revivalproject | [Open] These Broken Pieces Of Life

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[Open] These Broken Pieces Of Life

WHO: Tommy Shepherd, Open
WHERE: Young Avengers HQ, The Diner, The Greenhouse, The Beach Cave Hot Springs
WHAT: Returning to Temba, Broken Down Home, Farming, Failing To Hide Emotional Pain.
WHEN: August 1st through 15th
WARNINGS: N/A

I. Another Ruined Home | Young Avengers HQ

Freedom. Sunlight. A sandwich made of greens and beautiful vegetables from the greenhouse. A meal that was doing nothing to make what was before him any better. Home, for the last several years... Broken.

"Fucking hell," he grumbled around his mouthful of baconroom wrap. "Because when it fucking rains..."

It fucking poured. The roof was busted open, the door fallen off, and he could already see through the opening that their shared living room space was fucked. And now Tommy had no choice but to hope that things would be fixable. That he could bring out the things that mattered until such time he could have his home and his life back.

"Fat chance that, with my luck."

II. Moving In Day | The Diner

It's only temporary, Tommy tells himself as he pushes into the Diner and puts the heavy box in his arms on the table. He's so tired after all of the work of cleaning the HQ out. Fuck, he just hadn't wanted to deal with that today.

"Tea," he decides, moving to the counter to fish out the kettle so he could fill it with water. Once he's got the thing full and his hand near it to start heating it, he looks to the door in the corner that he never really used. One of the two sets of stairs that led up into the apartment that was once Eli's. A space that hadn't been used in years.

"Home sweet home I guess. But damn, how am I supposed to get a new bed up the stairs? They're narrow!"

III. Whistle While You Work | The Greenhouse

Stressed? Frustrated by the turn of events? Need to feel accomplished in life? Have you ever considered Farming(tm)?!

Tommy groans at the voice running stupid infomercials in his head as he enters the greenhouse, grabs a basket with pruning sheers and gloves from the door, and looks around. The green, the smell of plants, the familiarity of this place... It's strangely soothing to Tommy. Like coming home. Perhaps it was, given no one had put as many years of care and attention into this place as he had.

And this? This was the place he remembers. Tommy immediately moves to the first area where he should have been harvesting already and sets into it. And he pauses only when he hears motion.

"Someone there?" he calls out, looking around. Strange. Not many people came here like he did.

IV. The Calm Is A Lie | Beach Caves Hot Spring

He didn't come here often. There was always the risk he'd turn the wrong way and end up in the crystal rich parts of the minds. Super charging his powers right now was not something Tommy was particularly keen on. It would only make all of this decidedly worse.

Caution was the watch word as he moved through the caves, hand on a wall, until he could hear the water and feel the heat. The springs. A place to soak sore muscles, and he'd been sore as hell since they'd headed underground. No amount of sauna could have helped with it. Now Tommy didn't hesitate for even a second to strip out of his clothes and slip into the almost too hot water.

"Fuck," he mumbled once he was settled into it. It felt so good. So freeing. So nice.

"Fuck," he repeated as he felt a sting in his eyes. It's just from the heat of the water. It's from how hot it is, turning his skin a little pinker. That's it. He's not crying. He's not crying.

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Seriously? Tommy stares at Steve and the bursts out laughing. Like, wow man, way to be rude there.

"In your defense, Tom Cruise was hot before Scientology. But then he definitely got caught up in rich people cult, so you know, less hot. But seriously, dude, I was bi before showing up here. Tony Stark? Famously so. My twin? Gay since he could walk. This place doesn't make people like that. You can't make someone gay or bi or ace or anything else. It's who we are. We're born this way."

And he has no shame in that. Why should he? There's nothing wrong with them and how they feel.

"You've got to consider the advantages to it, though, if the Atroma even begin to get what all queerness means. No babies. Well, except the two times, and those were a headache to deal with, but the women were also already pregnant before coming here. Can you imagine it? Bringing a baby around into this?"

"What is Scientology? He became a scientist? But what about acting?"

Steve shakes the idea off and goes to the other one instead. Born that way? Steve had heard it was a lifestyle choice but...he didn't really feel like he chose anything to fall in love with Eddie or Nancy. It just sort of happened. So maybe Tommy was onto something with that. And the idea of it keeping out babies? Yeah, that also had to help.

"Wait, there were two pregnant women here? Seriously? That's insane! Why would they scoop up those people?"

"No. A cult that poses as a religion that says an alien sneezed and that corrupted human souls or some shit. But it's okay, you can fix it with donations to the cult."

That's literally as much as he knows about them. Creepy shit.

"Sansa. She came here from the Drift Fleet pregnant. I think my brother got used as a babysitter some, I don't know. And then there was Leia, who was some the Jedi universe. She had twins. Oh, wait, there was Din's little green kid. But I think I heard someone say he was in his fifties, his species just develops slow."

