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WHO: Aunt Cass and YOU
WHERE: Heropa #16 + around town
WHEN: 6/04, and the following week
WHAT: Cass is going around greeting roommates and neighbors with baked goods and trying to destress by shopping and finding coffee shops
WARNINGS: none for now!

[1; the first day, at a GROCERY STORE]
[She did get told this was a war, so she's not quite sure whether she's surprised by all the tense paranoia and anger she's been dodging all day, but if this is a constant then it's sure going to be stressful living here. She can already feel it building up, but unfortunately the house she was dumped in isn't attached to a café, and if it's not attached to a café she doesn't have immediate access to sweet, savory, soul-healing cupcakes. Nor did she find enough ingredients in the kitchen to make them herself (besides, she didn't want to use ones that didn't belong to her). And while that's horrible, she was at least given enough to hold up until her first paycheck for that cat website.

The first thing she grabbed at the store was one of the reusable shopping bags they were selling on some racks near the entrance. Then the rest is easy. She doesn't need a list to know what she needs to buy, but she only hesitates a little to grab a box of gummy bears along with them. It's not long before her shopping basket is heavy and digging into her arm, and the shopping bags, once they're all packed and she's rung up, aren't any easier on her either. Gosh, maybe she over did the buying?]

Ugh, no, it'll be fine, [she grumbles, then hops a little to hoist the bag onto her shoulder better. Hopefully she didn't smack you with the corner of a milk carton at the bottom when she did.] It's only a short walk!

[Perhaps you care to help?]

[2; soon after, at HEROPA #16 - the kitchen]
[No matter, she gets that stuff home safely and the kitchen is stocked, various things in there labeled 'HOUSEMATES - FEEL FREE TO USE! :)' in neat handwriting if any of them care to look. And Cass is in there, too, if you can spot her behind the counter that is, crouched by the oven door and peeking in to check on the muffins inside. What, didn't you get drawn in here by the smell of them? They're blueberry.

Maybe you speak up, maybe you don't. If you do, she'll look over her shoulder in surprise. Or maybe you don't, and she only notices you when she takes the muffins out of the oven and turns to place them on the counter. Either way, her expression in the same: it brightens, a smile splitting her face as she steps over across the kitchen toward you.]

Hey! [She chirps the greeting, looking nothing short of absolutely delighted to meet you.] I didn't know you were there. Hi, my name is Cass, do you live here too?

[3; also at HEROPA, houses neighboring #16]
[There are more than enough muffins for everyone. Or enough for her neighbors, at least. For anybody living on the anywhere close to #16, they'll be getting a knock on their door. Should they open it, Cass stands there with a basket of muffins in her hands, smiling bright.]

Greetings! Hi, I'm Cass -- I just got moved into number 16. I thought I'd stop by to say hello, would you like some muffins?

[4; likewise, at HEROPA #16; closed to Tadashi and Hiro]
[But at the end of the day, later in the afternoon as it turns into evening, Cass is back at home again. This time she's on the porch, Mochi curled up on her lap as he pets and scratches his head absently. She busied herself and acquainted with some people, and that's fine. Overall, the day was fine. But now that she's out of things to do, the worries are creeping up.

Florida. Of all the places, Florida. There was a comfort in knowing she didn't get thrown out of the country or anything, but at the same time, this America is different from the one she knows. So maybe she's actually been thrown into another dimension. They sure made it sound that way, and if that were the case then it wouldn't really matter if she were in the US or Canada or even Japan. In any case, she was far away from home, and she has no idea what's going on with Hiro. For all she knew, she was alone here, and that's... scary. In ten years, no matter who she lost she was never alone, and she tugs Mochi closer to her as she wishes she bought a pack of cigarettes or something while she was out. But no, she quit that long ago didn't she? She threw them all out and cleaned up the house thoroughly so Hiro and Tadashi could grow up in a clean home. Maybe she should have brought out a muffin to chew on out here.

She sighs, running a hand through her hair. All this thinking and stressing -- she hasn't done it in a long time, and she really, really wishes she could go back to her café. Maybe she should apply for a job at one. That would be a lot more distracting than sitting at a desk looking at cat pictures all day.]

[5; any other day, at a COFFEE SHOP]
[After the adventurous first day, Cass ventures out again, this time just to find a place to relax and get to know what the city is really like. There's no way all that anger can be a status quo, right? She hopes not. Just what could she have been brought into this place for anyway? She's no soldier. She's no fighter, or a researcher, or even a hero like those people that have been showing up on the news lately. But then again, even those heroes...

