am i the only one i know

[centurybaby]

WHO: Jenny Quantum and YOU!
WHERE: Various Floridian locales.
WHEN: June 1st - June 8th. Please specify your choice.
WHAT: Adventures of a former teenage tyrant!
WARNINGS: Jenny's potty mouth.


[1] early evening; coffee shop
[ The rain in Florida disagreed with Jenny Quantum. It was bad enough that it had gotten too close too summer-- too fucking hot-- for her to wear her trademark leather jacket or the sweater she'd taken from Karkat Vantas, both of which were staples of her wardrobe. She was probably due to go shopping. Or to twist the metaphorical fabric of reality into something more literal-- though there were always risks with that, in a foreign universe. Either way, at least one of her fathers (the one that used to dress her in pink jumpers) likely would have disapproved of how she looked now, appearing for all intents and purposes like the grungy, homeless, and angry teenager that she was as she took shelter from the downpour under the awning of a street corner coffee shop.

She sat on the ground, picking idly at a hole in her jeans, her Union Jack t-shirt soaked at the shoulders. There was a cigarette dangling from her mouth, but it was useless-- drenched in rain and limp, like the hair that clung to her face and the majority of her clothes. She wouldn't care much, except it was her last cigarette, and it seemed a waste to give up on it without at least being a little stubborn first.

Her stare lingered on people as they passed in a way that probably made them uncomfortable-- though as hard as her eyes were, she was mostly just looking for someone to bum a fresh cigarette off of. ]



[2] afternoon; a hazardous crossing
[ Maybe it was just that she'd always had a lot on her mind-- more than most seventeen-year-olds, anyway. Jenny had the rare problem of being burdened with humanity's savior, and while the title of messiah was less unusual among imPorts (she could name at least two others as analogous to Jesus as she was), her casual military takeover of a foreign country in their previous universe had left her with something of a deserved reputation.

The dilemma now was to decide whether or not she wanted to change that. Jail time hadn't fazed her, but against her will, the persistence of those few who could stand her long enough to become her friends had influenced her. It was the only reason she hadn't done something to piss off the government here yet, though with her vast powers, it was well within her reach to make herself a thorn in their side.

Those were the thoughts that occupied her mind as she stepped into the crosswalk, cigarette smoke trailing behind her as she began to traverse the intersection just as a reckless taxicab swerved around the corner towards her, trying to beat the light. ]



[3] late morning; park bench
[ Jenny had a strange childhood-- one she aborted abruptly at age eight, when she determined for herself that the protector of the human race was much more useful as a fifteen-year-old than a small child. Reality altering was convenient like that. But that didn't mean she never missed being a child. Some parts of her-- parts buried deep, deep, deep down inside-- were still that little girl. She still liked stuffed animals, even though her transient lifestyle prevented her from keeping any. She missed her parents. Against her will, she still hoped that one day, the Porter would see fit to bring her fathers to her. Separation from their love and their guidance had been more difficult than she ever voiced out loud.

Maybe it was that part of her that chose to linger in the park that day. She sat on a bench with a half-smoked cigarette hanging at her mouth as she watched parents with their children on the playground. She hadn't had much opportunity for swing sets and slides when she was that little, but her favorite thing by far had been Apollo would take her outside their spaceship to fly through the infinite vacuum. "Chasing the sun," he'd called it.

She almost didn't notice at first when a little girl, no more than five years old, curiously wandered up to inspect her. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted her, leaning around the bench that in a child's mind, must have been exceedingly sneaky. Jenny quirked a wry smile around her cigarette, lifting a hand to waggle her fingers hello. The girl giggled in answer, shyly waving back. It seemed like the beginning of a budding friendship-- until the child's father swooped in, scooping up his daughter with the obvious intention to rescue her from stranger danger. The man eyed Jenny's cigarette pointedly before carrying his daughter off.

Jenny sat still for a full second before standing up, raising her middle finger at the man's back and calling after him: ]

Fuck you. I was gonna put it out!



[4] wild card
( OOC: Free feel to post a prompt of your own! )

Comments

[2]

[runningstart]

[Kid Flash didn't often patrol near or in Heropa, just because there was such a huge concentration of imPorts that it often wasn't necessary. It also wasn't entirely fair because with speed like his, he could be cities over in just minutes. So usually KF spread out and hit up some of the neighborhoods that were maybe out of reach for other heroes. He's just that gracious.

