acatalepsy_logs | [OPEN] Well. That Didn't Go Quite As Planned

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[OPEN] Well. That Didn't Go Quite As Planned

Who: EVERYONE
Where: The Temple of Beginnings
When: Immediately After The End.
Rating: PG-13, may vary by thread
What: You fall, you pick yourself back up and you move on. Or at least, you try.

Fished Out Of Water
One minute, you are witnessing the fabric of an entire world implode as it is literally ripped apart by powers unknown. The next, that tell-tale twist somewhere beneath your sternum, before you are bodily YANKED away from Akvos, away from the ocean and the Queen and the King and the Princess.

And land back on (mostly) solid, dry ground.

Welcome back to the Temple of Beginnings. Don't worry, there's no hurry for you to get back up just yet.

Hey, Howya Doin'?
Once you do get back up, now is the time to be taking stock of the situation - yours, your friends, and even those new merfolk neighbours (who may need a hand getting their fins back into the water). There is also the missing members of the Circle to consider: people who disappeared on the journey to Akvos, and those who never made it back..

(There's also that small matter with a certain 'witchess-san' that may be a cause for concern to some more than others.)

Whatever the case, it's a lot to process right now. Take the time you have, because you don't know if it'll be enough for what you need.

[[ OOC: Here's an open post for threads reacting to the end of the Akvos world hop. Feel free to use the above prompts, and/or make your own! ]]

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[ he gives him a look at first. he's always dramatic and (in his mind) it's for good cause, but in this instance, the question actually gets a bemused headshake. ]

Nah. You thought this was one big drunken hallucination you just had to sleep off. The truth is, I was jealous.

[ of hank's naivete, maybe. or his conviction they'd all wake up from this nightmare. tony knew better, he usually does. that's the curse of genius, though, isn't it? ]

But I was right then, wasn't I? So I'm probably right now about us getting to share that title. Just sayin'.

[Hank makes an indecisive noise, watching the sky for a moment. It's good to be on solid ground again, it's good to be out of that fucking place, and thinking it brings on a rush of that acrid, nasty feeling, and he's not actually sure if he's got room in him to deal with another round of 'you still don't believe any of this is real? wtf is wrong with you?' with someone with all that other shit taking up space inside him. But that's where this conversation's going and steering around that would take effort. So. Fuck it.]

I'm still not so sure you were. Right, I mean.

[He purses his lips, sighing down at the ground.]

So unless whatever you've gonna put me to work on's really good, I might hold off on thinking you're right all the time. Just, you know, for a little while.

Edited (tried to clarify a thing) 2019-02-09 17:48 (UTC)

[ he looks a little bewildered for a moment, but then just snickers as he directs hank towards his room once they get inside. ]

Usually, I'd say you're taking this healthy skepticism thing too far, but... no one likes a yes-man. I think you'll make a fine assistant.

[ he raps on his own door a few times, then a little louder when there's no answer. ]

Caps, we have guests! Don't be naked. Or do. I'm not your mother.

[ he pushes in to a predictably empty space despite his carrying on and sighs at the sight of their beds. one perfectly done up and one still unmade the way he'd left it the day they'd been taken off to akvos. dum-e and you give a more insistent whirring at seeing tony again after so long. a shadow of a smile creeps over his face as he pats each of the robots, one at a time, before making it to his wall that's covered in charcoal writing. there are a bunch of technical things written after a big "NETWORK" that details his and zari's plan to optimize communication, and he picks up the black stub to write a few formulas underneath that and then a few lines of code - before he forgets it. ironic that they were talking about that before comms completely went belly-up, but hopefully with their ingenuity that won't happen again.

there's a line item he crossed out then rewrote and he underlines it now before turning to hank with a glint in his eye. the words read only "WHISKEY STILL" and he hadn't gotten further than that. it wasn't a priority when he thought this wouldn't be such an extended stay, but having a decent drink to come back to after that bullshit? he's sure he's not the only one who would appreciate it. ]

Something tells me you're the man for this job.

Edited 2019-02-10 13:52 (UTC)

[Hank takes a couple steps closer, his eyes flicking over the wall and everything on it. He can't make heads or tails of it, but that doesn't surprise him and he doesn't really try.]

Guess I give off that vibe, huh?

[He smiles faintly and then glances over toward the robots, looking a little wary for a second.]

