They call it Than-X-Giving here

[bamfing]

Who: Ororo Munroe, Rogue, Kurt Wagner, Jubilation Lee, Remy LeBeau, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Dick Grayson Robin, and Melanie Walker
What: TURKEY DAY
When: Evening of the 24th
Where: House 16
Summary: The X-Men have decided to invite some of their buddies and pals (who all coincidentally have costumed alteregos) for some Turkey Day shenanigans.
Rating: H for HEARTWARMING

Over the past week, the X-Men have invited a variety of their friends and contacts who they knew would celebrate Thanksgiving, but wouldn't have anyone to spend it with here in Luceti because they're all jaded loners. They were all instructed to try and bring a dish with them, but it was no requirement. Nevertheless, all the traditional foods would be present, along with some delicious extras.

ooc: Characters can interact out at the table eating, over on the couches, in the one of the two spare bedrooms, or preparing food in the kitchen. Or maybe catching some cool air outside on the porch. Whatever your fancy is! Also, prose or action brackets are cool. Pick your poison.

Comments

[ten-ofspades.livejournal.com]

"You're welcome." That smile grows a little bit wider, "I never actually did anything like this back in Gotham, so being a part of it is actually pretty nice."

Melanie breathes a small sigh - she's not usually a fan of chillier weather, but tonight hasn't been so bad. Well... up until Robin interrogating her the first time she went out to get some air, anyway. Though that had nothing to do with the weather. Just an some caped twip trying to get on her bad side.

At least this time the company is better.

[touchofrogue]

Rogue is just about as opposite to someone interested in prying as you could ever hope to meet. She's very good at not asking the types of questions that she wouldn't want to answer. "They still had this holiday when you came from?"

She turns that over in her head - hey, at least their world hadn't ended. "Sounds nice. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

[ten-ofspades.livejournal.com]

The lack of prying is something that Melanie can certainly appreciate.

"Yeah, the holiday still exists, but my family never really celebrated it and I'd been living by myself for the past while." So, yeah. No big celebrations for her. Not that it was ever a big deal to her, but still. This whole ordeal has definitely been a positive experience.

She chuckles a little, "At any rate, this beats being stuck in Gotham."

[touchofrogue]

Rogue's eyebrows go up at that. This is probably one of the first times she's heard anyone compare Luceti to home favorably. Vash doesn't count. "Yeah? We don't have a Gotham back on my Earth." Which is strange enough, and a nice noncommittal comment to encourage expansion on this - hopefully neutral - topic. "Well, except in comic books. I reckon Kurt told you about those?"

She doesn't touch the family stuff with a ten foot pole. Living by herself means issues means that Melanie will bring it up if she wants to or Rogue will dig it out if she needs to. None of this needs to happen right now.

[ten-ofspades.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, he told me a while ago." It's a weird idea, but Melanie feels plenty real right now, so she never really bothers to give the whole thing much thought.

"But fictional or not, being here is better than being stuck back there." To be honest, part of her feels guilty for preferring Luceti to what's supposed to be her home. Especially when she had just bailed her brother out of prison... but if things are still the same when people are sent back, then it doesn't make much of a difference. Melanie will still be there to help Jack get his life in order whenever she ends up going home.

It's selfish for her to want to stay here, but if things are exactly the same back in Gotham, then she's not abandoning her brother. ...Well. Not really, anyway.

[touchofrogue]

Rogue shrugs. "I don't think it's up ta us to figure out who's fictional or not. There are about four different versions of 'my world' inside that house. Tryin' ta figure out which is the right one is a headache I don't need."

Hesitantly, she tucks a strand of hair behind an ear. This treads a line that she doesn't usually like to cross when talking with people, especially on the first real conversation, but Rogue figures that Melanie brought it up, so... "Gotham's that bad?"

[ten-ofspades.livejournal.com]

"Well, there are definitely people out there that would disagree with me. I guess I’ve just got more going for me here than I did back there.”

Melanie honestly doesn’t see much appeal in being sent back to Gotham. All that’s waiting for her back there is a dead-end job making salads and waiting tables, parents that want nothing to do with her, and Batman is always there to harass her whenever her family gets up to something. Even if she got Jack out and she manages to set him straight... who knows how long that would even last? It isn’t as if her brother had ever been very good at staying on track, after all.

