The lies, the filth! I just want to be clean!

[unbearablynaive]

WHO: The Vision
WHERE: The central fountain, followed by the lake to the south
WHAT: A gift or two for the Revivalists
WHEN: Afternoon through evening
WARNINGS: Probably none


The Soapmonger
Little surprise to anyone that had known his gardening hobby back in the Fleet, the Vision had gravitated quickly to the greenhouse and its related agriculture data point. The building is too big to explore in a single day, even a long Agri 10 day, but after some targeted searching he'd found a couple of important things. First, and most importantly, a good supply of the edible vegetables and fruits that will help sustain their small community.

Second, and probably more importantly, a supply of soap.

There are two kinds: a saponin plant discovered by Sansa that one can simply rip up and rub over one's body like soap, and a few bars of a trial soap made from one of the better-scented oils they've been able to press from some of the plants. It's made the old-fashioned way, mixed with ash and then pressed into bars with makeshift tools and the Vision's strength due to his ability to change density. To be most effective it should really cure for a few weeks at least, but for now? It's soap in familiar bars, and it should work passably well. He's even stamped it with a symbol - a little windrose.

"One bar each to start with, if you please. It will take some time to make more."

He hopes people like it.



The Shallow Lake
What's soap without somewhere to bathe? This watery area of the city was clearly not always like this - it's broad and shallow, and it looks like there are roads and parts of structures underneath. Is it coming from a buried spring? A busted water pipe? The Vision is curious and wants to investigate, but first they need to determine if the water is safe to go into.

It doesn't bother his skin, but given that he's an android, that's not saying much. Come along and help him investigate, or just splash around and test out that soap! There are probably parts where it's even pleasantly warmed by the sun. And he alternates between wading through and gliding above the water, looking for its source.



Alone Together
Slowly but surely, Wanda and the Vision have been making the abandoned shop area into a place they can feel comfortable staying, even if it will never be a home like that have back on Naviadna. But the liberal application of freshly-picked flowers, simple room dividers made of light wood and vines and broad jungle leaves, a fireplace for cooking set up in one corner, and a real wooden bedframe stuffed with the most comfortable leaves and scavenged blankets they can find. Things are beginning to shape up.

Later today he'll present his soap to the rest of the community, but the first dibs go to his wife. He's got two bars of the soap and a flowery-scented oil, and their biggest bucket heating water over the fire to get it warm.

"Now, I think we ought to be able to give your hair a proper wash."

Comments

Shallow Waters

[doubled_speed]

Sure, he respects the whole water and washing and all that stuff that's going on. Especially since his 'Dad' helped set them up with all of this. But the actually going and doing the thing? He's staring nervously at the water.

"You're sure this stuff is pure enough for human skin? Like, what if it makes my skin burn or something?"

[unbearablynaive]

"Well, and that's why I'd hoped to get some other opinions," he says, not looking at all like he knows what's going on. "Nothing seems to be different about the structures or vegetation nearby, and it doesn't trigger any of my pain receptors or other senses, but I cannot taste it and I do not have the same skin sensitivity you might."

He hovers above the water and crosses his arms, looking out on it.

"The last thing I want is for any of you to get hurt, but this lake could be a great asset to us. What do you think?"

[doubled_speed]

"I think this is a really silly idea. I mean, we could wait. I met this girl, Katara. The one that's helping me water things. She sorta manipulates water. Maybe she can tell. It's a lot better than just jumping in. But I guess this might be faster?

But it would only answer if one person was susceptible and not necessarily others.

[unbearablynaive]

"Ah, yes, I met her as well. We should probably wait."

He eyes Tommy suspiciously. Why does he get the impression Tommy is not the waiting type?

"Although if you wanted to test it out yourself, I'd recommend dipping in the tip of your pinkie rather than jumping in."

Shallow Lake

[pileofspirits]

Phalanx is all about investigating, especially when other people in the area are also interested in the same thing. There's sort of an intangible feedback loop of curiosity that the creature happily follows... but the water part of the equation isn't noticed until they gracelessly wander right into it.

Near whatever shadowy alleyway space that Phalanx appears from, a surprised whoop rings out as they accidentally wade into knee-high water... and immediately after that comes an exceptionally awkward splash. With how fantastically absorbent cloth is, their cloak of rags soaks the water right up until the weight of it drags them off balance, and they topple right over into the "lake."

[unbearablynaive]

That sounds like someone who needs help! The Vision flies over and quickly sees the floundering figure and he zooms over to help them up.

"Ah, are you quite all right? It gets a bit slippery here."

[pileofspirits]

In a tone of distinct alarm, they call out "It gets! Slippery here!"