At least you didn't try to put me to work on them but uh, if you're lookin for someone to design shit for you I'm probably not your guy for that, either. I know, uh, who might be - there's a guy here, actual gangster from the actual prohibition, if you believe all this shit - he's got something set up, really rough right now, but. His name's Firo, if you want to look him up.

But uh- [Hank sucks at his teeth, trying not to look too much like being useless even at this, this stupid little thing, bothers him.] -I can follow instructions, and if you want me to figure out some cop shit I can do that, but -

[He pulls a polite, unhappy little smile, then shrugs.]

I don't know, what materials do we even have here? Konoha does gardening shit, she might know if there's any weird alien grains here we could use. But I don't have a clue how to get a hold of anything else.

In this place? I'll believe any shit. [ seriously, it's all relative at this point. and you know his history, hank. if you remember any of it. ] I'll text him right now.

[ he pulls out his watch and does that while also talking to hank. multitasking. ]

...You're a cop? Huh. [ yeah, that's what he got out of that. ]

What, I don't look like the type?

[He crosses his arms, still kind of self conscious, and tries to focus more on following the topic than on the way he can't even help out with busywork, here.]

And you - that thing you showed me, that video, that tech kinda looked like the stuff they were prototyping for the military way back when, and you said- god, I don't even remember. [He rubs a hand over his beard, frowning as he tries to dig through the mountains of bullshit that've cluttered up his memory since then.] You mentioned some kinda... team, I think? And some other weird shit, I don't know. And today you said you had a captain. So-

[He pulls a face.]

When you said 'world peace' I was thinking like, charity overseas, maybe some kind of negotiations or some shit. Is that what you meant? Or did you mean 'I gave up my corporate empire to run off and join the air force'?

[ he gives the other man an assessing once over, patting sumo idly as the dog goes to take over his bed. tony would die for him already. ]

Nah, I can see it.

[ tony's smile grows as hank goes on, just letting him spin himself out before interjecting. ]

I'm on both sides of the equation. But mostly I fly around in a soup can shooting terrorists in the face. [ it's a lifestyle. ] And destroying their weapons, more to the point. ...Some of which I built.

[ he shakes his head. ] Pepper runs the day-to-day, traveling, negotiating. The peer-to-peer stuff. I've been told I don't play well with others.

But yeah, I'm on a team anyway! Because, smart guy, and like they were in need of one of those, I guess. Steve's our fearless leader, big tall blonde supermodel looking brodude, you can't miss him. As sweet and wholesomely American as fresh apple pie, too.

[ tony... ] So I was thinking- oak barrels? For the whiskey. Or whatever kind of trees we have. Magic trees, probably. And I'll see if I can scare up enough ore to line it with. I'll ask the fairies about that, I guess. It usually goes super well for me, not a waste of time at all.

[It's hard to focus. Akvos still rings in his head, all those weeks trying so fucking hard not to think about drowning so he could just help some of those people, all that struggling to figure something out, and then-

Fuck. Hank might not be thinking about it but a part of him's trying to, and it's starting to make the rest of his system lag. Still, he tries to focus on anything else, on what's actually being said, and succeeds well enough to decide, yeah, this guy's probably military, and the guy he was talking about being naked earlier - caps, he'd called him - is probably that captain he mentioned. Hank's just decided he should avoid the guy, that 'wholesome brodudes' probably count a subcategory of those Nice People Hank keeps making an ass of himself around, and is in the process of wondering about the chances of Mr terrorist-exploding-CEO being a republican when he realizes - hey.]

You still want me working on it?

[He rubs at his chin. Stupid question, he wouldn't be asking Hank about oak barrels if he didn't. It just came out. He keeps going without waiting for an answer.]

Uh, I've heard weird shit about those trees but - you talked to some of the uh, the things out there? [Yeah it doesn't sound like it went well, but he has to ask.] What do they even talk about?

...Why wouldn't I? 'Cause you're a cop?

[ he doesn't have the grEATEST relationship with the police, but it's never made him actively hold anything against them. they're both just doing their jobs the best that they can, right? tony points at sumo, tempted to go back over there and pet him some more even though he still smells and is likely stinking up his bedding. he really is a pushover for animals. and kids. and women. and... yeah. everyone??? ]

Is he a cop too?

[ oh yeah fairies... tony shakes his head. ]

It's mostly nonsense, but sometimes you can pick out a nugget of intel. I'm not the most patient guy... yeah, I know, but. I'll see what I can glean anyway.