She laughs a little and shrugs absently, “Either way, I just want to make the most of my time here.”

[touchofrogue]

...s'funny, 'cause Rogue's got the Apocalypse waiting for her back home, and she still wants to get out of here. Must be a mutant allergy to experimentation. But Rogue will flow with the conversation, and leave the apparently unpleasant past where it belongs. "An' how's that goin' for you?"

[ten-ofspades.livejournal.com]

Either that or Melanie's priorities really need to be sorted out at some point.

"It's been going better than I thought it would." Seriously. It's not like she expected to enjoy living in a place that brought her in against her will, but there you have it.

[touchofrogue]

"There are worse jails," she'll allow that. After all, the vivid memories of some of her psyches prove that Luceti is just about a paradise compared to where they could be. "Not every place would let ya make a Thanksgiving dinner."

[ten-ofspades.livejournal.com]

"You're definitely right on that point." Having stayed in an actual prison for a while, she can safely say that Luceti is much better as far as any sort of confinement goes.

"At least we still have some freedom here. Personally, I'd rather take that than none at all."

[touchofrogue]

Rogue looks out into the night, not quite thinking entirely about Luceti. "Is the illusion of freedom better than not havin' any freedom at all? I'm not so sure."

A sigh and then she straightens up. "Either way, we're here now."

[ten-ofspades.livejournal.com]

Melanie would take an illusion of freedom over the alternative, but she can understand why someone else would disagree.

She shrugs slightly before piping up again, "We are. Might as well try to make the best of it."

[touchofrogue]

And here's the time when it's necessary to suss out the 'girl dating your brother' directly for a moment. "Is that what you're doin' with Kurt?"

Because. Kurt can handle himself. And Rogue won't go crazy protective, or promise to bring pain equivalent to a broken heart, but... there are lines. And they need to be defined. Her bad list is not one that you want to be on, but if you manage to get onto the good one, well... that's an enviable position.

[ten-ofspades.livejournal.com]

... Ah. She was wondering when a question like this would pop up. Not necessarily from Rogue, but still.

"I'm not with Kurt just to make being here seem better." As much as Melanie would push for relationships in the past, the thought of getting together with someone just to make the best of a bad situation is... not one she likes. What's the point of being with a person if don't actually care for them?

"I got together with Kurt because I care about him, and he cares about me. I just want to make him happy. Or is that not what you're supposed to do when you love somebody?"

[touchofrogue]

Love? No one mentioned love in this equation. That's... an entirely different claim.

"I wouldn't know." She looks away, tucks a strand of hair behind an ear with a gloved hand, her drawl a touch thicker. "My life ain't exactly a blueprint to the proper path of normal relationships."

[ten-ofspades.livejournal.com]

It is, and this is the first time Melanie's actually used the l-word in regards to her relationship with Kurt.

"I've never really been the best with relationships, either." She really, really hasn't.

"But I wouldn't trade the one I've got now for anything else." She means that. She's happy with Kurt, and she really does care for him. Sure, Melanie had never really thought that she’d end up dating a blue, fuzzy elf, but apparently life is full of surprises.

[touchofrogue]

A blue, fuzzy elf with physical intimacy issues at that. But Rogue is more than happy with Melanie's answer, especially since she's got a fairly refined BS detector by now. She smiles softly, a smile rarely seen. "I'm glad. Bein' with you makes him happy, an' Kurt deserves that."

[ten-ofspades.livejournal.com]

"He does."

Melanie's expression softens, and she matches Rogue's smile with one of her own. If being with her helps with Kurt's confidence, then that's even better. Melanie is happy with him, and she wants him to be happy with her. He deserves to be happy, just as Rogue said.

[touchofrogue]

Right, well. That's settled. Rogue will just move, a little awkwardly, to settle back against the wall. She's not the type to be overly-inquisitive, and they've already run the gambit of her store of smalltalk. She's not about to go back inside just yet, so any further conversation is in Melanie's court.