you taught me the courage of stars,

[wondie]

Who: Diana "Prince" (wondie) & Peter Parker (webdesigned) & you??
What: Open Catchall for December
When: ...december, presumably
Where: All over! Olympia mostly perhaps
Warning(s): embarrassment



see comments for starters! want something? feel free to wildcard me, or hit me up via PM or at meowed to chat about what we should do!

Comments

OPEN.

[wondie]

PUTTING IT BACK TOGETHER.

( it was only a matter of time before Diana returned to Olympia. her ties to the city are not unbreakable, yet her need to help put the place back in order after the attacks might as well be. she stayed the longest and was one of the first to return, determined to do what she could to put the place back to well, if she could.

her strength is helpful in rebuilding, it's easy to catch her lifting walls or debris or cleaning up lingering destruction along the city. it's not unheard of her to be spotted cleaning, either, intent on the work though sometimes she's flummoxed by it. she's not had the most practice with cleaning, truth be told. she also returns to her work as a guard, spotted talking to civilians getting back to their lives and doing what she can to help them, be it putting shops together again and chasing down the occasional ne'er do well that had the ill conceived notion of making a poor choice in her presence.

last but not least, any that desired the training she'd offered not long before her arrival are once again welcome to meet with her to start lessons up once more. archery,
horseback riding, hand to hand, just basic self defense, Diana is happy to share what she knows. )

STARTING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS.

( Christmas had not existed on Themyscira. it had not been a part of Diana's exploration of the world of men, either; there hadn't been the time. the season isn't expressly celebrated in this new world, yet the people around her have told her enough to leave the amazon mystified and curious about the celebration. giving gifts, sharing food, enjoying the company of people that mattered... what was there not to like?

as the repairs in Olympia began to slow and the weather began to cool even more dramatically, Diana sets herself on the quest of finding the beautiful red flower Steve had explained to be the symbol of Christmas. she remembers how trying it had been to walk this new land with no memories of home, and she hopes that this flower might ease his heart a little. there's still something he isn't quite telling her, she can tell, though she can't guess what.

still, her investigations are coming up short, much to her frustration. she will wander the wilds outside of Olympia looking for any plant with bold red blossoms. wandering the city proper she comes across another sort of plant, though when she stands underneath the branch of mistletoe, it turns out that only the berries are red. and during all her explorations, she can't help but find herself surprised as powered puffs of white start to fall from the sky. her first snow fall, and she's so astounded by it she almost seems a little alarmed by it. )

SHOPPING MISTAKES, PART DEUX.

( amazon considerations toward fashion are clearly quite different from the expectations of El Nysa. both Olympia and Wyver seem to embrace styles that Diana does not totally understand. in her work as a guard she can get away with her fondness for leather, however, with the prospect of a celebration she knows she won't blend in quite as well.

she means to find a piece that will suit her for the gala, though to be perfectly frank it is easier said than done. some pieces she simply marvels over, unable to comprehend how they are meant to be worn or what purpose they might serve. the fit is strange or tight or uncomfortable or all of the above. the only thing she's found that she truly liked so far was apparently a nightgown, according to the girl that ran the shop.

perhaps armor to a gala wouldn't be so strange after all. it'd be better than the foamy, fluffy, lacy thing she's looking at now. she holds it to her frame and makes a face like she'd caught wind of something rotten. ) No one could dance in this, ( she tells no one in particular. then again, she muses, humans didn't really dance anyway. it explained their fashion choices. she misses Etta terribly; she'd have been able to help her navigate this nonsense. )

Shop til we drop tbh, don't tell steve

[summertimeblues]

[Truth be told, Richie's getting all the same inklings in the menswear section opposite. He's yoinked out and tucked back more threads than he's slung over his arm, and even those are a begrudging admission of defeat. He needs a good change but damn, if he wasn't going to look like he should be lurking in a bell tower, it'd be the plot twist of the century. What a nightmare.

He's given up and has to weave his way through the ballgowns to get to the shopkeep, and it's there that he's stopped in his tracks.

Listen, he lived in L.A. and that was a town with no mercy for an extra half pound or a hair whisped out of place. The girls got no kind of slack and they all hustled to reach the bar, five am wake ups for hair and powder and girdles before work starts at eight. So believe him when he says that what he's looking at is a grand high knock out. Ten for ten, absolute stunner.

