[Video]

[tom_hanniger]

[Shock and awe, Wonderland. Tom has been here for how long and this is his first time on the network unaffected by an event. But anyone who knows him knows he hates the friggin' thing. Or, more to the point, just really doesn't like drawing too much attention to himself.

But hey. He's happy for once in a very long time. He's in love! And instead of jumping around on someone's couch or screaming from the roof tops, he's sitting outside the back of the house with a power saw, a generator, and a stack of timbers that he has lugged from the closest closet.

A lot of you he hasn't met but you might remember him proposing a football game a months or so back, but he wasn't feeling quite himself then. Living alternative lives and all that.]

Was thinking about doing some work out here. Idle hands and all that.

[It's a beautiful autumn day, guys. Come out and do something constructive.]

Could use some help to get the walls up. Not like we've got much else to do.

Comments

[Video]

[justrunsasaloon]

[Her smile barely twitches her lips, but it's all menace.]

Boy, you try running a bar, fifteen plus hours a day, raising a daughter, and keeping in line everyone that comes through while dealing with dealers, licensing, taxes and your husband being gone. Don't tell me about hard work.

[Video]

[tom_hanniger]

You're the one who called me lazy I didn't do anything!

[Video]

[justrunsasaloon]

[She sips her beer.]

Boy, I know you aren't yelling at me.

[Video]

[tom_hanniger]

[If this is a fucking test...]

..

No Ma'am.

I just-

[YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW HIM AND THAT WAS MEAN AND MADE HIM DEFENSIVE]

No...

[Video]

[justrunsasaloon]

[If you wanna date her baby girl, you gotta be able to stand toe to toe with her.]

How'd you meet Jo?

[Video/Private]

[lightgunhustler]

[And now it's Ellen's turn. Time for Jo to see if she can't do a little damage control. She knows her mother, knows what she's doing as well as the intentions behind it, but knowing Tom and his history, a hard-nosed interrogation could go badly. Very badly.]

Mom? Could you do me a favor and ease up, just a little bit? You're cornering him.

He's not a bad guy.

[Video/Private]

[justrunsasaloon]

[So unimpressed with your choices, baby girl. She's not doing anything, alright? She just asked a question.]

I just asked how you two met, Jo. That's all. Don't worry.

[Video/Private]

[lightgunhustler]

[Her expression flattens slightly. Ellen, you know what she meant.]

I meant before that.

[She sighs heavily, raking a hand through her hair.]

You're just being awfully hard on him, and he's kind of had enough of that already.

[Video/Private]

[justrunsasaloon]

Joanna Beth, if I was being hard on him, I'd be doing this to his face. He can walk away anytime he wants.

[But he's not and if he can't stand toe to toe with her? He sure as hell doesn't deserve you, baby girl. Don't make her pull out the mama, Joanna Beth.]

[Video / Casually threadjackingly jumps in here/ Not private at all oops.]

[righteously]

[Look okay he bit his tongue for a long time and he was civil, but this is better than watching topless ping pong. So he pops on screen looking just too pointedly innocent. Just too innocent. Fakely innocent.]

Probably around the time he was having some kinda breakdown when he showed up. Don't worry, I think he takes some kinda something to contain the crazy, so, you know, it's totally fine. A few happy pills and he's right as rain.

[That's right Ellen, Jo's dating a pill popper. He remembers that first meeting when Tom was dry-swallowing some anxiety meds, he remembers so well.

Get him Ellen.

Innocent face. Just being helpful guys.]

[Video/Private]

[lightgunhustler]

That's not funny, Dean.

[Oh, she's sure he thinks it's hilarious, but she's pretty sure if he knew even a shred of the backstory behind it, he might actually feel bad. You know, for half a second, before he let the butthurt take over again.]

I don't suppose I could convince you to play nice.

[Video/Private]

[righteously]

Hey, I'm helping! This way when your new hubby looks twitchy, she won't think he's reaching for a gun.

[HELPLESS SHRUG.

He doesn't know, though, about the mental hospital. He really doesn't. If he did, he'd be more sensitive about it, but as it stands? As far as he knows, Tom's a civilian with a pansy nerve disorder.]

Besides, I'll have you know I did play nice. I went down and apologized for smashing his face in earlier. So.

