Hey, losers, I'm probably out doing something amazing, so leave a message, and I'll try to get back to you. Or just think really loudly at me. I'll hear it. BEEP.
i asked why you only know sketchy shit, you nerd. [Because that was so incredibly clear and not phrased in the most insulting and defensive-reaction-provoking way possible. Obviously.] why do i care that you're good at stealing or weighing down milk bottles or any of your other carnie shit?
whatever. point is you have a weird affinity for one specific thing but inexplicably only use it for shooting arrows or crime apparently. and also you're boring at parties.
[... Okay, this isn't going according to plan. Probably because there was no plan.
See, a normal person would've just asked "hey, you're better at this skill than I am, can you help me with this new hobby I thought would be fun?" and then moved on when the answer was no. It's so easy! No arguments, no misunderstandings, no time wasted. None of... whatever the hell is going on here. But nooooooo.
Uuuuugh, Quire, why do you always do this to yourself? Answer: because you're an irrepressible, unmitigated fuck-up. And a try-hard. And an edgelord. Damn it.
... Alright. Fine. Time to grow up and try to salvage what he can of this mess. Fuck.]
try me. your whole "handwritten letter" crap, i mean.
( it's not the response clint's expecting, and he's not sure if it's the response he'd really wanted. he'd expected agreement, a yeah, not interested — or however quentin expresses pointed, deliberate disinterest. probably accompanied by some kind of judgement that amounts to how he's above it all, or something.
and so his reluctance isn't because he's embarrassed — for the most part, clint doesn't really do embarrassment — but because it's not a natural part of a conversation. it's gonna sound weird. )
we really need to work on your interpersonal skills.
( pot, kettle. )
have you ever tried shooting? by that, I mean anything. cause my problem with guns ( not his only problem, but a problem, ) is that anyone can use them. it's just point and click. or point and squeeze, or whatever. you don't need to think about it, the gun does all the work for you, so there's no real accountability for the shot. not from beginning to end. with a bow, it's all deliberate. you're not gonna hit anyone or anything if your breathing's off, if you don't take the time to anticipate your target. as soon as the string's drawn back, whatever your shot does is on you. whatever it hits is wherever I've decided it's gonna hit. personal responsibility.
so, it's the difference between an email and a handwritten letter.
I like people knowing that every shot is basically me going "this is exactly what I meant to do, hugs and kisses, Hawkeye".
i was pretty much raised by wolverine. that should tell you all you need to know
[Okay, Barton is really, really lucky Quentin actually likes him, because reading all that? It's rough. He's instantly and painfully bored, but since he did (regrettably?) ask, he does at least try to wrap his head around why anyone would intentionally use what his own explanation admits is a vastly less efficient way of accomplishing a task. If it's truly that precise using a bow—which Quentin has to assume it must be, having never picked up one of the damn things in his life—to the point where breathing differently fucks the whole shot up, then... what's the point? Just seems like statistically you'd miss more than you hit.
... Then again, Clint doesn't seem to ever really miss. Which honestly, Quentin just chalked up to a natural aptitude for spatial awareness and never missing arm day in like 30 years. Not like... some deep aspirational philosophy or something.
Man. See, this is why he normally just uses telepathy whenever he needs to understand a different perspective. Way easier.]
yyyyeah i mostly use psychic weapons so. not sure how that works into your metaphor. i mean i don't exactly have to aim but that's just because the whole kit and kaboodle is, you know, a part of me and stuff.
( it doesn't tell him everything he more-or-less needs to know, but as clint also knows logan, would even call him a friend even if he knows logan finds him annoying as fuck, clint doesn't think it's quite as damning as quentin might intend it to sound.
but in the rest of it, he's not wrong. it'd started as a means to be useful, to have something to do other than shovelling elephant shit and helping to fix rides. it'd been something to do that also made him feel wanted, even if neither jacques not chisholm had been quite the father figures he'd been hoping for.
the "it makes a point" of it all had come later. )
it doesn't, quire. you being able to do what you can do because it's you isn't the same thing.
but it's not like I really give two seconds thinking about why thor uses a hammer, or tony decides to dress up as a tin can.
my choice is my choice, is mostly what it comes down to.
plus there's just something really funny about kicking some bad guy's ass with some string and wood.
yeah, see, there was a baby emerging consciousness ai in charge of the simulation that needed help. i helped. telepath stuff.
well, didn't go exactly as planned, and now i've got a copy of its memories stuck in my head with nowhere to put it. also i can't access them. not ideal, but not the worst thing.
i just remembered it because you were rambling about "personal responsibility" and crap.