She shakes her head and smiles at the barista as they call her name and hand her her drink, not forgetting to thank them and making sure she didn't forget to shove some money in the tip jar before turning to find a seat. It's busy in here, so she can't find an empty table, but she does spot a chair right over there... with YOU!

She meanders over, squeezing between chairs full of studying college students and past a pair of old men playing chess. It takes a minute, but she manages to reach the table with the empty-looking chair and she taps on it to try to get the attention of the person already sitting there.] Hi. Would you mind if I sat here? It's full everywhere else.

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Oh, then it'll be like a graduation trip for you, wouldn't it?

[That's so fun to Cass, and she hums as she takes one of the pastries Jaime tossed at him, unwrapping the plastic and taking a bite. There's a comment of "Oh, how delicious!" as she takes another bite. So much for 'I had too much sugar' because in the face of good baked snacks, all that goes out the window. She hasn't forgotten their conversation though.]

Well, as your neighbor I'd love to give you something in celebration. You can only graduate high school once -- well, at least, usually, I don't know how it works with this whole world-skipping thing -- anyway, you can never have enough food on a trip, and bread is easier to carry around and to eat on a car. Let me know when you're leaving, and I'll pack you with something for you and your friends.

Aw, I think I'm the only one graduating, so it doesn't really count.

[Maybe he and Ken can share a graduation trip. That strikes him as being a little funny, actually, one of them leaving school, and another just entering a new one. He can hardly believe Cass' reaction though, this sudden outpour of kindness from a complete stranger, so different from what he's used to. He has no lack of kindness in his life, of course. He has older friends who are so close to him that they're practically big siblings to him, but they don't tend to fuss too much and the energy from Cass is... maternal?

It seems weird applying that word to a woman he just met, but there's really no escaping it. He lifts his hands in front of him as he says,] Oh, you don't have to, it's really not a big deal! Besides, [he admits with a crooked little smile,] you'd be baking all day. There's a lot of us. I think.

Oh don't worry about that!

[A third bite of the bread. God this is so good! What's it made of? Can she make it herself? She peers at it for a second or two trying to figure it out, then waves her hand at Jaime again.]

I run a bakery back home, so I'm totally used to baking all the time. A roadtrip group will be a piece of cake. Besides. [You might as well convince yourself she's watched you grow up or something. She'll back off if Jaime said no outright, but for now she's smiling over the bread at him, cocking her head to the side, and her voice quiets down a volume or two.] I'm guessing they're all around your age if you say 'friends,' right? Probably imPorts like you and me, too. Let me at least give you kids something for the road. It'll save you money for some food, at least.

[Jaime takes one of the pieces of bread himself and without really thinking about it, rips off a piece of the sugary top, savoring how the sugar crunches underneath his teeth before tearing off of the bottom bit left behind.

She's just got here, and instead of asking questions, or asking for favours, she's offering to do things to people. He really hopes she's as nice as she seems, because they could really use a little normalcy in the neighborhood, just like Armin could use some in his home.

Maybe normalcy's not the right word, but kindness is. Kindness, they can always get more of.]

Well... thank you! You've only just met me, you know, so that's -- that's really nice of you.

[He's going to have to give her something in return. Maybe a souvenir, or something.] You're right, though, we're all imPorts.

[And in that, implicitly, is the fact that there are far, far more kids out there who have been forced to fend mainly for themselves. It's a good thing they've managed to collect such a solid support system among each other.]

[She smiles at that. Jaime's absolutely polite, and probably a good boy, too, right down to the core. There's not a drop of doubt in her about that and she's sincerely glad that he's getting this trip and has friends who'll go with him. She can't help but compare it to Hiro and his friends, though, and by the time she realizes what she's doing it's too late -- she finds herself squeezing the bread too tightly and sets it down on the table so she doesn't end up ruining it, but now that her hands are empty, she has to clasp them tightly lest they start trembling. She hopes that if her knuckles are white, Jaime's focused enough on his snack and the conversation not to notice, but boys like him and Tadashi tended to be too observant, too.

We're all imPorts. All of Jaime's friends, all children around her boys' age. How could something like this be, really. Nobody should be going through this, ripped from their homes and thrown into a new one with strangers and a tattoo that tracks them and the weight of war on their shoulders, especially not children who haven't even graduated high school yet! Their only worries should be what they'll do after high school, what their hair would look like after the next trim, whether or not their future college dormmate might snore loudly at night. Not this. Nothing like this. She really, really hopes that Hiro isn't here. He just needs to focus on his studies, on healing, and going out with his friends...]

