OPEN

[suckstobestrange]

who: Stephen Strange and you!
what: Home repairs
when: June 13
where: The Sanctum Sanctorum! Or… what’s left of it anyways!
warnings: Stephen being an idiot.


The Library
[He was… glad to see the Sanctum, to be sure. Even if it was damaged. But he still held his breath almost instinctively as he went inside, to take stock of the damage that wasn’t visible on the outside. He knew the Empirikul gotten in, but it was a question of what they’d managed to do. Which was a hell of a lot from the looks of things. Debris had been cleared out sure, but even still the evidence of destruction was everywhere. Streaks of black from the energy of their weapons, cracked drywall and doors missing altogether where they had to brute force their way past enchanted locks. Dark wide swaths of char and ash in the living room where they’d literally burned the forest to nothing.

Anyone that came in and went beyond the barren front room would find him still there, frowning out the window, one arm braced against the wall. Behind him, Wong paced with small huffs and grumbles, as if the pup was uncertain what to do with his person in such a mood.]

Repairs
[Stephen Strange was not a carpenter. And he never counted building as one of his hobbies. But the state of the Sanctum had him pissed off enough that he didn’t want to just leave it like that. Even if all he could do was just work on sealing the place up again before he took proper stock of the damage, it was something.

Anyone coming by would find the sorcerer up on the roof, nailing down a tarp over the hole that once had been a window. Or trying to anyways. If anyone followed him up the ladder they’d hear the way he was cursing under his breath the entire time he was fighting against too-shaky hands to actually hit the damn nails.

Fuck but this was a pain in the ass.]

Wildcard
[Let me know if there’s another prompt you’d like and I’ll make it happen!]

Comments

The Library

[ragnarsson]

[Ivar wheeled up to the front entrance, taking the place in with a few glances. It looked like this place had been the sight of a major fight. Was it even safe to be in here? He wasn't entirely sure that this place wasn't going to come crashing down around his ears. Wong turns to at this new person with a plaintive, soulful look.]

Hey there, puppy.

[He leans down so that he can pet him, causing the dog's tail to wag back and forth furiously. Reaching inside his vest, he takes out his Pokeball, letting his fire horse out so that he can play with a friend. Skinfaxi leans down, nostrils snuffling as they take in Wong.

Ivar wheels over to Strange. For once, his appearance and his surroundings match.]

So what happened here? A great battle?

[suckstobestrange]

[Wong, for one is glad to see another person. Clearly something was bothering his human, and all of his best puppy tactics had so far failed in distracting him, so another person would help, right?

The Lillipup barked in response to the greeting, butting his head into the hand petting him while his tail all but windmilled around him. And when Skinfaxi was brought out, the puppy darted right over to greet him, running circles around the fire horse's front hooves before coming back around to sniff and be snuffled in turn.

Stephen glanced back at Ivar and the pair of Pokemon, letting out a quiet huff at the question.]

Battle or disaster, take your pick.

[ragnarsson]

[Skinfaxi has decided that Wong is a new friend. After months of living with Ivar, he's learned to not be quite so nervous, and not to light everything on fire when he does get so. He whinnies in delight, running a few feet on long legs that are still coltish, and then looking back to see if the Lillipup is following.]

Sounds like the story of your life.

[Come on and laugh, Stephen, that was funny.]

Where did this place come from?

[He could have sworn there was no decrepit building there a few days ago.]

[suckstobestrange]

[Wong is clearly a lot smaller. And his legs are not nearly so long as the pony has. But he's certainly excited, scampering after Skinfaxi as fast as his short little legs would carry him.]

Yeah? [He's not much in a mood to laugh, but that does get a wry smirk and a chuckle either way.] Well you're not wrong there.

Apparently it just showed up. Never knew the Sanctum to up and travel, but then it's always been a weird place.

[A slight understatement never hurt anyone right?]

