nextgenerationmarvel | Loose Lips Gossip

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Loose Lips Gossip - April 2, 2012

04.02.12 - 9:07 AM

Kisses for the Fools
A Few Pecks Before You Go

Here's some real gossip for you today, darlings. As opposed to what you all made blow up over social media yesterday and then had egg on your face because it was April Fools Day. I don't know why so many of you thought Tony Stark marrying me was the fabulous truth, but a girl can dream, can't she?

First in our salacious bag, we have socialite Roxanne Danvers getting back up on her horse. Or two of them at once, my pets. As I broke the news to you precious readers not long ago, our favorite socialite Danvers has Cadet America living with her. Though after a particularly dour dry spell, she seems to be back on the prowl. While her cut blond cutie is there, she also has a dark and mysterious man visiting often. It doesn't matter what time, day or night, girl's getting back on top.

Also seen about town is one Alistaire Shaw. While that's not particularly of note, what is is that he seems to have the same woman on his arm wherever he goes. It seems a Miss Alisa LeBeau has thrown her lot in with the one of the least mentionable Shaws. Sometimes, we forget he's even there, but he's out and about now. Of Miss LeBeau, we've picked up she's an art appraiser of some sort. She caters to the rich and famous. With her following a playboy about town, she's either in for a heartbreak or heavy pockets. I'd watch yourself if you're having anything authenticated by her and then it suddenly ends up in Alistaire Shaw's hands. Though let's just hope this is a nasty... rumor.

Speaking of Shaws, we come to the most prominent living one we have in town. Miss Stephanie Shaw has apparently moved on from being dumped by the Brazilian Bronco. First it was a string of boys at Columbia. Apparently none of them measured up to her former mug of hot chocolate. Further solidifying that once she went black, she never went back, she's been seen out romancing Brooke Wyngarde. They've been seen together frequently in public and on a romantic dinner date. They were so taken by Languedoc that they bought it. Shortly thereafter, they went to the Diamond District. Together. I hope to score an invite to the impending nuptials. Since it is legal here in New York and in Miss Shaw's native Spain.

It has come to my attention that young Miss Erin Sterling, daughter of Ambassador Maximilian Sterling, has been hanging around the young men of 890 Fifth Avenue. With Roxie Danvers oh so slowly getting back into the swing of things, (only two, dear? tut tut) it seems as though the Avengers have a new blonde minx who's been leaving a lot of wet in her wake. And we don't just mean her ability to control water.

And finally, our usual Monday treat, which eligible singletons should you try to score by the week's end? No surprise, the number one guy is Tony Stark. Dress yourself up in nothing but strategically placed iPads and turn his head, darlings. If he's not your thing, try someone a little exotic: Marcelo Alencar da Silva. Rumor has it he's been out at a lot of hot nightspots lately. For those looking for the female persuasion, let's not forget brains and beauty as I have it on good authority Valeria Richards is still single. She appears a little down right now, but the right man could turn that frown upside down. Equally as lovely but a bit more hot-tempered is Eva Worthington. While she has been seen dressing down a few cabbies lately, it's nice to know a girl who knows what she wants and has a nice set of lungs. Don't you think, my cinnamon sticks?

And that's the tidbits I have for this Monday. Let's be back on Wednesday with even more to talk about.
Mwah, darlings!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

She laughed. Really, that was all that Roxie could do. She'd been written about since she'd first debuted into society.

Hell, she'd been written about before that.

This? This was tame compared to some of the other things that were written about her. Alexander, she was sure, would have a good laugh over it.

Joe, on the other hand...

Roxie frowned.

This wasn't generally the world he was from, or the world that he was used to.

How would he take this?

Alexander appeared in front of his sister at the moment with his own copy of the report.

"Cadet America? I think we should get him a little nameplate to go over his door. Or maybe we can just tape this article to it. Don't you think Joe would love that?" Alexander said snidely.

He couldn't help it; he didn't like Joe Rogers and he didn't mind telling Roxanne about it. He'd avoided the man out of respect for his sister but this was almost too good to pass up.

"How are you doing, Roxanne? Oh, and you neglected to mention you were friends with Brooke Wyngarde. Charming woman, that one." he smiled.

