ximilialog | ( open ) and if i only could make a deal with god

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( open ) and if i only could make a deal with god

CHARACTERS: takeshi kovacs & you
LOCATION: various locations on the station
DATE: late october
CONTENT: post-mission recovery, eating, sparring, getting high, etc.
WARNINGS: broken arm, nudity, sexual content, and various types of drug use in some prompts

I. PRIDE ( limit to 1 tag-in only, cw: broken arm ) the infirmary

[ his fight with cheri had turned out pretty rough, and though his sleeve has its advances with neurachem to make him a little more durable than most, it doesn't negate the rough slam of his body against the wall when she'd thrown him with the rough force of her power, resulting in the broken bone of his arm. when they arrive back at the station, most everybody's not in the best of conditions on account of their shared fights, some left better off than others, and though he's more inclined to just pass out right where he lands, kovacs does eventually make his way to the infirmary, still in the bloody, ripped mess of the clothes he arrived in.

he's not exactly expecting anyone to necessarily help him out here, a bit of stubbornness leading him to search around the room for a sling on his own. of course, while the arm is the only thing that's broken, the rest of his body is still plenty aching from the rest of the fighting and he hisses and grits his teeth in the midst of his search, muttering quiet swears as he looks around.

maybe it'd be helpful for someone to lend him a hand. ]

II. GLUTTONY the mess hall

[ once he's got his sling for his arm, along with a fresh shower and clean clothes on, kovacs tries to get himself resettled at the station, at least enough so for him to get some rest after the big fight. starving, he heads on over the kitchen, fixing himself a fairly simply bowl of cereal before he goes out into the mess hall, seating himself at an empty table and picking up the spoon in his bowl with his currently only working hand.

if someone ends up sitting up at his table, his eyes peer over at the rest of the large room with plenty of empty seating before raising his brow at his new shared company. ] No other seats, huh?

III. ENVY ( cw: drug use ) the sunlight room

[ it might be something from that final fight, or maybe it's the way he hasn't had anything to keep himself busy since he's been back, but kovacs finds something pestering in his mind, something about his being here bothering him in more ways than he can really place. it's those times where his mind becomes consumed with old ghosts, visions in his mind that seem more real than they are, and so he chooses to fight them in the only way that's currently accessible to him.

in the bright pink backpack brought over with him from his own world, he carries not only a small collection of weapons but an abundance of drugs as well, some on the little harder side than others.

working like eyedrops, he lets the veuron fall into his eyes, feeling the effects of it work into him fast. in mere moments, he can see the colors of the sunlight room almost completely shift, the trees and the flowers suddenly brightening like a hologram of neon lights, the false stars above turning into lined waves of light circling around as his head sways.

bag still over his shoulder, he spins in place, mouth gaping and eyes wide like he's seeing it all for the first time, bright and mesmerizing. ]

IV. SLOTH ( cw: drug use ) the sunlight room

[ the hallucinogens aren't the only thing stored in his bag, and when it all becomes too loud, he finds himself seated against the bottom of a tree in the sunlight room, in the late dark of its nights, dropping the contents of a different drug into his eyes, this one with the effects of slowing everything down, everything falling quiet around him, his heart even slowing slightly.

he doesn't need to be high to see her. no, he can always very well see quell like she's right there in front of him, even when he knows she's gone, either as an aftereffect of still being fairly fresh with the sleeve he's wearing or simply because he can never get rid of her in his head — he'd never want to.

to anyone else who might slip by, he'd be staring at nothing right now, eyes focused with his arms dropped at his sides, bag nestled between his thighs, but for him, he can see every detail, every curve of her face as he remembers it vividly, even the sadness of her gaze. ]

I made a deal to get you back. [ he whispers quietly to her, his own eyes damp as he breathes shakily. ] It goes against everything we fought for. Everything you died for. [ with a swallow, his voice is a quiet rasp. ] But I can't do this without you.

V. WRATH training room

[ after about a few days to a week, he can feel the changes in his arm, healing a bit faster than the room, bone repairing from a combination of the tech on the ship on his own body's advantages. and after enough time of his own personal boredom and a frustration is being so limited with his limbs, the first thing he wants to do is make sure it's all in working shape.

heading on over to the training room, unicorn bag slung over his shoulder, his decision on practicing with his hands or a weapon is all dependent on who he may end up fighting against. looking to someone else in the room, he gives them a nod. ] Need a partner?

