[closed] we're headed to the dive bar we always thought was nice

[agoddessonce]

WHO: Ororo agoddessonce and others. Starters posted in the comments!
WHEN: late June and into early July, post-Mission 003
WHERE: Harry's Hideaway Pub, Up in the sky
WHAT: When you're reeling from some trauma, you gotta chase it down with a beer and some good company.
NOTES\WARNINGS: Drinking, healthy and unhealthy coping mechanisms, probably some discussion of X-Men-typical bigotry.

Comments

for scott (@redvisor)

[agoddessonce]

[ Perhaps it is just a natural progression of things, Ororo reflects, when she realizes that as the population of Etraya grows, people were trying to find places and people with whom they fit best. Kate had Bishop Publishing for the teenagers and young adults, there was a farm that some children (children!, Ororo's heart still hurts just thinking about them and wonders every day if she shouldn't be there, being more present for those kids.) and mutants... had the mansion, even if they didn't really need it. Etraya was a place where they could settle down in any place, and not be hunted for it.

There weren't many places that could profess to be as adults-only as the kids and teens were doing - but she supposes Harry's is close. There's no bouncer, though, so honestly - anyone could come in. Ororo herself was only here not because she needed to be away or that she wanted to a break from everyone, but because... well... perhaps she was chasing ghosts.

She sits in corner booth with a glass of ice water, this time. She'll have something harder later, but... perhaps, if someone were to turn up and keep her company - that'd be a decent excuse to crack open a beer. ]

[redvisor]

( since his arrival here to etraya, he feels as if he's been in a constant state of whiplash. from the idea of this place, to the mansion, to jean, to having to relive guilts and memories that have plagued him for months now... he hasn't gotten much in the way of peace and it's beginning to take a toll on him. emotionally, more than physically.

while not a cure by any means, the thought of chasing away even just a fraction of it all with a bit of alcohol is why he's here. leather jacket adorned, ruby quartz shades as always, he slips his way inside. hands in jacket pockets. ignoring the world around him for the most part. that is, until he catches sight of that white hair that would be impossible to miss. not his storm, just as he's not her cyclops. not his jean. yet that doesn't seem to really stop him from going over, what with her being here all by herself. )

Buy you a drink?

( as if that's actually a thing here. it's not. )

[agoddessonce]

[ She glances up at Scott's approach, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her lips. No, he wasn't the Scott she personally knew, but Scott was Scott. She'd worry about him no matter where he hailed from and no matter what they'd gone through together.

His opener's a good one, even if a little tired. The fact that it is not a thing here certainly helps. ]

Do you say that to anyone you meet here?

[ Said bar is well-stocked with beer that she finds familiar. None of it she particularly likes - they all seemed to be imported brews that Kurt and Logan favored, years and years ago. But maybe Scott would find something that appealed to him? ]

[redvisor]

What sort of guy do you take me for?

( it’s said gently. a means to try and keep things light despite the very dark shadows stretched across his heart and mind. he does his best to wear them nonchalantly, like always, and takes a moment to look around at what they have to offer here. some strange. some familiar. some you couldn’t pay him to touch. as expected, a little bit of everything. )

But if you’d rather be alone, I promise I can handle the rejection.

( it’s a little dryly said, looking back to ororo as he does. )

[agoddessonce]

Hmm. The sort to buy a friend a drink when he finds them alone. [ She doesn't move from her table, their table, whatever it was now. Props her chin up on her hands, elbows on the surface like a petulant teenager. Something about Scott made her feel less like a leader - mostly because she knew she didn't need to put that face on around him.

She smiles back as he looks at her, fond and a little nostalgic. He feels younger, but the same. He didn't have all the sharp edges that she knew her Scott had - many of those she knows she'd caused herself. ]

Would you surprise me with something from the bar?

[redvisor]

Think I can handle that.

( there’s a smile just barely there on his lips. a shadow, to go along with the others he carries with him. making his way off to the bar.

he chooses something he knows the ororo he’s familiar with to like, hoping the two of them might share similar tastes. it’s strange to think about. to have these people here who he’s known for so much of his life - has lived with and been through so much with… only to not really know them at all. familiar. but still strangers to an extent. even he himself is that to them.

the usual sort of beer for himself, he comes back to the table ororo has for herself. sets the drinks down, then joins her. gentle slide of the bottle over to her with a knuckle. his own there in front of him. )

You usually come here when no one’s looking?

[agoddessonce]

[ Some things appear to be same across the universe. Ororo's hair, Scott's eyes... taste in beer, apparently. She makes no effort to hide her smile; it helps them both to know that he's guessed correctly. ]

I was not aware that anyone would be looking. [ Anyone who would be looking would be... Jean, mostly, and all Jean needed to do was scan for her. She'd be easily found. ]

Ah, unless you had need for me, Scott. I'm sorry if I'd been making myself scarce. It was not intentional.

[redvisor]

( top cracked off, he brings the bottle up to his lips. pauses. then takes a swig from it. the number of drinks he's had since everything happened back home... )

No, you're good.

( it's said gently, smile still barely there on his lips as he looks to her, taking another swig after. )

There's been a lot going on. ( a shrug of a shoulder. ) Can't blame anyone for wanting to get away for a bit. Or at least as much as one can when they're stuck here.

