tushanshu_logs | rough winds do shake the darling buds of may

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rough winds do shake the darling buds of may | open, with starters

Characters: ~~Eyebrow Squad~~ Gene, Jackie, Deon, and you!
Date: Throughout May
Location: Keeliai and the rest of the shell
Situation: General May drama and doings for Eyebrow Squad.
Warnings/Rating: None initially, but subject to change.

A. [Gene] Midnight Hotel | May 2 | closed to Tony

Gene hadn't taken the disappearance of the new influx of Foreigners well. But he'd taken it better than he'd expected; he'd always known, in his heart, that Bianca being back had been too good to be true. And Amelia hadn't returned, either. He'd been seized with a rather unusual and rather unfortunate sensation of missing all his friends who'd come and gone from Keeliai.

And it occurs to him that Tony might be feeling even worse. Howard had been swept away too. Gene hadn't been particularly heartbroken to see him gone - he still isn't too sure where he stands with the man - but he knows Tony's devastated by it. So he's tried to be as supportive as possible. He doesn't like seeing Tony upset.

B. [Gene] Sky Sector | early-mid May | open

Gene's been going around the Sky Sector and helping finalize some of the construction, making himself known among the kedan in the area, checking out the stalls in the artisan area. Sometimes he's putting the finishing touches on the little house he'd built for himself and Tony, and if he's not actively using tools - or secretly using the orange ring to manipulate matter, honing his control of it - he's probably open to talking.

C. [Jackie] Teahouse in the Water Sector | early-mid May | open

When he's not doing Snake stuff, Jackie's become quite fond of hanging out in a little teahouse in the Water Sector. Most of the time he has his Snake badge off, not wanting to intimidate any of the kedan, and just enjoying a quiet cup of tea. Tea had never really been his...well...his cup of tea, back home, but here he was starting to enjoy it.

D. [Deon] Metal Sector | early-mid May | open

Deon, meanwhile, is scouting out any technology he can find, buying up scrap wherever he can find it and writing out code by hand in a cheap notebook. Even if he can't test it, it's at least a decent exercise.

He's been dissuaded from dismantling a console - but he really wants to know how they work. Not worth pissing off the kedan, though; he's heard they don't take well to that.

But it looks like he knows what he's doing, or at least what he's after, either sitting on a bench and going over his handwritten code, the end of a pen in his mouth, or haggling with some kedan over some busted piece of looted Foreigner tech.

E. [Deon] Fire Sector | May 16 | closed to Shay

Deon's tired, and in need of a drink. He doesn't normally drink, but he's interested in seeing more of the kedan culture, and he figures that's worth the price of a beer or the local equivalent. Thus he sits at the bar, drinking an oddly sweet concoction that still has a mildly alcoholic fire to it, occasionally writing in his notebook as more ideas occur to him.

F. [Gene] House Iron Dragon | May 8 | closed to Tony

Tony's been acting weird the past day or so - more cagey than usual. Something's up, but Gene hasn't deduced what yet.

"You okay?" he asks, setting a mug of tea down in front of Tony, some concern in his voice. Still mopey over Howard, perhaps? The grief happens in waves, he knows that well.

G. [Deon] Stark Industries | late April | closed to NPCs

The staff at Stark Industries has been busy of late, but not too busy to finally see Deon for a job interview. He hasn't had one since college, so he's a little apprehensive, and visibly fidgeting.

H. [Deon] Wood Sector | mid-May | closed to China and Shay

Deon should really know better than to cut through gang territory by now. As it is, he's been cornered by some kedan from a smaller gang who are pushing him around and demanding his juulan. For someone so tall, he's a bit shit at defending himself or being at all imposing.

I. [Gene] Sky Sector / Earth Sector | early May 9 | closed to Skul

Once Gene manages to get his heart down from pounding like hell in his head, he grabs his radio and makes a call to Skul, like he'd promised Tony.

"Skul? I know it's late, but I need your help."

OOC Note: If you want another starter, please hit me up over at

Chatvert and I'll pull something together for you! :>

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Skulduggery hadn't known Bianca himself very well. He'd been aware of how important she was to Gene; it was one of those small pieces of information brought to light in the aftermath of the bombings, one of the clues Skulduggery followed to find Bakura's murderer. So when he'd heard she was among the influx to arrive in the wake of the Woodsmen's festival, he'd known a conversation with Gene would, eventually, be necessary.

