( open ) I like to call myself wound but I will answer to knife

[scarcastically]

CHARACTERS: Erik Stevens / Killmonger You
LOCATION: The Station
DATE: Post-Mission Conclusion
CONTENT: Aftermath / Settling back in the station
WARNINGS: scarification, body modification in the first prompt



( i. infirmary - new wounds ) cw: body modification, scarification

[ a success.

not that erik would say so in public, but he accomplished his personal goal and the mission. he has solidified his use as player, even if his integration into the team was haphazard. he let too much slip to people, they know too much. but that can be a problem for another day. no one knows the extent of it after all, just patches of erik. and erik isn't real anyway. it's not his name.

erik sits on one of the medical beds, his shirt tossed to the side. his skin is littered with crocodile scars. he has a scalpel in his hand, as he assesses the free space to his side. ]

Hmm, think I got a little room there.

( ii. lab - spellwork and metalwork )

[ he hadn't gotten to use much charterwork in the field, preferring to lean on the abilities he did have and the panther suit. he wasn't fully comfortable with spells just yet, but erik is a scientist in his own right, not simply a war strategist. and what he needed was more comfortable exploration in his own time and space.

so erik has a bunch of different metals laid out on a table with a notebook littered with various charter configurations as he tries to find the best combination to strengthen the durability of each one. this would be best with vibranium, but erik wasn't going to risk his suit on an experiment.

he taps his forehead, drawing upon the marks for strength and shielding and weaving them into iron. satisfied, he plucks it from the table, idly tapping the side to listen to the vibrations and noise. he makes a little sound of disgruntlement before he bends over his notebook, scribbling his theory. ]

Sounds denser. Can charter affect molecular structure? Gotta give it an acid test later.

( iii. simulation room - oakland apartment )

[ he's not sure why he comes back.

lack of self-preservation? a reckless need to let all his secrets out? to see if his father will appear just like it had once with the heart-shaped herb? but erik no longer had the herb's effects pumping in his veins. at least he thinks so. he has no way of knowing for sure. he doubts t'challa would have left it in him. he doubts . . .

erik leans against the window. the wakandan sunset beats down on his face. it seems he's at his rawest here, caught between two worlds. two homes that never wanted him. and erik . . . wants something. wants more. he thought he had bled it all out, but talking about it again had given him the twist of yearning in his heart. where was he supposed to go? where was he supposed to be? was he meant to give up the dream and just settle in another reality?

out loud, he says. ]

You should have taken us back.

[ it is the first kernel of resentment for his father. who believed in the dream, who bled for it. who wanted a better life for others. but erik can't help thinking that the minute his mother died, alone and unwanted in a prison, they should have gone home.

but he thinks of his father's tears and he ducks his head, guilt churning. ]

( iv. wildcard )

[ got a prompt in mind? you can reach erik here / pm this account / hit me up @ timmtams ]

Comments

[scarcastically]

[ erik shakes his head. ]

S'fine. Just wanted to look at the sunset.

[ he pushes his glasses up before eyeing him. ]

. . . You okay?

[winscenario]

[ Jim sighs, taking that as all the invitation he needs to step further into the apartment. ]

Not really.

[ He could say he was, but it'd just be a transparent lie. ]

Where are we?

[scarcastically]

[ erik pauses. ]

Oakland. It's where I'm from.

[winscenario]

Is it, now?

[ He looks out the window, the sunlight getting a faint smile from him. ]

That's quite the view.

[ Definitely doesn't look like an Oakland sunset. ]

[scarcastically]

[ erik folds his arms behind his back. ]

It would be. Wakandan sunsets are supposed to be the most beautiful. 'Least . . . that's what I heard.

[winscenario]

[ Wakanda. Erik's never mentioned that name before, but he has mentioned how his father came from Africa. ]

Was that your father's country?

[scarcastically]

[ erik gives a slow nod. ]

Yeah. It's a small land-locked country. Isolated.

[winscenario]

[ Jim debates for a moment on whether or not to voice the thought on his mind. In the end, he speaks up. ]

I'm curious. If you've only heard of Wakandan sunsets, how did the program know how to recreate it?

[scarcastically]

[ erik falls silent briefly. ]

I saw it once. Just for a moment. Guess it stuck with me.

[winscenario]

[ He wants to ask so many questions, but he doesn't even know where to start. Unsure where the line is of what Erik's willing to share with him right now. ]

I can see why. It's beautiful. [ He smiles. ] Certainly beats a San Francisco sunset.

[scarcastically]

There's nothing like it.

[ erik shrugs, pulling himself from the view. seeing it again encourages complicated feelings in him. and he hates that. ]

What about you? Got a place you think beats this view?

[winscenario]

Not sure it beats this view, but I can think of something. You want to see it?

[ In a way he's asking Erik if he just wants to leave this memory for now. He doesn't look too comfortable, at least not with him here. ]

[scarcastically]

[ erik shrugs. ]

Go for it. I'm done here.

[winscenario]

Alright.

[ With that he switches programs in the simulator. The apartment around them falls away, sunset bleeding out, as something else builds around them. In a few seconds, they're standing on the bridge of the Enterprise, view screen looking over Earth. They're in orbit and close enough to distinguish oceans and some countries, more or less looking out over part of Europe and Asia right now. ]

[scarcastically]

[ oh. erik's breath gets caught in his throat. a world he both loved and hated, like a blue marble. with rivers and trees, clouds and mountains. for a moment, he can say nothing, a lump in his throat. his world.

he clears his throat. ]

That's . . . pretty impressive.

[winscenario]

[ Jim wasn't sure what reaction he was expecting, but that's a really good one. The look on Erik's face makes him genuinely smile for once. ]

Wait for it.

[ He steps closer, reaching for Erik's arm and guiding him towards the view screen, so he can get that vision unimpeded. Then he points to the horizon, where the light of the rising sun begins peeking out. ]

[scarcastically]

[ erik's seen plenty of movies just like this. people standing as the sun hits the edge of the world, chasing away the shadows. but it doesn't prepare him for being the one on the edge, to see it unfurl. for a moment, he remembers the beauty, untouched by pain.

he swallows it down. ]

[winscenario]

[ Jim doesn't mind the silence at all. He knows it's a lot to take in, and he gives Erik the time to do it. Eventually he looks from the sunrise to Erik, smile soft. ]

Can't believe I actually managed to leave you speechless.

[ A playful observation, followed by a genuine question. ]

You like it?

[scarcastically]

[ he recovers his voice, brushing a hand over his face briefly. ]

Yeah.

I'd see why anyone would take to space. After a view like that.

[winscenario]

You gave me a sunset, so I give you a sunrise.

[ Erik can take that as literally or as metaphorically as he wants. Outside the sun keeps rising, or rather the Earth keeps rotating, the line of light moving very, very slowly over the planet's surface. ]

I'm glad I ran into you.

[scarcastically]

[ erik blinks, surprised. ]

You are?

[winscenario]

Yeah. I wanted to see you, but since we got back, I guess I've been... recovering.

[ He smiles at Erik, hand resting around his arm. ]

This isn't what I had in mind, but it's still nice.

[scarcastically]

[ erik nods. everyone needed a respite. even him, deep down, no matter what he told himself. ]

What did you have in mind?

[winscenario]

[ Jim shrugs. ] Some drinks. Maybe something to eat. Could go for a walk afterwards.

[ He also could probably have made it sound less like a date, but eh. Why bother. ]

[scarcastically]

[ his expression softens, bemused. ]

. . . Yeah. I'd like that.

Let's ditch this joint.