[ Shang-chi isn't, actually, much of a morning person. When forced to get up with the alarm clock, he'll absolutely do the thing, but he won't be happy about it. Thus, the invitation to Rita's town hall meeting unfortunately stays neglected until Alina comes into his room with a handful of pocketed doughnuts, and then he tunes in and out of the feed to get the basic gist of what's going down.
The doughnuts aren't so bad, if a tiny bit lint-y.
Halfway through and needing the caffeine boost, he decides he'll brave the mess hall if only to get to the kitchen for a strong tea (or maybe coffee) when he catches sight of the hostess herself right outside of the doors, leaning against the side and ... admittedly looking a little stressed out. The doors themselves are closed but he can just hear the reverberations of two parties arguing with each other. It sounds like some kind of political debate. Totally not his scene.
And he guesses that might be one of the reasons Rita's out here. ]
[ it had all started so well and maybe rita's lucky it had managed to stay that way for a long enough time before the conflicted opinions began to really make themselves known. she expected debates, but she'd been hopeful that the change in scenery from the high-stress of the mission could allow for more breathing room. then again, even she briefly found herself a little heated when the unexpected argument of "acting v spy work" became a sudden hot topic.
with the potential for stress on the uprise, briefly catching her cheek feeling a bit loose, rita decided the best option was to catch her own breath, slipping out of the room and taking a plate full of assorted donuts with her.
she doesn't want to go too far, aware that she'd be a horrible hostess if she simply left and didn't come back before the meeting's end, but it's at least enough of a change of scenery to be in the empty hallway, which is where shaun finds her, looking up with surprise when he greets her, lips pressing together with slight embarrassment in being caught. as well as having a mouth full of donut.
swallowing it down, she nods, ]
Sure is. [ she laughs quietly and rather bashfully. ] Promise not to tattle that I'm out here?
Only if you'll forgive me for not showing up in the first place.
[ He lifts a hand to rub at the back of his neck apologetically.
By way of explanation, he continues. ]
I β uh. I'm not much of a morning person even on my best days. And after last mission, it seems like all I want to do is sleep. [ From behind the doors, a new opinion joins the throng, the timbre of their voice mixing in with the others.
He gestures back towards the doors. ] I'm also not really much of a debater.
Oh, don't worry. You were hardly the only one and I'm a big girl. I can handle rejection.
[ the latter part of that is meant as a casual tease, aiming for a little lightheartedness as a counter to the higher sense of tension that looms past the wall behind her. it's also to make herself feel better, aware that things didn't turn out exactly as she'd hoped, even if she tried to keep her expectations low. ]
Besides, there's more than enough debaters in there. Along with a massive too-cool-for-school crowd left lurking in the back of the room, whispering gossip under their breath while drilling holes with their judging looks. [ though she keeps her tone light, clearly there's a slight edge of disappointment the more she speaks. ] I've been in enough audition rooms watching the bored stares of countless self-important producers to know what a condescending presence looks like.
So, we're going to come out with a totally chill, hivemind crew at the end of all this, right?
[ It's said jokingly, of course, because even he knows that in a best case scenario, there are always going to be a few naysayers ... and the quiet judgers in the back. A single meeting isn't going to solve all the tensions from last mission either, not when everyone carries their own experiences and seem pretty adamant about sticking to their guns. It's not a bad thing, exactly, but it makes it hard to agree on a single idea.
Even Shang-chi ... well. Of course he's got an opinion but he's hardly going to voice it in a meeting just to have something to say. ]
I'm sorry it's going a little rough. But hey, kudos to you for trying.
[ she can join in the joke, especially since hivemind isn't really what she had in mind with this meeting anyway, even if that seems to be something of a quick protest from some of the presences in that room.
rita does manage a minor smile at his sympathies. ]
Thanks. I ... know it was a long shot. I just thought it would be a good opportunity for us all to step into each other's shoes for a little bit without everything else pressuring our minds at once. [ she sighs, finger poking at her half-bitten donut, trying to decide if she still has an appetite for it. ] I know what it's like getting thrown together with strangers and having to put aside our differences to work as a team. I hoped my experience would be enough to find a way to make it work again.
[ It's definitely not a common experience for Shang-chi whose first real experience being on any kind of team is ... well, this one. He'd never even been on team sports, choosing to avoid amassing with more than a single person at a time. Too many people to know too many things about him all at once β and that wasn't safe. That meant more of a chance of discovery.
He thinks about the Avengers and how they might have run things but ... well, they surely had their issues too; that had been in the news too. ]
Were they this full of differing opinions and experiences too?
[ rita nearly laughs at his question, not because it's a silly one by any means, but it prompts her to begin imagining everyone back home. jane's apathy towards anything anyone else happened to be involved in, cliff swearing up a storm while breaking into another panic revolving around his daughter, larry muttering every scenario in how their ideas are likely all doomed to fail, victor presuming his heroics while likely deciding he could more easily accomplish it all on his own.
she misses them all much more than she could ever describe. ]
We were all probably twice as terrible with coming to terms towards any unanimous agreement. I don't think you could have found any group so ridiculously different.