Too young probably, but fuck. He's got eyes.

She's holding up an abomination of frills and petticoats, nose crinkling in disgust. Rightfully so, but that doesn't stop Richie from piping in over the far side of the rack.]

Oh come on now. That's a quittin' attitude. [He flashes her a grin. Teasing, maybe slightly flirtatious, but with tongue firmly in cheek. He knows his chances are living in the slum end of the wager pool.] Maybe you need to learn the right moves, hun, get the skirt spinning so fast it'll take you into orbit.

[wondie]

( too young... lol

Diana glances at the man who rebukes her assessment, before frowning and looking down at the constraining puff of fabric again, skeptically attempting a slight twist. no, no, she's absolutely not taking this bait. not even at the suggestion she could become a living sky-dancer, and what girl doesn't want to do that? )

Turning in circles might be the only feat I could manage. You'd never be able to kick or jump or crouch. ( Diana, good god, how exactly do Amazons dance??? still, she can tell the stranger is trying to be playful, and two can play at that game. )

You are welcome to prove me wrong. The color would suit you. ( you wanna try the cupcake dress, Richie? she won't stop you! )

[summertimeblues]

[Look he doesn't know]

You do a lot of crouching on the dance floor? [He raises a brow. The accent is hard to place so if he has to put her on a map, it'd be in the East somewhere, or the bottom end of Europe. Or, like Byerly, she's from a planet that boasts human-types with none of the same names, places, or things.] Now I'm curious. If you don't ever deliver on that I'm going to die of dissatisfaction.

[And wow, is this a challenge? Richie gives a scoff of superiority, sloughing the slacks and shirt he'd been carting onto the top of a rack.] Actually, yeah, that's why I came over. It's exactly my style, paws off, a-sank-you. [He's snatching the dress from her as he says it. Richie gives it a shake, the fluff and stuff rustling as he holds it up and out.

Then he steps into the skirt and hoists it up. Fat chance at getting the bodice to button but he manages to get the waist in place. The top half just dangles down his front like a sad apron.

He steps back to give the skirt some room. Puts his hands on his hips and swishes right, swishes left. This was a heck of a lot of skirt. If the Hoover Dam ever busted this would plug it up right as rain. He looks to her, straight faced and expectant.]

I honestly don't know what you're complaining about. Feels like a dream to me.

[wondie]

( she's from an island full of amazons whose accents differ a great deal... for no good reason. Diana herself sounds like she came from a warm place with lots of sunshine, which in actuality is not very far off. he didn't ask, though, so she has no reason to explain.

does she do a lot of crouching on the dance floor? Diana nods, and to her the concept is not so very strange. when her sisters liked to backflip off horses while firing bows, it's safe to say they'd go the extra level when dancing, too. ) Humans are such sedate dancers. It is a wonder why you call it dancing at all. ( she is so harsh on human swaying, but to be fair, when she's used to so much more it's a lot harder to be impressed by shuffling around.

if she'd ever actually tried it, Diana might find she's a fan. thus far, she's happy to remain overly critical about it. maybe after the gala she'll stop talking smack about dancing... we'll see.

as for Richie trying on the dress, she's not expecting him to take her bait. when he does, it's clear she's delighted. she clasps her hands and grins, and the effect is like sunshine over clear water. dazzling. if nothing else, she appreciates his confidence. ) The color is a dream, but the fit leaves a bit to be desired. ( he's lucky he's got clothes on underneath it, though, that can't make it easier to move around in. ) You are brave, if you think you could dance in that. I'm not sure you could get close enough to anyone to try.

putting it back together

[granularity]

[ A voice she might recognize from a certain video speaks out from a spot a few yards off to her left. ]

Hey, if you hold that up for a moment, I'll get it connected back to the foundation stones.

[ He's been doing more of the clean up than the rebuild since he hadn't wanted to meddle with possible building code violations, but since it looked like no one else was making much of a fuss about it, he could stop his miniature sand-storm refuse thing and be a little more helpful. ]

[wondie]

( holding enormously heavy things up for a moment. that she can definitely do. though not without pausing, for a moment, to take note of Sandy. seeing him in person is different than over a small video feed. she offers him a smile and a nod of recognition.

and then she lifts the wall as requested, pressing her back into it and forcing it straight again, allowing her to look at him as she holds it. ) How will you do that?