Not real picky about who they brought in, were they? [She can't help exasperation in her tone that shows up then, but she tries to quash her real anger over this. Jaime doesn't need that, and he probably already knows and has felt everything that she's feeling now.]

You might get offended if I say this, but -- you're all so young. [Her brows knit together, her expression still warm but brimming with worry as she observes Jaime. She watches him tear at the bread and crunches away at the sugary top, the gesture similar to how Hiro would always go for his favorite parts first. And the overlap only deepens her feelings.] Children shouldn't have to do this sort of thing. And especially not alone. You know, any of this huge responsibility stuff. Being an imPort. [She pauses, then sighs as she adds,] ... Being a hero and saving the day.

[He looks down at how closely Cass is clenching her hands together, and something changes in his demeanor as he scoots his chair closer to the table and leans forward a little, elbows resting on the table, voice finally more gentle than it is polite.]

A lot of the people my age around here are used to taking care of themselves. For some of them, this place is better. But if your kids get brought here too, it's not the end of the world, I promise.

[For some of them, it's a second chance, an opportunity to have a fresh start in a place that's kinder, gentler than the one they're from. That doesn't seem to be the case for this woman's boys, thank god, but it's still a reality for so many here.]

They give you that big spiel when you come in, but they don't really mean it like that. We're not forced to fight in any wars, or to go and be a hero, or anything. Most of us don't, and the ones who do are mostly the people who did it in their own world too.

[This is the sort of lying he's the most used to, this dancing around the subject of whether or not he does it, implying that he's as ordinary as ordinary comes all the while.]

Things'll be different, but you can still have a normal life, for as long as you're here.

[A reassurance. She blinks when she's given it, and blinks a second time before she gasps softly -- "Oh!" -- and pulls her hands apart immediately, one rising to her mouth to cover her surprise before she's laughing now. There's nothing fake about any of that, though; her emotions are all genuine, if not simply prone to switching around and changing very often.]

Oh dear, well. [A few more giggles, then she clears her throat.] Thank you, Jaime. That is a relief to hear, so I'm glad.

[And a little guilty for making him have to reassure her like that, but she can put that aside for now. That's right. She doesn't have the whole picture yet, and it could be a lot better than what she's imagining. Besides, if Hiro showed up, she could help. She will. There was never any doubt about that.]

Though in that case, I'll just have to keep an eye on the sky even more.

But... really. [Jaime's leaned closer, and she does too, reaching across the table not to take his hand but to pat his forearm gently a couple times.] Superheroing or anything aside, I don't doubt that you and your friends are totally capable. I've raised two, so I know how much you kids can really do -- but it doesn't hurt to have someone, right? And that goes both ways.

[All right, he hadn't expected for his genuine reassurance to make her laugh, and he looks like he's not entirely sure what to make of it. Should he be insulted? He's happy that she doesn't look as worried anymore, because he knows how hard it is for people's first days here, especially people with kids, but... what'd he say that was so funny?

Oh well. Even if she's laughing at him, she's a little happier now, and she's already leaning forward to pat personably at his arm, so he supposes that's sort of a best case scenario.]

Well, good thing is, most people here've got someone. We've got each other, [he says with a shrug, and as cheesy as that is, he means it. He's got so many people in his life, and they've got him too. He's sure Cass will cobble together plenty of people who'll grow to care about her too. It's one of the perks about this place.]

[Laughing is just her go-to, and something she does to remind herself to cheer up. Hopefully Jaime isn't hurt by it, and she does her best to smile at him after. Really, all she feels is grateful that he's trying to help her out so much.]

I'm glad, [she tells him, and she means it sincerely. She's glad that this boy has people to be with him, just like she was glad that Armin had friends to help him out when he first got here. And apparently these two are friends, and that's another thing to be happy about. Friends were wonderful, such wonderful things to have, and she's reminded of her joy when she first heard about Tadashi's friends, and then when she learned that Hiro got to meet them too. They were good kids.]

Hey, can I ask you something, Jaime?

Yeah, sure. What's up?

[This is more normal, at least. He'd been expecting far more questions than he'd initially received - he remembers that first meeting with Clark, before he knew who the man really was, and his thorough investigation of Jaime's notes - so this means that they're back on track.]

That... being a hero thing.

[She says it slowly, choosing her words. This is more of a curiosity for her than an actual worry, and less about this world and more about the worlds everybody else came from. It might not be what Jaime's expecting from her, she thinks, but that's okay with her. There isn't a lot she's worried about; she's here and she'll just do what she's capable of. But in the meanwhile, there's probably stuff she can learn to keep herself informed.]

