nexus_crossings | (no subject)

(no subject)

Enter one fed-up crazy woman.

"So. Single mum. Used to it. Raising two boys, all has been well for the last twelve years."

She pulls a pack of Rothmans out of the back pocket of her jeans and lights up, a true sign that she's at her wits' end. She never smokes in public. Like....less so than she drinks in public, which is saying a hell of a lot.

"Except now puberty is hitting. Suddenly I'm getting hormones along with the sass. Suddenly my sweet little boys are turning into aggressive little men. Should I douse myself in testosterone to establish dominance? Or should I find a better outlet for my little hellions?"

This marks the first real question Hippolyta Hollister has asked in many, many years. Pay heed.

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This question interests April. Mostly because it won't be long before her own 'little boys' are turning into men.

"What are their interests? What kind of outlet would they enjoy?"

"Oh, lord."

She chuckles to herself, and shrugs a little.

"Video games? Pokemon? Math homework involving decimal points? Books by Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett? Animorphs? I really don't know, I'm out of some significant loops, to be honest."

"That must be difficult."

April has it lucky. Her children can't hide anything from her. And she has Clark there, when it is time for the two-parent tactic.

"Tell me about your boys."

"Heh."

She ponders that, with a small smile on her face. The smile of a mother who's not sure which is braggadocio and what's normal. Blame the Nexus.

"Sammy is like me. Outgoing and sassy and a consummate bullshitter. He'd charm your socks off before you even realized he'd gotten there. Frankie...he's shy. He's the kind of boy who can't help himself. If I've got the trope down, he's a cross between Moe and Tsundre."

"Sammy sounds like the kind of young man who would enjoy new experiences. And meeting new people."

"And Frankie sounds like Wil, my third-born child." April doesn't understand the trope reference. "Wil likes his alone time. The space to do what he wants to do, without being monitored."

April tilts her head. "Have you told them about the Nexus?"

The smell of nicotine wafting through the air lures another smoker. Majima already has his own cigarette lit and in hand. "Speakin' as a former shitty teenage boy, whatever ya do to keep 'em in line, ya gotta make 'em think it's their idea. Hit that age, and they start thinkin' they're grown-ass men already. Masters of their own fate."

"If the brats refuse to respect authority, evict them! Why put up with rebellion in your own home? A few nights on the streets should straighten out any ideas of continued disrespect. Also, you get some peace and quiet for awhile. A sound plan in many ways, if you ask me, and you did."

You can tell Ixis Naugus has never actually raised any children with an answer like that.

"Um... my aunt put my cousins in sports. She said that way they'd sweat out their hormones."

Adia is looking leaps and bounds better than she did at her drunken pity party all those months ago, but she's still a little intimidated by the other woman's beauty. She smiles shyly and stays out of smoke-blowing range.

"How do they like to express themselves? Art, journaling, anything like that?"

"Ugh. I wish there was a simple solution to that."

Katsuya remembers all too well the near daily fights he and his younger brother got into when Tatsuya was going through that. The elder Suou was barely out of it himself at the time and really, trying to raise a teenager alone at any age is just a nightmare.

"The harder I tried to set structure and rules the more Tatsuya rebelled. I feel I failed him on more than one occasion. I don't think being strict can reign them in, at least from my experience. Is there a club or something they could join? Something that might engage them in a more constructive way?"

She actually makes a little annoyed noise at that, her nose crinkling in disgust.

"They are very much aware of the Nexus. They are also very much aware that if they put one toe in this place before they're sixteen years old I will ground them for the rest of their natural lives. This is not a suitable place for children in the least."

"Ugh. I never was good at the whole reverse psychology thing. I'm much more of a 'direct approach' sort of gal. Can I touch you for one?"

Hips jerks her chin at the cigarette in Majima's hand. She never ever ever smokes at home, after all. She really shouldn't be smoking here, either. And yet.

"Yeeeees," she drawls, rolling her eyes at the imp. "Excellent idea. That wouldn't backfire on me or them at all. I'm absolutely certain that Child Protective Services will be keen to accept that I took that advice from you."

Don't be intimidated by Hips' beauty. Be intimidated by her ridiculous mouth and easy willingness to verbally assault people.

