catch-all — take a sad song and make it better ;

[respiting]

Who: rocket and you
When: post-august event
Where: solvunn settlements, the horizon
What: a day in the life (and also building his horizon)
Warnings: none so far but will warn if they come up!


my schemes are just like all my dreams — solvunn ;

[ It's just another day in the commune, and in his newly mended and much better fitting robes (with pockets!), Rocket makes the rounds. Not that he makes a point of it at all, or says anything, or even thinks about it but he's taken to helping the locals whenever he sees an opportunity: mostly simple stuff like mending fences and roofs, fixing up tools, and then there's the odd wrangling of a goat.

Because, yeah. After his confrontation with some weird too-many-armed creature in defense of the goats, he's been keeping an eye on them a little. Every now and again. Just because.

Throughout the day(s) he can be found:

i) Mending said fences, just knee-deep in manual labour and looking surprisingly content while doing it. It's not just busy work (even thought it kinda is) but there's a surprising kind of productive feeling to the act. Maybe even something like ... fulfillment. But like hell is he ever gonna admit such a thing. Gross.

ii) Later, he might be found at one of the nearby little drinking holes, taking a local up on their offer for a free meal for helping them with a task (this time it was fixing a roof). If he recognizes you, he'll nod his head, which is essentially your cue to join him if you want. ]

Eh. Anything you want, it's on me. They owe me like twenty more of these things just today.

[ iii) And finally, at the end of the day Rocket will be making his way back to the treehouse near the Black Eye Lakes. He pauses as the sun sets to lift his head towards the bright orange skies and watch them for just a little bit.

To no one in particular (though clearly within earshot of you): ]

Well, I guess it's not all bad here.

here am i floating 'round my tin can — the horizon ;

[ Rocket's experience with the Horizon is still a little new and will take a little practice, but following his last visit there with Vash, in which there had been a lot of empty barren land and not much else, he decides that it's finally time to get to work on his own space.

He doesn't take up a whole lot of that space because being ruler of a planet or a kingdom or even grounded land has never been Rocket's ambition. Instead, it's a metal platform that he's currently working on, which stands beneath a system of control panels and steering systems that have already been installed, lights glowing through the motherboard. It looks like it's the kind of thing that will take a hell of a lot of work, and it'll be slow in its progress, but it's precise and it's exactly the way that Rocket wants it.

It's the starts of a spaceship. ]

Yeah. [ He makes a sweeping gesture with his free claw, while the other readjusts his goggles. There's a small shiny little symbol to signify the Chariot emblazoned on the side.

He points to the box of tools to the side, perfectly sized to him and looking already worn and well-loved. ] Yeah, that thing. Can you pass it over?

and oh, it's never quite as it seems — wildcard ;

[ feel free to leave your own starter below in any such fashion you wish if the above don't quite work for you! i'm down to party with anything and reach out to me via plurk/PM/discord to hash out any details! ]

Comments

yessssss

[respiting]

[ Rocket recognizes the voice before he even really has to peer past (or under) the piece of ship-equipment he'd been putting together, and boy it's a freakin' weird comfort to hear Steve. Like his appearance means that things aren't gonna go to shit, even in a place like the Horizon where they all presumably have control over the way things work here.

It's a weird kinda thing, attributing that kind of feeling to someone, but Steve's more than earned it after everything that happened during the Blip Years. He gets why Steve's the captain and leader of his crew, why Rocket would never even think to challenge him for the title the way he does with Quill (affectionately of course). ]

Uh-huh. That's the one.

[ And now Rocket slides out from beneath a large hunk of metal that will shortly become one of the engines of his spaceship to properly greet his guest — and to accept the tool being handed over. ]

Didn't expect to see you around here, Cap.

[assembles]

[ There's something comforting about the way that Rocket greets him without skipping a beat, like they're back on Earth working in the compound rather than on a faraway planet with no guarantee on if or when they'll go home.

Granted, going home for Steve is a complicated subject given what he knows about his future, but doesn't want to go down a rabbit hole about that right now, his thoughts already full up thinking about Natasha's much more definite fate.

He nods and hands the tool over when Rocket emerges, having already decided that tossing it (whatever it is) would not be the best idea. ]

Didn't expect to show up here. [ He admits that freely, even as he steps closer to get a look at what Rocket's doing. Not that he expects to be able to make heads or tails of it. ] When I came to the Horizon, this is where it put me. [ He shrugs, not understanding most of the specifics of how or why the Horizon does things. ] How do you like it in here?

[respiting]

[ How does he like it in here?

Well: ]

Enh.

[ Now taking the offered tool with a nonchalant shrug, Rocket starts to work on one of the metal shafts, tightening two connector parts together. The sound of metal clanging against metal is a satisfying soundtrack to this place, and just one of many things he enjoys whenever he spends time here.

Of course, his so-called indifference is an act, and Steve might recognize that immediately. He looks as though being here, doing this, is where he belongs. It's his happy place in a way that no other location in the cosmos has ever been for him.

Even if all Rocket wants is to go home, too. Something about the Guardians, and family, and ... you know, all of that garbage.

And then he finishes with his task and grins in Steve's direction. A little confirmation. ]

Yeah, I get that. Unless I mean to come here, to my own Horizon, sometimes I'll wind up in a different one. Guess that's the gamble we take when we come here, huh.

