come_sailaway | They say an end can be a start

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They say an end can be a start

Who: Klaus Hargreeves & you
What: Telekinesis hijinks
When: The last two weeks of January
Where: Library, Windjammer, and the pool (and wherever you want tbh)
Warnings: Definite references to drug/alcohol abuse, withdrawal stuff, depression, Klaus' entire life possibly.
Notes: Are you friends with Klaus? Please assume you got a text about their sobriety. Ilu. Thank you.

1. Library

It’s been…a time recently. Klaus has been doing his best to avoid any establishments with drinking. It’s kind of deprived him of Disney movies and…well…any movies, but it’s fine. He’s gotten used to the idea that things are sort of out of reach. Sure, there’s been a lot of weird stuff happening that he can’t explain recently, but that’s gotta be like…ship stuff. Like a whole piano came to life and tried to eat people. Why wouldn’t a bunch of papers start flailing around in a weird pattern? Sure, he was feeling a little frazzled, a little frustrated after having dropped something because his hands were shaking too bad for him to hold it, but…maybe the papers were just mad?

What do they know?

Speaking of not being able to hold something that well, they are staring very hard at their cup of hot chocolate, which is still very hot. They don’t want to get burned, but their hands are definitely still sort of shaky.

When they pick it up, they at least manage a couple sips without burning their mouth or dropping it. But as they go to set it back down, it falls, nearly ending on the floor except that suddenly it’s back on the table???

Klaus stands up and squints at it in confusion before looking around. “The ship is getting so weird these days.

2. Pool

Watson said to consider exercise and the pool and so Klaus is here to try to take advantage of it. He’s got Under the Sea stuck in his head at the moment, which is forcing him into a better mood.

This good mood sort of turns into a state of pure bewilderment as the pool floaties they’ve brought out start to dance just above the water to the tune, going in a circle, as they hum a little while getting ready to get in. Of course, they drop almost instantly as he seems to notice them. Confused, they hum the song again, but nothing happens. “What the hell?” Okay. Just weird ship things. Guess this is the vibe this month? Weird stuff?

3. Windjammer

Forcing themselves to eat is one of those things that’s just kind of happening. Klaus doesn’t really want to question his craving for baby carrots. It’s just one of those things. They need something that feels simple and probably won’t upset their stomach, right? Sure. That seems fair and accurate.

They are absolutely focused on grabbing more carrots and eyeing the garlic bread from afar, so if anyone comes up behind them, they are getting pelted with baby carrots, or the peas or…whatever else is at the veggies part of the buffet. Not that it seems like Klaus has thrown them. Mostly they seem to have thrown themselves from the buffet at whoever is behind him.

If they’re confused, so is Klaus. What is going on with the ship this month?

4. Promenade

Klaus is supposed to be avoiding these places and...really...he is. He's avoiding them. Mostly. It doesn't stop them from just sitting here and staring at Hurikane very intently from a bench in the middle of the promenade. Their hands are clenched around the seat of the bench, white knuckles obvious if you look. They are very purposely not going over, so that's...that's not nothing??? Probably. He's very obviously not paying attention to anything else around him.

It's only when he goes to stand up, very nearly deciding to go to Hurikane (but not wanting to) that a chair close by comes clattering in front of him and he looks at it in confusion for a moment. "What is with this place? Seriously." But on a more serious note, it might be time to phone a friend.

5. Wildcard

Hit me with whatever you like~ If you wanna run anything by me, my plurk is kingdonkey and otherwise, discord is kingdonkey#6187. This is just some random telekinesis shenanigans, but it can be anything else if you need it!

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Klaus holds up his hands. "I didn't do it." They don't know that's a lie, so technically he's not lying. That's how it works!

"Oh. Yeah. It's...you know...the gross part of withdrawal. Well...part of it. My hands are still..." Just gonna hold them up so she can see how shaky they still are. "Makes everything even dumber than usual. I've dropped so many things."

"It's floating toward you," Ava points out, as if that makes Klaus the source of it.

She shifts to the other side to lean out over, fixing Klaus with a sympathetic frown. "The trick is to hold things with both hands." Because she's been dropping stuff for long enough to know that particular frustration, even if she doesn't know the rest of it. "Hm. Have you talked any to... Sharky? He cut back on drinking a few months ago."

"Maybe it likes me?" That doesn't seem accurate. But...MAYBE?!

