apocalypsehowcomm | Leave me here, Burning with you (Open)

Entry tags:

Leave me here, Burning with you (Open)

Who: Andrew Jaeger

bloodalwaystells and Everyone!
When: Late April-May
Where: Various locations
Summary: Catch-all for post-assassination and TDM events
Warnings: Scars, hospital setting, burn wounds, mentions of violence, murder, and torture, burned bodies, more will be added as needed!

((OOC: Open to planning, just PM or brimstonemuse to discuss ideas and set up a starter! I will match brackets or prose, as desired!))

The Infirmary ((Approx April 23-30, after this thread)) CW: Burn wounds and other damage, hospital setting

It's not the first time that Jaeger has been hurt in the line of so-called "duty", and it won't be the last. Normally, it's something he can fix, but not anymore. Not here, especially since using his powers is partly what got him into this situation in the first place.

So, a hospital bed is home for a while, until he is steady on his feet and showing signs of good healing. He's being kept in the infirmary ward for some fairly severe burns, and some rather mysterious internal damage that has him occasionally coughing blood. Bandages cover one arm and his side and chest, and there's a quietly beaten, haggard look to him that the big man seldom allows to show. Painkillers help, and so do visitors, though his entirely inadequate hospital gown shows both a fine array of decorative-looking scars (well healed) on his arms, and the vicious mark across his throat that by now is starting to become common knowledge.

Visitors will be greeted with a wan smile, though, once word gets out that he's laid up. It's better than listlessly flipping through cable channels for something interesting to watch. Most of the time, he settles on a murder mystery or old western, though other times he'll simply doze through whatever's on the screen.

Well-Read - (May 1 - 12): CW: mentions of torture, murder, scars/scarification, Bad Magic

Being out of the infirmary is a relief for Jaeger, even if it means returning to something like chaos. He's still healing, though, still tentative and careful in the way he moves. A book fair, though? That's a good excuse to get out and about. Fresh air, a change of scenery, and hopefully, bringing back something interesting to read while he's still recovering a bit.

There's still bandages, but he's better. He'll continue to get better, he's resolute on that. He might be out of action for a bit, but certainly not too much longer. He hopes.

In the meantime, he'll be found browsing the offered books, especially the folklore and local history sections. Or, occasionally, hunched over a laptop, a rare deep scowl on his face as the questions flash by. Terrible, pointedly direct questions, that the computer has no business knowing.

Hello, Sebastian. May we call you that? No. Invalid answer. Hello, Sebastian. May we call you that? No. Invalid answer. Hello, Sebastian. May we call you that? Yes. Excellent! Welcome, Sebastian.

This is not the worst of the questions. Not even close to it. Do you still love your wife? gets a vicious glare, and by the time he gets to Why did you kill Claudia when she was already helpless? he's ready to throw the laptop. Or just wither and die on the spot...that's an option too. He's tired and overdue for his next pain pill and goddamn, sometimes this place is just awful.

Alternatively, he might catch a glimpse of your screen, even in spite of his best efforts not to pry. But it's really just a reading questionnaire, right? There's no harm in seeing what kind of questions they're- oh. Okay.

Training Wheels Off - (May 13 - 14) CW: burn wounds, burned bodies, claustrophobia

The Train

Jaeger has never been fond of flying, really. A train proves much more comfortable, even if it's slower, and he is still healing. Most of the bandages are off by now, but he's still just a little bit careful, a little bit tired. Three weeks is a good amount of time to heal, though, and his wounds are well on the way to becoming new scars across his chest and arm.

He's going to choose to take the time on the train to relax as best he can, to lose himself in the liminal space of travel. They're going to be on the train for a while so he may as well make the best of it.

Until things start getting weird, at least. Then he can be found on a slow patrol of the train, or standing sentry (or sitting sentry) at one of the ends of the train cars. Breaks are taken in the dining car, usually with a cup of apple juice or a bottle of water and gaze alert to the darkness beyond the windows.

