[ The band, if one could even call it that - a single old bearded man with a cello and another with a violin, with a woman wearing thick framed glasses reciting poetry from the piano rather than singing lyrics - was doing little to drown out the sounds of the heavy rain and booming thunder from outside, but at least it was something. Oswald could at least force himself to concentrate on it, though every time the thunder roared he flinched, nearly spilling his black coffee over his fingers exposed from torn gloves.
It was irrational, and Oswald told himself to just keep reminding himself of that fact. It was just weather, he was inside the club with a half decent cup of coffee and half decent live music to listen to, the booth he'd chosen was one off to the side and not immediately surrounded by other patrons. The server recommended their fresh apple pie, which he had to decline but at least she was polite about it.
Still, the storm outside was getting to be louder than the music, at least to his own ears. It was with a grimace and a hopefully inaudible groan under his breath that Oswald set his mug down, leaning forward to rest his head in his hands. Just breathe, he reminded himself. It would have to go away soon. ]
[Takeshi hadn't been in this part of town before. He'd taken a wrong turn on the way back to where he was staying and now he was stuck somewhere foreign to him in the pouring rain. As lightning flashed, he ducked into a doorway with a light on-- a cafe. At least he could stop here for a while until the worst of the rain passed. He had only a few dollars on him, enough for a cup of tea.
It seems there's music playing tonight. Takeshi wasn't one for music, so he couldn't judge if they were any good. They must be good enough to draw a crowd, because there was hardly anywhere to sit, except for one booth in the back with a lone man sitting there. Well, he wouldn't mind some company, Takeshi hoped as he approached with his tea.]
[ The storm doesn't seem to be slowing down or going away anytime soon, and Oswald wonders just how late the cafe is open until. Maybe it's one of those twenty-four hour places. Maybe they won't mind him staying until the worst of it is over. He couldn't be the only one, after all. Sure, some people are here for the coffee, the mediocre music, but any port in a storm right? And the more Oswald reassures himself of that much, the easier it is to breathe, at least.
Despite all that, he wasn't expecting someone in a similar situation to actually come up and ask to sit with him. Lost in his thoughts and irrational fears as he was, Oswald didn't notice the stranger until he spoke, and he jumped a bit in his seat in surprise. ]
Oh-- [ when did it get so crowded in here? Though- gosh, he probably looks like a fright. Running a hand through his hair, Oswald shrugs. ] Sure, I suppose, if you'd like. I'm sure I could find somewhere else. [ this man might have friends joining him, after all. ]
Not necessary. [Takeshi sits, cringing slightly at the wet mess he leaves behind. He sips his tea, listening to the music without craning his neck around to see the band.
Just then, a particularly bright flash of lightning strikes and the power goes out, a collective groan issuing from the other patrons.]
"It's easy," Luke had said, "just a jaunt across Wallsey, right at the edge, and then the other way through." Which really probably made no sense, but it was the best way to explain how they were going to get to Vanaheim for an adventure, because why not an adventure.
Luke suspected that had been the wrong turn when they stepped out into winter but nothing for it, they were committed at the moment.
"So," he says eventually, bringing up the topic delicately, "I appear to have lost us somewhere in Jotunheim by mistake."
David shivers, not expecting the sudden turn of the weather. He crosses his arms 'round himself to warm up. "Jotunheim?" he asks. "Isn't that where you come from?" What? He's done some reading since he met Luke.
"Sometimes," says Luke non-commitally. He, on the other hand, doesn't seem affected by the temperature in the least, and ends up flapping a hand at David to settle a sort of fire cape to float just behind him. "Anyway, that way won't work through twice. We'll need to find another one. That alright?"
[Loki knows, honestly, it was always going to be easier to just walk away from the Young Avengers. There's a lot of things he's done he'd rather not have to work through around the people who have seen his worst moment of weakness, mostly because they'd make it too easy.