[Without you even having to tell him to do it, too.]

[Video/Private]

[lightgunhustler]

[She has to fight the urge to roll her eyes at the nickname. Cute, Dean, real cute. She can smell the butthurt from all the way over here. He might think it's fun to stir the pot, but she's quickly reaching some scary levels of defensive. Sue her. It's a sensitive subject.]

You don't know the first thing about him. About where he's from or what he's been through.

[It's not her place to enlighten him, either, but the way she grits he teeth should tell him something. It's not pretty.

But she sighs. If he was nice earlier, she has to appreciate that. It's not like Dean was the bad guy in this situation. She was.]

... were you really.

[Damn it.]


... that was big of you. Thank you.

[Video / Casually threadjackingly jumps in here/ Not private at all oops.]

[justrunsasaloon]

If you have something to share, Dean, do it. Otherwise, I can handle talking to Tom all by my lonesome.

[In other words: Come talk to her in person and stop being a raging jackass.]

And if you piss off Jo, I'm not digging out the bullet.

[Video.]

[righteously]

[Stop being a raging jackass? Never.

His hands do come up in surrender, though.]

I'm just saying, dude's only twitchy and quick to run like half the time, maximum.

[Just whenever there's like a threat or some kind of mental breakdown, is all.

Besides, he can handle Jo being pissed about this. He feels vindicated and that's freakin' awesome.]

[Video.]

[justrunsasaloon]

Dean.

[Ellen isn't taking your shit.]

Go find something to do.

[video/private] sob

[tom_hanniger]

What the actual fuck is wrong with you?!

[he thought they had a truce :(]

[video/private]

[righteously]

Trust me, buddy, you are gonna have a hard time with her. The less like me you are, the more likely you are to get some kind of blessing. If she thinks you're gonna keep Jo on the soft and fluffy side of things, you're golden.

[He shrugs.]

Plus, if I act like an asshole to you, I take the fun out of it a little.

[A beat, and maybe a little reluctantly.]

And it's kind of hilarious seeing her give you the business.

[Video]

[tom_hanniger]

[Why does dating Jo mean fighting Ellen? Why does everyone from this world like to fight about everything? Its weird. Surely he isn't the only one who sees that.]

She found me when I first showed up. I was in a bad way and she patched me up. Pretty much saved me.

[Video]

[justrunsasaloon]

[It's not a fight, it's a military inspection. Grow a spine, boy. She sips her beer.]

That sounds like Jo. You get into fights regularly?

[Video]

[tom_hanniger]

[Still. It's foreign. And weird. And he doesn't like it.]

No Ma'am.

[He isn't normally a sharer...but with Ellen he feels he needs to explain himself lest he make an even worse first impression.]

I was in a car accident right before. [You know. Showing up here.]

[Video/Private]

[lightgunhustler]

[Jo is just going to casually interject here, addressing both of them privately, because this is not how she had planned for this to go. She had been hoping there might be more liquor involved. Maybe dinner. Something to make the inevitable interrogation go more smoothly.]

Hey. It's okay. I'm sorry, this isn't how I wanted you two to meet -- be confident, okay? Confident and calm. She'll like that.

[Video/Private]

[tom_hanniger]

What the fuck why is she being like this?

[because sorry not sorry his idea of impressing his girlfriend's parent isnt to fight with them.]

[Video/Private]

[lightgunhustler]

Because she's a hardass. Because in our line of work, you have to be scarier than everyone else to get respect.

[Just how it is.]

It'll take her awhile to warm up but just smile and try not to get defensive even when she pushes you. She's just--

[She sighs. Sorry, Tom, welcome to the family.]

Look, you're not a hunter, she'll like you well enough for that when she eases off being overprotective. But remember how I told you Harvelles were stubborn? This is where I get it from.

[Video/Private]

[tom_hanniger]

[He is just. So. Not okay with this at all. Everything about this interaction has rubbed him the wrong way.]

Call me old fashioned but I thought meeting the parents was supposed to be about respect. Not seeing whether or not she can badger me into fight with her.

I'm not from your world, I don't interact with people like this. It's weird. And really aggressive.

[He's not mad at anyone, he just feels ambushed, cornered and provoked.]