He's on his way to do that, tearing down the street and bolting around cars when he sees a girl just step right into the road without waiting for the signal, and like it was planned a cab is bearing down on the intersection trying to beat the red light and pretty clearly not looking at the teenager trying to cross.]

Oh crap, [Kid says before he puts on the gas, zips around the cab and grabs the girl to drag her back onto the sidewalk. The cabbie leans on his horn as he passes and gives them both the finger.]

Watch where you're going! [Wally shouts after the cab as he lets the girl go. He shakes his head. What a dick.] You okay?

[centurybaby]

[ Honestly, it's probably a good thing that there's a hero in the vicinity that felt like scooping her up out of harm's way. Not that being hit by a car would have done any real damage-- but with her powers, volatile as they are and volatile as she is, there's a good chance that left to face her fate, she would have wiped that taxicab and anyone inside of it off the planet.

Jenny Quantum is not a nice girl. And Kid Flash is probably about to find that out. ]

What the hell--

[ Irritably, she plucks the cigarette from her mouth, smoke curling from her mouth as she swears at her rescuer. It's like he didn't just save her or anything, with the way she brushes her clothes off, giving him a hard look. ]

Hands to your fucking self, Sparky.

[runningstart]

[Wally raises his hands and backs away.] Whoa, hey, you are welcome for saving your life, babe.

( 1 / june 4th )

[corviform]

[ Gilbert doesn't often make the trip down to Heropa unless necessary, having all he needs in Maurtia Falls. However, Heropa does host an excellent fish market and when they're open or have a sale, he's there to purchase a fish or two to take back to his and Kenzi's apartment. Knowing Apple also eats fish makes the trip worth it.

Today? Not so much when the downpour starts and he's completely unprepared. The market closes up before he can make it and Gil is caught in this miserable weather, grumbling to himself and trying to seek shelter in a nearby shop. His hat doesn't do much to keep his hair from getting soaked, the tips clinging to the side of his face.

As he turns the corner to duck into the coffee shop, he nearly bumps into a smaller, drenched figure standing there. He comes to a halt, squinting through bangs obscuring his vision initially until he pushes them aside to get a better look at who he suspect it is. ]

— Miss Jenny?

[centurybaby]

[ It's definitely been a while-- but not so long that Jenny doesn't immediately recognize him. There's basically only one person in the entire universe who ever calls her "Miss Jenny," so she couldn't be mistaken even if she tried. And while she doesn't often look openly pleased with too many things, she does seem to perk up a little when she sees him-- a little subtle something easing the natural annoyance out of her face.

She finally flicks that soggy cigarette away.

It's her way of greeting him when she puts a hand out: ]

Come on, Gil. I know you've got a pack in there somewhere.

[corviform]

[ Rain drips off the corner of his hat, occasionally hitting his eye and making it a tedious effort to stare at her for too long before he has to forcibly blink or reach up to wipe his face. He eventually ducks under the awning to take shelter from the downpour, his face screwed up in mild irritation at this blasted weather and Jenny's request. ]

Is that the first thing you have to say?!

[ He wants to rebuff her, but she's so darn stubborn about the habit anyway it may be a waste of air. Not to mention she is all-powerful and her health isn't actually at risk...

Gilbert Nightray: enabler.

He reaches into his inner pocket to pull out a pack of Marlboro red, holding it open for her to pry a cigarette from. ]

Jeez... and don't tell anyone I gave you one.

3 (June 1st)

[attractedtodarkness]

[usually this was the time for her to be invisible and sneaky and stalking people but seeing that little exchange between Jenny and the little girl's father prompted Violet to have herself reappear once the father-daughter pair walks past her. She digs into her pockets to take out a stick and a lighter and casually lights up as she walks over to take a seat on the bench]

What a jerk.

[adults. seriously]

[centurybaby]

[ Adults are the worst. But Violet is cool and Jenny knows she understands that adults are the worst, so it's an alright turn of events, all things considered. A little scooting on Jenny's part makes a bit more room for her friend on the bench. ]

Dads usually are.

