Normal is a lie we tell ourselves

[assholic]

Who: Jessica Jones (assholic) & OPEN
What: May catch-all
When: Early May to the end of May
Where: Wyver (home/city/arenas), the Space Station, the Wilds, possibly Khalo Village
Warning(s): As always, language. Will edit if needed. Edit: NSFW sex in thread w/Clark

She'd gone to the Coalition and surprise, surprise, no one had died. Well, not that she was aware of. Things seemed to be settling down into something less hostile. There were talks of diplomacy, and she'd heard of refugees starting some diplomatic guild or something, which she also trusted about as far as she could throw any of them in it. The Outpost was being turned into some sort of Swiss neutral zone, but it wasn't what she'd been hoping for.

Still, it was probably better than nothing. She'd limited her visits to Olympia, which had left her with time and the need to line her pockets with something other than those deliveries. She'd seen requests for finding things out in the wild, and while Jessica was definitely a city girl, she could at some points during May be found out in the wilds, looking for things to shove in a bag. She was also blowing off steam by continuing to fight in the arenas, though she'd been politely requested to step up a level, since the coordinators were aware that she was pulling her punches and taking easier fights instead of putting in any actual effort. Damn.

So, for May, Jessica can be found:

• Wyver
  • Home - Chilling with Clark and possibly inviting people she knows over so someone will eat the food she's only nibbling on
  • City - She still goes to the pubs, still visits the marketplace, still goes to see what's available for her to do for time and money
  • Arena - Probably the easiest place for people to find her, as she's there more often than not, having 'things at home' she doesn't want to work through
• Station
  • Pod Room - Checking up on those few she gives a shit about and the one she doesn't
  • Market - Spending some of what she's earned getting new jeans and a few bottles of stuff she can't get down on the planet
• Wilds
  • Out and about trying to harvest flora, fauna, or whatever she comes across that she hasn't seen in the markets. This prompt is open for multiple instances and available for team hand-ins
• Wildcard
  • Khalo Village - Someone could talk her into visiting there
  • Flona Cove - If anyone needs to just take a day and chill, it's her
  • Random - Something else in mind?

[Feel free to PM or PP me if you're not sure about something and would like to iron out the details, or if you'd like me to write up a specific starter.]

Comments

wilds for now

[beatupgrass]

[Rocket doesn't waste any time interrupting Jessica's current venture with his latest scheme. At least this one promises to be a little less taxing than the last time he conscripted her into something.]

Yo, Jess. How d'you feel about lighting shit on fire?

[assholic]

[He says that now, but she has every faith that he'll somehow do something to ruin that potential calm.]

Depends. Is it actual shit, or are you just being your wonderfully eloquent self?

[beatupgrass]

My naturally eloquent self. [He rolls the words over in the manner of someone who is proving he can speak just as plainly as anyone else, but chooses not to. He's special.] Mythi's Fang's disbanding for some reason. Guess they're buttmad about whatever happened at the council meeting. They want people to go up and torch their hidey-holes.

[assholic]

You're speaking words like I know what any of that is.

[Someone wasn't up on the current cool kid's clubs, Rocket. She'd been fighting in the arena and drinking herself stupid. Ain't no one got time to keep track of the crazy shit on this planet.]

[beatupgrass]

[Rocket is appalled.]

You're serious? Why am I always the best informed person anywhere? Unbelievable.

[He runs a hand down his face.] Fine. Whatever. Do you wanna burn down some buildings in the mountains or not?

[assholic]

Probably because you're small and furry and can get in places most people can't and they just mistake you for a large rat.

[Hey, just being honest, bro.

The offer, however, has her cocking a hip to rest her hand on.]

Are you for real? You're a furry little anarchist, aren't you?

[beatupgrass]

[Rocket's response is a low growl of dissatisfaction, but on some level she's right, and he can't argue with it.]

I got a few counts of arson on my rap sheet back home before it was pardoned. Blowin' things up has a tendency to prove a point... Or make escapes way easier.

[he pauses and scratches his neck, awkwardly.] Annnd I may have a few new bombs I'd like to try out in a controlled environment.

[assholic]

I find myself completely shocked and appalled at-- no, wait. The opposite. I'm the opposite of that. What if your bomb goes bad, huh? You willing to risk having a city trying to rip your mangy head off because you blew up Mt. Dragonbutt?

[beatupgrass]

Oh come on, Jess. I don't have nearly enough to blow up an entire mountain. That's just stupid. I barely have enough to blow up a building.

[The biggest eyeroll ever.]

[assholic]

I don't know what you have. There's magic shit here. Maybe you added eye of newt and fart of dragon or some shit.

[She rolled her eyes right back at him.]

And just what else are you getting other than the sheer joy of blowing shit up?

[beatupgrass]

Yeah, you can trust that so long as I am here and sane, I will not be using magic shit.

[Ignoring that random-ass broach that lets him turn human for a little bit. That's a trump card.]

I'm doing a favor for a nice man who might do me a solid someday.... and there could be stuff he left behind up there worth some silver.

[assholic]

So what earns me the dubious pleasure of being your partner in not-crime?

[They had a weird relationship, the two of them. Like angry wet-cat siblings. Still, she didn't hate him. She didn't even not like him. There was an odd respect there, but she also was suspicious of all of his motivations.]

