[ open ] as i walk through the streets of my new city

[kirkwalled]

Who: Hawkward Moment and Associates
Where: All over! Mostly Westerley
When: There's something terribly funny about typing "the last five years" here.
Summary: Previously on The Young and the Kirkwalled aka a pre-game catchall for Hawke!
Restrictions/Warnings: Some assortment of accident prone wrong (or right) doing and swearing here.

ONE | RAC

[ So, Hawke is a Level 3 RAC Agent. She very much has the ability to be higher than that and even the qualifications. She also, very clearly, does not want it. Level 3 allows her a cushy middle ground where she's not really expected of much and can be mostly left alone.

Let's not leave Hawke alone! ]

TWO | WESTERLEY

[ Hawke has a tiny studio apartment that doesn't even have a bed. She sleeps on the couch. She has the money to live better, sure, but she doesn't speak about it and doesn't like talking about it. She has a dog bed though, so at least her priorities are in order. Where is her dog right now? Kind of a mystery. The guy likes to roam.

Maybe you're her neighbor. Maybe you end up at the same bar as her a lot of the time. Maybe she did a job for you and helped find your lost cat. Hawke doesn't have a reason to be anywhere, she just always ends up there. ]

THREE | NETWORK

[ Please text Hawke. Send her memes. ]

FOUR | WILDCARD

[ Anything and everything is possible when you're a lone vagabond who doesn't know how to say no. Just, you know, don't ever ask her about Kirkwall. Here is her CR Meme link and if you want to hash out anything, hit me up via claptrap or any of the other options. ]

Comments

[kirkwalled]

[ It's kind of hilarious, the struggle going on with Jack right now because Hawke is completely unaware of it. No, she approaches the whole situation with the same ease she approaches everything else, and instead wanders over to her kitchenette as she sets on a pot of coffee. Tea's more her preference but you know, sometimes you have to kick your own ass awake.

Jack won't have to move in far either since the apartment is really just a tiny studio. The only real "room" in it is the bathroom but otherwise, the bed is tucked in the corner across from the kitchen and there's a couch and TV in one other area. The rest is just... rugs and a bike and other just things scattered about. There's at least a small table and two chairs that Jack can sit at for coffee, which he probably has before.

Then Jack is getting all insecure at her again and this is something she takes great amusement in because for all the power Jack's got at his fingertips, he's kind of hysterically easy to pick at. She smiles bright and easy as she pops some bread in her toaster and gives him a look. ]

Are you really asking me that? You have looked in the mirror lately, right? Or do I need to pick on your mask again. I might, it's easy pickings and I'm a little slow with my wit as I wake up.

[ She shrugs and opens up her fridge to fish out the jam. She is a little hungry, huh. Of course, Garrett, meanwhile just sort of flops across the couch. ]

[refactor]

[ Jack shoos Garrett ahead of him as he walks in, and indeed, this is familiar enough that he plops himself down at her tiny, crappy kitchen table with all the familiarity of an old friend. In truth, Hawke is one of the few people that he's rather genuinely relaxed around, though never completely. Still. It's kind of nice to hang out with her, since he's at least not at all worried about Hawke stabbing him in the back one day. Like, if she did, it wouldn't be on purpose, and it would definitely be stupid, he figures. So, you know. Not too bad, overall.

Yet even so, talking with Hawke is still always difficult for exactly the reason. The problem is, she's very good at getting under this skin. Or in this case, his mask. ]

What- What, no, the mask isn't— It's not bad!

[ It's probably bad, considering how defensive he gets, but he crosses his arms tightly across his chest and his groans. Jack leans back in the chair to look up at the ceiling, which is probably so he doesn't get caught staring at her (barely clothed) ass. ]

Screw you, my mask makes me, uh, mysterious. And intimidating. And even more handsome.

[kirkwalled]

[ What's odd, truly about all of this, is the fact that Hawke doesn't seem to pick up on that about Jack. She knows he's got issues, probably (don't they all) and that he's prone to violence (but some can say so is she) but when it's just the two of them -- he doesn't seem terrible frightening. He has a reputation, but she's keen to ignore it mostly. If he's like this with her, he must not be so bad after all? Easy going and dare she say it, sweet. No, Jack has every reason to trust her because she really doesn't see the point in betraying him. Instead, he's already wormed his way into that circle of friends of hers that Hawke feels terrible protective over. This may one day come bite her in the ass.

