I already did that. [Tony's answer is a bit too abrupt. He's still half in the armor, moving its arm in a sweeping gesture that he doesn't do himself.]
I made sure the symbol lived on. That his legacy wouldn't be damaged. It's not better.
[The frustration wells up again, impulsive and uncontrolled, because Tony doesn't know what to do.]
It didn't fix it.
[Humility. Tony actually scowls at that.]
You want me to fix things here. I don't want to spend more time here. I want to go back and make sure my world hasn't actually exploded while I was gone.
[Except it hasn't and Jonathan is right and he hates it.]
If I start fixing things here then I'm accepting the chance I'm not going back. And I've been trying.
[With no success at all, but that certainly isn't a first. But now Steve is here and the future is apparently fine. What is left to fix but what is right in front of him?]
I am, you know. The authority on safety in my world.
[The flare of anger dies down and the armor goes back to rearranging the power grid, closing the metal panel when it is finished and charging energy into the palm when it finishes.]
[Jonathan weathers the storm of Tony's frustration without batting an eye. He can feel that, empathize with it, but seeing the emotions play out in someone else helps the doctor to balance himself, rationalize and remain calm.]
Presumably, Mr. Stark, one of the things you might fix is the fact that we're trapped here. A long-term project no doubt, but I hardly think attending to our immediate problems constitutes some admission of defeat. I plan to make efforts to improve the lot of the Submissives while I am here and searching for a means of exit, but I hardly intend to stay here. I have obligations, myself.
[If time has gone on without him there and Elisabeth has been on her own... he only prays she might turn to Old Bridget to keep her locked in her castle to wait for him, instead of turning to the fire again. It's too painful to think about.]
And congratulations on such an accomplishment. I would suspect you are not irreplaceable, if that is a concern for you. Much like your symbol, people tend to muddle along. Human beings are, by and large, more persistent than cockroaches in surviving things and proliferating when they should not.
I'm already trying to do that. Either they are completely cut off from outside signals or they have one hell of a jammer. Honestly? I'm putting money on the former. Their tech is nice, but it wouldn't be enough to block every distress call sent out from this world. Someone should have picked up by now.
[ The armor returns to standing like a display piece next to Tony like it was never moving at all. Now in a new home, it seems, facing Jonathan, but the light has gone out. ]
And you don't have to make fun of me. I know it sounds ridiculous to you, but in my world we actually have people who work on a global scale. I'm not saying I'm irreplaceable. I'm just saying the alternatives were bad when I took the job. Why do you think I took it?
[ He knows what he's like. He just knows what other people are like too. ]
As far as a lot of my people are concerned, I'm the one that helped destroy that symbol. They don't trust me or anyone still working with me. And they happen to be armed. Some of them are more reckless than others. It's not just about survival. It's about making sure the guy taking my place doesn't want to see us tear ourselves apart.
[ At least now his head is clearer. Talking and getting the frustration out is actually calming. ]
I just... I told myself I was okay with this. Doing it alone if that's what it took. Never seeing him again. And now it's just over.
If one method is not working, then I would suggest searching for another. I doubt our salvation will come from without this world, Mr. Stark.
In any case, I mean no disrespect to the work you've done. I would hope you've put systems and people into place that you have confidence in, though. And that your fellows would choose an appropriate leader. Much as we've begun to train some of the native staff we have at Haven in some basic medical procedures to ensure they are prepared to take over when we leave and if anything like Fort Harmony should happen again.
I understand your feelings of frustration about... all of this. But it would seem channeling them into something productive like... this. [He gestures to the armor.] Might be better. And help you to avoid dwelling on such things. A man stuck in his past is one who cannot enjoy the present or the future.
[There it is. The unfair, bitter sentiment surrounding everything. He's been avoiding it all, trying not to look at anything too hard, because if he starts accepting things enough to take on projects and engage in anything outside of just trying to get out, then he'll have to face the fact he's doing more than just killing time and going to leave.
He'll have to make actual effort and care about Duplicity. And on some level Tony is drained of caring. He wants to lose; to be told he just can't achieve anything so he can give up.]
That... That's just a personal project. I brought it with me. I don't think he'll do much good here.
[But now he has to consider it. There's no ducking out this time.]
Because every place must necessarily have a future, Mr. Stark. Perhaps our arrows have skipped around a bit, but they point ever onward, per the march of time. Perhaps the future this place has is to fall into chaos and ruin, but I would prefer to leave it a better place than we found it, if at all possible.
But may I ask what your 'personal project' is meant to do? It looks like some sort of... security creature?
[Well, damn. He can't escape that logic. The sigh Tony gives Jonathan is proof that he knows when he's been beaten. Maybe he really just needed to throw a tantrum.]
You remind me of someone.
[He smiles wryly.]
It's a suit. I used to use it for security, yeah. That was the original purpose. Safety and keeping me alive. But then I realized that it could help keep other people safe too. And then we started seeing bigger problems and bigger threats and he just became necessary. Now he's just part of me.
A good someone, I hope. Or a very irritating someone, more likely.
[Jonathan can, occasionally, have a sense of humor about himself.]
Is there some reason you thing there are not people in need of security of some sort here? The Down is a dangerous place for regular people, Mr. Stark.
He was a good friend. My mentor, I guess you could say.
[The expression Tony has is between fond and dark.]
Do submissives really want someone calling themselves a dominant in their space? To them, I've given donations, but I think that enforcement might be seen as less help and more compliant to the program.
