exsilium | text. not anonymous, for once.

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text. not anonymous, for once.

( you have no idea how long it took him to 1. work himself up to this post, 2. talk to Max a bout this post, 3. stop staring at his device and actually type it. This might beat dumpster diving for glass, though. )

Hi, sorry this is probably not of interest to a lot of you, but I was wondering if any of you would be willing to keep any scrap metal or broken glass and glass bottles that you have? I'm trying to collect them for some art supplies, I can come and collect them and everything.

I've been trying to work out how to change the color of glass, and metal, too, but the books I've found in the library are all pretty confusing. It looks pretty complicated, adding minerals and stuff. If anyone would be okay with going over it with me that'd be really awesome.

And if you're new then welcome to Exsilium. It's kind of weird here, but there are some good people.

Thank you very much for your time.

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If I come across any, I'll be glad to send them your way. And I'm afraid I don't know anything about the process myself, but I could assist and make sure disaster doesn't strike, if you need anyone.

Thank you very much.

I'm still working it out, I think I'm probably doing it a little different from the right way.
I hope this isn't a rude question and you can ignore it if it is, but how would you make sure disaster doesn't strike?

( is this a power thing? do they have powers? or just super intense and organised? )

I think the "right" way is called that for a reason. Unless you're aware of some other method?

It isn't rude - and I'm afraid I can't offer any definite assurance, but there's safety in numbers, right?

[ that's in a science textbook back in her library in storybrooke; lab partners. always wear goggles and wash your hands and don't taste anything. ]

Honestly, the idea sounds interesting to me.

( is he in trouble? does the questioning mean he's in trouble? )

I'm teaching myself so I could accidentally be doing it the right way.

( that sure sounds safe when you're handling molten glass, Donny. )

Right, yeah. There's another lady here who used to work with her da, I think she said in a smithy? She could know ways to make it safer, too.

( wait wait what are you saying )

[ no he's not in trouble.

but this sounds like a horrible idea even if she's never met this guy. ]

You'll forgive me if I say it does sound like you could use the safety net, right?

A metaphorical one. You can't have too many people watching for burns, after all.

( on the plus side, he's heat-proof, so he can't burn. On the other hand, it's probably not the best working environment, anyway. )

It's not so bad.

( He makes things in a ramshackle building, Belle. Help him. )

I could show you the place I'm working in?

( saying no to ladies is difficult. Guys he just flees into the distance. )

I'd like that, yeah.

[ i mean in her mind this is kind of an excuse to stop worrying so much about that spell she can't cast over her town, but hey. helping people. it'll be great! ]

Okay. The address is [ BEHOLD, AN ADDRESS ].

I can be there whenever you want to check it out.

( DONNY WHAT ARE YOU DOING

he has no idea what he's doing. New people, overwhelming, etc etc. )

Oh! Good.

Honestly, I can't say I've been up to much, or will be, so - sooner, rather than later?

[ kid you got lucky she's not an axe murderer

jesus doesn't anybody here watch that show on dateline?

it's okay neither does she. she doesn't even know what that is. ]

( he's a superhero, he has so got this

no he hasn't got this at all )

Sounds good. I'll be around.

( WHAT IF HE WAS THE AXE MURDERER

also he is suddenly realising he has no equipment to show her because he does it all with magic, so he can't even pretend to be normal.

Fuck. )

[ well. he did say he'd be around.

belle's not sure whether that meant right now, but. it's not like she has anything else better to do, is it? and really, what's there to lose? there's totally a bright side: if there's no one there, at least she got to do some exploring. sight-seeing. if that's what you wanna call it.

and that's how belle found herself approaching that very same address he sent to her earlier, standing on tiptoe to look through the window for any sign of human life.

aw here it goes. ]

( Let's just say that his current studio really isn't overwhelming. It's whelming, sure, but more the underwhelming variety. The door is not on its hinges - the door is too big for the frame and obviously somewhere else, leaning against the bare brick wall of what was once the entrance hallway.

He's busy trying to tidy things up. "Tidy," because it's the most ramshackle building and didn't do well in past bombings. By chance, he glances up, spots her through the window and kind of jumps.

What a good superhero. The window is broken, but he's scratching his arm nervously, not quite approaching, but waves veerryyy nervously, the other hand holding a glass bottle to his chest.

