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[Leo relaxes a little against a counter, just chilling near Gladion. Arching an eye ridge at the other teenager fidgeting in front of a cabinet.]

Oh dope. [Leo is absolutely distracted by Delicious Distraction Snacks. Gladion is victorious this fine day. He peers at the array of snacks, not surprised by them given he he works at 8-12.] I like a lot of these. I see them at work a lot.

They're convenient. [Welp. Take your pick, man. Gladion shrugs and doesn't take anything for himself; he's not hungry, honestly. Yes, Silvally, he sees you peering over the top of the couch. No, just because Emmet gives you something every time you look at the kitchen doesn't mean you need snacks all the time. It's not healthy! Especially not these snacks!] Less so now, but Ingo does still work there, so...

[Leo leans in to eye the various snacks, eventually picking one that's easy to eat given his whole 'turtle beak' paired with spider teeth situation. The two style of mouths were not meant to work together.] He probably gets plenty of leftovers like I do. I think we're both flex anyway.

[He unwraps the snack idly as he talks.] I think you have a job right-? Where do you work?

[Mayhaps he will appear to cause trouble there? Who knows.]

[Yeah, hang on, about that:] You won't get special treatment there for knowing me. [Just saying.] Have you met Mukuro, the werewolf? I work at her cafe.

C'mon, not even if I'm cute~? [He presses a clawed finger against his cheek, clearly teasing.] Fair enough, Glads. I know I'll win my way into special treatment someway else. I'm worth it.

I have not. Add her to the list. [Absolutely ominous on his part, oop.] Planning on meeting everybody.

[Oh god. Mental note to give Mukuro some advance warning.

But that thought aside: he doesn't really have any complaints about that sentiment! It's just a goofy way of declaring his intent to earn respect, and, like...that's doable. That's a good thing.

As is the "meeting everybody" ambition, as unrelatable as it is to Gladion. So:]

If anyone would... [It'd be Leo! Gladion certainly wouldn't. It's a compliment wearing a mask of exasperation. He stands up from the counter and wanders across into the living room, past Silvally's couch.] Everybody? [Surely even you have limits, though!]

Don't worry, I'll make sure my privileges come back to you too when we hangin'. [He does preen a little at the passing compliment.

And the former turtle follows, urge to pat the dog intense but he restrains himself to shooting casual finger gun back at Silvally in passing.] Everybody. If people know your name, you've made it big.

Sides, Big G, if you know everybody, you know how to pull a few strings. [He loves building a good strategy.]

[Silvally has one eye closed to show that it is chilling but one eye open to show that it is paying attention to you.]

I'm not questioning that part. [He grabs the chair he was working at the table in, and spins it around to sit in it sideways (because of his back leaves). There are a few other, probably more comfortable seats lying around for Leo's use.] More wondering if this really is just a get-everyone's-name plan, or if it's a...more friendly endeavor. Not even you could be on good terms with every monster at once.

Edited 2023-03-01 19:26 (UTC)

[The former mutant shoves his shack into his mouth, just letting it hang there as he claims a chair less gracefully. He plonks down comfortably. He grabs his snack by its packaging to draw it back and eat it more normally now.]

Hey, I can try. If not, Redemption Arc will kick off. I mean, my baby brother redeemed the weird guy who made us, so, anyone can jump ship to being less of a jerk.

[That is both oddly hopeful and immensely stupid on Leo's part, but he's casual about it.]

[It's

yeah it's that. Clearly he means well, though, so Gladion isn't, like, mad about it.

Also he can't be mad at someone who's talking about the weird guy who made him. Speaking of which, Silvally twists its head around to continue staring at Leo.]

Not...exactly what I meant. [How should he put this.] It's the people you'll have to pick between that I'm wondering about. The middle of a feud is a risky place to be.

[And...other situations...]

Love to tell you this, Big G, that's already my life back home. [He chews at his snack idly, trying to not crumb everywhere. He is a polite menace.] Draxum, weird alchemist scientist whose a wanted criminal, my freaky creator- now friendly with us, but weird to our actual pops. Like kidnapped my pops for experimenting on or whatever to make an army of yokai. My bros and I were like the only results from that, so [He waves a lazy hand uncaring about that part.]