But still, it means she's also at ease with him, light smile across her face as she ends up pulling out eggs too to fry some up. As she sets it up, she ends up yawning as she does -- not having gotten nearly enough sleep but, alas. ]

You're certainly intimidating enough to frighten small children, Jack. It's still a little odd though, I mean --

[ And then, of course, she reaches over to catch his chin in her hand, tilting his face up. The problem of small apartments -- easy access. Her eyes scan his face, looking at the edges of the mask and her thumb swipes fondly over his cheek. ]

Latches? And it doesn't even match your skin color. I say you're more scarecrow than stud, truly.

[ And then she pulls away with an affectionate ruffle to his hair before going back to her eggs, cracking a few in the hot pan and humming to herself as she makes them breakfast. ]

hawke why

[refactor]

[ Jack stays where he's standing with his arms crossed, not quite closed off, but a little defensive in the huffy way he can get. For all his bravado and grandstanding in a more public eye, when it's one on one, it's much clearer that his ego is a little more delicate than he likes. It's very likely why Hawke teases him so much, and he knows that, but at least because it's teasing, he never goes beyond this sort of sulking disapproval or maybe a sharp comment. Because it's nice, he has to admit. He doesn't trust people easily, and he doesn't even trust Hawke completely, but she's the closest thing to a friend he's got lately.

That's also part of the problem, naturally. Because the problem with Jack is that his surprising sensitivity isn't just to jabs and jokes, but across the board. The way that he interacts with Hawke is nice, a relief from the usual, even, and so he likes her. Enough that what she's doing is a definite, absolute bad idea. Jack immediately seizes up more defensively when Hawke reaches forward to grab his face, but he doesn't try and pull away. More than anything, he looks shocked, and he starts with an eloquent: ]

Uh—

[ And with that one syllable, he's reminded all at once of just how out of practice with flirting he is. This is his chance to say something smooth and suave, but it feels like his brain briefly shorts out with that pass of her thumb over his cheek, and he instead feels heat rise underneath the cover of his mask. He's supremely grateful for it, and even more so, that it isn't quite so much to reach to his ears, but still. Whatever flirtation or suaveness he could have given is lost in the face of what's easy for him. He reaches up to the latch on his chin once she pulls away as if he's protecting it from her, but that's truly just more a lack of knowing what else to do. ]

Oh, screw you! It's not scarecrow, and it's not supposed to match! It's- It's an aesthetic? Marketing? Branding? All that kinda crap.

cause she's gotta

[kirkwalled]

[ Hawke's priorities have shifted again -- eggs and bacon first, Jack second. She feels satisfied already in having gotten over on him, flustered him like she has because for her -- it's just fun. A game. She can't imagine anything beyond it. Of course, that will eventually bite her in the ass.

At his outburst, she cracks up, letting out a loud laugh of delight even as she tries to focus on the eggs. Aesthetic, he says. What the fuck. ]

You -- you're branding yourself? What are you going for here, trying to be the Company's new mascot? You think -- you think the Company would want a guy wearing a literal mask, as their face. It screams "I'm hiding something" even more than the Company usually does. Charming, Jack, but no.

[ Honestly? Hilarious. She's still wheezing as she starts frying up the bacon, shaking with her own amusement. Ridiculous, honestly. ]

[refactor]

[ Jack's expression twists up in displeasure, but oddly, he doesn't really say anything. For half a moment, he considers telling Hawke about his dream, because maybe, just maybe, he can trust her with it. But before he can even open his mouth, he remembers why he's wearing this mask at all. The feeling of his scar on his face is all the more prominent for a moment as he thinks about it, so he shakes his head with a dismissive wave of his hand. ]

Oh, whatever, you're not ever gonna get it. Hell, it's not even really "for" you anyways.

[ Which is honest enough, because Jack knows it wouldn't appeal to people like Hawke anyways. He huffs out a noise of irritation, but at least relaxes as he crosses his arms. ]

...And it's only kinda a mask. Like, it's my face. Does it count if it's of my face?

[kirkwalled]

[ There's a glance over to Jack then, a confused look as if she's missed something but she doesn't comment. Instead, she focuses on breakfast and while everything is cooking up -- she swaps to the coffee. Two mugs pulled down from her cabinet and she begins to serve them to their preferences. Black for her while however Jack likes it for him -- she definitely knows the way he takes his coffee and that says something.

