Luceti Valley - The First Log

[lucetimods]

Who: Everyone
What: The start of a new experiment... or is it?
When: August 2nd - August 6th
Where: Luceti itself
Summary: Luceti has become an idyllic and peaceful 50s-esque village. The first few days are just business as usual, right?
Rating: Varies with thread. Please move explicit stuff to appointments post with appropriate warnings.

August 1st had seemed like an ordinary day in Luceti. But late in the evening, for those night owls who had not turned in yet, they were witness to strange fluctuations in the barrier. Beautiful, really, almost like Luceti had received its own 'Northern Lights', even though it seemed to come from the far east, across the ocean. This ominous light show lasted for all of fifteen minutes before it ceased all together. Skimming the ocean waters, a horde of cultists entered Luceti, cloaked by darkness. Upon reaching the entrance to the tunnels, their leader stepped inside and was followed one by one by his fellow cultists. When the last had entered, the tunnel entrance closed. Across the mountains, the entrance to the tunnels in the village did the same.

Midnight passed without incident, but by three in the morning, the change suddenly came. Minds were altered, forms were changed, and buildings sprang from nowhere.

Much later, on August 2nd, morning settled on a changed village, the new mayor made his way to his mansion with his pair of adorable dobermans at either side of him. The sun shined bright. It was a good day to be a Lucetian.

Note: There will be a stand alone log for the homecoming dance. There will be another log for the second stage of the event.

Comments

[endgames]

Well yeah, because I don't have to imagine it at all. You weren't gonna tell me?

[That's not really fair - there's a difference between hearing about a sister and hearing about a daughter - but still.]

[alloys]

[ He shoot Shikamaru a look, his posture straightening. ] Of course I was going to tell you. What do you take me for? I'm just...we're adjusting still.

[endgames]

[Shikamaru says nothing, watching with an expression that's trying to be unbothered; blank. Trying and failing. Hurt and disbelieving, he's not as apt at hiding his emotions in this universe, without the emotional training ninja go through to fall back on. He's just gotten a little better at it over the years.

Tony's excuse is, and probably would sound reasonable if it weren't for how he heard the news himself. A phone call. Not from dad, but aunt Nel.

He doesn't know that most of the people at the Stark dinner that night weren't actually invited, is the problem. Was he purposefully shunned? No. Even misunderstanding the situation, as as much as his dad annoys him, he doesn't think he'd go out of his way to do something that irritating.

It's just the same situation as it's always been. Until he got married three months ago, Shikamaru doesn't think he's been more than an afterthought in life to anyone but his mother.]

[alloys]

[ Tony can feel his stomach sinking as he reads Shikamaru's expression. Like he's trying to be unaffected, but he is anyway. He gets that all-too-familiar clenching feeling in his gut he often gets around Shikamaru, because no matter how he tries to approach him, he can't seem to get it right. This situation was no exception. He'd messed it up again, despite trying to control all the moving pieces so that wouldn't happen. ]

Look. Nel wasn't even supposed to know yet, either. I only met Kari two days ago - Pepper only found out two days ago. [ The initial idea was to get everyone immediately affected by it used to her first, and then work on the rest of the family. Shikamaru didn't live there, so Tony hadn't put him in that bracket. Maybe he should have. He shifts in his seat. ] This isn't how it was supposed to happen, okay?

[endgames]

Whatever you say, dad.

[Shikamaru shifts, attention sliding across the room instead of focusing on his dad. Closing the discussion by cutting off any more chances to read him. He props up his chin with a loose fist.

It's spilled milk, whichever way you cut it. There's nothing to fix it, so by that logic Shikamaru doesn't give him a chance to try. If his own wife didn't learn until two days ago, it feels like the most reasonable thing he could do.]

How she's taking it, anyways?

[alloys]

Like a champ. [ Pepper was taking it better than she should, and Tony loved her endlessly for that, even if it served as a reminder just how much he didn't deserve her. It wasn't going to be easy to figure out their lives with a new addition to the family, and part of him was afraid they wouldn't ever figure everything out right.

God, what a mess. ]

[endgames]

[There's being an aristocrat, and then there's class.]

And the rest of the family?

[alloys]

...The boys didn't take it so well. [ Always 'the boys'. It felt strange to say 'your brothers', somehow. ] Like I said. We're all adjusting.

[endgames]

[At least that's one thing they agree on. He hums, feeling kind of bad for the kid.

Kind of.]

[alloys]

Did you want to meet her? [ Was that why he was here? ]

[endgames]

[Does he? He taps his foot; once, twice. Why did I come?]

Yeah. Why not?

[It doesn't pay to be indecisive.]

[alloys]

She should be back any minute now. So I guess you can...wait here. [ And Tony's dad responsibility sense is smarting still, meaning he should probably keep him company at least until Kari arrives. ]

...Anything new with you? [ God, he doesn't want to talk about himself anymore. ]

[endgames]

[Dad don't you have a company to run]

...I dunno. Depends on what you call new.

[alloys]

[ It's the weekend okok ]

The usual things. Anything I should know? [ Don't be difficult about it. :|]

[endgames]

[Oh right. Rich people can afford not to work weekends. 8|]

Does it matter? You're not around for any of it. We haven't talked in months.

[Stalling, because those months have been both the most stressful and rewarding of his life. Where does he even begin?]

[alloys]

[ He can't hide a frown at that response. Hadn't they been over this before? Tony felt like a broken record, and his patience was already so thin this week. ]

That doesn't mean I don't care. [ Because he did. He knew he was shit at expressing it, at that was part of the problem. Tony had never known how to be the right kind of dad for Shikamaru. He never knew what he needed. ]

[endgames]

[No, it just means you care about them more than me.]

You could call.

[Suggestive. Ask?]

[alloys]

I call. [ Okay, once every few months probably wasn't cutting it, was it? ]

[endgames]

[This face.]

[alloys]

[ He swallows his pride for half a second. Maybe it's just having Kari around that's making him want to try a little harder with all his kids. ]

Okay - I could probably stand to call a bit more often.

[endgames]

[...all right. Shikamaru tilts his head, relenting. Getting an admission like that out of Tony Stark feels like a gold medal.]

...Sakura and I got our own place.

[alloys]

[ Sakura - the girlfriend. Right. He knew Shikamaru had been seeing someone, but wouldn't have been able to summon up a name until he just mentioned it. ]

Oh? Good for you. What...does she do?

[endgames]

She's working on her GED now... Trying to break into the work force, too.

[He wishes she wouldn't have to.]

[alloys]

Doing what? [ Not the factory, he hopes. ]

[endgames]

[He wouldn't let her, that place is dangerous. 8|]

Cleaning, I think.