who: Taako & various what: What it says on the tin! Assorted threads for April that don't fit anywhere else when: Aprilllll where: Your mom's bedroom warnings: drugs, booze, probably some slightly nsfw content notes: hmu if you want something
[ Clark has broken and burnt too much by accident to be able to joke about that. He decides to cup his hands and blow into them while thinking of the cold.
Nothing happens.
He tries again. A wobbly T forms in his fingers. Clark adds an A, A, K, and a perfect O.
[He's so delighted, enough to actually applause before he's practically bouncing over to inspect the letters, giving them a little poke to check they are actually cold.]
That's some of the coolest shit I've ever seen! What the fuck!
[He has magic, sure, but this is just... Clark, no magic and no tricks, just cool stuff he can do.]
[He wonders how much damage that would do in a fight, but there's no real way to test it. Maybe if there was a healer around Taako would risk it, since he's got his ring to negate frost damage, but he's not particularly in the mood to be frozen.
It makes a little more sense now, why Clark thought that people would be scared of what he could do. Taako isn't, he doesn't think anyone who's actually met Clark could be scared of him, but he gets why Clark would worry.]
That's a hell of a lot more precise than any freezing magic I got. You should start a business selling sculptures.
[ He's glad he didn't find out this existed by accident, unlike his heat vision. Some of Clark's abilities can't be used in a neutral or helpful way. He's cauterised wounds and purified water. That's it besides starting a fire. ]
His expression softens instantly, not quite sympathy but the lightness disappears as he seriously considers what Clark is saying. Taako's the last of his family, everyone else is gone and it's... empty, sometimes, like there's a piece missing from him, and it's enough that he can imagine what that would be like amplified. What it would feel like if he was the last elf.]
Shit, Kal. I'm sorry, that's– I mean it's bullshit, saying sorry cause it's not like it fucking fixes anything but I don't, uh– shit, I dunno. [He's not good at this and sometimes words just happen when he's struggling for what to say.] Do you want a hug? [He groans at himself.] Sorry, that's just as fucking stupid, you're not even a hug guy. I'm not even a hug guy, and like– I'm gonna shut up now.
[The fact he's flustered means he cares, he just sucks.]
[In all honesty, he's not really, because it's a little too close to genuine actual affection and that's Scary(tm), but Magnus has trained him to deal with it and when Taako sees the way Clark's shoulders drop, there's not really a question.]
Bring it in, bubbale.
[He holds his arms out, and makes a come here gesture. Clark has a good few inches on him, but he's used to that, too.]
[ Clark keeps the hug quick, because while he likes platonic affection and Taako probably doesn't mind that it's Clark, he's still making a concession. ]
Sorry about that. I should have told you that was coming.
[On the plus side, he's pretty good at hugs once he's committed to it; he gives Clark a little squeeze that he's not even sure he'll feel, and pats his arm gently when he pulls away.]
Don't even sweat it. [He's had a few moments to process it, now, so he's feeling a little less off balance.] Is there anything left? Books and art and like, all that other culture stuff?
[It's not the same as having his people, but at least it'd be something.]
[ Ask him again in a week when he'll have the AI with his father's personality matrix and no way to access it. ]
There's a ship. The government confiscated it.
[ Clark can't waltz in there and make the government turn it over to him. He has no way to access any of the files now when he thinks the original command key has been destroyed. ]
It belonged to a group of other survivors who decided to attack my adoptive planet and put a genocide in motion. There wasn't much choice we had if we wanted to stop them.
[ He swallows. Taako would be glad to know someone like Zod is dead. Clark feels his loss keenly.
All he had wanted was to see Krypton live again. ]
Their leader is dead. I had to... [ He looks down at his feet. ] kill him.
[It would be easy to give some platitude about how sometimes killing someone is necessary, but Taako doesn't think that's the issue here. The issue is that Clark had to make a choice between his people, probably the last of his race, and an entire planet's population.
