sixthiterationlogs | [MINGLE] Saints & Sinners Masquerade

[MINGLE] Saints & Sinners Masquerade

WHERE: Corn field next to the inn
WHEN: 31 October, all day and night
OPEN TO: ALL - MINGLE
WARNINGS: Please warn as appropriate in your subject lines
NOTES: Please make sure you have read and understand the event details! If you have questions, drop them here. RECOMMENDED BUT NOT REQUIRED: Put your SCRUBS COLOR in your OTA subject line for folks doing bingo. Time your OTA for the harvest feast, the masquerade, or both. Costume matches and details for folks who did not get matched are here.

This morning, our intrepid villagers awoke to a surprise of the nicer kind: A bundle of clothing left at the foot of their bed, tied with a bow. There is also a note: Put on your new outfit and join the festivities in the corn field next to the inn.

You may be thinking, what corn field next to the inn? The one that sprung up fully-mature overnight, of course.

In the middle of the field, villagers will find an autumn feast: Tables piled with harvest time food and drink, warm and rustic decorations, the day's sunshine fending off any chill in the air.

Tuck in and enjoy, villagers, but take note: Things often look different in the dark, and you might be one of them.

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It's... weird to answer questions that Tony is answering himself, so after a couple of lip twitches Matt doesn't say anything until Tony stops for at least two seconds to breathe. Is the man dressed up as an alien self-aware enough that he knows that he talks a mile a minute and half of it is just brainfarts?

"Uh... yes." Matt's eyes shift from left to right awkwardly. Is that where they're starting this conversation? "I've been here a few days. I don't- you don't need to. Make the whole place accessible just for me." If there was someone else here who needed it, in a wheelchair or something, Matt would be all for ramps and handrails and making good any potholes. But there probably isn't since all those facilities weren't here before, so. He can just deal with it.

"And be liable for you walking off the edge? No thanks. Besides, it's not the whole village' it's just the docks. I'm pretty sure if you found your way here you're capable enough to navigate the place for the most part." Otherwise- someone dragged him here and fucked off, which? Rude. That'd be a dick move right there.

"It's not that big of a deal. Now if you wanted me to print some of the books we've got in the library in braille- that'll take a bit." He'd still do it, but- it'd take awhile.

"It wouldn't be your fault." Of course, Matt feels awkward to be in the centre of all this fuss, so he's trying to downplay everything.

"I'll be okay, but. Thank you." Matt would be so surprised if he realised Tony Stark was offering to do any of this for him, of all people. This is not at all what he would have expected from someone whom he'd just assumed had more money than sense, with his head in the clouds and wouldn't care about the bottom-dwellers.

"If there's anything I can help with, around town." Matt's eyes shift nervously as he chews on his bottom lip. "I don't want to be a burden."

"No, but that wouldn't stop me from finding a reason to blame myself for it." Plenty of reasons to climb up on a cross, for all that he's not at all religious. "Seriously. Anything you need while you're here? Let me know. I'm kind of the town smith, it'll give me something to do and, I don't know. You can pay me back in trade or whatever."

Everyone has some kind of skill, made some kind of living. He could figure out something for this guy to keep him busy. "Depends on what your skills are? What do you do, back home?"

"I will. Thanks. My..." Ex? Girlfriend? Partner in crime? Ninja-wife? Bad influence? Undead lover? "I'm staying with someone sighted, if that puts you more at ease." If he really has to ask for something, Matt would be happy just with a pair of glasses or something like a bell mug; he's easy to please. Most of all he just needs time to get his confidence back, and that's not something anyone can build for him.

Talk of back home makes him laugh a little. "I was a pro bono lawyer, in a neighbourhood called Hell's Kitchen. I won't be of much use here, I'm afraid."

Maybe he can teach Sunday school.

"...Blind lawyer in Hell's Kitchen- does that make you Murdock or Nelson?" He'd heard a little, Pepper or Jarvis mentioned them along with the restoration efforts that he didn't have the time to dig into, burying himself in rebuilding the tower, in trying to prepare the globe for Thanos before he knew exactly what he was preparing it for.

Too many variables, not enough time.

"You're actually what I've been looking for. I'm- well. Tony Stark." Hold for applause, gasp of astonishment or incredulity. "I've been leery of arming people here but- the local fauna aren't all friendly and there was an attack not long before I got here. I'd feel more comfortable if I could write up some kind of contract stipulating their use to be directed at hostile outside forces and not, you know. Shivving the neighbors. I know it probably doesn't seem like much but- it's the principle of the matter."

