Tweak

InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "4 sweater vests..."

Username: 
Password:    
Remember Me
  • Create Account
  • IJ Login
  • OpenID Login
Search by : 
  • View
    • Create Account
    • IJ Login
    • OpenID Login
  • Journal
    • Post
    • Edit Entries
    • Customize Journal
    • Comment Settings
    • Recent Comments
    • Manage Tags
  • Account
    • Manage Account
    • Viewing Options
    • Manage Profile
    • Manage Notifications
    • Manage Pictures
    • Manage Schools
    • Account Status
  • Friends
    • Edit Friends
    • Edit Custom Groups
    • Friends Filter
    • Nudge Friends
    • Invite
    • Create RSS Feed
  • Asylums
    • Post
    • Asylum Invitations
    • Manage Asylums
    • Create Asylum
  • Site
    • Support
    • Upgrade Account
    • FAQs
    • Search By Location
    • Search By Interest
    • Search Randomly

Sam Guthrie ([info]_rocket_butt_) wrote in [info]devolve,
@ 2011-01-22 09:33:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Who: Sam (Lewis and Annie on the playground) and Open
What: Swinging and playing and stuff
Where: Playground just outside the mansion
When: Sunday afternoon
Rating: likely G, but depends who joins in doing/discussing what
Status: Incomplete

The snow was well past ankle deep on the grounds, but the littles didn't really care. They were bundled up in layer after layer against the cold, toques pulled down over their ears almost meeting the thick scarves wrapped around their necks as they pumped steadily away on the swings. It was hard to remember, painful to, even, when the little playground tucked against the side of the mansion had been noisy with the voices of children, even on a winter's afternoon. Most of them older than the twins, of course.

Sam didn't let himself remember those days anymore, though. All that mattered in this moment was Lewis and Annie, breathless voices carrying quietly in the crisp, cold air as they chattered at each other; about the chickens and the milk cows, about some antics of the dogs in a snowbank earlier in the day.

Sam adjusted his own gloves, pulling them slightly higher against the chill, and smiled at the sheer, incongruous normality of it. Today was a good day. He'd finished work in the garage, the tune-up on one of the trucks that had been running a bit rough going smooth, as smooth as its engine was running now, and then found the twins waiting for him, eager and bright. Little hands reaching, indifferent to the grease rubbed deep into the creases of his skin as they'd reached for his own. Begged him to come out and watch them swing in the bright, cold afternoon sun. And for now that was all he did. Watched, smiling, and thought of nothing beyond this moment. That for now, everyone (left) was safe and alive.


(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)


[info]set_to_stun
2011-01-24 04:39 pm UTC (link)
Kitty was heading back to the mansion when she heard voices, childish and cheerful, coming from the playground. The cold weather wasn't able to deter her from taking a walk; as a native of Chicago and a transplant to England, Kitty had racked up enough experience with cold weather to make her almost cavalier in the face of even the deepest of chills. As she wandered over towards the playground, she thought she could guess who else felt similarly immune to the cold.

A smile broke over her face as she saw the twins, two of the little Guthries, swinging together. Kitty could also remember when the playground stayed populated all day; she remembered sitting on those swings and talking to a boy she liked, too, and walking on the balance beam when she got the cast of her long-ago broken arm. She remembered being put on playground monitoring duty not so terribly long ago. And with those memories still echoing in her mind, she thought about all the things they'd faced and she felt glad that the playground was being used again. It kind of seemed like a miracle.

"Hi guys," Kitty held up a hand in greeting to the twins--never the type to ignore anybody--as she walked over to stand with Sam.

"Hey," She greeted the older mutant with a smile.

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]_rocket_butt_
2011-01-24 11:47 pm UTC (link)
Two little heads whipped around at her greeting, golden-blond hair lost under knit caps. The pumping of the swings stuttered for a moment before they identified her, and the heartbeat's worth of wariness disappeared from their expressions as matching grins washed it away.

"Hi Kitty!" Annie chirped, freeing one mittened hand from the chain to wave awkwardly before shifting back to a smooth pumping motion that sent her swing soaring up.

"Hi!" Lew echoed, though he didn't take his hand off the swing, already intent on regaining the small amount of height and momentum he'd lost. "Look how high I can go!"