Repairs

[metalmenace]

[Doom was in the neighborhood and, for reasons only he would know, decided to go and investigate. Maybe it was familiarity, perhaps he sensed something. Who knows? It didn't really matter because here he was, ignoring the ladder to teleport onto the roof, sitting by the edge and seeing that the person hammering away was none other than Stephen Strange had him pause momentarily before acting as if everything was normal.]

Would you like some help with that, Stephen? It appears you're having some difficulty.

[suckstobestrange]

[Oh don't mind him Victor, he's busy grumbling insults about the person who'd put the hole in his roof to begin with. (That he'd done it himself was a minor technicality really.)

But he did pause what he was doing to peer over at Doom with a faint frown, just giving a shake of his head.]

I've got it. [Maybe a little more brusque than necessary, but he was still unpacking his issues over the Empirikul, so it wasn't something that was surprising to him at least. Count it as some stubborn stupid sort of penance if one will; he'd certainly rewritten enough spells and learned enough local ones to have other options for doing this, yet here he was, hammer in hand.

But he did hesitate in continuing on for a moment at least.]

Thanks though. [They had to all live in this place, and it was a lot smaller than home. Better to at least try and avoid being a colossal asshole some of the time. That was the intent at least, it just depended how long he could keep it up.

That it was Doom he was thanking was still... well, it was weird. All of this was weird.

Weirder than usual, anyways.]

[metalmenace]

[Surprisingly, he's not at all bothered by how Strange is responding to him. After all, Doom has not only dealt with him often during the eight years Battleworld existed, but he has also been dealing with Tony more recently, so he can deal with this.]

You don't have to do this alone. Even I have been known to rely on the assistance of others from time to time, as you're well aware.

[Not that Doom looks like he's ready to help with the carpentry, what with the nice suit he's wearing and all, but it's the principle of the matter.]

repairs

[lieborn]

[ A taxi, his new and preferred method of transport now that his magic has been so heavily diluted by the chalice-bound portal, rolls up outside the Sanctum and a little boy of twelve or thirteen hops out with a grateful wave to the driver ('Thank you for helping me get home, good sir!'). Free ride over, Loki begins nosing his way inside the building to get a better look around. He ends up in the yard out back and there, peering up at the roof, is where he spots the Handyman Supreme. ]

Stephen!

[suckstobestrange]

[Loki would certainly hear the barking from inside the building before Wong came scampering out, collar jingling to run excited circles around him. Did the pup notice Loki looked different? Sure.

Did he care? Not really, Loki being shorter meant easier access to pats which was a win in the pup's book.

It only took a moment for Stephen to spot Loki and the Lillipup, brows furrowing slightly at the sight of him. It was obviously Loki, that was no question even if he looked... smaller.]

I was wondering when I'd see you come around. [Let's be real, Loki coming to investigate snoop was no surprise.]

[lieborn]

[ Pausing to pet the puppy, he gives up restraining himself and picks up the Pokemon. Loki peers at the figure on the roof. ]

All the good stuff is gone. Does that have something to do with the enormous hole in the roof?

[ repairs ]

[dothelokimotion]

[ Well. This was new. There's something in the walls, the whiff of nostalgia. Magic recognizes magic, but it has gone awry somewhere. Loki brushes the dust against the walls curiously, letting it settle on his fingertips before glancing at the man labouring away. Badly. ]

Have you ever done this before?

[suckstobestrange]

[Magic indeed, but there was an unsettling absence as well. Like a deep reservoir emptied, with only the barest traces of what was once there remaining. Sure, the location would help, the building sat like it did back home, over a crossing, and as such magic would slowly seep back in. But it would certainly take time before things were as they should be.

To say nothing of the scorches along walls that looked like they were from blasts of some sort that seemed to resist magical energy entirely.

The question just earned a frown, and for the moment the hammer was set aside so Stephen could work trembling fingers, flexing them carefully to stave off some of the stiffness and pain he knew were not far away.]

