APRIL INTRO MINGLE

[asgardmods]

Who: Newbies and anyone who wishes to greet them!
What: Getting used to the city
When: Days 429 and forward.
Where: Anywhere in town!
Rating: PG-13 tops! If it gets worse, move to a private log please.

[Please include your location and the IC day (ex. Day 429 - this can be found in the schedule) in your top-level comment or your subject line when starting a thread! It can be any welcome hall, major attraction, or just out an about in any district. For newbies making a top-level thread, you may include your character's name/canon/house in your subject line if you'd like, to make housemates easy to find! :) If a God is needed or wanted, please ping the mods and depending on availability we might be able to throw them in where asked.

Also, keep an eye on the event schedule for April! If you're ICly introing during an event, make sure you take that into account. Thank you!

Have fun!]

Comments

at the bar, fight me

[sufferably]

( he has a back table, because he always has a back table when he's not up at the bar trading stories with natasha. it hasn't been an egregiously awful day, and yet there are some moments when being here sits too heavily on bones' shoulders and he can't quite manage to go about his business with his usual brusque efficiency. on days like that, and today in particular, he ends up nursing a bottle of whiskey and glaring away anyone who'd think to approach him. it's a good strategy, all things considered.

and then he spots jim, making gestures at the bartender.

for a moment, bones glares down into his glass, as if it's to blame for this sudden apparition. but he hasn't drunken that much. and if he's going to start hallucinating his captain he'd think it'd be after something much more psychologically traumatic.

so he gets up, walks to the bar without any level of swaying, and jabs one finger in jim's direction. )

What the hell.

( hi, jim. he missed you. )

[bartalk]

Bones? [ squint. is that actually Bones and not the weird cop copy of him? it is. ] Bones!

[ usually he'd be offended by various finger pointing, but in this case, it was a welcome sight. his face splits into a massive grin as he examines Bones, still as grumpy looking as ever, before pulling the other man closer to give him a hearty slap on the back. ]

Actually? Drinks are on him.

[ by now most normal bros would have sat back down and changed topics, but jim instead continues to stare, grinning like an idiot. it wasn't as if his day had been terrible (he hadn't been shot at yet), but running into a friendly face was always a plus in his book.

even if it was Bones and the face was actually more curmudgeonly than friendly. ]

[sufferably]

( it's natural and familiar, to fold his arms over his chest and rolls his eyes. but it's equally routine to turn to the barkeep to give him a curt nod, verifying that, yes, he'll pay for this kid's drinks. and everyone else's apparently.

but despite that normal series of events, bones is still staring at jim with wide eyes, like he can't really process the fact that he's here.

so of course, his reaction is a bit of vitriol. )

What the hell are you doing? When did you get here?

[bartalk]

I missed you too, Bones.

[ when most of your closest friends have trouble expressing emotions, you learn never to expect a best-friend hug. he lets out a long suffering sigh, mostly dramatic, before going down the laundry list of questions. ]

Drinking, this morning, and actually— what were you doing?

[ his tone is flat, as if he were rattling off starfleet regulation, but it changes suddenly as he wrinkles his nose in confusion ]

Were you... drinking alone?

[sufferably]

I was drinking. ( he grumbles, not copping to the second part. he doesn't always drink alone, but it's definitely a more than regular occurrence. he huffs a breath, sighs and runs a hand through his hair. )

I've been here two months. And a half, but who's counting.

How's the ship?

[bartalk]

[ there's the urge to chime in and add 'alone' at the end of Bones' confession but instead, he falls back onto his bar stool, trying to puzzle out how exactly Bones had been missing for so long without anyone missing ]

Missing her Captain and Chief Medical Officer, but still as fine as ever.

[ and on her five year expedition :') he could wax on all day about his wondrous ship, but there's something odd about the timeline. Only this morning Bones was busy nagging the entire crew about getting their proper vaccinations ]

Two months? You yelled at me this morning about getting enough sleep.

[sufferably]

Oh yeah, did I mention time is screwed to hell and back, here? ( there's something wry about his tone, the beginning of-- dare he say it-- a smile playing on his lips as he continues. ) People get pulled in from wherever and whenever, and sometimes they don't match up with others from the same world. It's a headache.

We'd just left Earth, last I checked. And then I was here. ( then, giving jim a pointed glance, he says: ) You still look like you need more sleep, though.

[bartalk]

Between the start of our mission and landing here, I didn't have much time to lie down for a nap.

[ not that he ever could have, with the excitement of a five year mission ahead. but he's glad Bones is around to nag— it's ]

So, gonna fill me in on your two months? Or are you gonna need another drink? [ he says with an enticing wiggle of his own glass ]

[sufferably]

( bones just shrugs and takes a seat, resting elbows against the bar as he shakes his head. )

Oh, you know. A disaster every three weeks, a hundred people running around with magical powers that they don't know what to do with, and beings calling themselves gods who don't actually know what the hell they're doing.

It's a goddamn mess.

[bartalk]

Magic.

[ he snorts in derision, still unwilling to accept the idea of magic as anything beyond 'science that hadn't been explained'. ]

Don't tell me you actually believe that crap.