Roxie looked up from the newspaper and raised an eyebrow at her big brother. She sighed and moved over, patting the empty space on the couch next to her.

It was the same one she and Joe had cuddled on not too long ago while watching movies.

"Be nice," Roxie said. "I know you have it in you not to pick on my - er - our housemate. Besides, I'm not sure how he's going to feel, being written about. Me, I can handle it. Joe is...this isn't the sort of world he generally operates in."

Pause.

Blink.

Blanche.

"How do you know Brooke?" she asked cautiously. Brooke was special people.

Very, very special people.

And not just because she was a mutant.

She was just...Brooke.

"Also, apparently, before you set your sights on her, she's into girls," Roxie held up her iPad and showed him the story about Brooke and Stephanie Shaw.

Alexander let out a sigh of mock exasperation. "Fine. I'll try not to pick on your housemate too much. But no promises." he said.

When she blanched at the mention of Brooke's name, Alexander couldn't help but smile.

"We met at Lanvin's. She helped me select a gift for you. And then I asked her out to dinner. We had an excellent time. She's my Muse." he said.

When Roxie mentioned that she was into girls and showed him the article, he blinked. He hadn't gotten that particular vibe from her but...at least the girl in question was pretty.

"Well, she is...for now. That will change soon enough." Alexander said, his voice dripping with confidence.

"I was being flippant about that," Roxie said. "I never got the sapphic vibe off of Brooke. But then, you never know," she shrugged. "Wait, your muse? Brooke?" Pause. Actually, given how cold Brooke was - sure there was that underlying fire beneath her haughty, snobbish exterior - and the sort of fear and admiration she'd managed to instill in the girls at Woodbridge, it made a certain amount of sense.

"I see it, actually," she said cautiously.

"She's beautiful and charming and cold. But there's something beneath all of that, Roxanne. The other gods accused me of being selfish, arrogant and narcissistic because I don't fit into the pretty little box they want me to fit into." he said.

"I get the same vibe from Brooke. She didn't go into it, but I got the feeling that people don't say kind things about her either, so she gives them what they expect because they can't process her any other way. I know exactly what that's like." Alexander said.

He decided that now wasn't the time to tell Roxanne about the vision he'd had of him and Brooke. His sister would likely bar him from seeing her again.

"Do you dislike her?" he asked suddenly, wanting to know Roxanne's evaluation of her.

Roxie listened thoughtfully. She wondered, briefly, if she sounded anything like this when she defended Joe to Alex.

"Dislike her? No. She was my best friend a very long time ago," Roxie explained. "Brooke and I...we just had some issues between us. Nothing serious. Once we debuted into society, she felt as though I continuously stole her spotlight, and at some point, she accused me of doing it intentionally." It was simply that Roxie, being fun and warm and carefree, was more well-liked than Brooke had been in their group of friends. "We made up in college, and then we went our separate ways. Outside of the Avengers, though, Brooke's always been the only person whose known everything about me." As Roxie had about her.

"But you're right. Brooke used her powers - I'm assuming that you know about them because she's your muse - to get people to bend to her will. Somewhere deep inside, it can cause resentment. It never helped that Brooke...well. Look. She's fragile and she's a romantic. She hasn't even had her first kiss yet, Alex. That I know of, at least." She licked her lips. "I won't stop you from seeing her, because I love you, and I'd like to see her happy, but Alex, you need to be gentle with her. She's not like any other girl you've ever been with."

Alexander listened to his sister gravely because he valued her advice. She was one of the few people he could count on to tell be honest with him, whether he wanted to hear it or not. She was also kinder about her words than Father or Grandfather, whom usually told Alexander everything they disliked about his path rather than something he did well.

He hadn't truly consider that Brooke was inexperienced. Alexander normally assumed that all humans were...carefree with their bodies and had no use for their hearts. All of the ones he'd dealt with were certainly that way. He began to think of Brooke a little differently now. She was a romantic with the ability to bend others to her will.

That was an interesting paradox. Couldn't she have made someone give her what she wanted?

"I suppose I didn't gather that from her. She must have thought I was toying with her somehow. I need to fix that." he said, mostly to himself.

