countryclub | OVERFLOW

[[Continued from here]]

[Varian's still a little worried about Shiro. He knows the man is very good at burying all his upset and this is no exception. He eyes the hair puffing out of the way carefully, before clearing his throat.]

Hey. Once I get my leg back, I can help you look for people, if you like? I mean- I still have a lot of people missing and I'm pretty sure your people and my people...intersect a lot.

[Especially Adam. He's getting increasingly worried about Adam.]

Huh. I don't get what's wrong with just...eating fish? But I don't really understand the big love of fried foods anyway?

[Shiro does not want to confront the fact he can't seem to find his partner. Not yet. Or any of the team. They'd all fought so hard, they'd all been through so much - ]

Well, that's our first step then. We find you something to walk on. Maybe temporarily, until we can figure something else out.

[ - or they had nothing to return to but death and fire. His jaw works, briefly.]

Hey, I didn't invent it. I just know it's easy to make. Usually for busy parents.

[Varian can understand. If their roles were reversed, he would have been out of his mind with worry. But this is something he can latch onto, and, he's aware, something that might help give Shiro some sense of purpose too. Something that he can control, that he can focus on beyond the loss of Adam and the rest of his people.]

Okay. That's... that's good. Even just a sturdy stick for me to lean on right now would help.

[It doesn't make much sense to Varian. Parents are busy back home too, but there's no fried food.]

I think it's a convenience thing? Lots in the future seem to be about getting everything as quickly as possible.

We could try the beach again. Maybe there's driftwood to scavenge up.

[A problem to solve. A problem to overcome. Something he can fix that doesn't involve the missing people. Or confronting possible loss.]

[He pauses a moment, then offers:] You can say no, but if you want it, I'll give you a lift down there.

It might be, yeah. I... am not the guy to ask about food, though.

That's not a bad idea. That's what I've been combing, hoping my leg'll wash up on the shore anyway.

[If this helps Shiro deal with... literally the whole of everything pushing down on him right now, Varian's for it. This is the very least he can do.

He's also very small and light and kind of a basic bitch about being picked up. He is super okay with this, thanks. He smiles. ]

No- no that's fine. I don't mind at all. And yeeeaaaaaah, I've heard stories about your food.

Well then - let's do this.

[He actually takes a knee next to Varian, gesturing to his shoulders.]

You'll get a better view from up here. If it's down there, we'll find it. If not, we'll find something to hold you over in the meantime.

[Though it does beg the question - why is his metal arm still attached? Because he'd had it before Deerington?]

[Oh cool, a piggyback. He hasn't had one of those since he was little when his dad put him up on his shoulders to watch the lanterns get released for Rapunzel every year. Strong and safe and very much there. He isn't here now, and Varian knows in choosing to come here, he chose to move away from him forever. He accepted that, but it was not an easy choice.

So he's going to just stare at Shiro's shoulders while his heart wrenches a little. He misses his dad terribly but... but here's Shiro- who has been nothing but a supportive figure in his time here. Caring and steady. Just like any dad should be. ]

...Okay. Sure. Sounds good.

[He's okay, Shiro. He's just having an emotion. He carefully climbs aboard- at least he's little and light. He's easy to cart around.]

You still kept your arm. Lucky.

[Varian is thinking ahead. Thinking forward. Then again, the people important to Shiro were mostly already in Deerington. Those that weren't... well. Maybe it was for the best. They'd already suffered too much. But if he dwells on it, he won't be able to help anyone.]

[More reason to hoist Varian up onto his shoulders. Holding onto the teen's leg as carefully as he can.]

Yell if you feel like you're falling.

[With the unspoken promise of catching him, Shiro starts off toward the beach. Only to hesitate a step.]

... yeah. I don't know why. Seems like I can't get rid of it if I tried.

[Thinking forward is all he can do right now. If he gets too bogged down in the... everything, he's worried he might fall flat on his face. No. This is better for once they're situated and they know what's happening. When they can all regroup properly.]

Can do!

[Shiro is a good egg and Varian appreciates him a great deal.]

Well. It's helped you out this time at least, right? I think you might be the only one of us who's got away with that.

[Yes, all of them. They had to have made it. All of what they went through back there couldn't have been for nothing. The plans and promises... especially the promises.]

I guess... I don't know. I'll figure it out once we know everyone's okay.

[Just going to put things off a while longer. The less he deals with his arm, the better, right?]

[Varian takes promises a lot more seriously than most people. Not everyone can say they have a broken promise as one of the cracked and damaged cornerstones of their psyche, after all. ]

Yeah, that's... that's true. We gonna make sure everyone got out first. Baby steps, right?