[beatupgrass]

You were the first person I saw that I knew and wouldn't give me crap about it.

[He shrugs. It's half true. She was the first person he saw that he knows, anyway, and he figured she's the type who might have fun with it.] Besides the usual amount of crap, but I can deal with that. I'm just not in the mood to hear "Rocket, stop setting shit on fire" today.

[assholic]

As opposed to any other day when you're totally willing to listen to anyone trying to tell you what not to do.

[She brushed her hair out of her face. She was hot and tired. She'd been out here for a couple hours already trying to find something to bring back to the vendors that wanted new things. She'd found diddly.]

[beatupgrass]

Sometimes I just want validation and appreciation for my shenanigans, Jess.

[Like Jessica has ever validated him about anything. But at least the trek up there won't be boring- bitching at each other is definitely not boring.] 'Sides what else are you gonna do with your day?

[assholic]

Do I look like I've got pom-poms to cheer you on with?

[Instead of a bunch of streamers and fluff, she held up a middle finger, smiling at him.]

I did have plans...

[Stupid, fruitless plans that she realized she wasn't entirely equipped for.]

But maybe watching you burn off all your face fur will make it worth my while.

[beatupgrass]

That's about what I expected, honestly, and kinda what I'd rather have. [He snickers and crosses his arms over his chest.] The whole thing in the mountains with those renegade shamans was crap. If I've got you to bitch at the whole way up there, I won't do anything I'll regret.

It works out for both of us.

[They have a special relationship.]

[assholic]

[She doubted that if asked by anyone that either of them would admit to any kind of affection between them. If anything, there'd be insults galore (and that was, in fact, happening elsewhere). But that didn't mean she wasn't glad to see that he was still scurrying around, some familiar piece of not-Nysa'ness that she knew would likely have her back against any planetary shit that happened here. Or so she hoped.

There were a good handful of refugees that were still pretty salty and bitter over what had happened, royal party and asskissing notwithstanding. That didn't make up for what she'd been through, or what the others had. And while she kept hearing talk of 'peace' and trying to get over it, it was nice to know there was someone in her corner that thought it was a bunch of shit and was just as likely to forgive the shamans as she was. And with that in mind, she realized she wasn't entirely sure she wanted Rocket going up there alone... just in case.]

Fine. But there better be something in it for me, furball. I'm not doing it for the benefit of your charming company.

[beatupgrass]

[Rocket's tail swishes back and forth and it's been doing that for the duration of this conversation, lashing like an angry cat even if he's being purely conversational. There's a lot under the surface- his burning anger about being kidnapped, his disdain for the ass-kissing, the degrees of hypocrisy in everything, and the current radio silence from the Natha... Honestly, he needs something to do, even if it turns out to be a pile of broken furniture and nothing worth taking.

Besides... He really doesn't want to go alone and he doesn't want to go with anyone who might be sympathetic and kind about the lingering trauma he has about the mountain chill. Jessica gets it. And Jessica is far from openly sympathetic.]

There's no money in it, but drinks afterwards are on me, if you really need the compensation, I guess.

[assholic]

[Even if she was feeling sympathetic at some point, and there may be a point that it reached that, depending on either of their reactions to things, she wouldn't be offering to pick him up and snuggle him, or call him a poor baby. Jess's brand of sympathy came more in the form of calling him an asshole just to make sure he responded to show he was alive. Worked for her.]

Yeah, I'm going to need the compensation. Not for doing something, but for having to put up with your company for more than five minutes. That's going to require a few drinks. Minimum.

[beatupgrass]

You do realize you then have to put up with my company for the drinks or do you expect me to just toss money at the barkeep and sit on the opposite end of the bar?

[Rocket's started walking now, preparing to be doing this banter back and forth the whole way up the mountain.]

[assholic]

The more drinks you give me, the less fucks I'll give about just how long you're staying around.

[They hadn't actually sat and had a drink before. There'd been fixing up and patching and petty bickering over a beer while she did it, but that wasn't the same as sitting at a bar or table and having to actually be each other's company while drinking. Wyver might not be able to handle it.

She fell in step with him, reaching in and pulling out the bottle of water as opposed to the bottle of whiskey she had there as well.]

So what's your plan? Scavenge first and then destroy? Or just destroy?

[beatupgrass]

Scavenge first. They might have left some stuff that they don't need, but I definitely do. I get more use outta spare parts than most people.

[He holds up a hand as he picks his way through some abandoned limbs in the path.] Not garbage. Scraps. Stuff I can make things out of.

[assholic]

Uh huh. You realize that you're falling into a stereotype, right? They call raccoons 'trash pandas' for a reason. Because they rummage in trash. You're like a furry little hoarder.

[She has somehow managed to find a pace that suits walking with a raccoon, something that only takes a half minute for her body to remember before she falls into. That says something, doesn't it? That she has a 'Rocket' stride?]

[beatupgrass]

[Well, that answers a question he never thought to ask. He still gives her a dirty look, which is not much different from most of the looks he gives people.]

It ain't hoarding if you're actually using it. I could weaponize this entire planet if I wanted things to go ass up, but, unfortunately, I live here, and idiots with guns is a bad plan all around. So I build 'em for myself and people I can trust not to be morons about it.