ArchivedLogs:In Which Popsicles Are Drippy And Eve Is Not

In Which Popsicles Are Drippy And Eve Is Not
Dramatis Personae Eve, Taylor
In Absentia	2017-06-12 "But seriously, screw anyone else who ever tries to make it seem easy."
Location <NYC> Tompkins Square Park - East Village
Small but popular, this tree-lined park is a perfect centerpiece to the eclectic neighborhood it resides in. Home to a number of playgrounds and courts from handball to basketball, it also houses a dog park and chess tables, providing excellent space for people watching -- especially during its frequent and often eccentric festivals, from Wigstock to its yearly Allen Ginsberg tribute Howl festival. The city is sweltering in the middle of a heat wave currently -- it hasn't really stopped people from being out in plenty to take advantage of its green spaces but it does mean that several fire hydrants in the neighborhood have been broken open, people are not just sunbathing but enthusiastically splashing in the fountains (the park police, huddled in the shade of a pavilion with a cooler of ice sodas, do not seem inclined to step in here), and a host of enterprising vendors have come out selling popsicles, cold drinks, spritz bottles, battery powered fans, even one man hawking bathing suits off of his blanket. Though outside the safe confines of Evolve, the heat has prompted Taylor to shed the outer light sweatshirt he'd worn on the walk here -- and his t-shirt as well, his multitude of limbs mostly now trailing down into the cool water of the fountain he's draped on the rim of. If the stares this earns him are bothering him he isn't much showing it, bright easy smile on his face as he unwraps a bright red and blue popsicle. "Maybe we should have gotten like. Ten of these." She's not one to get in the way of fun! In fact, Eve even has her own t-shirt pulled off and draped over one shoulder. She's gone without makeup this time, considering the nature of the invite. Self-consciousness for some of her less than feminine features and shape is rolling off of her in waves, but none of it shows in her posture, her body-language, or the like. Her hair is pulled back in a ponytail, and instead of a t-shirt, she has what looks like a one-piece bathing suit she'd been wearing underneath her clothes. Her knee-length black skirt decidedly does NOT match, but she has sandals on and yes, her toes are painted a bright pink color to match her fingernails. For all that her self-consciousness is clear in her thoughts, there's a hint of faint-ness there, as if the volume on her thoughts had been turned down a little. A little fuzziness at the edges. At any rate, Eve is still on the balance, happy. After the first five minutes, she'd even finally managed to STOP staring at Taylor's shirtless physique and have actual conversation with him. Her blush is even fading! Eve has taken a seat beside the boy, slipping her feet free of her sandals. Then she spins around so she is side-by-side but facing in towards the fountain. Feet dip into the water, as she unwraps the oversized orange creamsicle ice cream, and snips off a piece. A moment to 'mmm', lick her lips, and then nod emphatically,"I'll have to jog like ten miles if we do, but I'd be totally up for that. It's still an option. You know, usually I'm absolutely dying in the heat, but… This past few days, it's been… like… actually pretty comfy." Regardless of whether it's comfy or not, it's worth noting… Eve doesn't even look a bit sweaty. "I've been brushing up on Princess Nokia. She's kinda a big deal." "We gonna jog ten miles, can it be after dark?" One spade-tipped end of a tentacle lifts out of the fountain, cupping water in it to trickle a thin cool stream down, first over Eve's legs and then over Taylor's own forehead where he flops nearby. "You've clearly learned some kinda summertime magic I ain't picked up on yet. I outchea looking a sweaty mess and you still picture perfect. You know it's like, ten million degrees, right?" He slurps an already-dripping run from the side of his popsicle, grinning bright up at Eve. "Yeah?" Kind of delighted. "She's fantastic, isn't she? I have daydreams of doing that with my life but I think it's just keeping me from /actually/ figuring out The Future." The girl bubbles with laughter now, feet kicking up a little as water is trickled over them. Toes curl up, and Eve's cheeks dimple just a tad. Good mood indeed. "It can't be that hot, right? I…" She looks down again, as if checking out what she's wearing, then the fact that there are people all over the place sweating and trying to stay cool. There's a spike of panic: << Calm down girl. It doesn't mean anything. You're connecting dots that don't exist. You're just that badass. >> She grabs hold of her courage and confidence, thrusts her chin up a little and winks,"The secret is that I am obviously awesome. I'm used to sweating it up much more intensely. Sitting here, like this? No biggie." And of course she preens a little at being called 'picture perfect'. Who wouldn't? Still, Eve's head quirks a little bit,"That could totally be you. I figured that out when I was little, real little. You know when... It's like… You're hella hot, you got a unique look, you're a genuinely nice guy, and I'm betting you're hella talented if your work at Evolve is any indication. You daydream, and that's not helping, sure but… you