She's very careful to not blow smoke at people though. She's terrible, but she's not rude. ...Well, okay, she is, but only if the other person deserves it.

"Well, Sammy has taken to crawling all over the castle like he's Sir Edmund Hillary. He calls it parkour. I call it an incipient heart attack. He's keen on video games, much to my chagrin. His father would be having fits, to be honest."

She puts on a ridiculous Spanish accent and waves a hand in the air.

"The 9th castellan of the Salazar line, playing Pokemon!" She drops the accent. "Yeah. Anyway. Frankie has his nose in a book at all hours, I have to pry it out of his hands come supper time. And if I could understand the books, I'd be better with it, but they all have ridiculous titles with many multi-syllable words. Hyphenated words. It's Martian for all of me."

"Ah. The problem with that is....well, here."

She pulls out her phone, and pulls up a picture of her little hellions. Sammy is like a centaur, only instead of a horse's rear, he's built like a spider, with six crab-like legs. (He also looks exactly like his mother, nose and all, it's a little uncanny.) He's center of the frame, beaming like only a 12 year old boy up to mischief can, standing proudly in the center of his father's drawing room. Frankie is behind him, curled up on an ornate sofa. He's very green. And he's half hidden behind a book that's about double his size.

"They're not exactly...able to be out and about. At least not without drawing exactly the wrong sort of attention."

Edited 2018-02-04 02:35 (UTC)

"My children have been here. It is the one place they feel safe to talk about their powers, or unique situations in their lives." April explains.

"Good for your children."

Hips has a sort of a brittle smile on, now. The kind of brittle smile that's about a second away from becoming a sarcastic smile.

"I do hope that on the day there's a terrible sort of fuck or die LOL on this place, you're able to afford your children's therapist."

"There are dangers everywhere. Even in our world." April answers simply. A soft frown on her face now.

"If I felt they were in danger here, they would not go."

"And they have had advice from others that have really helped them, when they had a problem they could not directly tell me."

"Again. Good for your children."

Hippolyta will never, ever admit to being the worst sort of helicopter mom, though.

"You've been here...what? Five minutes? Kiddo, I've seen things that'd curl your hair. This is the realm of gods, monsters, and superheroes. And you can't tell the players if you don't have a program."

"I personally have visited the Nexus for years." April clarifies.

"And you do not know what sort of monsters or superheroes are in my world. Or who I have met in my time here."

Hips just raises an eyebrow.

"Sure," she drawls. "Whatever. I hope that never bites you in the arse."

"It hasn't."

"We have always felt it was important to prepare to face anything the world, or the Nexus throws at us. So we are not unprepared. And now, we teach our children those same lessons. So they can make their own decisions."

Oh, no, she hasn't forgotten that, either. But this woman took the time to offer her advice, she's willing to tamp down her social anxiety and return the favor.

"Frankie sounds a lot like how I was. My mom wouldn't let me have a flashlight in my room because I'd stay up all night reading. Just asking him about what he's reading is enough, really. He might want a chance to write his own stories, too." She frowns thoughtfully. "Can Sammy take a parkour class? It sounds like he wants to get out more, even with the video games."

Majima wordlessly obliges her request, flipping open his pack. "I mean, ya don't gotta do mind games per se. Maybe just let 'em fuck up a few times. Learn a few hard lessons from their own stupidity."

"I'd be okay with that....except that I'm not okay with letting my sons make stupid mistakes."

She takes the cigarette, lights it with a smooth gesture.

"They're better than that. I really need to believe they're better than that."

That's right. They are Ramon Salazar's children after all. Katsuya's never met Hippolyta's children in person and now he's well aware why. He can only imagine the sort of reaction she might have gotten from her friends--himself included--before they were properly used to the Nexus and the wide variety of life that exists beyond one world's borders. He doesn't flinch away or make a face at her children, but he does raise his eyebrow at her when she pulls away from his side with her phone in hand.

"Perhaps not on your Earth. But here in the Nexus they would not turn heads. I'm sure there's some kind of class or club they could join here. Maybe even a sports club once the weather turns better. I know I've seen a shooting range and a gym in my walks around the Nexus."

Edited 2018-02-04 03:04 (UTC)

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