And people who do it in their home worlds. Is it common? Superheroes?

That depends on who you ask. A lot of the worlds people get taken from have never heard of superheroes, or they're just fictional.

[In some of them, Superman and Batman are fictional, but Jaime decides to hold off trying to explain any interdimensional theories he may have. They're not important anyway.]

But a few of the worlds, in worlds like mine, superheroes are everywhere. Where I'm from, there's gotta be a hundred in America alone. Why, d'you have any where you're from?

Well, you could say.

[There's a smile, a sigh, and a shrug. She's been wondering for a while now how she's really supposed to react to this. On one hand, she wants to be supportive. She has no real desire to stop him. If this was the answer he found, then she wants to support that. But its also dangerous, and it seems like he wants to keep it a secret from her for now and she doesn't want him to feel confronted if she brought it up. No, not yet. One step at a time, right? But maybe here, she could find people to talk about it with, to hear the heroes' side of the story so she can have a better idea and perspective.]

He's probably new to it, but I think he's taken up the mantle -- my younger one, that is.

Edited 2015-06-09 05:33 (UTC)

Oh!

[He's not sure if he's actually the best person to talk to about this one. He's too close to the situation, and the minute she says that one of her kids has taken up the mantle, he can't help but think of his mom, those first few weeks. Oh sure, she settled on being the most supportive parent anyone could have ever expected, but he'd be lying if he didn't say it had been rough for a little while.

Jaime knows it's still not easy for his parents to watch him go out there, but it's probably not easy for any parent, no matter how old the superhero is.]

That's... pretty big. Are you okay with it?

Are you kidding? [Pbffffffft! She actually makes the face and the noise, her bang flopping up... and then back down over her face when she blows air up at it.]

I've eaten so many donuts since he started! Sure, we don't have giant monsters? We don't have crazy villains? Yet! I mean, not really? But it's so reckless! It's so dangerous!

But--

[And now she calms down. Her emoting goes all over the place. She deflates like a Baymax out of battery, visibly frazzled(?) one moment and sighing it out the next, shaking her hair out of her face and eventually settling to that ever-present smile again.]

But he's been through a lot, and if that's the answer he found for himself, then as a parent I'll support it.

I just thought -- you know? If there are people here who have experience with being in a world that's got superheroes, it'll be a good opportunity to see if anybody is willing to talk about it. Although I guess if the secret identities thing exists outside of comics, I'll have to figure out my around that.

[and then] Oh!

Oh, oh dear, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to explode like that.

[Is she pressing her hands to her cheeks? Yes.]

Oh dear me.

Edited (face.. cheeks...) 2015-06-09 06:34 (UTC)

[Jaime has to laugh a little, then holds one hand up, embarrassed about being so rude.]

It's fine, it's fine! I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh.

[This is another case where Jaime wishes that he didn't have a secret identity. It would be so easy to reassure her that teen heroes are absolutely something that exists, that he's one of them, and that he'd be happy to help out any other hero that enters their midst. He could tell her that his parents probably feel very much the same way, worried and supportive all in one. He could tell her that it's hard, dangerous work, and that she has to make sure that her kid's getting proper training, that he's got a team behind him.

He can't say any of that, but oh, this poor woman. He's happy not to be on the other side of the parent-superhero coin.]

Um... [He raps his knuckles on the table, trying to figure out what to say.]

Secret IDs are totally a thing here, but superheroes still talk sometimes on the network? So there's that, at least. He's lucky to have someone support him, it's just... he's not doing it alone, right? Back home, there's a whole team of superheroes who're teenagers, so they've always got someone looking out for them.

[That's not entirely accurate, but eh, close enough.]

Mmm. I know he's not alone. He's got a team, although I can't imagine any of them are any more experienced than he is. [She has guesses about how that team came to be. First of all, those armors are totally Hiro's aesthetics, and she can only imagine that he was the mastermind. And his motive -- well, considering what Big Hero 6's first adventure was, she can guess at that, too. And that's her biggest worry, though she tries to have faith that this is Hiro's new direction, not a lashing out of his grief. What a direction that is, though.] Well, I know at least one of them knows his way around first aid, so that's one of my reliefs.

That's encouraging to hear, though. So I'll have to take a look on the network, then.