worried about something? You talking about performing for a living? I have trouble just going to parties. I don't know how you get the courage to go up in front of people and perform. Putting yourself out there is HARD. Under any circumstance. I did that, recently. Didn't really go anywhere, and I was nervous as hell, but… it was awesome. Lo siento… I'm butchering this whole thing. I guess I'm trying to say… I totally believe in you. Turn your daydream INTO your future. Figure it out while you're doing THAT." She leans over to bump her hip against the boy and stares into the fountain as she sticks her popsicle in her mouth. << Popsicles. Perfect for stopping word-vomit- aaaand I'm still doing it, technically. >> "Awesome? Like what did you try at? How'd it work out?" Taylor's smile is a little shyer, now, a little more hesitant before he stifles it in a next slurp of popsicle. "I appreciate the support. Guess I've just been struggling figuring out how realistic it even is to try for -- I mean Something Different was /great/ but in the rest of the world people still care I look like this, y'know?" He shrugs, quick and dismissive. "Slinging coffee's not so bad, though. Meet a lot of neat people at Evolve." /This/ smile is quicker. His head tilts afterward. Curious. Grey eyes lifting briefly to -- the side of Eve's head. Maybe a little beyond it. "Y'aiite? Something been -- worrying? you." He doesn't sound /entirely/ certain of this guess. "I mean you /are/ badass." "I asked a much older woman to dinner. And it was fun, but it's like… She's an adult, with way different experiences, and I'm not really sure I like girls that way." There's a playful wink there. "Totally still like guys, though. I just… was tired of never dating, always kind of… you know… being afraid of getting rejected, or failing so hard. I wonder, if… maybe I asked her because she was so much more… shy and nervous than I am at my worst, which made it feel… safe? I dunno. And that's sort of… the wrong reason to be going to dinner with someone. Which reminds me… you should come by the shop, get something to eat. I'll cook it myself. It can be a thing. Or not a thing." Eve winks. << Why the hell did I wink at him!? Who does that!? >> "Anyway, what I'm getting at is… Maybe it won't work out. I got out some days, and I feel like all anyone's going to see is just… a guy in a dress. But I know that's not who I am, you know? So I'm out there every day, trying to… I dunno… make it real for the world as much for me. Maybe it'll never catch on, but don't all the movies say you don't wanna regret not trying when you're, like, forty? Anyway, maybe attitudes will change? Maybe you'll be the one to change 'em. Not that it's your job to change peoples' minds." As for the question about her worry? Well… It throws her thoughts into kind of a mad rush. A scramble, a panicky moment, and then she decides to settle on honesty. It's not like he wouldn't hear it anyway,"Thanks. I just… uh… I have… I haven't really been sleeping much. Like… an hour or two a night. And some of my tighter clothes, they don't really… fit right, though I don't wear them often anyway. The weird thing is, I don't feel tired. I feel… honestly, fitter than I remember in a long time. Jogging in the morning doesn't even tire me out anymore. The past few months, the weather has felt… just awesome. And it's like… do I maybe have a thyroid problem, or like… a tumor or something?" Taylor is quiet while Eve speaks. Sucking at his popsicle, several arms flicking lightly at the water, brows slightly furrowed. "No, you're -- it makes sense. I mean, you're right. People aren't gonna see you for you if you don't ever try. It's just." He hesitates, eyes drifting out across the park. Lingering on one person and then another who make haste to look Somewhere Else like they hadn't just been staring. "Easier some days." This is said kind of sheepish. "To daydream. Daydreaming, the world's kinda perfect already, and everything from being a famous rapper to hanging out in the park eating popsicles with a wonderful girl is mad low stress, right? But maybe I should take a page from your book. Put myself out there." He props himself halfway up on two limbs in a sinuous coiling of motion, eyes a little bit wider. "Have you got all that looked into at all? I mean, thyroid things -- /tumours/ -- that's nothing to mess around with. Lots of things, if they catch it early they can do a whole lot, though." His teeth sink briefly into his lower lip. "Your brain don't exactly sound the same either," he admits. The girl nods slowly to that, looking at her fingernails for a moment. She sees the people pointedly trying not to stare, and Eve finally shrugs,"I get that. I do. And there are days where… I'm going out, hanging out with my friends, and I just… I look at the razors and soaps and the makeup and I pick up the phone and I just text them and say I'm not coming. Because it's so hard and so much work, and… just… a few wrong words, one slip of the tongue can ruin the whole day. And it's okay to have those days, you know, you just… Got to remember that sometimes a nice guy comes along and reminds you that a few right words can make all the difference. You'll get reminders of why you're doing it. Papa says, you might not win if you play the game, but if you don't play it, then you certainly won't win." She holds her