revivalproject | delivery

Entry tags:

delivery

WHO: Tony Stark, Cloud Strife, technically open if you want to hang
WHERE: The forge? I don't know the structure of this post eludes me, it might be just network, I might just be setting up a bunch of interactions for Cloud to have with everyone else like a benevolent god
WHAT: Tony's been making things and has packages for Reeve, Tommy, Sansa and Jon, and he's not doing all of that walking himself.
WARNINGS: It is genuinely not my fault that all of Tony's posts are horny and you should just expect it now.

a text to Cloud

hey

where are you?

you want a job, right?

Come to the forge.

Outside of the forge, sitting in front of the closed door very pointedly, were five lumpy bundles, the wrapping of these clearly not Tony's strong suit. One of them seemed to be just in a big leaf. They were all labled with thin tags of impressed aluminum tied or just placed on top for Cloud to figure out where they were supposed to go with just a name-- the rest, like who any of these people were and where to find them, was Cloud's job to figure out, apparently.

At least one of them should have been pretty easy.

C L O U D
It was...a chocobo? Or how Tony remembered a chocobo looking from the glance at it in Reeve's memory. Small, grey and surprisingly heavy, it wound up to go bouncing away on weirdly articulated legs. Did Tony think he was paying Cloud?

R E E V E
It's a head.
This might be what Tony thought a cat skull looked like. It wasn't much like the design he had left for Mini-C's skeletal structure in Reeve's sketchbook, he obviously had some time, and the obsessive insomnia turned to 11 after the sleep glut and nowhere to pour his creative energy, to take a more detailed turn, and he would have used the energy to make more of the structure but they were still tight on materials. What he did make was a few servos, dangling from the skull shape like a disembodied nerve system, and a prototype pair of hands tucked safely into the dome, too delicate to be very useful to Mini, but responding to their programming housed in the skull. The systems were done, was the point.

T O M M Y
Was this what he meant by hydroponics? It wasn't like Tony had managed to miss that bit of drama on the network. It wasn't assembled, a bunch of disparate pieces that didn't come with instructions, but a note that only read 'you need a tube'.

S A N S A
This bundle had a pair of brass combs in it, stamped, much like the labels on the packages, with roses. If Sansa hadn't figured out how to keep her hair from being a mess, maybe this would be a reminder.

J O N
A very tiny little knot of a rag, about as big as the label that sat under it, and felt light enough to be empty.
It seemed to only contain a gold chain.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[From Earth indeed, though the beard was less long when he was younger, as Reeve had known him. And oh how excitable Leonardo had been. Quite the sort of man that would get on with Tony.]

It is not so worrying as you'd think. From my understanding of things here, there are a variety of instances of us. Vincent... Vincent thinks that by being here we exist as alternate forms of ourselves.

[Ones that would cease to be by the very act of departing. Then again, his friend had a reason to fear returning home. A fate he would not wish to see. And Vincent wondered at Reeve wanting to go home, to forget his experiences. Vincent didn't understand though. Couldn't.]

Truly? He seemed so young. I suppose I met him when he was younger then. But brilliant in ways I respected. He would probably be a good teacher. As for me...

[He chuckles at the idea of extension policies there. And that is far more interesting than talking about Dr. Banner.]

I suppose I could make quite a bit of allowance for time then, seeing as you'd be hard at work. Very hard at work.

[Vincent's philosophy is...unsettling.]

I'm not even me? You're still back home, rebuilding your city, like you never left?

[That doesn't seem fair. And Tony doesn't enjoy the existential backhand of being the alternate. That really poured a cold one on the flirting.]

That can't be right. What about the thing with the secret agent lady on Risa? I heard she said something about temporal anomalies. Disappearing for a fraction of a second.

[This is not a sound argument against Vincent's philosophy, but comforting enough to Tony.]

I don't know. I really don't. But that is what Vincent thinks. And I don't like the idea of it.

[The Risa lady? Reeve raises an eyebrow.]

I never spoke to her. So I didn't question her. It could be Vincent is quiet wrong. That would... be a comfort to me.

Me neither.

[So maybe he's not really an authority on the anomaly thing. But Tony takes Mini up against his shoulder to drape an arm around Reeve's, looking away like he can't be accused to trying to be comforting in the gesture if he's aloof enough.]

I know I'm going back home with my new credentials. How long is the course? 200 hours? Come on, we'll bang it out.

[Mini hugs his shoulder, and Reeve doesn't move away from the soothing gesture. He leans against Tony for a moment, taking a brief breath.]

Yeah. We'll go home. Or... I'll make sure everyone else can if they want. That's what matters.

You don't want to?

[He's not sure how else to take that phrasing.]

I do. I have obligations. But... I'm afraid of losing all of this.

[His experiences, his friends. The realization that he could something more to someone.]

[Tony knows exactly what that means, but it's veered far too melancholy for him to be entirely comfortable, and he's without anything solid to confidently reassure Reeve besides a squeeze to his shoulders.]