Then there is pop's sort of giant spider ex girlfriend who kidnapped him for a couple of years to fight in a battle tournament, but they maybe have a thing again, I dunno. I do not ask. She and Drax don't like each other either.

That's not including like the whole Foot Clan stuff already going on, since they're technically a branch of our family who want to summon weird deadly stuff including my evil great great great great grandpa, whose a demon.

[At about the eight-second mark, Gladion realizes that this is going to take a moment, and settles back a little with this expression of pensive focus.

...

He's actually following this. Frankly it's not that complicated? There's a mad scientist, them and their "actual" father, and their father's weird nefarious ex-lover. And then some background family drama. Lore! Neat! More extensive than he expected from the details he'd absorbed before, but whatever.

Nod after all that...]

So, between Draxum and the spider - how do you balance that out?

Carefully. [He takes another bite of his snack, using the chew time to ponder a proper answer.] Mostly, reminding Drax he threw me off a roof once, and telling the spider, Big Mama, that I'm still technically champion of her area.

Mostly just being chill, mildly getting in their business as needed. Its all about balance. About everyone letting Mikey bully them a little since he's the baby of the family.

[...Fascinating. Leo is talking about this in terms of being friendly, but what he's describing is, like...power.

What Gladion considers the key element here hasn't come up yet, though. His brow furrows a little.]

Is "having enough leverage to keep them from complaining" the same thing as actually being friendly with both of them?

[To Leo, it isn't really power, as much as everyone just kind of getting along generally. And being fine with backstabbing.]

I guess? I mean, they complain plenty. Mostly Drax. [He shrugs casually.] Drax is more settled into human society, dealing with working as a lunch lady, yadda yadda. Donnie and I don't like Drax much, but we're nice to him, he's nice enough to us.

Big Mama mostly complains about Pops not coming back to fight as her champion, but, thats their own thing. I'm not getting involved in that. Big Mama will deffo betray us at some point, but, we'll beat her, easy enough.

[Chin in hand, he sort of mouths "lunch lady..." after that's said, but. Okay. Yeah, sure, that's life.]

But you haven't been...forced to pick one of them. It's a situation where your alliance with one doesn't have to mean anything to the other. [Or...? No?]

[One day, Gladion will understand the majesty of lunch ladys, who happen to be alchemist goats.]

When things get really dire, they kinda just pick us. We always pick both of them if we can. Really depends on the situation. [He mulls the thought over, trying to think of an example.]

Big Mama unleashed the Shredder on New York, tried to take it over to turn it into a battle nexus, yadda, yadda, she was betrayed by her own guy, its a long story- but when push came to shove she wanted to come with us.

[taking mental notes.]

Do you have a plan for what happens when that's not the case? [His gaze flicks to Silvally for a moment. (It is a mutual eyeflick.)] There's going to be cases where being friendly with one monster is a dealbreaker for another. Or where being wishy-washy loses you someone else's trust.

Edited 2023-03-02 04:17 (UTC)

[He scrunches his snout vaguely. He is thinking it over at least.]

For here, honestly gonna be a long game of watching and waiting. Seeing who knows who and playing my hand carefully. [He says this whilst getting crumbs on his plastron. He makes a face at the feeling. Being a spider means he's intensely meticulous.] Its about having a strategy that's flexible.

I already realistically know I can't be everyone's bffsie, but I can at least get myself known and build a circle. Make sure my brother, and Bucky are safe.

[He picks off the crumbs carefully.] And y'know, I wanna actually make friends with people.

Edited 2023-03-02 05:00 (UTC)

[If Gladion wasn't a weenie, he might indicate that he is, perhaps, talking about himself a little. That, maybe, he's taking this as a reminder to not muddle up respect and trust, or even different kinds of trust; because it's a fact of life that you can be someone's fifth or sixth priority, which still might be better than nothing. Leonardo is smart, perceptive, and well-meaning, but likely to be spread too thin to rely on, unless their households were to depend on each other as whole units. And he - like Gladion, to be perfectly fair - may not have fully come to grips yet with what conflict is worth in this world.

....This turtle is dropping crumbs on his floooooooor, sigh.

He can pretend he does not see it, and instead give Leo a nod...of approval? Of acknowledgment? Of something. It sure is a deliberate nod.]

It's a worthwhile goal to have.