So yeah, lots of fucking kids, and that was never a good thing.

"ANd then there was the lion cub that could talk... You know, we had some really strange people here."

So yeah, he doesn't have answers.

Steve blinks. And then just nods, accepting it. Maybe this is just something from Billy's universe; no one where he's from could be that stupid. Tom Cruise? No way.

"Wait. A lion cub that could talk? A green kid who is fifty? Jesus Christ, this place just grabs from all over. I already saw the walking blue porcupine thing and the buffed out fucking turtle." Steve pauses and considers. "Do you think we're weird to them? Like...walking, naked monkeys?"

Oh Steve. Oh precious, precious Steve. Sweet summer child.

"Oh, that's Sonic and Donatello," Tommy says brightly. "They're super cool. And yeah, it's weird to Sonic. Not to Donatello. He's from New York."

Steve nods. "Yeah, okay. I can see New York having shit like that. I've heard stories."

And the Italian name? Yeah this all checks out.

"It's kinda cool though, you know? That everyone has such weird and different worlds. My friend back home would lose his shit about it."

Yeah, stories. Tommy snorts in amusement. That sounds about right.

"I suppose it's pretty good to see the differences. So many different Earths for one thing."

"Yeah like this one dude has an Earth with a clown alien or whatever. You have one with superpowers. I mean...I guess I do too, sort of. But like. Yeah, man. It's kinda cool."

Steve brushes his hands off and looks around the area, thinking.

"So... I'm not gonna lie, I totally got this brain-ball thing for plants so I could see if one of these would make good shampoo," he admits with an unapologetic smile. "Your hair is pretty good. Got any secrets? Or have ideas about what to try?"

Sorta does as well? Intriguing. Not that Tommy knows much about what's up in their world.

"I'll admit I haven't bothered looking into shampoos for it. I just ask my brother for stuff for it, since it's a small ask. See, my brain isn't quite the same, and it glitches with these things? Like, I understand the plants, and sometimes what they do. I know what's edible and not, I know how to preserve them. Not as good with the medical or other uses, or how to cook them."

Steve looks at them and, yeah. He knows how to take care of them and all, now. But the rest? He has an idea but not necessarily the firm knowledge. "I guess we can mess around with them and find out. Do any smell like, flowery? Or nice? Or any of them sort of like an aloe? That would be a good base for it..."

Tommy has to think on that, arms across his chest and eyes closed as he tries really hard to get through his memories on the matter.

"I remember purple blossoms and a stem that, when bruised, produces a soapy residue. I think you cook it down. Maybe."

He wasn't entirely certain on that though.

"There is aloe though. Brought it back from somewhere. Can't remember."

Steve looks at the purple blossoms and the knowledge of how to care for it comes to his mind. It's a surreal, freaky sort of feeling. But also, he can feel the possibilities there. The idea that it could be used with the aloe for something greater.

"Dude. Yeah. Let me...You mind if I pull a plant or two to use back in my room? I just want to mess around with it a little before I bring the aloe in..."

"Yeah man, go ahead. Just shelter it from the storms," TOmmy says. "We've learned that storms make the non-native plants go weird, and greenhouse plants aren't native."

It had taken years to come to that conclusion as well.

Steve frowns.

"Wait. So all of these plants are from like... different universes and shit?" He doesn't know how else they could be non-native. The idea that this planet has a long and storied history is one he hasn't come across yet.

"I don't know about different universes. I mean, yes, some of them. Ones we brought. But they might just be different planets. Actually all of them might be different planets."

They just aren't from this world. Probably.

"You'd have to ask Dustin for more details from the little plant-people, but I can definitely say shit that isn't FROM this planet gets fucked up bad by the storms. We got attacked by a lot of it, last summer."

Steve snorts a laugh. "Dustins everywhere are geniuses. If I have a boy I know what I have to name them. Maybe just as a middle name so they're not too much smarter than me right off the bat."

He starts carefully digging up some of the flowers to bring back to his room.

"What kind of stuff do they do?"

Are they? Okay, he'll mark that down in his book.

"Well, they mutated and created vine-hound-monsters that tried to capture people and drag them back to evil pods," he says with a shrug. "And then the vines that tried to strangle people. The evil gas moss... There was a lot of bad stuff."

The mention of vines coming alive and being monsters hits too close to home for him. Steve goes pale at the idea of it but shakes it off. There's none of that Upside Down shit here. It would be crazy to think he'd see it again on this planet.

Totally crazy.

"That sucks, shit. Okay, yeah. No messing with it during a storm."

"Yeah. Just leave it inside. And if you're not going to stay agriculture, then ask someone to check in on it who is," he says with a shrug. "Best advice I can give. You'll know how to take care of whatever you take, until you give up the data point."

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[Open] These Broken Pieces Of Life

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