When I first got here--Not here-here, when the Agrii nabbed me-- you know what I mean. One of the first conversations I had was with a--that sort of friend of mine, the kind that's your guy, but not yours, the wrong one.

[No wonder talking to Reeve about his previous kidnapping felt like such a nightmare, Tony is living this one and he hates talking about it.]

Whatever, listen-- He said he was here with what was basically an alternate version of himself, the guy that became the hero that he was in his own world. Are you following me? A parallel incidence in the multiverse. Two people, following the same trajectory, that never should meet-- and they were here, together. Multiversal theory argues that that should be impossible, that there should be a polarity that keeps them apart, but think about that-- that would mean no universes could exist, they would combust. That polarity must be attractive. Now that they're that close, how could the multiverse push them apart again?

[Wait, there are... Reeve pulls away from Tony and stares at him in shock.]

Your world has an explanation of this? Multiversal instances of individuals? How? Will you tell me more?

[He didn't understand why his world was different from that of Cloud and Vincent. But he knew some things didn't line up. His world had no idea about this sort of thing. No one had ever discussed the theory with him. But if Tony has some... Well, Reeve's mood is replaced by that scientific wonder.]

I'm not really the guy to ask, it's not really my field...

[Reed probably would have known exactly what was going on the moment he got here. Tony suspected Reeve would have found him a lot easier to talk to as well, they could be similarly poetic.]

We know of and interact with different dimensions all of the time. Asgard, the Negative Zone, the Dream realm...This is already not working for you, I can tell, okay, great. You'll have to trust me on that one then, whenever you dream you're interacting with a different layer of reality, that's just...true. And we also interact with the dimension of Time typically in one direction-- Time acts on us, not the other way around, and it also acts differently in every dimension. Time on Asgard passes much faster than it does on Midgard. But that means, necessarily, that we can act on Time as well.

[Is Reeve even willing to go on this ride anymore? He didn't really seem interested in something like Asgard the last time Tony tried to talk to him about it. Did he get where Tony was going? Maybe they should have waited to get to his office to do this.]

[It wasn't that he hadn't been interested in Asgard. He had just noted that it was not connected with the city of Midgar.]

Who said this isn't working for me?

{Reeve starts walking again and gestures for Tony to follow.]

Time flows differently. Do you mean like how this world has a thirty hour day? The last one I was on was twenty-four, which is equivalent to my world. The longer day here has been strange, but if that is a matter of difference of time flow that would be intriguing. And this is the second time you've mentioned this Asgard place. Well, third. What is it? Have you been there? What of the negative zone? And by dream realms do you mean that when we dream we are in another place entirely?

[He does follow, and he's walking quite quickly, trying to render his thought process down enough to actually verbalize coherently.]

No, bigger than that. That's just a solar cycle-- do you not have that where you're from? Defining when the sun comes up and goes down is physical, I'm talking more metaphysical. Not the length of a day, but the length of a second. What does that mean? What does it mean that we can experience a second differently, say, in the dream realm, where it can feel like eight hours?

So, okay, Asgard. Of course I've been there, all of these places are part of the necessary ecosystem of--of...a plane of existence. You can't have Reality without a Negative Zone as an opposite and equal force. They're not all made equally, though, like, I can go to Asgard, physically, but I've never been to the Dream realm, really. Just like I can't physically be in Time, I have to be in Space.

Of course we have solar cycles. But I can't fathom a further way to perceive or experience the flow of time differently. While our technology is impressive in some regards, I fear we're not up on the sort of thing you're talking about. The very concept that a second could have variable flow is... It's amazing. Because if a second is not a constant, then what is? All we understand is subjective, which means there is always something new to learn.

[And that makes him smile.]

It means there is always potential progress. That there is always something new and amazing to find or to make.

[But now Tony's talking about Asgard and other places, and Reeve's attention is on him fully.]

An ecosystem of existence. Interesting. So what happens in one could affect another, yes? Like how a serious enough mountain system results in a rain shadow on the other side. Do things that happen in Asgard have repercussions in your world? Does that mean then, if true, that things that happen here ripple out to both of ours?

[That smile is infectious and Tony wants to be able to trade with Reeve all of the things their respective dimensions have built independently of each other, sure that he has something that Tony's entire reality hadn't considered yet like he hadn't been thinking about the nature of a second. Tony doesn't even have something to show Reeve for that, though-- interdimensional interaction was almost entirely theoretical, despite being constant.]

I guess so?

[That's a good question. If Tony thought 'ecosystem' was a logical way to explain the relationship, it logically followed.]

That's where we get to multiversal fractures. The theory is, that each universe is just a point of diversion from another one. So, how different would your whole universe be if you never got the job at Shinra? There's another universe where that happened. Most of them are unsustainable, so this isn't an infinity-- that universe was probably wiped out by whatever crazy shit it is that you helped stop.

