#no crystals just fists [modern powerless au]

[strangerrebelled]

@eskelwolf :

Eskel was in a weird limbo for his work day. The meeting has been long and very exhausting, but at least Eskel wasn't slain as bad as one of his co-workers did. The poor girl was dismantled head to toe by the boss and even witnessing it gave Eskel the shudders. His boss was just an absolute nightmare and Eskel had considered to leave multiple times, but he needed the damn money.

After this public butchering of his co-worker Eskel ignored his phone for a while because he took a short cigarette break in which he didn't smoke, but Lara did. She was still shaking, her hand clutched against her chest and her eyes teary and puffy. Poor girl. Eskel should've come for aid, everyone should've defended her but no one stood up to the boss. To the bully of the whole damn company.

He wondered, silently, when his attention turned inwards to him and he closed off after sitting down in his office again,...someone like Jack surely wouldn't allow to be talked to like that. He would stand up and fight for justice. He'd resist.

This was a stupid little thought entirely based on two minutes they've spent together. Also it was very unusual for Eskel to think about someone in this manner.

He smiled when he read the short message received and wondered, what about a “thanks” with an emoji would ever make him smile like this.

At his lunch break later, much later, he sat in the social room on the couch and scrolled down the list of restaurants in this area. That were already more than three dozen given the size of this city and the office towers all around. Lots of hungry nine-to-fivers with a bad taste and no idea what genuine mexican, chinese or Italian cuisine looked like.

He found the two spots though, a little more outside the beating heart of this office quarters. Then he dared to send Jack a short message. At least this one he could just—he could rehearse.

“Hi Jack, I promised to send you the names of the restaurants that are quite good.

“Hattori” - that's a genuine sushi place, owners are Japanese and their menu is entirely in Japanese and the English translations aren't the best. But it's really cute and genuine, you know a place is good when no tourists are around and you have to turn on translator apps to understand what you've just ordered. :-)

“Piccolo” - cute little pizzeria. Their pasta is also to die for! It's also very small and the menu is not more than five or six meals each (pasta, pizza, beef, fish, chicken, starters, desserts).

“El Cuervo” - BEST CHILI EVER. they serve even veggie alternatives. Their cocktails are super delicious too, but you can't drink more than two. They take it very seriously to get you drunk. :)”

When Eskel sent the message, he found he sounded too clipped and regret seeped through him. Anxiety was a bitch today. Hopefully Jack would reply soon and give him a hint or something.

--

For his part, Jack was in the midst of his own lunch when his phone finally buzzed again. Setting his half-finished bowl of leftover curry and rice on the coffee table, he opened Eskel's text to find... more than he expected. Still, it wasn't a bad thing, he supposed, to know the guy was giving him options.

Jack's first thought about seeing 'sushi' was 'too expensive'. Even if Eskel had been assured that he didn't want anything extravagant, sushi just felt like a luxury. Appealing as chili sounded, the suggestion of cocktails also seemed expensive, not to mention unwise since he had work later in the evening. That left the pizzeria, which he couldn't really find fault with, at least from Eskel's summary. Small place, good food, easy menu, the option of dessert, and not too formal.

HIs reply was fairly prompt. 'thanks. let's go w/ piccolo. i've got work after, or i'd say yes to the chili and cocktails. what time do you get off?'

[strangerrebelled]

" oh, man, i'm sorry! i'm so clumsy... "

(modern Eskel)

breaking the ice prompts

@eskelwolf

Maybe, on reflection, he’d been standing too close to the other while waiting in the coffeeshop’s pickup area. And the little counter with napkins and creamers and sweeteners and such was behind him. Either way, Jack ended up with a good portion of the stranger’s beverage splashed on the front of his jogging shirt.

He sighed, but assured as he reached for a few napkins,  “‘S fine. I was gonna wash this when I got home anyway.”  Taking care not to press the stain into the fabric, Jack added after a short pause,  “Show me your receipt, I’ll get you a new one.”

