tushanshu_logs | Don't run away. 'cause that's the deal with it

Entry tags:

Don't run away. 'cause that's the deal with it

Characters: Stephanie Brown and you! Also Brandon I guess.
Location: Earth Sector, Metal Sector, everywhereelse Sector.
Situation: A day in the life! Feel free to pick from one of the many places mentioned in the log, if you want, you can put time/place in the header!
Warnings/Rating: Vague references to physical/sexual child abuse.

Life is weird.

Steph tries to keep that in mind as she deals with her new existence in Tu Vishan. She's met aliens, she's travelled to magical dimensions to punch witches, and she knows people who have travelled through time, but somehow none of that compares to the current situation. A city on the back of a giant turtle is just taking it one step too far, and when the hostility of the locals is added on top of that, Steph ends up spending her first night sleeping underneath her bed, with the blankets pulled down with her like a nest. It's a coping method she developed when she was eleven, and this is the first time she's had to do it since coming back from Africa. But she manages to sleep without dreaming, so it's worth it.

Upon waking the next day, she resolves not to let the fear and weirdness get to her. It's a hostile environment, but she spent most of her life living in a hostile environment, and at least now she has allies (friends might be pushing it) in the form of Bruce and Damian, and she's going to work on befriending the other superheroes that have been brought here. If the Kedan turn against them en masse, she'll be ready, but until then she's not going to let fear control her.

The first thing she decides to do is shopping. She's already bought one set of clothes, but she'll need at least one more, and probably a set of shoes that aren't her Batgirl boots. Being in the Earth sector makes that a easier, what with the fact it's a textiles based area and she spends a few hours in the morning walking through shops, finding the cheapest places to pick up what she needs, and then lingering at the more expensive places over nice fabric and sewing machines. Logically, she knows she can't afford to splurge on a machine before she gets a job, but that doesn't stop her wanting one; in the end she just buys needles and assorted thread, hand-sewing will take longer and won't look quite as nice, but she'll survive.

When she passes a little stationary shop, she goes in to buy a notebook and some pens. For all her training, Steph has little experience in maintained fake identities, and she doesn't want to risk getting caught out in a lie by anyone here. Her best bet is to keep everything written down, in code of course, so that she can keep track of the identity she's building for herself in the city.

Her next stop is a market in the Water Sector - after someone in one of the clothes shops recommended it to her, and after a rather considerable walk - to pick up some basic foodstuffs. It's not often she only buys groceries for a single person, and the thought hits her with a wave of homesickness. She treats herself to some chocolate in between buying serious items like bread and vegetables, and spends the rest of her time at the market popping pieces of the confectionary into her mouth and trying to decide if it tastes that different from chocolate back home. (The results are inconclusive; she'll have to buy more later to test again). When she's done, she runs the expense of hiring a small rickshaw so that she doesn't have to trek all the way back to her suite.

By the time night falls, she's ready to go out again, dressed in the black lycra underlayers of her Batgirl costume, and the hooded cloak she made herself during the day.

For the first time in a very long time, Steph goes dumpster diving. It's something she learnt a long time ago out of necessity, and with the city the way it is right now, after the attempted executions, she wants to get back into practice, and to search out the best spots in Keeliai. If push comes to shove, she wants to know where she can get food for free, and she wants to know before she gets desperate. It rankles a little that she has to, and she does her best to stick to the shadows and stay hidden, out of fear that another "foreigner" will spot her; she's seen how quickly people's opinions can change when they discover someone is willing to eat discarded food. (She has a lot of arguments about how it can be perfectly sanitary and actually nice if people know where to look, but she wishes it wasn't necessary).

She doesn't take anything, because it's going to be a long night, and she doesn't want to be carrying food around for it, but it settles her nerves to find a few good spots. Restaurants and grocers are always fairly reliable when it comes to throwing out edible food, as are bakeries, though often she's found those donate their leftovers to shelters, because while a self-respecting baker won't sell day old bread, there's actually nothing wrong with it. She could go around her neighbourhood in less than hour and come home with a few days worth of meals for herself and her mom, but it takes her longer in Keeliai, despite the fact she sticks only to the Earth sector for the first night.

