[Open] Fuck superstitions tbh.

[padadin]

Who: Shiro and you!
Broadcast: Nope, but you can still reach him through the communicator if you want.
Action: On the planet + the asteroid field.
When: First two weeks of the month, before metaplot hits us.
This got longer than I expected, sorry for all the cuts!

A. The fortune tellers

[Shiro doesn't believe in superstitions or fortune tellers, and whatever amulets he may've had at home was kept because they were gifts, not because he thought they would give him good luck. But he also knows the importance of respecting other cultures and not judging others for their beliefs - that's key in diplomacy. Besides, there are so many races with varied powers, who says they can't actually predict the future?]

TWENTY-NINTH?! [A particular reader exclaims after Shiro mumbles his birthday - February 29th.] You're living a cursed life! A kid trapped in an adult body!

[Shiro is used to leap baby jokes, but this is new. Keeping his poker face is getting more and more difficult right now, and anyone can see his eyebrow twitching...]

Let me see your hands, I beg you, sir, we must determine if--

[The alien screeches when he sees his metal hand, and Shiro is just DONE. He steps back, bumping into you. Help please? The reader is following him...]

B. Exploring + zip-lining

[He's been avoiding the city as much as possible after the fortune incident, so exploring it is! He loves space and all, but he has to admit, it's nice to see some real nature again, especially when it's so similar to Earth.

He visits both Yanti Rock and Eynewa’s Bow, climbing those "thousand steps" and going through the ravine with a smile on his face and barely sweating. Considering how buff he is, it shouldn't be surprising, now is it? Obviously he likes exercise.]

Are you okay there? [If he sees you tired, fellow explorer, he'll offer you his own water bottle, or even an arm to rest against to carry you somewhere when you can sit and rest. That's important too! While his expression during the exploring has been relaxed and content, that changes to very excited when they arrive to the zip-lining area.] Nervous? It can be done in pairs, if you want company.

[The company of a tall, beefy man that who knows how much he weights, yep...]

C. Job: bodyguard (bar area)

[A bodyguard job? Why not! He's patient enough for this, and safety of citizens is important to him. So he puts on his armor from home (sans helmet) and stands by some curtains at the back of the most popular bar in the city. If someone tries to get in, he's quick to put an arm in front of them.]

Sorry, VIP only.

D. Astronomy

[Oh yes, this captain is getting his chart updated, thank you. But he doesn't leave after he's done with that, no. He stays and talks with the scientist, definitely showing knowledge of the subject himself - passion, too. This is his element, and it shows. He waits patiently for his turn at the amazing, giant observatory telescopes, and handles them like a pro. He'll offer his help too if you need it, fellow space nerd or curious tourist!]

I'm glad places like this exist across the universe, [He comments with an eye on the lens.] I don't want this reality show to ruin people's interest in space.

[There's a raw honesty behind that statement. His own interest hasn't died even after space has broken him, after all.]

E. Asteroid field

[Shiro is wiping the floor with the locals.

And honestly? He doesn't feel bad about it. Well, maybe a liiiiitle bit. But mostly, he doesn't. This is his skill, his training, his years of work, his element. He won't apologize for being good at what he does. Shiro doesn't stop grinning and there's a gleam in his eyes - ask him for a race or a game of chicken. He dares you!

Or maybe you're just in the audience? That's fine too, because he has too many prizes and he doesn't need them all. He's doing this for fun.]

Do you want this? I don't need it. [He asks with a raise of his eyebrow as he hands you an amulet for "bad karma". Ugh, he doesn't want to be anywhere near this thing.]

F. Stargazing - closed to Kate

[He asks her on a whim.

It's not even a proper "asking her". He just mentions where he's going, and tells her she's free to come along. She accepts and well, if he smiles like an idiot then, that's just a coincidence. Yeah.

He finds the tour incredibly interesting, even the ghost stories. Sure, he doesn't believe in superstitions, but he likes old legends that tie in how people in the old days tried to understand space. The local story of the moon being the huntress guardian of the planet/prince definitely touches a fighter like him, especially when he's enjoying the company of someone he wishes to protect with every limb of his.]

Did you enjoy that? [He asks when they finally reach break time, getting comfy on the ground of the outskirts. He looks pretty content with the experience, and she definitely has to do with it.] Or was it too much space talk for you?

Comments

[padadin]

There's a difference between being an egotist and being aware and proud of how good you're at something. Especially when you admit you share that title.

[He realizes then, this is the first time he slips into that whole leader-brother-protector tone with her. Or more like, for her, because he's sure he must've talked about his team like that before. It's a good thing, something that makes him relax even more: he can still be himself even after Keith brought his little dilemma to his attention.]

[ladybro]

Down, boy.

[ kate huffs. it's sweet, really -- the serious tone he takes, and the way it reminds her of a few certain others. but she knows she doesn't need it and that's the only reason it doesn't actively comfort her. ]

Cross my heart. I didn't say it like it was a bad thing. We could all do with being an 'egotist' now and again. Just not 24/7.

[padadin]

[He should probably be a bit embarrassed, considering her "command", but honestly? He's just amused at her huffing, his smile growing. She doesn't need it, but she isn't offended by his trying either, and that's enough. She's okay with him being so... leader? To call it something.]

So not like Lance, then. [Although there's a big difference here, since Lance uses it to cover insecurities. But a joke is a joke, and what happened during calibrations stays between Blue and Black Paladin.] I'll be careful not to step on any sharpshooter's ego then.

[ladybro]

He's a good kid, but -- yeah. Beyond being thrillingly charismatic -- [ there's a beat for humour ] -- and a great shot? I'm not sure he and I have that much else that overlaps.

