?

Comments

[thwipandrelease]

so... not exactly something i can pick up at the local mega mart
got it

capital D, huh?
sounds like world ending bad.

[inherited]

It can be.

But it can be a source of power, too.

And not always in the bad way.

Though I guess most commonly in the bad way.

[thwipandrelease]

[peter knows a little something about that. he hasn't solved the puzzle fully but he's fairly certain that whatever powers his new gifts isn't sunshine and optimism.]

so it's like my relationship status
COMPLICATED

i'd love to know how you or someone else might go about harnessing the power of Darkness

[inherited]

I think it's easier where I come from. You know how to tap into your heart, and draw from it. Some people do it without meaning to, by reflecting on something nasty and negative.

I don't do that. It's just how you typically get started.

But people can draw on Light, too.

[thwipandrelease]

sounds very new age-y.

[he's not trying to be skeptical or dismissive about it, riku. peter's just not conditioned for something like that to make sense. doesn't mean he's not going to use it as an opportunity to think some really angry thoughts and see if that results in that awesome blue glow.]

guessing that to harness the power of Light, you do the opposite? think happy thoughts?

[inherited]

It's not that simple.

You draw on the connections to your heart. Your friends.

Some people have a lot of connections. They have a knack for touching everyone they meet in a unique way.

So, they're just stronger.

[It doesn't bother him to explain it. Riku can already tell that this world doesn't have the same grasp of this stuff. He doesn't know if it even matters here. By now, he hasn't figured that out, and that's even with the fact that their chests glow all the time.]

[thwipandrelease]

i don't tend to make very many friends in my line of work
it's probably a good thing then that i'm not relying on Light to help me get through my day

[Darkness and Light might not be what powers the Displaced, but he definitely thinks there's some important takeaways from this conversation with riku. he's not any kind of an expert but this is a puzzle that he wants to attempt to solve.]

but you've definitely given me lots to consider
i need a snack and time to think
mind if i ask you a few more questions about this whole Dark/Light thing later?

[inherited]

Going it alone isn't always a good thing, you know. Take that from an expert in it.

[Even when he did it for a particular reason, Riku came to recognize that it wasn't good for him.]

So, feel free to ask me about that, too. Along with the Light and Dark stuff. I'll be around.