( she's just curious, it doesn't seem like he has any tools in hand. )

[granularity]

[ He holds up a single finger in a request for 'just one second' before she might feel the earth underneath her shift a little. All he's doing is holding out his hand towards it, but the concentration on his face puts the blame on him pretty squarely. He gestures for her to step away. ]

Should be good at this point if you want to move onto the next one.

As for 'how', it's kind of my thing. Been a geomorph since about 1947.

[wondie]

( feeling the rumble under her feet isn't quite the same as understanding what it means, or how it had been accomplished. there's a slight expression of surprise on her face, though not any doubt. she's got enough unbelievable,
inexplicable abilities of her own, it isn't like her to doubt the existence of others. )

A geomorph? And what is that?

( with the guidance to keep moving, she does... but maybe they can talk while they work. )

snowfall mistletoe combo

[dianano]

[ Steve had gone to Olympia as well when he heard from Diana help was needed to restore the city. Although they had journeyed there together, they had gone their separate ways, figuring they could cover more ground that way.

He's done about as much as he can to assist before the sun is due to set. It's time he found Diana again, asking around if anyone has seen her (she's not hard to miss and Steve hasn't quite figured out using his phone to contact her to learn her whereabouts). He follows pointed fingers from the locals to the wilder side of the city. Typically, it starts to snow, but Steve doesn't stop to watch, continuing to look for Diana. Pushing past trees, he enters a clearing...

And there she is. Standing under mistletoe, watching snowflakes float down and around her, looking at it like she's seeing it for the first time. Come to think of it, she probably is seeing it for the first time, and even if this were her second time, or third, et cetera, she'd probably still be looking at it like it was magical.

It'll turn creepy if he keeps watching her from a distance though, so he makes his way over, snowflakes scattered in his hair and across his shoulders, hands inside his pockets. ]

It's called a snowfall. [ Talk about déjà vu... ]

[wondie]

( it's true, when it came time to return to Olympia she can't say surprised that Steve had wanted to join her. she is glad that she did not have to push on without him. she's capable of being on her own, yet having him back at her side is a comfort she did not realize meant so much to her. she breathes easier waking knowing he is just a room away.

that isn't to say they've spent every waking moment together. she had shown him the accommodations she'd found for herself in the city — not quite as large as the rooming Bruce had found her in Wyver, though they'd deal with that later — and set out to do what they could. sooner or later their paths would diverge again, though she's not expecting to see him again until she returns home.

his voice startles her, for a moment, before her shoulders relax as suddenly as they straightened. she can't quite wipe the look of confusion and slight uncertainty on her face, though seeing that he isn't alarmed by the snow, perhaps she has no need to be, either. it is indeed her first snowfall, though she'd experienced snow itself on the mountaintop in Wyver. she opens her palm and a few blisters of white land there, and her face morphs from uncertainty to raw delight. she's never seen anything like it, and it's beautiful. )

It's beautiful. ( it is, truly, one of the most beautiful things she's ever seen. Diana turns her face up to admire the white sifting from the sky. it lands in her dark hair and a few snowflakes kiss her upturned face, cold but pleasant on her skin. she sees the odd plant hanging above her head as she looks upwards, and the slightly puzzled expression returns. ) I've seen that odd plant everywhere. What do you think it means?

[dianano]

Yeah. [ Steve agrees, the same way he agreed with her that night in Veld about the snowfall being magical, except the statement seems more about her when she's all he's looking at.

He doesn't have to look up to know what she's referring to. He spotted it earlier, but he didn't think she'd pay it any attention (he should have known better, it's Diana, she notices everything). ]

No one's told you about that yet? [ Not one person decided to save him from this lesson on more odd Christmas traditions? Of course not. Better to put Steve through the awkward embarrassment, everyone must have thought. ]

It's mistletoe. People hang it in their homes because of a tradition at Christmas. When two people are under it... [ Two people like them for instance. Steve looks up from his feet and meets Diana's eyes. ] They kiss. Sometimes on the cheek, sometimes on the mouth... Whatever they feel comfortable with.

