Pruning (part 1)
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Mr Zoat
Dedicated ragequitter
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Pruning
11th September 2013
15:22 GMT -5
Jade and I consider the house with the 'For Sale' sign in front of it.
"Hm."
"I'm not keen."
"What's wrong with it?
"Well, it's brick-built, which is good-."
"That's not what's wrong with it."
"No, but I think we should talk about what we're looking for as well as what we're not."
She rolls her eyes, and then allows me to continue.
"But it's not big enough."
"How many children were you planning on having?"
"In total, or per decade?"
That earns me a frown. "'Per decade'?"
"Ah." I nod. "Two seems reasonable."
"So, four in total?"
"If four is what you want, then-."
"No, why-?" And then she gets it. "I'm not getting older."
"Well, no, I worked out that you probably wouldn't want to look nineteen forever-."
She nods, more or less to herself. "Decay, right, that's your thing."
"No, it's the opposite of my thing. I hate decay."
"So we could keep having children."
"Yes, though I suppose it could make things awkward, having children of different generations. Maybe we could ask Nyssa or Talia how their father handled it?"
She snorts quietly. "Why not just ask one of Vandal Savage's kids?"
"I did have a look, but the only one I know about, I only know her supervillain name and not her real name and she's not using it at the moment." I make a gesture of helplessness with both forearms. "Genetic scans are pointless because just about everyone on this planet is descended from Vandal Savage to a degree."
Even the Amazons, which was a surprise. Not Diana or Donna, obviously, but all of the rest.
"Didn't come up a lot in the comics..?"
"I know Vandal's original name was Vandar Adg of the Blood Tribe, but I think we only really see one of his children. Only one who got any characterisation, anyway. And aside from her girlfriend's pet name, she was just called 'Scandal' by everyone."
"'Scandal'."
"Yes, Cheshire?"
That earns me an elbow.
"I picked Cheshire because I was disappearing from somewhere I didn't want to be. And because I liked the idea of knowing what was really going on when no one else did. Was Scandal a journalist?"
"No-." I frown. "You don't think it was her actual name, do you?"
"We know a guy called 'Magnificus' and a girl called 'Beautia'."
"Yes, but Savage wouldn't name his daughter after a small crime. I mean, you wouldn't name someone 'Larcenia', would you?"
"It's better than Scandal. And I don't think 'Murderie' or 'Tratoria' would be better."
"There's a Fury called 'Gilotina'."
She frowns dubiously. "Alekto, Megaera, Tilphousia… And Gilotina."
"No, the… Apokoliptian Furies, not-."
A car horn sounds behind us, and we both turn around-.
A surprised looking Warren Crock waves at us from his car window.
I haven't… Really spent a lot of time-.
Jade's already walking over to him, so I hurry after her.
A lot of time with the Crock family. The point of meeting them in the first place was to help Paula, Artemis and Jade with social relationships. But I've really only seem them since with Jade…
"Hey Uncle Warren. What brings you here?"
"I was driving home from work." He cranes his neck, looking past us. "Are you looking at a house?"
"Paul was trying to explain what was wrong with it, but we got distracted."
"Oh, hey." He turns to me. "If I'm blocking you-."
I smile as Jade closes her eyes for a moment. "Not that kind of distracted, Uncle Warren."
"Okay, okay. So what's wrong with it?"
Jade turns to me. "That's what I asked."
"Between the fortifications we're going to need to add and the space we'll need for a workshop, it's not big enough, and…" I half-turn back and gesture to the garden area around it. "The plot size isn't big enough to expand it as much as it would need to without destroying the garden. And it's part of the Home-Owner's Association, so that's an automatic 'no'."
Jade's eyes narrow slightly. "I don't think H.O.A.s in Wisconsin are run by the Skeevers Family."
"No, just the biggest busybody in the neighbourhood, and that's if you're lucky. There's no way that we could get approval for the modifications that we'll need."
"Ah, yeah." Warren nods. "He's right about that. You wouldn't believe the fight I had over window boxes a couple of years ago. Anything structural? You're outta luck."
"Hm."
"But you're..? Seriously moving to the area?"
Jade nods. "Not right now, but in a few years that's the plan."
He beams. "Well that's great! Why-"
Alert!
"-don't-?"
I throw up a shield around the three of us as-.
As Hawkwoman pulls out of her dive to glower at me.
"You."
"Ah, they told you, then."
Jade glances at her uncle, hands already on her concealed blades. "Uncle Warren, we'll catch up with you later."
"Ah… Sure thing, Jade." He puts his car in gear as I allow the shield to evaporate. "I'll let you get on with things."