[agoddessonce]

There's not much in the way of options, for getting away. [ She laughs, and it's a little humorless. All things considered, there isn't exactly much to be amused by. ]

I'd typically be off into the sky, but it felt... right, to stay grounded. [ Grounded and here, in this old-fashioned old bar. The mansion could have helped too, but it was so empty. The pub at least felt a little more lived in, if she looked outside. ]

And yourself? What brings you looking in here?

Starter for Storm

[smallbat]

[In the days after the mess of plushie hunting Cass is tired. There's so much going on with the family while nothing at all she's been avoiding them by getting out and exploring the city. After recently finding Harry's and the pool table Cass has been heading in late at night and playing on quiet evenings. When it's got more then a person or two she won't stay but tonight there's no one there. So she just gets herself a drink from the bar and spends time perfecting her form.

When the door opens she looks up to see Ororo come in and her desire to flee at the idea of strangers is calmed a little bit.]

Your majesty. [She says with a grin clearly teasing this time as she reaches for the drink she's got to help take a little bit of the edge off. ]

[agoddessonce]

[ Ororo blinks once when she hears the term, clearly startled. It takes a moment to remember those cards at the coffeeshop, and when she does she finally offers Cass a faint smile. ]

Just Ororo, please. [ She heads over to the bar instead of going straight to Cass by the pool table. She needs a glass, first! ]

This place is hardly suitable for a regent, or a queen.

[smallbat]

Don't worry I was kidding. [Cass shoots around the table sinking ball after ball while Ororo gets a drink, her aim and skill in it obvious and she's clearly not trying to hide it. ]

I'd think probably queens or whatever would want some time to escape from real life into a place exactly like this though. [She says once Storm gets her drink.]

Outside of the public eye?

[agoddessonce]

I think that would probably be the case for most anyone, not just queens.

For example, for people with large, adoptive families... I'm sure it's become a habit to escape into a hidden place as well. [ She comes over to join her with a glass of lemon cider in hand. She actually isn't here to drink drink. ]

You're very good. Did you do this often, in your home?

[smallbat]

Maybe. Some people are probably extroverted enough that they don't like the quiet. [She sinks another ball finishing off the table before going to rerack another set.]

Home was really more of a 'throwing things' kind of group. Hence the aim. [She quirks her head to the side a little bit giving Ororo a smile. Surely baterangs count as throwing games or something.]

How about your family?

[agoddessonce]

'Throwing things'... not at each other, I hope? [ She sounds dubious and cautious at the thought of making this assumption. Please say it wasn't throwing things at each other. ]

I had something of a large adopted family myself - some things were thrown, but not often.

[smallbat]

[She takes a moment to process that statement and what it might mean. Did she mean actual fighting throwing. That was limited to basically when someone was mind controlled. ]

Not in a negative way, anyways. [Heck Cass even tried to avoid fighting with people when they're mind controlled as she always has to temper her own fighting skills against any of them.]

What sort of things did your family get up to?

[agoddessonce]

Oh, this and that. [ Ororo looks around the pub, finally coming close enough to Cass to lay a hand on the edge of the pool table. ]

We had a recreation room in the old mansion - but when we felt like a night out to drink and unwind, it was to this place exactly. With the billiards table and all.

( up in the sky )

[anewhope]

[ she really is a pleasant sight. clark can't quite get over it. he's never really seen anyone fly like him before. well. not like him. he's not a mutant. but it feels like a bond all the same. ]

Nice day, isn't it?

[agoddessonce]

[ The population of Etraya continues to grow, and more places and buildings seemed to pop up by the week, if not by the day. Somehow, the sky was still as empty as ever -- there was not much in the way of birds or planes, or people capable of flight.

Superman's the only other one who flies with any sort of regularity around here, even if they don't cross paths or talk much. She still greets him with a warm, if subdued, smile. ]

Is it? What is your criteria for that, for considering it nice?

[anewhope]

[ clark blinks as he considers his words with a faint smile. ]

I like it when the sky is clear. Sunny.

[ he always feels best under the sun. ]

You?

[agoddessonce]

I like the sky in whatever mood she wants to be in. Sunny, or otherwise. [ She's aware of how strange that probably sounds to someone who isn't connected to the weather, but it's not something she'll explain further. Unless he asks, anyway.

She looks up, eyes distant. ]

It is best when there isn't an invisible barrier keeping us in, however.

[anewhope]

[ he nods slowly. ]

I've never felt so . . . restrained before.

[agoddessonce]

[ She considers that. Hmm. ]

It's a unique sort of restraint. They let us move about, but like we are birds in a cage. [ She shakes her head ruefully; she doesn't have to lead with such sad, miserable talk. ]

Apologies; it's such a nice day out, too. We... should speak of lighter things, yes? How have you been, Superman?

[anewhope]

[ again, he blinks. it feels like something else is on her mind with the way she delivers her responses. ]

I've been all right. The plush business was . . . painful though.

[agoddessonce]

[ She's definitely been thinking of too many things at once, so he'd be right. But she's with Superman now, so she it's easier to just focus on him. ]

For you as well? Was someone able to help you?