Klaus nods. "Yeah. I know. Sometimes I do that and sometimes that doesn't really matter." Stupid hands. "I...haven't talked a lot to people, I guess? I talked to Erin?" They haven't really wanted to overly bother people outside of the initial text about things they sent out. Also they've been in like...a bad vibe, basically. "It's been a lot." A beat. "Also I don't know if everyone wants to talk about it, I guess? Watson's been really helpful, though."

"It's a boat! It doesn't have a conscious desire or preference," Ava argues back. Klaus always manages to hit the right button to get her going, but there's no actual annoyance behind it.

"Ah, I just didn't know if it was one of those things that was easier with... you know, support groups." Ava's been through a lot of miserable bullshit in her life without any support at all, but she knows being alone with her problems has made it more difficult to get through things. Even though she hadn't wanted to rely on others, hadn't trusted anyone for so long. Having help has gone a long way in her own recovery. "But Watson is really insightful," Ava comments positively of the doctor. She's sure he had all sorts of useful advice, despite being from a century before.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"What do you know? It could have developed a consciousness while you weren't looking!" Because what's being siblings if it isn't shouting back and forth about the possible consciousness of a boat. "And I can't help it if it likes me so much it wants to be closer to me! Gosh!! Don't be jealous of how popular I am with sentient boats!"

There's a nod. "Yeah. I guess you're right. Most people have been pretty good about it. Valdis and Nobunaga have been there. And things have been weird as shit, but...at least it's been okay mostly." He smiles slightly at the mention of Watson. "Yeah. I feel like it's hard for most people to listen to me talk about myself in a way that's...you know...my normal...and not immediately argue with me about it. So props to him for that. And now I have to avoid the bars and stuff...and the sushi place, but Pratt got me sushi the other day."

Klaus considers the question before shrugging. "Just...like...I dunno. Be you? That's pretty helpful. Also if you can't sleep and want to hang out, that would be good, too...cause I also cannot sleep."

"That would make sitting in it really creepy!" Ava insists, and so certainly hopes not. "Like that freaky cat bus in that Totoro movie that Steven had me watch." Who would want to SIT in a sentient CAT with SEATS in its BODY.

"Oh... I didn't imagine how difficult that might be." There's alcohol literally everywhere on the ship. And she has no idea what to even suggest about that or how to better avoid it. It's hardly a thing she pays much attention to in her own life. "Guess you'll just have to hang out with me in the coffee shop more often."

And then there's a small pause. "Wait, you and Nobunaga are back together?"

"I mean...I dunno. I might ride in a weird cat bus. Why not? It has a purpose? Also if it can get me somewhere fast, that could be useful."

Klaus shrugs slightly. "Yeah. I think that it's definitely one of those things that I have to overthink. I guess it'll be less weird eventually." They don't know. But hopefully it will get less uncomfortable with time. "I need some more hot chocolate anyway. Oooh. Do you think we can experiment with hot chocolates? Is there caramel flavoring? I need this."

Oh right. Ha. "Uhhh. Yeah. I sort of was super drunk and we passed out in the hallway...and then I woke up and threw up and then he made me shower...and we talked...about things. And I was hungover and it felt like death, but we talked better after I threw up a second time and took a nap."

"Gross," is all Ava has to say to that. Why is nobody else as weirded out by this as she is? Riding around in something else's body only seems appropriate for baby marsupials. And parasites.

"Hopefully so, but if it's something that's... important to you, then it'll be worth it. And I'll support you however I can." Ava's never been comfortable with overly using substances herself, but she's never felt all that comfortable in trying to tell anyone else that they have a problem either. Especially not one that she has no experience in dealing with. One month of drinking more than usual and then deciding to cut back isn't comparable at all. "And there's all sorts of flavored syrups. The mint and raspberry are my favorite," Ava grins.

"Ah. I haven't spoken to him since... ah, he pushed me on the issue about the trial and the necessity of..." Ava shakes her head. She's gone around on this subject too much. "So you worked it out?" The entire thing sounded like a misunderstanding, but given she had difficulty understanding Klaus about it due to the drunken stupor they showed up to her room in. And the way Nobunaga kept overloading her with too much information and refusing to talk about Klaus every time it came up... hm. She still isn't really sure what the issue even was about in the first place.

Klaus lightly splashes water in her direction. For fun and for annoyance. "You're gross."

