safekiddiaz

[safekiddiaz]

SHAUKU, KIARA.

🦁

“you’ve earned it! honestly, next time i might follow you to the tech side - it seems so cool. i dunno how we wound up with so many talented people in this thing.”

          “Oh,   yeah.   All  this  stuff  is  really  cool.   I’m  much  better  at  this  than  acting,   but  you’re  killing  it.   Maybe  next  time  you  could  do  both?” 

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UTONIUM, BEATRIX.  

✫⌒

Whatever it was Marco could have said, Beatrix didn’t expect that. Her eyebrows rose, her gaze softened. Instantly, she felt bad for him. While perfection had been something she’d always wanted but could never quite reach (more specifically, the idea of the ‘the perfect kid’), she knew Marco enough to realise he wouldn’t be lying about something like this. “…I mean …” she did an exaggerated shrug, always a hint comedic just to keep the mood light, “we don’t have to drop it. It seems like a pretty big thing. I’m … I didn’t know being the perfect kid could be … like that,” she glanced at him. “You wanna be an asshole like me?” she joked.

“He’s twelve? Oh, he’s going down.” Beatrix made a cutting motion with her hand against her throat. “We’re ending this kid now. I would pretend to be beginner just to demolish him and see the look on his face. You can’t be too young to be a punk-ass bitch.”

Sitting down on the couch, she made herself cosy by kicking off her shoes and sitting cross-legged, happy to keep talking about karate, food, and bitches. “I’m gonna Google it, wait —” she took out her phone and rapidly typed. She squinted at her screen. “Okay, it’s kind of like — I guess it’s just —” she tilted her head. “It’s literally just pizza. But a pie. Like a thicker pizza with layers. Haha, thicc pizza,” she chuckled at herself.

          “It’s  just  like...   my  grandparents  came  here  to  give  us  opportunities  that  they  wouldn’t  have  gotten back  in  Mexico.   So  while  it  was  never  exactly  explicitly  said  around  the  house,   I’ve  always  known  my  parents  wanted  me  to  go  to  college  and  have  the  lives  that  their  parents  couldn’t  afford.”   The  Diaz  family  had  a  good  life  here  in  Elias  and  he  knew  his  parents  were  proud  that  he  was  the  first  of  them  to  go  to  university.   “So  yeah,   it’s  never  been...   well...   outright  told  to  me,   but...”   he  trailed  off  with  a  shrug.   “You’re  not  an  asshole,”   Marco  told  her,   for  sure  it  was  the  truth.   Though  he  didn’t  know  if  she’d  believe  him  or  not.

          “You  can’t  beat  up  a  child.   He’s  just  going  to  cry  and  I  don’t  want  to  be  the  bad  guy.”   But  Marco  couldn’t  help  laughing  at  his  friend.   “Punk-ass  bitch  knows  no  age,   I  agree.   He’s  just  the  type  of  jerk  to  run  to  his  mother.   You  don’t  want  her  involved.   She’s  annoying.” 

          This  was  probably  the  most  relaxed  he’d  been  in  so  long,   and  it  felt  good  to  let  loose  with  a  friend  rather  than  worrying  about  what  trouble  a  certain  blonde  was  causing.   Personally,   he  was  thankful  for  a  bit  of  a  break  before  everything  got  super  busy  again.   “So  like  deep  dish  pizza  or  not?”   Marco  laughed.   “Well  that’s  something  I  didn’t  know.   I  thought  it  was  called  that  because  that’s  what  they  used  to  call  it?” 

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HAINLINE, PENELOPE.

.

“i’m in college too. future fashion designer extrodinare.” penelope said, smile beaming with pride. “i’m in school for business as well. if i want to run an empire one day i’m going to have to learn how, you know?” the blonde said with a sigh, “and what are you in school for?” she asked before getting back on the topic of karate. “if you find time you need to come back to the dojo and i can kick your butt.” she teased but was so serious at the same time.

          “Oh  cool!   Fashion  design  looks  like  it  would  be  so  fun.”   While  he  didn’t  have  much  interest  in  it,   Marco  did  know  that  there  was  so  much  that  went  into  clothing  design.   “Yeah,   I  get  that.   You  really  seem  to  know  what  you  want  to  do.   I’m  not  quite  there  yet.   Math  and  psychology  aren’t  exactly  easy  to  connect,   but  they’re  what  I’m  good  at  and  what  I’m  passionate  about,   so  one  day  I’ll figure  it  out.”   He  laughed  and  smiled  at  her.   “I’ll  take  you  on  sometime.   Maybe  during  the  summer?   If  you’re  not  going  on  vacation  or  anything.” 

