tushanshu_logs | It has a million and one uses, fine purple mist.

Entry tags:

It has a million and one uses, fine purple mist.

Characters: Gene, Jackie, Peridot, Alex, Miles, and YOOOOUU!!
Date: All of March
Location: All up ins
Situation: ALL THE THINGS!
Warnings/Rating: Will be added as they come up

A. [Gene] | throughout Keeliai | March 1-11| open
So, Gene's having a weird month.

He's not sure if he's happy or sad that his mother's here - she has no soul gem, so he knows she'll disappear. And he wants to apologize to her, but he doesn't know what to say, or how to tell her that in becoming the Mandarin he'd nearly destroyed the world that she'd claimed was his birthright.

He can be found at tea houses, writing in his notebook and thinking, and trying to avoid being home while he thinks. He'd wanted this since he was a child, but he can't wrap his head around it.

As much as he'd wanted it, he has no idea what to do.

B. [Jackie] | Sky Sector | throughout March | open
So, Jackie's having a weird month.

Well, last month was weird too. His girlfriend's a werewolf, he killed his murderer, and Wei has shown up. He's trying to think about what to do. Brigid being a werewolf doesn't matter to him; hell, he's experienced weirder. And he likes her a lot.

He's having nightmares about killing Mr. Tong. He'd been justified, but the way he'd done it had been so brutal...and he'd liked it. He's looking a little haunted these days.

C. [Peridot] | Metal Sector | throughout March | open
Finally! Despite the garbage that passes for technology around here, Peridot's sort-of managed to get her replacement limb enhancers working! Sure, they aren't especially fancy or anything, but they're better than nothing.

Now: time to test.

Everyone is welcome to pass by her garage and enjoy the show.

D. [Alex] | throughout Keeliai | March 1-11 | open
So, Alex is having a weird month.

Aside from reliving all of that shit (and David has a Bostonian twin? What???), Mo's here, and that's all that matters. He hadn't realized just how much he'd missed the psychiatrist until the man had shown up.

He's looking a bit distracted, which is weird for him.

E. [Miles] | throughout Keeliai | throughout March | open
So, Miles is having a weird month.

He sure did have a lot of fun reliving his torture, and of course there was that incident with the Walrider. He's scared of himself, and trying to lie low.

At least he's got his laptop and his camcorder's been fixed.

H. [Jackie] | Midnight Hotel | March 13 | closed to Kylo
The thing with Mr. Tong and how ineffectually Jackie had used the Force had made him decide to get trained, even though he thinks Kylo is creepy. He needs to learn to defend himself.

"Okay," he says when he finds Kylo. "I want to be trained."

I. [Miles] | the Turtle's Head | throughout March | open
There's one thing Miles has heard calms people down - visiting the Turtle's Head. When he gets there, he sees some of those Ban Om guys meditating there, so he opts to go sit somewhere very far away from them.

He sits there, staring at the ocean, trying to wrestle with what the Walrider had done - what he had done.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Alex, you have every permission to cry. This is Mo.

"In the simplest and least personal terms? Because you exist," Mo answers, remaining where he is. "But also because you're probably the sharpest person I know; you are unstoppable when you're on the trail of something important; and because you would do anything, even the utterly impossible, to protect the people you care for." He gives a short, humorless laugh. "Trust me, I know what I'm talking about; I'm a doctor."

But he doesn't want to cry.

It would be incredibly juvenile to sock Mo on the arm, so he doesn't, but the thought crosses his mind for just a moment. "Well, you're the sharpest person I know, so there," he says. "And what the hell makes you think you aren't the same, huh? You've done six impossible things before breakfast when we've been trying to protect David and Marie and the kids. You're the bravest person I know."

Mo shrugs, shifting with the motion. "I never said I wasn't, though I appreciate you telling me that." He doesn't think of himself as brave, per se. He did what he had to, for their sake, just like Alex.

"But you asked me why I think you're worth anything, so I told you." Mo doesn't have to ask why Alex thinks he's not worth anything. "There's a more extensive list, if I need to work on convincing you further. Suffice it to say I care about you, and you're not getting out of that by being contrary."

Alex snorts. "Fishing for compliments, huh?" But he's smiling, if Mo can see it.

"Watch me. I can get out of anything by being contrary. My - what did you call it? obstinate stupidity? - is unmatched by any other man, living or dead."

He knows that Mo cares about him, but it's weird to hear as much. "Yeah, well. I care about you, too, if that wasn't obvious." Pretty sure collapsing when ya boy relives being truth serumed by the mafia is kind of obvious. At least Mo hadn't been in any condition to see that. Small mercies.

Yes, Mo had been rather too busy to notice much at that particular moment.

"I'd noticed. Refusing to let me out of your general vicinity is rather telling," Mo remarks, managing a small smile, too. "Your intransigence is a tad less effective when you're as familiar with your mind as I am."

