(no subject)

[taraincognita]

WHO: Tara Markov, Residents of Heropa 015, and also Beast Boy
WHERE: Heropa 015
WHEN: As July winds to a close.
WHAT: Tara
WARNINGS: None yet! Will update.


[ as july winds down, it gets less and less interesting.

yeah, okay, so there’s that whole clone thing going on. tara saw it on the news, once. but she’s no hero, and she doesn’t have a job anymore, so she doesn’t really have a reason to go outside and get mixed up in all that. besides, she saw beast boy, so that’s an even better reason to stay inside.

and not leave the house.

(she’s fine.)

honestly, the most she’ll do is walk the new puppy if jaime asks. all in all, around a month’s worth of doing nothing is pretty lonely.

which means she’ll probably be particularly bothersome to her roommates. ]

Comments

( jaime )

[taraincognita]

[ tara tends to wake up with the sunrise. it’s an old habit from years of sleeping outside, and it’s been a hard one to shake--which means that she can and will fall asleep just about anywhere. most commonly is the couch, particularly with something old and wholesome like “the brady bunch” or “leave it to beaver” on.

of course, if she falls asleep, it isn’t always quietly. tara has some pretty vivid nightmares. usually, they’re bad enough to bring the house down. and sometimes, that’s literal. aside from the occasional panicked noise, sometimes her nightmares are enough to trigger her powers--and the house just might be shaking. the ground might be shaking.

whoops. ]

goin for nighttime for this! lmk if that's okay

[khajidont]

[ While Jaime doesn't exactly get up with the sunrise, he has hours that coincide with Tara's well enough, considering he takes the early shifts at the garage. Usually he's at least around to sleepily slide some cereal in her direction, or maybe some toast if he's feeling particularly ambitious.

That's not being a very good guardian, he's aware, but you can only be counted on to be so awake in the mornings. Turning on the stove would be a bad idea for the best of them. Jaime had only been asleep for a couple fitful, restless hours before he gave up on the whole thing entirely and turned on his phone to play some dumb games and chat quietly with Khaji. When things start to shake, Jaime thinks it might be in his imagination, but - no, it can't be. And if it's not in his imagination, then that means... ]

Oh crap! [ He leaps out of bed and races to Tara's room, but no can do. ] Dang it!

[ He keeps on telling her that sleeping in her own bed will be good for her. Ah, well. That option exhausted, he races down the stairs and feels a pang in his chest when she lets out something that sounds dangerously like a whimper, and absolutely like something she'd never let out while she was awake. He reaches out and gently shakes her. ] Tara! Tara, wake up, it's just a dream.

[ When she wakes up, she'll see Jaime's worried face leaning over her, hair mussed with sleep and dressed in a ratty old t-shirt with holes in the corner and sleeping pants, clearly having hopped straight out of bed. ]

totally cool~

[taraincognita]

[ yeah, tara's bed doesn't even look recently slept in. she's definitely downstairs, and when jaime touches her, her eyes snap open.

it's pretty clear, however, that she isn't all of the way awake. she cringes away from him, shoving at his torso and shrinking into the corner of the couch. she mumbles something--it sounds closer to a whine, honestly, and it's definitely in a language that jaime can't understand.

she's shaking, too, leaning forward so that her hair curtains her wide, blue eyes. it takes a while for her breathing to become regular, for the shaking of the earth to calm. furiously, tara wipes at her eyes; even when calmer, she refuses to make eye contact, or even look in jaime's direction. ]

....Sorry for wakin' you.

[khajidont]

[ Jaime doesn't touch her again after that - he just sits on the opposite end of the couch, and waits for her to get herself back together. It sucks. Every bone in his body that's been taking care of kids in one way or another for nearly his entire life is telling him to reach out and hug her, rub her back, reassure her that someone's there and the nightmare's aren't real, but he's smart enough to know that that's not going to work with someone like Tara. Not yet, anyway. They're not exactly there yet.

So instead, he waits, curling his hands into loose fists on his knees, wondering what it was - or who it was - that did this to her. ]

Hey. [ He doesn't exactly touch her, but he does place his hand on the middle cushion of the couch, an overture. ] It's okay. I wasn't asleep anyway. Even if I was, it ain't your fault for having a nightmare.

