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.

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If it makes him feel any better, she looks impressed by the fact he made it in under five seconds. She's also making a mental note to to find out the exact distance from her suite to his, so she can make a guess of how fast he can go. Just in case.

"Warnings are boring," That statement is somewhat reflective of Steph's entire life philosophy, "Anyway, it wasn't like I was gonna leave without you if you hadn't made it back in time."

He's cuter all mussed up and out of breath, but she's going to keep that thought to herself as she makes her way to the door, since now that he's in civvies they can go out.

"And to answer your question; not really, no. I don't like losing my inhibitions," It's true enough, just not the entire truth.

He manages to catch his breath, leaning on the door frame, and straightens, running a hand through his ruffled hair to fix it and pulling down his slightly askew shirt so that it wasn't riding up as much.

"Yeah," he starts, giving his hair another go through before abandoning it. "But you wouldn't have been impressed," he finished, giving a small grin when he did.

Tommy watched her as she moved to the door, and then pushed off the frame, joining her. He did actually bring some money--since it wasn't like he actually paid for the chocolate stuff--but he's glad she has her wallet. He's not entirely sure just how much he grabbed it being a new currency and all that.

"Yeah, it doesn't seem fun if it doesn't wear off in like, five minutes," he gave a shrug, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"So. Lead the way, cafe expert."

It doesn't surprise her at all that he's a bit of a show off, and she rolls her eyes a little in reponse to that grin, but she's mostly just amused.

"The whole thing loses it's appeal after you wake up in a park, missing your pants and feeling like your mouth's been stuffed full of cotton," With the way she's smirking, it's hard to tell whether or not that actually happened to her, or if she's exaggerating. It may forever remain a mystery.

But she closes the door behind them both and starts walking towards one of the cafes in the Sector that she's started to visit regularly. One of the baristas even knows her order.

Edited 2012-09-03 00:52 (UTC)

Her story gets an eyebrow raise out of him, and he waits for her outside as she shuts the door and then matches her stride. He's still looking around, taking the sectors sights in, because for all his running and exploring, there was actually only so much you saw at high speed.

"Speaking from experience, or...?" he said with a cheeky smirk, moving so that he was suddenly on the otherside of her. He might be in civvies, but that didn't stem his need to be constantly fidgeting. "Because that's kinda specific."

That's going to be something to get used to. Fortunately Steph has a little experience with Kara flitting around, enough that she can keep a hold on her urge to punch things that get too close to her without warning.

"A lady never tells," She affects a 'proper' tone, even adding a haughty look, before she grins, "Luckily for you, I'm not much of a lady. Apparently my friends and I had decided to go for a swim in one of the park fountains. I had to walk home in my t-shirt and knickers."

Feel free to imagine that, Tommy.

Even if she tried to punch him, she'd probably miss and punch nothing but air.

He grins when she gives the whole story up, and has to stand back a little so he could imagine that, suddenly on the other side of her again.

"Sounds like a blast," he grinned, trying not to look too smug about it. "I can see why you and alcohol aren't friends."

Probably.

She isn't too bothered by that look. For all that she can get flustered by the attention, it's enjoyable enough so long as it's on her own terms.

"That's one way to put it. And it's not even the worst thing I've done," She manages to look both contrite and cheeky about that little bit of information. What is the worst thing she's done?

She gives him a bit of a bemused look at all the flitting around, "I'm not slowing you down too much, am I?"

Oh, that was unfair. Tempting that morsel infront of him without actually offering it up.

"You know, if you leave me to imagine that, I can definitely come up with worse," he smirked, before adding, "So really, it's kinda in your best intrest to just get it out in the open." It was a shame he didn't have any alcohol stories. Or well, ones that involved him, rather than taking Kate to a bar and then convincing her that breaking into the Avengers mansion to steal her bow back was a good idea. (It had been, he'd totally scored and it had been worth it.)

"I'm used to it," he says, shrugging, forcing himself to try and not fidget too much.

"Could be worse. We could be on one of those carts that bring us here from the edge."

He's never going to be over that.

Edited 2012-09-10 15:16 (UTC)

"Maybe I want to see what you come up with," All that contrition is gone, leaving just a cheeky grin, "Let's see what sort of girl you think I am."

Oh, there be dragons in this territory, Tommy.

She feels a little guilty for making a speedster going at regular-person speed, especially after he makes an effort not to fidget.

