[Calibrations] Calibrations Still Hurt

[doubled_speed]

WHO: Tommy Sheperd, OTA
WHERE: Tommy’s Calibration Room
WHAT: Calibrations
WHEN: June 10th to July 10th
WARNINGS: CW: Tommy’s Calibrations room potentially contains depictions of child abuse, bullying, and medical experimentation, and dogs used to threaten/harass a child. It depends on what you touch (each will have warnings in strike-through attached).

Arriving in this room means a literal arrival. A door opens, the one to Tommy's room here in Temba. No sooner does one step through the door than it closes behind the arrival, leaving them alone with a Tommy Shepherd who is lounging on a couch against the wall of a very messy room. Honestly, it pretty much relates to his own room at Temba's 'Young Avengers HQ'. At least there's an open window in the room to let in fresh air. The view is weird though as it's of the Las Vegas Strip at night, from a literally impossible angle. It's almost as if the window looks out into the middle of the road itself.

"Hey, welcome," Tommy says, kicking his feet over the arm of the couch. "Just give me a second."

He is flipping through a book, clearly reading. His fingers move quickly, until he seems to get to a good stopping point. Then he stuffs a bookmark in and sits up.

"Forgive the mess. Been busy lately."

And yeah, it's a mess. Not too hard to trip over a pair of goggles with orange lenses in the middle of what should be a walkway to the bed or the bathroom beyond it. Strangely enough even stepping on it owuldn't break them. It probably goes with the silver and green super hero costume slung over a low table stacked with books. Also on that table is a framed photograph of a house Baby Hands Reference.

The rest of the room is filled with scattered clothes, including a worn brown leather belt cw: physical child abuse too big for someone Tommy's size sticking out from under the couch. At least most of it seems to be Tommy's own clothes, but some of it includes shirts that are too small for him, or too big and far too yellow. Yellow definitely isn't as much his color so that's an interesting thing going on. Also on top of a pile of socks happens to be a mass of black and gold fabric that will prove to be a mask. Weird place for it, but okay.

Tucked under the pillow of the bed in the room is a strange metal collar cw: medical experimentation and dogs. It's mostly hidden under the pillow, almost as if to say 'out of sight, out of mind', and yet the placement might well mean it was on Tommy's mind any time he slept. Or maybe that's just reading into things. So maybe don't read into it so much and instead choose to focus on the old CRTV with built in VHS Player in the corner of the room. Is that some old western movie running right now? WHat's up with that?


[OOC: The secret to getting out of Tommy's room before the 'time limit' is to see the mess and volunteer to help clean up while talking to Tommy. Seeing a minimum of one memory can also cause the door to open and allow people to leave at any point. Also if you want a possible different memory or something specific, message me and we can talk.]

Comments

[doubled_speed]

He was mopey. He has muscles. Seems accurate.

"It fits," he says before considering Noctis. "You strike me as a tidy type."

[fatedsacrifice]

That tidy comment had him do a small bark of a laugh. "Not when I was younger. But fortunately I had someone to help me out."

It was more like someone do something for him, but there had been a time or two that he surprised Ignis by cleaning up after himself. Plus he had asked what part of the recycling that a ruined frying pan went into. Iggy had been determined to not throw it out.

[doubled_speed]

Well, that's really fair. Tommy stretches and pushes to his feet.

"I didn't have that so much. I've got Billy on my ass about it now. Which is fair. He's a tidy guy."

[fatedsacrifice]

The king smiled. "Having people here to help you out is always a good thing."

Of course Noctis tossed himself on that list mentally, but outwardly he didn't say anything.

Folding his arms across his chest, there was an amused look on the king's face. "So tell me what's been keeping you so busy?"

[doubled_speed]

Yeah, it is. And he doesn't have to be alone which is a serious bonus.

"You know," he says with a smile as he settles into his bed more. "This is why you're better than some people. You're here to get all cozy and talk. It's civil. I appreciate that."

Which is more honesty than he'd get from Tommy out of a dreamscape.

"But mostly I'm trying wildly hard to keep myself distracted from how lonely I am. Lots of farming to do and all that."

[fatedsacrifice]

Better than some people? That comment had the King smile. He didn't see himself as better than anyone, and his upbringing and time on the road with the guys taught him that. Still, he appreciated the comment of civil and Tommy appreciating his presence.

Sometimes he was pretty convinced that he annoyed the kid.

Leaning against a wall, to maintain this cozy thing and talk he nodded. But then the admission hit him like a ton of bricks. Tommy was so damned busy all the time..but maybe it had been his way of coping?

The king had no idea, but then again of course he wouldn't.

"Then you should hang out with me more. I've always got time for you."