VI. LUST ( cw: nudity ) shared living space with the darkling

[ one thing he's definitely taking advantage of with all his current free time is sleeping, at least for as much as he can when he isn't fighting the sleepless nights, sometimes paired with nightmares of his past. sometimes, the exhaustion kicks in where he even forgets he shares a room, going to bed the way he's most comfortable — completely in the nude.

if there's a knock on the door — be it for him or the darkling, who shares the other half of the space — he'll wake with a muttered swear, rubbing his eyes and sleepily dragging his legs off the bed. too tired to even think of covering up, and often not even thinking of it much even if he were more consciously awake, he stands and heads over to the door, opening it with a deep squint of his eyes and body fully naked. ]

What do you want?

VII. GREED anything and anywhere

( feel free to discuss with me alternative options of the above prompts or something different altogether. if you'd like to discuss a closed starter for me to write, just hit me up on plurk at hepburns or send a pm. ♥ )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Daisy keeps her eyes locked firmly on his face, even when he turns to look back in the room. Her mouth falls open when he assumes that she's his girlfriend, and after a few seconds she lets out a laugh.]

Uh, no. Definitely not.

[Just happened to be fake married to him for a month and a half. Whatever.]

Boyfriend?

[You know, since they're just making assumptions here.]

[ he briefly focuses on that laugh; there's an edge of disbelief in it means that she either finds the idea too odd to even be a possibility or it's a complicated history. he negates out disgust since she seems to be concerned with looking for him, but the rest of the story maintains question marks.

all just his natural tick for peering at the details.

he doesn't answer right away, not because he's hesitant on giving it, but because he's trying to gauge her curiosity of it, especially when he decided to just give a light smirk instead at first. ]

Roommate. [ he finally answers, giving the sheet a proper tie at the side of his hip to free his hands, stepping over to his side table to pick up his box of cigarettes. ] You can come in if you want.

Oh, uh. Okay.

[She does want to talk to Kirigan, but this also gives her a chance she didn't expect to check up on him as well. After everything that went down during the heist...

Stepping inside, Daisy moves to take a seat on Kirigan's bed as she watches Kovacs.]

How're you doing? Things got pretty intense back there.

[Daisy's still healing from overusing her powers, again.]

[ if she's in a hurry to look for him, she's free to go, since he can't really tell her to stick around and wait on account that he doesn't even know where the man is anyway, their relationship hardly one where they keep tabs on where the other one is at any time. ]

Still feel like shit. [ he answers honestly, though his arm is definitely better than it was on the day he arrived, albeit still a bit sprained. at the very least he knows his neurachem is still working well enough. ] Devil witch was a real handful.

[ bringing a cigarette up to rest between his lips, he gives his arm an outward stretch, curling his fingers as if to test them. ]

How 'bout you? Heard you made your way to the top. Smoke? [ the last word's in reference to the box he holds out to her, offering. ]

[Daisy winces in sympathy.]

I'm sorry.

[She definitely slept a good day away before she actually got up to try and be productive, but even now, she's still exhausted. Emotionally and physically.]

I did, but, then they needed me on the ground. Had to help keep the building from crashing.

[She lifts her arms to show off the braces, as if that explained anything. At his offer, Daisy smiles.]

Thanks.

[She hasn't had a cigarette in a long time, but one definitely wouldn't kill her.]

How'd you guys manage to find it anyway? The orb.

Well, thanks for keeping from crumbling down through the floor. [ honestly, if the others hadn't shown up on time, he probably have ended up being crushed somehow, if cheri hadn't found a way to end him herself.

he steps in over to where she's seated on the bed, pushing one of the sticks up in the carton so it sticks out from the rest, angling it near her face so she can easily just pluck it out with her lips if she wants to. ]

You saw the video, right? [ or whatever it is that parker had broadcast. even now, he still doesn't actually know how much everybody ended up seeing of that. ] We just kept making our way up and then we found her in that room — orb just floating up around her.

I heard others weren't so lucky.

[She just doesn't know who and who didn't fall through.

Lifting a brow at the way he holds out the carton in front of her, Daisy grabs one with her fingers.]

I saw some of it, had to push it out of mind to focus on the building.