Right. First the others. Then... we focus on the rest. Like where we are.

[How to deal with this place. How to survive. The laundry list of issues that cropped up when they first woke in Deerington.]

[Now with a new, squiddy bonus in the background.]

Yeah, that's... a big one. Because this definitely isn't Deerington. Does Maine even have an ocean?

[He's genuinely asking, he hasn't got a single salty clue. He only barely understands what Maine is. ]

Okay. And... well. I think the beach is the best place to look. A lot of people and things were washing up on there.

[From...being squids. ]

Yeah. It does. I've never been there, but it's definitely on the coast. I'll draw you a map sometime, if you want. [A genuine offer, too. But then? He... hesitates. Chewing his lip.] Deerington had one. Sometimes. But it wasn't anything like this.

[It drew you in and drowned you.]

Beach first. A crutch for you, if we can find one. And anyone we run into in the process.

[Maybe some of those people in robes can help...]

Please! I only have...pretty much a basic idea of what most of America looks like, honestly. Every time someone tells me about a new state I realise just how big it is.

[You can cross the entire length of Corona in a day. It blows his mind just how big the US is. ]

The one in Deerington was kinda... full of sea monsters, right?

[He knows he was told never to go into the water, and seeing stuff lurking around in there was enough to temper even his curiosity. ]

Okay. Yeah. Good plan. We can do that.

We'll put that on the to-do list. And... yeah. That's what I heard a lot from people in other countries.

[It is a big place. Huge, really. And he'd be more than happy to try and sketch out a map for Varian, once everything is more settled.]

The area around it was. The ocean... it was dark. It could pull you under just by looking at it, I think.

[It made sense, in retrospect. Why else would someone walk right into it and not stop?]

Yell if you see your leg. I'll yell if I see a stick.

How anyone gets anywhere in that place is beyond me. Well... I guess aeroplanes? That... that probably helps a lot.

[He's never SEEN one, but he knows they exist. Will exist. Whichever. But thank you, Space Dad, Alchemy Son appreciates your cooperation in him understand how the hell the modern world works. ]

Yeesh. I guess that would stop people from building a boat and just leaving.

[Because they all had to stay trapped in the town. He wonders if that will still be the case here. They were in the water, and it was treacherous, but they're not dead. ]

Hah, okay, fair deal.

Planes, trains, motor vehicles. All of them get places pretty quick in comparison to other ways of transportation.

[He's not sure if Varian's world has trains, though. He knows the teen has seen cars before. They were all over Deerington.]

It did a lot of things.

[Let's just. Leave it at that. Yep. This is fine.]

None of those exists in my time. I made a speed-hot air balloon, but that's about as far as it goes.

[He's definitely seen cars.] Cars would have been really cool there. I kinda wanna see if I can make one.

[Making something purely for his own joy isn't something he's really done before. All his inventions have had a purpose to help other people. Discounting The Bad Times, anyway.]

...Well. At least we're not there anymore? This... definitely isn't there. So yeah, yeah, maybe things will be different.

Edited 2021-08-20 20:53 (UTC)

Varian... do you know how to drive a car?

[Look, it was Deerington, he wouldn't be surprised if the teen learned. Apparently even Eddie knew how to drive. But he just has to ask. It's a Dad Friend thing.]

I... guess hoping is really all we can do for now. Until we can find more people and learn more.

Well...no, no I don't. But!! I did drive a giant robot and that's roughly the same thing, right?

[Dad friend, he does not know how to drive a car. ]

I guess so. I'm not so great at the optimism but it's proooobably better than having a complete nervous breakdown about everything.

... Speaking as a guy who's driven both? It's... really not the same thing at all.

[It's absolutely not the same thing, Varian.]

I think the nervous breakdowns are kind of a given. Not really a good way to avoid those.

Oh. Okay, then no, I do not know how to drive a car.

[A kid can hope!]

Hah, yeah, that's a good point. I think that's just a storm we have to do our best to get through. [He squints.] There's some debris over by there, we can check that out.

... All right. Build the car. Then I'll teach you how to drive. [There's a pause.] And then Adam will show you how to undo all my work.

[Somewhere, he hopes that's earning a smirk.]

Okay - hang on. One debris pile coming up.

Really? That'll be great! Thanks! [Aww, Shiro, you've made him genuinely happy, it not only gets a smirk but a little laugh out of him.] You're not that bad, are you? Or is this an Adam being kinda pedantic thing?

[He says it with love!]

Fingers crossed there's something useful in there! Or at the very least minimally dangerous!

AUGUST 2021 TDM OVERFLOW POST

Shiro

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