He found Gene at the newly dubbed Sky Sector, taking care of the last of the construction. Skulduggery waited until he had a free moment, hovering just on the edge of Gene's attention, unobtrusive but unmistakeable in his exquisitely tailored suit and very fine hat sitting on top of his gleaming skull. When he had Gene's attention, he nodded over at the Foreigner housing. "How much of that did you build on your own?"

Ah yes. Skul was here.

Gene knew why, of course, and he'd been expecting this. Once Bianca had disappeared, he knew it was only going to be a matter of time before Skul made sure he wasn't going to lose his mind and murder anyone again.

But if he wanted to start with small talk, that was fine. "Most of it," he said. "The foundation and the layout, I had some help on." He was no architect, and the kedan had been helpful, but he'd constructed it mostly himself.

Skulduggery nodded. "It's impressive."

It was, too. Assuming Skulduggery could ignore the last bout of construction work he'd observed - something that was surprisingly easy to do - it was hard not to admire how much of the potential in the new Sector was already being fulfilled.

He also knew how counterintuitively relaxing it could be to throw yourself into work.

"Would you rather I beat around the bush a little more," he asked, "or get the point out of the way so we can enjoy a nice conversation?"

Gene didn't respond to Skul's compliment, just waited.

He didn't have to wait too long.

"Please," he said, "if there's a point, I'd rather we get to it quickly. Get the nastiness out of the way."

"There's nothing nasty," Skulduggery assured him. "Not unless you're disgusted by friendship. I heard Bianca was here during the festival. What did she think of the new and improved Keeliai?"

He didn't have any delusions about being subtle. That wasn't the point of the conversation. But Skulduggery was curious; Bianca had commanded a lot of respect when she was still in Keeliai, and arriving back to a city where the evil was gone and the kedan were coming into their own had to have sprouted a few interesting comments.

"She liked it," Gene said bluntly; it's clear the topic still caused him pain, no matter how he tried to hide it. "She thought it was remarkable. And she was glad we put paid to Malicant, too."

And proud of me, for helping to build this place.

Skulduggery nodded. "We don't always get to see the results of what we do, especially when we're taken from the fight before we get a chance to finish it. She's extraordinarily lucky."

And probably alive and well back in her own world, though without any memories of Keeliai. That was, of course, assuming she hadn't been killed back in her own world, which was entirely possible and the main reason Skulduggery didn't bring it up.

"One of my friends was here as well," Skulduggery offered after a moment. "You might have met him, actually; Rover Larrikin. He was taken from the fight in my world before he had a chance to finish it. When he found out he wasn't going to stay here with us, he got understandably upset. He didn't want to pass away without leaving something important behind. The thing was, he did - he just couldn't see it. He changed our entire world, and Anton and I are both better men for his having existed."

Gene shook his head. "I never met him, no." He didn't have to say that his and Larrikin's situations were different. He was under no illusions that anybody's life was better for his existence. In fact, he was sure that wasn't the case. "I'm glad you were able to see him, though. For as little time as he was able to be here."

He sighed. "It's hard to think we won't remember the time we've spent here, if we ever leave." The thought had been weighing heavily on him of late.

"Not if we leave now," Skulduggery agreed. "But our situation's changed before. It could easily change again. People like Eshai and Evastelei knew precisely how to bring us here; we might come across someone who knows how to get us home with everything intact."

Skulduggery didn't hold out any hope that it would help him, of course; not unless the same magic could return him to a physical location other than where he was pulled from. Still, it was something to look forward to, if only for imagining how many of the other Foreigners it would benefit.

Gene shook his head. "Yeah, maybe. That'd be something." It'd be great and wonderful and terrible, and it might actually give him a reason not to fear an empty bed in the morning those rare days when Tony got up to do things before him.

It was, he thought, a bit like hope in an afterlife. He wasn't sure if he believed in one of those, either.

"Anyway. Bianca's been and gone, and I haven't killed anyone yet. Nor do I think I'm going to." He tried to muster a smile at Skul; it came out as more of a grimace. "Satisfied about the state of my mental health?"

"Hm?" Skulduggery's head straightened. "Oh, I was satisfied the moment I saw all of the work you've been doing. This is just a nice, confirming chat. Have I interrupted something? I can always come back later."

He didn't enjoy nice chats nearly as often as he probably should, Skulduggery would be the first to admit. And when Gene wasn't in danger of going homicidal, he was a pleasant person to chat with. Direct, to the point. No subtleties to parse through, no hidden motives to detect. Occasionally sarcastic, but reasonably so.