[Daisy tries to recline back on one hand, but immediately regrets doing that when it sends a shooting pain up her arm.]

Do I even want to know where you've got that lighter right now?

[Since, you know, he's still very much naked.]

Least no casualties.

[ everyone made it out somehow, which had been surprising for sure, all things considered. though he knows a few people were victim to a bit of floor falling, his own roommate included, though with the way he put up a fight in there, kovacs isn't too surprised he seemed to come out of it alright.

he smirks with her question, lingering there for a second as if to give her another moment more to be left guessing, but he reaches into the carton, to the empty half where he's already smoked most of the sticks in there, and pulls out the lighter tucked within, dangling it for her to see.

clicking it with his thumb to light the flame, he brings it close to her, eyes falling to her braced arms, catching the moment her body goes tense from the pain. ]

So, what'd you do anyway? Hold it up with your bare hands? Knocked me out pretty good that one time, but I'm no building.

Thank God. Who knows what would happen if one of us dies.

[Daisy doesn't try to think too hard about that very real possibility. Especially with the shit they've had to deal with on the last two missions, she's beginning to see a pattern here.

Holding the cigarette up between her lips, Daisy braces it with the tips her fingers as she leans forward to catch the end of the cigarette on the lighter. Inhaling, Daisy's nose wrinkles up before turning her head away from him to exhale.]

That'd be impressive, but, no. I'm an Inhuman.

[Daisy's aware that she'll have to explain that.]

A super long time ago an ancient alien race called the Kree experimented on humans. Mixed their DNA with ours, it gave those who survived powers. Got passed down through the generations and--

[Daisy gestures with her free hand. Ta-da.]

I can control the vibrations in everything.

[Daisy brings her hand back up to take another drag from her cigarette, wincing at the memory of them fighting.]

Yeah, never got to apologize for that. Sorry.

One of us dies, then that's the end of them. Simple as that.

[ the world doesn't stop spinning if one of them goes down, and certainly not this station either. tragedy's a normality in kovacs' eyes and he's lost plenty to not know there's just no coming back from it — and yet, there's still that deal he's made with the orb, something he's still not exactly sure was the right choice.

once her cigarette is lit, he brings the lighter up to light up his own, tucking it back in the carton afterwards, then closing it and tossing it freely to the other side of the room so it lands on his bed. keeping his eyes on her, he listens carefully as he moves to lean back against the wall, plucking the stick from his lips to breathe out. ]

Don't worry about it. Fair fight. [ about beating him up. there were also other circumstances regarding his own delusions, but he won't voluntarily mention that himself. ] You didn't use those powers on me then, though.

Guess so.

[Crossing one leg over the other, Daisy looks towards the door briefly thinking about Kirigan again. Hearing the thump of the lighter hit his mattress, Daisy looks back up at him.]

I thought about it, when I saw you.

[Dude was massive and surely he knew that.]

Wasn't sure how the other families would feel about having that kind of advantage though.

[Daisy laughs bitterly at the memory of the whole fake life she had there.]

So glad that's all over with.

You did plenty alright without it.

[ he's not sure how differently it might have played if he hadn't gotten distracted. maybe he'd have won. but it doesn't matter; he's not upset that he didn't. whatever advantages his size might give him, a good fighter is a good fighter, smaller or otherwise.

bringing the cigarette back to his lips, he lets the smoke fill his lungs, always feeling the satisfying kick from the burn, thanks to ryker's addiction. ]

Always a load of bullshit, playing pretend for people like that. They were all full of shit in the end.

[Daisy mirrors him when he brings the cigarette back up to his lips, scooting back on the bed so her back is resting against the wall. Surprised by his response Daisy exhales before responding,]

You sound like you've done that kind of thing before.

What, deal with rich assholes in power?

[ he shrugs, feeling like that concept is almost a regularity. but he knows it's true that in his line of work, he's had to deal with it more times than he'd like, between working for the protectorate and working for the meths. someone's always managed to snatch him on a leash.

he scoffs a humorless chuckles, shaking his head. ]

I was ... in the employment of one before I got here. More like he thought he owned me, really. [ no one really did. not even with all of bancroft's money. ] Made a deal to clean up his mess. Guess I've been stuck in a few of those lately.