He can't seem to let them go completely, though. He checks up on them, sometimes, looks at their social media sites, that sort of thing. And no matter how often he thinks about doing it, their phone numbers never get erased from his phone. He tells himself it's so he can ignore them on the off-chance they do call.
He really didn't mean to call America, but his phone seems to have its own ideas. And he can't quite bring himself to hang up now its dialling.]
[America has to land mid-flight on some random rooftop when her phone starts ringing in her pocket. And she knows exactly who it is right away, because the ringtone is the most annoying thing she's ever heard. Only one person could have set it that way...]
Dressed in her school uniform on the subway waiting for her train, headphones in and blasting music in Mandarin, River Tam people watches.
Well. People listens might be a better descriptor for what she does. She listens to what they say, what they don't. The languages their minds race in and the images they associate with the things around them. Most people are tired. Most people live in their own bubble of a word where the edges occasionally blur and mix with the strangers around them, but they don't really notice anyone. Details are skimmed over, appearances weighed and dismissed. Even the other people who are people watching forget what â…” of the people they're observing even look like once they've left their field of vision.
It's interesting. What's more interesting are the people who do notice, those with eidetic memories or people who are 'gifted' in the way River herself is. The people who really watch. The people who really listen.
She notices the man because he notices her, and in a brief moment she understands that there are other minds like hers, gifted or not. His thoughts are like layers of a puzzle suspended in the air, creating a complete picture but only from the top down - each layer, on it's own, is wrought with holes and spaces where things should be.
He's past the turnstile and halfway up the stairs to street level when she turns to follow him.
Of course he notices; he wouldn't be half as interesting if he didn't. He notices and he leads her on a walking chase, halfway through the edges of Chinatown until she ends up in what is essentially an empty alleyway, staring at graffiti covered bricks and not much else.
River squints and blocks the sun with her eyes when she looks up to where she knows the man is, but can't see him. He's watching her, and his attention is like a spotlight behind her eyes, impossible to ignore. "That's cheating, you know. I could get up there."
He notices everything, catalogues everyone. It's his job to notice. Or, it was. He isn't sure what his job is now. He has no missions, no assignments. So he wanders the city, aimless but no less observant. So of course he notices when the girl starts to follow him. No matter how he tries, he can't shake her. So he leads her to a dead end, somewhere they can have their confrontation without the annoyance of civilian casualties getting in the way. If it should come to that. He hits the rooftop, letting the sun obscure his position so he can observe her freely. But still she knows where he is. How?
"Then do it," he calls down. "Meet me on even ground." Except he has a feeling that there's something about this girl that rules out the concept of an even playing field.
This is the moment where anyone with a working sense of fight or flight would run, or at the very least back off. Most people's reaction to being followed by a skinny teenager with a frighteningly accurate estimation of where they've gone isn't to lead her to somewhere empty and dare her to chase them. Most teenaged girls would recognize the inherent danger of the situation, would turn around and run for familiar places and familiar faces that don't carry with them the threat of the unknown.
River is not most teenaged girls.
She adjusts her backpack so it won't swing oddly as she climbs and takes a running leap for a dumpster, using that same momentum to propel her partially up a wall and then onto a fire escape, all without making much sound. Without her shoes it'd be silent, but she doesn't really want to stand on anything around here with bare feet. Glancing up at him again she climbs the fire escape on the opposite side until it runs out, leaping across and climbing up to his rooftop with the hope that he won't just...leave.
That would be disappointing.
River reaches his side in another moment, no more out of breath than she would've been standing in the subway. Below them a kitchen worker wanders into the alley and lights a cigarette, never thinking to glance up. River gives the man a slight shrug. "Hi. I'm not armed. Not that it would matter for either of us, I think. We still have our arms.
Can I tell you a secret? It took me two years to speak in first-person singular in any language. I didn't really care about it, I only did it for my brother, and I still don't think in I, I think in she, we, us."
So you know. Enjoy that tidbit of information, sir, from a grinning girl with her hands behind her back and hair past her shoulders.
