A depth of pure blue

[kanadian]

WHO: Kaidan Alenko and YOU
WHERE: Heropa!
WHEN: Week of 5/21-5/26
WHAT: An excuse for my very favorite thing in the whole world: manpain.
WARNINGS: Will edit if needed!



A. THE PARK

[ Running the Park in the summer was always a hot, miserable experience. It was Florida, it was hot, and the sun beat down like a giant hotlamp that had access to the world's entire energy supply. Both the runner -- and the fat corgi -- looked hot. Mako with her tongue lolling out in what would have been a doggy smile, if it weren't for the occasional soft whine -- and Kaidan in his running clothes was just plain gross. Sweaty, hot, but at least it was productive, right? Mostly. He was halfway through the trail, when he stopped, and looked around, peeling off the headphones, and yes. Yes that was a group of people off to the side singing. And dancing.

Christ, that was awkward. Despite the fact that Kaidan really didn't have much song or dance in his soul prior to this week, but now... it was just kind of depressing to watch.

Which was why he was juts about to put his headphones in and go back to his run, when -- of course -- there was a loud bang, and someone threw a car at the crowd. They thankfully dodged, but, the guy off to the side, who looked a lot like a guy who belonged on a beach, complete with frosted tips, and wraparound raybans roared, before he shouted something about "dead lift" -- was that really his name? Kaidan squinted, and looked around, before: ]

Would you mind watching Mako for a second? [ He asked, and gestured down at the spotted and gray corgi, who looked almost betrayed to be handed off. ] I don't think the flash mob would like getting crushed.

B. FOOD TRUCKS

[ Have you ever seen a guy go to every food truck during a small food festival? No? Well, you have now. The biotic is practically collecting food. A burrito here, a doughnut there, it's like a pack of hungry wolves descended on the little gathering in one person. Which is impressive, sure, but there's also a moment where he stops, looks down, and there's a face there. Kaidan looked at his bags of food, and then back at the tables, like he'd expected someone else there, before a sigh, and he headed over, anyway. He looked...out of place, by himself. Shoulders down, he even kind of...picks at his food.

Which would be normal for some when they're sad, but... for Kaidan? he knows he has to eat, anyway. That metabolism isn't going to stop just because he's had a bad week.

Although the fact that he's been here multiple times this week instead of at home should say enough.


C. WILDCARD

[ Go wild! I'm flexible and will run with anything! Especially if you want to incorporate the plot! ]

Comments

a/c sorta

[notgneiss]

[it's later on shale catches kaidan. much later. almost when he's finished his jog, in fact. she recognises him from the strange enchanted tablet and stomps over to him, determined to ruin his day.

she's a bit lost at the moment, give her a break. when kaidan stops for a break, maybe to drink, maybe to catch his breath, shale pulls a football-sized chunk of ground up and lobs it at him.]

[kanadian]

[ It was to take a drink of water. He was honestly just crushing the bottle at this point, the cheap, disposable plastic caving in on itself as he drank -- eyes closed -- and he almost didn't see the chunk of earth come at him until Mako whined, and tugged on her leash.

Reflexes -- and biotic reflexes at that were good -- and he immediately stopped the rock with a twitch of his biotics, and take several steps back, eyes wide.

It had almost hit his face. ]

What --?

[notgneiss]

[shale actually barks a laugh, delighted.]

Hello! [she shouts, waving.] That's a fun trick! Why doesn't it do it again?

[and she throws another one!]

[kanadian]

[ The rock promptly dropped to the ground, and Kaidan grunted.

This time, he could feel the strain behind his eyes -- not much yet, but Shale's immediate attack didn't exactly make his day --

He flung it up this time, with a womp of sound and blue light. ]

Hey! you're going to hurt my dog if you're not careful! Stop it!

C, a bar in Heropa

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

[Jacob is three whiskeys in by this point, and the ache isn't fading any yet, a curse of a biotic metabolism. Loss, like alcohol, has a cumulative effect, like one drink piling on top of another. Miranda, EDI, Thane, Samara, Kasumi, Garrus, Joker... Shepard. The one who brought them all together, who gave them purpose and made them a team. The one who was always there for all of them, here or back home, man or woman. Just the thought brings a pang to Jacob's heart.

He can't imagine how Kaidan is feeling, and he's not going to try. Instead, he's going to knock back his current drink and reach for his fourth, raising it in Kaidan's direction for (another) toast.]

Here's to the Commander. And hoping that he's back home kicking Reaper ass right now.

[Preferably in an iteration of their universe that's less shitty than Joker's. Because damn.]

[kanadian]

Hey, he might be back. It's only been a few days.

[ Kaidan said, but lifted his glass anyway. He hated to make this more than it was. He hated the fact that he panicked every time, fearing the worst of what would come, with Shepard back home. Heck, he knew that at the end of the day... he couldn't really promise himself that Shepard was going to be back.

Had he taken their time for granted? ]

But yeah -- To John. [ He sighed, and half-lifted his glass in a tip. It felt...wrong. Lifting his glass like that.

