aintyourdad: (Default)
Joel ([personal profile] aintyourdad) wrote in [community profile] thearena2014-09-01 07:29 pm

open;

Who| Joel and YOU?!?!
What| Joel has found the TLOU store and isn't pleased. Alternately, Joel has found a copy of his biography and is REALLY displeased.
Where| The TLOU store; the bookstore.
When| Week 2 yo
Warnings/Notes| Cussin', possibly violence, references to body horror and torture/murder etc.

[ Option A; the TLOU store ]

He stumbles upon it early the second week. They've been scouring every shop and store - anything might have useful items, after all, and even if they don't, potential hiding spots are good to have as well. So it's a shock when he makes his way into the next shop on his list and finds -

Toy plastic gas masks. A neon colored flamethrower. Artfully tattered backpacks, bandanas, plaid shirts. Dawn of the Wolf posters.

The scowl on his face deepens as he wanders further into the shop, not liking any of this one bit but wanting to be thorough, too. And then, there they are. Ugly as sin, and even knowing they're fake, made of rubber, enough to get his heart racing a little faster - clicker masks.

[Option B; Story time ]

Later in the week, he's making the rounds and ducks into a bookstore for a breather, not expecting to find anything of interest. That is, until he picks up a book at random and sees his own goddamn name on it. It's like watching a train wreck, really - he starts flipping pages, unable to look away. The story itself doesn't bother him. Even the exaggerations, the blatant inaccuracies, the clearly biased point of view - he couldn't give two shits.

But the fact of its existence is just one more reminder that the Capitol seems to know everything about them. Things they shouldn't have any knowledge of, they know about. Enough to twist it all around to suit whatever their purpose happens to be.

There isn't much that frightens Joel, but this is kinda scary.
earthborn: (those times have passed away)

[personal profile] earthborn 2014-09-16 07:57 pm (UTC)(link)
'The people who orchestrated the jailbreak.'

Shepard finds herself squarely in the dog-house on this one. But she's not going to apologize; it was about escape, sure, but more than that, it was about relief. Or maybe it was about not simply bending down your head for the inevitable executions. She could take so much.

Or maybe it was pointless. It happened, regardless-- whatever else happens, moving forward, it cannot be undone. Things might go better for him if he'd side with the Capitol, chew her out, call it what it was.

"Fine," she can't fault his frustration, but the fact that he doesn't seem to have decided to abandon her side yet is a puzzle. He's got nothing left to gain, "You?"

[personal profile] oopsright 2014-09-17 03:18 am (UTC)(link)
Shepard might not get the chance to respond about her people's welfare as Tess comes limping from around the corner of a tall shelf with a book in hand and flipping through the pages with a frown. "Can you believe this shit?"

She pauses as she sees the two of them there and looks between them, looking at Joel first and then to the woman with short auburn hair. Her brows come together and then Tess is straightening up, snapping the book shut.

"I didn't know you had company." Obviously the woman is someone Joel knows, they aren't trying to kill each other.
earthborn: (know yourself)

[personal profile] earthborn 2014-09-17 03:33 am (UTC)(link)
"Well, given half of us started off--"

Enter one foul-mouthed friendly, hopefully friendly, judging by Joel's nonchalance alone...well, this must be the fabled Tess. Looks like what little leverage Shepard had on Joel's personal life is slowly dwindling down to familiarity, the tenuous grasp of trust, and an instance of really unfortunate timing.

"Name's Shepard," There's something incredibly unsettling about the two of them on their feet while she's down on the ground. It's not that she thinks they will, but they could overwhelm her without much of a struggle, "Don't mind me."

[personal profile] oopsright 2014-09-17 07:20 am (UTC)(link)
They've been through enough shit by now that she doesn't have it in her to include the teasing bit of exaggerated information as Venus had done, the bit about being his wife. She says nothing about being his business partner, it's the truth. No more and no less.

Tess watches Shepard, looking at the brand and how she looks on the ground. She looks like she's been through a lot of crap of her own. "So you're military." It's not a question.
earthborn: (to conduct espionage)

[personal profile] earthborn 2014-09-17 03:27 pm (UTC)(link)
It made her smile to hear the hesitation in his voice-- and the smiling hurt, so it turned into a grimace. Still; that's pretty funny, that she can come this far and still have never explained herself. You got too comfortable with being famous, Red.

"I'm a marine. Space Navy, uh...special forces, technically; I'm an officer," She waves her broken, braced hand vaguely, broadcasting the weakness and her own nonchalance all in one motion, "Not that it matters. It's been more than a year since I've seen home, and a lot longer than that since somebody gave a damn about my rank."

There was no reasonable explanation for how someone who couldn't even make Captain could command whole fleets, however temporarily. Except, of course, the truth.

Oh right, there'd been a question somewhere? She turned back to Joel, "Looks like you're better off than us. But we're doing alright. I got a good crew, we're pretty tough. We also have a medical doctor, if you need help."

