|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 8:38 pm
The others would hopefully discover that Tallulah was far less of an agressive bossypants than her superpowered alter-ego. She'd never been a social butterfly prior to sprouting ribbons from her butt - something about a henshin had done wonders for her self confidence, whereas prior she'd been sort of weird and sort of a nerd. Type A personalities could be crippling in high school where they gave you a reputation as a busybody, but as a senshi all the stars aligned.
"Like, have a movie night or something? For the whole group?" she asked, giving Paris a pleasant smile as they moved towards the shady bench. More civilian socializing was definitely something she could get behind, so long as everyone else was okay with it. And then she understood what the blonde was really hinting at. "Oh," concluded Tallulah.
"I guess we should get everyone together soon, shouldn't we?" she asked. glancing around their little gathering. A proper meeting to touch base and get everyone up to speed would definitely help a lot. She just wasn't sure how to go about suggesting they have one, especially with such a large group.
"Should we start asking around, figure out a time that's good for everyone?" she finally suggested, lifting the dog into her lap as she took her seat at the new bench. Yes, ten minutes after meeting and she had decided she and Anna were that point in their relationship. Lap sitting. Belly rubs. Tallulah was definitely better at making friends with dogs than with people.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 6:14 pm
Christa nodded slowly, quite pleased with the conclusion about another meeting. But that could wait for the moment. She made herself comfortable on the bench and placed her book aside. The mannerisms of an ever-expanding house could wait as well. She almost adored the way they were coming together despite the awkward moments. The gray haired teen was never very good at socializing - she was too much a walking cactus through most of her life, but the Jovians gave her reason to unwind, if even a little bit.
"Another meeting would be excellent." came a low admission. Secretly, Christa had been salivating over the chance of having another meeting soon after the first. She had many things to discuss and she thought she'd grown quite a bit since the last get-together. Part of her was proud despite the fact that all she really had to show for it was a pair of wings that adorned her backside. But that was still something to be proud of, wasn't it? "We could start texting the others if we have their info. Otherwise I'm sure I could creep around and scare up one or two."
She stopped and blinked for a moment, frowning. "...that sounded funnier in my head."
Paris probably didn't approve.
A tilt of the head and another thought was given life. "I don't think a movie night would be a bad idea. A sleepover might be awkward unless we can segregate the sexes, but even then..." Like they had anything to fear from Christa, who was probably the most prudish of the bunch. "Socializing more as a group would be welcome, I think. Even I can't work all the time." Sometimes she had to sleep!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 7:45 pm
Paris shook his head in response to Chris’s offer to help. He took a seat on the bench and once again set his tote and cooler down. This time he actually started digging through them, pulling a bag of sub rolls out of the tote and little baggies of deli meats from the cooler, motioning to both containers as he said, “There’s pasta salad, blueberries, strawberries, sandwich meat and bottled water in the cooler, and I have rolls, chips, paper plates and plastic utensils in the tote.”
He put together a sandwich for Chris while the conversation continued, passing it to his boyfriend on one of the paper plates before cutting another roll in half and making a smaller sandwich for himself. At Christa’s stalker comment, Paris shook his head and rolled his eyes. Apparently being a civilian didn’t knock all the creepy out of her.
“We probably should have another meeting, just to make sure everyone’s doing okay and maybe get everyone on the same page, because I don’t know about you guys but I’m still not completely up to date about a lot of this stuff,” he admitted. “But, I mean, that wasn’t all I meant.”
Glancing toward Tallulah, Paris tried for one of his friendlier smiles. “We don’t have to get together just to do… you know… magical stuff…” He lowered his voice on the last two words, even though the people closest to their area were far enough away for their conversation to pass unheard. “We can do more of this, too. Lunch or dinner or watch movies or go out or… sleepovers?”
He snorted at Christa, plucking a few strawberries out of their box. “Somehow I don’t think our male teammates sharing a room with the girls would be that much of a problem,” he observed, “considering… well, you’re just not my type, Christa.”
Paris grinned. It was so much easier to tease her like this. “Sorry to disappoint. I mean, I guess I wouldn’t mind making out with you. I’m not as picky about who I kiss as I am about everything else. You’d have to ask Chris if it’s okay, though.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 11:07 pm
"I wouldn't mind meeting up with everyone again..." Chris said as he took the offered sandwich that Paris was handing to him. If he was honest, he was worried about how they were all doing. He has only seen a handful at the Surrounding, and the others he'd only met once that fateful night where they came together as a group for the first time.
"Any time is good for me... I mean, I can always take a few hours from homework or practice to meet up with everyone... Uh... baseball practice," he added lamely, not remembering if he'd ever told Christa or Europa that he played.
Of course, the conversation quickly made an awkward turn at sleepovers and making out.
