InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Nah"

Syd(ney) Barrett (_donttouch) wrote,
@ 2017-05-17 21:08:00

And, as they had discussed, the next day was back to work. She had gone to Cary first, the intention to find Kerry, but with a pleasant sidetrack of talking with the scientist. He did, in fact, have some poking and testing that he wanted to do --something about more theories that the journal brought up -- so Syd forced herself to stay still for the prodding. It worked, for the most part, particularly after Cary saw her trying and eased the tension with a little talk. Simple stuff, how he thought she could continue harnessing her ability and an unknown echo of
what Hank had said about part of it being psychological. The conversation also turned toward the light saber, with questions about whether she felt any after effects and if she'd like to continue working with that. Knowing all too well the stability that came with knowing the person you cared about could take care of herself, Cary saw nothing wrong in giving both Sydney and David that peace of mind. Just in case. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worse.

Syd, naturally, was pleased to continue being his guinea pig in that respect.

Afterward, it was Ptonomy she found next, which was actually perfect because she needed to bribe him into a favor soon. And what could she possibly offer the memory man? Pancakes. He loved them but couldn't cook them. Baking was apparently more his bag. So favor was exchanged for favor, and she couldn't quite help herself in innocently asking about yesterday afternoon, which had him looking at her suspiciously before she flitted away.

It all led her to Kerry, who had been heading over to Cary and her punching bag. But sparring was so much more fun. So that was exactly what they did, an hour and a half of moving and trying to best one another, moves and tips given from the younger girl as Sydney tried to get one over her. Still didn't work; the student still had much to learn from the master. They were about to switch when Kerry brought up a good point; had she tried with someone else? Other than David, because Kerry liked not having an explosion to worry about, thanks. Syd snorted, giving a shrug, but then she got to thinking about it. Maybe she should change it up. "I should find Rudy or Ptonomy and ask."

"Yeah, you should." Kerry thought that could possibly be interesting, grinning. "You get a hold on telekinesis and could toss things at me." Rudy wouldn't.

With that thought in mind, Syd wandered over to David's bedroom, figuring he wasn't there yet but would pop his head in relatively soon. She debated telling him about the newest plan, or letting him suss it out. Mostly because she was curious whether people were the same to him when they were switched. Humming, she plopped on the bed and sat cross-legged, going over various ideas in her head as she waited.

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xgene
2017-05-21 03:08 am UTC (link)

Sullen anger indeed. Sullen anger and outright vitriol at the world. Which made the now so much better, even with all its complexities and body swapping and multiple personas. There'd been a moment in today's meeting with the Birds, after confessing what was happening to him, if it was even a good idea to have him be involved in this... war they were in. Wasn't he the exact example of what a mutant shouldn't be? All crazy and too much crammed into one package, the pinnacle of bad examples?

Melanie had said something to the effect of her being concerned, but that they didn't have much of a choice. Oliver seemed thoughtful, but his expression and lack of commentary overall meant that he wasn't sure. Or so David read it to mean. Of course, he was also kind of bad at reading people. Bad at people in general. All that sullen anger and vitriol, hearing people's thoughts and not knowing it was their thoughts. Noise. Symbols clashing. Drums.

"I wonder if I could fly," he wondered aloud after a moment. "Levitating is easy, I wonder if that could be pushed to flying." David wasn't entirely sure how much he wanted to push that though. The thought of flying, or rather, of falling, was a little too unnerving. A hand moved to rest on Syd's, his, arm though, testing the warmth even as eyes remained outside. "Average warmth. Probably not."

The kiss brought about a small smile, one that stated how silly he knew he was being. It was just bad weather. And yet...

"Day trips might be needed. Or just a few hours of sunlight somewhere. Or hiding under blankets. I'm cool with hiding under every blanket ever." Looking back to Syd, he shrugged a little. "I doubt it's even the chemistry of my brain to blame; I just hate shorter days, darker days." Autumn was fine, with its pretty leaves and all. Winter had zero redeeming qualities outside of the fact that now he was determined to get in at least one epic snowball fight. At least now he was more certain Rudy would partake, all the while looking completely blase about it.

Studying his face again for a moment, David couldn't help but laugh a little again and shake his head. "God, it really is weird. Seeing this," he motioned between them, "knowing it's real. Without any doubts this time." It'd been a 50/50 split the first time, unnerving and exciting all at once. More difficult to comprehend without seeing himself though.

"Thank you," said suddenly after another moment of study. "For helping me through my whole 'real or not real' thing." A beat, followed by another apologetic smile. "Those moments, that dash of paranoia? They're getting fewer and farther between because of you." Which was equally comforting and terrifying, that last tidbit of paranoia clinging on for dear life, too afraid of what could be in all this. After all, what if the world was just as malleable as the astral plane? Making your own reality as you went?