At some point in the evening, after the chaos of the Tunnel Incident, Jaeger will return to his assigned sleeping car, and whoever his roommate for the trip might be. If it's someone he knows, he will be as cordial as ever...if it's someone he previously hasn't met, well, he'll still be friendly, if a bit reserved? But quick to introduce himself before stretching out his huge frame on the provided bedding with a deep sigh.

Burned Bridges

He's not hallucinating. He's pretty sure of that, and the sight of the body propped up by the tracks, contorted by intense heat into something barely human-seeming, is a strange and surreal shock after the night they've had. He's seen a lot of Weird Things In The Woods but a body always draws his attention right away. It's wired into him by now, with all the awful things he's seen, even though through the glass of a moving train car, it's oddly distant and surreal.

Until Jaeger sees the lower portion of a leg, and the whole thing snaps into focus. Untouched, unscorched, just laying there amid the charred, leathery mess of the rest of the corpse. "That's human."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Jaeger is half-asleep and high on painkillers, which certainly doesn't hurt Tony's cause. He stirs when the door opens, not inclined to sit up but opening his eyes and turning his head toward his visitor.

Hey, moving hurts. Kind of a lot at times, so he's going to just lay here and heal like he's supposed to.]

Mph.

[His eyebrows rise at the mention of a present, and he shifts a little more, regarding the other man with question.]

A present? ...Should I be worried?

'Worried?' [ Tony gasps, mock-offended, then lowers himself into the chair near Jaeger's bed. ] How rude. I'll have you know I had to actually budget to get this thing. You know I've never budgeted for anything before in my entire life? Yeah.

[ Jaeger most definitely knows by now that Tony is an Actual Billionaire back in his home world, though he doesn't bring it up all that often other than for jokey theatrics. And he ceases those pretty quickly, even, scooting his chair a little closer so he can hand over the box. ]

Careful, fragile contents.

[ There's no wrapping or anything; it's just a plain box, and inside is a bit of crumpled paper for padding which, when removed, will reveal a ceramic coffee mug. ]

Figured I owed you for the one I broke. And see? It's complimentary.

[ If Tony seems a tad anxious (or more anxious, rather), it's because he's fully, uncomfortably aware that 1. the mug-throwing incident happened ages ago and 2. that + the fact that he can't apologize without flirting or buying people things = still more to add on to the already mountainous pile of evidence that he is phenomenally shit at human interaction. Not that he really needs reminding.

Thankfully Jaeger seems too high to notice. ]

It takes some getting used to, yes.

[Jaeger smiles a bit because he actually understands that. He might not have ever been a billionaire, never more than a comfortably affluent millionaire, but he knows what it's like to go from excess to only just scraping by.

He takes the mug out of the box carefully, turning it over in his hands, and reads it with the smallest laugh and shake of his head.

Both flirting and buying him things in the same turn. But he's starting to get used to it, to understand that it's how Tony deals with things. He can accept that, and the sentiment behind the mug is...good. For all their stresses and petty issues, they get along well enough and Jaeger isn't one to judge someone clearly going through a difficult time. Being here is bad enough: whatever Tony came from doesn't seem to be any better, if the man's state upon arrival was any indication.]

I appreciate it, Tony. Thank you.

Things have been quiet, then?

I mean, in a general sense, yeah. Not really for me, though. It's, uh, been kind of a shitshow. For me. Actually.

[ Tony's fingers start absently drumming on the arms of the chair, a pretty obvious physical anxiety tell. Jaeger is probably used to seeing those by now. He's also probably used to Tony expressing concern in rather unorthodox ways, such as: ]

You wanna play misery poker? Odds are definitely in your favor, y'know, since you look like you fell on the business end of a weed-whacker. Go on, gimme all the gory details.

[That actually stops Jaeger in his tracks, so to speak, a fleeting shadow crossing over his expression before he reminds himself that this is Tony, and tact isn't exactly his strong suit. It's a little unclear whether the man is talking about his recent injuries or the well-healed scars, but Jaeger...chooses to be charitable and assume the former.