After around two and a half hours, she brings out her grapple gun and moves on to more general reconnaissance. It's rare for her to work anywhere but Gotham, where she grew up, the streets that she knows like the back of her hand, so she knows that learning the lay of the land in Keeliai is important. As much as she hates to admit it, even to herself, she could be trapped for a long time, and it's going to be vital to be able to navigate through the city quickly and easily.

In moments of freefall, where the wind rushes past her before she catches herself with her line, Steph is confident she can survive this.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Yeah, well. Different strokes, I guess. So what about you? I feel like I've talked your ear off and I don't even know your last name."

... Is that a spark of self-awareness? Ye gods.

"My life's pretty boring compared to yours, I wouldn't ask me about it, either," She pauses to take another drink of her coffee, but it's clear she does actually plan to continue.

Her life isn't boring at all, she just has to work out what she can tell him, and to try to ignore the urge to - be honest in return for his honesty, that might be a bad move.

"Brown, is my last name. I grew up in North Elizabeth, NJ, with my parents, though a lot of the time it was just me and my mom while dad bounced in and out of prison," It's a small concession, a truth in exchange for Brandon's, but she doesn't have to mention the supervillain part, "I guess things were pretty normal growing up, for the situation. I graduated two years ago, spent some time travelling, and now I'm studying at NJCU."

She looks wry, like she's apologizing for the fact her life isn't full of powers and supervillains and meglomaniacs. It's almost completely put on, but she's good enough at acting.

"Maybe I like boring." That's not a lie, at least. Sometimes he wishes that's all his life ever was. No TV, no acting, no million-dollar mother, no Rick-- definitely no Osborn. Would he have ever even gotten these powers if his life had just... been normal?

He's always known there was something his mother wasn't telling him. Whether it was about his real dad (because he's always wondered if the guy she gets child support from was it, or just someone who was content to pay her to shut her up) or something in her own life...

No clue. But he's always been curious.

"That sucks about your dad. I'm... sorry to hear it."

Wow that's not a word he uses very often.

Steph shrugs, as if it doesn't matter all that much, "S'alright, it was better when he wasn't around, anyway." That sentence is full of unspoken things, but she's not too concerned if Brandon picks up on them. Shit like that happens, it's just a part of life.

After a second, she adds, "Oh, and I'm a gynmast, hence the whole... tree thing."

She'd decided early on to make that part of her story, it doesn't raise too much suspicion (plenty of people do gymnastics) and it explains the serious callous problem her hands have, as well as her muscles, in case she ever wears something fitting or short sleeved.

"A gymnast. Wow. That's hot." The playful leer is nothing short of pure, unadulterated teenage fratboy. He even winks at her as he takes a drink of his iced coffee.

You know? All things considered, it's not that bad.

She rolls her eyes at him, but can't hide her amused smile, "I guess I shouldn't mention that I've done poledancing classes, then?"

Now she's just being terrible on purpose. The worst part is she's already thought up a story for it, despite the fact she has never actually taken poledancing classes. She's trained using ariel silk, though, and figures the skills are probably transferrable.

"Yikes, babe, are you looking to get me all hot and bothered? Cruel and unusual punishment if you ask me."

He really is just teasing though. He's met plenty of women who did pole for the stripper chic aesthetic of it all and she doesn't really fit the image. If there's one thing he's good at picking up on, it's image.

"Maybe that's what I'm into," Referring to that cruel and unusual punishment comment. She even makes a good show of quirking an eyebrow, but she can't keep a straight face for very long, and it only takes a few seconds before she's covering her mouth with her hand to hide her laughter.

"Sorry," No, she's not.

He groans, and leans forward so he can thunk his head against the table. Such a cruel mistress, Stephanie. He can hardly stand it.

That really doesn't help with the laughter situation, but Steph composes herself enough so that she can pat Brandon's head in feigned sympathy.

"This is why you should be careful who you flirt with, they might turn out to be terrible," Somehow she manages to say terrible as if what she really means is awesome; it's a skill she has.