Belle, meet the shyest unicorn of a young man. ) H-hi.

Hello!

[ she says it with a somewhat awkward wave of her hand to match his. it's not that the shabby nature of the building makes her wary, but when she puts all the factors together -

maybe he wasn't worried about inviting anyone over because he was the axe murderer and - oh dear. he seems nice enough, though, belle thinks. and she can handle herself. she passed people on her way here; with all of these broken windows and doors off of their hinges, if something turned into a struggle, surely someone would hear it.

still, she's scanning the building for some quick familiarity before turning her attention back to the man inside. ]

Did I talk to you over the - um. [ she bites her lip. her tablet's in her pocket. ] I'm Belle.

( Sad story: he's terrified about having people around in his space. The shyest boy, really. He stays quite a way away from her - almost in the opposite corner from wherever she is in the room. Quietly, he sets down the glass bottle with a little pile of bottles that are the same color. There are a few piles, organised by color, and then boxes with broken pieces of glass. He's about halfway through piling some more glass piled on the floor and sorting it, so there's actually a bunch of broken glass on the floor and he's guiltily looking at it. Yeah, that's safe. )

Um, y-yeah, I'm-- I'm D-Donny.

( His accent is mostly Boston, with vague traces of Ireland that sometimes surface. Eye contact is hard; his gaze drops. ) S-sorry about the, um. ( the everything. ) I'm m-moving, soon. Somewhere, uh, b-better?

( With less holes in the roof. )

[ so that shyness. it's totally registered. she makes a mental note of it as she slips through the door and positions it back against the frame as best she can, once again scanning around the place now that she's inside for the best way of escape, if needed.

but the way he's staying away from her - that says a lot. belle keeps her hands clasped together and keeps fairly close to the window, just in case (gotta stay cautious). ]

It's fine. Sometimes things are temporary. [ no it's not. her eyes linger on the broken glass for a long moment and she frowns, stooping to pick one of the larger shards up. ]

...Is this what you're working with?

Yeah.

( intelligent conversation, such a secret talent he's pretty sure he will never unlock it. Ever.

And suddenly, even more sheepish. )

Some uh, whole b-bottles, t-too? I um, k-kinda-- kinda c-collected whatever I could.

( although he looks so apologetic, seriously. )

I - sorry, you're trying to make stained glass, right? Color it, and - [ a vague gesture with the hand that's decidedly not holding the glass. she takes one look at it and jagged edges and all - it's large enough to be a scrap piece, yes, but maybe not the best for a whole project.

do you even use scrap pieces in something like this? is it like painting? a scrap to test your colors on?

belle doesn't know. she'll figure it out. but she frowns, offers him the glass back anyway (to hopefully go somewhere that isn't the floor), and tilts her head slightly. ]

Donny, are you - are you alright?

Uh, yep.

( Sigh, this looks like the worst. He very carefully takes the glass, taking a long step to drop it in the box with the other broken glass of that color.

Her question makes him flinch. Are you okay?, close neighbour to what's wrong with you? His mouth twists unhappily, and he opts to ignore the question, even as it stings. )

I um, melt it d-down? And sculpt it. I'm um, j-just-- just learning, so.

( Scraps. ) B-but um, a friend she-- she said m-maybe she c-could track down p-purer stuff. New stuff, you know?

( A beat. ) And I c-clean all this, b-before-- ( Some sort of... vague gesture. Before I make stuff with it, is what he means. )

[ that isn't what she meant at all. she bites her lip again, this time in regret at the bluntness of her question - it can't have been appreciated, by the way he'd evaded it. ]

No, no, that's interesting. Um - how did you learn?

[ she takes a couple of steps forward, toward him, not wanting to frighten him, and tries to peer behind him for a book or something similar. ] There can't have been directions just waiting on the network. [ unless there could. belle's hasn't been here long enough to discover any research capabilities.

and she smiles, somewhat apologetically, really toeing a line and trying not to be offensive. ]

It doesn't look like the safest place to be doing that. It's - I'm glad you do clean it, though. Order, and all of that.

[ belle go find a broom and stop being awkward wow this is awkward. ]

I, um.

( Chewing at his lip, scooting out of the way as he sees her looking, so she can have a clear view. Mouth open, closed. Open again, as he tries to figure his way around the words. ) There w-weren't. I t-taught m-- m-myself? The library uh, has art history b-but I c-couldn't find much on um, on this.