Edited (christ ok I'll stop editing) 2014-04-09 17:30 (UTC)
David is considered an odd child in his village. Not particularly interested in war or battle, he instead enjoys the games and sports. He is a physical young man, yes, but violence doesn't seem to suit him. Many think that what made the boy so odd is the death of his parents when he was young, and they praise his relations for taking him in as they did. David, however, can't stand his relations, feeling stifled in their household.
One day, out in the fields by the wall around the village, David is complaining about his relations to no one in particular, and decides to curse them for their cruelty. He doesn't know any proper curses, though, so he makes some up.
Much to his surprise, his curse sets in motion the crumbling and tumbling of the village wall! David only has the time to think, 'Oh, I'll be in trouble now!' before the ground shakes beneath him and he's knocked off his feet.
[So maybe cooking wasn't her jam after all. Or maybe she needed more experience than throwing potatoes into a pot. The bottom line was, the meal turned out worse than that chicken dinner Mom made once and the kitchen was a disaster area.]
[ He'd expected this sort of thing to happen, but he'd expected it at Auggie's hands, not at Riley's. Turns out, the clumsiness with which she carried herself applied not only to her body but also to her cooking skills. ]
It's... okay, honey. We'll just. [ He takes a deep breath and surveys the damage. ] How about I start cleaning up while you order Chinese. If we work together, we can get this place fixed up before your mom gets home.
Which place? [They've got about half a dozen menus, after all. Good thing they all know what they like, at least.] Thanks. I really thought this would work, I used Grandma's recipe...except maybe I messed up some measurements, the writing's a little faded.
Leonard came home after casing a place for his next heist and had planned to just put his feet up with a days work done. He'll even enter the home he and his sister have been sharing while working together to just toss his jacket on a hook and kick off his boots. He's tugging his gloves off when he feels someone watching him, he assumes, at first that it's his sister.
"Lisa, did you figure out how to calibrate your gun?" A pause and a narrowing of his eyes before it almost seems as if he can sense it's not his sis and he'll whip around to point his cold gun at the intruder.
"Cisco?" He quirks a brow and laughs softly, "You've got some balls showing up here."
And considering he doesn't really see him as a threat he'll lower his weapon. How did the kid get in anyhow? Did this have to do with Lisa?
"Aw, did you miss me already? That's cute. We're not taking any new members for the Rogues, sorry kid. Run along home to Daddy Wells."
Why is he here? How did he think this was a good idea? He has half a mind to turn around and leave when Snart actually finally shows up. When the cold gun is aimed at him, he instantly raises his hands in an "I'm innocent, I swear" gesture, though his face remains a mix of "I really hate being here talking to you," and "I'm really, really nervous."
"Cut the crud, okay? I'm not here for any recruitment drive. I'm perfectly happy on Team Flash."
And he is. Really. The whole Vibing thing is weird, but he's getting used to it. Taking a deep breath, he continues.
[ It was the first time Lana had been back to the city since she joined up with this ...team... thing. It was weird, being so close to her old stomping grounds without being able to see any of her friends or go to any of the places she used to hang out. But a mission was a mission, and missions don't leave much room for social calls.
It was also the first time Lana had seen Ward in the field. She knew he could fight, but something about him shifted when they were in the thick of it, surrounded on all sides by drug runners with guns, bunch of kids held hostage to keep Lana from just blowing them to bits. She'd felt so helpless, but then she saw Ward, with this look in his eyes like he wasn't even human, just take the head honcho out with a single gunshot. Fucking... Just like that.
When it was all over, they call the cops to pick up the kids and retreat to a safe house across the river. Lana's shaken, hurt, beating herself up for being useless on the mission. She's wrapping up her bruised knuckles, just waiting for Ward to berate her for freezing under pressure. ]
[When you've been a host for an intergalactic alien bent on dominating the world nothing phases you. It took a lot of really intense work from a psychic to put Grant Ward back together again - or at least something resembling Grant Ward. Nights like tonight - this is close to what he was.
