action and video.

[rebuildyourruins]

Who: Thor + you
Broadcast: yes, video
Action: First Breath and Blue Fish
When: January 3rd - 4th

closed to Natasha.

[It takes some time for Thor to calm down enough from the shock of his memories to even think about what to do next. He had effectively chosen one thing of importance - Loki - and firmly shoved everything else to the side for hours. To take stock of the rest of it, look his own glaring mistakes in the face, was too much for him at the outset. But Thor isn't selfish at heart. There's only so long he can take focusing on himself before his mind turns to others.

He has to review what he knows from those last shattering moments on Earth with a grim objectivity before he gets in touch with the others. Once he does, it's easy enough to put together some of the pieces from his conversations with Natasha and know she's the one to call.

Not call exactly, but text.]

Can you meet me in the Space Bar?

[He briefly considers saying something else, bracing her for what he wants. There's no way he can think of to put that into text, though, so he doesn't. Once it's sent, he heads over to the Iskaulit to wait.]

action - first breath.

[Thor hadn't exactly been subtle when he came hurtling through the First Breath the night before, running straight through the ship in full battle armor before shutting himself in Loki's room. And that's where he stayed for a long time.

He does eventually come out though, rubbing tiredly at his face and heading into the kitchen. Thor's been here enough times to know where everything is. After a few moments of staring blankly at the countertops and cupboards, unreality threatening to unmoor him, he shakes himself and smacks the coffee pot onto the stove.

He'll be there for a while, drinking coffee at the bench and gazing vaguely at some fixed point on the wall. Still in full cape and mail sleeves. The bone-deep exhaustion in his face might have something to do with it.]

action - blue fish.

[Thor returns to his own ship during the day, knowing abstractly that the Fleet is due to depart this world soon. In the past he would prepare for this, restocking the food supplies and ensuring everything in the armory was locked back into place and accounted for. That was when the ship had more crew, and he hadn't yet become captain. Still, it needed to be done. Regardless of how unworthy he feels when he enters his own bedroom and sees the captain's bed in there.

Thor can be found stacking up crates in the cargo bay, checking through the fridges and freezers, and doing systems checks. Later on, he opts to sit on the top of the ship, watching the snow fall in silence.]

video.

[It's not the sudden reappearance of the short, jagged hair Thor used to sport or the incongruous brown eye where his eyepatch usually is that most dominates Thor's face when the video switches on. It's the weariness etched in hard lines all over him. There's no mistaking it, regardless of his otherwise composed demeanour. He merely nods at the camera before he starts, gruffer than usual.]

For those who knew her, Riona Cousland Theirin has left the Fleet. She was here for over three years, so I know she will be missed by many of us.

[There's a pause as though he might say more, but decides against it.]

The captaincy of the Blue Fish has fallen to me in her place. If you have any questions about that, you can bring them to me. [Thor shuts his eyes briefly, shaking his head.] Or... anything else.

[No doubt there might be some. He switches off the feed.]

Comments

[abracafcku]

How much fucking worse can I get.

[It's said as a statement of fact rather than a question. He's already back on bedrest after sprinting through the First Breath and even though he's healed quite a bit, he's still looking worse than his usual flair would allow. He holds out a hand for the glass and, when it wavers a little, he drops it back down immediately. No sense in looking weak right now.

After a moment, as he watches Thor pour the Evermead into his glass, he cautiously broaches the elephant in the room.]

So, you wanna, I dunno, vent about what the fuck happened? Or just drink until we're too stupid to think about it?

[rebuildyourruins]

[There's a long beat of silence as Thor stares into his glass. People keep asking if he wants to talk, and the honest answer is no. Not really. To talk is to have to explain and after losing so many people here who already knew part of the story, the idea of explaining it all again is like nails on a chalkboard. It hadn't been so long ago that he was bluntly dropping these details to strangers. But a lot can happen in a day.]

Loki died. A lot of others too.

[abracafcku]

Yeah, I figured as much.

[But it wasn't a story that Taako really needed to hear. He'd talked to Loki a little, knew that he'd died, could guess what had happened from his injuries, A lot of people dying is what he suspected had happened considering some really bad shit had to go down for gods to take a hit like they had.