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ROUSSEAU, BELLE.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

“I understand,” she nodded. “When I worked at the library, I resolved to only borrow things since everything was available — or almost available, if it was on hold. But now that I work somewhere else, I’m finding that I want to build my own library. Maybe that can be one way of looking at it, in a positive light,” she suggested. Belle’s eyes widened in wonder at the book title. “Oh! Give me a second, I’ll be right with you!” Disappearing down the aisle, she all but rushed up to Marco’s side, scanning the bookshelves on his side of the aisle to pick up her own copy of The Bone Houses. Quickly scanning the blurb, she grinned. “I love it. I’ll take it. And I’ll get you a copy too. A gift for the one with good taste.”

          Marco  was  one  of  those  people  that  read  a  lot  when  he  had  the  time  to.   He  absolutely  loved  being  able  to  sit  down  and  lose  himself  in  the  adventures  of  some  character.   Though  it  got  kind  of  annoying  when  the  adventures  happened  in  real  life.   “Really?   Working  in  a  library  sounds  cool.   One  day  I’ll  be  able  to  buy  more  books.”   Marco  tended  to  read  a  lot  for  psychology  and  enjoyed  those  types  of  readings  more  than  most  of  his  classmates.   Marco  laughed  as  she  darted  down  to  grab  her  own  copy.   It  looked  like  a  cool  book  and  he  absolutely  loved  books  based  on  mythology  that  wasn’t  Greek  or  Roman  based.   “Oh.   You  don’t  have  to.   I  was  going  to  treat  myself  to  it  since  I  got  a  couple  of  really  good  grades  this  week.” 

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SEARA, ERIC. 

.

“does your psychology course tell you how to survive and get out of a cult? because i may need that information sooner than later.” eric said with a sigh, practically excepting his fate.

          “I  don’t  know  that  I’ve  looked  into  that,   but  I  think  I  can  probably  look  at  it  and  tell  you  what  I  find.   I’d  just  hide  from  them,   you  know.   Can’t  come  after  you  if  they  can’t  find  you.” 

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HAINLINE, PENELOPE.

.

once penelope connected the dots she was completely over talking about comics. she would figure something out eventually for barley but now she could talk about herself and her interest in karate. “oh my gosh!!” penelope all but squealed out as she did a little jump. “i love karate too. i’ve been taking it since i was in middle school.” penny explained, “looks like you need to get back into practice.” she said poking at his arm. “maybe we could spar sometime?”

          Karate  was  his  main  interest,   so  he  was  glad  to  be  swapping  to  that  from  comics.   While  Marco  did  like  and  read  comics,   they  were  not  something  he  was  well  versed  in;   only  something  he  read  when  he  had  free  time  which  was  hardly  ever.   “Really?   Since  middle  school?   That’s  amazing.   I  started  when  I  went  to  high  school.”   He  had  wanted  to  start  sooner,   there  just  had  never  been  a  good  time.   “Yes,   absolutely!   I’d  love  to  spar.   And  yes,   I’d  like  to  get  back  into  practice.   I’m  also  in  college.” 

[safekiddiaz]

UTONIUM, BEATRIX.  

✫⌒

Beatrix furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. “Nah, c’mon,” she nudged him, her voice softer than it’s usual harshness. “What were you gonna say? What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, man,” she promised. And then she nodded, to show that she was listenin, showing that she empathised; it was the best she could do for a situation she could never wholly understand, for a whole new set of expectations that had never been placed on her. 

“Oh, fuck that, bro — he PAYS for his BELTS? This is karate.” She cut a few moves in the air in front of her. “Jeremy knows what he’s getting into. As soon as I meet that kid, it’s on sight. No mercy.” And just like that, her mind was made up. She would tell her dad about that dojo, and the fact that she was going for a friend, and she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“Circles,” she echoed with a heavy sigh. “This is why I’m so glad math isn’t mandatory anymore. You are officially the patron saint of pizzas.” Beatrix laughed, straightening her arm and tapping each of Marco’s shoulders, like she was knighting him. “Wait, people call pizza pie?” And then her eyes lit up. “OH, MY GOD! LIKE THE SONG? When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s a-more ?!”