popsicle out then, as if offering Taylor a bite of it. "But seriously, screw anyone else who ever tries to make it seem easy." She watches her toes wriggling through the water, and makes a face,"Doctor says I'm in great health. Perfect blood pressure. Athlete's heart rate. Nothing on MRI, and the endo said other than upping my spiro, my bloodwork looks great. Doctor said to take some melatonin, relax a little bit. So. Here I am." A pause. "My brain is off? That's…" << Really worrying. >> "I… met another uh… psychic mutant the other day. He, like… merged my brain with his or something. I dunno… maybe that's why? It was like… I was like three or four people for a while. It was… confusing. I saw Sentinels. They were after this girl. It was scary. Like… Really scary?" "Gracias." Taylor's tone is warm, enough so that he's probably not just talking about the popsicle -- though he does lean in and take a bite of it. "It's good to remember sometimes." He offers up his cherry-blue raspberry chimaera, rapidly continuing to melt itself down over his fingers. Popsicles were not much built for conversing. "Merged? You became other people?" Thoughtful rather than surprised, Taylor doesn't really seem as startled by this as perhaps someone else might be -- but then, he does work at Evolve. "Man those Sentinels are scary as fuck. Lo siento -- that sounds like a bad day. You okay? Everyone get out okay?" The girl smiles and leans over to take a bite of Taylor's popsicle in return. Then Eve is chewing, swallowing and smiling. Her own fingers end up licked for melty-goodness, before she dips a hand below into the water and flickers her fingers towards the mess on Taylor's fingers,"I was going to ask you… Then I thought it was rude, then I realized you were going to hear it anyway (indeed, her thoughts are mirroring her words) so I decided to just ask… do you think you see the world differently? So much of my life experienced is framed with only having two limbs for manipulation. Would it change if I didn't?" She flickers a now wet set of fingers through her hair in a sort of nervous manner. "More like we… all four of us… kind of… became…. One person? Which itself wasn't so bad. Mostly… disorienting… But… nice in one way… I wasn't… didn't feel… lonely, exactly? Not even a little. Still the Sentinels… I don't know… I… they're supposed to protect and serve, but it's like… The way they were treating this mutant girl… It was some next-level nazi shit. Is that, like, a constant lurking threat these days, for mutants? You have to deal with that crap all the time?" Eve is quiet for a while after that as she tries to finish her popsicle without it all ending up in the fountain. Awkwardness practically rolls off of her in waits,"By the way, I um… am pretty sure you know because… you know, you're literally a mind reader, but… you know I have this, like, teensy crush on you, right?" "Hm." Taylor considers this while licking his own fingers clean. "I'm sure I do. I know people with wings -- or hooves -- or standard regular arms and legs but they've lost one or both of them, or never had them to begin with. It probably all shapes how you think about shit. Both in terms of how /I/ navigate space and /do/ things but --" A small shrug. "Also can't help but reframe how you exist in the world when you're just used to being any kind of different. So there's -- more than one axis of how you see the world. I mean --" The stubby remainder of his popsicle taps against his lips before he crunches it down off its stick. "I was born like this so its hard to know. I had friends who changed pretty drastic later in life. Probably easier to tell if that shifts your thinking. But I'd guess /everyone's/ got their own ways of seeing the world if the world treats you different. Like would you see the world different if you were cis, or a dude?" The mention of her experience with the other telepath has him sitting up a little bit straighter. "I know a guy like that. He does kind of leave your head a mess sometimes afterwards but not usually for -- how long ago was it?." His nose wrinkles up at the further mention of the Sentinels, though. "They're meant to be better than the meatbag cops but cops are cops. They're there to protect the state, not us." The slant of his smile is a little thinner, a little wryer. "These days? I --" He tucks the popsicle stick into his mouth, trails his fingers in the water. "Yeah, I'm not gonna say it's /not/ kind of hellish. But it's not new. It's just not hiding now. Some of the shit they did to us before --" He shakes his head quickly, moving on from this with a quicker smile. Brighter. "I /had/ kind of picked up on that." His less-sticky hand skims up over the smooth surface of his head. "You think you might want to go out with me some time? I mean like. Properly. Somewhere inside maybe. With air conditioning. Possibly food that isn't frozen." "I can only imagine, I suppose. I'd have to. I was so miserable when I was little because I was… People were trying to make me BE exactly that. And I didn't know how to do it, you know? I guess… It's really the same for everyone. I wouldn't know how to be a Taylor, you wouldn't know how to be Paige, and Paige wouldn't know how to be me. You make up for areas where you don't intersect by searching for and reinforcing the areas you do. Acknowledge the differences, don't get bogged