eighth. voice (breathe underwater, i'm coming up for air).

[torrefied]

[It's been a while since Mello's addressed the network with anything but cold, impersonal text (well, except for that one time he was possessed by a demon, but let's not dwell on that, he wasn't exactly himself), and the fact that he is now choosing this method of communication is significant - Mello does nothing without purpose. He's been here an entire year, and he has begun to slowly pull himself out of the mindset of a man with one day left to live and not much to lose. Near was right; he is better at dealing with people than he has been, and it's well past time he took steps to rectify that. He's stuck here, perhaps indefinitely, and he has, in spite of his various missteps over the past year, become a part of this community.

So when he speaks now, his tone is a measure less haughty and condescending than you might be used to seeing from him. This is, believe it or not, what an attempt at teamwork looks like.]

I've revised the introductory guide, and I've included a new attachment with a summarized history of the events that have transpired here. Please take time to review it. If anything of importance is missing, I'd like to know.

[Look at that, Hadriel. He even said please.]

I think we need better documentation of what happens to us here - not just so that we aren't forced to keep explaining things to the newcomers ad nauseam, but because our history informs who we are, collectively. And I can't help thinking that if the gods here or their so-called previous host population had left better records of what happened before, we might have been better prepared for what happened when we were attacked not long ago by the things that killed them off. Now, I'm good at collecting information, but I'm only one person, and as we've seen, the Door is unpredictable about who comes and goes. If only one person is collecting this sort of information and that person disappears, we all lose that record.

[He falls silent for a moment, thinking of Near's recent disappearance. As much as he dislikes to admit it, even to himself, it's something that has left a deep impact - deep enough, perhaps, to prompt this shift in his attitude.]

I guess ... I'm asking for your help. All of you.

[Don't make this weird, Hadriel. It takes a lot for Mello to ask for help with anything.]

Comments

[voice]

[torrefied]

I said you should let me know if anything of importance was missing.

[voice]

[synthedick]

You also said you were good at collecting information. Leaving out an entire organization that's been around for so long makes your work look shoddy. More importantly, you said wanted help from all of us, and that's what I'm offering.

[voice]

[torrefied]

[Well played, Nick, that's one damn effective counterpoint. Still, it chafes Mello to concede; he is childish and hates to lose. And he has one hell of a grudge against the Guard.]

You'd think an organization that's been around so long would be better at doing what it's supposed to. I wonder, is it really such a loss for the people here to not know of its existence?

[Everything in his tone indicates his opinion: a resounding no.]

[voice]

[synthedick]

We'd be better at doing what we can to help if we had more hands, and we'd have more of those if people knew about us in the first place rather than having to hear word-of-mouth.

[A quiet sigh.] Look, I get it. You don't like us and how we handle things, but just because you don't need our help doesn't mean there aren't those who do. We're all in this together, and you know that.

[He's giving you a chance to be an adult, Mello.]

[voice]

[torrefied]

[It's irritating, having sound logic shoved in his face like this. The man Mello was a year ago - hell, even six months ago - would've laughed loudly at Nick and told him just how little Mello cares about being an adult. But the time he's spent in this place has changed him - for the better, he thinks. Mello is invested in working as part of the larger community instead of as a party outside of it. He sighs loudly, conceding to Nick's argument. In the bigger picture of overall survival, it is to the advantage of all if they work together.]

Fine. Send me what you want included and I'll consider adding it.