05 ☣ TEXT & VOICE;

[angermanaging]

Looking to gather some info. Please respond with succinct list of what you would consider unalterable laws of reality in your home dimension, e.g. gravity, conservation of mass, particular laws of magic.

Will attempt to compile results into meaningful commonalities across dimensions. Maybe there's a universal law somewhere.

Would prefer text response if possible. Thanks.

B. Banner

[The message is then repeated in audio, if preceded by Bruce clearing his throat, for those that can't read English.]


[Voice | 60% encrypted to castmates & established CR.]

Finally got fed up with everyone talking over my head and made a trade to see my future.

[A beat.

In utter, dry exasperation,] You're all nuts. What kind of teamwork was that?

[ooc: Bruce is now post-Avengers! If you're not sure if you're established CR, ping me and I'll let you know if they're included, but feel free to play fast and loose.]

Comments

[angermanaging]

Is that a comment about me being a workaholic?

[Then his lightness sobers slightly, too, as he adds,] You going to be there to help me with that?

[Once upon a time, it'd have been extraordinarily difficult for him to acknowledge that some people do mean something to him. Now Bruce can make that half-serious, half-flippant remark easily. It's a sign of immense progress, though as most of his are, subtle and unacknowledged.]

[constants]

[ It's good that this is on voice and not video, because she sort of freezes at that. No one has asked her to... be a part of their life. Ever. In any way. Not her. The right response, of course, is to say "no", to remove herself and be simply the Archive. ]

If I can be.

[ It's not "no", it's as close as she can get to saying "yes". There's no saying if or when either of them will leave this place, even she doesn't know or control that, and there are some things she simply cannot do as the Archive. But she'll try her best where she can. ]

[angermanaging]

[He understands the conditional agreement. Bruce feels the same way. He can't promise anything absolute, can't give anyone the unconditional support they might deserve. Circumstances take choices out of his hands-- or, as Jim had pointed out, leave him morally with only one available option and he makes that choice. It's the same, either way. Bruce still thinks of the turtle as a transient home, an odd exception that proves the rule of drifting isolation.

There's some disconcerting similarities between his and the Archive's approach to life, even if the situations themselves are totally dissimilar. That reflexive urge to distance themselves, to stay safe in their roles...

Bruce nods.] I appreciate it.

[constants]

[ She gives a tiny, shy smile. ]

You know how to reach me if you need me.

[ Writing. For once "snail mail" is even faster than a text. ]

[angermanaging]

It is convenient, [he jokes.

After a moment, he adds,] You doing alright? I seem to be checking in with everyone today.

[constants]

I am perfectly acceptable. There is nothing out of the ordinary happening in my life.

[ So. Working, reading, eating, sleeping. It's a dull life overall, but she's used to it and takes satisfaction in living in such a way. It's a good way to fulfill her role and not overstep her bounds. ]

[angermanaging]

That's... I guess that's encouraging. I wish my life would be more ordinary.

[constants]

If you would like, I could draft up a schedule for you.

[ He's already got the deflecting methods and avoidance skills down, all he needs is a schedule of what routine thing to do when and simply to avoid and deflect everything that doesn't fit in! ...Yeah. ]

[angermanaging]

A schedule to be ordinary?

[He's not entirely sure what she's offering here, but it sounds like, typically, the Archive is taking things literally.]

[constants]

Yes. You're already good at telling people to stop bothering you, so it wouldn't be very difficult for you to stick to it. That's what I do.

[ There's a reason she works like clockwork. She even has all her meals for the next week planned ahead. Whenever she eats one she decides what she'll eat exactly a week from then. ]

[angermanaging]

That's not-- [A faint sigh. Bruce decides not to bother explaining why he tells people not to bother him. It's half sheer desire to be alone, but it's also half necessity. It's better for everyone if no one gets close to him.

Obviously that hasn't been working out so well here.]

Do you really have a... normality schedule? What do you have on it?

[He just has to ask.]

[constants]

[ Considering he hasn't managed to convince her to go away yet, it'd probably be at least partially lost on her. ]

Yes, I do. I have the times when I wake up and go to sleep, as well as when I should leave an arrive at work, and when I expect I will eat my meals that day. My days often involve work, cooking, reading literature from this world, and purchasing books and groceries. I fill my days with such activities.

[ Note the general lack of "fun" and "things 14 year olds typically do." ]

[angermanaging]

[He honestly hasn't been trying very hard with her. She's invulnerable to the Hulk, she doesn't make him talk about feelings, she's a seemingly endless resource for computations and fact checking... Not to mention that tiny voice inside him that still sees her as a child and wants to protect her. No, Bruce hasn't been trying to make her go away.

He also hadn't done anything fun or normal as a 14 year old, so he can't gainsay this. He doesn't even notice it as what he would consider unusual. He pretty much expects the activities she's outlined from her by now, he just didn't realize it was scheduled.]

Is that to keep busy? You don't have to answer-- I just... Why do you bother scheduling it?

[constants]

There are optimal times for some tasks, and others simply fall in where there are openings. I know how long it takes me to get ready in the morning, so I wake up based on that, and when the traffic patterns are lightest. For meals and going to sleep there are some scientific theories about the best timing for such things and it is in my interest to stay healthy.

[ There's a tiny pause before she moves on. That's the "right" answer, but it's not the whole answer. ]

I also dislike ambiguity and like preparedness. If I am acting within certain parameters, I can more easily plan for anything that might come up.

[ Like someone attacking her, but she's smart enough to leave that part out. ]

[angermanaging]

[He's prepared to argue a little abut the first half of this-- Bruce, who of everyone can appreciate doing innocuous things based on scientific reasoning. Even he thinks you need a little room to breathe in there. But then she explains her personal motivation behind it, and the desire to argue evaporates.

He nods.] It makes you feel better. Keeping busy is... is important to a sense of normalcy. I definitely know that.

[constants]

The activities help fill the time. I function in a very different capacity here than I do at home. It is an odd adjustment after so long. Should I find myself here for another decade or so I believe I would find myself comfortable enough in this life to become more relaxed in it.

[ And by "so long" she does actually mean all five thousand years. A decade is a drop of water in a lake compared to that long. ]

[angermanaging]

[Bruce is pretty sanguine about a lot of weirdness, but hearing a teenage girl talk about a decade like it's no big deal is difficult for even him to swallow. He understands the Archive isn't what she looks like, but overt reminders like this make him feel the unacknowledged tragedy of her situation.]

Relaxing isn't easy, [he admits a little ruefully.] Adjusting isn't easy either. Do you need anything changed at work? Is it... all okay?

[He's never thought to ask that before, but now he feels remiss.]

[constants]

[ There's a tiny bit of insistence with how quick she is to shake her head. She doesn't want him to feel like he's been making her uncomfortable or anything else of the nature. ]

No, I am pleased with work. I enjoy it. Thank you for asking, however.

[ Well, the work isn't anything to write home about, but it's good enough and she enjoys working with him. ]

[angermanaging]

Just checking. [More seriously,] Tell me if you need anything.

[She doesn't really need him looking after her. Bruce is going to do it anyway.]

[constants]

[ It's a good thing she doesn't actually mind when it's him. She knows that he won't go overboard. ]

I will. Thank you.