Chris sputtered in embarrassment when Paris brought up asking his permission, his cheeks flushing lightly. "I- why do you think I would have any say in who you-- no, you can't kiss Christa! -- no offense, of course. What the hell, Paris??" he stammered, having glanced to the grey haired teen in hopes that she wouldn't be upset with his rejection of that idea. But... jeeezzz, Paris was his boyfriend! Of course he wouldn't want him making out with anyone.
Well... it might depend on his mood and the situation, but at the present moment he absolutely didn't want Paris kissing anyone else.
"Do you have to say stuff like that??" he grumbled, looking away from the three so he could take a bite of his sandwich. Unfortunately, Anna seemed to have the same idea and jumped up to snatch it out of his hand. And it was gone...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 8:06 am
Tallulah had not done a good enough job controlling her newfound canine bestie, as Anna was now out of her lap and happily eating Chris's sandwich. "Oh!" the dark-haired girl exclaimed. But, she knew better than to get between a dog and its lunch. "I'm so sorry, Chris," she said awkwardly, but didn't intervene. She didn't think Anna was the sort of dog who would bite, but even so, Tallulah wasn't in the mood to risk it. Instead, she picked up the container of pasta salad and gave it a sniff.
"There's no meat in this, is there?" she asked, glancing at Paris, who she presumed had made the aforementioned pasta salad. It didn't look like it at first glance, but then again, you had to be careful about sneaky bacon. "I mean, really, tell me now, because I've been off meat so long that eating some would probably make me barf." People were usually more inclined to answer you correctly when there was a potential allergic reaction involved, as opposed to people who were just plain cruel and wanted to see you break your solemn vow of vegetarianism.
"Do we even hang out with any straight guys?" she asked quietly, quirking an eyebrow at Christa, because it made more sense to ask her than to ask Paris or Chris. Babylon and Vindemiatrix were clearly a thing, which left her trying to account for any other male members of the team. Considering that Sessrumnir hadn't tossed his hat in with them yet, she was pretty sure the answer was 'no.' So long as Chris wasn't going to object on the grounds of machismo. She glanced over at him, but the way he'd objected to Paris kissing anyone else said it all.
"I think it's charming," she said, gesturing to Paris. "Sort of like... you're our group's id. If we want to get Freudian." When wasn't it appropriate to get Freudian?
"Definitely a meeting of some sort, though," she reiterated, reaching for the strawberries, as she was certain those didn't have any meat in them. "We need to make sure everyone is on the same page, maybe set some long-term goals? What do you guys think?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 9:16 am
"Excuse me?!" A brush of bright crimson adorned Christa's cheeks and nose and she looked utterly scandalized. "We have a mission to keep in mind, you know! There will be no---none---of this making out, how could you even...!" she hissed, turning away in sheer embarrassment. "Besides, you're taken and Chris is a very nice young man and... ugh!" Not to mention that you're homosexual and all that... why am I even dignifying this with even a line of thought?! She crossed her arms and levels the best scowl she could at the blonde for even bringing up the idea. Did the Negaverse have to deal with this ridiculous sort of antics as well? She certainly hoped they did, and tenfold!
In a huff, she was thankful beyond words that the subject got changed before even more embarrassing things came pouring out of Paris' mouth.
She leaned on the table, an elbow propped up with an open palm to rest her chin. She reached over and plucked a strawberry out of its container and chewed it thoughtfully. Anna's almost military precision sandwich snatching made her smile. They hadn't had a pet in many years. Perhaps they'd reconsider now that there was more room in the house. Maybe they could get a snake! Or a couple of tarantulas! At Tallulah's comment about the orientation of their male teammates, she raised an eyebrow. "I... never thought of it that way." she admitted. Really, she sorted everyone by capability on the battlefield and actually never sat and thought about sexual orientation. Perhaps segregation wasn't necessary at all.
Christa could see it now. Dad, I'm going to a sleepover. Yes I have friends. Enough for a sleepover. Yes there will be boys. Don't worry though, they're all gay. She blinked oddly after finishing that thought and shook her head. Her brother Zachary would have a herd of cattle.
Tallulah's next comment about Freud made her worried. She put up her hands and shook them, hoping to dismiss this line of thought. "No, no no, no need to get Freudian. Really, it's fine. But another meeting would be good. I'm sure we've all had much happen to us and quite a bit to talk about." The gray haired teen snatched up another strawberry. "Long-term goals, organization, our next plan of action... all noteworthy topics." Good thing she usually carried some kind of pen and paper with her. Lots of things to write down!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 12:05 pm
Paris took Anna’s stealing of the sandwich in stride. With little more than a roll of the eyes, he fished around for more bread and meat to make Chris another one, passing it to him with a stern look to eat it before the dog got to it again.
“Nope, no meat,” he replied to Tallulah’s concern. He made sure to make a mental note of that, in case another occasion arose in which he brought or prepared food for the team. He was relieved he’d actually thought the bring more than sandwich stuff, otherwise he would have felt like a moron and a total heel. "Just pasta, some tomatoes, a little onion, olives, basil, and Italian dressing."