No. No, that was stupid. That wasn't something he could do. Time travel was one thing, but the manipulation of reality itself? No. Stupid thought. Stupid.

But maybe...

Stupid.

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_donttouch
2017-05-21 03:31 am UTC (link)

They were all bad examples. Bad News Bears and island of misfit toys. But frankly, that was what made them human. In spite of what Emma Frost thought, or people like her, they weren't more than. Love and fear and everything in between ran through their hearts and heads just the same. They were different than. And everybody was fucking different. Snowflakes. The same stuff, individual patterns.

"Uh-oh. There I go, giving you ideas." She grinned a little, enjoying the feeling of shared fingers against shared arms. "And you would freeze, my love." The mention of sunlight and daytrips made her smile, but blankets -- blanket forts -- made her want to grin as bright as David normally did. However, she kept it cool, thoughts and plans for funnest times. "I think we can find a blanket or two around here." Simply promised. No big deal.

Head tilting to one side, Syd lifted her eyebrows, and then nodded with a quiet laugh. "Very real." She took her own pause, smiling and offering a shrug for the thanks. "I do what I can. Though, idle curiosity makes me wonder how you would have taken it if you weren't a mutant." She would have told him, eventually, even if he hadn't shared that part of her life.

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xgene
2017-05-21 04:02 am UTC (link)

"Yeah, must be cold up there." In the clouds. On second thought, nah. Maybe he'd never try flying. Even if he could, he'd just be cold and terrified. Why bother when you could just teleport or go on a road trip with your girlfriend who enjoyed driving? Problem solved. Instant trip to somewhere warm, somewhere where the sun was still shining, where the air didn't make your face hurt. Why did he live somewhere where the air could make his face hurt?

Blankets. Warmth. Yeah, now David was actually getting ideas. Thick blankets, everywhere, heavy and comforting. He didn't even need to crave sleep to recollect the number of times he'd simply laid in a bed, when he had one, and hid under the covers, as much weight added to them as possible. It wasn't that he was a naturally cold person, it just felt better when he knew it was cold outside. As if, somehow, that knowledge affected him biologically. Funny how the brain worked, how it could skew your perception.

Again, stupid.

"If I wasn't a mutant..." That part was repeated thoughtfully. "I don't know. If I wasn't a mutant, I don't even know who I'd be." It'd played such a massive role in his life. Would he still have gotten addicted to everything? Still been a completely awful human being because of it? "I'd like to think I'd be okay with it all though." A beat. "I was a pretty chill kid." Which was the only time he had to compare to, before anything manifested, while Farouk was still too weak inside of him to do anything. "As long as we could keep making bubbles and enjoying the sunlight, I'd be good."

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_donttouch
2017-05-21 04:19 am UTC (link)

Syd was a child who hid under covers with flashlights, pink and softly lit, whiling away the hours reading or otherwise just being able to be one with the blankets. She loved the extra weight of them, comforted by it after a difficult day of trying not to be a difficult kid. And instead of growing out of it, she just grew better. Blankets became forts, fortresses against the world. And she still hadn't really grown out of that; just hadn't had an opportunity for it. Until now.

"Me neither, really. Hard to imagine something that's shaped your life so much simply...not being there." That would be all too weird. As much as she had disliked it over the years, it was still her. At the mention of making bubbles and bathing in light, Syd laughed. "Abso-fucking-lutely."

Closing the cover on the piano keys, she turned and leaned against it. "Can you tell how everyone's doing? And it's funny that the two least-chill people are having probably the most chill time."

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xgene
2017-05-21 04:49 am UTC (link)

"I tried putting the pieces together once," that much David could admit. "Took the time, analyzed what I remembered being like as a kid, what Amy said about me... thought about what I dreamed of doing with my life, how I planned to live it." It hadn't gotten too far, because it'd made him so angry with himself, it'd made him feel so low, so worthless, that it just stopped abruptly. "If I was anything though, I used to have chill." Used to. He'd been so happy to go along with the flow, to be optimistic and cheerful. So yeah, swapping with Syd? No big deal as a normal person.

Looking around and finding everyone, David managed a smirk at the comment. "No kidding, right? Look at us, being all okay with this." A slight shoulder bump later and eyes focused on each individual. "Melanie's awake. Seems to be pretty calm, thanks to Oliver, who's still with her." And then, looking a little further off, "Rudy and Ptonomy are still together. Ptonomy's in a pretty sour mood, but Rudy seems... like Rudy." And the Loudermilks? That had him smiling. "Cary and Kerry might actually be on the same level as us. Kinda. They're... poking each other's faces."

Obviously studying one another, having a moment. "I wonder if they can merge back together like this, or if Kerry wouldn't know how because of the switch?" Brows furrowed, David looked back to Syd, reaching up to poke his own face just to match the other duo who seemed okay enough. "We should probably check in on everyone eventually." Eventually.

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