[ which isn't a bad thing. diversity makes the world go round. kate would never want to surround herself with other-hers. how dull would that be? ]

[padadin]

They're all good kids. [It's not a correction or anything, he just blurts it out because-- well. They're talking about being proud, and he's damn proud of his "handful", alright? The leader lives on.] Not much, no, you're right. You both do like looking good, though.

[His own beat for the teasing, and then--]

And I know I can count on both to have my back.

[ladybro]

Hey. If I'm gonna end up on the nightly news, I damn well better look camera-ready. [ but it, too, is a joke. kate scrubs up nice, but she's also comfortable with kicking it in pajamas. just - not on the job. ]

[padadin]

[Indeed, she does scrub up quite nicely, but that's a though he quickly sends away in order to play along.]

I understand now the real reason why you don't have a secret identity. You don't want to hide your face behind a mask.

[ladybro]

You know, I used to? [ she points at her eyes. ] Just a little one. Right here. But that was also before I had the name and I was still pretty young and -- we thought we had our families to consider, back then.

[padadin]

[Not having to worry about their families is something any fighter would be lucky to have, but Shiro remembers the story about her dad. He wonders what he did when she started to be a superhero, how he reacted... and what about the rest?]

They never gave you a hard time for what you do? Your family, I mean. [Aka other relatives that aren't her dad.]

[ladybro]

My father treats it like a phase. When he first learned, he cut off all my credit cards. Like that was gonna stop me. [ he did a whole lot more than that, but she's unwilling to let this conversation get too sour on that front. ] My sister is in denial.

Heather [ -- ugh ] and I aren't really on speaking terms because I refuse to call her step-mom when she was only a few grades ahead of me back at school.

[ and kate doesn't even mention her mother. ]

[padadin]

[Shiro doesn't know the man that well, and yet he can tell cutting all her credit cards wasn't the only thing he did. It doesn't sound like him, considering what Kate has told him so far. He's about to ask about it, but then a sister comes up and-- no mention of her mom but a fight over a step-mom. So her mom is a sensitive subject too, just like her dad, although probably for very different reasons.

So he doesn't ask. She hasn't brought her up for a reason, and he'll respect it. He also respects her even more now, because even with her family situation, she grew up to be an amazing person. It could've gone bad so easily... like with Keith. He's so glad he got to Keith just in time.]

Sorry to hear that. I grew up as an only child, but now I've gained four siblings. It's hard to think about not having them around, now. [Things she already knows, but he's trying to make conversation, moving away from the topic of her parents. It doesn't mean he doesn't want to hear more, of course, he's not going to dismiss her story just like that.] Do you ever miss having her around?

[ladybro]

Susan? [ kate shrugs. ] We don't talk all that much. She's off living her perfect life -- and it's got very little room for the kind of mess a person makes when they're practically an Avenger.

Don't get me wrong. I love her. We're just...very different.

[padadin]

[So she doesn't miss her? Sounds like it, but once again, Shiro doesn't push. All siblings relationships are different, and if they're so different, it makes sense not to be close.]

It sounds like you're in good terms, at least. Probably the distance helps with keeping those differences from making things worse between you two.

[ladybro]

Probably.

[ -- about the distance. ]

We got into a pretty big fight at her wedding. Years back. Things haven't ever been quite the same since.

[ not least of all because that's the night she joined the young avengers. ]

[padadin]

That's quite a day to have a big fight.

[Not judging! Just... pointing that out. Things were probably extra emotional, he imagines, and who knows how it affected the wedding itself. It probably wasn't pretty, he can only imagine. Especially considering how this family seems to operate, so to speak.]

Do you want them to be the same again?

[ladybro]

They don't have to be. We're friendly -- we send Christmas cards.

[ she gets what she needs from other people. america, cassie, billy, teddy, clint. just as she does here in the fleet. winn and cisco are long gone but -- but there are others. there's kara and there's captain america. for whatever that's worth.

and then there's her crew. shiro, especially. she spares a smile. ]

I'm not too torn up about it.

[padadin]

If it works for you, then that's what matters.

[He returns the smile. While he can't relate, with him having the total opposite kind of relationship with his own family, he does understand what she's saying. Especially because--]

And I know you know family doesn't need blood to keep them together as well as I do.

[ladybro]

[ it could always be worse; at least she doesn't have a relationship with her sibling like clint has with barney. futzing hell. ]

What about you? What do you think about when you think about family?

[padadin]

[It's an easy answer, one that he has thought about before. Plenty of times in fact, because he's always thinking about the state of his life. So there may be turmoil in his mind when he speaks, but he doesn't show it. It's just love.]

Nowadays? Four teenagers, a princess, her royal adviser, and five robot lions.

[ladybro]

[ kate laughs. but only because: ] So does that make you -- what? The patriarch of the group?

[padadin]

[He can't help it, he groans and drags a hand down his face.]

Do you have to put it like that? [He knows she's joking, but it still kinda bothers him, because--] I actually heard Hunk called me space dad once.

[ladybro]

Well, now I'm convinced. I think I have to put it exactly like that. [ she bites down on a knuckle, at least trying to contain her snickering. ] Space dad? Really?

I don't know who I pity more.

[padadin]

[He turns his head to give her a look. The nickname kinda bothers him but--]

Don't you dare pity me.

[ladybro]

Okay, okay. With disapproving glances like that I think it's obvious I gotta pity them instead.

[ poor bastards, dealing with a space dad like this. kate's unrepentant. kate's grinning. ]

[padadin]

[Blushing a little, he looks away, but he's smiling a bit. How can he not, when she grins at him like that.]

...they're good guys. And I'm proud of them. Which I guess it makes me sound a bit like a dad. But I'd rather be an older brother - Keith calls me that, and it works.