          “I  didn’t  have  to  feel  so  pressured  to  be  the  perfect  kid.”   His  parents  didn’t  really  put  that  much  pressure  on  him,   except  they  kind  of  did.   Marco  didn’t  want  to  be  the  person  that  disappointed  them.   Even  if  he  didn’t  think  anything  he  did  would  disappoint  them,   he  knew  it  would  disappoint  himself.   So  maybe  part  of  the  problem  was  him.   “It  doesn’t  matter.”   He  shrugged,   not  wanting  to  talk  about  this  when  he  had  a  good  life  and  opportunities  that  a  lot  of  other  people  didn’t  have.   “We  can  just  drop  it.” 

          Marco  let  out  a  laugh,   knowing  that  this  was  going  to  be  her  reaction.   “Yeah,   well.   He’s  kind  of  the  worst,   so  I  expected  it.”   He  shrugged.   “He’s  also  like  twelve,   so  it  seems  kind  of  wrong  to  go  full  force  on  him  to  beat  him.”   Even  though  it  didn’t  work  that  way.   “I  think  he’d  probably  cry  if  someone  beat  him  that  wasn’t  a  belt  ahead  of  him.”   

          “Nice.   I  will  take  that.   Even  though  nachos  are  my  favorite  food.”   He  liked  the  idea  that  he  was  the  patron  saint  of  pizza  though,   it  was  his  second  favorite  food.   “Uh,   yeah.   Or  something  like  that.”   He  didn’t  know  why  they  called  it  that.   “Yes!   Like  the  song.   I  don’t  think  it’s  actually  an  Italian  thing,   but  also  I  have  no  clue.” 

[safekiddiaz]

ROUSSEAU, BELLE.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

“Ah, thank you!” Belle grinned, leaning into the bookshelf as far as she could, her nose just stopping short of the spines. She squinted to read the title. “Interesting. Will you be getting it?” she asked, excited. She’d noticed Marco walking around the store before, respectfully keeping a distance as she knew her own book-buying experience required her an adequate amount of silence and focus. Though there would be times she loved to speak with the booksellers and others who had recommendations. “And if it’s any consolation, I only stalk people with good taste in books.”

          Marco  was  one  of  those  people  that  did  enjoy  going  to  the  library  and  bookstore  whenever  he  could.   While  college  didn’t  give  him  a  ton  of  free  time  to  do  this  kind  of  thing  for  fun,   he  still  enjoyed  going  off  to  read  for  the  subjects  he  cared  about.   “Uh,   maybe.   It’s...”   he  trailed  off,   not  sure  if  this  was  really  something  he  could  afford  to  get  right  now.   “I  shouldn’t  be  buying  books  when  there’s  a  library.   This  looks  like  a  new  release.”   It  was  The  Bone  Houses  by  Emily  Lloyd-Jones.   The  premise  seemed  so  interesting  to  him.   “You  can  stalk  my  book  picks  any  day.   I  don’t  mind.” 

[safekiddiaz]

SHAUKU, KIARA.

who: open

where: ??? somewhere theatre adjacent?

“what’re the odds someone’ll get upset if i steal my prop sword for a souvenir? i’ve spent weeks of rehearsal getting fake stabbed, i think i’ve earned it.”

          “I  won’t  tell  if  you  won’t  tell  I’m  stealing  one  of  the  masks  for  sure.   You  have  earned  it,   I  think.   Everyone’s  killing  it.” 

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DUPAIN-CHENG, MARINETTE.