Alex can't get out of this one by being contrary, as much as he might pretend at it. It's going to be difficult to reach the point of addressing how Alex can try to deal with Mo vanishing if he refuses to acknowledge that it's going to happen in the first place. Maybe side-step that then.

"When I leave, what are you going to do?"

Mo has some idea of what might occur, but he wants to hear what Alex has to say.

He's not going to do anything, because Mo isn't fucking leaving.

Okay, aside from the denial, next stage of grief. He's already hopped around bargaining, and anger's going to happen once Mo's gone - ditto depression. But acceptance won't happen yet. He won't allow it.

There's that obstinate stupidity again.

"I don't know," he says after a moment, sounding a bit broken. Sarcasm would have just been deflected, and Mo has a particular talent for getting him to be honest, damn his eyes.

That's about the best Mo could have expected as a reply, all things considered. Not outright denial, no sarcasm, no attempt to make light of it.

"Okay," Mo says, quiet. "Well, why don't we have a seat and see if we can come up with a few things?"

And then they don't have to think about it quite so heavily, and can hopefully spend more time just being. He's not foolish enough to think they'll set the trouble aside entirely, but they can try.

Alex nods and runs a hand through his hair, a nervous gesture. "Okay. Yeah." Mo is the absolute best at talking through things and talking him through panic; he'd better goddamn well be, given his job. And considering he got David to stop being Jason Bourne - apparently! - that was proof positive he was the best.

Surely he could talk Alex down from his panic about losing the one person who matters.

...uh-oh.

"Let's give it a go, coach."

"Alright."

They are getting somewhere, at least. Mo disentangles himself far enough that they can freely perch at the edge of one of the beds, and gestures for Alex to sit next to him. From here, getting up and pacing can still happen should either of them decide they'd rather be moving about. And Alex can get as close or as far away as he wants to.

"You have friends here," Mo begins. None of them would know Alex as well as Mo, they've established that, but it's something. "Do you feel comfortable enough with any of them to talk when you're troubled? Even in general terms."

Alex sits down too, near him but not right next to him.

"Well," he begins. There was Valdis, who he wouldn't consider a friend, but whose counsel on police matters he values. And there's Heather, who's honestly the closest thing to a friend he had. They knew some of each other's darkest secrets, though not by choice.

Damn Dreaming, bringing his demons out for all to see, and bringing Mo here for what will be too short a time, no matter how long.

"There's one person, I suppose."

If given the chance, Mo might like the chance to meet this person on his own and see what groundwork he could lay. Unfortunately, that's not likely to happen, since Alex probably won't be letting Mo out of his sight until he no longer has a choice in the matter. Ah, well. That just means preparing Alex as best he can, which was the point of this anyway.

"Good. Start there. Tell them however much you feel able to share, and otherwise just try to remain open to some human interaction. Keep doing things, keep living the life you've built here," Mo suggests. "Something is better than nothing, even if it's small."

You're damn right Alex won't let you out of his sight, Mo. He wants you around as long as you'll stay, since he knows you're going to go. He wants to just be here with Mo, despite the fact that his issues are trying damn sure not to allow it.

"It's damned cruel, you know? For this piece-of-shit world to bring you here, then take you away."

"Yes, it's incredibly sadistic," Mo agrees, sighing.

It might have been better for Alex had Mo not been brought here at all, but that speculation has been rendered moot since Mo is here.

"At least I'm not deceased, like some of the other visitors. That's both better and worse, in some ways," he says, smoothing a fold in the blanket. Then Mo smiles. "Why don't we spite this piece-of-shit world by making the best of the time I'm here for? Your obstinate stupidity and ability to be contrary is unmatched, if I recall correctly."

Alex disagrees. He'd rather have someone he knows here for just a little, rather than not at all. And at least Mo had confirmed that everything turned out all right back home. That was at least a weight off his mind, that Kruppie and David and Marie and the kids had survived. That Mo had survived.

"Damn right it is," he says with a smile. "So what, you got anything in mind? I'm afraid I'm not up on the local nightlife, with one exception, and it's a weird exception." The Shaded Lantern's not what you think, Mo. Well, okay, it is, but his reasons for hanging out there aren't what you think. He's got friends in interesting places.

There, that's better. Alex has some ideas of what to do after Mo is gone, and he might be a little less anxious for the time Mo is still here. He'll continue making nudges until he leaves.

"I'm not exactly a nightlife person," Mo says wryly. Bar-hopping was rather off the menu, given Alex's history, although a quiet place that had a variety of options could be doable. "You could show me more of your favorite places here. I'm still trying to get a handle on some of the strange cuisine. No need to do anything terribly special on my account."

"It bears repeating: don't eat the sea prunes." Some kedan like to foist them off onto unsuspecting newbies as a joke. Some things transcended universes, it seemed.