"I thought most humans didn't care about each other beyond what they provided in the present. Every girl I've known certainly was that way and I was happy to oblige them. I have no intention of being callous with her. I even told her that I would leave her alone whenever she asked." he said.

He wasn't truly as bad as his grandfather believed him to be. If Roxanne could see it, then perhaps someone else could, too.

"Brooke was my first real date, Roxanne. I actually wanted to hear what she had to say and I liked talking to her. Is that how dating is supposed to go?"

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm certain you were Brooke's first real date as well," Roxie replied. "She's a romantic, Alex. She'll manipulate people into anything except for love. That...she wants genuine love more than anything in the world. She didn't have the best relationship with her mother, and her family's dynamics are all messed up anyway. Her grandfather wasn't the greatest person in the world, and all of his issues seeped down into his daughters." For all of the problems that Carol and Roxie sometimes had, at the end of the day, at least, they were close and loved each other. It wasn't an unhealthy relationship.

Brooke's entire familial life had been unhealthy.

"For all of Brooke's failings, there's a good person somewhere deep down in there. Someone who could be a vicious force of good if set on the right path." She then met her brother's eyes. "Or a vicious force of fear and darkness, as well." In other words, Alex, your sister has a fairly good idea of what you're thinking.

"She told me a little about her mother and her relationship with her father. I...told her a little bit about my mother." Alexander admitted. He rarely talked with anyone about his mother, Roxanne included, though she'd know more than anyone else because she understood what it was like to have a mother and a somewhat absent father, though Ares had taken more of an interest in Roxanne's upbringing than he had Alexander's.

That had never escaped his notice but he didn't fault Roxanne for it at all.

He noted her (not so) subtle warning about who Brooke could be if handled delicately or less than. He couldn't help the smile on his face in that moment. Roxanne was worried about her friend.

"Peace, Roxanne. I, too, have seen what she could be. I want her to be whatever she is meant to be." he said cryptically.

"I don't want to hurt her, though. I hope you know that, if nothing else." he said.

Roxie wasn't entirely on the up-and-up about Brooke's father.

She had no idea about Empath at all, really.

Roxie was all-too-aware of how people tended to be naturally drawn to her - Ares had been unusually affectionate towards Roxie in comparison to his other children - and even their mutual friends in high school had gravitated more towards Roxie than they had Brooke, unless Brooke was working on influencing them at any given time.

"I ever tell you how much I love it when you're being cryptic, big brother?" Roxie said. "How did the date go, anyway? You're probably the only person who can't be scared off by how intense Brooke can be sometimes."

"I think it went well. We talked and we had a good time. I feel like we have some things in common." Alexander said.

"She's extremely driven and I like that. I've always wondered why people find driven individuals so difficult to understand and accept."

"I'm sure you guys do," Roxie agreed. "And honestly, you would probably get her more than any of her fellow X-Men or dashing society boys." She reached across and plucked her blackberry iced tea from the coffee table and took a long drink. "Do you feel as though there're people who've found you difficult to understand, Alex?"

"Every single person who encounters me finds me difficult to understand, Roxanne. Even you, sometimes. The only person who didn't...is dead." he said.

"But the other gods and just about every human I've ever met don't quite understand what it means to be the God of Fear. They can't. Most people want to be loved,, cherished and admired. Even the ones who want to be feared have no real idea what they're asking for." he said.

"I know what it really means and it doesn't bother me." he said. "But that separates me from humanity in the same way that being the God of War separates Father from the other gods, or being the God of the Underworld separates our Uncle Hades from the others." he said.

"And there's a part of you that wants to connect to humanity in some way," Roxie ventured. "Unless I'm understanding you wrong, which I know I have done before." Roxie had, after all, always been more in touch with the parts of her that were human and Kree than the parts that were Olympian. "I also suppose that's why Dad never made it work too well with the Avengers. Even for them, he was a bit dark." She smiled wanly at him. "I am sorry, though. People tend to fear what they don't know, and fear itself...well. One never really takes time to sit down and understand fear."

"I suppose it would be nice to understand humans a little better. Sometimes I think I'm reading them wrong but when it comes to the big things, they never disappoint." Alexander said.