[sufferably]

It doesn't really matter what I believe, or want to. ( it's a sticking point, definitely. the idea of magic goes against everything they know from home-- that even the most fantastic of occurrences are explainable.

his voice is low and a bit resigned as he continues. ) It is what it is. Maybe there's some root cause that explains how people form ice out of thin air or make themselves more persuasive, but I haven't found it. And then there's the whole question of the Asgardians, bringing us here.

You figure out how they do that, and I'll buy all your drinks for a month.

[bartalk]

You're on.

[ there's nothing like a good bet to rile him up, even if it's a bet he isn't sure he can cash in. worst case scenario, he'll have to eat his words, but he'd already planned on figuring out what exactly made this place tick. ]

And come on— you can't tell me you're not even a little bit excited about all of this. [ ignoring the fact that Bones has had 2 months to soak it in ] New world, Bones! All we need to do is get in contact with the ship, and we're back in business.

[sufferably]

( he looks up, at that, and flashes jim one of his rare but sincere grins. )

You know technology doesn't work here, right? At least, nothing from beyond the twentieth century, or something. Unless you told Uhura to check on inter-dimensional radio waves...

( he shakes his head, now. it's all a little bit frustrating, to him, but trust jim to turn it into one more adventure. which is has been, he supposes, but it's much easier to consider that with the captain around. go figure. )

And I'd be more excited if this place wasn't under attack, all the time.

[bartalk]

[ frustration or not, he sees the smile on Bones' face, no matter how brief, and takes it as a sign that everything's going to be all right ]

I've always wanted to try roughing it. [ it's mostly a joke, and he knows he'd whine and weep if he ever had to experience 20th century medicine. it's easy to default to blithe, to joke around and rib Bones and pretend that nothing was wrong, but he knew that in this particular situation, being overconfident did little to help their situation. ]

How dangerous are we talking?

[sufferably]

A week or so ago, poisoned ice started popping up out of the ground, like daisies. Stabbing people in the chest, causing frostbite, you name it.

( it maybe doesn't sound as bad as it actually was. and speaking of this place... )

What'd they give you? You know, for a power.

[bartalk]

[ if Frozen existed in Stark Trek, jim would have made a stupid comparison. but instead, he grins like the cat who ate the canary, looking a little too pleased that Bones had asked ]

What, no guesses?

[sufferably]

( flatly: ) You want me to guess what the gods think of you.

( that's a double blind if he's ever heard one. jim's got the confidence for baldr's house, though maybe not the sharp arrogance so much anymore. he's never really seen the other man as blindly dutiful or militaristic, so heimdall's out. jim's smart, but not bookish the way odin's group tends to be... bones goes on and on, thinking all the options over. finally, he huffs. )

Just tell me.

[bartalk]

[ he sighs dramatically, pushing himself back from the bar to far enough to lazily stretch out. a lesser man would have been concerned about the overtly pink-ness of the welcome center and his new home, but jim found it charming in a sort of kitsch way. ]

Try Freya— I'm a human battery. [ simply put ] I'd show you, but you wouldn't enjoy it.

[sufferably]

( he's seen freya's powers in action, so he just rolls his eyes. )

Damn right.

They work, you know. Not always perfectly, but I know a kid who can draw dragons and have 'em come to life, and people can set things on fire just by thinking about it...

( he trails off, toying with the bracelet on his wrist absently. )

My district's across from yours. Sigyn.

[bartalk]

That mean I can come over and visit?

[ not that if matters if bones says no, because jim would come over and visit anyway. and probably raid his fridge, and hang out on his couch and probably whine about being marooned. ]

And what does that make yours— setting people on fire?

[sufferably]

Yes, Jim. You can come over and visit.

( he'll probably regret saying that, later, but at the moment he's still a bit excited to see jim. he's sure it'll wear off, eventually. )

No, that's Odin. Sigyn's got the power to grow plants, and heal people. Three guesses which one I got, and the first two don't count.

[bartalk]

You know Bones, I think you like being a killjoy.

[ alas, there would be no opportunities to refute the inevitable 'I'm a doctor, not a botanist!' but that being said, it's nice that there are constants in the universe. ]

But even if you'd be way better as a botanist, I'm glad you're here.

[sufferably]

I might love it. ( it's an easy concession to make, and though he huffs at jim's next comment he gives his captain a shove against the shoulder-- one of those brotherly gestures. )

Gee, thanks. That's high praise-- "I'm glad to be stuck in an alternate dimension with you."

[bartalk]

You can take a compliment every now and then Bones— it won't kill you.

[ although in Bones's case, they might make him seize up. jim laughs and shakes his head, before looking back towards his drink ]

But you seriously don't enjoy this place more than deep space? Can't catch Andorian shingles out here at least.

[sufferably]

Oh, it's great. There's grass, and tress, and real sunshine. ( not to mention he doesn't have to worry about crashing to an empty, silent death and every moment. but the benefits haven't really outweighed the costs, and so it's more quietly that he says: ) A bit too noisy, though. And I could do without the giant attacks, and the meddlesome gods. A meddling captain was enough, for me. ( and there's that just-this-side-of-ironic look. )