Though his tone is still wry when it comes out.]

Flamethrower, actually.

It was a mission that got messier than expected. Not that it's unusual for that to happen here.

Probably the less said about it, the better. It was a covert operation. Successful, but there were a few surprises that made it more complicated than we planned for.

[ Honestly, it could have gone either way; Tony barrels through subjects that most people tiptoe around, with varied results. Andrew's in luck, though, as Tony is only referring to the new injuries this time around. He hasn't asked about the old scars yet, but it isn't from lack of interest. More like lack of time, really.

Anyway.

Tony's expression after Jaeger 'answers' is surprised and a little put off, which may or may not have been what the big guy had been expecting. Honestly, the dude's hard to read, but Tony isn't such an open book himself. ]

I wasn't really asking about the operation. [ Tony's eyebrows are lifted high as he leans back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest. ] I was asking about you. A flamethrower? That's gotta smart. Surely you wanna bellyache about it, at least a little?

[Under other circumstances, or phrased a bit more gently, Jaeger actually might be more inclined to talk about it all. In vague terms, to be sure, but at least offering some satisfaction to questions about why he does, indeed, look like he lost a fight with a weedwhacker.

He's just tired and strained right now. To that end, he makes a small noncommittal noise before he starts to talk again.]

We dealt with avatars, and they were more powerful than expected.

[He grimaces. He doesn't like admitting he was outclassed, but...it was a very near thing.]

I have some burns on my chest and arms, but they should heal well enough. Mostly I'm here for the internal bleeding, they want to keep an eye on it along with making sure nothing gets infected.

[Flat medical discussion? That's a little easier. He can distance himself from the whole thing with that clinical detachment that the doctors gave him.]

[ Well okay, but flat medical discussion is boring. Tony is highly curious by nature, and the evasive manner in which Jaeger has been behaving since Tony mentioned his injuries is piquing that curiosity more than he'd like to admit. The guy obviously isn't in any mood to have a heart-to-heart, though, and doesn't seem likely to open up to Tony anytime soon without some gentle prodding at the very least-- So, clearly, the best way to leave the door open for any such sharing now or in the future is for Tony to do what he does best: talk about himself. ]

Okay, I'm gonna have to ask you all about that 'avatar' business later, so stick a pin in that one for now. But it's only fair I air grievances next, right? Since we're comparing war wounds...

[ If Tony's ever gonna get the story of Jaeger's old scars at any point in time, be it now or way way later, he's gonna have to bare some of his own first. So he does just that, lifting up his shirt in a manner that might be readable as flirtation if it wasn't for the massive, horrifying scar right in the middle of his chest that the action reveals. No really; it looks as though there had been a hole in his chest...and that's because there had, indeed, been a hole in his chest. ]

This is an old one, but it still hurts sometimes, so it still counts I think. Wanna guess what it's from? Bet you can't. Try anyway, though.

They give us some information on avatars during orientation, but it's not quite the same as actually fighting them.

[It certainly makes communication between the two of them interesting. Jaeger is by nature very reserved, even before introducing the world of secrets his life has been based on.

Though, he's getting better about sharing some things. The fact that he's actually meeting other people who have, like him, suffered some terrible things...it sucks but it's also comforting to have that company.

The sight of Tony's scars makes Jaeger pause, fully pause, and blink slowly as he takes them in. It's hard to form a polite answer, and he's kind of doped up at the moment, so what comes out is...very matter of fact.]

Some things never heal right, once you've got them.

[A grave admission of solidarity, as he raises a hand to touch the band of scar tissue around his throat. The hospital johnny really doesn't do the job of covering it, but Tony has likely seen Jaeger in a t-shirt around the apartment anyway.]

It looks like someone tried to take your heart out with a trowel.

[ Aha, there, see? They're connecting. Not Tony's explicit intention, per se, but it's a nice bonus. Jaeger hasn't really put up any visible defenses yet, anyway...though that might just be because he's high as balls. Which could also be the reason why Tony is vomiting personal info at him willy-nilly like a mom drunk-posting on Facebook.