[ He sidles a little closer, but doesn't look directly at her either, just flicks his eyes over to the timed out Netflix screen, little more than a screensaver at this point. ]

You wanna talk about it?

[taraincognita]

[ she has nightmares a lot. nightmares about a large, hulking man with a gleaming metal mask, and an eye-patch and goatee beneath; nightmares about floating helpless in a glass tube while scientists poke and prod and wait for the results that they crave. she's dreamed of the destruction she's caused, the lives she's ruined, and the people she's hurt.

she can't make eye contact with jaime. ]

Yeah. Had a test at school and didn't study, and also I forgot to wear pants.

[ it's a weak lie, especially for tara; but she doesn't particularly care. she pulls her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and hugging tightly. ]

You ever heard of Jump City?

[khajidont]

No.

[ And that might be the biggest indication that while he and Tara may be from similar worlds, they're probably not from the same one. While Jaime doesn't exactly have an exact grasp on his world's geography, he's pretty sure he'd know of a Jump City, America - if it's somewhere else, that's something else entirely.

He winds up scooching over to the other end of the couch, leaning his back against the armrest, tugging one leg up and arm loosely hugging it to his chest, an unconscious mirroring of Tara's own actions. ]

What's in Jump City?

( yusuke )

[taraincognita]

[ yusuke had suggested using her powers for….art. as weird as that sounds to tara, it’s a suggestion that she’s willing to try out. there’s one problem, though; tara has practically zero sense of artistry. which is why she’s currently sitting in the backyard, playing with dirt like a child.

she doesn’t have to get dirty for it, but she’d rather run her hands through the earth. it’s grounding, nonetheless, which is why she keeps doing it.

until she has a nice little rock with a smiley face on it. perfect.

after a few minutes, she’ll take it inside to show yusuke. while dripping mud all over the place. perfect. ]

[lempereur]

[ Yusuke has spent more time at home this month than usual. Much of that is due to a trauma induced shut in state, that he is recovering from slowly, but surely. Still, if Tara has been conquering her boredom by hassling her housemates, she is likely to notice that Yusuke isn't spending much time in the common areas, preferring to work by himself upstairs in his room.

She is lucky to catch him while he is puttering about in the kitchen, making himself a cup of coffee. He grimaces, making an annoyed noise at the mess she is making, which she will certainly be cleaning up! ]

What am I supposed to be looking at, Tara?

[taraincognita]

Art.

[ she grins at him brightly, expression only managing to look half-serious. she has noticed that yusuke has been around less often, which is exactly why she has chosen to bother him at this particular time. ]

It represents my innermost thoughts! Duh.

[lempereur]

[ He takes the pebble from her hand, eying it suspiciously before setting it down on the counter. Come on, Tara. He isn't expecting the next da Vinci out of her, but grade schoolers can do better than this. ]

Is your innermost self really so simple? I doubt that.

[taraincognita]

Nope! But it'd be waaaaay easier that way!

[ she grins even wider. still dripping mud. she obviously doesn't get this whole art thing. ]

I'm not into all of that self-reflection stuff.

[lempereur]

All the more reason to do it.

[ This is happening, Tara. Yusuke can not tolerate this abomination to the gods of aesthetics any longer. He takes her hand, too concerned about showing her the way to be bothered over getting dirty, and nudges her to follow him. ]

Come with me, we are going outside.

( chato )

[taraincognita]

[ tara tends to operate at odd hours, and it’s not uncommon for her to come downstairs to catch late-night reruns of anything. what she is surprised by, however, is seeing diablo--sitting on the couch, and doing something that looks interesting. without much preamble, she walks up behind him, peering down. ]

Yo. Whatcha doin’?

[arsiento]

[ It's not often Diablo spends time out in the common areas of the house -- outside his room, in other words -- but for what he's doing now, the change was necessary. The lighting in his room isn't good enough for this sort of intricate work, and he also doesn't want Malina getting into the ink he's using now to tattoo himself with.

Tara's question breaks his concentration, although it's not entirely obvious; he looks up from stabbing himself in the arm with the needle, a neutral expression on his face. ]

Huh. [ He looks down at his arm, then at Tara. ] Didn't think there was anyone still awake.