[ She shrugs, like it's no big deal. ]

Long time no see, Vi.

[attractedtodarkness]

Guess they are. [especially when it comes to their little girls. She inhales and then blows out a puff of smoke before answering again]

Yeah, it's been a crazy month.

( 1 | june 2nd )

[detriments]

[Christine was back in Heropa for a brief visit required by her field of work; just staying here for a day or two at a comfortable hotel to attend a couple of meetings and bring back any conclusions to her office. Of course it'd be raining on her visit to Sunny Florida.

Still, she took it upon herself to walk around, maybe feel a little bit of nostalgia for her brief stay in Heropa. It wasn't hard to recognize Jenny in the passing flows of a crowd, on her own with a limp little cigarette hanging from her lips.

They never did have that dinner, did they.]

If looks could kill...

[She sighed, careless and carefree, shrugging coyly when a smile spread on her lips, looking down at the girl with an umbrella firmly held in her hand.]

[centurybaby]

[ She wouldn't have held the lost appointment against anyone. The girl had a fleeting idea of what commitments between people usually meant, given her experiences, and she wasn't much by the way of proper company at the table anyway. She had war on her mind, thoughts of the extreme and a rude mouth.

That rude mouth quirks slightly at the corner when she recognizes Christine. ]

You picked a shitty day to visit.

[detriments]

I'd like to think I'm in control of a lot of things, but weather isn't one of them, [She answers, shoulders dropping with another sigh. It can't be helped.] What brings you out on a day like this?

[3]

[fantasykiller]

[Touma came to the park with a simple objective; find a reasonably nice spot to eat his lunch. His lunch was a small grocery bag filled with cheap food from a nearby convenience store. It was a spontaneous decision born from boredom and the fact he never had so much time to himself before. The weather made it perfect for spending time outdoors and he has quickly realized that he was far from the only person who thought so. Every bench or shady tree imaginable within the park has already been conquered. His search was increasingly proving itself to be a complete waste of time. He was better off just settling down at any random, unoccupied area.

He was passing by the playground area when he took notice of a little girl trying to play with a young teen. The appearance of the teenager didn't give the best of impressions, but that judgement was swiftly wiped away as she kindly responded back to the little girl's shenanigans. Unfortunately, the moment was ruined as the father quickly whisked his daughter away in misguided attempt to protect her. Even worse, the teenager's response only helped prove the father's paranoia. Touma decided to step in before things got any worse.]

Calm down. Acting like that only proves his judgement about you.

[centurybaby]

[ Jenny Quantum rarely took well to being told what to do.

At the sound of Touma's voice, she turned around, face tense with annoyance, lips pursed tight around her cigarette-- which, of course, she had not actually put out. It seemed beside the point now, even as a gesture. And she preferred to have a smoke when she was aggravated. ]

I don't give a fuck what he thinks about me.

[ She approached, confrontational. ]

You got a problem?

[fantasykiller]

[Her annoyance was nothing new to him. As someone who compulsively sticks his nose in other people's business whenever he detects any trouble, it was a response he was very familiar with. His expression shifted to a slight frown as she directed her aggression at him.]

People who don't care typically don't respond like that.

[His stance remained unchanged as she approached him.]

Honestly, I just didn't want anything bad to happen.

[1 | June 7th]

[unbrkableteen]

[Umbrella over her head, Eiko was walking down the sidewalk towards the coffee shop after another exciting day at school. She had a reading assignment that she had to do or else she'd be dead meat for the quiz the teacher was so kind enough to warn them about...but she'd be drooling into the pages in a matter of minutes if she didn't get any caffeine to help her along.

It wasn't far from the shop that she'd see the familiar teen sitting on the ground outside of the shop looking, to Eiko, like she didn't have a friend in the world and she immediately felt bad for her. Surely, she'd be happy to have company. Right?]

Are you alright?

[centurybaby]

[ Truthfully, Jenny had grown used to being without friends-- having them was complicated for her. Growing up, she'd never had the time or need for friends. The emptiness of outer space had been her home. Saving humanity had been her mission. Her family was the vigilantes that had raised her. So whether or not she would be happy to have company remained to be seen.

