Event | Landfall | Bresilyk | Markutte

[ironwood]

Characters: Any and all!
Date: December 3 - 11, 2013
Location: Markutte, Bresilyk (landfall)
Situation: Tu Vishan makes landfall at the winterbound republic of Bresilyk!
Warnings/Rating: Please include warnings in comment subject lines

OOC Post | Approved Items | Special Gifts
Aihsohlow | Phorezton | Markutte | Countryside

The commerce town of the tried. Temperatures within the dome are kept at a lofty 18C (62F) year round and the population of Markutte dresses less in furs and more in linens obtained through trade. Their long hair is frequently shorn short in the current fashion and they are, on the whole, less hardy than their kin in Phorezton and Aihsohlow, but even more friendly as they are currently in the throes of the Harvest Haul, a festival that concludes their rare growing seasons and agricultural bounties.

Trade. That's the foundation of Markutte and there are three town squares that are home to transient stalls and merchandise from the country and all surviving areas of Konryu. Many kedan have made their way here and occupy the occasional stall space, selling their wares and exchanging gifts with the citizens as they grasp the nature of the festival underway. Once again, visitors that make the trek here are expected to donate a gift that will be regifted at random, earning access and a stamp of their tin visa that resembles the oblong crystal coin used as currency in this realm.

Police are on the lookout for financial crimes here and will demand visas of any they suspect to be committed fraud, short-selling merchants, or thieving in any way, shape, or form. There are three vistas, one in each market square, upon which heralds stand and announce the crimes and punishments noted of the previous day. Minor theft is common and the punishment is a brand upon the criminal's neck; major theft results in a loss of a finger for each item stolen; fraud here is punishable by death, but only twice will there be an announcement of an execution during the landfall.

The auctions here are quite lively and characters can expect a minor bidding war to obtain their items, but each item is in pristine condition and provided to them wrapped within a thin set of furs as a thanks for their purchase.

Customs | Settlement | Auctions | Harvest Haul | Other

Comments

[definingfuture]

The two of us and our egos, don't forget. You start centralizing that kind of thing and it compresses only so far before it's got to go somewhere.

And, just for the record, naked isn't that much of a deterrent against evil. I kind of wish it was. That'd make my life a whole lot easier.

[Tony's expression when Kyle display the ring is similar to that of a guy who just bit down on a lemon and wants to save face. He's trying to smile, trying to look calm and relaxed, but that sudden show still brings back the instinct to be on guard. It's supposed to all be over now. But it's never over. Still, that's not Kyle's fault. He can tell at a glance that this ring is different, and that is some relief.]

Nice bling. So that's the prize they're giving out these days, huh? The universe must have a tight defense budget.

[imaginate]

Hey, I didn't even have an ego until five minutes ago.

[He's about to laugh, and the look on Tony's face utterly wipes that away. He's seen it on Jim, sometimes. Bad connotations. It's not his fault there's a trigger, but he intends to tread carefully now.]

It's a lot more than it looks; don't knock it til you've tried it. [A pause.] Not that you can - no offence. Recruitment's highly selective... and kind of inscrutable, to be honest.

[definingfuture]

Seriously? Man, are you missing out on life. We need to fix that for you.

[Tony's eyebrows quirk at Kyle's explanation of the ring. He's aware of his limits and how "choosy weapons" can be painfully specific, but that doesn't stop him from taking up the challenge.]

Try me. You never know. What do I have to do? Sign a waver?

[imaginate]

You're keeping me, are you?

[He smirks, fleetingly.]

Sure? Green rings are pretty finicky, even more so than other colours.

[People who've got something to prove, upon being told there's a selection process for the ring, usually ask for it to be tried on them. Jim'd done the same, despite Kyle knowing that he didn't have the right mindset at the time.]

[But hey, if Tony wants a go, what's the harm? Kyle takes it off and hands it over.]

[definingfuture]

You planning on resisting?

[He figures Kyle won't. And that's really all there is to say about that. The mention of other colors gets a twitch out of Tony. Really? Is that a power ring trend or something? He mulls over that as he takes the ring from Kyle and puts it on.]

Taste the rainbow, huh? [Ugh. The brush against his mind is eerie. He frowns and slips the ring back off again.]

That's seriously clashing with my look. I'm sure it works for you, but I prefer something a little more eye-catching.