[personal profile] oopsright 2014-09-22 02:28 am (UTC)(link)
"It's fine," she says after a small moment of staring at Shepard, studying her, and then watching her turn back to talk to Joel. "It's a bruised hip. Bruises fade."
earthborn: (now is the time to fight)

[personal profile] earthborn 2014-09-25 03:38 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, look at the bitch glare. That was an evaluation-in-progress if ever Shepard saw one-- and she's been the target of plenty.

It's funny, though, genuinely humorous, the way Joel seems almost to defer to her. The easy way Tess seems to steer his attention, like it's automatic. Subtle enough, though, but given the suspicious glances, it's probably not training. Good instincts. Shepard has to smile.

"You don't like soldiers, do you."

Like Tess, Jane wasn't asking.

[personal profile] oopsright 2014-09-26 05:05 am (UTC)(link)
"What he said." What would be the point in telling Shepard the real reason for her contempt towards soldiers and the military, any military? It's none of her business, she doesn't know her even if Joel might seem like he does.

Tess sends a glance Joel's way; it could be a look of unspoken gratitude or it could simply be a look, take it how you will, Shepard. He knows she wouldn't want to talk about it and he seems to understand it's not something either of them want to think or talk about period.
earthborn: (appear where you are not expected)

[personal profile] earthborn 2014-10-09 04:02 am (UTC)(link)
These two were fucking unbearable. If they hadn't fucked by the next time Shepard spoke to them after the arena, she was going to have to take some kind of action. Look at the way she glanced back at him, for crissakes!

"About the same way I feel about cops, I imagine," Shit, she was tired; there was no reality that had her making it down to the Theater with good time-- so the bookstore would have to be it, for tonight. Might as well open a can of worms to go with that shit sandwich.

"Y'know, one of these days, I'd like not to have to ask where Ellie is or if she's dead yet. If that's not too much trouble."

I read fucking unbearable as fucking ADORABLE, Mica :(

[personal profile] oopsright 2014-10-10 06:24 am (UTC)(link)
Their partnership went hand in hand. Glances were always exchanged. Little to no words had to be said.

They might be good, for now, but... "You aren't looking so good," Tess returns to Shepard, eyes again on that brand and how worn and beaten down she looks.

It's almost like she's talking to Marlene all over again with the way she says those words.
earthborn: (strategy without tactics)

that too

[personal profile] earthborn 2014-10-10 03:43 pm (UTC)(link)
"Well I got caught and t-t-t..." tortured. Fuck. Fuck, get it together, Shepard. Weren't these lovely little gopher holes the Capitol kept digging just so fun to stumble across? Deep breath.

"Capitol's not very nice to people who break their rules. I happen to be one of those. If the whole-" she indicated her face with a vague wave of her hand, the mess the brand was making of it, "-didn't make that obvious."

[personal profile] oopsright 2014-10-12 03:21 am (UTC)(link)
"Might want to consider visiting that doctor friend of yours then." Shepard looks like she needs the medical attention more than Tess does. A lot more.

Tess catches the glance thrown in her direction, reading his expression loud and clear. He should know her well enough by now to know that if she's going to continue running her mouth, she'll do it with her head down and ease herself into the game. She will do it with some cover and behind the scenes.

She'll find a way, she always does.

There's no comment for his look. That can come later.
earthborn: (no gaurantee of success)

[personal profile] earthborn 2014-10-12 02:33 pm (UTC)(link)
"Thanks, Mom and Dad, but I already did. Mordin's not really uhm..." Well, he was an excellent Doctor, and there was no doubt he'd be able to see this later, "Look, the man's a certified genius, and if I need a plague cured, he's the first one I go to. But he's not really a First Aid kind of guy."

What Mordin Solus was, was terrifying, on several levels, very few of them obvious. Shepard sighed and considered the bookshelves, "Besides, even miracle workers can't turn water into wine without any water."

[personal profile] oopsright 2014-10-14 06:21 am (UTC)(link)
It might show in the look that flashes over her sharp features the impact those words have. She's blind to the glance from Joel as she stares across at Shepard feeling like the wind has been kicked out of her gut.

Tess can't help it when she has to force herself to swallow, hand coming up to unconsciously rub against the right crook of her neck. She doesn't feel comfortable with the sensation of something moving underneath the skin there.

"No one can cure a fucking plague." They're harsh words but they're the truth, she and Joel would know that from first-hand experience, her especially.

A short look is thrown at Joel as she then turns away. It's time to get a move on.
earthborn: (when at rest to make him move.)

[personal profile] earthborn 2014-10-14 02:02 pm (UTC)(link)
"Only two in the last year before I got here," Shepard will do a lot of things, but she's not going to sit here and let people who've never even heard of him disparage Mordin Solus, "I know what I'm talking about; it's a fucking medical issue, not black magic."

She will fight you, injuries and all.
Edited 2014-10-14 20:33 (UTC)

[personal profile] oopsright 2014-10-14 10:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Tess had stopped to spin back around and take a step forward, the twist of her lips dangerous like the dark look in her eyes.

"You think this is -" Good on you, Joel. Good on you for cutting in before the real explosion could really happen. "Fuck you," she then throws in, cold and quiet.

She is the same way, injuries and all. Tess will fight back just as hard.

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