Logs:Island Hopping

Island Hopping
Dramatis Personae Akihiro, Ash, Hive, Polaris	2023-03-04 "Utopia was a nice dream before they destroyed it."
Location <XS> Freaktown - Riverdale - the Bronx
This neighborhood within a neighborhood has character to spare, even on a dreary Saturday like this one. The market in the plaza is bustling, the low clouds overhead not seriously threatening rain. Polaris has been drifting from one kiosk to the next, sampling and schmoozing, but now she's drawing her companion off toward a picnic table. She wearing a black thigh-length canvas jacket that laces up the sides, an emerald green corset and skirts over a black chemise, heavy black boots shot through with steel. Her hair is bound up in woven steel wire, her wrists circled with wide steel link bracelets, a belt slung low on her hips securing pouches and sheaths and even a slim folded umbrella in silver and green. Turning around to walk backwards for a few steps, she casually offers her companion spiced potatoes from the box she has cupped in one hand. "Do you wanna go check out the tiny house...workshop, build, whatever?" she asks him, mentally reviewing the other events that they heard about at market. Her mind is busy and scattered, but calm as this far above-baseline goes. "We don't have to like Do An Activity. Can just hang out? Lots of stories around fires once it starts getting dark." Anyone who did not know Hive would be reasonable to assume he has not been having a good time, here, trudging along in Polaris's wake with a near-permanent scowl etched into his features, hands shoved in the pockets of his grey canvas jacket, doing very little sampling. His gruff chatter would probably not be characterized as schmoozing but, for him, is more engaged than he has socially been in A While, and his shoulders are only regular-hunched, not clenched up tight. He takes a potato reflexively, scowls at it, eats it all the same. The mention of tiny house workshop hikes his brows up. "I know how to build a house." This isn't a no, a kind of skeptical interest there. “It’s sort of like that, you just have to get used to the tiny tools.” Akihiro quips from where he’s leaned against one of the kiosks as Polaris and Hive walk past. He slips the lighter he’d been fidgeting with back into the pocket of his brown waxed leather jacket and pushes off and towards the pair. “You’re a new face,” he says towards Hive with a small incline of his head, “I’m Akihiro. It’s nice to meet you.” Someone's mind is buzzing loudly with the idea of tiny houses and compact living spaces and modular furniture. They imagine a rustic overground camper out in the painted desert sunset barbecue out front hammock on the side lawn chairs just staring out into the rolling hills or is it Utah and the Arches... Except they're all on top of each other because in their mind everything is so much closer together and so much easier to enjoy. However, the impossibility of this brings him back to the idea of modular - rather transformative furniture. The way that a living space can be a bedroom when needed and dining room for playing cards and a place for eating around table with friends and family and a garden wait... No garden. If it's moving around it's not going to have a garden. Unless... Hydroponics. Ash wanders closer to the group and pauses when he hears Akihiro speak, The idea of tiny tools working in a tiny house makes him think more of doll houses and those YouTube videos of of people cooking over candles in tiny ovens, making baby souffles. As he recognizes Hive nearby, he calms himself down, chills out and quiets the excitement in his thoughts, drawing back from screaming his enthusiasm. << Oh, hey. Uh. Nice night, >> he muses, like a teenager caught sneaking around in the kitchen. Polaris is delighted by Hive's interest and unfazed by the skepticism therein. "Exactly! I thought you would have a lot to bring to this kind of skill share. And there might be like, tiny...ness-specific stuff that's new to you." She tips her chin up at Akihiro. "Hey! You plan on going to the tiny house thing, too?" "Tools? Please. I don't get these delicate hands dirty, I just mastermind the house-building." Hive is lifting his (extremely calloused) hands in helpful demonstration of how much Tiny House he is not planning to build. "Hive," he adds, for Akihiro's benefit. "Just so you know, I hear what you think." He says this with a bland kind of matter-of-factness. Almost immediately afterward he is tensing, his sour expression going even sour-er and his shoulders coiling up tight -- by the time Ash wanders close enough to recognize him it looks like that's just How He's Been This Whole Time, which, in fairness, isn't far off his usual demeanor. "You know I'm the only one who can fucking hear that, right," he grumps in answer to Ash's mental greeting. <<Alright, that joke didn’t land.>> Akihiro nods at Polaris, “Figure it would be pretty useful, give me a few more things to do around here.” He says with an easy smile. <<Owe Erik and everyone at least that much. Always so much to do.>> When Hive mentions that he can hear his thoughts he lets out a small “Hm.” Immediately followed by, “Well let’s hope I don’t embarrass myself too much then, yeah?” He shifts slightly, following Hive’s shift in attention to Ash, who he waves a greeting at. "Oh, Hey Hive. Polaris... Akihiro. I was just going to ... " << be embarrassed at being noisy and slink away into the night >> "Uh, check this thing out and didn't know if you wanted another," << damn, extroverting is hard. Ion makes it look so easy. Just follow him around like a duck and never feel like I'm intruding. >> Ash makes his way into full view, decked out in his usual Carhartt tan work jacket, thick, well worn jeans, and a stocking cap that covers his hair, but not his ears where they poke out a bit further from his head. "Been building a bit more homes these days, around the island," with super old uncle guy " and was interested in some of the modular stuff. In tiny homes. For... full-sized homes." Polaris nods her agreement to Akihiro. "We have lots of folks here who are chronically housing insecure and want skills like that." << God, was Prometheus was the most "housing secure" I've ever been that's just fucking sad... >> Though she's in fact less sad about this than angry. "Anyway, tiny houses could use masterminds, too. I get the impression they're often not the most architecturally