"I promise never to subject you to one of those carts," If he stays still long enough for her to do it, she'll bump her shoulder against his in a friendly gesture, "Don't worry, we're not too far."

Although she's not sure how great he's going to be at sitting still.

Suddenly, Tommy didn't feel like offering up any suggestions. Not with that vague threat lingering in the air. He laughs somewhat nervously and shrugs, shaking his head.

"Nah, I'm just good at knowing what drunk people do. Not necessarily what you'd do. I'm not playing that game with you, it'll get messy real quick," he offered, giving a shrug.

As she continued, he grins, letting her shoulder bump against his, moving back against it in a similarly friendly gesture.

"Good, 'cause I'm starving. They sell food, right?"

"Smart boy," If that had been a test, he would've passed with flying colours (not that it was, of course). Honestly, she hasn't done anything that bad, and she was perfectly sober when she got knocked up, "You've clearly spent plenty of time around teenage girls."

Where everything is a trap, apparently.

"They've got the usual cafe fare, just in like - kedan version," Some of the food is similar, btu some of it is very different, "If you're really hungry, we might have to find a proper restaurant eventually."

So, turning the coffee date into a dinner date. Steph isn't entirely sure what she's doing.

He gave a small grin, shrugging lightly.

"Hey, I'm not stupid. And yeah. I know--knew--two," he trails off, scratching the back of his head a little. He clears his throat and tries to pass that off as just a slight wording error. "If they ask you if their dress makes them look fat you always say no. That's the rules."

He nodded when she continued, looking up at the scenery to try and continue passing off that comment. Even though he'd seen her die in front of him, it was still a hard thing to come to terms with sometimes. She was sort of like an annoying little sister who was terrible at baking.

"I'm good for whatever," he grinned, digging around in his pocket and producing the small wallet. "I got money, so it's not like you have to pay to feed me."

"Those are the rules, it's amazing how many boys don't know them," Steph spent a lot of time with boys when she was younger, and a lot of them were really... not good at talking to girls.

She notes that swap in tense, files it away for later.

"Maybe I want to pay for you; 21st Century girl and all that," She's mainly teasing, and she links an arm through his to gently tug him down a side street and into the little secluded cafe that she's taken to, "Told you it wasn't far."

Tommy laughed at that comment, scuffing his foot on the floor.

"Yeah, I learned that the hard way once. Kate almost gave me a black eye. Never again after that," he grimaced, shrugging. He doesn't get girls sometimes. Mostly he just nods and agrees now.

He glanced down at her arm as she linked them, and gave her a brief smile, pulling her arm closer and trailing after her. Tommy looks up when she mentions the cafe.

"Hey, you can pay for me if you want, but I have a metabolism that is seriously crazy. So you'd be spending a whole lotta money."

"She sounds like my kinda girl," It's mostly joking, but really, any girl willing to dish it out to a dude on occasion is someone Steph is likely to approve of.

She lets go of his arm once they're inside, so that they can take a seat. Like always, she picks the table where she's got her back to a wall and a god view of the exits, but she makes it look like a random choice.

"It seems unfair," Her expression twists a little, almost-but-not-quite a frown, "It's all well and good to give us the same starting allowance and wages, but like, you're always going to be paying more than the rest of us just to keep yourself fed. It just doesn't sit right with me."

He's probably not the only one, either, and the whole thing just frustrates her a little.

Tommy laughed at her comment, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah, you and Kate would get on. She's pretty badass."

He followed after her when they get into the cafe, looking around at the decor, and taking in the sights. He's not been into many of the actual shops, picking to stick closely to markets which are easier to steal from. Not that he's about to tell her that he does that. He doesn't take notice of how she picks the table, and slid down into the seat opposite, stretching his legs out underneath.

"It is," he started, finding something on the table to occupy his hands with. A spoon would do. "I'm kinda used to it I guess? I mean, I'm good at looking out for myself."

"The problem is that you shouldn't have to get used to it," She lets out her breath in a huff, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. Her annoyance at the situation is clear, but her tone is mostly just wry, taking the edge off.

"There's always this assumption that every starts off equal, which is, you know, wrong. So when everyone then gets equal resources, it's still giving some people an advantage over others," Once that's out of her mouth, she sort of just - pauses for a second before her expression shifts to apologetic.

"Sorry, this isn't a very fun topic of discussion," This is probably the reason she doesn't get many dates.