( How exactly is he going to explain all of this without mentioning magic. ) Yeah, uh. The n-new place, it'll-- ( A quiet huff of air, and he has to remind himself that breathing is a thing most humans do. ) I haven't l-lost a limb yet.

( Jokes also aren't a talent, as might be evident from the face he makes about half a second after that. WORDS. )

[ talented at jokes or not, belle does relent and laugh - just a little bit, almost under her breath, and that's after her eyes go wide and she gets halfway through an understanding nod. ]

That's good. Really. I - I think most people wear gloves to ensure against that, actually.

At least part of the time.

[ a mental note to go to the library and hunt down some books that might help, even if they're not straight up directions, if this man is going to keep his body intact. which, now that belle has made it her business? he is. ]

And you're just here by yourself? No assistants, or - other than your friend, I mean.

Uh.

( Okay. He's making a bit of a face, and maybe it's a little obvious that he's trying to think of a way to talk his way out of this. The boy is a little too much of an open book. ) W-well.

( And, Slow Exhale. Does he have anything that he can show her that could masquerade as safety gloves? Seriously, Max is going to kick his ass so hard when she realises how clumsy he was about this. He makes a little sound, glancing to his bag - his Atlas uniform is there, and he's wondering if he can get the gloves out without her seeing his uniform of the mask. Possibly too big a risk, and also if she did see the mask, being alone in a dude with a bag with a mask and armour and skintight vigilante wear could totally be alarming. )

Um.

( He's going really well at not making this seem potentially more and more weird. ) Gwen hasn't b-been here, yet. I was still w-working on how to-- well, I'm still w-working on it, b-but, uh.

( Hang on, he's just grabbing another little box, grabbing a roll of clothe and untying the cord around it, bringing out a piece of green glass that's cut like a gemstone. It looks pretty good, but nothing amazing. Not yet. ) I n-need to uh, g-get better at this, first.

[ it's okay, belle really thinks she already has this figured out. no necessary equipment anywhere, broken glass, the state of the building itself -

he may not have lost any limbs yet, but he is walking straight into disaster, isn't he? at least, that's what belle thinks. and once she gets her mind set on something - well, she'll fight it until she's proven otherwise.

but she bites her lip in consideration, choosing to keep quiet for another moment more as she steps forward, closer to him, and takes a peek down at the results he's showing her. ]

That's - that's beautiful! [ and she means it. sure, it isn't perfect, but it's something. ] You've got talent, if nothing else.

[ a beat. that moment of her keeping her mouth shut is over. ]

Listen, um, if you want me to find you some safety supplies, I'd be more than happy to. You know, gloves. Goggles. That sort of thing.

Thanks.

( Pleased, just the faintest bit of red tinging his ears. ) W-well.

( That sounds like time and effort and he doesn't want to waste her energy. )

Actually, I, um.

( Okay. He's used his magic in public before, he helped Babs, and Cat, and it was fine. It's not a big deal. It's terrifying, it's a huge deal, and--

-- okay, he can't ever show Anne, and probably no one from the past too much, but. God, this is such a tangled mess. )

I'm k-kind of, uh, immune to fire?

( lowering his voice a little, never mind that they are the only ones here. He chews his lip very nervously. ) It's uh, my weapon.

( That's a little safer than talking about magic. It's just what the Initiative did, that's all. )

Immune?

[ that would be the sight of her eyes going wide as she ducks her head a little bit, somewhat incredulously. ]

I mean, I know weapons don't necessarily have to be physical, but -

[ she blinks, shakes her head, tries to think of the logistics of it. it's not necessarily a good idea, and really, she should know by now. but it sounds like magic, and she's not wary of it. because he doesn't seem to be the type to abuse it (assuming it's the same system she's used to, which it's not, but that'll come later) - but add that - even the idea of it - to his nervous nature an these surroundings and this just seems like a time bomb, in belle's opinion.

and if anything's going to convince her to keep up her nagging - ]

Regardless, even if you are immune to fire, I doubt you're immune to shards of glass flying into your eyes. You really should probably [ definitely ] get some proper equipment...

[ she trails off, scanning the area. it needs work, obviously, but overall... ] I know you're moving. But it can't hurt to try as soon as possible.

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AND SUDDENLY ACTION.

AWW YISS ACTION.

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