There's quite a bit of floundering happening, but it's mostly because trying to find any sort of purchase in the water while limbs are tangled up in layers of waterlogged rags is going very poorly. They're not in any real danger, and they don't seem to be in the sort fear that comes with believing that they're in the process of drowning... there's just a lot of completely useless splashing going on.

[unbearablynaive]

Okay. Okay, they're not drowning. The Vision offers a hand, careful to keep watch in case their head goes underwater in which case he'll just grab them and fly up for a bit.

"Are you all right?"

He hopes they aren't drowning.

alone together

[seeingscarlet]

Their little corner of Agra 10 is starting to feel a lot less sterile. The flowers especially make Wanda happy - when he'd first brought them home, she'd laughed and almost tackled him in her joy. But her poor hair has been an ongoing source of stress as the days go by. She's kept it braided as much as possible to keep it from tangling and one of her first non-essential creations had been a prototype comb.

Now her hair is in a rare unbraided state as she comes to join him. Vision's so sweet and considerate to put this together for her, and before they get started she catches him for a slow, passionate kiss. "You are the most wonderful husband on the planet. I could marry you twice for doing this, Vizh." She grins and fidgets with the blanket wrapped around her shoulders - she's stripped down to her underwear to keep her clothes from getting needlessly wet. "Should I sit?"

[unbearablynaive]

The Vision beams a smile at Wanda and gives her a light kiss on the temple in response. It really is easier not to have to deal with hair at all, but he knows Wanda loves her hair and, to be quite frank, so does he. He loves running his hands through it and, when she lets him, brushing it until it shines.

"Yes, please sit down. I'm going to imitate a salon-style hairdresser - we'll wet your hair first, then lather it up and rinse it, then try out the oil as a conditioner."

He brings over one of their crate-chairs and starts soaping up the water. "It took a bit to find a saponin plant - one you can use as soap - and then we had to find a good oil. And an alkaline plant to use for the ash in the soap bar. The short version is, we can have as much soap as we like, it just takes a few days to cure."

The water is warm, and he enjoys rubbing her scalp.

"Now lean back, let's soak it in the water."

[seeingscarlet]

Wanda lets the blanket fall off her shoulders and sets it aside before she sits in front of the bucket. This is one of her favorite things and she can't help but sigh softly as Vision begins to rub her scalp. He really knows how to pamper her, even here.

Her powers support her as Wanda leans back to get her hair wet - the last thing they need is for Wanda to accidentally tip over the bucket and she'd like to avoid neck strain. The water is warm and soothing, just the thing to help her relax after a long day. Wanda closes her eyes and sighs Vision's name, putting herself entirely into his care.

"This is going to make everything so much better. I hated feeling so dirty all of the time."

[unbearablynaive]

It would be worth it for her reactions alone, nevermind the general need for cleaning supplies, but it might still be a while before they have anything approaching modern conditioner. Still, humans oiled up their hair for thousands of years, so he supposes this will have to do for now. At least he and Tommy had found some scents that are pleasant.

The warm water and the act of massaging her scalp is soothing for him, too, and he finds himself smiling warmly as he works the soap through her hair. "Now granted that I've not yet found or made a suitable bathtub, but there's a shallow lake to the south I'm going to look in to later today. The water is sun-warmed, so it's not frigid, but a truly hot bath will still elude us for a little while, I'm afraid."

A nice lather should work all the built-up dirt and oils off, and once he's satisfied with his work he begins to rinse it. Next will be applying the oil as a conditioner, and he's quite curious to see how it works.

At the fountain

[complicatedliar]

Loki's continued to keep an eye on the fountain, so he's gratified to see the soap early enough to get a bar.

Rather than play it cautious as he has when encountering people who might know another version of him, he simply saunters up and takes one of the bars of soap as if It's the natural thing in the world. It's a test of another sort. "My thanks."

[unbearablynaive]

Oh, he definitely recognizes that one. And braces for the inevitable insult to his personhood, character, life choices, or any of the various other insults that Loki--any Loki--is wont to swing his way.

And instead he gets...thanks?

That throws him off far more than anything else would, so he blinks a couple of times.

"Er, you're welcome."

[complicatedliar]

He sniffs delicately at the soap, but the scent is inoffensive even to his sense of smell. Which is good, since he'd like to be both clean and not the victim of an endlessly runny nose. "If you've seen any bits of metal large enough to make into a bathing vessel or two, that might be an avenue to pursue, and one I'd be willing to help," he says conversationally. "I know humans are particularly obsessed with their... showers, but a solution of lower technology is best at the moment."

The Soapmonger

[wearingthestars]

Living in the age of modern conveniences, Billy's never really stopped to think about how soap is made, or considered the possibility of it being something someone could make on their own with some kind of...soap kit.

So he's genuinely surprised to find Vision with a supply to pass out, turning it over in his hands. "You made this?" he asks, looking impressed.