That suit would, I expect, hide the nature of your designation. Paint a stripe on its neck, if you wish to be more accepted, perhaps. Enforcement might be a problem, but simply stopping wicked people from trying to harm the innocent? That is a task for men and women of good conscience, regardless of designation.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2019-05-14 03:51 am (UTC)From:I made sure the symbol lived on. That his legacy wouldn't be damaged. It's not better.
[The frustration wells up again, impulsive and uncontrolled, because Tony doesn't know what to do.]
It didn't fix it.
[Humility. Tony actually scowls at that.]
You want me to fix things here. I don't want to spend more time here. I want to go back and make sure my world hasn't actually exploded while I was gone.
[Except it hasn't and Jonathan is right and he hates it.]
If I start fixing things here then I'm accepting the chance I'm not going back. And I've been trying.
[With no success at all, but that certainly isn't a first. But now Steve is here and the future is apparently fine. What is left to fix but what is right in front of him?]
I am, you know. The authority on safety in my world.
[The flare of anger dies down and the armor goes back to rearranging the power grid, closing the metal panel when it is finished and charging energy into the palm when it finishes.]
no subject
Date: 2019-05-14 04:10 am (UTC)From:Presumably, Mr. Stark, one of the things you might fix is the fact that we're trapped here. A long-term project no doubt, but I hardly think attending to our immediate problems constitutes some admission of defeat. I plan to make efforts to improve the lot of the Submissives while I am here and searching for a means of exit, but I hardly intend to stay here. I have obligations, myself.
[If time has gone on without him there and Elisabeth has been on her own... he only prays she might turn to Old Bridget to keep her locked in her castle to wait for him, instead of turning to the fire again. It's too painful to think about.]
And congratulations on such an accomplishment. I would suspect you are not irreplaceable, if that is a concern for you. Much like your symbol, people tend to muddle along. Human beings are, by and large, more persistent than cockroaches in surviving things and proliferating when they should not.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-14 04:34 am (UTC)From:[ The armor returns to standing like a display piece next to Tony like it was never moving at all. Now in a new home, it seems, facing Jonathan, but the light has gone out. ]
And you don't have to make fun of me. I know it sounds ridiculous to you, but in my world we actually have people who work on a global scale. I'm not saying I'm irreplaceable. I'm just saying the alternatives were bad when I took the job. Why do you think I took it?
[ He knows what he's like. He just knows what other people are like too. ]
As far as a lot of my people are concerned, I'm the one that helped destroy that symbol. They don't trust me or anyone still working with me. And they happen to be armed. Some of them are more reckless than others. It's not just about survival. It's about making sure the guy taking my place doesn't want to see us tear ourselves apart.
[ At least now his head is clearer. Talking and getting the frustration out is actually calming. ]
I just... I told myself I was okay with this. Doing it alone if that's what it took. Never seeing him again. And now it's just over.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-16 03:15 am (UTC)From:In any case, I mean no disrespect to the work you've done. I would hope you've put systems and people into place that you have confidence in, though. And that your fellows would choose an appropriate leader. Much as we've begun to train some of the native staff we have at Haven in some basic medical procedures to ensure they are prepared to take over when we leave and if anything like Fort Harmony should happen again.
I understand your feelings of frustration about... all of this. But it would seem channeling them into something productive like... this. [He gestures to the armor.] Might be better. And help you to avoid dwelling on such things. A man stuck in his past is one who cannot enjoy the present or the future.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-22 12:10 am (UTC)From:[There it is. The unfair, bitter sentiment surrounding everything. He's been avoiding it all, trying not to look at anything too hard, because if he starts accepting things enough to take on projects and engage in anything outside of just trying to get out, then he'll have to face the fact he's doing more than just killing time and going to leave.
He'll have to make actual effort and care about Duplicity. And on some level Tony is drained of caring. He wants to lose; to be told he just can't achieve anything so he can give up.]
That... That's just a personal project. I brought it with me. I don't think he'll do much good here.
[But now he has to consider it. There's no ducking out this time.]
no subject
Date: 2019-05-23 02:22 am (UTC)From:But may I ask what your 'personal project' is meant to do? It looks like some sort of... security creature?
no subject
Date: 2019-05-23 04:11 am (UTC)From:You remind me of someone.
[He smiles wryly.]
It's a suit. I used to use it for security, yeah. That was the original purpose. Safety and keeping me alive. But then I realized that it could help keep other people safe too. And then we started seeing bigger problems and bigger threats and he just became necessary. Now he's just part of me.
But here he's just a suit.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-24 04:59 am (UTC)From:[Jonathan can, occasionally, have a sense of humor about himself.]
Is there some reason you thing there are not people in need of security of some sort here? The Down is a dangerous place for regular people, Mr. Stark.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-24 01:11 pm (UTC)From:[The expression Tony has is between fond and dark.]
Do submissives really want someone calling themselves a dominant in their space? To them, I've given donations, but I think that enforcement might be seen as less help and more compliant to the program.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-26 03:18 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2019-05-26 03:28 am (UTC)From:[That initial response still carries some hesitation, but he seems bolstered by the affirmation of that and sits up straighter.]
Yeah. It still matters that I can help someone. Even if we're trapped here.
I just want to do some good. Maybe this won't make sense to you since you're a doctor, but sometimes I don't know if I can.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-28 12:10 am (UTC)From:[He moves to stand up.]
Do you feel more... centered, then?