[Is that the closest to an outright compliment he's gotten? Genuinely I have not been keeping track]

[If this was not Gladion's floor, Leo would just stick the crumbs to himself, #teenage boy. Mild decorum and Cool Dog keeps him from acting on his worst impulses.

The compliment does make Leo grin a little, He Saw That.]

I'll see where I get with it. Right now, I'm just Chillin'. Figuring out what I wanna be.

Starting with real friends, and seeing how that goes before I do anything particularly bigger. [The grin turns into a smaller smile, something a little quieter and gentle before its gone as he shoves food in his mouth.

Friendship Declared.]

[Cool Dog lifts its head and eyes the two of them in turn, for a moment, then puts its chin back down on the arm of the couch and closes both of its eyes.

Gladion continues to chew on that, attention rising for a moment in the middle there as well to meet Dog's.

Hm, he says. Hell of a choice of "real friend" - who barely talks to him, who hasn't told him much of anything about himself. But maybe that's just what Leo expects from a friendship. Or, from Gladion's friendship.

Which...well, hey. Rather this without pretense than empty promises. Gladion's expression stays solemn and resolute.

Figuring out what I want to be, though, that rings relatable.]

That's a never-ending project. [He glances back at his tailoring. What can he even say about all that? And that's just about the least heavy of all the...monster topics.

Back at Leo...and thoughts jump from clothes to appearance to, ah.]

How's arachne?

[If either of them communicated properly, there would certainly be less confusion. The solemn look to Gladion's expression isn't quite what Leo expected. It actually makes him hesitate a little.

He did try to make a promise to Gladion he'd be less... in the other teenager's face. More open in general, opposed to the easier option of being abrasive Faceman. He's openly now a little self-conscious. ] Sorry, is- uh, the friend thing too much? I just thought, you know...

[The safer topic is within reach, he's gonna just tentatively grab onto that to give them both an out.] Spider-y. Having an exo-skeleton is weird, but means its harder to really get a good bite on me. My brother has tried.

[His ears flick back in...confusion is a bit strong of a word. But yeah, maybe it's confusion, mild and muted. Leo's obvious nervousness puts him a little off-center - sure, this is Leo holding back again, but there's something else about this that feels important enough to frustrate that he can't...quite pick it out by name?

(It's the sense that Leo genuinely wants his approval. Gladion can identify what having the power to disappoint or inconvenience or intimidate someone looks like. Feeling that someone wants to get in closer like this is almost completely unfamiliar.)]

It's not. [As in, not too much. Although that thought, oh so this just doesn't mean much, is wobbling wildly now with doubt. Then...what? He feels pinched in some kind of contradiction. And reluctant to be harsh in trying to sort it out - and, really, he can be better by now than to turn his own uncertainties into accusations - but also not keen on trying to lie and say it's nothing when obviously Leo has seen something in his face.

Augh! This is stupid and awkward!!! Gladion has glanced away for a second, or perhaps two or three, resisting the siren song of his own stupid distraction bait until it's been just a little too long to back out of Saying Something. His small, pensive frown persists, becoming more pensive without becoming more frowny. There's seriousness in his face as always, but not...severity.

"I'm not sure why you consider me 'real friend' material" (insecure, ew) -> "You're not very selective huh" (this is an insult. behave) -> "Your lack of standards for your 'real friends' worries me" (noble but uncool) -> ???? ]

It just feels more like I should be asking you that.

[yay.]

[The longer the silence goes on, the more awkward Leo feels. He sinks into his chair wonder if he's like make things weird.

Well, yeah, of course he has, duh.

Maybe Gladion really just kind of tolerates him after all. Wouldn't be a surprise, really. Outside of his brothers who really wants to hang out with him? If there is one thing Ryslig has taught him, its the fact he's kind of irritating to people. He's not really a hero, or a cool ninja. He's just kinda here.

No magic, just one of his brothers, and apparently he's dead in the future.

Things are complicated and weird. Leo never wanted any of that.

He fiddles on the wrapper of his snack, sticking and unsticking his claws to it. Then Gladion speaks and its a genuine relief that takes some of the tension out of Leo completely for a solid moment. He brightens briefly before its snuffed out again as Gladion continues.]

...Huh-? Why?

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rise of tmnt spoilers, LMAO

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