"...Murdock." That's... unexpected. They're a couple of small timers, Matt more so than Foggy these days, and their names aren't plastered on the side of an obnoxious skyscraper or anything. And if it was because of a case like Wilson Fisk or Frank Castle, it'd take someone really obsessive or in the same line of work to pay attention to the sideshows in suits.

"You're. Tony Stark." There's no applause, unfortunately. Just an almost unsettling blank stare. And not just because he's blind. He's talking to Tony Stark dressed up as an alien in a corn field and Tony Stark knows his name. There's something very surreal about this situation.

"I thought you got out of the arms trade," Matt says, trying to keep his tone of voice neutral even if his unguarded expression might have hinted at some mild level of distaste at the very least. Everyone's got an opinion about the Incident and for Matt it seems like all he's been dealing with since have been muggings and lootings, families who couldn't afford insurance being made homeless when the apartment buildings collapsed, gifted people getting attacked and discriminated against, shady corner cutting practices in the construction industry in the rebuild rush.

He'd still help Tony out because he doesn't want neighbours getting shivved, but he's not going to be Tony's biggest fan any time soon.

Ah, the neutral face of disappointment. Tony's used to it, having put it to himself ever morning in the mirror since he decided to go ahead and start arming the good people of the village. It's just knives. It's just a battle axe. Just a means to defend themselves against wolves and bears and monsters. As long as he doesn't start developing firearms here he can feel slightly less shitty about it.

"It makes sense when there's a system in place that defends the people. Military, police, something. Here? We don't have that. We don't even have a militia- not that I'm advocating for it. That attack I mentioned? Something called a Wendigo. It killed someone." Because no one had any sort of defense against it- he's not even sure how anyone could, considering the descriptions he keeps hearing. "All we have here is what I can make. A hunting knife is a far cry from what I used to put on the market."

Slippery slopes. "The situation's different- and it's not like I'm capable of mass producing anything, I'm literally hand forging everything."

Matt has to wonder how often people say these things to themselves to justify what they do. Once upon a time he would have pressed on. Made accusations that it doesn't matter what you arm people with, made sure Tony lives with the guilt of his weapons being used to hurt other people. It's easier to try and rewrite someone else's legacy when you're sitting on top of the pile of blood money they'd made, after all. Once upon a time Matt would have advocated for developing a system over melting down pitchforks and handing out knives to everybody, a system that works for everybody.

That man is long gone now. His love-hate relationship with Justice leaves his faith in the broken system and the corruption within it tenuous at best. Matt purses his lips and tilts his head to one side, scratching his temple with two fingers and breathing out a sigh.

"You don't have to defend what you do. I'm not the press. I'll write something up."

"What makes you think I'm defending my choices to you?" It's an argument he has with himself every time he takes a project, every time he brings down the hammer. It slows his production rate to a fucking crawl for all that he's made up his mind- he dithers. He procrastinates. He does every other project on his lists before hitting up the weapons and even then it takes about twice as long as he knows it should because he's reluctant.

Because handing out knives isn't exactly ideal.

They should be able to get by without- and if he'd ever known about the Wendigo attack? He might've been content to work away without ever sharpening something enough to draw blood. "I don't like asking people to do work for me if it runs counter to their principles. If you have reservations, bring them up. I won't hold it against you. I'm running off of what I feel might be right but- that compass is a little skewed. I don't have the best perspective."

"You're not the kind of man I thought you would be," Matt observes softly after a short lull of silence. For whatever that's worth. He only has so much to go off of and it's quite different, actually sitting in front of someone talking to them like this even if Matt can't 'see' him the way he normally can.

"I'm against the idea of shivving neighbours, so I will draft up something short that people can agree to on the spot." Not waiving responsibility or anything, just. Getting people to be on the same page and not exploit a man's fear for their safety to turn on each other. "As for what the right thing to do is, I mean..." Matt gives a small shrug. He's only been here for a few days and most of that time has been spent cooped up inside his room, wary of venturing outside. He isn't the best sounding board.

"If it's between a few people running around trying to keep everyone safe or giving everyone some self-defense capabilities, I'd prefer empowerment rather than being looked after. But maybe I'm a little biased, too."