[Eyebrows lifting into her hairline, Daisy sits up a bit straighter.]

Like a hitman?

[She’s not one to judge people by their looks, but he definitely fits the stereotype of what she imagines one would look like. Daisy’s eyes never leave him as she takes another drag from her cigarette, waiting for his response.]

Detective.

[ he clarifies, though at least for this particular case, even if she's not exactly far off in her guess. it's not like he's necessarily offended by her thinking so. ]

Has me trying to solve his murder for him. [ which might sound strange to someone who isn't from that world, but unless she asks, he doesn't elaborate on it himself.

she keeps her eyes on him and he stares back at her with a neutral stare as he inhales from his own cigarette. ] But I do get my hands dirty from time to time, if I have to.

Right.

[Daisy laughs, a little embarrassed for just assuming.]

He--?

[That makes absolutely zero sense. How could the guy that hired him be communicating with him if he's already dead?]

So you talk to ghosts?

[Well, Daisy definitely can't judge him for that.]

Don't we all?

[Even if there are people here who never did anything like this prior, they're doing it now. Although, no one has been murdered. Yet.]

[ her assumption doesn't surprise him, not anymore, now that he's met a number of people on the station who aren't familiar with the way things work on his world. but the irony is that while it isn't bancroft's ghost he's been talking to, he does still have a habit of talking to ghosts.

but he's not going to bring up quell or rei, even if she has evidence of the latter. ]

In my world, people don't die the way you'd think. And the rich and powerful kind all kind of ways to live forever.

[Tears prickling her eyes, Daisy inhales shakily. The idea that, in some other world, she could've kept her mother from dying...

Again.

It's the whole reason she's here. To try and get her mother back. To repair their relationship.]

How's that work?

[ he's explained it a few times but he knows it so instinctively that it's not necessarily a chore to explain it again, even if it's been strange to be the educator on this.

looking at her for a second, he pushes himself off the wall, stepping over to her side of the room. sitting on the edge of the bed (hopefully kirigan doesn't mind his sheet-covered ass on it), he angles his back to her so he can point to his neck, where a scarred line runs horizonally on the nape. ]

Right here, there's a disk that's stored in every person at the age of one. It stores DHF — basically human consciousness which can then be transferred to bodies anywhere, any city, any planet, in seconds. The body dies but as long as the data's intact, people can keep living.

[Scooting over to give him room, Daisy tries to make eye contact with him when he sits down but his back is to her. Leaning forward when he points out the line on his neck, Daisy’s fingertips barely brush against it before she pulls her hand back.]

That’s—-

[A lot to process. It almost sounds fake, but why would he have any reason to lie?]

So you’re like an android?

[ he can feel the light graze of her fingers, a reminder that this really is new to her, considering that scar wouldn't be that strange or interesting to anyone otherwise. ]

What? No.

[ he turns where he sits, shifting enough to face her with a tight squash. ]

Androids are a whole other thing. People are still people. Just advancement of biological technology.

[Taking one last drag from her cigarette, Daisy tilts her foot so she can put it out on the bottom of her shoe. Eyes roaming his face for a few seconds as if looking for any signs that he's not 'real', Daisy smiles a tight smile at his response.

Any amusement is immediately squashed when she realizes what he means by that though. ]

So there's just...?

There's just bodies out there? Waiting for someone else's consciousness to be uploaded into it?

Something like that. Plenty of stacks without a sleeve. Plenty of sleeves without a stack. And that's not counting synthetic sleeves and clones.

[ even with the most thorough explanation of the way his world works, there's still numerous sidebars about the more intricate details. but at least he can give her the vaguest idea about it.

he shrugs, returning back to his own cigarette. ] Truth is, this isn't my sleeve.

[Blinking as she absorbs all of this new slang he's throwing at her, Daisy still doesn't quite get what he's talking about.]

That's--

Really messed up.

[It feels wrong to Daisy, that there are just bodies out there waiting to be used.

When he mentions that this isn't his sleeve, she assumes that he means body. Wringing her hands out, Daisy suddenly feels uneasy. The way he explains all of this as if it isn't wrong, and maybe it isn't in his world. It just doesn't align with her beliefs, as skewed as they are.]

So does that mean you're--?

[Obviously he's not dead, but Daisy doesn't know what other word to use here.]

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ignores my dumb typos

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