Sam watched, smiling fondly at the pair, as Kitty walked over to join him. He'd seen her coming, so the greeting hadn't startled him as it had the twins. There wasn't much he figured any of them missed these days, even in the supposed safety of the compound.

"Hey, Kitty," he greeted her, taking his eyes off the twins long enough to smile down at her. "Done for the day, or just taking a break?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]set_to_stun
2011-01-25 01:33 am UTC (link)
Kitty grinned at the kids as they responded to her, "Woah, are you working on the new record?"

At Sam's remark, she looked up to look at him, squinting slightly in the light. "Just taking a break," She answered, because of course she couldn't let her day before at a regular time. Kitty still looked as energetic as she did in the early morning, which was to say bright eyed but a little pay. But it would probably be time to check in with Hank after this, just to see what she could do. Letting Sam get back to what he was doing, she looked out at the twins, too.

"What about you? How's the growly engine?" She'd heard it giving him trouble the last time she was poking around in the garage with Lorna.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]_rocket_butt_
2011-01-25 02:35 am UTC (link)
"We're goin' t'the moon!" Lew crowed, which got him a bit of a long-suffering look from Annie. Of course they were going to the moon, but that didn't mean he had to go and tell the grown ups.

Sam grinned and folded his arms over his chest as he glanced back down at Kitty. "Purrin' like a kitten now," he assured her. "Was startin' t'think I was gonna have to rebuild it to get it there for a while, though."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]set_to_stun
2011-01-25 04:16 am UTC (link)
Kitty laughed a little, as much at Lewis's enthusiasm as Annie's perfect look of twinly annoyance. It had always seemed a little lonely, not having siblings, but as Annie (and Lew, too) could undoubtedly attest, it wasn't always a perfect dream come true.

She nodded at Sam, her eyes lighting up a little in her delight to hear that the repair went so easily, "Good, that's great." Kitty grinned, "We're lucky to have you."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]_rocket_butt_
2011-01-25 04:34 am UTC (link)
Sam stifled a laugh as Annie continued to glare at Lew, then leaned over to give him a sotto voce lecture, which he was sure included instructions about not telling the grown ups their secret plans.

He grinned back at Kitty, and did laugh a little. "There's plenty of other folks as can keep an engine running if they have to," he pointed out. "But it's good they can focus on more important stuff." Like keeping everything else running, in Tony's case. Definitely would be an epic waste of that man's talents if he had to keep their little fleet of trucks and buses going. "I ain't half sure an engineering degree wouldn't've been wasted on me, seein' as how I'd just as soon be elbow deep in a car engine." He almost felt guilty, sometimes. That he could get lost in an engine repair and nearly forget about everything else.

"You goin' back to help the old man after your break, then?" By which he meant Tony, but it could sort of apply to Hank as well.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]set_to_stun
2011-01-25 04:59 am UTC (link)

"You're the pro, though," Kitty pointed out, "And having working vehicles is important. Besides, I tend to think everyone does their best work doing the thing they love." That was, after all, why she'd chosen her barely-off-the-ground career in science. Kitty's smile quirked up a little, "And if you don't love engines, you're doing a good job of fooling."

At the mention of her previous plans for the afternoon, Kitty sighed almost imperceptibly. "Yup, I'm headed in to see what Hank needs, besides a vacation and a good night's rest." She said it with a smile, though, making her affection for the doctor clear. Keeping an eye on Hank felt a little like the way she'd felt so inclined to keep an eye on her dad, first after his father's death and then after the divorce, but that was simmering on a subconscious level. Kitty wasn't much for thinking about her dad.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]_rocket_butt_
2011-01-25 10:19 am UTC (link)
Sam grinned at Kitty and had to resist the urge to ruffle her hair. "Don't worry Kit-cat, I know what I do's important enough. And believe me, I suck at lying and acting. Just-" He shrugged, his smile going slightly lopsided. "It feels sorta wrong, sometimes, enjoying the work when I think 'bout why it needs done, y'know?" Some days, though...in fact most days...losing himself in the routine of working on an engine was the only break he got from almost constant worry.

