Julian dipped his head to the side as if to say I'll give you that. "Most people do," he agreed. He decided that, even if Darrow did read, he didn't have enough knowledge about writing to understand where he was going with this—or if he did, that he was being intentionally obtuse. Figured. "But they also don't have insights about how their choices will affect them in the long run. And even if they could, they wouldn't usually think that far." He thought the meaning was plain enough, but it dawned upon him then that he might seem vaguely threatening with such an extensive metaphor.

"But as the writer, I need to think about how my choices will affect the future story. Even small things can have implications in the future." The more he explained, the more threatening he sounded, and his façade of ignorance was fading quickly. The smile left his face first, but he didn't ask what he really want to. Instead, he tried to continue on his long-winded speech.

"For example, if the protagonist tells someone about the story's conflict, that's one more character who has the ability to affect the plot. What they do with it... well, the protagonist loses control over that. But if they keep it to themselves and don't say anything, they have to face it all alone when another character could have helped them." He flashed the waitress a smile as she finally delivered his pint. It was about time. "Both choices have their own implications, you see?"

He took a sip, allowing a moment for Darrow to think.

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