*:･ﾟ✧

⸻        MAYBE  THIS  was  where  they’d  messed  it  all  up  by  being  too  eager,  a  situation  all  too  familiar  to  marinette,  who  was  used  to  coming  off  too  strong  and  having  people  back  off  straight  after.  “  oh,  of  course!  me  too,  the  harsh  life  of  a  student,  ”  they  tried  to  joke,  but  their  comment  was  laced  with  anxiety  now.  “  someone  basically  forced  me  to  come  out  of  my  shell,  poked  me  until  i  couldn’t  refuse,  so.  that’s  really  why  i’m  here,  but  i  don’t  actually  mind  it  that  much.  ”  stop  talking,  mari,  you’ll  scare  him  away.  and  they  already  had  to  be  careful  with  making  friends,  they  couldn’t  risk  getting  it  wrong  now.  they  just  nodded,  listening,  and  trying  not  to  feel  nervous  about  the  song  choice.  they  could  dance  a  bit,  but  it  was  always  different  on  a  machine  like  this.  “  guess  i  had  a  romanticised  image  in  my  head  of  just  designing  things  i  loved  and  getting  a  degree  that  way,  but  there’s  much  more  to  it.  i  had  no  idea,”  they  admitted.  “  that’s  interesting,  though.  what  can  you  do  with  them?  like,  what  are  your  options?  ”  they  nodded,  not  recognising  the  song  title,  but  not  being  too  worried.  it  would  be  okay,  marco  wouldn’t  force  her  to  do  something  scary.  “  okay,  we  can  do  this.  let’s  go!  ”

          Making  friends  had  always  been  something  difficult  for  Marco.   There  was  something  about  connecting  with  people  that  he  sometimes  struggled  with.   He  had  always  been  jealous  of  those  people  that  just  walked  into  a  room  and  stated  to  have  a  conversation  with  someone.   Marco  had  never  been  like  that.   “Right?   I  get  so  tired  of  studying  that  I  just  need  fun  every  so  often.”   He  was  so  inside  his  little  bubble  that  he  barely  paid  attention  to  people  on  campus.   “I’m  like  that  too.   Well...   kind  of.   I  was  tired  of  sitting  at  home.   It’s  kind  of  been...   complicated  there.”   Not  a  subject  he  really  wanted  to  get  into.   “I’m  sure  there  is.   But  do  you  like  it?”   Learning  a  subject  was  fun  and  he’d  been  the  type  to  absolutely  love  school.   “I  don’t  really  know.   There’s  a  lot  to  do  with  it  and  I  want  to  make  my  parents  proud,   so  I  really  have  to  decide  carefully.   Maybe  one  day  I’ll  work  with  teens  or  something/   Help  out.   Or  be  a  math  teacher.   I  don’t  know.”   He  smiled  at  them.   “Yeah.”   He  started  dancing  as  the  song  started.   Well  not  dancing,   but  moving  his  feet. 

[safekiddiaz]

REYES, ROXAS.

location :  outside  the  movie  theater

        ❛ SORRY ,  IT’S A HARD PASS  for  me .  i  haven't  seen  the  other  movies ,  how  the  heck  am  i  gonna  understand  the  sixth  one ? ❜

          “Yeah,   neither  have  I.   Not  my  genre,   but  it’s  better  than  that  one  movie....   what’s  it  called?   65?   Apparently  it  ‘needs  more  dinosaurs.’   I’m  just  bored.” 

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HAINLINE, PENELOPE.

.

“sounds riveting.” penelope said with a sigh, though it may be something they could read together and then eventually she could make a cute costume for. “you’ve been very helpful. i’m so lost with all this nerdy stuff.. it’s like the opposite of what i’m into, you know?” penny said as she pulled out her phone and typed the comic into her notes she she couldn’t forget. pushing it back into her pocket she looked up at them with excitement. “have you been to the dojo in town?!” penny asked, excitement sparking. “i love karate i’ve been doing it since i was little too! maybe that’s where i’ve seen you.”

          “I’ve  heard  that  it  is.   And  honestly,   I  like  the  idea  of  it.”   Maybe  the  fight  sequences  were  more  interesting  than  some  of  the  ones  in  the  superhero  comics  he  read.   He  should  pick  up  a  copy  or  something.   “I  was  kind  of  lost  with  all  of  it  too  when  I  first  started  out,   but  I  think  that  it  gets  easier  after  a  while.   And  maybe  I  can  help  if  you  ever  have  any  other  questions.   I  can’t  answer  everything,   but  I  do  know  a  bit  of  information  here  and  there.”   Marco  nodded.   “Yeah!   That’s  where  I’ve  been  taking  lessons  since  I  was  younger.   How  long  have  you  been  doing  karate?”   he  asked,   genuine  excitement  in  his  voice.   It  wasn’t  often  that  he  met  people  that  liked  the  same  things  that  he  did,   so  when  he  did,   he  liked  to  make  friends.   “Probably!   I  don’t  get  there  as  often  with  school  in  session,   but  I  do  enjoy  it.” 