Who knows.

Tony pokes at his scar a little, tracing the outline of it. It's more like a collection of scars, really, arranged in an almost perfectly circular formation right over his heart, and their individual shapes are just as unnatural and mechanical-looking. As if, indeed, someone had attempted to perform an amateur pericardiectomy on him, but rather than a trowel they'd used an industrial-sized hole punch. ]

Nah, it's not nearly that dramatic. There used to be an electromagnet here, embedded right in my chest. See where it's kind of hollow here, in the center?

[ Tony leans forward, giving Jaeger a better view of the slightly sunken area of his chest inside the circular keloid, the outline of which he's still idly tracing with his finger. ]

That's where it used to be. Prototype ran off a car battery, but I fancied it up a bit; turned it into a miniature version of the reactor that powered my factory back then. Then it was just a, a part of me. For a while. It was, uh...

[ He sits back in his chair, faltering slightly; he doesn't mind telling the Cliffnotes version of this story at all (it kills at parties) and wouldn't be volunteering the information right now if he did, but the...gory details? Not as keen on sharing those. Certainly not at parties, but they're not for the initial 'opening up to someone for the first time' conversation, either. ]

I ate some shrapnel from an explosion. Hit me square in the chest, which was bad enough, but then it was like I was my own personal doomsday clock. If it weren't for the magnet holding it back, the shrapnel would have slowly, literally ate its way into my heart.

[Jaeger is always just that little bit guarded, careful and precise in a way that could be mistaken for professionalism rather than defense. Some of that has slid away under the current circumstances, though, even if he isn't quite effusive about things.

It's hard to be enthusiastic when you're bleeding internally, but Tony has definitely got his attention.

The whole thing sounds pretty unreal, but Jaeger has had weeks to accept that Tony is from a different world. So maybe people running on car batteries is not so strange there, though his expression is still vaguely wondering, a bit stunned at the strangeness of it all.

He nods slowly, indicating he is very much listening, even in spite of all that.]

That's still pretty dramatic.

[He drops his hand from his own scar because he hates the feel of it under his fingers, the reminder of when it was fresh and open and bleeding his life out into the grass. It's funny how he has those sudden and stark moments of sudden realization, after living with it for six years now.]

I suppose both our worlds have their own version of magic, in a way. I only survived because I was able to heal myself. Not enough, but some.

[ Ok whoa, buddy, give Tony a second here. He has to recover real quick from the momentary shock that Jaeger has not only listened to what Tony has just said but is actually sharing with him in return, two things that almost never happen on their own let alone together. Seriously. In fact, up until this moment Tony had been fully prepared to just keep yammering on and on until one of three things happened: 1) his mouth got dry 2) Jaeger fell asleep or 3) the hospital staff kicked his ass out. Whichever came first, really.

Despite this shock to the system Tony pulls himself together quickly enough, and then reacts to Jaeger's opening words at once: he sits up in his chair, tugging his legs up off the ground and up onto the seat so he can rest his arms on his knees, and then he looks at the other guy with eyes so big and brown and expressive they look as though they'd originally been meant to be put on a doe or a puppy dog but God had fucked it up somehow.

They shine with interest. Do go on. ]

[Jaeger certainly isn't rushing through things, slowed by the influence of painkillers and his own thoughtfulness. He's not the type to burden others with the horrors he's survived.

And he perceives that interest in Tony's eyes, the watchful gaze of someone waiting for him to say more. What is there to say? It's a complicated issue, and Jaeger has already said more than he usually does.

He'll go with the middle ground, after a moment of thought.]

I had a very unpleasant falling-out with my...employers. The company that I spent my entire life a part of, going back to my father.

Mostly, I found out that they were using dark magic and murder to further their ends, that the whole organization was dedicated to preserving control and privilege for a select few elite. Most of my world doesn't believe in magic. That makes those who have it even more powerful.

And they don't take kindly to their people trying to leave, especially with so many secrets at stake.

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Leave me here, Burning with you (Open)

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