[strangerrebelled]

AU 001:  Modern (No Powers)

Tag:  no crystals just fists [modern powerless au] Setting:  any modern/present-day universe without fantasy/super-natural elements Species:  human Age:  32  [no stasis or time loops] Locations:  currently lives in a one-bedroom apartment on the top floor; birthplace unknown, raised in the foster system/various homes in a different town/city Occupation:  currently a stuntman/stunt coordinator, and janitor at the local stage theater between jobs; former soldier in the army (discharged after 4 tours) Main Weapons:  barehanded martial arts/boxing Main Transportation:  black and chrome motorcycle (w/ black full-face helmet with a tinted visor) Hobbies:  working out/going on runs, plays video games (mostly visual novels and roguelikes), reading various comicbooks/graphic novels Additional Skills:  can follow a cooking/baking recipe, driving a car/motorcycle, proper handling of guns, ‘average’ tech literacy Additional Shortcomings:  no coding skill/experience, a bit of a lightweight with alcohol, no experience with recreational drugs Additional Likes:  watching cooking shows, late-night comedy/news programs, biopics, thrillers, some fantasy films, and detective stories; drowning out the world/his thoughts with music, herbal tea, hot cocoa (especially with vanilla, mint, or ‘pumpkin spice’) Additional Dislikes:  black coffee, having his politics presumed due to his background or first impression, nobility/royalty dramas, comedies of manners, household- or dating-oriented reality shows, needles (will still get vaccines but can’t look at it being done) Additional Habits:  tending to the houseplants Ash gave him (as housewarming gifts), watching TV while eating, carrying/using a fidget cube (a gift from Jed) during long waits (e.g. slow lines, sitting in doctors’ offices, etc), taking care of basic household repairs himself Altered Backstory:  Given up by his parents to the foster system as a baby, he was raised in the state’s care and first taken in at a foster home when he was 2 years old. He stayed with that family the longest, but as he grew older he grew more ‘troublesome’; that, plus a financial downturn for his guardians, meant he was returned to the system when he was 8. After that, his stints in foster homes grew shorter and more troubled the older he became. There were good moments, and a number of bad ones; he kept getting into trouble at school over fights, inattention, or occasional frustrated outbursts. He got ‘better’ toward the end of middle school and into high school, but only because he was bottling things up. Going to the gym and exercising or pummeling sandbags did help vent some of it, but he still felt a nigh-constant simmering irritation that he couldn’t quite pin down the source of. He also had no idea what to do for a career - so when army recruiters took notice of his performance in the fitness tests, he was eager to sign up, especially upon hearing that they could get him a college degree as well. Aging out of the foster care system at 18, he ended up settling at a sort of halfway-house until his army assignment came through a few months later. Though he chafed at his orders on occasion and sometimes got in trouble with his COs, for the most part he served well during his tours. He met Ash and Sophia on base, who became his first close friends [subject to change in modern threads w/ an Ash or Sophia]. In the meantime, he was also working on a GED and had his diploma by the time he was discharged. He managed to get enough assistance from the VA to settle into an apartment, though he did have to immediately take the first accepted job offer, and started work as one of the janitors at a local stage theater. He also took on various other quick-cash opportunities in addition, to ensure he could make rent and other costs of living. He built connections with others at the theater, including befriending Jed - a fellow janitor - and Neon - a set designer [subject to change in modern threads w/ a Jed or Neon]. Those connections then snagged him his first job as a stuntman. He started off small, of course, but managed to find semi-steady work in stage performances, TV shows, and even some films.

AU 002:  Modern Fantasy/Super-natural

Tag:  1 cm of leather between you and death [modern fantasy au] Setting:  any modern/present-day universe with fantasy/super-natural elements Basically the same as his no-powers modern AU, but can perform ‘soul burst’ and use healing magic (though not any elementals). He tends to wear gloves, as ‘soul burst’ can only be performed in this AU with his bare hands. He did his best to hide these abilities during his military tours, and still does in his current jobs.

[strangerrebelled]

[ @eskelwolf ]

He didn't expect a reply right away, as it seemed like Eskel was the verbose type in text messages, plus the guy actually had work during this part of the day. Jack continued eating his lunch, but only got a couple more bites in before his phone buzzed.

When he saw how short Eskel's answer was compared to the previous message, Jack did wonder for a moment if he'd come off as curt in his answer. Jed had teased him about that sometimes, remarking on his skill at 'even sounding pissed in writing' - though, maybe the man who frequently used emojis in place of just typing out the words wasn't the best barometer. Besides, Eskel had used two little 'x's at the end. Shaking his head a little to push aside his mulling over a simple message, Jack responded. '6:30 works fine. My job starts at 8, that should be enough time. See you then.' He considered signing off in a similar way to Eskel, but it felt too out of the ordinary for him so he decided against it.

After finishing up his lunch and washing the used dishes, Jack looked up the restaurant's location and even took a glance at their online menu. Eskel had been telling the truth about it, as it took him no time at all to narrow down a few choices. The location was at least within decent riding distance of the theater where he worked, so he wouldn't need to worry about the commute making him late. Jack found himself glancing over the menu again, this time wondering what Eskel might order. Sure, it wasn't any of his business really, but... maybe the pasta? The guy had gushed about it, after all. Or maybe they'd split a pizza, even take home a couple slices each. And what about dessert? A glance became a longer look, until he was almost certain he'd memorized each entry.