[unbearablynaive]

The Vision smiles a little shyly at Billy. Yes, the similarity to Tommy is there once you look past the coloring - and since Tommy'd spilled the beans with the truth drink, the Vision's eyes are thirsty as he looks at Billy's figure. So this is the soul-brother, someone who could have been his son in another life.

He's not. Not in this life. But it does prompt him to want to know Billy better.

"I did, yes. Once we located a plant suitable for pressing with oil, the rest was a matter of mixing it with ash and finding a flat pan to pour it into. It's supposed to cure for a few weeks for full effectiveness, but for now the situation is beginning to get rather dire and so I thought it useful to share it as soon as it was done."

Each of the bars is wrapped with a string made of pleasantly fragrant grasses and stamped with the Windrose symbol, and he gestures to the stack proudly. "It should be good for both washing the body and any clothing you want to clean, but we don't have much in the way of shampoo and conditioner. Just some of the pure oil."

[wearingthestars]

Over the days of Billy's continued illness, he and Tommy have managed to come to a sort of middle ground in terms of his wandering during daylight hours. So long as he doesn't stray too far his brother doesn't hunt him down again, and being allowed to wander a little keeps him less likely to do so when it's dark and Tommy wants him to stay put.

The smile is returned easily, and the fever at least means he feels little pressure in this meeting, forgetting for the moment whatever nerves would usually plague him. "I didn't know you could even do that, that's cool," he congratulates.

Billy actually doesn't look too bad, now that talk of soap and shampoo has come up. Some unconscious level of magic at work, the same sort that kept his parents from discovering how Kesler was beating him up. Billy doesn't really look like he's stranded on a foreign planet. Or even all that sick.

The Soapmonger

[goldenglasses]

When Vash went to explore the greenhouse he was overjoyed to see Vision. Even if he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. It just felt good to see another friendly face around. "Vision! It's so great to see you! And you have... soap!"

[unbearablynaive]

Holy shit, it's Vash. Amusingly, the Vision's first thought is whether he needs to confiscate the breakfast pastry flowers--but they're not donut-like, really, so. They're probably safe.

Either way, once the initial surprise wears off he smiles brightly. "Good morning. I do indeed - it's not terribly difficult to make, and people are rather strongly in need of it, if you take my meaning. Have you, er, been here the whole time?"

Is he getting that bad at noticing people? He has been busy....

1/2

[goldenglasses]

"Vision. Are you saying that we stink?" Vash tries to look annoyed and angry for a moment.

2/2

[goldenglasses]

But he can't keep it up. Breaking into a huge, happy grin. Too delighted to see another face from the fleet around. "Yeah. I've been trying to keep a low profile until I had a better sense of what I was dealing with." He laughs warmly. "I know that might seem impossible for me, but I can be quiet once in awhile."

The Shallow Lake

[beenalongday]

It's taken a bit of time for Clint to make his way over to the lake, but when he does, he's quick to notice a couple of details. For one, that figure wading in the water is unmistakable; it doesn't quite make sense how he's here, but then again, there's a few other individuals who shouldn't technically be here either, and yet they are. Trying to puzzle out the intricacies of this place just gives him a headache, so he's adopted the notion that maybe some things don't have a clear-cut answer.

He's not certain what reception he'll get when he makes himself known, but he's also never been one to let doubts and worries get in the way. Those things are rarely beneficial, and he can't see a reason why they would be now.

Stepping a little closer, he clears his throat and says, "Nice day out, isn't it?" Yes, he's commenting on the weather. Insert any number of old man jokes here.

[unbearablynaive]

The Vision looks over at the sound and waves, rising out of the water so he can float over to the shore and alight next to Clint (how he is dry already?), smiling warmly. "Hawkeye," he says in greeting. "It has been quite some time since I last saw you." From Clint's perspective as well, apparently; the man looks to have aged several years. He offers his hand to shake, not entirely sure it will be accepted but wanting to make the gesture nonetheless.

"It is rather nice out. I've been investigating this lake as a potential spot for cleaning up and doing laundry. What do you think?"

[beenalongday]

Clint would be lying if he said he wasn't the slightest bit wary of Vision, but logically, he doesn't have a lot of reasons to do so. If what he remembers from his conversation with Wanda is true, then Vision has had a lot of time to grow and develop, so from an optimistic standpoint, he probably doesn't have much to worry about. "Yeah, it has, huh? I talked to Wanda a little and she filled me in on what's been going on for you guys."

It sounds like mostly good things from what he's heard, which is good. From where he's standing, despite whatever happened in the past, both Wanda and Vision deserve good things. So he readily accepts Vision's handshake without too much thought.

"Looks like a good spot to me, clean, undisturbed, and relatively safe as far as I can tell." Who knows what could be lurking along its edges, though? But that's something that's a concern everywhere. "I think it's a good a spot as any."