He wasn't saying goodbye, by doing this, right? ]

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

Yeah, he might. Bet we'll look dumb then, right?

[Going manpain-drinking over an absence of a few days. But Jacob can't assume that's going to be the case. After losing so many other friends, something inside him is already braced to absorb the worst. Alcohol helps, forming an impact cushion, a few extra inches of emotional padding.]

Picture it. He walks in the door, wonders why we're hung over. Puts his hands on his hips. 'I just can't leave you alone, can I?'

[It's not the best Shepard impression in the Galaxy. Actually, it might be the worst. But it gets the point across.]

[kanadian]

[ Kaidan actually snorted in response. ]

Yeah, that was pretty bad. Mako would probably jump him, so we'd probably get away with just a: "we were having a party," and he'd probably just...

[ Well, Shepard was always so perceptive, until his emotions got in the way. ]

You know... he never guessed that I... had feelings for him? Even after... everything we've been through.

B

[shutterbugged]

[ Peter doesn't come back to Heropa that often these days, but if there's one non-crisis situation where you can count on him to show up, it's a place with cheap and abundant eats where pigging out is not only socially sanctioned, but practically mandated.

There aren't a lot of free seats around, which is why Peter finds himself standing in front of the only guy here who makes his own bottomless appetite look... bottom-y. ]

Hey, is this seat taken?

[ Friendly, but with the slightest hint of impatience in his voice. His own haul isn't quite as big as Kaidan's, but it's a war between his own perfect balance and the effects of gravity on a precariously-piled stack of chili fries. ]

[kanadian]

[ He was eating slowly -- well, slowly for Kaidan -- but even he looked up, mouth still full of...some...noodle thing. He wasn't sure, he couldn't remember. Normally, Kaidan would be much more interested in the food, the people, the promise of exotic and different locations, and while it wasn't like travelling through the galaxy, it was at least something.

Right now? he didn't really care about what he was eating all that much. ]

Yeah. Feel free.

[ He gestured with a sightly greasy hand, before he noticed, and grimaced, and wiped it off with a napkin. ]

Sorry, I didn't realize how messy this was. Want me to clear a space?

[shutterbugged]

Thanks, man, I appreciate it.

[ Unstacking his food into the space Kaidan has cleared for him is quite the operation, but he manages (minus two chili fries. Ah, well.) ]

I almost got those noodles, but by the time I saw them my hands were already full. They good?

[kanadian]

[ It's pretty impressive, all things considered, and Kaidan shook his head. ]

They're not bad. I've had better, but compared to things here... They're pretty decent.

[ Fusion restaurants were amazing in space. Even ramen -- sold as a "Delicacy" on the Citadel -- had a reason for amping up the richness of the flavor. Then again, when you could use spices and items from other planets... it made things all that much richer. ]

I'd offer you some, but... [ He looked at the disposable container, and winced. ] There's not much left.

C!

[khajidont]

[ Jaime knows Kaidan. He knows that he must be hurting right now, hurting in a way that's both foreign and familiar to Jaime - he has lost so much, more than he's able to even think about sometimes, but does that really equal to years of service and battle, only for domestic bliss to be cut short with their fate uncertain at best? - and that he must desperately need a friend. It's Jaime's duty as Kaidan's friend to be there for him. It's his duty to Shepard too. They had gotten close, closer than he had ever anticipated, but he knows that Shepard would rather he help Kaidan out than spend too much time moping around.

But the trouble is, he's not really sure how, because there's no one set of words that makes this better, no action that makes it better. Instead, there's just solidarity. With that in mind, he winds up marching over to Kaidan's apartment, a metric ton of take-out underneath either arm. He bangs at the door with the toe of his shoe in lieu of having a hand free to knock with and says, ] Kaidan, it's me!

[kanadian]

[ Jaime was right. It was just like Kaidan to need someone else around. So far, he's been pretty good. He went to work, went shopping, only upped his exercise regiment by half, instead of three times the amount, like the last time Shepard was ported out. All in all, he's doing pretty well. As well as can be expected when your partner disappears suddenly, and he has to wonder if Shepard's coming back. Again.

They were lucky, but they weren't that lucky, were they?

He opened the door, and smiled. Yeah, it was a fake smile. The kind that said that this was a brave face being put on, and that Jaime really didn't need to worry -- and of course he had to worry. This was Kaidan. He was likely going to bottle it up until he got upset later and unloaded on someone both undeserving and really unqualified to deal with it. ]

Hey. [ He sniffed. ] I see you're paying the toll by bringing food, huh?

[khajidont]

Not just food. [ Jaime elbows his way past Kaidan so he can walk over to the nearest flat surface to set the bags down. He rips one open past the staples and yanks out a six pack of beer, with two of the cans missing, and wiggles it in Kaidan's direction. ] Ted left these behind last pizza run he made. You like beer, right? That's, like... a Canadian thing.

[ And a man thing too, he supposes, but Jaime's still not the biggest fan of beer after having tried it all of once (not counting the sips he stole out of his Dad's beer only to find no, he still doesn't like it). ]

[kanadian]

Beer?