[imaginate]

[He suspects Tony's the same way Jim is - liking and needing challenges to keep going. So here he goes.]

Wouldn't want to make it too easy for you.

[— Let's not ever talk about DC's emotional spectrum.]

Green is my colour. [He puts his ring back on, flexes his hand, and relaxes visibly as he senses its presence at the back of his mind.] You can't miss me in a fight though. I go in with style.

[Like so.]

[definingfuture]

[Kyle's assumption is right on the mark, and his answer gets a smirk from the engineer. Challenges are good things. Even when they get to be overwhelming, even when he says he'd rather not have them, the truth is that Tony will take interesting over boring any day.]

I wouldn't want you to make it easy. Or get lost in the crowd. That would just be a waste of good talent. What is it supposed to do?

[Tony nods at the ring on Kyle's hand, letting that act as a transition. It's probably telling how easily he focuses his attention toward what interests him, the mechanics of the ring, but he also assumes Kyle should know it would make people curious.]

[imaginate]

[He hasn't been trusting his instincts in a while, and to see this one come through... maybe there's hope yet.]

[He takes the distraction for what it is - a smooth change of topic, and glances at his ring. Sure, he expects people to be interested in it, but usually it's greed or fear that fuels their interest, not plain curiosity (or at least, he assumes it's such, from Tony.)]

Simply put? Whatever I imagine, it can create.

[The other answer, the one he keeps away, is that it's a weapon. It does what weapons do: it brings pain indiscriminately.]

[definingfuture]

[Tony's eyes light up at that response. To someone sharp like Kyle, the change in his demeanor comes from the man visualizing potential. He's eager and excited by the possibilities in that simple explanation, and so much of what he's thinking about comes from what was left unsaid.

Tony stands up straight and puts his hands behind his back, almost like a child making sure not to touch anything in front of a watchful adult.]

Can you imagine an electrostatic accelerator attached to an electromagnetic particle containment unit? One with a lightning rod. A big lightning rod. Because that I'd like to see.

[imaginate]

[It puts Kyle on guard. That potential's been used too often for the wrong purposes and while he doesn't think Tony'll go there, the possibility is too large to ignore completely. He mirrors the increased seriousness in posture: a watchful adult regarding a naughty child.]

[The question takes him off guard, and he blinks, surprised, tilting his head.]

... Yes.

[In postscript, he adds:] I'll need the schematics, but it's not a problem.

[Unsaid: what exactly do you need that for?]

[definingfuture]

I can draw you up the schematics.

[Tony treats the whole conversation like a fabulous game. The promise of what might come of combining imagination and know-how is an engineers dream, really. What if you could find a way to make the impossible reality. What if you could bring fantasy to life--and not with magic, but with ingenuity.

He can see Kyle's hesitation and responds by becoming even more open and enthusiastic, as if he has to convince the other man that this is harmless fun. It is harmless fun, but Tony always has to prove it. To sell his ideas, even when he knows that they aren't that important.]

Like you said, it's not a problem. Since anything is possible, I was just wondering how far anything went. Schematics aren't an obstacle.

[He may or may not be intentionally ignoring the unspoken question in Kyle's reaction. But since it is unspoken, it's hard to say for sure.]

[imaginate]

[Sure, Tony's an engineer, and something that build whatever he wants might be a dream come true, and hey that's how Kyle sees it sometimes: he's a perfectionist and something that translates his mental images precisely has been a boon.]

[But it's been a curse, too. It's because Tony's treating it like a game that Kyle interprets it as not taking the weapon seriously. People often don't until they see him in action, and he's worried it's going to be the same case here, that they don't understand, or care to understand, until it's too late.]

Yeah well don't try to bring back the dead.

[It seems unnecessarily sharp, and probably nothing Tony's not used to when he has to sell a difficult idea to somebody, but Kyle wants to make it clear he's the one with the tool and he decides how to use it.]

Otherwise - draw up what you like. I'm a fast learner.

[definingfuture]

[The first thing that strikes Tony about that response is how specific it is. Not "don't do anything stupid" or "don't break anything". Not even "don't blow something up". Don't try to bring back the dead. With a ring that can reportedly do anything, the possibility is there. It has to be, even if it's only in theory.

He doesn't know Kyle's history. Where he comes from or why he fights or anything aside from the little he's already seen. But he knows what he would do with unlimited power. He knows what he has done, and how it felt when he found out unlimited was mostly a misnomer. Everything comes with a price.]