[ except in the way they had all been brought together. saying they were trauma bonded is an understatement. ]
But we found our ways. Every once in a while, we'd be lucky in having a common goal, and though we were plenty different, it was those differences that highlighted our individual strengths. And I think ... I think it's exactly that which helped benefit all of us.
slowly puts hands over your eyes shh don't pay attention to the timestamps
Well, we do have a common goal here: get the orb. I think it's the methods of how people think we should be getting it that often puts us at odds with each other.
[ And then there are the heroes, the ones who want nothing more than to leave each world better than when they'd arrived. Which, you know, is a great idea in theory and all, but the execution ... leaves something to be desired.
He's been through a fair handful of missions now and he's seen the way they could help and the way they could hinder, and it's hard to know what method is best to take.
He's really never been on any kind of team before. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
action β in the middle of town hall meeting ;
The doughnuts aren't so bad, if a tiny bit lint-y.
Halfway through and needing the caffeine boost, he decides he'll brave the mess hall if only to get to the kitchen for a strong tea (or maybe coffee) when he catches sight of the hostess herself right outside of the doors, leaning against the side and ... admittedly looking a little stressed out. The doors themselves are closed but he can just hear the reverberations of two parties arguing with each other. It sounds like some kind of political debate. Totally not his scene.
And he guesses that might be one of the reasons Rita's out here. ]
Hey β some meeting in there, huh?
no subject
with the potential for stress on the uprise, briefly catching her cheek feeling a bit loose, rita decided the best option was to catch her own breath, slipping out of the room and taking a plate full of assorted donuts with her.
she doesn't want to go too far, aware that she'd be a horrible hostess if she simply left and didn't come back before the meeting's end, but it's at least enough of a change of scenery to be in the empty hallway, which is where shaun finds her, looking up with surprise when he greets her, lips pressing together with slight embarrassment in being caught. as well as having a mouth full of donut.
swallowing it down, she nods, ]
Sure is. [ she laughs quietly and rather bashfully. ] Promise not to tattle that I'm out here?
no subject
[ He lifts a hand to rub at the back of his neck apologetically.
By way of explanation, he continues. ]
I β uh. I'm not much of a morning person even on my best days. And after last mission, it seems like all I want to do is sleep. [ From behind the doors, a new opinion joins the throng, the timbre of their voice mixing in with the others.
He gestures back towards the doors. ] I'm also not really much of a debater.
no subject
[ the latter part of that is meant as a casual tease, aiming for a little lightheartedness as a counter to the higher sense of tension that looms past the wall behind her. it's also to make herself feel better, aware that things didn't turn out exactly as she'd hoped, even if she tried to keep her expectations low. ]
Besides, there's more than enough debaters in there. Along with a massive too-cool-for-school crowd left lurking in the back of the room, whispering gossip under their breath while drilling holes with their judging looks. [ though she keeps her tone light, clearly there's a slight edge of disappointment the more she speaks. ] I've been in enough audition rooms watching the bored stares of countless self-important producers to know what a condescending presence looks like.
no subject
So, we're going to come out with a totally chill, hivemind crew at the end of all this, right?
[ It's said jokingly, of course, because even he knows that in a best case scenario, there are always going to be a few naysayers ... and the quiet judgers in the back. A single meeting isn't going to solve all the tensions from last mission either, not when everyone carries their own experiences and seem pretty adamant about sticking to their guns. It's not a bad thing, exactly, but it makes it hard to agree on a single idea.
Even Shang-chi ... well. Of course he's got an opinion but he's hardly going to voice it in a meeting just to have something to say. ]
I'm sorry it's going a little rough. But hey, kudos to you for trying.
no subject
[ she can join in the joke, especially since hivemind isn't really what she had in mind with this meeting anyway, even if that seems to be something of a quick protest from some of the presences in that room.
rita does manage a minor smile at his sympathies. ]
Thanks. I ... know it was a long shot. I just thought it would be a good opportunity for us all to step into each other's shoes for a little bit without everything else pressuring our minds at once. [ she sighs, finger poking at her half-bitten donut, trying to decide if she still has an appetite for it. ] I know what it's like getting thrown together with strangers and having to put aside our differences to work as a team. I hoped my experience would be enough to find a way to make it work again.
no subject
[ It's definitely not a common experience for Shang-chi whose first real experience being on any kind of team is ... well, this one. He'd never even been on team sports, choosing to avoid amassing with more than a single person at a time. Too many people to know too many things about him all at once β and that wasn't safe. That meant more of a chance of discovery.
He thinks about the Avengers and how they might have run things but ... well, they surely had their issues too; that had been in the news too. ]
Were they this full of differing opinions and experiences too?
no subject
she misses them all much more than she could ever describe. ]
We were all probably twice as terrible with coming to terms towards any unanimous agreement. I don't think you could have found any group so ridiculously different.
[ except in the way they had all been brought together. saying they were trauma bonded is an understatement. ]
But we found our ways. Every once in a while, we'd be lucky in having a common goal, and though we were plenty different, it was those differences that highlighted our individual strengths. And I think ... I think it's exactly that which helped benefit all of us.
slowly puts hands over your eyes shh don't pay attention to the timestamps
[ And then there are the heroes, the ones who want nothing more than to leave each world better than when they'd arrived. Which, you know, is a great idea in theory and all, but the execution ... leaves something to be desired.
He's been through a fair handful of missions now and he's seen the way they could help and the way they could hinder, and it's hard to know what method is best to take.
He's really never been on any kind of team before. ]