@eskelwolf :

Eskel was in a weird limbo for his work day. The meeting has been long and very exhausting, but at least Eskel wasn't slain as bad as one of his co-workers did. The poor girl was dismantled head to toe by the boss and even witnessing it gave Eskel the shudders. His boss was just an absolute nightmare and Eskel had considered to leave multiple times, but he needed the damn money.

After this public butchering of his co-worker Eskel ignored his phone for a while because he took a short cigarette break in which he didn't smoke, but Lara did. She was still shaking, her hand clutched against her chest and her eyes teary and puffy. Poor girl. Eskel should've come for aid, everyone should've defended her but no one stood up to the boss. To the bully of the whole damn company.

He wondered, silently, when his attention turned inwards to him and he closed off after sitting down in his office again,...someone like Jack surely wouldn't allow to be talked to like that. He would stand up and fight for justice. He'd resist.

This was a stupid little thought entirely based on two minutes they've spent together. Also it was very unusual for Eskel to think about someone in this manner.

He smiled when he read the short message received and wondered, what about a “thanks” with an emoji would ever make him smile like this.

At his lunch break later, much later, he sat in the social room on the couch and scrolled down the list of restaurants in this area. That were already more than three dozen given the size of this city and the office towers all around. Lots of hungry nine-to-fivers with a bad taste and no idea what genuine mexican, chinese or Italian cuisine looked like.

He found the two spots though, a little more outside the beating heart of this office quarters. Then he dared to send Jack a short message. At least this one he could just—he could rehearse.

“Hi Jack, I promised to send you the names of the restaurants that are quite good.

“Hattori” - that's a genuine sushi place, owners are Japanese and their menu is entirely in Japanese and the English translations aren't the best. But it's really cute and genuine, you know a place is good when no tourists are around and you have to turn on translator apps to understand what you've just ordered. :-)

“Piccolo” - cute little pizzeria. Their pasta is also to die for! It's also very small and the menu is not more than five or six meals each (pasta, pizza, beef, fish, chicken, starters, desserts).

“El Cuervo” - BEST CHILI EVER. they serve even veggie alternatives. Their cocktails are super delicious too, but you can't drink more than two. They take it very seriously to get you drunk. :)”

When Eskel sent the message, he found he sounded too clipped and regret seeped through him. Anxiety was a bitch today. Hopefully Jack would reply soon and give him a hint or something.

--

For his part, Jack was in the midst of his own lunch when his phone finally buzzed again. Setting his half-finished bowl of leftover curry and rice on the coffee table, he opened Eskel's text to find... more than he expected. Still, it wasn't a bad thing, he supposed, to know the guy was giving him options.

Jack's first thought about seeing 'sushi' was 'too expensive'. Even if Eskel had been assured that he didn't want anything extravagant, sushi just felt like a luxury. Appealing as chili sounded, the suggestion of cocktails also seemed expensive, not to mention unwise since he had work later in the evening. That left the pizzeria, which he couldn't really find fault with, at least from Eskel's summary. Small place, good food, easy menu, the option of dessert, and not too formal.

HIs reply was fairly prompt. 'thanks. let's go w/ piccolo. i've got work after, or i'd say yes to the chili and cocktails. what time do you get off?'

[strangerrebelled]

Jack was a little taken aback by the guy’s somewhat overwrought reaction to an accidental spill. Bad morning, maybe, or some stressful thing awaiting wherever the stranger worked. Still, it did leave him feeling awkward, considering they were in public - though it did look like the people who’d glanced over at the other’s vehement assurance had already looked away.

“Doesn’t matter,” Jack insisted. “If you still have time to get to work, show me the receipt.” He considered himself fortunate he wasn’t on first shift like this poor guy, though there would be another evening rehearsal to clean up after. It would at least give him enough time to treat the coffee stain properly, among the other things that needed doing.

" oh, man, i'm sorry! i'm so clumsy... "

(modern Eskel)

breaking the ice prompts

@eskelwolf

Maybe, on reflection, he’d been standing too close to the other while waiting in the coffeeshop’s pickup area. And the little counter with napkins and creamers and sweeteners and such was behind him.Either way, Jack ended up with a good portion of the stranger’s beverage splashed on the front of his jogging shirt.

He sighed, but assured as he reached for a few napkins,  “‘S fine. I was gonna wash this when I got home anyway.”  Taking care not to press the stain into the fabric, Jack added after a short pause,  “Show me your receipt, I’ll get you a new one.”