But it wasn't a story he felt he had any right to, so he watches Thor carefully.]

And Taako's like, good with hearing about it if you wanna say so, but he's also good with not, yanno? You could just yell about how stupid it all is and I dunno, punch a wall or something. I can transmute it back - and they reset themselves in a day anyway.

[rebuildyourruins]

No. [He shakes his head, sipping at his drink.] Getting angry over it is... it already lead to much worse, so I don't want to do that.

[Belatedly he looks over the edge of his glass at Taako, scrutinising him.]

Nor do I want to ruin your walls just because they can be fixed again.

[abracafcku]

Fuck, I do it all the time.

[He'd demonstrate, but casting big magic when there's someone here is a little hard in the small space. He motions instead then to the mural of rad 90s-era Guy Fieri styled flames decorating the far wall, half obscured by boxes of clothes and knick-knacks.]

Pretty sure that's an affront to the entire concept of interior design, but I don't give a shit. Impulse control was never my strong suit. Never saw the point of it.

[So he doesn't see the point of it now, when Thor's lost so much.]

[rebuildyourruins]

[Normally Thor would be all for it. Coming off his botched attempt to murder Thanos, though, he's all too aware of how his anger has unintended consequences. Something he thought he was past after all he had learned the last few years.]

They are a bit ugly.

[Don't ask Thor's opinions on interior decorating, he's brutal.]

[abracafcku]

Uh, rude?

[He grabs his glass and sulks over the rim of it, or tries to. He's too amused by how absolutely blunt that was to actually be mad.]

You don't see me up in here critiquing your hair and clothes.

[rebuildyourruins]

[Thor blows out a breath, sipping at the evermead again. It's much stronger stuff than what he's used to in the Fleet so he's not going through this whole glass just yet.]

The hair wasn't my idea, you know. It used to be much longer.

[It's a well-worn huff by now, though the edge of it has dulled. He's really ceased to care that much about the hack-job done on his hair.]

[abracafcku]

Why not just get someone to magic it up, then? Because short? Looks great. Long? Probably could still hit that.

But the in-between? [Taako waggles a hand in the universe *ehhhhh* gesture.]

Gotta keep that maintained, my dude.

[rebuildyourruins]

[Now he does smile, humourless.]

It has not been high on my priorities.

[abracafcku]

Ah but "clothes maketh the man," m'dude. You gotta care about how you look. It really changes your entire outlook.

[Case in point, even if Taako is stuck in bed all the time, he still takes care of his appearance. Hair brushed, accessories worn, everything like it should be at all times every time.]

Besides, when the rest of your life is shit, at least that's one thing you got control over.

[rebuildyourruins]

Not always. Certainly not lately.

[There was little chance to stop by a tailor's when he was busy getting exploded twice in twenty-four hours. Thor taps a finger against his glass before he downs the rest of it, glad of the burn in the back of his throat.]

[abracafcku]

[Once he downs the glass, Taako uses Mage Hand to lift the bottle, bringing it over to Thor. It hovers a moment to wait for permission to pour him another.]

Mm, well, I guess that's true.

[Life can't get more shit than having your brother and an unknown number of other people die suddenly. Especially if said brother got straight up murdered. Taako goes quiet for a moment then he glances at Thor.]

Then again, you never know until you try. You're one hell of a beefcake, but I bet I can magic some shit up for you if you wanna try.

[rebuildyourruins]

[Thor stares at the hovering bottle for a moment, raising his eyebrows at Taako before holding his glass out. Go ahead, magic bottle, but next time he's using his hands.]

Not that I think you would do anything nefarious, only the last time someone went near my hair they used a buzzsaw on it.

[Which might explain why it's so nasty right now. He sighs.]

Twelve months I spent growing it out again in the Fleet...

[He knows this is a completely pointless thing to be concerned about. And he isn't, not truly. Thor just grasps at the conversation because it means he doesn't need to talk about worse yet.]

[abracafcku]

[He pours out a healthy dose, more than he should probably pour and then lets the bottle float back to the side table. He raises an eyebrow and then tilts his head.]

How about this?