( is that what clint was expecting? no, not at all. is it better? debatable. )
so... you're an external hard drive, is what you're saying, only without the right admin privileges to access the questionable folder you've just downloaded from a questionable website and we've just gotta hope it doesn't install anything weird on you.
but with the positive spin of 'if something goes wrong with the ai, you can maybe kind of fix it'? like a data restore or whatever.
dude. that's not how any of this works. ignorance about telepathy i'll forgive since it's not like you avengers have ever had any decent psychics around, but how do you not know about computers? and don't say "i grew up in the circus" because i know for a fact you hang out with all kinds of "super genius" nerds.
if you must know the whole system was going to shit, and the only way to fix it was to do a hard reset that would wipe the old ai's memories. in layman's terms, kill it. i figured hey, doing really stupid shit to save the tragic asshole of the week is what bleeding heart superhero types do, right? so i downloaded a backup of its mind to do a full restore after the reset.
but then the fucking access terminals disappeared. guess new baby ai doesn't want its old memories back. and old ai is... hiding or something. thing is there shouldn't be any part of my mind i can't access, and yes, obviously i set up all kinds of security to keep it from, in your words, "installing anything weird on me". but now the damn thing won't come out. you don't build a hulk containment facility planning for him to lock himself in, you know?
the "super nerds" do the computer stuff, quentin. we're lucky I can type.
let's not talk about what people do to try and stop bruce, please. that's a shitty comparison.
( given, you know, clint did kill bruce and he did undergo a murder trial for it. given clint absolutely, completely hates himself for agreeing to do it in the first place. )
anyway, precisely none of what you've said makes me feel good about any of this.
1. that's sad. i'm sad for you barton. see, this is what happens when people don't have group telepathic knowledge share. 2. a shitty comparison for you to make, maybe. but i'm a fellow walking wmd. if you don't think there's just as much containment crap for qq as there is for big green i got a bridge to sell ya. 3. it's not supposed to make you feel good. but hey, if something goes tits up at least you'll know why, right?
1. no-one needs to see my thoughts 2. ALSO not what I meant. but for what it's worth, if you don't think I've got an arrow for every person I work with, you've got another think coming. 3. yay knowledge
my bad i forgot there's a merciful way to kill your friends hmmm is it psychic dampener arrows? i bet it's psychic dampener arrows
bishop's mind smells kinda like popcorn btw. you'd think it'd be the opposite, what with the whole carnie thing, but nope. wait is she also a carnie?? but like... from a nicer circus????
uh you're the one who said "everybody's got an arrow with their name on it" or whatever shit. what the hell else does that mean other than murdering fools?? is that what you avengers do when you're bored? just a little casual platonic arrow-shooting amongst friends?
hey so question: is being sulky and uptight like a prerequisite for being an arrow person or is it a consequence?
[There's a mildly suspicious pause before he replies. Did he go get a snack? Or is he regretting edgelording a little too hard? The world may never know.]
sooo i was right about psychic dampener arrows
[And then there's a much more suspicious pause before his next message.]
just to be clear i don't make a habit of killing people either. in case there was any confusion. there shouldn't be. but. you know.
i talk a lot of shit. i know it, you know it. it's whatever. doesn't make me a psycho. we gucci? great, good talk.
yeah no i was just clarifying because of the whole "merciless slaughtering" thing. it's the dark humor. people get weird about it. you know, you try to kill a bunch of randoms in a fit of teenage angst—unsuccessfully, mind you!—like two times and now nobody can take a goddamn joke. it's fine though. don't worry about it.
anyway, where was i? oh right. you being uptight.
exhibit a: you don't know any card tricks exhibit b: you're being cagey af about having anti-telepath arrows. dude everybody and their dog has that shit these days. telepaths are weird and scary and nobody likes us yadda yadda. yawn. that's old news. you don't have to be weird about it.
also there were evil doppelgangers running around this place literally last week so you know. relevant.
...that's it? you really think I haven't heard an off-color joke in my time?
