don't know what i want but i know how to get it; i wanna destroy the passerby

[heckblazer]

WHO: John Constantine, some bad children, various bad adults, maybe you?
WHERE: Roundabouts various cities
WHEN: Early to mid-February
WHAT: John's February Super Fun Wow Catch-All Extravaganza
WARNINGS: To be tagged as necessary



((Tags in comments below. HIT ME UP IF YOU WANNA PLOT! I'm open for almost anything and would love to throw John at most of y'all.))

Comments

[heckblazer]

[ There's just a noticeable wince in his body language as she speaks, the cool and direct greeting near worse than all the countless times he'd had friends and loved ones shout him down.

Now's your chance, dumbarse. Stroll back through the door and don't -- ]

Morning. You went ginger on purpose?

[ You fucking dolt. ]

[divaricate]

Yeah, weird things happen when I get bored. [She sounds like she's kind of joking but also not really. She's not wrong. As can be seen.] So, what can I get for you? --Or was it conversation you came for? Because if it's that, we should probably sit at a table. [She'd have time for a break if so. Often, people she knows will stop in here to visit with her when she's not as busy.]

[heckblazer]

Up t'you, I guess. Wouldn't say no to tea, though.

[ Although he does sit at a small table all the same, mentally cursing himself for his own stupidity a little more. ]

[divaricate]

[Soon enough, she's at the table, with two cups of tea, setting on in front of him.]

So. [And then she sits down across from him, making herself comfortable.] Do I have to guess why you're so talkative today?

[The way she says basically that entire sentence -- but especially the word "talkative" -- is brought to you by her good friend sarcasm as she utilizes it to try to get more than four sentences out of him. She takes a sip of her own tea, her eyes fixed on him from over the rim of her cup.

Letting the voices and sounds of others in the building fade away into an easily to ignore murmur is one thing, but she makes a point to let their thoughts that she's picking up fade away as well, so that they don't provide another distraction for her.]

[heckblazer]

[ With a shudder he downs his tea, even if it is scalding. He tries to think in abstract so that she's less likely to find anything questionable - or traumatic. Unfortunately it makes him even more of a curt, infuriating bastard. ]

Figured you might want someone other than yer, err, family to talk to. [ Then he really strains so he can attempt boring, mundane conversation. ] So wot you been up to?

[divaricate]

[So far, his brand of curt and infuriating seems pretty easy to deal with compared to the attitude of a speedster, always impatient. She had a lot of practice with being around one.]

I will never say no to more company, so. [She shrugs slightly.]

Nothing too catastrophic. Yet. [ha ha. hilarious. anyway-- ] Mostly a lot of spending my days off from here by going to some of the other cities and visiting friends. Which also means spending time outside the two cities I spend most of my time in is also nice. You?

[heckblazer]

[ Oddly enough, he answers truthfully. ]

Mostly, wrangling the weird little gang of teenaged gods that've taken to me. Interesting shows they put on, actually. Other'n that, just my usual trouble-making. Only got punched twice this whole month, actually.

[ The smalltalk is, at least for his part, excruciating. But it's necessary to ease her into the topic he wants to discuss and why he's here. Maybe she senses it. ]

[divaricate]

[It doesn't actually take a lot to sense when someone's doing something that they're finding to be uncomfortable, no (that is, if they're not already giving it away with body language or any other visual or verbal cues). Especially since he doesn't seem like the small talk type thus far. She makes a mental note to call that out in a second.]

That sounds difficult. [Wrangling teenaged gods, she means.] But congratulations on the record low number of times to get punched in a month. [Or, at least the way he says it makes it sound like that's a unusually low number for him -- her words aren't sarcastic there.

She pauses for another half-second to a second before adding in something else-- ]

You really hate small talk, don't you? [That'd be her way of calling it out. Said in a slightly more neutral tone, to steer conversation in a more specific direction if that's where he wants to go with it.]

[heckblazer]

Got it in one, love. [ His answer is immediate and with little charm.

"Small talk" with an endgame in mind he can do in his sleep. This was just painful. He glances around to make sure no one is about to barge in, then decides to get to the brass tacks. ]

When's the last time you used your, ah -- gifts for something a little more challenging than chores?

[divaricate]

I guess that depends on what kind of challenging you're talking about. As in the kind where it's more along the lines of 'spend some mornings stretching my power muscles by training with my father', or 'helping other people train with their powers', or something just like 'someone called and wants me to undo some mindwarp on their friend'?