Taako isn't sure what he would choose. He's hardly connected to the culture of elves, but if the decision was in is hands, he'd struggle. but....]
I think... I mean, there's always a choice, right? Sounds like you could've abandoned a shit load of people to die, and you chose not to. That's a hard fucking choice, but it's the one a hero would make.
[He's not sure if that helps, hell, maybe it's worse to frame it as more of a decision than Clark seems to be, but it feels honest. That seems more important.]
[ Taako is trying to comfort him. It wouldn't help to say Clark doesn't feel like one.
Dick advised he shouldn't get buried in the what-ifs. He can't help thinking and wondering. The Kryptonians hadn't needed to terraform. Under Earth's yellow sun they would have been more powerful than they were on Krypton. They could have chosen Venus or Mars as a new home if they wanted to be near the codex in his body. They could have used their knowledge instead of their power.
Krypton had its chance. ]
Thank you. It's hard not to think about what could have gone differently.
That's life though, isn't it? I could've... I had a chance, to change what happened, when those people died at my show.
[He still doesn't know what the cup showed Merle and Magnus, but he knows that he'd been tempted despite his casual dismissal of the offer when he told them what he'd seen. It wasn't all that selfless, though. He could've saved forty people, but what's more tempting was to have his life back, the one he loved.
Clark's a better person than he is.]
Or to stop what happened in Phandalin. That would've saved hundreds of fucking people, but who knows what else would've changed, what the trade off was. [If they'd stopped the first relic, what other ones would have wrecked havoc.] You spend the rest of your life wondering what could've been and you're not gonna appreciate what's in front of you.
I know. For what it's worth, I think you did the right thing moving on.
[ Taako pretends it doesn't bother him that much but Clark thinks he'd work harder in future. Things don't slide off him as quickly as he wants others to think. ]
If we keep changing everything, it might not stop.
The cup is gone now, destroyed by the Bureau, but it was a tangible temptation that reached out to all of them in different ways. Sometimes he still can't believe that Magnus didn't take it to bring Julia back.]
It seems to me like you've got some pretty good shit to look forward to. I know that doesn't fix the shit you've lost, but it's something.
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[ Is there something he can freeze? This spatula might do. ]
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What's the worst that could happen?
[There's no downside to ice breath, surely.]
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Nothing happens.
He tries again. A wobbly T forms in his fingers. Clark adds an A, A, K, and a perfect O.
He shows it to Taako. ]
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That's some of the coolest shit I've ever seen! What the fuck!
[He has magic, sure, but this is just... Clark, no magic and no tricks, just cool stuff he can do.]
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[ He can't take this joy in his abilities.
Actually, he should tell Ellie. She'd think this was amazing. ]
I think I can work my way up to statues if I practice.
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It makes a little more sense now, why Clark thought that people would be scared of what he could do. Taako isn't, he doesn't think anyone who's actually met Clark could be scared of him, but he gets why Clark would worry.]
That's a hell of a lot more precise than any freezing magic I got. You should start a business selling sculptures.
[He's just teasing.]
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I'll think about it.
[ an ice bridge over the river might be nice. ]
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[He's entirely serious; ice is expensive.]
So you got fire, you got ice, any secret lightning powers?
[That's kind of the trifecta in Taako's experience, at least in terms of damaging spells.]
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[ He sighs heavily and approaches.
Krypton is dead. So few people know this. He avoided telling Bucky because it can be reasoned out that he grew up alone on his adoptive world.
It's not the whole truth.
He swallows. ]
Taako, I'm the last of my people, and the first to grow up on Earth. We don't know anything about what I can really do.
I had never flown until two months ago. I didn't even know I could have children with a human until I met Jon.
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His expression softens instantly, not quite sympathy but the lightness disappears as he seriously considers what Clark is saying. Taako's the last of his family, everyone else is gone and it's... empty, sometimes, like there's a piece missing from him, and it's enough that he can imagine what that would be like amplified. What it would feel like if he was the last elf.]