Funny - Skul was one of the few people Gene felt he could be blunt with. Too often he hid his true nature under guile and niceties. Skul didn't need that smokescreen; he already knew who Gene was and what he was capable of. To obfuscate would be a waste of time for both of them.

"No, you haven't interrupted a thing," Gene said, and while that wasn't strictly true it was true enough for government work. "It's good to see you."

Skulduggery bowed his head. "You too."

As a city, Keeliai was about the same size as Dublin. Politically, it was very different. Skulduggery had carved himself a niche here, largely without trying, but not having a distinct employer meant that a lot of his work was vaguely defined and usually self-inflicted. That left much more room for establishing and maintaining friendships than he was used to.

Not that it was unpleasant in the slightest.

"What are your plans from here?" he asked. "Has Tony managed to usurp Stark Industries yet?"

"Not yet," Gene said, shaking his head with a little bemusement. "And for once, it's for lack of trying." Tony seemed to have given up his dream of getting Stark Industries back from Zanru...overtly, anyway. If something were to befall the kedan woman and allow ownership to pass to him, well...no, Tony would protest the implication of foul play most strenuously, he thought, chiding himself.

Gene has been trying to think like a better person. He hadn't gotten there quite yet. "As for me, I don't know. I might take up Bakura's offer to teach at the dojo." And that makes him laugh a little.

It was possible Tony didn't have to wait very long. Zanru's public appearances lately had been getting more and more haggard. Skulduggery wouldn't have been surprised if something in the company fell apart within the next few months.

But he refrained from mentioning it. Not because he didn't trust Tony to be patient - although, to be brutally fair, he didn't - but because he might be completely wrong.

The news that Gene and Bakura were getting along, on the other hand, came as a surprise. Skulduggery hadn't been paying very much attention to them lately. Unforgivable, really. "What would you teach?" he asked, intrigued in spite of himself.

Hey, Skul, if something in the company collapses in the near future, it's so not Gene's fault. He's trying to be good and not play that kind of dirty pool. (Also? Any foul play would be super obvious.)

"Self-defense," Gene said. "To Foreigners or kedan, doesn't matter. I figure that with the gangs roaming the streets, Snake militia or no, people could stand to learn how to defend themselves."

There are plenty of reasons he wouldn't be surprised, Gene. Don't be so defensive. You'll get worry lines.

Teaching self-defence wasn't something Skulduggery would have imagined Gene doing, but again, it was something else he wasn't surprised by. It also struck him as faintly ironic that Bakura, after having been murdered by Gene, was offering Gene a job teaching self-defence. Something Bakura was no doubt fully aware of.

"That's noble of you," Skulduggery said, nodding. "We need more friendly contact with the kedan. Unfamiliarity breeds distrust. And who knows? If the gangs stop being quite so effective, maybe they'll disperse all on their own."

The irony just flows from the turtle, like Bakura had said. ~~My Little Asti: Irony is Magic.~~

Gene snorts a little. "That's likely." He knows gangs, and knows that they're roaches, to a man. Even if Yunxu fell, the kedan he commanded would flock to the next best thing, once they'd scattered like the aforementioned roaches.

"And it's something to do, anyway, once construction's properly complete. I get a little antsy when I'm bored."

Understatement, Gene.

Highly unlikely, Skulduggery agreed, but it never hurt to be optimistic.

"Don't we all," he replied, amused. "If you ever find yourself looking for something to do, I won't say no to a little bit of help now and then. You have my radio frequency if you need to contact me."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Gene said, and nodded. Maybe working with Skul would get the detective to back up out of his business a touch. Likely not, though, but at least it might keep him out of boredom.

"And you have mine."

Skulduggery tipped his hat. "Yes, I do. Good luck."

It was a general sort of 'good luck', the sort which wasn't actually needed because the recipient was doing perfectly well on their own. A place to live, a job, and someone to care about. You didn't need very much else in life, apart from some exquisitely tailored suits and a few fine hats.

"And to you," Gene said, nodding because he had no hat to tip. (Covering up that lovely hair would be criminal, after all.)

It was good to talk to Skul, from time to time, just as a person, not as someone who'd decided that Gene was his responsibility. He wasn't sure if he should start expecting that.

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rough winds do shake the darling buds of may | open, with starters

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