She'll drop his mug in front of him before moving with hers back towards the bedding area -- and her closet! Looks like she's finally going to put on pants. ]

I'm just speaking as an unbiased consumer. If you were the mascot I saw every day, I would rethink where I placed my trust.

[ Unbiased, sure. But still, she's got a pair of jeans and is doing the ol' hop and jump around thing over here. ]

I'll be honest, I'm still not quite sure how that's supposed to work. I assumed cybernetics? I'm waiting for the day you take it off and it's all a bunch of metal. But if it's your face, it's your face. Now, no peeking. I have to change my shirt.

[ Which is promptly what she's going to do next. Out with the old! ]

[refactor]

[ As usual, his coffee is ridiculously sweet. It's probably not something that Hawke finds ill-fitting at this point, since that's the kind of contrast that makes perfect sense when you get to know Jack. For all his posturing and the fear and respect he tries (and sometimes succeds) to command, he's not actually that aggressively full of machismo. He's a bit softer than that, so even rather than the black coffee that would fit his posturing, what he actually takes is loaded with sugar and cream. The familiarity of how Hawke makes it is something he takes for granted by now, so he takes the mug with a quiet thanks, then takes a drink. ]

It's- God, it's not being a friggin' mascot.

[ But he still doesn't elaborate further. He pulls the cup away from his lips largely to laugh and not get coffee everywhere. ]

Oh, yeah, didn't you know, Hawke? I'm the first fully sentient AI. That's why I'm so great? They just ran outta budget on the final stretch so underneath, definitely just open mechanical parts. It's crazy.

[ He runs with that part, since he always enjoys the sort of mystery it gives. It's why he did it, in part. Having people talk about what could be under Handsome Jack's mask was part of the narrative he constructed for people to buy into, and it worked. Most people knew Handsome Jack's face, and that was absolutely the intent. ]

Nah, it's just synthetic mate— [ He trails off, because at 'no peeking,' he has every desire to peek. His head partially turns, just enough to catch a glance of side boob, but he uses the motion to take a drink of his coffee instead. Smooth. ]

[kirkwalled]

[ She probably teased the hell out of him the first time she found out about it -- "what badass drinks coffee for children?" But then, of course, she learned that Jack wasn't actually quite as badass as he presented himself to be. No, he's mostly just a big dope, in Hawke's book! Haha!

He does get a look in response to the AI joke though because well, she actually gets it. There's a reason no one knows her first name, there's a reason she keeps her story in check -- the idea of being more myth than anything else is better than the reality. For Jack, it's to build his reputation and for Hawke, it's to hide it. If five different people came away with five different stories about Hawke, then she never has to worry about the reality. She can disappear just as easily as she appeared -- she expects one day she'll have to do that again, once she leaves the Quad.

But less seriously, if he does peek -- Hawke would find it hilarious. She's no shame for her body at all, especially after the number of grievous injuries she's sustained and the people she's courted. Sure, he might catch side boob, but he also would catch the smattering of scars all over. Hawke's a warrior and it, well, it shows. ]

Synthetics? That's so boring. I hoped it was repurposed flesh. Anyway, you may look again.

[ And she's dressed! Jeans and a t-shirt for now, easy clothes to go finish up breakfast and begin loading the food onto two separate plates. She's in a chipper enough mood so she hums while she does, finishing up to set two plates on the table and sit with Jack to eat. She doesn't hesitate before starting on her bacon. ]

Any plans for the day, other than returning my dog?

[refactor]

[ Sideboob and scars. It's a good day in Jack's book tbh... He does steal a glance, but not more than that, since it's not an argument he really wants to have, so having his curiosity (slash voyeurism) satisfied, he just takes a drink of his coffee. He laughs into the cup, and when she says he can look again, he does. ]

Repurposed flesh? Like- Like, what, slapping a face pizza on me? Ugh, gross. No way. That's- That's something the friggin' prisoners would be into.

[ But he's laughing, especially at the words "face pizza," because that combination of words is objectively hilarious. He nods appreciatively as she brings the food, and he takes a bit before shrugging. ]

Ehhhh kinda. Today's what I like to call "field work day" aka the Company totes agrees with me that not all my work is best done in that shithole that is Intake. So. Gotta work on getting more people in there. [ He takes another bite, then points his fork towards her ] Gonna be putting out a few warrants if you want easy money.