Mm. I'm more of a fan of prevention than reversal. Trying to go backward never really works out for me.

[He smiles, almost with put-on innocence and a hint of something else. Sympathy, although he doesn't emphasize it too much.]

We can't take back things that have already happened. All we can do is move forward.

[imaginate]

[Long story short: he tried and succeeded. It sucked.]

Hope for the best, plan for the worst?

[It's a sensible stance and Kyle shares it. Just. Emotionally it's difficult for him to catch up to that, and he takes Tony's sympathy without complaint.]

[definingfuture]

[Sometimes succeeding is worse than failure. Tony smiles a little easier at the question, though.]

How about believing the best is still yet to come? We do the best we can, and sometimes it feels like what we're up against is insurmountable. But I think--or I like to think--that we haven't seen everything the world's got to offer yet.

It just takes time. We'll get there.

[imaginate]

[Kyle smiles, puts a hand in his pocket.]

[Wryly:] This the part I explain how everything's that's yet to come is likely out to kill us in lots of horrible ways?

[definingfuture]

Wow, way to be the glass half empty man. Not everything that's yet to come is going to kill us in horrible ways. I know, because I'm going to make it. And I'm not going to let that happen with stuff I make.

[It's a very matter-of-fact statement. A little too free, perhaps, but it sounds like Kyle needs the confidence to boost him along.]

There are a lot of big, bad things out there, but we're still here too. I don't think you're going to let what's coming our way take us all out without a fight either. Stop me if I'm wrong, but you just don't seem like the type to roll over.

[imaginate]

Ladies and gentlemen, we have an optimistic futurist on our hands.

[He sounds fond, though. There's nothing more he enjoys more than his pessimism about certain things being proven very, very wrong.]

[Then, he smirks.]

Really? I think my boyfriend would disagree with you.

[definingfuture]

Optimistic realist. I'm a futurist, but that part stands on its own.

[The last part is greeted with a quirk of Tony's eyebrow. Nothing really more than that, as he's not terribly surprised, but it's worth a response.]

Well. Isn't he the lucky man? I wish I had dates that were so accommodating to my tastes. Must be nice.

[imaginate]

Isn't that an oxymoron?

[Not that he disagrees with the sentiment. One needs balance.]

Kind of. Yeah. I don't date because of the job, but staying positive, huh?

[Or, as Jim put it "too much and too many people using it against him". Christ. He didn't even do guys and then Jim just sort of happened.]

[definingfuture]

Isn't that being human?

[Tony's getting into speed now. Shooting back retorts and jokes because he's starting to feel like himself again. And it's gotten easier to quip where before expressing anything was hard. He grins, teasing Kyle lightly with that answer before shrugging at his question.]

That's all we can do. It's hard. It's always hard, but when you get the chance... It's worth it, right?

[Isn't it? He doesn't actually know. But he'd like to believe that for Kyle's sake, anyway.]

[imaginate]

I didn't think there'd be a right answer to that.

[He shouldered the burden of being invincible, as any superhero did, and it wasn't easy, to accept he was fallible, especially considering he had as much power as he did. Yet, he'd learnt to drop milking guilt from that, learn and accept and love being human.]

It's what we fight for.

[He's definitely convinced of that, even if he's unsure about how it fits into his life again.]

[definingfuture]

There's a right answer to everything. We just have to find it.

[Or Tony just likes to have an answer for everything. He keeps his casual, easy posture. It might be partially an act, but it's an act he's been living for a long time now. Being unconcerned comes easily to him when he's not on a job.]

It's always nice to have something to look forward to. That doesn't hurt.

[imaginate]

I'll save you the time. Forty-two.

[Some things, there's no answer for, and Kyle's - not okay with that per se, but he's learnt to live with it?]

After blackest night comes brightest day.

[It seems like a stock phrase and parts of it are, but the concepts are important to him. He straightens up, barely, a little more serious at the thought.]

[definingfuture]

No one said it'd be easy. [He's still smiling, but the expression has leveled off somewhat.]

But we can always find the right equation eventually. Everything, even the hard stuff, has a best outcome. It's just... hard to find the right one sometimes.

[He smiles a little more after digesting that.]

Blackest night and brightest day? What is that? Some kind of slogan?