Tommy watches her with a small smile, continuing to turn the spoon over in his hands to keep some part of him moving. If it wasn't his hands it would be his leg, twitching against the floor.

"No, you're totally right," he said, giving a small shrug. "But what am I supposed to do other than deal with it? I mean, I live with my brother's parents--long story, don't ask--and they feed me, but I still gotta go out and get my own food because it's never enough," he says, trailing off and knocking the spoon against a glass.

"Wow, I sound like a total pig."

There's something wrong with that sentence, and it takes her a moment to figure it out - shouldn't his brother's parents be his parents? - but he's said not to ask, so she won't.

She shakes her head, "You sound like someone with an accelerated metabolism. And, hell, I've met teenage boys who could easily put away enough food in one sitting to feed a small family for a week."

Okay, slight exaggeration, but only slight.

"Speaking of eating, I'm gonna grab a waiter if you're ready to order?"

She's not sure what to say about the whole - unfairness of the world thing, so she's just... not going to say anything.

He picks up on the fact that she's confused by the parent thing and is glad he did say to not ask. He had the most convoluted backstory ever, and it confused him most of the time. Though, if she really wanted to know, he could try and explain that he's a soul baby of the Scarlet Witch and actually has different biological parents to Billy. Soul twins. God that sounds fucking ridiculous.

Tommy laughs when she exaggerates. "Yeah, I can probably do that. It just sucks because I'm always hungry. I'm good at ignoring it."

And then she mentions food.

"I have no idea what I want other than something that's not a pork bun."

She remembers a bit of what that was like, always being hungry, though she imagines it's probably worse for Tommy. And it's also not something she really wants to bring up in casual conversation.

"I'm kinda used to cooking for two, so if you ever wanna come by for lunch or dinner, there'll usually be plenty of extra," She tries not to make it sound like some sort of - charity, like it'll be beneficial to both of them; he can eat more and she won't have to worry about leftovers.

The comment about pork buns gets a laugh, "They do these rice paper roll sort of things that're pretty good."

He brightened at the mention of food--and of course at the suggestion that he could see her again after this. Was this a date? Tommy's pretty sure he doesn't do dates that don't end in some sort of criminal activity. Or at least, he's not been on any that haven't.

He smiles, genuinely, and scratches the back of his head. "Hey, I'm not gonna turn down leftovers," he said, shrugging. "Unless you're a really bad cook. I mean, I'll probably still eat it, but man. If you tasted some of the stuff my friend Cassie used to make you'd never wanna eat again."

He paused, just to remember that tray of brownies that Billy had dared him to eat and he had foolishly had the whole tray. Cassie had been so thrilled that her brownies went down a treat that she'd made Tommy three more trays, and yeah, he was a dick but he wasn't about to tell Cassie that she was feeding him stuff that should be classified as toxic waste. He had eaten all of them, and then not wanted to eat again for three days after. He blinked back into the present when Steph laughs.

"Wait, they make paper out of rice here?"

"I'm not the world's greatest chef or anything, but I promise I can cook edible food," That's a pretty accurate summary of her skills; she can admire people who cook well (Alfred) but for her it's just... putting food on a plate in a way that's nice enough, and she's never put effort into learning how to do it well.

Past tense again, and she notices that he doesn't seem to be quite paying attention for a second. Part of her wants to ask, about this Cassie, but she knows it's not her place.

So she just facepalms at his comment, "It's not actually paper. Haven't you ever had Vietnamese food before?"

He wouldn't mind if she did ask. It's something he's had to get used to talking about, and if he didn't talk about her she'd just end up getting forgotten. Which wasn't what he wanted. He grins at her response though.

"As long as its edible, I'm there," he smiles, blinking as she continues.

"Uhhh, not that I remember?"

"It might even be nice, if you catch me on a good day," It's more of a joke than anything, there to give her a second to sort through her feelings. It'll be nice to have someone around, even if it's just Tommy stopping in occasionally for dinner, but she's almost a little annoyed at herself for being so relieved. She should be better at being on her own.

It's easier to shake her head at him as she tries to think of the best way to describe rice paper, "It's good. Almost like... a really thin, flat, big noodle. And you wrap it around more noodles and vegetables and meat."

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

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omg im so sorry this took me so long u__u

do not worry bb, i have been super slow anyway

<3

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WOW WHAT HAPPENED THERE LMFAO

combination actionspam and prose i enjoyed it

screech no it was hideous

well. maybe a little

no terrible

abloo i am the latest

no never <3

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