[taraincognita]

[ she glances down at the needle, but she's hardly skittish. if anything, she seems to think it's really cool. after a moment's hesitation, she launches herself over the side of the couch, bouncing into the seat next to diablo, before peering more closely at the needle. ]

I'm awake at all kinds a' times. Are you giving yourself a tattoo? Cool.

[ tara hasn't ever really talked to anyone with a tattoo before. diablo's are cool, even if they're a little intimidating. but, hey. she's dealt with tons of intimidating people before. ]

So, like, why's your face a skull?

[ subtle. ]

[arsiento]

[ He hisses slightly when she jumps onto the couch beside him, but mostly because that really secures the interruption; no way is Diablo going to be able to actually work on this tattoo while Tara's here jumping around.

Oh well. He holds the needle out so she can take a look at it, unconcerned. ]

Yeah-- careful.

[ Don't prick yourself, etc. For all the obvious reasons. But her question doesn't bother him, it's nothing he hasn't been asked before-- especially since he's been out of LA. So, gesturing vaguely around his face, he answers, matter-of-fact but patient: ]

To scare people.

[taraincognita]

[ she reaches out and pokes the needle, unconcerned as to whether it will actually hurt her or not. of course, when it pricks her finger, she pulls away, looking mildly annoyed at best. ]

Masks are scarier.

[ it leaves her mouth before she even says it; and the thought makes her uncomfortable. she shakes her head to make it go away. ]

Whatcha doing now? New ones? Why?

[arsiento]

Hey, I said careful-- you can't do that, shit ain't sterile.

[ Diablo frowns, annoyed, and sets the needle aside so he can look at her finger. How old is she not to know better than that already? Jeez...

Thankfully it doesn't seem like it actually broke the skin, so maybe it's fine. He exhales sharply, letting her hand go again. ]

To you, maybe. But it ain't you who it's meant to scare, anyway. Anyone can wear a mask and take it off, that's nothing-- that don't say nothing about who he is. [ It's a different sort of statement, one Diablo doesn't think much of. So, he shrugs. ] Yeah. Been a while since I added any, so... figured it was time.

[ He's not sure how to answer that question. Why else? ]

and also beast boy

[beastboi]

[Outside of doing his best to aid with the serious flooding going on, BB has been doing his best to keep his nose clean. Yes, really. It's weird. But he's new here, he hardly knows his way around, and he doesn't have a gang of tight-knit buddies backing him up.

In short, Gar is floundering.

He rocks up (hah) to the apartment a few times halfway through the month, darting around in some of his more inconspicuous forms, always trying to get a glimpse of Terra. Just a look. Confirmation. His memory of the party is hazy, full of holes and blurred, fallible.

Eventually, what little patience Gar possesses runs thin, and inconspicuous becomes- well.

Conspicuous.]

Terraaaaaaaaaaa!! Terra!!! Are you in there?

[All he needs is a boombox and some shades.]

[taraincognita]

[ she is aggressively Not Here. ]

[beastboi]

[he is sitting cross legged and sullen on the lawn throwing pebbles at every window. ignore this, roommates terra.]

[lempereur]

[ Yusuke, predictably, is in his room, sketching out some stranger's superpower that he has no business meddling with. It's a productive session, until he hears the rock clacking against his window, which catches his attention with a jolt. Yusuke has already had his window shattered this month. A couple days of open air and a few more of an ice block in place of glass which required regular replacing after it dripped all over the place had not exactly endeared him to Jaime, he fears, so any potential glass damage would have to be nipped in the bud.

Yusuke draws open the window, meeting the stranger outside with a glare. ]

Don't you have your own house to throw things at?

[beastboi]

[Gar tugs out a handful of grass as he pulls himself up from where he was sitting. Hopefully Yusuke doesn't care so much about the lawn.

He ignores the question.]

Hey, do you know Terra? Are you living here too?? Could you tell her I'm here!!

[He's all puppy dog eyes now.]

[lempereur]

[ She is here. But this small green fellow is making enough noise that if she wanted to reveal herself, she likely would have. ]

I do live here. You do not, so please leave.

[beastboi]

[Gar doesn't seem at all deterred by the response. He just inches closer to the window, stretching up on his toes as if trying to get a better glimpse at the house inside. What if Terra is right there...!!!?]

C'mon, I'm not asking for much! Just for you to give her a message!