[assembles]

[ Despite Rocket's noncommittal, nonchalant answer, Steve can see that the proof is in the pudding here. Rocket looks at home doing this, and it's not an experience he could easily recreate in Solvunn. In the Free Cities maybe he could have gotten his paws on work that was similar enough to scratch that itch, as Tony had when he was here, but the Horizon is the best option as things stand. ]

Seems like you're as at home as you're gonna get. [ Without all of his friends here, that is. Rocket's the only Guardian here, just as he'd been after the Snap, and Steve knows that must smart.

He's a poor substitute, but at least he's some kind of familiar face. With that in mind, he goes to take a seat on the metal stairs leading up to the rest of what he assumes might one day become a cockpit. ]

Yeah. I don't really like barging in on people without warning, either. [ Seems rude, to say the least. ] I had to get used to the idea that I was leaving myself unguarded while in here, too. [ Even now, he prefers to keep his visits short. ]

[respiting]

Yeah, it ain't so bad. [ Rocket allows, before humming a small sound of agreement.

No, Steve hits the nail on that exactly, all the way down to the uncomfortable reminders of the Blip Years when it'd been just him and Nebula, and a small handful of Earth's Mightiest Heroes who hadn't had the pleasure of being dusted with their friends and families. Yeah, it'd been rough, and while he knows that him being here doesn't mean everyone else is gone, they're still galaxies away — with no real indication that going back home is even an option.

Still. He doesn't like a whole lot of people, but he does genuinely like the people he's come to know here. And after they'd all parted ways by the time of Tony Stark's funeral, he didn't think he'd ever see people like Steve (and Natasha, before she'd disappeared) ever again, which wasn't the happiest thought either. ]

Is it dangerous? Where you are. Uh — in the Free Cities.

[assembles]

[ "It ain't so bad" is probably the most positive thing either of them is going to say about the Horizon, at least for now. Steve appreciates how it lets him interact with friends even when they're far away, he'll give it that. There's just something about creating your own personal space and that space potentially being on display for others to see that makes him a little uneasy. He doesn't want others visiting his space when he's not around, so he attempts to never wander unannounced into other people's domains.

At least Rocket doesn't seem to mind in this instance. Maybe he's even enjoying the company? Hard to say.

That question puts Steve on the spot, though. He clears his throat and shakes his head. ] Not any more dangerous than anywhere else, really. Cadens is a decently sized city with a strong military presence. [ Sure, things sometimes go south when the Singularity has a blip, but that could happen in any faction. ] It's just... force of habit, I guess.

[ He glances away, brow creasing, but he suspects that Rocket might know what he's getting at. Fighting in a war, then always expecting yet another world-threatening crisis to come down on his head — you build up habits. And it means that going into a meditative state where he has no idea what's happening in the world around him gets under his skin, whether it's rational or not. ]

dj khaled voice: and another one

[respiting]

[ He nods. ]

Well, it keeps you alive, doesn't it? Can't be that bad if that's the case.

[ Oh yeah, without a doubt — Rocket can relate. For most of his short life in between running (or rather, flying) away and then joining the rest of the Guardians, he'd been conditioned into indulging in a whole lot of paranoia to keep himself alive. The years before Groot 1.0 sacrificed himself, it'd been just the two of them getting into shenanigans and looking out for each other.

Pair that with a couple of multiverse-ending apocalypses, and yeah, sure, you develop some pretty stubborn habits. ]

I pick my visits to this place pretty carefully for that reason and Solvunn's 'military' consists of a couple of robed guys with pitchforks. And the goats.

But, I get it.

[assembles]

[ It keeps them alive. Yeah, that's reason enough, and while Steve wouldn't have expected Rocket to give him a hard time for this, it's still nice to feel validated.

So he smiles, then moves to finally take a seat, even if the makeshift cockpit doesn't have much in the way of chairs just yet. He doesn't mind sitting on the grated metal floor. ]

Well, if you have Wanda and Nero to keep an eye on you while you're out...

[ It helps to have roommates, is what he's saying. But then he raises an incredulous brow. ]

Wait, pitchforks? Really? I mean, I guess it makes sense with all the farming, just...

[ He shakes his head. Sometimes he forgets how different things are between Cadens and the settlements of Solvunn. ]

[respiting]

[ Rocket finishes up with whatever cog or screw he'd been futzing with before letting his tools rest too. See? He's totally capable of being polite. ]

Wanda, sure. Nero? [ He makes an eeeeh sound, like he doesn't trust the guy.

It's a joke, of course.

Maybe.

He's pretty sure he can trust Nero to keep an eye on him if shit goes south. ]

Mmhm. These guys do not have the means of defending themselves in the event that something bad happens. And I don't mean god-smite-y bad, but even just ... I dunno, a gang of thieves rolling into town. It's pathetic.

[ He sighs wistfully. ]

And I miss having guns.

[assembles]

[ Steve smirks at Rocket's put-upon wariness of Nero. He knows that it's a joke, that this is just how Rocket is and he mainly just does it to rile people up. It seems like while Quill had been his usual target, since he's not around, now it's Nero.

And, well, based on what Steve knows about Nero, he probably reacts every time, which just encourages Rocket in some vicious cycle.

How does Wanda put up with it?

He's soon distracted by Rocket's concern for the townspeople and their inability to defend themselves. ]

Would you say that they rely on the Summoned for that kind of protection, then? It's so different from Cadens. You can't turn a corner without running into a member of the military there.

[ As for Rocket's frustration over not having his precious guns, Steve can only lean forward to give him a friendly pat on the shoulder. ]

... Yeah. They exist in the Cities, but I can't imagine trying to get one across the border would work well. [ Or even into Nocwich. ]