[Well, if he wants to trade EVERYTHING, Reeve might have to talk about Airships, and then they can discuss how fucking WEIRD airship tech is and how it might not fit the physics of Tony's world. Literally there were things that regularly happened in Reeve's world that might make one wonder if the laws of physics weren't entirely the same.

Still, he's smiling until Tony mentions a universe where Reeve didn't work for Shinra getting wiped out.]

Or that universe is better for lack of my influence. One cannot say without seeing it. Which I cannot. So I'd rather think of your world, where there are things like 'solar power' and charming gentlemen who wear red and gold masks to balls.

[That makes Tony laugh, glad to be among the technological marvels of his world, and more glad still that Reeve seems to remember the details of that encounter and it wasn't just a particularly weird dream Tony had.]

Hey, Mini, focus up, are you listening? You missed this, so I bet you didn't know, but your dad is a marvelous dancer.

[He's jostling Mini to get his attention, then taking his little hand to spin away from Reeve with Mini much too far away from the ground to mount any protest to Tony's dancing.]

[Oh, it was absolutely a weird dream. But a lovely one. As for Mini, the doll looks to Reeve and crosses his arms over his chest like he doesn't even REMOTELY believe it. But then the doll is being danced away and Reeve laughs.]

If I might translate? He is saying 'wheeeee'.

[Reeve is content to just stand there and watch the other man.]

Your grace continues to impress.

[The pair of them are far too easy to impress, but Tony chuckles anyway, nodding at Mini to confirm, you like that?, and sure his prancing around in the dirt with a stuffed cat hanging from his shoulder is far from graceful.]

I don't get that one a lot.

[In any sense of the word, Tony does not get accused of grace.]

My team--my friends, back home, they're all superhuman, beautiful, powerful, I always feel like a turtle lumbering along with them. You'd adore them.

[Reeve might get that, a little bit. His friends all seem to be extraordinary, too. But he has his magic.]

[Well, the people who have failed to accuse Tony of grace clearly haven't danced with them like Reeve has.]

I've met powerful, super-human people who were beautiful. I mean, you've seen Vincent, have you not? That doesn't mean that there is not something amazing when faced with a man like you. Something more amazing. I mean, I once met a man who claimed he was a god, and yet I think I'd sooner remain in your company than his. Even if he was unfairly pretty for a man.

[And even Reeve would admit that Sephiroth had been stunning. But evil.]

I haven't seen much of him...

[Both in terms of time spent and the general capey experience Tony did have with Vincent, but he's not really that interested in discussing Vincent's finer points when Reeve goes on to generously flatter him. He's stopped his prancing, but he's still holding Mini's hand while he watches Reeve with a suspicious grin.]

What is it that you want?

[He is still smiling, and approached to take Reeve around the shoulders again, slouching easily.]

I'm not saying you have to stop, by all means, I'm all ears, but you know I'm not going to say no to you.

Honestly, no one really does.

[And he means it in all possible interpretations of the words. Still, he raises an eyebrow at Tony's question, even as Mini tries pushing against Tony's shoulder, mostly because he wants the dancing to start again. Until the doll suddenly goes silent as it processes the question and then looks to Reeve too. Gestures for his master to speak.]

He didn't ask you, little one.

[Reeve absolutely doesn't mind chiding Mini as he finds himself back in Tony's arms. This... is careful territory to be trod upon, isn't it? To say the right thing and be properly understood.]

I want anything you'll give me, Tony. Or that you'll ask from me. You captivate me. Your looks, your mind, your smart mouth. I want to bask in all of them. I also want a cup of coffee, but that's a whole different desire.

[With the way Reeve was buttering him up, Tony expected him to ask for his own car, or maybe a sword for Cloud, something that is just outside of Tony's immediate capability or willingness to give. So he's a little caught off guard, still looking suspicious, like this is still Reeve working up to a very outlandish request indeed until he's laughing again at 'smart mouth'. That's fair, that one is too honest for Reeve trying to get something out of him.]

Let's get you that coffee, and we'll see what we can do.

[He's glad he didn't put his glasses down anywhere so he can tip them back onto his nose after nudging Reeve on.]

[Why would he want a car? He's content walking. And he isn't certain that Tony could even do a sword to Cloud's needs. Blacksmiths back home that could do swords like that were few and far between. But what, was Tony expecting items? He could list some. Quite a few.]

And here I thought I was getting you the coffee.

[He smiles as he slips from Tony's arms to start walking again.]

I also want you to wear those glasses more. They look good. As for myself... engineering and drafting tools. You have no idea how much I need a good straight edge, and mine did not come with me from the Village.

That's it?

[All that for a ruler?]

I'll get you set up, you're going to be drowning in compasses or whatever. Where are you guys getting paper?

You... actually want to know what I need?

[Reeve glances back at him and looks shocked.]

I thought you meant... It doesn't matter what I thought you meant. Uh. Yes. I can probably create a list of needful tools and the like. As for paper, I spent much of my budget on Risa on paper and writing impliments.

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