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SEARA, ERIC.

.

“well i signed what i thought was a petition to stop people from cutting down the forest near elias… but, i’m starting to think it was more than that after all the question they were asking me– wait, have you accidently joined a cult before too?”

          “Oh,   no.   I  don’t  think  that’s  a  good  idea  to  cut  the  forest  down.  That’s  weird  that  they’d  ask  weird  questions.   I’ve  never  joined  a  cult  before.   But  I’m  in  a  psychology  class  about  them  right  now  for  my  major.   It’s...   kind  of  interesting.” 

[safekiddiaz]

WILDE, NICK.

⍋*:･ﾟ  

After listening to the stranger’s explanation, Nick gave a dramatic sigh, as if he’d heard enough. He made a T with his hands. “Time-out from reality for a second, can I have a moment here? You seem like a nice guy — can I call you a nice guy? I mean that in the actual sense, not the ‘just trying to be polite’ sense. You seem nice. So let me give you a piece of free advice: if you do something, just own it. If you like reading newspapers and big old books, then that’s your thing. It’s only embarrassing if you act like it is.” Was it a little harsh? Maybe. But on the off chance that he was never gonna see this guy again, he figured he needed to hear it. “You’re a good-looking guy. Read your shit. Enjoy life.” As he walked past him, Nick slapped his arm encouragingly. 

He glanced at him as he paid for the comic, taking out a wallet filled with dollars he’d earned from selling off-brand shoes. Cha-ching. When the comic was bought and paid for, he gestured for the guy to follow him. “So Karate Kid, huh? Walk with me, La Russo. What’s red belt, how close is that to black? Is black still the highest one?” 

                    Marco  shrugged,  not  really  sure  what  to  say  to  that,  considering  that  he  didn’t  like  being  called  that.  The  whole  label  of  him  being  a  good  guy  went  along  with  the  idea  that  he  wasn’t  fun.  And  he  wanted  people  to  think  he  was...  well,  not  the  lonely  kid  he  felt  half  the  time.  “I’m  not  acting  like  it’s...  nevermind.”  He  didn’t  think  he  was.  Maybe  confidence  wasn’t  exactly  his  thing  though.  He’d  always  seemed  to  not  do  things  that  other  people  had  ease  doing.  “I  do  enjoy  reading.”  Marco  rubbed  his  arm  where  the  guy  slapped  him.  He  really  didn’t  understand  how  this  conversation  had  gotten  here.  

                    Talking  about  comics  and  video  games  was  easy  for  him,  but  bringing  up  karate  was  where  he  really  felt  like  he  shone.  He  loved  the  sport  and  had  been  thankful  it  was  the  one  thing  that  he  was  still  able  to  do  even  if  he  was  busy  with  college.  “There’s  two  more  belts  technically.  Red  is  just  two  away  from  black.  There’s  one  in  between  them.  I’ve  been  doing  karate  since  I  was  younger,  but  school  is  my  top  priority  so  I  only  got  to  train  a  little  bit  growing  up.”  It  wasn’t  pressure  to  do  well  from  his  parents,  but  himself;  while  Marco  loved  karate,  there  was  not  a  career  in  it  later  in  life.  

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SEARA, ERIC.

“did i just join a cult?"  eric asked confused. 

          “Um,   I  seriously  hope  not,   but  if  you  need  help  getting  out.   I  probably  have  ideas.” 

[safekiddiaz]

UTONIUM, BEATRIX.

✫⌒

Beatrix pursed her lips, almost sticking them out as far as she could go, as she made a deep thinking face. “Don’t you like being smart and stuff?” she asked, unable to think of any other way to say it. She nodded at what he said about his parents. Though the Professor never outright said it, Beatrix always felt like there was this unspoken wish for her to change. To be more like Beverly or Brynne. To be less like herself. If only because life for everyone would have been easier. Not as many messes to clean up if she didn’t make them in the first place. “Sh’yeah. That’s like parent lottery if they got a kid like that. But … were you born like that or did you just do it?”