[ There. That wasn't so hard to say, Steve, was it? (Yes. Yes it was.) ]

OPEN.

[webdesigned]

BEAST MASTER, MASTER OF BEASTS.

( if you believe he's actually a beast master, I feel bad for misleading you, because no. no he is not. still, he likes them well enough, and the request to help compile a database of local biology is absolutely up his alley. Peter is much better at looking at animals than he is actually interacting with them. it's the scientist in him, probably, or maybe it has to do with the fact the closest thing he's had to a pet is a goldfish that he watched for a neighborhood friend when he was 10. so that had been cool?

he wanders the wilds of Wyver, documenting flora and fauna alike. usually he just takes rampant notes, perhaps a little too absorbed in his writing for his own good. sometimes he has abandoned his notes to avoid whatever he's trying to document, to varying degrees of success. if you see him scared up a tree to avoid a particularly boisterous oxen creature, or wandering a little too close to a Nik Nik den, maybe help him? or don't. pointing and laughing is a valid option, too. )

CLEAN UP TIME.

( Peter has plenty of attachments to Olympia, however, it is hard to say he trusts the place as much as he did when he arrived. VIOLET had exposed things he can't turn a blind eye to, now that he knows them. the image Olympia presents might be more of a facade than reality, and he's starting to wonder exactly how much is still left hidden.

still, when it comes down to it, Peter can't stay away when he knows there is still a lot to recover after the attacks. he returns to help with the clean up process, completing easier tasks as mild-mannered Peter Parker and more arduous ones as Spider-Man. he returns to work at the lab, though there's something uneasy about it now. he returns back to the house he had stayed in with Cheryl and later on, Juvia, and is disappointed to find it marred by painted warnings about the virus that has finally started to quiet. it means painting, and a lot of it. he's never painted a house before, so maybe some advice or help would be a good idea.

or he's going to end up celebrating Christmas a whole new color, and maybe falling off a ladder. )

NOT QUITE CHRISTMAS.

( perhaps at a strapping advanced age of 19, it would be shameful to admit how much he adores Christmas. granted, they'd stopped their vigorous celebrations after Ben had died, yet Peter still can think back fondly of going ice skating with his aunt, every year. getting hot chocolate in the park, and admiring the tree in times square with Gwen. it's hard not having those reminders of the season he'd grown so very used to, and for awhile it leaves him a little melancholy.

he gets over it after a few days. in fact he decides that the slightly skewed sense of celebration is a good thing, in the end. perhaps all those familiar reminders would be too hard, knowing it was his first Christmas without ... without anyone, really, though at least his aunt is still sleeping in stasis. he wanders Olympia as the work starts to fade into preparation, the air gets a little cold and the air gets a little more hopeful.

it isn't all foreign, though. when he spots some wily mistletoe decorating an archway, he stops to admire it. ) I guess some things never change. ( footsteps startle him out of his reverie, and the fact he's talking to a plant. Parker, seriously... he clears his throat, a little shamed to be caught talking to plants, and explains, ) I meant the mistle... ( toe. the mistletoe he's standing under. with someone. crap. he didn't think this through. ) Oh. ( mistleoh. that's exactly right. watch out for mistleoh, everybody. )

clean up time

[apricitous]

[ Later in the evening, he'll get some help, someone who might be familiar.

Someone who has no problem lifting up walls or spot-welding metal. Clark's in mid-disguise: hair slicked back, no glasses, in only a t-shirt and jeans as opposed to his usual flannel. As he spots Peter, he gives him an absent wave though it's just the friendly 'hello' of two people working side by side. ]

[webdesigned]

( familiar indeed, though it does actually take a bit to place him. Peter only knew Clark as the bespectacled reporter. it takes a minute to recognize him without them, especially since they had not known each other incredibly well.

when he does place the momentary deja vu, he finishes the work he was in the middle of (handing things to an old woman who was in the middle of fixing her cart, since she wouldn't hear of letting him do anything else) he heads that way, at least waiting until the welding is over to say something. )

Hey! Long time no see... Mr. Foster told me you were, um, you know. ( in stasis, is what he can't say, so he adlibs. badly. ) I'm glad to see you're up and moving again.