[She doesn't know, yet, that Hiro is here. But she does want to think about it. She knows she can't really find advice on how to talk to him; that's something only she can find the answer to because he's her kid. But if it's knowledge about superheroing, or about knowing a superhero -- that, maybe she'll be able to find here. Her smile just grows wider.]

Thank you, dear -- and I'm glad to hear those heroes in your world have a team, too. [She's curious about the part where he called them teenagers -- how does he know? Do they not keep their identities secret there? She keeps it to herself, though; she doesn't want to put him on the spot if it turns out it's something he can't answer.] I hope they have somebody at home to support them, too.

[Dear, she calls him, and his expression changes a little at that, though not in a particularly bad way. Having a mom as his next door neighbour is going to be the death of him, isn't it? He doesn't know that she's their aunt, not their mother, not yet, but it doesn't really matter in the long run, because she has all the same mannerisms of most mothers he's met... albeit pretty goofy mannerisms. She's the sort of lady he'd expect to see his own mom chatting with by the side of the playground, patiently waiting for Milagro to finish playing, a chorus of voices from the slides begging, five more minutes, mom!

Superhero son or not, she seems awfully normal.]

I hope they do too, [he says, and he means it, because honestly? He actually doesn't know a heck of a lot about his own teammates. He kind of doubts it.]

...but if your world doesn't have monsters and supervillains, what do they fight against? Just, like, street crime?

[The side of a playground is somewhere she'd fit right into. But unfortunately, Cass didn't have a lot of experience with that -- at least not with other moms. She spent more time storming school and doctor's offices, fighting with authorities and other parents about what Hiro's schoolmates had done to him on school campuses where he was supposed to be safe. There were plenty of people who supported her, but she was more of an infamous parent than a popular one. She dreamed for years about Hiro making friends. She wasn't expecting him to make friends and turn them into a superhero team, though.]

Street crimes... and other accidents? They stopped a trolley from rolling all the way down the hill just recently.

[Compared to superheroes who fight those big monsters and villains, Big Hero 6's activity might be cat-in-a-tree level. But Cass is grateful for that, and she's not one to say that those smaller heroisms are any less important. As it is, stopping Callaghan and that trolley both saved a huge number of lives.]

Edited (adding a thing... ) 2015-06-10 08:03 (UTC)

That doesn't sound so bad, then.

[That's pretty small stuff, and considering Cass didn't mention any superpowers to go with the duty, that's a darn good thing. It's not that people without powers can't tackle the whole hero business, but they need an awfully lot of training, training that can't be found just anywhere. He was able to fly by the seat of his pants and end up okay, but that's because he could literally fall from orbit and still be fine. People without powers are a little... squishier.

He waves his hands in front of him, suddenly realizing how dismissive that could have come off.] Not that that makes it any less important! It's just a lot safer than, like, going into space and punching aliens or something.

[Speaking of which!]

Aren't there any other superheroes where you're from who could... I dunno, check up on him? Give him a few tips?

[Even he'd gotten a little crash course from Guy.]

Honestly, I don't know. At least our city hasn't had one as far as I know.

[Maybe sometime in the long past, but until Hiro and Baymax started flying around, it was all just in tv shows and movies.]

That's why I wanted to learn. I'm his only parent -- he thinks he's hiding it from me, and I don't want to bring it up in a way he thinks I'll be mad about it. I know he doesn't want to worry me, but... [She sighs as a way to end that sentence. She's sure Jaime understands just by virtue of being close to Hiro in age.]

They're pretty hard to miss.

[So they probably don't have any other superheroes, he thinks. It's hard not to know about people going around in spandex beating up criminals, but it takes a heck of a lot of gumption to go out there and be the first one.

Jaime wouldn't.]

I dunno. It might be a relief that you know, in the long run? [He chooses his words carefully, trying not to give away the fact that he would have had to hypothetically grapple with the same issue. He leans back, placing one finger on his mouth as he thinks about how to phrase it. What does having his parents know mean?

It means that when things go wrong, he doesn't have to worry about them not knowing and being taken by surprise. He can talk to them about what had happened, and when he fails, there's always someone to come home to, someone who understands. He's missed it a lot since he was forced out on his own like this, and it just makes him all the more aware of how important it was to have that support group there, just waiting for him.

Maybe it's easier for Cass' kid. He's on a team. But if you can go home to someone who understands, wouldn't you want to?]

He's gonna have a bad day, one of these days, and, um. [He shrugs.] It'd be good to go back home to family after that, you know? Without wanting to hide it? That's what I think, anyway.

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sounds about right tbh

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1/

2/

3/

/4 i'm done i swear

bless

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