InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Do not save the pilgrim!"

Jean Grey (alwaysjean) wrote in utr_logs,
@ 2012-07-12 19:06:00

Entry tags:

jean grey, steve rogers

WHO: Jean Grey & Steve Rogers
WHAT: Post-Alien Fighting Awkward Flirting (?)
WHERE: Stark Tower, NYC
WARNINGS: Dolan plz.

Jean was resting on a couch, her feet up and still in costume. Being the Phoenix was exhausting, even with control over the damn thing. It was almost hilarious; the heroes eating the spread of food Stark had laid out (the man was such an emotional eater) in the lower floors of the Avengers part of the Tower.

Jean just wanted to rest her body for a bit. Food could come later.

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	withliberty 2012-07-14 12:17 am UTC (link)
	"If I'm lucky," Steve began, "I'll have gotten it all out of the way now, and we can move on to something else." Because there would be something else. Regular human crime instead of superhuman, if things went quiet on the caped front. "What's weirder than aliens? I'm genuinely curious." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	alwaysjean 2012-07-14 12:20 am UTC (link)
	Jean started counting on one finger. "Well, alternate realities, cross-dimensional travel, cloning, cosmic forces, giant mutant killing robots..." If she'd been a little less tired, she might have realized that it was a bad idea to list the Absolute Crazy in front of the poor frozen Captain from the 40s. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

withliberty
2012-07-14 12:34 am UTC (link)

Alternate realities and cross-dimensional travel, not such a thing. They were there in an alternate New York, weren't they? Even cloning wasn't so impossible; Huxley had written about a dystopian society that employed genetic engineering back in the thirties. But giant killer robots?

"Huh." Steve sat back in his chair. "Robots. I think the closest I've ever seen is Mr. Stark's armor."

His was clearly not a world with an Ultron or a Vision.

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alwaysjean
2012-07-14 12:40 am UTC (link)

Jean had to smile. "Sorry. I know, it all sounds crazy. And this world is crazy in different ways. Well, still crazy in Stark ways, but those weren't his robots."

Deciding a subject change was due, she shrugged. "Mostly here it's normal. Passing time, enjoying life. It's not like we've got robots to fight all the time."

Thank God.

"Although we get sometimes just strange, innoculous things happening." She was not going to tell him about the whole naked thing.

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withliberty
2012-07-14 12:54 am UTC (link)

"I don't know. I'll help if I'm needed, but passing time in normal ways doesn't seem too bad. I mean, I went off to war voluntarily, but I didn't plan to stay there forever." He'd wanted a job. A family. Normal guy things that had seemed out of reach once he'd woken in the twenty-first century.

"I mean, before the war, 'strange' was a girl who'd come along to double date because she wanted to see me, and not because my best friend had fed her some lie about how great I was."

The smile was lopsided. "Or finding someone who'd buy something I'd drawn. I've had a lot of practice with 'normal.'"

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	alwaysjean 2012-07-14 12:57 am UTC (link)
	"I have a hard time seeing someone not want to go out with a nice guy like you," Jean said before she realized she was coming on as strong as... well, just about anyone else. She flushed as red as her hair, and looked down at her hands. "Sorry. And I didn't know you drew. That's something I always wished I had the talent for." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	withliberty 2012-07-14 01:14 am UTC (link)
	The smile was embarrassed, and since Steve didn't know what to say, he went for "Thanks." Then he moved on. "I can show you how, if you want to learn. It's mostly practice - you can teach yourself the technical parts. It takes patience and repetition, but I, uh. Had a lot of time as a kid." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	alwaysjean 2012-07-14 01:16 am UTC (link)
	Jean was still pink but trying her best to pretend that awkward statement had absolutely not been made. Idiot, she berated herself, likely loud enough that the whole damn world might here. You sound like an idiot, Grey. "Could you show me? All curious now." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

withliberty
2012-07-14 01:33 am UTC (link)

It took Steve a moment to realize that the words hadn't been aloud. When the realization dawned, it was broadcast clear across his face. Oh.

"You're not an idiot. That was very kind of you to--"

Oh.

Uh. Steve had come to terms with the loss of Peggy; she she'd married someone else, gone on with her life, and she'd have wanted him to do the same. It hadn't been okay at first, but one he'd gotten past denial and into the other stages of grief, Steve had moved forward. The problem was that Peggy Carter was the only woman he'd ever successfully asked out, and he had no idea how to apply those lessons to this situation. Jean was nice. She was also astronomically out of his league.