“For sure, bro, give me the name of your dojo and I’ll tell my dad.” She figured she could help everyone win their competitions even if she couldn’t do it herself. “Oh ?! Who’s Motherfucker Jeremy and when do we kick his ass?!” she punched her fist to her palm with a smirk.

She pulled a face and shrugged. “Fuck me, dude, I forgot all about pi. Is that like with sin cos and tan or whatever? Definitely to do with shapes, right?” This was why she was studying communications. At least she was learning how to explain she knew nothing. “Yo, I got it! Patron saint of pi. Pie food, pi numbers. Called it,” she snapped her fingers with a grin. “Dude, we could totally be, like, a wrestling team and my whole bit is nachos and your whole bit is pie. I’ll send you the address, it’s not an official event or anything, just a party. There might be board games.” 

          He  had  always  been  told  that  he  had  opportunities  that  his  grandparents  had  and  he  understood  that  on  some  level.   On  one  hand,   he  liked  that,   but  there  was  so  much  pressure  put  on  him  to  be  a  certain  way.   Marco  didn’t  know  if  he  was  really  capable  of  breaking  the  rules.   He  didn’t  think  his  parents  would  care  either  way,   he  didn’t  like  the  idea  of  breaking  them  though.   Still,   he  wished  that  he  had  more  friends.   “I  guess  so.   I  just  wish...   neverrmind.”   It  was  difficult  to  talk  about  how  much  of  an  outcast  he  was  with  people.   “Anyway,   I  think  it  was  a  combination  of  a  few  things.   My  family  moved  from  Mexico  to  have  a  better  life.” 

          Marco  nodded.   “Yes,   I  will!”   He  was  itching  to  get  her  to  come  with  him  to  the  dojo  for  training.   Even  if  she  wasn’t  supposed  to,   he  really  wanted  to  see  what  she  was  made  of.   “He’s  this  annoying  kid  at  the  dojo.   But  he’s  like  an  actual  kid,   so  I  can  only  beat  him  in  competitions.”   Marco  rolled  his  eyes.   “He’s  just  paid  for  his  belts  basically  and  is  annoying  about  losing.

          “Yeah!   That  pi!   It’s  with  circles”   Sometimes  people  forgot  that  he  was  majoring  in  mathematics  along  with  psychology.   One  day  he’d  figure  out  what  he  wanted  to  do  with  them.   “No,   no.   I  call  pizza.   Patron  saint  of  pizza.”   He  made  a  face.   “Other  than  that,   I  like  this  plan.   My  bit  has  to  be  pizza.   Some  people  also  call  that  a  pie.   Why  it’s  called  that,   I  don’t  know.”   Marco  nodded  at  the  invitation.   “Sure!   I’d  love  to  meet  some  new  people  and  make  more  friends.”   Even  though  historically,   he  was  very  awful  making  friends  at  parties. 

[safekiddiaz]

HAINLINE, PENELOPE. 

. 

penny was in deep water here. she really knew nothing about comics or d&d or anything. she did have fun listening to barley talk about these things but going to try and buy something related to that? almost impossible for her. she had looked through the titles and they might as well been in a foreign language for her. “rat queens.” she repeated with a snort, “i like the sound of that… sounds like some kind of 80s band he listens to.” penelope propped against the display, “you’re way more help than doing this on my own.” she was trying to place his face.. she felt like she’d met him before. “do you do karate?” she asked raising a brow, “you look really familiar…”

          Honestly,   Marco  was  not  nerdy  enough  to  really  know  all  this  stuff.   D&D  was  something  he  was  curious  about,   but  didn’t  play.   He  didn’t  have  a  lot  of  extra  time  between  school  and  making  sure  that  Saoirse  didn’t  get  into  any  trouble.   Though  he  wanted  to  know  a  bit  more  about  games.   Comics  were...   just  something  he  read  when  he  had  the  time.   “I’ve  not  read  it,   but  it  apparently  is  basically  a  fantasy  comic  about  a  group  of  all  women  who  adventure  together.   At  least  that’s  what  online  says.   They  get  into  a  ton  of  trouble.   The  others  I’m  not  sure  about.   I  mostly  read  the  ones  with  superheroes  though  maybe  I  should  branch  out.”   Marco  wished  there  was  someone  more  knowledgeable  here  to  help.   “Yeah,   since  I  was  a  kid.”