It's not my normal dayjob.

[dothelokimotion]

That's a no then.

[ Loki isn't going to offer help, not for something menial like this. He prefers to watch and judge. Leaning back, he takes in the strange site. ]

What happened here? This is no mere feat of power.

Repairs!

[de_evilise]

[ Indeed it would! Unless an overly perky, far too helpful person happened to come by that is. Which is exactly what Marinette does - while heading home after class, she had decided to take a different route to take. Which brought her by the ... ...sanctum. Or what was left of it.

At first she thought it was an abandoned building, but when she heard swearing - muffled swearing no less - she decided to investigate. ]

Hello? [ Hrm... should she go up the ladder? It might be intrusive, but maybe someone was in trouble? Up the ladder she goes! ]

Sorry to intrude - are you all right up here?

[suckstobestrange]

[Ew no. No overly perky far too helpful sorts allowed. They always insisted on sticking around and doing horrible things like helping him.

By the time Marinette came along, he'd managed to get about a third of the tarp nailed down before he was forced to stop, hammer set down so he could flex his hands, trying to work some of the pain out of badly scarred fingers while he took a breather. Which meant he wasn't expecting the interruption, bristling a bit as he heard the question,mouth set into a deeper frown as he looked her way.

What was he nowadays a magnet for helpers? No thank you.]

I'm fine. [Lies but like fuck he was going to admit that.]

[de_evilise]

[ She is not dissuaded by his crankypants attitude! In fact, she's going to -gasp- climb up the rest of the way (which is good because she might /fall/ if she stayed on the ladder like that). ]

Are you sure? It looks like you've got a lot to do, and I don't see anyone else here helping you out. If you like, I can give you a hand - your hands could probably use a rest.

[ GOSH Strange, you're so strange not wanting help. ]

[amelioraate]

[ it has been a while since Tony has thought to check in on Stephen, what with the festivals and the trying to repair what is left between him and Steve (which was going better than he hoped honestly), not to mention his focus on getting turrets up and functioning with the Quarantine. so, when he hears about the Sanctum showing up in this place, he takes it as a reminder that he really should go and visit his friend.

what he finds is not at all what he expects. the Sanctum is in shambles (though Tony doesn't know why, he still remembers how shaken Stephen was when he first got here, how haunted he looked. this makes a lot more sense in retrospect, anything that could do this kind of damage was something to fear indeed)

Tony watches for a moment as Stephen struggles on the roof and cursing quietly before he leaves just as quietly as he came. not because he didn't want to help, but because he didn't have the tools he needed.

returning a while later, Tony has his own case of tools, along with the Iron Man suit that is more than a little helpful in situations like this. hauling himself up the ladder, Tony makes his way carefully to where Stephen is, with a look on his face that is probably far too understanding for the sorcerer to deal with right now.

still, Tony doesn't care.]

Alright Facial Hair Bro, what else do you want done up here?

[ he isn't going to stop you from doing what you are doing, he knows the need for this kind of rage being let out, but he sure as fuck isn't letting you do this alone.]

I even brought the suit, and I will let you order it around if you want, not great for improvising, but great for holding nails if you don't want to bruise a finger too badly.

[suckstobestrange]

[Tony, the only reason he's not telling you to fuck on off out of here is because you're his friend, and also you aren't trying to tell him to stop.

But that look right there is definitely making him rethink things.

Stephen paused in what he was doing, looking from Tony to the rest of the roof, brows drawing slightly as he considered his options. Not sure if he could really deal with anyone helping even if he quite clearly needed it. Huffing a low, annoyed sigh as he gave the half-secured tarp an irritable tug.]

I don't even know. This was the obvious place to start, y'know covering up the gaping hole, but I haven't even looked at the inside beyond the first few rooms.

[A grimace as he sat back on his heels, raking his free hand through his hair.]

With as fucked as the place is right now it's probably a blessing in disguise that they torched everything.