[ He squinted at Jaime, as if he were thinking of whether or not he'd actually drank the beer, before he decided that no, he trusted Jaime, and he relaxed slightly.]

Well, I guess if you're not drinking it...

[ He did take the can, and looked it over. It was some...American thing. Not the Canadian types he preferred -- Kaidan, spoiled man that he was, preferred craft beers -- but he popped the can anyway, and it opened with a hiss. ]

I'm -- okay.

[ He finally said. After a long moment. ]

B

[morethan084]

[The past couple of days have been insane to say the least. Then again, sanity was a questionable thing for this place on any given day. Besides all of her jobs that she has at the moment, all of this new stuff that's been going on was enough to make any person stressed. Needless to say any downtime was worth it to her, even if it meant just having a meal in peace for five minutes.

She's aiming for the last table that isn't full when some guy takes it with bags of food being placed on it. Daisy assumes he is probably waiting for other people but asks anyway.]

Is it okay if I sit here?

[kanadian]

[ Kaidan looked up from his food. His mountain of food that clearly looked to be for two -- if not three -- hearty eaters.

Look, he was allowed to cope however he wanted. He exercised enough that he had every right to eat as much as he wanted right now. ]

Hm? No, it's fine. It's...Daisy, right?

[morethan084]

[No judgement here. Only recognition when he actually knows who she is and suddenly she remembers.]

Oh. Hey.

[She actually forgot his name and feels like a jerk for asking, so she just leaves it at a 'hey'. Taking a seat across from him, Daisy smiles politely at him.]

Hungry?

B.

[arsiento]

[ Diablo has not lived in Heropa very long yet, and while a food festival might not be his thing, he can never say no to good food truck. He doesn't go to every food truck, but finds a relatively authentic taco truck ("Cuban street tacos," sure, but it is Florida, and the guy at the truck was at least actually Cuban) and then continues walking with his taco and a bottle of jarritos.

He passes a table where a man is sitting with enough food to throw a small party; Diablo looks at Kaidan, looks around to see if anyone seems to be coming, then looks back Kaidan. No, the guy seems to be picking at the food indiscriminately, so it must all (or mostly) be just for him. ]

Uh. [ wtf ] So what's good?

[kanadian]

[ Kaidan looked up, and offered a weak smile. ]

Kind of bad for me to answer everything, huh?

[ He says. To the guy with the skull for a face. He gestured, in case he was looking for a sign, and finally picked up one of the takeout containers. ] The pizza's pretty good, and the noodles. Back home they're... [ A snort. ] Sometimes we tell people it's a delicacy back here on Earth.

[ Humanity's running joke on the rest of the galaxy. ]

[arsiento]

[ What, like it's weird to have a skullface or something...? Well. Okay, fair enough.

Diablo continues to just stand there squinting, like he's not sure what to make of what he's being told. Here on Earth...? Is this guy serious? Not that Diablo hadn't been slightly sarcastic with his question in the first place, but it's not like people could usually tell with him.

He's used to pretty weird things though, himself, so he just pauses, taking a sip of his soda before answering. ]

Yeah, pizza's pizza. Ain't really that hard to get right. [ If he had eyebrows, he'd be raising one right now. ] What do you mean? I mean, they can be.

A

[drivesadesk]

Jonathan was out, enjoying his daily jog. Despite the hot day, he was notably bereft of sweat, and was mostly enjoying the summer sun. Apparently, he thought, he wasn't the only one in a great mood, seeing as a group of people appeared to have broken out in song and dance.

He suddenly stopped, however, when someone who was clearly not in nearly as good a mood decided to pick up a car and throw it at the crowd. Jonathan stared in shock, when someone nearby asked him to watch their dog for a second.

This snapped Jonathan out of his trance, grateful he had something he could do to help that didn't involve actually putting himself in danger.

"Yeah, of course!"

Naturally, the second the man goes off to save the crowd, Jonathan will crouch down next to the dog and start talking to her in an upbeat, cheerful voice in an effort to keep her distracted from all that stuff going on over there.

[kanadian]

Kaidan watched for a moment -- a strain of worry, before he nodded, and jogged off. He'd have to...trust a stranger, and while a part of him worried -- fretted about Mako -- he had to do the right thing right now. It was way easier to do that, than go home. So he jogged off, stopping the guy with the cars -- or rather, he stopped the cars from flying -- blue energy around the vehicles, before they were flung...away. Toward an unoccupied part of the park.

From a distance, it was clear that the Marine wasn't shouting, he just... held up his hands, and spoke to the guy calmly. Collected. He breathed in and out, and finally -- was that a cell phone? And police?

It was probably 20 minutes of a Lifetime movie drama, before he jogged back in the direction of the other guy. "Mako, hey!" he said, jogging back over. "Was she good?"

[drivesadesk]

Well...that was impressive, and Jonathan really had to admire this man's ability to talk a person down. Granted, having big, showy powers like that probably helped. People were a little more willing to be talked down after a power display like that, but still.

"Yeah, she was great!" he said, holding the leash out for the man to take back. "I have to say, that was a pretty neat trick you've got there. Was that from the Porter or...?"