I know card tricks! I just don't know card "tricks". which honestly just says I had a slightly more interesting, less lonely teenage experience than whatever would've led to me knowing how to guess what card someone's just picked out a pack. could probably figure something out since you're so goddamned hung up on it though.
...do you just take someone not telling you what you want to know as someone being weird and uptight? cause there's DEFINITELY another word we could use for that, and it's not one that describes me.
mine was just an asshole, I dunno if I'd go so far as to say 'evil'.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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you are aware you asked the question, right?
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why do i care that you're good at stealing or weighing down milk bottles or any of your other carnie shit?
whatever. point is you have a weird affinity for one specific thing but inexplicably only use it for shooting arrows or crime apparently. and also you're boring at parties.
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I got a whole thing about how using a bow and arrow's like mailing a handwritten letter, but somehow I don't think you're gonna be interested in that.
you don't know what I'm like at parties, kiddo.
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See, a normal person would've just asked "hey, you're better at this skill than I am, can you help me with this new hobby I thought would be fun?" and then moved on when the answer was no. It's so easy! No arguments, no misunderstandings, no time wasted. None of... whatever the hell is going on here. But nooooooo.
Uuuuugh, Quire, why do you always do this to yourself? Answer: because you're an irrepressible, unmitigated fuck-up. And a try-hard. And an edgelord. Damn it.
... Alright. Fine. Time to grow up and try to salvage what he can of this mess. Fuck.]
try me. your whole "handwritten letter" crap, i mean.
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and so his reluctance isn't because he's embarrassed — for the most part, clint doesn't really do embarrassment — but because it's not a natural part of a conversation. it's gonna sound weird. )
we really need to work on your interpersonal skills.
( pot, kettle. )
have you ever tried shooting? by that, I mean anything.
cause my problem with guns ( not his only problem, but a problem, ) is that anyone can use them. it's just point and click. or point and squeeze, or whatever.
you don't need to think about it, the gun does all the work for you, so there's no real accountability for the shot. not from beginning to end.
with a bow, it's all deliberate. you're not gonna hit anyone or anything if your breathing's off, if you don't take the time to anticipate your target. as soon as the string's drawn back, whatever your shot does is on you. whatever it hits is wherever I've decided it's gonna hit.
personal responsibility.
so, it's the difference between an email and a handwritten letter.
I like people knowing that every shot is basically me going "this is exactly what I meant to do, hugs and kisses, Hawkeye".
there's nothing "inexplicable" about it.
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[Okay, Barton is really, really lucky Quentin actually likes him, because reading all that? It's rough. He's instantly and painfully bored, but since he did (regrettably?) ask, he does at least try to wrap his head around why anyone would intentionally use what his own explanation admits is a vastly less efficient way of accomplishing a task. If it's truly that precise using a bow—which Quentin has to assume it must be, having never picked up one of the damn things in his life—to the point where breathing differently fucks the whole shot up, then... what's the point? Just seems like statistically you'd miss more than you hit.
... Then again, Clint doesn't seem to ever really miss. Which honestly, Quentin just chalked up to a natural aptitude for spatial awareness and never missing arm day in like 30 years. Not like... some deep aspirational philosophy or something.
Man. See, this is why he normally just uses telepathy whenever he needs to understand a different perspective. Way easier.]
yyyyeah i mostly use psychic weapons so. not sure how that works into your metaphor. i mean i don't exactly have to aim but that's just because the whole kit and kaboodle is, you know, a part of me and stuff.
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but in the rest of it, he's not wrong. it'd started as a means to be useful, to have something to do other than shovelling elephant shit and helping to fix rides. it'd been something to do that also made him feel wanted, even if neither jacques not chisholm had been quite the father figures he'd been hoping for.
the "it makes a point" of it all had come later. )
it doesn't, quire. you being able to do what you can do because it's you isn't the same thing.
but it's not like I really give two seconds thinking about why thor uses a hammer, or tony decides to dress up as a tin can.
my choice is my choice, is mostly what it comes down to.
plus there's just something really funny about kicking some bad guy's ass with some string and wood.
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see now you should have led with that, not all this personal responsibility crap. spite is always a motivation i can get behind.
[Sure, Quentin does understand that Barton isn't entirely motivated by spite. But he likes that explanation better, so it's what he's going with.]
oh right guess i should tell you about the ai in my brain at some point
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the WHAT
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well, didn't go exactly as planned, and now i've got a copy of its memories stuck in my head with nowhere to put it. also i can't access them. not ideal, but not the worst thing.
i just remembered it because you were rambling about "personal responsibility" and crap.
