"this ship is taking me far away from the memory of the people who care if i live or die;"

[alloys]

Who: Tony, Jane, Loki, and select invitees.
What: Fun with portals
When: Friday, March 15
Where: House 49
Summary: After months of painstaking work, Tony and Jane are finally ready to test their machine. Things don't exactly go according to plan.
Rating: PG-13 probably???


So here's how things are going to go down: This log will be split into three sub-threads. There will be preshow thread for everyone to tag into before things start to go down. Then, there will be a main thread for Tony, Jane, Loki and Billy for the actual portal testing and immediate results. Finally, there will be a postgame thread for anyone to tag into with their reactions.

A bit about the set-up in Tony’s workshop for you spatially-minded people: the portal itself will be near-center in the room, with all the other tables and equipment (including his armor) moved back against the walls. This will leave plenty of spectator space and clearance room for potential backfiring. But that surely won’t be a problem, because this is going to work, right? Of course right. Ahaha.

That’s it! Refer to this OOC post if you have questions or if you're wondering if your character would be there or not. We’ll be happy to clarify. Enjoy the fallout!

Comments

[alloys]

[ Damn. That's a good point. ]

No. But that doesn't mean we wouldn't have gotten as far as to figure out to do so before. If there is a before.

[endgames]

[Shikamaru sighs. Breathes slowly out the nose.]

After we'd been around long enough, right? [Quietly. Almost somber.] Long enough to have tried every way to get home first. A portal much like this one, maybe?

[alloys]

[ The more he thought about it, the more unsettling it was. He didn't like this feeling - especially not right before the test. ]

We still have to try it.

[endgames]

That's my point. [And the more he turns it over, the more sick to his stomach he feels. He couldn't sit on it any longer.] What if you've already tried it?

[Not just once even. If they've all been here multiple times, with the same ideas for getting home, this could've happened many times before.]

[alloys]

[ He swallows, hating the feeling of dread that is seeping into his resolve. ]

There’s no way to know that. We’ve come too far to not see this through. I’m not backing down now, Shiko.

[endgames]

[He has nothing to say to that for a moment, though from the look on his face he wants to.

Don't do it. Don't. Do it.

Tony wouldn't be Tony if he stepped down now. Not when they're so close to an opportunity, something with promise.

Please.

He rubs a hand over his face and looks away, no longer able to look Tony straight on. And a little sick with himself.]

[alloys]

[ Oh, he can tell. And Tony doesn't like that Shikamaru is holding anything back - especially now, when he's brought up a tidbit of information that could change the game completely. ]

Tell me.

[endgames]

Tell you what? [He angles his head back up, but his voice is flat now.] There's nothing left to say. I've given you all the technical information.

[He could make his point further, illustrate the best and worst case scenarios as he sees them. But he's not keen on sounding like a desperate kid when a decision has already been made. His emotions have been running too high lately - that stupid dream world influencing him - and he knows it.]

[alloys]

But you're not telling me what you think. [ Which, honestly at this point, Tony can figure for himself. Shikamaru thinks it's a bad idea.

But he can't back down now. ]

[endgames]

I have to spell it out? [He looks over at the portal.] At best, I think that thing works but we just pop back in here another day. Maybe remembering this, maybe not.

[But if it can be that easy... this can't be the first time someone has tried this. Not in so many centuries, with some of the same people time and again. Even the eggheads with the Malnosso have a shitty success record with this.

His eyes swing back, hard.]

Worst case scenario, something goes wrong. Very wrong.

[alloys]

That's been a possibility from the start. [ For all his egotistical bragging, even he couldn't realistically eliminate the possibility that something could go wrong. ] You don't have to tell me that.

[endgames]

At the start, I didn't have a gut feeling it wouldn't work.

[alloys]

[ In a clipped tone: ] Well now. There's only one way to be sure, isn't there.

[endgames]

What? Over a dead body?

[He's going to regret that within the hour.]

[alloys]

[ Pretty much. ]

Or a roundtrip ticket home. I think I'll place my bets on that one.

[endgames]

[Shikamaru snorts and looks away again. He doesn't like arguing for arguing's sake. It's troublesome. And it's hard to do so when someone's trying to do the right thing.

Trusting his gut, though, has always been as important as going with his head. Right now he's feeling the anxiety like something electric.

He's scared for a friend.]

[alloys]

[ He doesn't have time for this. Not for doubt. Not when they were so close. And now he felt the pressure to get things going even more than he had moments before. ]

Look. This will all be over soon, so try not to kill yourself worrying for my sake, alright?

[endgames]

Sure. [He nods stiffly.] Go do your thing.

[alloys]

[ So he does, turning to go with a stiff nod in return. ]

[endgames]

[...]

Good luck.

[Sincerely, and loud enough to be heard. Because fuck, he really hopes this works.

With Tony off to start it up, he goes to find a place to stand at the back of the room.]