He doesn't like nights like tonight.
It's his responsibility to lead this team and lead these people and he wants to do it right because -
Because there is enough of other men, better men in him, to think that this is wrong.
The other soldiers are looking at him, grim and nervous as hell, but he's focused instead on Lana as he moves to sit beside her.
It has been a long, long time since Ryan's had one of these nights.
He'd been egotistically thinking that maybe they were over for good, that he'd beaten t some how. Ten rotations of sobriety, that's all you need and you'll never have to think of it again!
But of course it could never be like that, Ryan KNOWS that, logically. You're never not an addict, once you've been one. You're just an addict who's continued to resist the urge.
He's not even sure what brought this one on, well hell if he knew what brings any of them on he would have done something about it ages ago. But it's his day off, the first one in over a week, when he starts to feel that itch.
He has options, he knows he does. Call his mom, call Sara from the SSA. But he knows how this goes and it isn't always pretty and... dammit.
He finds himself at Dr Urvidian's door almost without remembering walking there. He nearly knows about five times, tries to leave, stops himself. Rinse, repeat.
He can do this. He NEEDS to do this. He talked the guy down from the literal edge, he owes him one.
"So lemme see if I've got this straight...." Claudia says, staring at the guy that had suddenly appeared in the middle of her work station at the Warehouse, which he really should not at all be able to do because the Warehouse doesn't like outsiders and has so many protections that it should have just bounced him right back where he came from-- or at least on his ass outside the building. "The Multiverse Theory is real and you're from another Earth...and basically you overshot your aim and this is not the Earth you're looking for, but you can't get back home be-cause...?" That was the part she was lost on. She's pretty sure, if she was following him right before, it had something to do with those sweet goggles of his needing recalibrated somehow. For what, she's not sure. She's still trying to wrap her head around him standing here, okay?
Now, Claudia has dealt with a plethora of weird, strange, and inexplicable things in her years working under Mrs. F. and Artie at the Warehouse, but this? This is stretching it. She's not sure if she would believe him at all if she hadn't literally watched some bizarro portal open up and drop him practically in her lap. "Gotta say, man, you know how to make an entrance." She says, leaning back in her chair, spinning toward him, head tilted. "Any clue why it tossed you out in this exact spot, because you are definitely not supposed to be here and my boss is gonna be an angry bear when he gets back."
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It was irrational, and Oswald told himself to just keep reminding himself of that fact. It was just weather, he was inside the club with a half decent cup of coffee and half decent live music to listen to, the booth he'd chosen was one off to the side and not immediately surrounded by other patrons. The server recommended their fresh apple pie, which he had to decline but at least she was polite about it.
Still, the storm outside was getting to be louder than the music, at least to his own ears. It was with a grimace and a hopefully inaudible groan under his breath that Oswald set his mug down, leaning forward to rest his head in his hands. Just breathe, he reminded himself. It would have to go away soon. ]
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It seems there's music playing tonight. Takeshi wasn't one for music, so he couldn't judge if they were any good. They must be good enough to draw a crowd, because there was hardly anywhere to sit, except for one booth in the back with a lone man sitting there. Well, he wouldn't mind some company, Takeshi hoped as he approached with his tea.]
May I sit here? There's nowhere else.
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Despite all that, he wasn't expecting someone in a similar situation to actually come up and ask to sit with him. Lost in his thoughts and irrational fears as he was, Oswald didn't notice the stranger until he spoke, and he jumped a bit in his seat in surprise. ]
Oh-- [ when did it get so crowded in here? Though- gosh, he probably looks like a fright. Running a hand through his hair, Oswald shrugs. ] Sure, I suppose, if you'd like. I'm sure I could find somewhere else. [ this man might have friends joining him, after all. ]
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Just then, a particularly bright flash of lightning strikes and the power goes out, a collective groan issuing from the other patrons.]