"If people understood fear, I might be out of a job. I don't think that will ever happen, though. It's far too prevalent an emotion to eradicate." he said.

"So what are you going to say to Joe about the article?" he asked.

"Humans are a very multi-layered race. Certainly more complex than, say, the Skrulls or the Brood, as a whole."

She looked back down at her iPad and frowned. "I don't know. I think..." She sighed. "This isn't his world, Alex. I don't want to bring him into this. He already has so much on his plate."

Alexander could tell that his sister didn't like the idea of Joe being in the tabloids but she didn't like the idea of not having him around either.

"If he is worthy of you, he will find a way to deal with it. If he is not, then you know it wouldn't have worked out anyway." he said, in the closest approximation of acceptance he would give her feelings for Joe, for today at least.

"I appreciate your civility, Alex," Roxie said. "I don't know if I'm worthy of him, to be honest. But that aside, I care for him, and I don't want to force him into something he wants no part of."

The door opened and Joe arrived just then with a newspaper in his hand.

"Hey, Roxanne, are you here? I gotta talk to you about--"

When he turned around from closing the door, Roxanne was sitting there with Alexander. Oh boy.

"Hey, Alex. How's it going?" Joe asked cordially.

"You will refer to me as Alexander, mortal." Alexander said, before looking to his sister.

"I have an article of my own to confirm the veracity of. You're more than worthy, Roxanne. Never, ever forget that." Alexander said.

And then he vanished without another word.

Joe blinked.

"Yep. He still hates my guts. Noted. Anyway, how are you? Did you see the paper today?" he asked Roxie.

Roxie raised her iPad, on which there was a photograph of her apartment building, a blurry picture of Roxie and Joe, and even blurrier picture of Alex, along with the accompanying story.

"Kind of hard to miss when you set a Google alert about yourself," Roxie admitted. "How are you dealing with the, ah, journalistic intrusion?"

"They called me 'Cadet America'. That's kind of annoying. I mean, they could have called me Joe. Or at least Lieutenant America for god's sakes." Joe said.

"That's not the part that bugs me, though. It's the part where they have nothing better to do than spy on you and see who's coming in and out of your house. Landon could be reading this crap and trying to set something up to get me through you. That's the part I don't like." Joe told her.

"I don't care what they say about. I'm worried about you."

"Funny," Roxie replied. "I'm worried about you." She stood up and walked over to him, bare feet silent on the wood floors of their home. "I'm used to being watched and spied on and photographed. It's been my entire life, in and out of cameras. I don't mind it anymore. Not where it concerns me, at least. But you on the other hand..." There were words that she was about to say that she didn't want to say. "Given Landon and everything. Joe. If you need to not...if this is something you can't..." Roxie couldn't bring herself to complete the sentence. "I'll understand."

"Hey, stop." he said, placing a finger over her lips gently. He thought she might try this. If the situation was reversed, Joe might do the same thing to her; give her an out, find a reason or ten that she wouldn't want to be around him.

"I'll get used to it, too, then. I spent a long time trying to stay off the radar. I'm still in that mode sometimes but...my dad is a hero. My mother is a hero. My friends' parents are heroes. My best friend's dad keeps the world safe from stuff it doesn't even know is out there. Like it or not, I travel in pretty good company." he chuckled.

"And the woman I'm into is in the society pages and tabloids. I don't get to come into your life and change it around to suit me. But I can't promise I won't punch some guy if he's trying to take indecent pictures of you. You might have to bail me out of jail if that happens. Or call Sammy so she can explain it to my parents and /they/ can come bail me out." he teased.

A look of obvious relief flooded Roxie's eyes. But still. "I just want to make sure that, you know, one year or five years down the line, you won't regret this." For once, when it concerned a man in her life, Roxie was trying to do the mature thing, and look out for his interests and safety. "I mean, your coming into my life...it is going to change yours." Just as Roxie's going into his will change her life. It's a step she's more than willing to take, though. They just need to find that balance between her life and his. "I don't want you to come to hate me for it." She's seen it happen to others. It's never pretty, and it seldom ends well.

Loose Lips Gossip - April 2, 2012

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