They know it's like...a deal. And it's nice that Ava wants to be there, too. He knows that most people get under her skin. Apparently also Nobunaga recently and he'll have to lightly thwap him for it. Out of love. "Thanks. I mostly just...guess get used to me texting if I'm gonna do something stupid and need someone to smack me. Or like...if you're just chillin' and you're like, 'there goes Klaus, about to do something stupid' smack me? I dunno." That sounds reasonable, right? "Is raspberry good with hot chocolate? Have you taste-tested it?"

They squint slightly, trying to picture it with their tastebuds as if that will work at all. "I'll smack him upside the head for it later. Whatever it was." But he sighs. "Yeah. I guess I was...I was just scared. I mean, he was being stupid, too, and neither of us really communicated well about anything. At the trial. I didn't figure he was going to do nothing, but it...well...was a whole thing..." And it's a lot to get into. "But yeah. We've talked about it and I think we're going to keep talking because he can be a little hard-headed about things. But...yeah. He's been really good about the drinking and is helping me at least try to get some sleep. The insomnia's a real bitch."

"No, you," Ava responds while sticking out her tongue, allowing the water to splash through her. Hah.

But she nods along with serious consideration to Klaus's request. "Any time." She knows they probably don't want her actually smacking some sense into him, or perhaps that's just how they expect it to go. But she takes it more as a 'please help me make good decisions' sort of plea, which she's willing to do. "Of course it's good," Ava insists. Fruit of any sort and chocolate tends to pair well together!

"I see..." Ava pauses uncertainly. "Is it true he committed genocide?" And she doesn't quite mean it so bluntly except there's really no easier way to ask that question is there.

Klaus sticks his tongue out back at her. "How loserly of you to do that." He means letting the water splash through her. Rude. One day...he's gonna get you.

That's at least a relief...that it's not too much to ask from her. That she doesn't mind. Not that they thought she would. They assumed she'd be at least mostly fine with the whole thing. He just knows how much she's been dealing with lately. He wants to tell her that the offer is good for her, too, but hot chocolate. "You're right. What was I thinking?"

Klaus pauses at the question. "I...think he had to make a choice...and that it wasn't a good choice...but he felt like he had to? I know I don't understand it. It's...not something I ever had to make a choice about, though. It's not something I've had to do. I think...making the choice was...something and he knew his generals, the people in his army would save as many as they could? I dunno. It's...home weirdness?"

"How dare you mock my medical condition," Ava points right at Klaus, trying to look annoyed but failing.

And she's definitely planning on preparing them a taste test to prove just how good certain flavor combinations are with the cocoa. But for the moment, she lays back into the canoe. And kinda regrets asking this question at all. Even Pratt had said he hadn't wanted to know more.

"Weirdness..." Ava doesn't sound particularly convinced by that wording, but it's not really Klaus's responsibility to justify or explain any of this. Just like it hadn't been hers to defend what happened with the trial, and she closes her eyes. She was just hoping Klaus might be able to clarify that it was a misunderstanding, given Pratt was self-proclaimed brain soup. "Guess we're all sorts of fucked up here, huh," she replies instead of pushing for further details.

"You have a medical condition all right. It's called loseritis." There's a hint of something amused there.

There's a nod at the words. "Yeah. Don't think any of us are going to like...win any awards for our pasts." They look down and fidget awkwardly. "But like...I dunno. I guess I could hold it against him, but...I'm trying to judge people based on how they are...and we've already talked about his behavior at the trial...and I...um...hope he didn't bother you too much."

"Only because I caught it from you," Ava retorts with a huff. Her arm reaches through the side of the little boat and splashes water back in the direction of Klaus's voice, though her aim is completely blind since her only view from this angle is of the sky.

"Yeah it's just a lot to think about. What sorts of people we all are under different circumstances. Have we really changed or is it just the opportunities haven't aligned yet to show what we really are. I don't think anyone would like me much, if they encountered me back home..." And she certainly wouldn't have been all that friendly.

She sighs though. "Him and Yato both got on my nerves. I wasn't feeling particularly great, after everything. And then they kept... being all insistent about the wrongness of what happened as if I had anything to do with it or had any way to change what happened or their minds over it. They seemed to care more about that than how I was even doing."

There's a fake gasp of surprise and betrayal. "How dare you." This dissolves into laughing as he feels just the barest splash of water.