The sputtering reaction from Chris and the amusingly aghast look that adorned Christa’s face were exactly the sort of things he’d been looking for when he’d made his comment, and he adopted a grin that was both self-satisfied and mischievous. At some point he’d gotten out of the habit of trying to make people feel uncomfortable with suggestive comments and lewd actions—he suspected it had something to do with having a prude best friend and a gentleman boyfriend, and maybe a little bit of growing up along the way—but Christa made it so terribly easy. He didn’t even feel all that guilty for making her uncomfortable.
If Christa was going to insist on being a creeper, then he thought it was only fair for him to make a few bawdy jokes every once in a while. And if she thought making out was bad… well, that was really rather tame compared to all the other things he could have said.
“It’s been sort of quiet recently,” Paris observed. He chose not to continue his teasing for the time being—partly because he preferred to catch Christa when she least suspected it, but also because he didn’t want to admit he had no idea what “id” was. “A lot of times it feels like we’re just sort of stumbling around until something big happens, and then things settled down again for a while and we go back to hunting youma. It bothers me a little. I feel like they have more information about us and what we do than we have about them. I don’t know, maybe that’s just because I’m still sort of in the dark about a lot of things.”
It was one of the reasons he usually relied so heavily on his teammates as a senshi and took to following their lead, aside from the fact that he still couldn’t feel very confident about the whole affair.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 10:38 pm
Chris frowned at himself, wishing he could at least not react as he had. It was embarrassing...
Anna ducked out of the way before Chris could grab her collar, intending to give her a playful push for being such a little brat, but she seemed to want to retreat back to the lap of her new friend. Sandwich now in her belly, she went over to flop onto the ground in front of Tallulah, wiggling around for more attention.
He flushed again at Tallulah's comment about not hanging out with straight guys. He would prefer not to be labeled at all — being straight, gay, or even bi was too... restricting. Besides, he didn't even know what his preferences were. And he didn't usually care enough to think too deeply about it. A pointless effort, really, since he was happy where he was.
Being handed a sandwich by his over-indulging boyfriend.
What?? He was used to being spoiled, so Paris indulging that only made things easier for him! It wasn't like he did nothing for their relationship, anyway...
"Long-term goals...? Like not dying and trying to keep the Earth from being destroyed? Things like that?" he muttered under his breath, picking at his new sandwich for a moment or two before taking a bite. He nodded lightly in response to Paris's comment, feeling just as lost, sometimes.
"I wish we could know more about what was going on... For both sides, I mean," he said, although he hesitated at the word 'sides'. Whatever this was, it was much too complicated to be split in half. But for the sake of simplicity, separating 'chaos' from whatever they were... seemed like a logical choice. "I guess I should hold off from getting too into this until we all get together, but... when I spoke to them, they were convinced about some Moon Queen coming and taking over... Any idea what's going on with that...?"
He wished they could come up with a way to come to a truce... to end the fighting and each side live in peace with the other... but they would never figure that out if they only knew the minimum information.
"This group of ours... the Jovians..." he glanced up at them, a more determined look on his face than random musings, "I want this to be serious. Not just some... stupid club... I'd willingly risk my life for any of you." Maybe he was getting a little too hot and heavy into it, but while having sleepovers and going to the movies was fine, he didn't want this to be just... superficial, convenient loyalty.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 8:39 pm
"Okay, good," Tallulah said to Paris, stopping momentarily in her attentions to the dog in order to serve herself some salad. Everyone else seemed to be talking at once right now, which was perfectly fine for her because it gave her a chance to chew and listen without being expected to weigh in immediately.
"The moon queen's dead," she said, swallowing. Tallulah wasn't exactly sure what was going on with the whole Princess Serenity deal, but she knew what Chibimoon had told her. It wasn't a whole lot, and what she knew of it sounded terribly like the plot of a Star Trek movie, but it was still something to go on. "She died. Like, two decades ago. In Japan. There's a timeline that Chibimoon is from where she survives, but we're cut off from it. Like, I don't think it's a viable option at all."
It wasn't even worth wasting time thinking about, as far as she was concerned. Whatever had brought Chibimoon to the here and now was a one-way ticket. "If anyone has a claim to the Lunar Throne - if such a thing even exists, let's just pretend this is an HBO miniseries for a minute - then it's Chibimoon. The thing is, I'm not sure she wants to lead, and we should be hesitant in putting our strength behind any unproven contenders."
They all knew what had happened last time a group of senshi had put their faith behind a false messiah. Corruption was not a game to be played lightly.
"I agree, we ought to take this seriously," she said, nodding to Chris. "There's only so much we can get into right now, but I don't think that finding the Moon Queen should be a top priority right now considering we don't even know if she exists to be found." It could turn into a lot of wasted effort. "We should be more worried about catching up to the other side and finding out whatever it is they know."
As frustrated as she was to admit it, the Negaverse did usually get the jump on the senshi. And you couldn't win a game if you were perpetually playing defense.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