sound for various reasons, and maybe that's fine but..." She gives an exaggerated shrug and very firmly redirects her thoughts away from her rage (at humans) (at capitalism) (at the government). Unfortunately, the most convenient subject for her to latch onto is the man who's approaching them and evidently irritating her boyfriend. Her eyes narrow at Ash, more in prickly confusion than real anger. "What island? Are you talking about Utopia cuz I thought that's like...in the tropics and also off-limits." There's a quick flash in her mind of Anahita describing the lush beauty of her long-lost mutant homeland. "And the frak does 'in tiny homes for full-sized homes' mean?" Her mind's eye is constructing a small house inside a larger house, which at least adds a little absurdist amusement to her annoyance. "Heard you like houses," Hive comments, faintly amused, in response to the nested-house-imagery in Polaris's mind. He waves his hand dismissively at Akihiro, a brief curl of smile tugging at his mouth. "Everyone's fucking embarrassing. Just -- seems rude to eavesdrop without letting people know." His brow has quirked at the thought of Erik, and he flicks a glance slow and thoughtful between Akihiro and Ash. He reaches out, snagging another one of Polaris's potatoes and popping it into his mouth. << Boy, >> his words bludgeoning heavy and painful into Ash's head, a deep undercurrent of concern beneath his habitually prickly voice, << the company you keep, you're gonna get yourself dead you don't learn not to run your fucking mouth. >> He's running his tongue slow over his teeth, idly licking off a stray pepper flake plastered to one tooth. Aloud, just: "Off-limits just sounds like a challenge. Extreme urb-ex." A beat, and then: "-- never mention that shit to Spence." At the mention of the island Akihiro has a flash of a thought, him burying his claws into Ash’s throat, but it’s quickly buried. “Utopia was a nice dream before they destroyed it.” His brain is abuzz with a myriad of emotions, mostly regret that he wasn’t there, followed by another memory of Erik almost thirty years younger inviting him to the Liberation Front. “Regardless it seems to be a touchy subject, so I’d be careful who you bring it up to.” "OH. Uh. Utopia? I actually don't know anything about it." Ash winces, more out of quiet response to Hive's warning than embarrassment. << Fuck. got my wires cross. Sometimes have trouble remembering who is in which group of mutant terrorists I fight and would die for. >> His hand darts up to the back of his neck, gaze drawn downward as he starts to grow truly bashful. "Aww man... you're going to make me say it, aren't you? Fine. I can be honest for once." Except not. "I've been working on Staten Island. You know... how it is. I figured if i just called it 'the island' people wouldn't ask more... if they guessed it was of the four others in NYC." His head pops back up, swiftly checking each others' faces for confirmation. "You're not going to tell anyone, are you? I mean... Work's work." "I'm about to be deeply impressed with Spence if he can just go there, just like that. Buuuuut I take your point." At "touchy subject" Polaris raises her eyebrows, the memory of a tired, haunted-looking Erik flashing through her mind. She takes a breath, then another, quieting the cacophony of emotions that almost always follow any unexpected mention or thought of her biological father. All that makes it into words is, "I probably don't need to worry too much about that." One of her eyebrows drops at Ash's explanation. The other goes up even higher. "Dude. He's been working on Staten Island." She's indicating Hive with an exaggerated wave of her free hand. The gesture itself is faintly exasperated, but there's a pride at behind it at Hive's vision taking shape on the ground, and a more complicated bittersweet ache for DJ to have a physical home in this world. "Like you don't owe us any details about your life, but that just seems like a really weird thing to bullshit about when you're this bad at--" Her eyes go kind of wide, then track back to Hive. "Oh shiiii--crap, is this some kind of construction industry taboo?" She isn't actually worried, but there is a small sliver of doubt in her posing ideas about illogical and seemingly ludicrous professional idiosyncrasies. "I'm sorry if I just outed you." Hive is slouching further in his seat, slooowly dragging a hand down his face. Eyes flicking once again between Akihiro and Ash, this time slightly narrowed at that flash of imagery in Akihiro's mind. "Oh my fucking god," he's kind of half grumbling against his palm. "Would really love it if everyone was just. A little. More careful, yeah." His expression is deeply pained as Ash fumbles through his explanation. He sounds very flat -- not really any effort put into selling this -- when he adds, "Shit, that shit's like saying Macbeth in a theatre. House is probably collapsing as we speak." He gets up, shoving his hands back into his pockets where they began. " C'mon, let's go build some tiny fucking houses." <<Sorry, I’m not going to stab anybody. Hopefully. Just an intrusive thought.>> Akihiro smiles apologetically towards Hive, “You both have my condolences, hopefully they’re making it worth your time.” His right hand snakes into his jacket pocket to fiddle with the pack of cigarettes inside it. “You should be fine. Personally, I don’t feel like risking pissing either one of you off. Nobody’s controlled me like a marionette yet, and I’d prefer to keep it that way.” Ash's bows his head repeatedly to Hive's continued admonitions. "No, No. I get it. I am bad at this kind of stuff. Most people just tease that there's nothing in Staten Island and who would go there, but if you're building there," A glance is spared for Hive, "I guess that's changing." He shakes his head. "Mari... um. I think I missing part of this conversation. Anyone want something to eat or drink? I think I saw a real hot chocolate set up a little bit that way. I could meet you at the skill share?" Polaris blinks at the men, nonplussed. << The fuck did I step in? >> She considers Hive momentarily before tucking her curiosity away. << (he doesn't want to poke this let's not poke this) >> "Thanks, Ash, I'm good on snacks." She waggles her box of potatoes. "We'll see you there. C'mon." She tips her head at Akihiro as she falls into step beside Hive. "It's tiny tools time. No puppeteering necessary."