down in them. I see it with my friends sometimes, even the ones I've known FOREVER. They get invested in, you know, being decent to me, so much so that they AVOID talking about stuff like it doesn't exist. Which is kind of almost as bad as being invasively focused on it?" Eve streeetches, though, lifting her feet out of the water and watching it sluice off of them. "They're supposed to protect all of us. As you can imagine, though, they're not super-popular in my neighborhood. There's these kids, mom and dad give them some soda after school to sit outside the store so that they can make a ruckus if it looks like the cops or other troublemakers are going to walk in. We get a lot of… undocumented people in our store." She shrugs slightly,"And they got sick of seeing old-timers suddenly snatched up and just… gone, overnight. You find out immigration took notice." She shakes her head slightly. "Helps keep watch when someone steals, too, since noone wants to call the cops. Sorry. This is me being morbid. Listen, you ever need to talk about any of that stuff, you're welcome to. I get that some people might not listen as well as they should. It's a crappy world. Noone deserves having weird robot Mengele type stuff dogging them. I know people throw 'Nazi' around a lot, but, like… seriously, the stuff I saw the other day with the Sentinels was, like… pretty facist-y." Eve's heart, however, beats a bit more quickly as the boy asks his question. << YES! >> "Yes, I'd like that." A bit softer than her brain. She's literally GIGGLING mentally. "I'm not going to pretend I'm not already thinking about what to wear." She totally is. And she has a lot of clothes. Taylor winces. "Is that like the trans version of 'I don't even see color'?" There's amusement in his voice, but it's kind of wry. He shifts on the fountain's lip, leaning back over the water -- it looks almost a precarious position at first blush but now all his boneless limbs have submerged themselves, bracing him down against the floor of the fountain. Beneath the water's rippling surface is a somewhat kraken-esque scene, a tangle of twisty black limbs that -- are probably not moving as much as the shifting water makes it seem. Blinking, just faintly tenser for a heartbeat, he waves a dismissive hand soon after. "Nah. It's not morbid. It's your life. It's life. You don't have to pretend it's something it's not. Sometimes the world is -- popsicles, and sometimes it's shittier." One shoulder lifts. "Like even the rest of my family, my moms, my sibs, they're all human, right, but they're black, they don't exactly love the cops much more than I do. I feel like the system isn't doing a good job of protecting a whole fucking lot of us. Kind of important to recognize that and look out for each other." He's easing after this. His brighter smile makes his blue-and-red stained popsicle stick bob in his mouth. "Whatever it is, I'm sure you'll look great in it." The girl nods, her expression wry,"I particularly hate: I'm not gay but I think you're very pretty, I wouldn't have even known, you'll always be a girl to me, and I totally forget you're trans. It's like, I KNOW by the end of the school day I need to hit the razor again and I know my friends 'warn' guys we hang out with and tell them to be nice, but it's utterly patronizing and bullshit because… It's not like I forget who I am, you know? Don't get me wrong… Their heart's in the right place, but I… Eh, you get where I'm going with this." << Oh, that's cool. >> She fishes for her cellphone as the limbs move under the water, and flips through several apps until she finds a camera, then holds it up,"That's actually kind of pretty. You want a snapshot of that?" "Mama says it like this: Being a minority means the government has a major problem with you. She tries to turn everything into a pithy saying, which is kinda irritating, but… accurate a lot of the time. I can promise everyone in my side of town is going to be as welcoming as my store is, but you can bet, they'll take you over the government every. Single. Time." She wrinkles her nose a little and then says,"And my grandma is no better with some of the insane crap that comes out of her mouth." She bites her lower lip, picking up the remains of her popsicle, and stands, still in the fountain. "Um… I should probably start heading home for my shift. Did you want me to meet you somewhere, or did you want to pick me up? If I meet you, you can skip dad's inevitable third degree. If you come and get me, he'll probably feel obliged to be all fatherly, but we might be able to wrangle free cab fare." "Yeah. Like people think they helping by pretending everyone's the same?" Taylor shakes his head. "Some of us are reeeal different and we're pretty okay this way. And the /rest/ of the world isn't --" His cheeks blow out, sentence cut off at first but kind of rerailed into a lighter: "It's just nice to be able to talk about shit and have people listen." He glances at the camera -- down at the water -- back up at the camera with a smile. "Hell yeah." Juuust a little, a couple of his arms coil a little more tangled. He waits there a moment, standing only a short while after Eve does, limbs trailing streams of water down. "I can swing by." He snags his t-shirt off the edge of the fountain with a grin. "Like I said, black family. I'm /set/ for weathering parental grilling."