maskormenacelogs | standing in a monsoon of cool, time will tell

WHO: ❝ EL DIABLO ❞ and LEONARD SNART.
WHERE: Some place with coffee.
WHEN: Following this.
WHAT: Aftermath to a misfire.
WARNINGS: Will ETA/mark as necessary.

[ Diablo's first instinct upon receiving Leonard's text had been, of course, to either ignore it or dismiss it, but by the time the conversation progressed further he at least didn't actively regret not doing so. It came as more relief than insult that the texts hadn't been meant for him to begin with, too, because it meant Diablo also didn't have to worry about some extra unseen agenda behind the conversation.

Assuming that part was true, anyway, but he's fine with doing so. For all Diablo's general distrust and wariness, he's too apathetic to be paranoid, but while maybe he'll never have a normal life, for now, he needs to do something to make the time pass.

And sometimes it's just nice to go out someplace and get coffee when you have the freedom to actually do so, and Len at least doesn't seem too obnoxious so far. Diablo shows up not long after he's texted the address, holding his jacket slung over his shoulder, then without a word sits down next to Len once he locates him. ]

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[The whole mess with the network keeps being somewhere between hilarious and annoying. Leonard looks up from his phone at Diablo, sitting with one foot propped up on the seat, iced coffee already in front of him. Might as well be thematic today.]

I've been high-fived by Harley Quinn because she got a picture of me she wasn't meant to see. How's your day going?

[Makes 'Hey, firebug' pale a bit in comparison, he hopes.]

[ What Diablo can't help but think about was the unfortunately misfired photo he'd gotten -- ironically one that had actually been intended for Harley -- and he gives Leonard a dubious look-over from chest down to lap, wondering if Harley had intercepted a dickpic or something milder (or, somehow, worse?). It did seem like the sort of thing she would high-five a guy over.

He doesn't let his gaze linger, shaking his head mildly and leaning his elbows on the table. ]

If it makes you feel better, you ain't the only one that happened to. So when you was telling me not to send out no photos, you was speaking from experience, huh?

[ His tone is one of mild but not overt amusement; Diablo has been fielding enough texting issues that it's nothing but annoying to him, but mostly while it's happening -- hearing about them is actually sort of funny, mostly because it's so ridiculous.

A waitress puts his coffee on the table in front him, which Diablo examines but doesn't start drinking. ]

Sounds like you got off pretty easy, though. A high-five ain't that bad.

Kinda. Wasn't me sending the pictures.

He doesn't really have pictures of himself, much less ones that show a lot of skin, but Mick likes taking pictures, even if sharing them with Harley of all people hasn't been the plan. Len's just happy that Mick's more embarrassed about that than anyone, it's easy to take solace in that fact.]

Could have been worse, you're right. Least I doubt she's about to publish it. [Pause.] Should maybe make doubly sure on that.

[He moves the cup around in his hand, ice cubes clinking gently against each other.]

[ Oh-- well. Okay.

Diablo doesn't even consider attempting to untangle whatever started that particular knot of miscommunication off, and it's not his business really anyway. Maybe it's embarrassing for the people involved, but better some photos get intercepted than important information. ]

Dunno why she'd bother -- unless you two got bad blood or something, but it don't sound like it. And blackmail don't really seem like her style, you know?

[ He says it mildly and with a shrug, though now he's a bit curious. He doesn't know much about Harley yet -- this one or the one from home, even -- so he can only operate off of his best guesses and impressions. Diablo takes a sip from his coffee finally, not bothering with cream or sugar, though the bitterness draws a brief wince from him. ]

You ever reach him in the end? What's-his-name.

[ ... Mick. ]

I've no idea. Tricksters, clowns, hard thing to predict.

[Which pretty much accounts for his general dislike of the, although there's also personal experiences back where he comes from to add up. But no, he's not really all that worried about Harley and the pictures. Worse things thing the world, not that he's thrilled.]

Mick? Not yet since I got you. I'll see him at home. You two know each other.

[Somewhere between a question and a statement.]

Unpredictable maybe, yeah-- [ Diablo allows himself to consider Harley for a moment, then shrugs. ] But she ain't all that bad. Least no worse than most of us.

[ Although truthfully, Diablo doesn't know Harley all that well; by now, he's known the Harley he met here for longer than the Harley he was actually teammates with.

Then he pauses, taking another slow sip of coffee. Then, casually: ]

Barely.

[ Or they know each other too well, depending on the perspective; meeting through seeing someone else's memories is certainly some kind of icebreaker. ]

Did he say something?

Not really. I just got a knack for connecting dots sometimes.

[He shrugs his shoulders. He presumes that if he asked Mick about Diablo, he might have shared. As it is, things are a bit different.]

So. Are you from where Harley's from? I got a Gotham briefing at one point, don't recall that mentioning you.

[ He doesn't care much either way, but it's something of a relief to hear regardless; even if Diablo isn't exactly keep his past secret, the fewer people that know, still the better. Especially people he isn't talking to himself. ]

Not from Gotham, no -- I'm from LA. But ain't no one know me here, not even Harley.

[ Well, Deadshot does, but that's besides the point; the whole universes thing is a whole other extra layer. ]

They know people I know too, but not me. Pretty weird to think about.

Yeah, all of my roommates just know another version of me. Mick too. Mostly they spent the first month after I got there wondering why I ain't ugly as sin.

[He doesn't know much of anything about that other world's Cold, but apparently he's ugly and awful.]

It's a tough one to wrap your mind around.

You too, huh? Yeah, I know someone else who also been dealing with that. People that still don't know me, but they do know him-- they just think he's a white guy. [ More accurately, Deadshot's a white guy to them, in whatever universe they come from. Not that that's any less weird, even to Diablo. ] I know I'd rather no one know me than that.

[ He's not really joking, but it's a lighthearted enough statement at least in the vein of facetious. Then he sips from his coffee, and asks: ]

It ever bother you?

People thinking I'm a white guy? Sure. Although you could always count on the Nazis in prison to clue in. [He knows that's not what Diablo meant, but given the exact situation he's describing, he remarks on that as well. However, he continues with the actual question posed, frowning.]

Can be an issue. I give people plenty reason to hate me, feels weird when they blame me for something a different version of me did instead.

[ Not quite what Diablo meant, no, but in a way the point stands regardless. ]

Yeah, that don't surprise me. Couldn't leave my cell, though, so I never had to deal with no prison nazis myself. Lucky break, I guess.

[ Unless he incinerated some in that prison yard riot, in which case, no harm really done. Diablo considers what Len says quietly, then shakes his head once, brow slightly furrowed. ]

It ain't weird, it's stupid.

Yeah, gotta agree with you.

[If he did that... Well, life would be very complicated for a number of reason, not even all of them related to Mick.]

My sympathies to your friend, if he's dealing with that bullshit and all about some white guy no less.

I mean, it ain't surprising. People latching on to a new way to be prejudiced.

standing in a monsoon of cool, time will tell

I WON'T BE THIS SLOW AGAIN (like a glacier, get it?)

NO WORRIES

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my turn to be the slow burn... e_e

slowest thread to ever burn...

after all this time? always

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