nysalogs | Give him a lonely heart like Pagliacci [open]

Entry tags:

dc comics: sanderson hawkins

Give him a lonely heart like Pagliacci [open]

Who: Sandy Hawkins (

granularity) & you! )
What: a bit of research in Wyver, and a return to Olympia
When: early to mid december
Where: wilderness around Wyver, the road to Olympia, Olympia
Warning(s): none so far
Notes: hit up

yarnzipan if you'd like a specific starter set up or just tag in

[ jungle around wyver| plant harvesting | open ]
[ He's done a bit of exploring around both Olympia and Wyver for interesting chemicals and plants that he might be able to use, and today he's on the search for some blissroot. After all, while he'd gotten a couple of canisters of his sleep gas loaded into his mask and his gloves, that wasn't going to last him forever. It was a good excuse to start working on a new formula. Blissroot sounded like a good start to-

What was that? ]

[ the road to olympia | open ]
[ The fact of the matter is that he could be in Olympia in a few minutes time if he wanted to. He could. Traveling through the earth was a lot faster than traveling on it. But the fact of the matter is that he's not the only one traveling. And with more than a few people making the trek, he feels the need to make it with them, look out for them, just in case. He's not sure what he's expecting, what kind of trouble: maybe reading all those books and watching all those movies and playing all those board games have just convinced him that if there's a road and travelers on it like this, bandits or beasts or something are sure to pop up. But that's silly right?

Right?

Yeah, he'll keep his gloves on just in case. ]

[ neatening up | olympia | open ]
[ When he sees the state of things in the refugee housing areas, some of his intentions go out the window. This needs working on, after all, and he's not the sort of person who sees a job without doing something about it. Of course, he wants to do it as efficiently as possible, which is why he summons up a decent mound of sand and starts using it to sweep up the debris and the garbage and the nonsense and get it into piles.

...he has to admit, he probably looks a little weird, orchestrating a small, localized sandstorm to pick up junk, but if it works? Eh.

He goes through afterwards with a set of tools and some salvaged lumber to start working on fixing doors and windows (which is where some of the sand ends up going, even if he has a bit of trial and error when it comes to fitting the panes in). If you're coming back to check on your apartment, hopefully you're smart enough to realize that the guy fixing the door is probably not the one who decided to vandalize your home. ]

[ night patrol | olympia | open ]
[ He's less of a person and more of a shadow, slipping between the buildings and the alleys, making his rounds around the worst parts of the city as he takes in the damage. It still feels weird, not having a purpose, a place he's going, a person burned into his mind by benefit of the horrific nightmares that usually haunted him, but in a way, it feels comfortable. Normal. The sort of thing he'd end up getting asked to do on a Saturday night by whoever was feeling protective of New York City that week. He's wearing his mask, so it's unlikely anyone will recognize him. Or, honestly, want to tangle with him. But they'd have to see him first. And in this case, the walls literally have eyes, so hopefully, you're behaving. ]

[ helping out | olympia | close to Linneaus]
[ As he'd promised, he makes his way to the right house with a box of tools in one hand and a couple of pieces of lumber in the other. He's hoping he won't have to do any woodworking, since he's really not the best at it, but he's confident that he'll be able to at least leave him with a functional window.

Knock knock? ]

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A misunderstanding; I apologise.

[but the smile over the rim of his cup will tell Sand that he hasn't taken it too much to heart - his instinct was right; that is reassuring]

I will remember.

[these things are always good to know, and he considers himself to have a decent enough mind for these details.]

I had a master who was very adamant that 'real men drink coffee', but I tend not to find that the case...

And you're absolutely right. 'Real men' drink whatever the heck they want.

[ And for the moment, he wants to drink tea. But he did catch the other part, and it makes him smile a little. Maybe he wasn't as bad at this whole 'make friends' thing as he thought. ]

'Remember'? Well, I'm glad to know you won't be sighing with relief when I head out.

He was very concerned with appearances. Too much so, I think...

[but he doesn't want to sit here and talk about his old master. A shake of his head at the comment, a sip of his tea]

I have... had dealings with many individuals in my time. You are far, far from the worst of them.

I gave up on appearances during the years when I was a giant rock monster, pretty much.

[ He sips tea a little more. ]

I hope I can do a little better than 'far from the worst' of them. So let's get to know one another.

[he will let that "giant rock monster" comment slide unquestioned. Perhaps later]

Get to know each other...?

[a little smile over his cup]

What would you like to know?

[ He's just going to duck his head a little. ]

I'm... I mean, we don't have to if you don't want to.

I've just been trying not to, you know, get to know people. Considering.

[ He glances over again at the question, though. ]

Um, whatever you want to talk about.

I only mean that my life has been... remarkably uneventful.

[mostly.]

I was sold into service when I was five years old. I worked in the house for my master - both my masters - ever since.

[He's more than happy not-mentioning the prostitution - at best, it will raise questions he's less comfortable with answering. At worst, it could make people wish to no longer associate with him; and he does fear to put at risk these fledgling friendships with too much talk of his past.]

[ His eyes go a bit wide at the mention of 'sold' before he settles down, nods, and considers... well, he considers that Linneus has lived his life like that. And he's not about to go charging into his life and start bad mouthing people. Even if he has definite feelings about people being bought and sold.]

Are your... do you have anyone awake or?

My...? [gently-] Family?

[it's a bit better than any other word he can think of to fill that gap, but a little shake of his head]

There is no one else waking from my world, no. I haven't dared to check who still sleeps, either.