"Yeah." Klaus frowns a little bit about that. "I'm pretty much the same person I was at home. Except...I guess maybe I'm less annoying? I dunno. I think sometimes we get caught up on who we were and believe we can't be different from that person, too." At least, that's sometimes how it feels talking to Nobunaga at times. He just...is so serious about it. Convinced he's evil still and yet caring so deeply for everyone around him at the same time. But also getting in his way.

"Oh...yeah." Klaus levitates, moving over the boat. "Move over." Or he can just casually find space to fit in. "Sorry if I was kind of in the same boat at first. I was...yeah. It was a bad time. I'll flick them both in the forehead."

"You mean you're capable of being more annoying?" Ava teases lightly, scooting over to allow Klaus to get in with her. "Now we're still literally in the same boat," she points out lazily, brushing a strand of hair out of his face.

"Do you want to tell me more about what happened...?" she asks.

“Wow. I can’t believe you said that to me. Dishonor on you, dishonor on your cow!” This will not stop him from lowering into the boat. “You know…you’re right.” Because they were now literally in the same boat.

“With the trial or?”

"I don't have a cow, but if I did it would have more honor than you," she claims, rocking the boat just the slightest bit just enough to be obnoxious, but not wanting to jostle Klaus too much with the whole detox thing. A delicate balance of not actually trying to cause suffering.

"Any of it..." she offers, not wanting to over direct the conversation.

Klaus reaches over to swat at her lightly. "You're the worst. I'm giving you up for adoption right now." As if they really could do that. OH WELL!

"I..." There's a sigh. "It's just one of those things, I guess. I guess I got so scared I was going to be left I left instead? I dunno. I didn't want to be left. Because I love him...which is stupid."

"Ew, don't do that. I'd get taken in by weird rich white people looking for tax write offs and social clout." And yet still not quite as bad as being taken in by SHIELD.

"Did he ever clear up what he meant by that, then?"

"So basically my dad?" Klaus stretches slightly. "Or just basic rich white people?" They reach over to poke at her cheek.

"Yeah. I think he got a little too in his head. About how this could be him? I think he's overthinking what it means since he killed a lot of people, too, back home. But it's a different thing. I'm trying to get him to accept magic as a real thing." A sigh. "And I think he's worried about hurting the people around him. He had to kill people that he cared about and send his sister away to protect her...and I think it affects how he looks at things. I guess we all have things."

"Ugh. After dating a rich white guy, I realized how little I'd ever want to meet his family. What do socialites even do? It sounds fake." She almost swats the hand away, but curls her fingers around it instead, holding gently.

"It seemed like he was mixed up about his own issues. When the trial really had nothing to do with him at all. I guess that's how fears are sometimes, blinding and irrational... but if he went on a sudden killing spree, I still don't understand how he rather it be handled."

"That's probably fair. I'd say I was also technically a rich white guy, but our family is way more fun. Just don't meet Dad. He's the only one that sucks. Mom's the best. Then like...everyone. You'd like Diego and Lila. Probably more than me, but that's okay." Klaus doesn't say they're used to it and instead just holds her hand. "The fancy parties get waaaay less cool the older and more fucked up you get. For sure."

There's a small nod at that. "Yeah. He is. But I dunno. I don't think he'd go on a killing spree without serious shit happening. So I think it's not really an issue to be worried about. Like if you're possessed, that's still gonna have lasting affects, but like no one's gonna hold you accountable for that shit. Probably. I guess it's something to work through and talk out until he's feeling less anxious. Would make things weird if he didn't have a reason to murder, I guess. But I dunno."

"Did... Diego or Lila play limbo with me? Or come to my birthday party with a mushroom? Hide in the floor with me and give me hot chocolate?" Ava asks skeptically. "Because I don't care how cool they are. I like you best because you're the one here with me. And that matters more than anything else." She bas no feelings for any of Klaus's siblings other than amusement at the strange antics he shares.

"Hm," she replies with a frown. "I just don't understand why he was so insistent about it."

Klaus stares up at the sky for a moment. It's kind of weird to just always assume people will prefer other people in your family to you on a normal day and have someone expressly point out all the reasons that you're important to them. Just because you're there. He's getting used to it. Just very slowly. "I mean, you did sort of drag me into the floor, but it's fine. I didn't die, so that's a relief." And they didn't stay for long.

They shrug. "He's worse than me sometimes about getting stuck in his own head and then assuming the worst."

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They say an end can be a start

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