"There are a surprising number of tea houses here, and a lot of them have pretty good food and are quiet." Since he, you know, doesn't want to deal with loud and busy right now.

"That sounds like something approaching a plan," Mo says approvingly.

A thought crosses his mind again, drifting up from other parts of this conversation and from home. It isn't fair for Mo to show the affection he wants to, when he's going to be torn away soon. What he'd done already was pushing the boundaries of fair.

"We should have this conversation again when we get home," he tells Alex, reaching over to cover Alex's hand with his. "When we know we'll both be around for a while."

"Well, you know me. I'm great at plans." Alex tries to laugh. "And sure. I'll pencil it in." Because the sad truth is that neither of them are going to remember it when they get home. Alex has never been one to loudly rail against the unfairness of the world, because the world isn't fair and never has been, but he has half a mind to now.

He's a little surprised when Mo touches his hand, and he looks down at it, and then back up at Mo. He doesn't say anything, because he's still trying to quash what caused the little 'uh-oh' from earlier, since acknowledging the source of his mild expression of dismay would hurt too much.

"Yeah," Mo says, and it's unclear if he's replying to the item they've just 'scheduled' or Alex's reaction to that one careful touch.

He squeezes Alex's hand gently, and his expression has more than just platonic care or professional concern in it, if Alex can recognize the depth.

"It's this, isn't it, that upset you so much? Losing this," he observes, tone soft.

Losing wwwwwwhat now?

Alex knows better than to play dumb, especially with Mo, who may know him better than he knows himself. He notices the concern and care and oh, damn it all, love in Mo's expression (you didn't survive to his age in his field by being bad at reading human facial cues), and he's so nonplussed, he's minused.

"Yes," he says, just as quietly. This had been the chief cruelty - that Keeliai would bring someone he loves here, only to snatch him away.

Mo breathes deeply and exhales slowly, willing himself to be patient with the universe at large. He's pleased, and it shows, but he restrains himself a little. Leaving after this is going to be damn near traumatic for Alex, if he had to guess. Mo will just have to do his best not to make it worse.

"Well, now that we've established that," Mo starts, a little wry, "we definitely need to have this conversation again when we're both home." He shifts so he can press a kiss to Alex's forehead. Any more than that and he's genuinely worried he might break the man. "We'll figure this out again," Mo promises, settling back.

"We do." Alex turns his hand so he can squeeze Mo's. Goddamnit, seriously, why is this happening now? Terrible fucking timing.

The kiss on his forehead is interesting, not least because it's the first time he's been kissed in...he doesn't even care to consider how long. The fact of the matter is, the gesture's intimate, and personal, and just so very Mo that he almost laughs.

"I think we'd have to be a pair of idiots not to," he says, chuckling. "And I know we haven't even started to figure anything out yet."

When Alex turns his hand, Mo interlaces their fingers like it's the most natural thing in the world. A pair of idiots, indeed.

"True," Mo concedes, smiling. "I suppose we'll have time in between visiting all those tea houses to do as much or as little 'figuring out' as you'd like."

He'd rather let Alex decide how far to take this while Mo is here, since Alex will be the one left alone and remembering. Mo will take what Alex can give, and ask no more of him.

Is that a euphemism? Wait, don't answer that.

"You know, there are other things here. I haven't gotten out there yet, for obvious reasons, but going out to the head of the turtle is supposed to be nice." Also, proof positive that they are in point of fact on an enormous turtle.

And the funny thing is - Alex would give Mo anything he asked for, not just because he feels that he owes the shrink, but because he does genuinely love the man.

It can be a euphemism if so desired.

"We could see if someone could give us a ride," Mo suggests. "I'd like to see that, if only to gape at it. With all the powered people around here, it can't be that hard to hitchhike. We can make a day of it, bring a picnic or something similarly domestic," he adds lightly.

That would be quiet and relatively private, and even relaxing if the turtle's head is as meditative is it's purported to be.

Needs code patch

needs entirely new operating system

I'm assuming it'll be the next Mac OS because all the Mac crashing noises

No, he needs to run some obscure version of Linux

Ah, excellent choice

one that has no support

of course

he wouldn't have it any other way, because he is an ancient computer and should be thrown away

he should never be thrown away, mo won't allow it

right into the trashcan with him, him and all the other broken relics of a bygone era

That's what we have the living computer museum for in Seattle.

"It belongs in a museum!" "SO DO YOU!"

Ehehehehe

You knew I was gonna do that.....you Knew....

I had a feeling

u kno me 2 well

i know u just well enough

that is also true

but what is truth and what is god /shot for babylon 5 reference

Alex: what? no. shut up. I think YOU'RE the gay hedgehog around here x(

They can both be the gay hedgehog

acceptable

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