[apricitous]

[ ...that gives him a bit of a blink, since it wasn't as if he'd known, he... well, knew anyone here. He glances over at the wall he'd just-

Well, that cats out of the bag. ]

Yes, I'm... up again. And unfortunately, I don't know who you are.

[ He holds out a hand, though. ]

CLOSED.

[webdesigned]

feel free to throw wildcards here, but specify which of mine you'd like! otherwise i get to pick and you get to suffer.

JUVIA.

[webdesigned]

( it took a good few weeks but Olympia seems like it is in more or less one piece again. a good thing but maybe a bittersweet thing because while they haven't talked about it, Peter is pretty sure that Juvia intends to return to Wyver. he's gotten a little too used to having her so close, if he's honest. maybe it's for the best, a little distance... yet anticipating it happening had inspired him to invite her to spend a day together, anticipating the fact that sooner or later it wouldn't be so easy.

it wasn't quite the December feeling he remembers from home, that's a fact, but Olympia is starting to celebrate the end of the year and there's something familiar about that all the same. there's spices in the air, hot chocolate, and music. it's all pretty nice, actually, and it's nice to spend time with Juvia. she always makes him laugh (perhaps not always because she intends to) and instead of worrying about this or that or everything inbetween, they can spare a moment to just have fun.

the day is coming to an end, though. the sun setting and the air getting colder. their last stop is a walk through the park, and someone has meticulously hung paper lanterns in all the trees. it's beautiful, even though he can't imagine the level of effort that must have been involved. ) Reminds me of Christmas trees, almost, ( he muses, coming to a stop underneath one to admire it. )

[lacuscular]

[ If she doesn't think about the bombing, it's almost as if Olympia has never changed. But she can't help but think about the fact that they have, changed that is, if their day spent together is anything to go by. She's felt nothing but warmth swell in her chest, a happiness that she hasn't felt since their trip to (not intentionally, uh,) get Magic Married™.

Standing beside him when he slows to a stop, tilting her head up towards him. She decides to sneak her arm around his while she's at it— mostly because she just wants the contact, also because she's a teensy bit cold. ] It looks nice, in its own way. [ She muses, tilting her gaze from him back to the tree before him, squinting her eyes the tiniest bit.

And it's a well placed hint that, despite how close things are to home, things won't always be the same. And another reminder of the especially big elephant in the room, the one they haven't touched yet. Truthfully, she just hasn't told him because she isn't sure how he'd take it. Or how she would, either. She doesn't like thinking about how she'll miss him. Which, she would quite honestly, die of embarrassment if she ever admitted. ] ..Juvia thinks she likes Olympia better when they're getting ready for their Christmas, like this.

[webdesigned]

( it's an unexpected gesture, the arm that sneaks around him, though Peter can't say he's bothered by it. it's both new and not — it's just been a long time since he's had a girl tucked under his arm. which is where she ends up when his arm goes over her shoulders in return. the fact she does seem cold is a perfectly good excuse for the touch that verges a little south of the friend zone he's trying to keep them in. on the scale of magical marriage and living together, putting an arm around her is probably the smallest mixed signal he's offered her recently.

it is nice, in its own way. it couldn't have been easy to manage, and the effort involved almost makes it more impressive. stringing a bead of lights isn't that hard, he remembers doing it at home with his aunt. which is a bittersweet memory, so it's almost better that the lights in the trees aren't florescent. if he's going to enjoy this Christmas, it's imperative not to think about the memories behind him. with his aunt, with his city, with Gwen. it's his first Christmas without all of them and the less he thinks about that, the better.

since he's so used to losing people, one way or another, you'd think the concept of Juvia returning to Wyver would be pretty easy to deal with. funny how it doesn't work that way... though as long as they don't talk about it, they don't have to think about it. that's definitely his preference as far as all this is concerned. they can worry about the reality after Christmas is over. ) Yeah? It probably wouldn't be as special if it was like this all the time, though. Can you imagine lights and carols and constantly having to be merry all year round? Exhausting. ( he's 90% teasing her. he really does like the Christmas spirit wandering through Olympia, he can't lie. )

POE.