11th September 2013
15:22 GMT -5
Jade and I consider the house with the 'For Sale' sign in front of it.
"Hm."
"I'm not keen."
"What's wrong with it?
"Well, it's brick-built, which is good-."
"That's not what's wrong with it."
"No, but I think we should talk about what we're looking for as well as what we're not."
She rolls her eyes, and then allows me to continue.
"But it's not big enough."
"How many children were you planning on having?"
"In total, or per decade?"
That earns me a frown. "'Per decade'?"
"Ah." I nod. "Two seems reasonable."
"So, four in total?"
"If four is what you want, then-."
"No, why-?" And then she gets it. "I'm not getting older."
"Well, no, I worked out that you probably wouldn't want to look nineteen forever-."
She nods, more or less to herself. "Decay, right, that's your thing."
"No, it's the opposite of my thing. I hate decay."
"So we could keep having children."
"Yes, though I suppose it could make things awkward, having children of different generations. Maybe we could ask Nyssa or Talia how their father handled it?"
She snorts quietly. "Why not just ask one of Vandal Savage's kids?"
"I did have a look, but the only one I know about, I only know her supervillain name and not her real name and she's not using it at the moment." I make a gesture of helplessness with both forearms. "Genetic scans are pointless because just about everyone on this planet is descended from Vandal Savage to a degree."
Even the Amazons, which was a surprise. Not Diana or Donna, obviously, but all of the rest.
"Didn't come up a lot in the comics..?"
"I know Vandal's original name was Vandar Adg of the Blood Tribe, but I think we only really see one of his children. Only one who got any characterisation, anyway. And aside from her girlfriend's pet name, she was just called 'Scandal' by everyone."
"'Scandal'."
"Yes, Cheshire?"
That earns me an elbow.
"I picked Cheshire because I was disappearing from somewhere I didn't want to be. And because I liked the idea of knowing what was really going on when no one else did. Was Scandal a journalist?"
"No-." I frown. "You don't think it was her actual name, do you?"
"We know a guy called 'Magnificus' and a girl called 'Beautia'."
"Yes, but Savage wouldn't name his daughter after a small crime. I mean, you wouldn't name someone 'Larcenia', would you?"
"It's better than Scandal. And I don't think 'Murderie' or 'Tratoria' would be better."
"There's a Fury called 'Gilotina'."
She frowns dubiously. "Alekto, Megaera, Tilphousia… And Gilotina."
"No, the… Apokoliptian Furies, not-."
A car horn sounds behind us, and we both turn around-.
A surprised looking Warren Crock waves at us from his car window.
I haven't… Really spent a lot of time-.
Jade's already walking over to him, so I hurry after her.
A lot of time with the Crock family. The point of meeting them in the first place was to help Paula, Artemis and Jade with social relationships. But I've really only seem them since with Jade…
"Hey Uncle Warren. What brings you here?"
"I was driving home from work." He cranes his neck, looking past us. "Are you looking at a house?"
"Paul was trying to explain what was wrong with it, but we got distracted."
"Oh, hey." He turns to me. "If I'm blocking you-."
I smile as Jade closes her eyes for a moment. "Not that kind of distracted, Uncle Warren."
"Okay, okay. So what's wrong with it?"
Jade turns to me. "That's what I asked."
"Between the fortifications we're going to need to add and the space we'll need for a workshop, it's not big enough, and…" I half-turn back and gesture to the garden area around it. "The plot size isn't big enough to expand it as much as it would need to without destroying the garden. And it's part of the Home-Owner's Association, so that's an automatic 'no'."
Jade's eyes narrow slightly. "I don't think H.O.A.s in Wisconsin are run by the Skeevers Family."
"No, just the biggest busybody in the neighbourhood, and that's if you're lucky. There's no way that we could get approval for the modifications that we'll need."
"Ah, yeah." Warren nods. "He's right about that. You wouldn't believe the fight I had over window boxes a couple of years ago. Anything structural? You're outta luck."
"Hm."
"But you're..? Seriously moving to the area?"
Jade nods. "Not right now, but in a few years that's the plan."
He beams. "Well that's great! Why-"
Alert!
"-don't-?"
I throw up a shield around the three of us as-.
As Hawkwoman pulls out of her dive to glower at me.
"You."
"Ah, they told you, then."
Jade glances at her uncle, hands already on her concealed blades. "Uncle Warren, we'll catch up with you later."
"Ah… Sure thing, Jade." He puts his car in gear as I allow the shield to evaporate. "I'll let you get on with things."