"Well, you're also very kind. And I'm sure any guy would be lucky to--. Well. I don't know, what do people do these days? Is it still dancing? I hope it's not dancing."

And not just because it felt disloyal to Peggy; he also couldn't, not for anything, not even an old dance with actual steps instead of whatever kids did in the clubs nowadays.

Man. Total disaster. "Right, so I'm going to need a pencil and a light source if I'm going to show you how to draw."

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alwaysjean
2012-07-14 01:41 am UTC (link)

"... let me get those, I think there's some in the study."

Jean could have hit herself. It was only because she was so tired. It'd been ages since she'd projected like that. And of all the things to do it with. She could have seriously caused herself injury.

Finding a pencil and a tablet, she sheepishly came back into the living room. "Would one of the table lamps without a shade work? Or I guess I could just conjure a flame or something, but Tony might freak out."

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withliberty
2012-07-14 02:11 am UTC (link)

"Lamp without a shade is fine. Let's see." They'd also need something to draw. Steve took off his watch, yet another sign that he wasn't of that particular time. So few people of his age wore watches. Why drop that money on an accessory when there were cell phones?

With the object on the table, he took a seat in the spot nearest to the one that Jean had vacated. That's right. Instead of asking the woman out, he was going to teach her to draw.

Tony would not have been proud. Not at all.

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	alwaysjean 2012-07-14 02:20 am UTC (link)
	Tony was going to have some particularly choice words for him when he found out, actually. Jean, for her part however, was actually very interested. Which he knew now, since she was an idiot. She took the lampshade off and sat back down, hopefully not too close. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

withliberty
2012-07-14 02:31 am UTC (link)

"I usually start by blocking in the shapes. The trick is to draw exactly what you see, and not what you expect to see. We already have an idea of what things are supposed to look like, and that interferes with the drawing, because or brains usually aren't right."

As he spoke, Steve sketched, light shapes at first to get the watch onto the page.

"The light source is for shadow, which gives you some definition."

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	alwaysjean 2012-07-14 02:36 am UTC (link)
	And Jean watched, sort of stunned at his obvious talent. Next thing you'd know, Pepper Potts would have a knack for embroidery and Bruce Banner could dance ballet. She might believe the last one. But she sat and watched, smiling a little. He was obviously so content. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

withliberty
2012-07-14 02:51 am UTC (link)

At first it was all geometry - varying sizes and shapes, from pale gray to dark blocks of color. The more that were added, the more the image began to look like the watch.

"I try to break it down. If you draw the whole thing at once, the proportions go off, so I do pieces once I have the overall scale blocked in. This might not be for everybody - it's just what I've found works for me."

A few more moments, and he was done. Steve offered the pad and pencil over to Jean. "Want to try?"

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	alwaysjean 2012-07-14 02:55 am UTC (link)
	Jean shook her head. "I actually just enjoyed watching. You're very good at it." She sat back on the couch, still smiling. "It's important to find things besides... this." Jean waved a hand around the tower vaguely. "It can be exhausting, just being the Superpersona." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	withliberty 2012-07-14 04:23 am UTC (link)
	"Do you have any hobbies?" Steve was genuinely interested. All he really knew were the superpersonas; there hadn't been time for much else. Having a chance to get to see something else was nice. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	alwaysjean 2012-07-14 04:28 am UTC (link)
	Jean was about to say 'dying a lot' flippantly, but she knew it would just upset Steve. You had to laugh off death when you met him as often as Jean did, but Steve probably wasn't quite there yet. "I really just love to read. Pretty much anything I can get my hands on, although a lot of new novels are just trash." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	withliberty 2012-07-14 04:48 am UTC (link)
	"I think the last thing I read was by Upton Sinclair." Steve admitted reluctantly. "Dragon's Teeth? It had just come out." And would later in 1943 win the Pulitzer, not that Steve was aware. There had been too much to catch up on to Google books he'd already read. "Which is your favorite?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	alwaysjean 2012-07-14 04:51 am UTC (link)
	Jean felt that familiar admiration and regret when he brought up those lost years of his life. She hesitated, reaching out a hand to his, but then changed her mind at the last minute. "I'm rereading Jane Austen right now. Sense & Sensibility." (Reply to this) (Parent)

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