EVENT | LANDFALL | ZESHORA

[ironwood]

Characters: ALL!
Date: June 17th to July 8th
Location: Zeshora
Situation: Tu Vishan has washed up near the cities of Atoce and Uessaire.
Warnings/Rating: Add warnings as needed.



The cities of Zeshora were renowned across all of Konryu as works of art, and even with the upheaval which sank and destroyed many of them centuries prior, that distinction remains evident. The Erol'a will recount, if asked, a terrible series of earthquakes and resultant tsunamis that rolled over Zeshora, and how great chunks of the continent simply dropped away. Zeshora was one of the oldest continents, and its landmasses upon the backs of long-dead Great Turtles had been so constant, that no one had even thought it possible such a thing could have happened.

Testament to the Erol'a's resilience however, they adapted and reclaimed the cities that had fallen to, or just below, sea level. Arches, pillars and soaring ceilings dominate the architecture in both cities, and every surface is painstakingly decorated with tiny inlaid shells and coral, turning every hall and room into a mosaic of colour. It's not uncommon for Erol'a dwellings to have multiple stories, and likewise it's not unlikely to have at least a few of those levels under sea level. So it's entirely possible to have one's upstairs be above water, and one's downstairs be below the water! Imagine having to take a swim to get a midnight snack. Of course, the Erol'a don't find that strange at all. Likewise, it's perfectly normal to them to walk down the hallways of their homes in ankle, knee or waist-deep water, something that the Foreigners and even some kedan might take some getting used to. The water temperature during the day is a delightful 80℉/26℃, and about ten degrees cooler throughout the night, so it's pleasant for nearly everyone.

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LINKS
Atoce - City of Pearls | Uessaire - City of Lilies | Ollesse - The Coral Ruins | Secessi - The Floating Reefs | Hatchling Messages
Astegune | Landfall Surprise | Landfall Update - Jun 23 | OOC Post

OOC
Please direct questions to the OOC post! You can either use the areas described under header, or create your own -- don't feel you have to be limited to threading only in the locations mentioned in the starters! Just don't forget to label your top-levels with specific locations (eg the Height or the Deep).

ACTIVITY CHECK NOTE: Due to the late-month timing of this landfall, threads from this log can be counted toward either June or July AC. Just don't use the same comment thread for both and you'll be fine!

Comments

[wrathfulkhan]

"That wasn't a vacation, that was an ordeal," Gene says with a laugh. We don't talk about Beach Week. Or Happy. Or the prank war Happy started during Beach Week. Or the banana hammock incident of 2011.

"Anyway, the beaches on the turtle are nice, but this is more...secluded. Those are still near Keeliai, you know?" And if he went to the beaches of the turtle, he'd just think about that time they'd spent with Kalliel, and he'd get sad again.

[highprofilerichkid]

"Yeah, you're right. This does feel more like a real vacation." As big as the turtle is, it starts to feel a claustrophobic after a while. Landfalls are always a welcome change of pace.

Tony might even be willing to admit that this is nicer than the Starks' oceanfront vacation home.

Tony's smile slowly becomes a wicked smirk. "...You did look really good in that tiny speedo, though."

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene's face shuts right down. "We don't talk about that," he says, and shoves Tony playfully, a smirk beginning to come back. It was embarrassing! But it was nice to hear Tony say that, even this far after the fact. "And this is why I don't let Pepper take me shopping anymore."

That girl has some ideas about fashion, and not all of them were good.

[highprofilerichkid]

Tony snickers when Gene shoves him, and leans in again to give Gene a quick, teasing kiss on the cheek.

"I have no problem with Pepper doing your shopping." The Banana Hammock Incident left a vivid imprint on Tony's memory, too— though a significantly more positive one.

how bout that thirst, tony

[wrathfulkhan]

"Well, maybe I'll tell Pepper to take you shopping," he says, a little mutinously, but talk of Pepper has reminded him why he was out on his own in the first place, and while he laughs a little more, his heart's not really in it. He goes quiet, looking out at the sea, occasionally taking a sip from his water.

[highprofilerichkid]

Tony grimaces comically at that threat - he may have far less shame than Gene, but that doesn't mean he trusts Pepper's fashion choices. "Ugh. No thanks."