[webdesigned]

( he's not good at this friendship thing. to be honest, he has never had that many. for a friendly guy, Peter has never had that many friends. he's friendly, yet he keeps people at a distance, he can't help himself.

Peter is not above trying to learn, though, however awkwardly. and it's especially awkward in the instance of Poe Dameron, the guy he accidentally made out with because the moon was right. that doesn't fly as a particularly good excuse for Peter, so he is left not entirely able to explain it. besides wanting to, which seems like an accurate enough assessment, though the story of why he won't let himself do it again is a little more complicated.

he's trying not to let the complications interfere with the fact that Poe clearly needs a friend right now. maybe Peter isn't the best friend, but he's willing to try, and that's why he's waiting for Poe in the cafeteria. there's food set out for the taking but Peter has grabbed enough for two and then some, and hopefully Poe likes what he grabbed. if not, it's only a matter of walking over to get something else, but it's the principle of it, isn't it?

maybe it is weird, how easily he hears Poe coming, but he's already straightened and his attention is trained on the doorway Poe walks through before he even arrives. Peter gives him a smile, if a wearied one. ) I hope you like... uh... whatever this is. It reminds me of casserole, but who knows, considering where I got it. ( from a cafeteria in alien ship floating in space, not all food was instantly recognizable. )

CHERYL.

[webdesigned]

Christmas just wasn't Christmas without a tree. So Cheryl claimed, and that was what had sent them out of the house and into the city. They'd gotten distracted since then, though, with the festival and celebration running through the streets. There's dancing, food (more than usual, though sadly not as much as there might have been... food shortage was still a problem in Olympia), singing, sales, games, almost too much to keep up with.

A stranger passes by them and offers them both a flower, which isn't quite a poinsettia since the leaves are green, not red, but it is pretty. Peter still hands his over to Cheryl, though. "They sure get in the spirit of things, don't they?" Peter muses, watching the woman flit off to hand out more flowers. "What should we do first?"

[sweetwater]

Cheryl loves Christmas. Christmas is always over the top decadent at the Blossoms, and she isn't sure how to approach the holiday now. she has high hopes. So far, Peter is playing along which he will do if he knows what's good for him with her holiday spirit.

"After we get the tree, we'll need decorations." She indicates the flowers. "These are a nice start. We'll need lights, too."

They'll need a lot of things for a proper Christmas, some of which she's pretty sure they're not going to find. It doesn't mean she won't try. "Do you know how to make cookies?"

[webdesigned]

Hey, he's not just following along for his sake. Peter likes Christmas, too, and while he doesn't want it to be too familiar to the way he celebrated back home with his friends and family (not when they can't be here), doesn't mean he doesn't want to celebrate at all. He has a feeling the Blossom tradition will be different from the Parker tradition, anyway.

Lights, huh? That might be the hardest part of the list. "I'm not sure they've got string lights, here, but maybe I can make some." Because, yeah, of course he's a big enough nerd to know how to do that. He can do a lot of things, given the proper motivation. And Cheryl can be very motivating. "What kind of ornaments?"

Fancy ones? Glittery ones? Is he allowed to pick the ones he finds funny, perhaps because of their atrocious styling and colors? As for cookies, he shakes his head. "No way. I tried to make the Pillsbury premade sugar cookies, my Aunt banned me from the kitchen that year."

CLARY.

[webdesigned]

( it's been a long time since he saw that familiar head of bright red hair. red? orange? somewhere in-between? it had not been the most agreeable moment, to say the least, and a part of him knows it'd probably be better to continue to stay detached. knowing, is not the same as doing, as it turns out. because he finds himself wandering to her side, slightly sheepish in posture because he remembers as well as she does the last time they spoke, it was pretty strained.

no, he doesn't say hello, or maybe a huge note of his presence, but this time he caught up to her with his feet, and not from suddenly dropping from the sky. it's not hard to track him approaching, and he can more than guess that Clary can tell he is there. )

If only you were wearing green, you'd be like a walking celebration. ( because she has red hair, obviously. is just throwing a dumb joke at her going to fix the fact they haven't talked in quite some time? no? weird... he looks fairly apologetic as he tries again. ) Hey. You're looking better.