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Luke suspected that had been the wrong turn when they stepped out into winter but nothing for it, they were committed at the moment.
"So," he says eventually, bringing up the topic delicately, "I appear to have lost us somewhere in Jotunheim by mistake."
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He can't seem to let them go completely, though. He checks up on them, sometimes, looks at their social media sites, that sort of thing. And no matter how often he thinks about doing it, their phone numbers never get erased from his phone. He tells himself it's so he can ignore them on the off-chance they do call.
He really didn't mean to call America, but his phone seems to have its own ideas. And he can't quite bring himself to hang up now its dialling.]
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Loki.
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[He really should have hung up.]
I seem to have called the wrong person. I do apologise.
[He still can't do it, though. So he's just going to wait for the inevitable beep of the other end hanging up first.]
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PLEASE forgive me for the time this has taken
nothing to forgive :)
<3
<3
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for bucky;
Well. People listens might be a better descriptor for what she does. She listens to what they say, what they don't. The languages their minds race in and the images they associate with the things around them. Most people are tired. Most people live in their own bubble of a word where the edges occasionally blur and mix with the strangers around them, but they don't really notice anyone. Details are skimmed over, appearances weighed and dismissed. Even the other people who are people watching forget what â…” of the people they're observing even look like once they've left their field of vision.
It's interesting. What's more interesting are the people who do notice, those with eidetic memories or people who are 'gifted' in the way River herself is. The people who really watch. The people who really listen.
She notices the man because he notices her, and in a brief moment she understands that there are other minds like hers, gifted or not. His thoughts are like layers of a puzzle suspended in the air, creating a complete picture but only from the top down - each layer, on it's own, is wrought with holes and spaces where things should be.
He's past the turnstile and halfway up the stairs to street level when she turns to follow him.
Of course he notices; he wouldn't be half as interesting if he didn't. He notices and he leads her on a walking chase, halfway through the edges of Chinatown until she ends up in what is essentially an empty alleyway, staring at graffiti covered bricks and not much else.
River squints and blocks the sun with her eyes when she looks up to where she knows the man is, but can't see him. He's watching her, and his attention is like a spotlight behind her eyes, impossible to ignore. "That's cheating, you know. I could get up there."
placeholder before bed <3
"Then do it," he calls down. "Meet me on even ground." Except he has a feeling that there's something about this girl that rules out the concept of an even playing field.
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River is not most teenaged girls.
She adjusts her backpack so it won't swing oddly as she climbs and takes a running leap for a dumpster, using that same momentum to propel her partially up a wall and then onto a fire escape, all without making much sound. Without her shoes it'd be silent, but she doesn't really want to stand on anything around here with bare feet. Glancing up at him again she climbs the fire escape on the opposite side until it runs out, leaping across and climbing up to his rooftop with the hope that he won't just...leave.
That would be disappointing.
River reaches his side in another moment, no more out of breath than she would've been standing in the subway. Below them a kitchen worker wanders into the alley and lights a cigarette, never thinking to glance up. River gives the man a slight shrug. "Hi. I'm not armed. Not that it would matter for either of us, I think. We still have our arms.
Can I tell you a secret? It took me two years to speak in first-person singular in any language. I didn't really care about it, I only did it for my brother, and I still don't think in I, I think in she, we, us."
So you know. Enjoy that tidbit of information, sir, from a grinning girl with her hands behind her back and hair past her shoulders.
CA:TWS SPOILERS (if that wasn't already obvious)
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short tag, sorry
But a glorious one
/blush
/keeses on cheek!!
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short tag, sry
Shhhhh I love you never apologize
<3
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Viking AU, for Luke
One day, out in the fields by the wall around the village, David is complaining about his relations to no one in particular, and decides to curse them for their cruelty. He doesn't know any proper curses, though, so he makes some up.