[doubled_speed]

"Then you'll leave," Tommy said with an immediate shrug. "Can't get close. Everyone I get really close to leaves, except for Billy. But we're parts of the same soul so we might be bound here together by force or something."

IT was a theory Tommy hadn't dared to share with anyone yet. That if he got close to someone, if he really cared, they would be taken away by the Agrii.

"And you're happy with Mopey Muscles, so it's better not to get in between that."

[fatedsacrifice]

Noctis took in a sharp breath of air. To hear Tommy talk now, it just made so much damn sense as to why he acted the way that he did. Why he kept himself so busy, yet kept to himself.

He smiled only slightly. "You know I read a quote about something like that in a book once. The guy said something like 'If we deny love that is given to us, if we refuse to give love because we fear the pain of loss, then our lives will be empty, our loss greater.'"

The king smiled sadly. He too knew what it was to love and lose. His Dad, Luna, Cor were starters. Ignis lost his sight in order to protect him, and the list just went on. So the other's words punched him that much harder because he knew. He worried that guys being around him caused them to suffer and he hated it.

The last caught his attention and brought his attention up. "Get in between?" Tommy didn't mean what he thought he meant, right?

[doubled_speed]

Ouch. That hurts a lot there, Noctis. Why are you coming into his dream space and laying out harsh truths like that? Still, it's easier to ignore it by answering.

"Everyone I care for here, except for Billy, they leave. They get home soon after we get all connected and fond. Billy and me, we're two parts of one soul, so it's logical that while I'm here he's here and while he's here I'm here. That's just how it works I guess. But the rest? When I get close, poof."

And that's why he's not getting close anymore. He made his mind up. Support everyone equally and care about no one deeply and things will be better.

[fatedsacrifice]

Noctis sighed. "I know how that goes." All too well really. "But even when I knew what was going to happen, I didn't stop trying to connect to people. My connections to them saved my ass more than once."

And yes he would heartily refer to 'moody muscles' here if asked outright.

"It has to be really lonely trying to live your life that way."

There was no way the king could do it. If he could bring Tommy back with him, the guys would be more than happy to have someone who knew him. That made him wonder if somehow the Gladio that he knew might somehow someway 'know' Tommy even if he never met him before.

[doubled_speed]

Yeah, it is lonely. Stupidly lonely. But he doesn't want to touch any of that. Instead he just frowns at Noctis.

"Here to lecture me?"

[fatedsacrifice]

There was a half sad smile on the king's face as he slowly shook his head. "No. I'm not here to lecture you. I came here to spend time with you and that doesn't involve me telling you what to do or how to live your life here."

[doubled_speed]

Spend time with him? Tommy looks around. The place is a memory space, and so he has to laugh.

"Way to choose it, Noctipus."

[fatedsacrifice]

The king shrugged. "I wasn't just talking about here, but here is a good start at least." It was in his mind anyway. "But tell me about this place where we are right now."

[doubled_speed]

"Uh... It looks like my room in Temba, but filled with shit that shouldn't be there," Tommy admits. "Billy and Teddy and I converted the place not long after we got here."

Except Teddy's gone. Damn, Tommy got attacked in this very space once.

[fatedsacrifice]

The king shook his head with a small smile and a slightly teasing tone in his voice. "No I don't think the decor here would match the world."

Noct wasn't sure if he was going to ask about the Teddy person, recalling Tommy's other words earlier, so he didn't.

[doubled_speed]

"Yeah. Like? Who has an old CRTV?"

Probably a weird thing to own, right? Tommy knew it was. But that's a whole other thing since it wasn't rightly his.

[fatedsacrifice]

Noctis looked at the machine and shook his head.

"Geez. That's pretty old."

But then again that might be new tech to someone here.

[doubled_speed]

Yeah, it really is. Tommy laughs.

"I have one where I live back home."

[fatedsacrifice]

The king shook his head.

"You keep stuff like this normally?"

[doubled_speed]

"Not me. The guy I live with back home. He's an old fashioned dude. He uses them to watch old VHS movies."

That the guy had been in actually.

[fatedsacrifice]

"Old fashioned huh?" Noctis asked in his usual soft voice. The word in his mind was antique, but he wasn't going to mention that.

"Sounds interesting."

[doubled_speed]

"Yeah," he agrees. "Hard to believe people used to use these things. But I guess it's just something that happened."

But it was still sorta part of 'home' for him.

"Guess Mom left it behind there. I can't imagine Master P brought it."

[fatedsacrifice]

[He let the words go right past him until Tommy mentioned something that sounded vaguely familiar.]

Wait, did you just say Master P?

[doubled_speed]

Yeah. Master Pandemonium. He's okay now.