[amelioraate]

[ yeah even if you did tell him to fuck off at this point, there was a good chance that he wouldn't. this was not a one man job, at all. just be thankful that he hasn't called Steve and Bucky yet. emphasis on the yet, because like hell he isn't telling him to get their supersoldier asses over here to help.

they are great for lifting things, okay?

raising a brow and the pause, Tony realizes just how out of his dept Stephen is here. the man truly is running on spite and rage alone right now.

the engineer crosses his arms, and takes an assessing look at the roof. the tarp that is (poorly) nailed down really isn't going to do much of anything, but considering what he knows of Stephen, he is impressed that he managed to get it to stay as he did. his gaze then flickers back, to the rest of the Sanctum. scratching the back of his neck, he goes for slightly uncomfortable.]

Um, you think I could do this part and you start on the inside? I mean, I will straight up repair it, I know where I can get some timber and such, it won't be perfect, but it won't leak either. I just-- [ there is another pause, Tony's eyes flickering between the rest of the mess and Stephen, small smile on his lips. ] I feel like I can do more out here than in there, you know? I mean, all things considered.

[ he blanches a bit at the mention of the place being torched. ] The suit can go with you, can help scan the place for the worst fire damage, if you want. Then you can let it know what you want done. Hell, even direct it if you want, I can program your voice in for command codes for a while, just lifting and movement mind you.

[repairs]

[worldsaway]

[Thor takes his role in both Perimeter Guard and Search and Rescue very seriously. If only because he has practically nothing else to do here aside from moping, and he's not really the sort to allow himself to be listless for too long. He quite frequently wanders through new parts of Riverview, taking in locations he hasn't seen before and inspecting them. Today is no exception, but it's not often he hears sounds of construction from atop the building.

Thor doesn't climb up the ladder, rather, he uses Mjolnir to fly up and inspect Stephen from above.]

You'd do better to knock it down and start afresh.

[suckstobestrange]

Honestly? It's not as bad as it looks. This building's taken worse and come out fine in the end.

[Pausing in his hammering to peer over at the man speaking. And if it gave his hands a break from all the jarring, well that was a quiet side-bonus.

While this wasn't the same Odinson from back home, and it certainly wasn't the lady Thor, he'd have to be blind not to realize that this was a Thor. Maybe from the same universe as Sam, Wanda, and the other Steve he'd seen around?]

[worldsaway]

No harm in a positive outlook. [Though Thor isn't sure a positive outlook is going to repair this place, he can't fault the guy for trying.]

If you need help, I'm told I'm good with a hammer. [He drops down (as delicately as he can) to stand on the roof near Loki.]

repairs

[wingedman]

[Ladders are for scrubs. Wanda's kindly made adjustments to Sam's wardrobe for occasions such as this, so it's easy for him to just fly on up there, perching haha on the roof next to Stephen.]

The fuck you think you're doing?

[After a moment, Jareth lands on the roof as well. Of course, Sam's too busy plucking the hammer out of Stephen's hand to pay much attention to his bird.]

You know, there are plenty of people willing to help you with this kind of thing. Including me. You don't have to sit up here and do it yourself.

[suckstobestrange]

Covering the damn hole in the roof, what does it look like I'm doing?

[Don't mind the defensive fluster going along with this at how easily that hammer is snatched. Crossing his arms for the moment he scowls under his mustache, brows drawing.]

I'm well aware of that.

[But don't read anything into his stubborn avoidance of seeking out help, there's nothing behind that choice.

Also hello Jareth, did you know your human friend is a pain in the ass?]

[wingedman]

You can't even hold a goddamn hammer, you asshole.

[Sighing, Sam leans down and starts doing it himself. He can make a lot of guesses about why Stephen wants to do it, even some that don't involve him being a stubborn idiot. And he can respect that, but at the same time, it's not exactly like Stephen's getting anything done by himself.]