Uh-

[Hank ducks his head a little, watching the guy as he talks and realizing where the shit going on in his head, the assumption that he wouldn't want Hank working on anything after all, came from. He wonders, for a second, how to explain but there's a difference between someone seeing you lose your shit and your dignity and taking way too long to get it together because you just can't help it, and another thing to make the decision to tell someone, 'yeah, I was pretty sure I never belonged here in the first place and maybe or maybe not playing a part in a whole city of people getting torn apart didn't exactly help'. It's... It's just as obviously disconnected from the actual project he's being asked to help with as the fact that he's a cop, and sounds twice as pathetic. Just thinking about explaining out loud makes him feel raw.

Luckily he doesn't seem to want an answer to that first question so Hank doesn't give one, just shrugs and tries a smile.]

Sumo'd never make it in the force. He'd be more likely to try and save a guy than help me arrest him.

[As distractions go, it's not a bad one; Hank watches his dog, some of the strain in his smile starting to melt away. He finds himself adding more than he meant to.]

That's why I got him, actually. There were a couple of K9s up for retirement around the same time and someone offered me one, but uh- [He shakes his head.] -this guy seemed like a better fit.

...Anyway, uh. Barrels. I heard there's nymphs and shit, or whatever you call the ones in the trees. If you know anyone who's good at sweet talking, you might wanna rope them into this to make sure we don't get killed trying to just get wood.

He's a good one.

[ he doesn't know how he knows this. he just does. dogs!!! sighs. ]

...Are you trying to imply I'm not charming? [ he's cute come on!!!! ] I'll ask Steve.

Hey I don't know, I only just met you.

[He smiles a little, and the smile stiffens as he runs a hand through his hair. It's stiff, crusted up with saltwater, and for all the reassurances that this is a project Hank's okay to be a part of-]

I'm gonna be honest with you though, uh- I don't know if any of that's gonna happen today. The whole, uh, wandering around the magic forest getting materials thing. It's- it's not the right day, you know? I'm-

[His expression goes tight. He shrugs, then purses his lips.]

You know.

[Hank's voice is a little heavier for a second, because the guy does know. He saw, earlier. Hank's not exactly up for anything complicated.]

[ tony goes to find a seat next to sumo on his bed and nods. it's probably not a day to do like... anything. everyone should sleep and regroup and get ready for the next round of astoria hurling them into hell. ]

Yeah, I know. We'll do it another time. You guys should rest. [ obviously not him!!! even though the second he sits he looks like he's aged 100 years. has he ever been this tired in his life? ]

[Hank pulls a face, watching him.]

Hey, I know we just met - that other, uh, whatever, that other time doesn't count - so I'm not asking, you know, anything...

[Fuck, that's not working. Use your words, you asshole.]

Look, you really helped me out back there. You could have made it a hell of a lot worse, and you didn't. You were...

[For a second he just watches Sumo nudge his big head against the hand that's within petting range, now that Tony's sitting on the bed.]

You were decent. And Sumo already likes you. So. [He huffs, sucking at his teeth, putting his hands on his hips.] I can't think of a way to say this without sounding like I expect you to bare your soul, or whatever. But is there anything I can do? I'm not great company but leaving you alone right now feels like a pretty shitty way to say thank you.

[ that other time doesn't count elicits a tiny, unexpected smile as tony scratches sumo's neck scruff obligingly. he never would have figured himself for a dog person (or a bear person??) but this place had brought it out in him, apparently. it's brought a lot of things out of him he hadn't been trying to advertize, like the fact that he's actually really good at managing anxiety. because - hello - he has to do it daily. and it's easier to see the signs in someone else than it ever would be to react to his own panic. ]

I get panic attacks. [ he says suddenly, eyes lifting to catch hank's. it had been hard for him to admit for a long time, but that's who he is. just a guy in a soup can with ptsd from everything he's been through. one of the primary sources? BEING KIDNAPPED. so thank you so much, astoria, for making him relive this every day. ] That's how I knew what to do.

[ it's a 'you're welcome' in its way, but he nods to steve's bed if hank wants to sit down. there are a few chairs but they're all piled up with debris and papers and god knows what else. tony's mostly been hoarding anything he could find until he figures out what's useful. ]

Sometimes, the things you do... the things you see - they stick with you. For a long time. It makes sense. [ that a cop would have the same issues he does, he means. ]

[Sumo snorts, accepting the neck scratches as his due, and settles his head on his paws.

Hank takes the bed, letting Tony catch his eyes, listening. He nods, rubbing his hands over his knees.]