"I get that a lot." It's a deliberate leaning in to certain expectations in public. They want the flash and the show, the Stark Charm, he gives it to them so he can get on with his work in relative peace. Masks upon masks. Here he doesn't need them half so much- at least not around people that aren't part of the former Avengers. It doesn't matter. He can put it on but- being loud, being earnest? Drummed up enough support for the Expo. Will probably be more than enough to keep things organized and moving forward in the eyes on industry provided no one tried to undercut him with the usual round of skeletons in his closet making the gossip circuit.

Not that he'd deny it. Not that he ever denied it.

So far all signs point to amicable apathy and he's glad for it. Makes existing here simpler. "If I had enough metal? I'd be with you. But there's a limited supply until I find a proper source for ore. Then it's a matter of 'well does everyone know which end of the knife goes in the other guy' and that's a trip and a half to talk someone through on a normal day."

Honestly, it's the nice way of saying that Matt expected a self-righteous asshole and got Mr. Nice Guy. In fact it's the only way Matt would ever say something like that aloud.

"At the risk of sounding like I've hit my head..." Matt's unfocused eyes shift again and he licks his bottom lip. Just trying to formulate some words to downplay the crazy would probably somehow make him come across as even crazier. "...I think there's a- walking, talking tree named Alec. And he communes with the environment somehow. Maybe he can help you scope out some potential sites, if you haven't. Asked him already." Matt can't help but wince. If Alec doesn't actually exist and Matthew had just hit his head on the fountain on his way out or was talking to some kid pulling a prank or something, he can only imagine the way Tony must be staring at him.

"Greenbeard? I've met him. Did he get back his ability to commune with nature?" Tony cocks his head to the side, trying to lounge- which is difficult with the spines on his back and the tail tangling around his ankles. "He woke up pretty disconnected when he got here, I'm glad he's got it back. To go from having that kind of awareness to nothing has got to be disconcerting."

And, well. If he has? Tony can absolutely ask him.

"I'll see if he's up for pointing me in the right direction. I hadn't even thought of that. Good call, Blinkin."

Okay. That's a lot of information to process. Tony sounds like he's acting like this is all normal, so. There must be an actual walking, talking tree named Alec who isn't just Matt's imaginary Treant friend.

"I... don't know. I think he was talking to a tree, so I imagine they must talk back to him." Jokes aside about Alec potentially knowing someone who has a friend whose third cousin twice removed happens to be rooted next to a pile of rocks, Matt's been trying not to think about what he himself has lost when he came here, or entertain the idea that he might be able to 'fix' himself somehow. It's not even about awareness, it's. Independence, control, autonomy, self-confidence. And all the rest of it. It must be a lot more than just talking to trees, for Alec.

Matt wouldn't mention what Tony might or might not intend to use the material for, but. He wouldn't propose lying to Alec, and he imagines Tony knows that already if he's met the guy before.

He just hopes this isn't going to blow up in their faces.

"Anyway. Don't let me keep you." It's supposed to be a party or something after all, and surely no one wants to babysit the blind guy all night. "I'll be alright."

"Science happened. It's a thing." One of his best friends is the Hulk, Matt, a walking, talking tree is- weird but not weirder than that. From someone on the ground floor, though-

He can see how it'd seem bizarre.

A lot of it seems bizarre, frightening. Getting that hammered out, helping people feel secure in the face of enhanced in the world- that'd been difficult to wrangle. Still is. Here they're all on a levelish playing field and so far? no real bad eggs. Weird ones, but not bad.

He's not sure what'll happen if that changes.

"You're good?" He's not sure how to gauge that shit but- pride is a thing. "I'm pretty sure I'm the only one here with a tail wandering around, so you won't have to worry about getting knocked over."

Because that's what happened, not that he tripped. Or. Maybe he tripped, but the current story is he got knocked over. Makes Tony the Asshole, sure, but eases up a little on the 'oh fuck can't see in a strange place' issue.

“Yeah I’m good,” he hears himself say with confidence lacing his words. He swallows and nods. If he keeps telling himself that, he will be good eventually. Helping him feel less embarrassed about tripping up over things and actually thinking Tony was some sort of creature helps. And he’s got slightly more faith in humanity restored now that he’s met Tony Stark in person, so that can’t be a bad thing either.

“Thanks for your help.” No doubt something Matt will be saying in some capacity to multiple people over and over again.

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[MINGLE] Saints & Sinners Masquerade

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