Our Winter Anime Episode?

[doubled_speed]

WHO: Tommy Shepherd, Open
WHERE: Noth, Agrii Ship Greenhouse
WHAT: Bonding with Kids, Emotional over Clothes, and Getting Bagel Vine Thoughts
WHEN: January
WARNINGS:

I. I'm Not Crying You're Crying | Noth - January 10th

Gifts. Tommy was getting used to all of this. The New Tick thing isn't new to him, this world isn't new to him, and he knows what to avoid here. Tommy really think he's got it made, even if it's really cold and he wants to wrap himself up pretty tightly. Nothing was going to get him down here. At all.

And then he opens his first gift. Tommy's just sitting there on the barn floor, opening a box of clothing, and staring down at it in shock. With tears in his eyes. His eyes were stinging as he lifts the pieces out. A long green scarf with subtle embroidery over it. A deeply green vest with silver embroidery. A shirt that billows. There's words for each piece, ones he doesn't remember how to say, or which they are.

He's in tears just seeing it. This... is not something he ever knew to look for. To want. And yet with it in his hands, he can't imagine having anything else.

II. Happy To Babysit | Noth - After January 10th

Really, he should have told people about the chocolates. He should have warned them. It was frustrating. Why hadn't he warned people about this? But it was too late, there were kids around in a lot of places. Sure the Agrii seemed amused and interested, and now here he was.

"Hey there kid," he calls out. God, how do you babysit a kid who probably has heard of stranger danger?

"Tell me, did you eat any chocolates recently?"

Stupid chocolates. He should burn them all.

III. Take Your Plant On A Walk | Agrii Green Room

If there was anyone that was absolutely chill with spending time with Agrii on the Agrii ship, it was Tommy. It had been him that had been the first to touch an Agrii, him to get the first hug, him to absolutely embrace the idea of being cheered on by these weird, cheery people. So of course he's here, out in the Green Room, happily stretched out on a path with Agrii either walking around him or stopping to stare.

Or maybe they're staring at what's at his side. A clay pot holding some growing vine. One that is clearly 'fruiting'. Except... Are those bagels? Is the plant growing bagels? Well hell. That's a whole thing.

One that doesn't seem to bother Tommy at all.

Comments

2.

[crystalmaster]

Radley, on the other hand, had tried so very hard to warn about the chocolates. Okay, so he hadn't known they were trouble, but he'd been suspicious after the Thanksgiving/Gratefull disaster. Why didn't people listen?!

He looks absolutely frazzled. "I'm pretty sure they ate chocolates," he sighs. "Why the hell are there chocolates that do this to people?" Why would the Agrii or anyone think this was a good idea? Do they think it enhances Christmas for people to spend it as children again? It certainly isn't enhancing Radley's holiday to baby-sit.

Re: 2.

[doubled_speed]

Tommy shrugs.

"I didn't burn them all last time is why. I should have," Tommy says. "It was so embarrassing, coming out of that."

Re: 2.

[crystalmaster]

Radley takes a moment to process that. "You've been here before?"

[doubled_speed]

"Of course," Tommy says with a shrug. "We were here in the first year. The first winter. Not long after we got the first ships."

Though he looks around, considering.

"The village was a lot smaller then."

[crystalmaster]

"How many years ago was that?" Radley wonders.

[doubled_speed]

"God," Tommy says, thoughtful for a while. "A bit over four years I think."

[crystalmaster]

"... Wow. So that was when they first started sending for people?" Radley had wondered if it had been going on even longer.

II

[dorkasaurus_rex]

The kid in question stops and turns back, head tilting a little at the semi-familiar face that greets him.

"I think there mighta been something weird about them," Billy agrees, though not because of his now smaller form, that seems perfectly normal to him. It's because last he remembers, he definitely couldn't fly. And wasn't here in some where snowy alien village either. That's also concerning. "Do you know if there's a phone anywhere?"

[doubled_speed]

Now that's a face that Tommy had to recognize no matter what. Sure, he wasn't used to it doing the whole flying thing, but god. He knows that face.

"Sorry, little bro, but no phone's getting you back to your mom. But don't worry. I'll take care of you. You can't imagine all the yelling I'd get if I didn't. That's what big brothers do, right?"

[dorkasaurus_rex]

"Ummm...?" Billy's face twists in confusion, and he taken an uncertain half step back, still trying to be polite. "I don't...I don't have a big brother," he corrects, wondering if maybe the guy just has him confused for someone else. Or maybe it's just slang and he looks really stupid now... A familiar anxious flush of overthinking passes over his cheeks.

"Is this a dream? Is that why I can do weird stuff, and everything's kind of weird?"

[doubled_speed]

Tommy, as much as he hates putting more of himself closer to snow, kneels down by the kid.