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so... you're an external hard drive, is what you're saying, only without the right admin privileges to access the questionable folder you've just downloaded from a questionable website and we've just gotta hope it doesn't install anything weird on you.
but with the positive spin of 'if something goes wrong with the ai, you can maybe kind of fix it'? like a data restore or whatever.
( does clint do computers? not really. )
how does the ai feel about all of this?
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if you must know the whole system was going to shit, and the only way to fix it was to do a hard reset that would wipe the old ai's memories. in layman's terms, kill it. i figured hey, doing really stupid shit to save the tragic asshole of the week is what bleeding heart superhero types do, right? so i downloaded a backup of its mind to do a full restore after the reset.
but then the fucking access terminals disappeared. guess new baby ai doesn't want its old memories back. and old ai is... hiding or something. thing is there shouldn't be any part of my mind i can't access, and yes, obviously i set up all kinds of security to keep it from, in your words, "installing anything weird on me". but now the damn thing won't come out. you don't build a hulk containment facility planning for him to lock himself in, you know?
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let's not talk about what people do to try and stop bruce, please. that's a shitty comparison.
( given, you know, clint did kill bruce and he did undergo a murder trial for it. given clint absolutely, completely hates himself for agreeing to do it in the first place. )
anyway, precisely none of what you've said makes me feel good about any of this.
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2. a shitty comparison for you to make, maybe. but i'm a fellow walking wmd. if you don't think there's just as much containment crap for qq as there is for big green i got a bridge to sell ya.
3. it's not supposed to make you feel good. but hey, if something goes tits up at least you'll know why, right?
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2. ALSO not what I meant. but for what it's worth, if you don't think I've got an arrow for every person I work with, you've got another think coming.
3. yay knowledge
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[Look, death by arrow is one of the very, very few ways he hasn't died.]
also 1. speaking from experience, no, they definitely do not. your brain smells like a day old grilled cheese, in case you were wondering
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and telling you would INCREDIBLY defeat the point.
I wasn't, thank you.
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hmmm is it psychic dampener arrows? i bet it's psychic dampener arrows
bishop's mind smells kinda like popcorn btw. you'd think it'd be the opposite, what with the whole carnie thing, but nope.
wait is she also a carnie?? but like... from a nicer circus????
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( —mostly. 99% of the time. )
I'm gonna let you ask kate that to her face, and I'm not gonna do a single thing when she punches you.
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is that what you avengers do when you're bored? just a little casual platonic arrow-shooting amongst friends?
hey so question: is being sulky and uptight like a prerequisite for being an arrow person or is it a consequence?
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on the naughty step, whatever.
NOT killing.
...yeah, okay, we can call ( ... ) training 'platonic arrow shooting' if you want.
sure a way of putting it though.
I'm not uptight.
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sooo i was right about psychic dampener arrows
[And then there's a much more suspicious pause before his next message.]
just to be clear i don't make a habit of killing people either. in case there was any confusion. there shouldn't be. but. you know.
i talk a lot of shit. i know it, you know it. it's whatever. doesn't make me a psycho. we gucci? great, good talk.
and you are uptight
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( a pause of his own here, one punctuated with a series of
look, it's generally not what a person chooses to do that's the problem.
but for the record, I don't make it a habit of working with anyone I think's a psycho.
you and I are working with very different definitions of 'uptight'.
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anyway, where was i? oh right. you being uptight.
exhibit a: you don't know any card tricks
exhibit b: you're being cagey af about having anti-telepath arrows. dude everybody and their dog has that shit these days. telepaths are weird and scary and nobody likes us yadda yadda. yawn. that's old news. you don't have to be weird about it.
also there were evil doppelgangers running around this place literally last week so you know. relevant.
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I know card tricks! I just don't know card "tricks". which honestly just says I had a slightly more interesting, less lonely teenage experience than whatever would've led to me knowing how to guess what card someone's just picked out a pack.
could probably figure something out since you're so goddamned hung up on it though.
...do you just take someone not telling you what you want to know as someone being weird and uptight? cause there's DEFINITELY another word we could use for that, and it's not one that describes me.
mine was just an asshole, I dunno if I'd go so far as to say 'evil'.
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