She glanced up when spoken too, taking a moment to finally give up on that limp cigarette, flicking it away before she answers: ]

I'm fucking soaked. And I'm out of smokes. So.

[unbrkableteen]

Oh...well, I don't have any cigarettes, but you can come inside where it's not wet and I'll buy you a coffee. That should warn you up a little.

[Eiko was still feeling a little bad about how she and Jenny had gotten off on the wrong foot and she was looking to try and do some sort of damage control. New place and a new start, she needed to be making friends.]

3

[transuniversal]

[Not for the first time, Noh-Varr thinks he doesn't entirely grasp human social interaction. It must be some trait unique to them; Kree don't greet each other like that, with such open happiness, and so he can't quite identify where it went awry. Is it the smoking? He's still not sure sometimes he entirely understands smoking. Drinking, yes. Totally gets the drinking. Smoking should be something along similar lines, and yet however caustic the taste of alcohol, it doesn't quite compare to smoke in the throat, and so he's always sort of wondered about it.]

Is it really that much of a problem?

[Some days Noh-Varr likes to blend in, and some days he just hangs out in his Kree uniform and enjoys being an alien. Today is an alien day.</small.]

[centurybaby]

[ Truthfully, Jenny's no expert with humans either-- and maybe that's ironic, considering she's supposed to be their savior, their messiah, the very incarnation of humanity in the twenty-first century. But as much as she encompasses the best and worst parts of humanity, she isn't human, and she wasn't raised among humans. It shows, in how rough her edges are in moments like this.

Annoyance still lingers on her face when she hears that question, her attention drawn by the sound of a voice she doesn't recognize. She could've been more surprised by the sight-- the uniform, in particular, which isn't any normal fashion, as far as she knows-- but the unusual is more ordinary to her than the ordinary itself is. ]

Is what that much of a problem? [ She gestures with her cigarette. ] This? Not if you don't mind getting fucking cancer, I guess.

[transuniversal]

[He's well aware of all the smoking cancer PSAs on television...and similarly discarded them as unimportant. It's not a cultural phenomenon that he's given so much thought to, although he's grasped through his cultural studies that it used to not be so, and that somewhere a shift took place and he can't be assed to go looking into that right now.]

Which you don't. [No judgment; just a sort of polite curiosity. Sometimes he can be polite.] That's in the future. The potential stigma is now.

1

[valr]

That looks useless.

[Kara's talking about the damp cigarette, since it's her first guess as to why the girl is glaring at everyone like the world has wronged her.

But Kara's been down to her last cigarette before and had it ruined, so she understands. Which is probably why she's fishing out her own packet of cigarettes and holding it out for Jenny to take one, if she wants.]

[centurybaby]

[ Jenny would probably argue, if she could-- the girl is contentious like that-- but it's true, the cigarette is as useless as it can get right now. Nobody's lighting that thing up, not without any warping of space and time.

So, yeah, she'll take a cigarette, thanks. Jenny flicks away her sad, limp smoke for a fresh one. ]

Thanks. [ She presses the stick between her lips, snapping her fingers. A spark of electric blue light comes to life, catching the end of her cigarette aglow. ] So, who the fuck are you?

1.

[longestwinter]

[There's nothing like rain to spoil a day. Snow he could take, extremes of heat, the kind of weather that makes you work to survive it at least earns some grudging respect. Rain's nothing but a miserable irritant, a whining gnat of a weather condition.

Which is why he's escaped most of the shower at one of the tables inside, working his way through two coffees and a few dozen more pages of the newspaper archives he's downloaded to his device. It's only when the sky's looking less of a threat that he steps out, and almost onto her. It only takes a second to register who he's not-quite stumbled on.]

If that's your shilling face, you might need to work on something more approachable.

[But then he's crouching, holding out a hand (the gloved one, and yes, it's too damned hot to wear a matching pair) and making the universal finger wiggle gesture of give that to me at her pathetic cigarette.]

Here, give me a try.

[centurybaby]

[ It's s surprise, but not an unpleasant one, when she recognizes Bucky Barnes. Her mouth quirks ever so slightly at the corner in an expression of vague amusement, eying his hand a moment before she finally offers him her limp cigarette. ]

What, you want the old puppy dog eyes or something?

[ Her voice is dry, but not unfriendly. ]