He almost follows that up with something about how regularly getting to see Gene in a whole lot less than a speedo is acceptable compensation for the banana hammock ban - until Gene's laughter trails off and he lapses into uncomfortable silence.

Tony waits a few seconds to see if he's going to say anything, and when he doesn't, Tony scoots closer and asks, "What's wrong?"

[wrathfulkhan]

"Nothing," Gene says, almost automatically. He's not sure he can explain it to Tony. He's not sure Tony would even understand if he did. He's not sure he understands it himself, because he has been quite pointedly avoiding thinking about it at all.

And then he winces, because he knows that won't fool Tony for even a second. "It's just...this place."

[highprofilerichkid]

"What, the beach? I thought you just said you liked it?" A pause: Tony remembers Gene had said the same thing yesterday, when they'd been in Atoce. "You mean Zeshora." He leans back on his elbows and looks at Gene, curious and concerned. "What about it?"

Zeshora is practically the textbook definition of a tropical paradise - what's not to like? Even if they don't have much in the way of technology, there's plenty to trade, and plenty of sights to see and recreation to... recreate. Tony's really enjoyed this landfall so far.

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene shrugs his shoulders, trying his best to look indifferent, but he's still sitting forward, hunched over, practically hugging his knees, in contrast to Tony's relaxed pose.

He's silent for a long minute, and then says, "I don't like the Erol'a," almost tersely, like the words were bursting out of him and he could no longer keep them contained.

[highprofilerichkid]

"Oh." Tony thinks about that for another few seconds. "Is it the age caste thing?" He chuckles, a little uncertainly. "You don't like all those kids ordering you around?"

It is slightly annoying, but Tony hasn't found it inconvenient or grating enough to ruin the experience of Zeshora. Maybe Gene's more fragile pride is taking a bigger hit.

Still, that doesn't seem like enough of a reason to be grumpy for days on end. Tony's pretty sure he's still missing something, here.

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene shrugs a little more aggressively this time. "Not exactly. That's part of it. But it's more than that."

Just what, however, is something he's not willing to volunteer unless he's asked. He is perfectly content ("""perfectly content""") to keep this to himself, like he does with everything else, because he fears Tony won't understand. Tony's always been a child of relative privilege - not necessarily financially, but emotionally. He had a relatively stable family life and people who loved him. Tony won't understand, not really.

[highprofilerichkid]

Tony waits to see if Gene's going to follow that up without prompting. To Tony's total lack of surprise, he doesn't.

Tony sits up again and slips his arms around Gene's waist. "Okay, so what's the rest of it?"

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene sighs when Tony's arms encircle his waist. "I don't think I can explain, so just forget it. It's nothing."

It absolutely 100% is not nothing.

[highprofilerichkid]

"Yeah, that's not going to work." Tony props his chin on Gene's shoulder. "It's not nothing and I'm definitely not going to forget it if you're going to do the 'brooding hermit' thing the whole time we're here."

He hugs Gene a little tighter. "We're dating now. I'm pretty sure we're suppose to talk about stuff like this."

Then he adds, with pragmatic humor, "And if you don't tell me, Pepper's eventually going to want to know why you're being grumpy, and she'll never let it go."

[wrathfulkhan]

Another sigh escapes from Gene's lungs when Tony hugs him tighter; it's like Tony's working a bellows, really. His head drops, and he takes a second to gather his thoughts before speaking again.

"You won't understand," he says. "You've always had people who wanted you to have a childhood, who treated you like a person, not a thing. I was...denied that. I thought that now that I'm older, I might get treated with a little respect for once in my life, and then we come here..." He shakes his head, frustrated. "I'm not even three years too old to be treated like a person here. I came to Keeliai when I was seventeen, I..." His voice cracks, and he hunches his shoulders a little tighter, going silent.

[highprofilerichkid]

"Oh." Oh, jeez. That's heavy. Tony's not especially surprised, but he is at a loss what to do about... this.

"I do understand, Gene. I didn't go through anything like what you did, but I— I get... what you mean." It never would have occurred to Tony had Gene not said something, but now that he's pointed it out it, sadly, makes perfect sense.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to. Pepper can take us anywhere we can't go on our own, and if anyone tells you to do anything, we'll just say you're opted out and I'll do it instead."