Much to his surprise, his curse sets in motion the crumbling and tumbling of the village wall! David only has the time to think, 'Oh, I'll be in trouble now!' before the ground shakes beneath him and he's knocked off his feet.
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Sorry, Dad. I thought I had it under control.
omg I never got this notif I'm so sorry!
It's... okay, honey. We'll just. [ He takes a deep breath and surveys the damage. ] How about I start cleaning up while you order Chinese. If we work together, we can get this place fixed up before your mom gets home.
it's okay! :D
for Snart
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"Lisa, did you figure out how to calibrate your gun?" A pause and a narrowing of his eyes before it almost seems as if he can sense it's not his sis and he'll whip around to point his cold gun at the intruder.
"Cisco?" He quirks a brow and laughs softly, "You've got some balls showing up here."
And considering he doesn't really see him as a threat he'll lower his weapon. How did the kid get in anyhow? Did this have to do with Lisa?
"Aw, did you miss me already? That's cute. We're not taking any new members for the Rogues, sorry kid. Run along home to Daddy Wells."
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"Cut the crud, okay? I'm not here for any recruitment drive. I'm perfectly happy on Team Flash."
And he is. Really. The whole Vibing thing is weird, but he's getting used to it. Taking a deep breath, he continues.
"I'm here... to talk about Lisa."
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[ It was the first time Lana had been back to the city since she joined up with this ...team... thing. It was weird, being so close to her old stomping grounds without being able to see any of her friends or go to any of the places she used to hang out. But a mission was a mission, and missions don't leave much room for social calls.
It was also the first time Lana had seen Ward in the field. She knew he could fight, but something about him shifted when they were in the thick of it, surrounded on all sides by drug runners with guns, bunch of kids held hostage to keep Lana from just blowing them to bits. She'd felt so helpless, but then she saw Ward, with this look in his eyes like he wasn't even human, just take the head honcho out with a single gunshot. Fucking... Just like that.
When it was all over, they call the cops to pick up the kids and retreat to a safe house across the river. Lana's shaken, hurt, beating herself up for being useless on the mission. She's wrapping up her bruised knuckles, just waiting for Ward to berate her for freezing under pressure. ]
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He doesn't like nights like tonight.
It's his responsibility to lead this team and lead these people and he wants to do it right because -
Because there is enough of other men, better men in him, to think that this is wrong.
The other soldiers are looking at him, grim and nervous as hell, but he's focused instead on Lana as he moves to sit beside her.
No words for now. Just let her speak.]
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Look, I get it. I fucked up tonight. Can we save the stern lectures for someone who gives a damn?
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Paging dr Urvidian pls
He'd been egotistically thinking that maybe they were over for good, that he'd beaten t some how. Ten rotations of sobriety, that's all you need and you'll never have to think of it again!
But of course it could never be like that, Ryan KNOWS that, logically. You're never not an addict, once you've been one. You're just an addict who's continued to resist the urge.
He's not even sure what brought this one on, well hell if he knew what brings any of them on he would have done something about it ages ago. But it's his day off, the first one in over a week, when he starts to feel that itch.
He has options, he knows he does. Call his mom, call Sara from the SSA. But he knows how this goes and it isn't always pretty and... dammit.
He finds himself at Dr Urvidian's door almost without remembering walking there. He nearly knows about five times, tries to leave, stops himself. Rinse, repeat.
He can do this. He NEEDS to do this. He talked the guy down from the literal edge, he owes him one.
He knocks.
For Cisco!
Now, Claudia has dealt with a plethora of weird, strange, and inexplicable things in her years working under Mrs. F. and Artie at the Warehouse, but this? This is stretching it. She's not sure if she would believe him at all if she hadn't literally watched some bizarro portal open up and drop him practically in her lap. "Gotta say, man, you know how to make an entrance." She says, leaning back in her chair, spinning toward him, head tilted. "Any clue why it tossed you out in this exact spot, because you are definitely not supposed to be here and my boss is gonna be an angry bear when he gets back."