He rolls his eyes as he straightens, and then lounges back against his chair as before, tipping his coffee cup in a salute. "It's okay. I think I like terrible."

"I hope you know that's practically issuing me a challenge," Steph tries her best to look innocent as she says that, as if she doesn't love a challenge, "I'd be careful, if I were you."

She's missed this sort of flirting, Tim was never any good at it, and she hasn't really - talked to a lot of guys at college. Detective Gage doesn't count, because he's probably like ten years older than her and crushing on Babs, anyway.

"I like a good challenge, sweetheart. It keeps me on my toes." He leers a little, playfully enough, and blows a kiss.

"Besides. Superheroes and 'being careful' don't really have much to say to one another, in my reasonably extensive experience."

Oh. He used the word 'hero'.

... Well.

That's... a thing.

The kiss has her rolling her eyes this time, even if she's obviously enjoying the banter. (And the attention?)

"Reasonably extensive experience, huh?" The look she gives him makes it pretty clear she's not quite talking about superhero experience. Of course that's what she took from the sentence.

Oh, he gets it, and he grins in an appropriately showy fashion. "TV star, remember? I've had people throwing themselves at me for years. Comes with the territory."

"So you come highly recommended?" She takes a sip of her coffee, eyeing him over the rim of the mug before she sets it down on the table, and with a light tone, amends, "Not that I'm throwing myself at you, of course."

No, of course not.

"You better believe it." That even gets a wink.

"Being a superhero comes with its notoriety. I mean... anonymity was never really an option for us."

Not with the Avengers being so eager to prove to the public that they could look after the rejects of Osborne's failed regime. He's never been able to shake the feeling that it was essentially just some positive press for Pym, at a time when his approval ratings were somewhere around G.W.

Her smile shifts a little, from amused to sympathetic, "That must be hard. I don't think I'd ever feel safe."

There's no need for her to fake anything, with that comment. As much as there are public superheroes in her world - Kory can't exactly pretend to be human - most people have a secret identity, and for all Steph isn't great at hers, she values it. Not having any anonymity would be awful.

Edited (wow i can type, honest) 2012-09-02 03:29 (UTC)

"You get used to it." He shrugs. As much as he likes talking about himself, having people... sound sympathetic has never really been something he's comfortable with. He's not here for the sob stories and the 'there-theres'.

"Maybe I'm just a wimp," Her smile is wry, the comment meant to be jokingly self-deprecating. She's kind of picking up on the fact he's not great with sympathy (something she can understand) and humour is her go-to deflection, "Though in my defence, I can't just zap people who mess with me."

There's an alarming thought.

"It's--"

Terrifying. Horrible. It's something you have to live with for the rest of your life and do you have any idea what flesh smells like after it's been superheated to the several thousand degrees that's channelled by a lightning strike? That sick, alkaline-electric stench?

"Not all it's cracked up to be. But it's something to do."

... And then, a little awkwardly. "But I don't think you're a wimp. A wimp would've ran." When, you know, he almost fried her.

That pause has her thinking that there's something he's not saying, about his powers, or about his experience with them, but she defintely doesn't know him well enough to call him on it. She decides not to address it all, the only thing she has to offer is sympathy, and that doesn't seem work well with him.

The latter comment has her smiling, both for the compliment (it's a compliment, right? Because that's how she's taking it) and for Brandon's awkwardness, "Well, once you go to a Jersey public school, nothing's really that scary anymore."

Not even a boy with a handful of lightning.

"Oh, come on. Monsters are scary to anybody." Jersey public schools or not. He so doesn't buy the bravado.

Well, okay. He does, a little, but now he's back to just teasing her. It's fun, okay?

"Nah," Now she's just playing up the feigned bravado, clearly monsters aren't a big deal, "The monsters in my closet used to be my best friends. We had tea parties."

Better than the monsters outside her closet.

"Is that the sort of thing you should be admitting on a first date?"

He's grinning as he asks it, though. Even though it's one of those not-quite-Hollywood smiles that he can't quite bring himself to mean.

(no subject)

controlledvariable - 2012-09-12 02:35 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only