Tony pauses, then hesitantly continues, "I know that doesn't fix it, but..."

But 'it' isn't really something that can be fixed. Not like that, anyway. The solution to this problem is something more like 'years of therapy and emotional support,' which doesn't do them much good for this landfall.

"We're probably not going to be here very long. I'll hang out with you if you don't want to go back into the cities."

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene just shakes his head, unwilling to opt for the special treatment. "I'll just bite my tongue and deal with it. I did that for years; I can do it again."

That is a pretty much textbook example of a Not Healthy way to deal with the situation, because Gene's patience is not infinite, but he'd hesitate to snap directly at the brats because they're children. Which means he would most likely keep it bottled up until he lashed out at someone like Tony or Pepper. Not a wise choice. Not a wise choice at all.

"You don't have to. I'll just stay out here for a while." And try not to get sunburned.

[highprofilerichkid]

Tony gets straight to the point. "That's dumb."

He may have done everything in his power to avoid and ignore the shrink Roberta sent him to after the crash, but he can still recognize that that's a shitty coping strategy.

"You don't have to deal with it anymore. You don't have to force yourself to put up with stuff like that. Just let me and Pepper take care of it. 'Biting your tongue and dealing with it' is just going to ruin your landfall for no good reason."

Tony turns his head to kiss Gene on the cheek. "I'll stay out here with you. I bought a hammock. Want to help me set it up?"

[wrathfulkhan]

You're dumb, Gene thinks, and bites down on the automatic response, forcing himself to hear Tony out.

"I have to deal with it myself," he says stubbornly. "I'm weak, otherwise."

He glances at Tony, a little surprised. "You bought a hammock." The deadpan is strong with this one.

[highprofilerichkid]

Tony somehow restrains himself from replying with 'that's dumb' again.

"No matter how bad things got for me at home, I always had Pepper and Rhodey. They helped get me through a lot of rough stuff. There's a reason we called it 'Team Iron Man,' you know. So how about a Team Gene, huh? Having friends you can count on doesn't make you weak."

In answer to Gene's question, Tony releases Gene's waist and, grinning, pulls a bundle out of his man purse satchel. "So, what do you say? Does Team Gene want to test out this nice new hammock?"

[wrathfulkhan]

You just know if he did, their conversation would devolve into insults and wrestling, right?

"I don't know," Gene says, sounding unsure, and stares at the water. "I've never had a 'team' before."

Hey, why'd you let go? Rude. Gene's about to voice his displeasure when Tony pulls out the hammock bundle. He stares at it and adjusts his glasses.

"...that will not fit us both."

Uh-oh, Gene. That sounds like a challenge.

[highprofilerichkid]

"You do now," Tony says firmly. And then, with unwarranted optimism: "Sure it will. They had some hanging out on display. They're pretty big. Anyway, they only sold the one size. Come on." He starts to unroll the bundle and plops one end of the hammock in Gene's lap, sort of like how a puppy will drop a toy in your lap and look at you expectantly until you play with it.

[wrathfulkhan]

In that analogy, Tony is the puppy. That analogy is correct.

Gene is dubious about this, but he knows Tony won't leave him alone until he helps, so he stands up and helps to unroll the bundle.

"So what are you going to do with this when we leave? Hang your armor in it?"

[highprofilerichkid]

Tony beams when Gene stands to help him with the hammock. Success!

To Gene's question, he answers, "Put it in the yard. That's what you do with hammocks, isn't it?" Or so he's been told. Having lived in a Manhattan skyscraper for most of his life, he's not very well-informed on backyards or their accouterments.

Tony had earlier noted two palm-tree-like trees just about the right distance apart to hang a hammock, and that's where he leads Gene. It's not far from where they'd started, so there's still a nice view and ocean breeze, and the palm fronds offer just the right amount of shade. Tony securely ties his end of the hammock to one tree, then waits for Gene to do the same.

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene ties the hammock to the other tree, making sure the knot is secure. Wouldn't do any good for the knot to immediately fail and land the occupant on his butt, right? Like they don't know how to tie knots this far into their relationship.

"Okay. So what, you want to go first?"