[He waves his hand and casts Minor Illusion. It won't work forever, but it'll give him a taste of what he might look like with his hair evened out and cleaner.]

Can't make your hair grow faster, but at the least I can show you what it'd be like again? Unless you prefer longer.

[rebuildyourruins]

[It's fine, Thor's a big boy. Though it is strong stuff and frankly he's glad he let Taako talk him into it. For a moment he isn't sure what Taako's done exactly, but he catches his reflection in the glass and -- oh. Huh. Turning his head to get a better look at the illusion of his hair at a uniform length, he hums with appreciation.]

I did prefer longer, yeah, but at this point I'm used to the short... it does look better though.

[abracafcku]

[Another wave of his hand and he's glad that cantrips take so little effort on his part. The second illusion lengthens his hair, longer than it had been before when Taako first met Thor.]

You can rock 'em both, honestly. Lucky you, having such a handsome face.

[rebuildyourruins]

[Ironically, it's almost the length it was before his first unplanned visit to Earth. Thor tilts the glass to look at it once more, his smile somewhat wistful.]

Yeah. And back up to the normal number of eyes, too.

[abracafcku]

I could change that up too, if you wanted. Get yourself a surplus, never have to worry about missing one again.

[He doesn't move to change his appearance to that though. Instead, he smirks over the rim of his glass, sipping at the Evermead and closing his eyes against that smooth burn in the back of his throat.]

Fuck, I'm so good at this. It tastes almost as good as I remember it.

[rebuildyourruins]

[That gets a chuckle out of him.]

I didn't even get this one myself. Someone else gave it to me.

[Finished admiring Taako's handiwork, he brings the glass to his lips again.]

If I'd known you could spirit up something like this, I would have asked about it earlier. It's hard to find drink this strong on any of the planets we visit.

[abracafcku]

Weird present to get, but sure, cool. I dig the heterochromia, makes that pretty face of yours even more unforgettable.

[He winks and lowers his glass, settling it on his lap.]

And if you want more of this, you just have to get me a good base to work off - high quality ingredients make higher quality products. I swiped this from a bar planetside before I got all fucked up.

[rebuildyourruins]

It was a spur of the moment thing, I think. He seemed to think I'd need two eyes to fight.

[Not that Thor had minded. It was a genuinely useful gift, regardless of what Rocket had thought while giving it to him. The comment makes him grin a little though.]

Flatterer. And that is good to know. I do not mind the usual fare you can get at the bars or on the planets, but for actual strength... this is uncommon.

[Thor doesn't often aim to get drunk, not anymore. In the past he had regularly; you could hardly hold an Asgardian feast without half the attendees ending up that way. It was just how things were. But other priorities took over and he doesn't seek it out so much anymore.

Or hadn't, before the universe burned.]

[abracafcku]

Always. [He gives Thor a wink and a wide grin.] Although not having an eye hadn't really seemed to slow you down much. Now you got much less of that sexy fantasy pirate vibe. But I guess you could just wear the eyepatch for funsies.

[Taako swirls the Evermead in his glass.]

And yeah, it's why it's so highly prized on my world. Elves are notoriously stingy with their shit. I had to steal a drink of it, so this is based on my memory of what it tasted like. Haven't been able to afford or really find anyone who had it since.

[rebuildyourruins]

Mm, unlikely. It's a pain in the ass.

[It could itch, and move without warning, and don't get him started on how gross it got if he was sweating. Thor isn't sorry to leave the eyepatch behind... nor the mixed feelings he had looking in the mirror and seeing aspects of his father staring back out at him.]

I cannot blame them. I would hoard this too. If I ever have the chance to receive Asgardian liquor here again, I'll let you try some.

[abracafcku]

[He snorts and shrugs.] Could get you a fashionable one to wear at parties. Make it a party trick. Everyone thinks you're wearing it functionally, they get mad that you have an eye underneath, then you pop out the eye like "Gotcha" and watch 'em scream.

[It's a mundane prank, but it'd be hilarious the first time at least.]

And sure thing, fair exchange and all, but uh...god liquor isn't going to like, be so intense I explode or something, right? I'm kinda done with that for awhile.