[what good will it do? His former guests, sleeping, could take up an entire row - he shies from the idea of it. The others in the Teahouse, servants, masters, other courtesans... it would do little for him to see them there. To be waiting for them to wake.]

And if I had any family there... I don't know that I would know them, even.

People you care about.

[ His family has been an adopted one since he was eight. Wes and Dian at first, then the rest of the Justice Society. ]

Or, uh... have you made any friends since you got here?

[ He scratches at the back of his neck. ]

I'm just... conversation. It sounded less prying in my head.

I always seem to end up making people hurt or offended on my behalf, here [and that's another reason not to go into the rest of it...] Before... there was no one in my life who wasn't temporary, save my master.

[glancing up with an apologetic smile]

It... is not the easiest topic, I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable. But, no. I've many acquaintances from home, but very few who run any deeper than that. I just try to remind myself that it is different here. That I can have more than that. It has been an adjustment, overall.

[ He shakes his head immediately, waving off the idea that, well- look, he gets having an uncomfortable background. In fact- ]

I'm not- you didn't. Don't worry about it. I know how it is, having stuff in your past that's just awkward to explain.

[ He lifts his cup. ]

Almost fifty years paralyzed in the dark.

It's not the same, but... awkward.

Awkward to explain, yes, I know that very well. But yours sounds worse by far - I can't imagine...

[how it happened, what it must have been like, though he trusts that he isn't being lied to - not when he thinks of Sand's earlier explanations. Not when he remembers how many people are sleeping in tubes high above the planet.

A brief touch to the man's hand - fleeting, he tries not to linger too much in case he seems uncomfortable with it]

And after those years? Or before them...?

[ The touch is clearly something he's not used to, but he doesn't startle so much as blink and... relax. Touch is potent for him. It's welcome and it makes his smile a little warmer in gratitude for the care. ]

Don't worry too much about it. I'm here, after all, right?

[ But yes, the tubes had actually been a little traumatic. Which was hard when everyone you cared about was in those tubes. ]

After those years, I grew up, got a degree, really found my calling as an adult. I've moved on.

It does make things a little difficult to explain sometimes, though. That's all.

I do tend to worry about things.

[but he will do his best to put it out of his head, wrapping his hands around his teacup again. At least it's getting warmer in here?]

Things like that do make explaining difficult, yes. Better avoided, in some cases.

[there was something he was caught on, though - something that he hopes is more easily explained]

Forgive me - a degree... of what, exactly?

[There are universities where Linneus comes from; but the systems are old-fashioned and lack standardisation - the word is unfamiliar in the sentence]

[ There's a couple of blinks before he catches on to what Linneus is asking about.]

Oh. Uh... degrees from school. A diploma? I've, uh, actually got a few. I bummed around college for a while for the 'experience'.

[ And finances hadn't been a concern. Wes could have bought any of the schools he'd gone to if he'd been of a mind to do so. ]

From school - university?

[okay, this is starting to fall into place for him, now]

I've never been, but where I came from they were more about expanding one's knowledge - from my understanding, I mean. One already had to have a-- [a hesitation and a little chuckle, repeating the word-] a degree of education before you could even be admitted.

A few, you said? Diplomas?

Yeah.

[ That's as much to the question of if he means university as verifying what he'd said. ]

After I got out of the cage, I just buried myself in stories and studying and learning about the world. The degrees just sort of happened.

[he chuckles at that, shaking his head]

I'm not sure how diplomas just happen. There has to be a lot of work put into them, no?

[lots of education. Though he is sure the man is just being modest]

Well...

[ There's the ducking head again. ]

I wanted to make sure it was worth it. If I was going to do all this research and reading and writing. I didn't want Wes, my mentor, to waste his money.

[ Especially since he'd always wondered if it was guilt more than anything that meant he got few questions on why he was spending so long in academia. ]

Indeed?

[he might have said "I see" to the same effect, but he's not sure he understands completely - nor either is he about to pretend like he does.]

So... you were doing the work anyway so you thought you might as well? To make it worth your while? I've never been to university so I don't know about these things...

There's a course of study you have to accomplish for any degree.

I was... [ he finishes up his cup of tea with a long sip ] well, I was pretty content to hole up in college for a long time, and I kind of love learning stuff. So I focused it in the directions that'd get me a degree or two. So... it'd be worth it.

[a little chuckle over his cup]

Perhaps I might learn a few things from you, then. Any more...?

[a little gesture between the empty cup and the pot - there's still a little left! - waiting for his answer before-]

Was there anything you enjoyed the most, out of all of it?

Edited (Oops!) 2018-01-20 17:10 (UTC)

Well, if there's any subjects you're interested in...

[ He puts his cup forward and, honestly, he's not kidding. He loves scholastic pursuits, even if he's made his life outside of them for the most part. And teaching people? Happily. ]

Even if I don't know it personally, I think I ought to have a degree in research at this point.

[ But he has to think if he has a favorite. It takes him a moment until finally, he shrugs. ]

Favorite? I don't know. I love to read. So possibly Literature. My aunt was a writer, actually, so she always had me reading.

Oh... all sorts, really.

[thoughtful as he fills the man's cup]

I would read, if I had the time to. Gardening, too, but it was a much quicker thing to just pick up a book. But then reading for pleasure is quite different to studying Literature, I suppose.

(no subject)

granularity - 2018-02-11 14:08 (UTC) - Expand

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inaurare - 2018-02-11 17:13 (UTC) - Expand

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