"I'm adopted. Or I will be. In a few years. I know it sounds weird, but I promise you it's true. Your mom is Rebecca Kaplan and your dad is Jeff Kaplan. Your mom is a doctor for people's heads, and your dad for people's hearts. But I definitely recognize you, even if I know you from more in the future."

He puts his fingers to his lips as if to say the next part is secret.

"It's super hero business."

[dorkasaurus_rex]

The way Billy's eyes go wide it's clearly news he wants to be excited about, though he's smart enough to be at least a little suspicious until Tommy name drops his parents correctly.

A true smile breaks out at the next part, and Billy can't help but give a pleased laugh. "Seriously? I get a big brother AND we're heroes??"

[doubled_speed]

There it is. There's his damn dork. Tommy grins and nods at him. Fuck they were fucking adorable when they were kids, weren't they?

"Oh yeah, we really are. Not just that, Billy. We're Avengers. Well, you do a lot more Avenger work than I do. But we're really cool. We rub elbows with all the cool heroes. And Hawkeye."

The guy deserves sassed.

"And you even get to meet the Scarlet Witch!"

1

[spinsandneedles]

Cue Sonic the emotional support hedgehog dropping himself obnoxiously onto Tommy's back like an attention seeking cat. He peeks over Tommy's shoulder to see what's got him in a funk, but obviously he has no idea what the significance of a few pieces of clothing is.

"Somethin' eating you, bud?"

He manages to refrain from making a joke about the clothes not being that ugly to try to lighten the mood, probably best to gauge the situation before doing something like that.

[doubled_speed]

Yeah, he's a good emotional support hedgehog. Tommy doesn't even mind the guy on his back. They're speed-bros. But this was... so much.

"Yeah," he admits, which is a rare thing for Tommy. "Isn't it great?"

Okay, maybe his voice is a little tight with emotion there.

[spinsandneedles]

[That's definitely a negative on the ugly clothes jokes, then. Sonic leans over a little awkwardlyish to see him better.]

"Do you... wanna talk about it? It's cool if you don't but, y'know. I'm here."

[doubled_speed]

Fuck man, I don't even know how to explain it.

[How do you explain cultural heritage to a hedgehog that he doesn't even know has the same sort of history as his world when it comes to discrimination. When it comes to not having acceptance in your family? There's so much he doesn't know how to explain if he's honest.]

So, uh, back home, different countries and people can have different traditional clothes. This is characteristic of a people called the Romani.

whoops me over here forgetting formatting MY B

[spinsandneedles]

Yeahhhh, He doesn't really have a frame of reference for any of those thing, at least not the discrimination part. Also doesn't help that he doesn't have any family. It's ok, he'll still follow along and do his best!!

"Sure, that tracks so far."

[doubled_speed]

"My soul-mom, her family is Romani," he says. "So this would be... something that was in line with what they wore growing up."

And having something like this, it meant he belonged.

III

[heavenlyhonour]

Angeal is out wandering around, trying not to bump into anything or anyone. He's not sure where everyone or every thing is bustling to or from, but he's not going to ask. However, when he sees Tommy stretched out, he's not sure what's going on.

His eyes spotted the plant, but wasn't sure how bagels seemed to be growing out of it. So he stopped at the other's feet.

"Are you alright?"

[doubled_speed]

"Huh?"

Tommy opens an eye and looks up at Angeal. He smiles.

"Just happy to be back here. I had a birthday party in this place once. Nice memories. IT was turtle themed."

[heavenlyhonour]

That answer didn't really tell him anything. And it was an odd answer besides.

"Happy to be back here? Does that mean that you left?"

[doubled_speed]

"I mean on this ship," Tommy laughs as he sits up to look at Angeal.

But of course, the newer people don't know, do they?

"In the first year after Agrii brought us here, there was a crisis. Their people went missing except for Ga Re. She summoned us to help. We came to this ship and saved them. I personally carried Ga Re to the medical wing when there was an almost-storm. I carried a lot of the Agrii onto our ships to get them off of the ships they were kidnapped to. So yeah, this specific spot. I missed being on this ship. It's open."

[heavenlyhonour]

Angeal was confused as he watched the young man sit up. But if there was more to this story, he'd listen because as he'd said to Zack 'No story is not worth hearing.'

Hearing the words gave him plenty of food for thought and the former First crossed his arms over his chest. "So this Ga Re is the one who summons people to this place? Wouldn't the sensible course of action be to send you home as a thank you?"

[doubled_speed]

"I don't know if it's her or it's them in general, or it's no one but the Atroma. I can't answer that for you. But they were going to. Going to send home those He Rows that wanted. Except the way that we were brought? It was stolen from them."

That voice that had taunted them? It had been the first time a lot of them had heard the Atroma. It had not been the last.