Shit, Kal. I'm sorry, that's– I mean it's bullshit, saying sorry cause it's not like it fucking fixes anything but I don't, uh– shit, I dunno. [He's not good at this and sometimes words just happen when he's struggling for what to say.] Do you want a hug? [He groans at himself.] Sorry, that's just as fucking stupid, you're not even a hug guy. I'm not even a hug guy, and like– I'm gonna shut up now.
[The fact he's flustered means he cares, he just sucks.]
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I'm a hug guy.
[ He doesn't often because it sucks to modulate his strength not to crush bones.
Clark purses his lips then drops his shoulders. ]
Are you?
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Bring it in, bubbale.
[He holds his arms out, and makes a come here gesture. Clark has a good few inches on him, but he's used to that, too.]
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Sorry about that. I should have told you that was coming.
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Don't even sweat it. [He's had a few moments to process it, now, so he's feeling a little less off balance.] Is there anything left? Books and art and like, all that other culture stuff?
[It's not the same as having his people, but at least it'd be something.]
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There's a ship. The government confiscated it.
[ Clark can't waltz in there and make the government turn it over to him. He has no way to access any of the files now when he thinks the original command key has been destroyed. ]
It belonged to a group of other survivors who decided to attack my adoptive planet and put a genocide in motion. There wasn't much choice we had if we wanted to stop them.
[ He swallows. Taako would be glad to know someone like Zod is dead. Clark feels his loss keenly.
All he had wanted was to see Krypton live again. ]
Their leader is dead. I had to... [ He looks down at his feet. ] kill him.
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Taako isn't sure what he would choose. He's hardly connected to the culture of elves, but if the decision was in is hands, he'd struggle. but....]
I think... I mean, there's always a choice, right? Sounds like you could've abandoned a shit load of people to die, and you chose not to. That's a hard fucking choice, but it's the one a hero would make.
[He's not sure if that helps, hell, maybe it's worse to frame it as more of a decision than Clark seems to be, but it feels honest. That seems more important.]
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Dick advised he shouldn't get buried in the what-ifs. He can't help thinking and wondering. The Kryptonians hadn't needed to terraform. Under Earth's yellow sun they would have been more powerful than they were on Krypton. They could have chosen Venus or Mars as a new home if they wanted to be near the codex in his body. They could have used their knowledge instead of their power.
Krypton had its chance. ]
Thank you. It's hard not to think about what could have gone differently.
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[He still doesn't know what the cup showed Merle and Magnus, but he knows that he'd been tempted despite his casual dismissal of the offer when he told them what he'd seen. It wasn't all that selfless, though. He could've saved forty people, but what's more tempting was to have his life back, the one he loved.
Clark's a better person than he is.]
Or to stop what happened in Phandalin. That would've saved hundreds of fucking people, but who knows what else would've changed, what the trade off was. [If they'd stopped the first relic, what other ones would have wrecked havoc.] You spend the rest of your life wondering what could've been and you're not gonna appreciate what's in front of you.
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I know. For what it's worth, I think you did the right thing moving on.
[ Taako pretends it doesn't bother him that much but Clark thinks he'd work harder in future. Things don't slide off him as quickly as he wants others to think. ]
If we keep changing everything, it might not stop.
[ He'd bring his father back. ]
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[His grin is wry, but there.
The cup is gone now, destroyed by the Bureau, but it was a tangible temptation that reached out to all of them in different ways. Sometimes he still can't believe that Magnus didn't take it to bring Julia back.]
It seems to me like you've got some pretty good shit to look forward to. I know that doesn't fix the shit you've lost, but it's something.
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[ He looks back at the smouldering fire. ]
You're probably starving, I'm sorry. I'll make us something to eat.
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Nah, I remember what starving feels like, you're fine.