He shifted his shoulders slightly and pulled his smile back into shape, because there wasn't any way Kitty needed to hear him whining about anything.

"Twinkies," he suggested. "Hank always needs Twinkies. Probably some sunshine wouldn't hurt either, though," he added. "Don't think I've seen him 'cept for weekly check-ups in...a couple weeks, at least." Which couldn't be any kind of healthy. BUt then, there were a whole lot of folks these days who weren't any kind of healthy, and he couldn't really afford to go casting stones.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]set_to_stun
2011-01-25 02:52 pm UTC (link)
Kitty's expression turned thoughtful and she cocked her head a little bit, "That's good, I think--still having something to have something you whole heartedly enjoy, even in the face of all this...darkness and fear and responsibility."

A little whining never bothered Kitty, especially since she didn't consider Sam's remark to be whining. Everyone had their own philosophy for getting by and it seemed like everyone had a weighty dose of guilt built right in.

His suggestion made her grin and she clumsily reached with a gloved hand to brush the hair from her face, "That's about the shape of it." She nodded, "We'll get him unglued from his lab sooner or later."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]_rocket_butt_
2011-01-25 11:04 pm UTC (link)
"Yeah, you're right there," he agreed, smiling warmly. Because it was good to have something bright in the midst of hell, something that let you forget for at least a little while, sometimes. And much as he wished his family could be that, they were often more a reminder of failure and a stressor than a comfort.

"As for Hank-" He shook his head a bit, still grinning. "Not sure you're gonna get him unglued from that lab for more'n an hour at a time here or there 'til he's managed to cure this thing." Which...if anyone could do it, it was definitely Hank. "Not that he's gonna have much hope of that if he wears himself down to a fuzzy blue nub, though." Made him consider maybe dragging the twins down to distract him for a bit. It was generally a lot harder to say no to small, hopeful people who wanted to climb all over you than it was to adults who wanted you to do something for your own good. He knew that one from experience.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]set_to_stun
2011-01-26 07:41 pm UTC (link)
Kitty wouldn't have said anything direct about Sam's family situation, but her empathy for him came in part from her feelings about her family. She often felt anxious, powerless, and like a big fat failure when it came to her father and grandmother, but she imagined it would be a whole other kind of pressure to have them at the mansion. Sam had a lot on his shoulders and it was hard not to admire the way he bore the pressure.

Nodding, she agreed, "At a certain point, stress stops adding to your success and starts detracting from it." She smiled a little, "Just gotta keep him from going too far in that direction, with bribery if necessary." Secretly, Kitty wondered if Hank was driven out of pure altruism or if part of his mania related to fear. She knew in a big bad way that letting your fears run away with you led down a dark path.

As she glanced over at the twins again, her smile took on a brighter cast, "They look like they're having a good time." Kitty glanced up at Sam, her smile a little mischievous, "If only we could get Hank on the swings."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]_rocket_butt_
2011-01-30 08:07 pm UTC (link)
Sam nodded, smile fading slightly. They all knew too well how stress could eat at you. How if you let it you could end up chasing yourself in circles instead of accomplishing anything substantive.

"Hard to tell with Hank, ain't it?" he asked quietly. "Not sure you'd be able t'tell if he was anything short of a complete nervous breakdown." He'd hardly ever seen the man look so much as out of sorts. "But I bet a turn on the swings'd do him good regardless," smile brightening again as he met Kitty's. "Think he'd put the twins' height record to shame."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]set_to_stun
2011-02-03 04:47 pm UTC (link)

Kitty frowned a little, trying to remember if she had ever seen Hank look anything short of business-like. Unkempt, maybe, or a little tired, but he just never stopped. She glanced up at Sam, hands sliding into her pockets, "Yeah, it's hard to say. Part of me just thinks it would do him a world of good to have someone to go home to, but post-apocalyptic dating certainly leaves something to be desired." She ended with a slight smile, trying to be light-hearted about the fact that there was one aspect of survival that was decidedly empty and boring.

When Sam smiled at her, she smiled back, "Oh, I think they could give him a run for his money. They have the advantage of experience."

(Reply to this) (Parent)


(Read comments) -


Home | Site Map | Manage Account | TOS | Privacy | Support | FAQs