Yeah. That, uh... That was my first one, actually. First time. I've been around people having em before but it's uh... [He huffs, looking away for a second.] It's kinda different from the inside.

[Hank waits a second. He wants to offset that, how personal that feels, but he isn't sure he knows enough about Tony to know how he'll take a joke just now. He studies Tony's face, trying to decide.]

Would it be uh, inappropriate to make a crack about you popping my panic attack cherry? Insensitive or, you know, whatever?

The first time I had one I thought I was dying. Literally.

[ so yeah, it is. way different. he quirks an empathetic, lopsided smile. and then that instantly spirals into a laugh, dry at first as it catches in his throat and has him coughing for a minute before he gets it back under control. he pats sumo down when the dog gives him the side-eye without thinking about it. ]

If we don't laugh we'll cry, right? [ self-deprecating humor is the best kind, in tony's book. ]

I don't know, if we do laugh I guess we might choke. You okay? You need a uh, drink or, whatever?

[A drink. There's an idea. He tries to remember how much he had left back in his room before all this... before all the mermaid shit started.]

[ he hums to concede that point. who knew he could get used to having gills of all things? ]

No, I'm... well, what do you got? [ it's worth an ask, right? ]

Uh...

[Hank reaches for the bottle in that pouch around his waist, grimacing.]

It's uh, probably kind of weird, drinking it now but there's this... stuff. From, you know, back there.

[The top of the bottle looks stupider, he thinks, in the open air; underwater the whole sippy cup, sports bottle look had kind of made sense. He holds it out anyway.]

There's probably somethin else back in my room, if you don't like the taste of liquid anchovies. Don't remember how much of that I had left, though.

Edited (nitpicking) 2019-02-18 22:53 (UTC)

[ he accepts the bottle with a wan sort of smile, tipping it in his hands, as yet undecided if he actually wants to drink it. he's thinking about two young mermaids in particular, he had helped them to safety. did they make it...? ]

I'm thinking I'm gonna sit the next world out. You in?

[ tony asks like they have any choice in the matter before tipping the bottle back for a measured sip. it does help, a little. ]

Shit. Right. [Hank leans forward, elbows on his knees, to rub his hands over his face.] Don't even talk to me about another one, I don't-

[He takes a breath, lets it out. He shakes his head.]

Yeah. God, yeah, I'm in. We can just stay here and work on that whiskey. The - what the fuck do we call ourselves? The circle of dumbasses? [Yeah, that's not great. Shockingly, Hank's not on his game today. Not that he's really been on his game for months, at least, but. fuck it. That gets the point across.] The rest of the dumbasses need us here. I'm sure Astoria'll understand.

Fuck, if we're gonna start talking about doing this shit again I'm gonna need more to drink than that. You think we could actually talk her into letting us stay behind, cause...

[Hank sighs, shakes his head again.]

[ he nods, taking another swig before handing the bottle back. it's not a pleasant taste, but it cleared out his throat at least. there's deep sympathy in his eyes and he turns them on sumo instead - not wanting hank to think it's pity. it isn't, but rather a deep understanding of how the other man feels. ]

Talking her into anything doesn't fly, in my experience. Occasionally, you can convince her something was her idea... [ but that's about it. ] But, um, if you... If you want, we could stick together on the next one?

[ he quests gently, hand back in the dog's fur as he catches hank's eyes with a more guarded expression. ]

[Hank looks up from his hands, surprised, but that guarded look's not that hard to read, and not that hard to read into. He's not the only one who needs... something, even if they can't change anything around them or even talk the one person who maybe can into doing anything about it.

A corner of Hank's lips quirks up, something warm sneaking up onto his face. The look in the guy's eyes, the tentative way he asks, it helps. It actually helps. Someone needs something that he can do, even if it's just being around.]

You make a habit of asking just any old asshole to face down weird, terrible shit with you? Or is it the dog you're really after? I might be convinced to loan out Sumo, you know, if you make a good case and you ask real nice.

[ he laughs at that, and this time it holds. hank's dog is great, but that isn't why he asked okay. ]

In that case... [ tony cradles either side of sumo's massive face and looks into his eyes. ] Do you want to be BFF?

[ then blithely to hank: ] He can make his own decisions, you know.

[ he's just being goofy for the sake of it now, and maybe because he's exhausted, too. he visibly sobers as worst case scenarios of the next world run through his head. ]

Here's hoping we don't get separated again.

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