paradisa | (no subject)

Sometimes I see people doing this about "future" stuff they learn about, but I think it's time to shake it up a bit. I feel like I've accidentally taken a history class. Not complaining, of course. I didn't pay attention in school.

[Written:]

Things I've Learned About the Renaissance (in the past ~10 months):
- Wine is preferred over water (it tastes BAD and you can't convince me otherwise)
- Getting dressed takes forever because you have to put on layers, sleeves, and tie things. Zippers probably brought people to tears when they were invented. Not just because of accidentally zipping up bits.
- Various Italian words, mostly inappropriate and/or used to hit on people
- Dances are weird and make me a little dizzy
- Fresh pasta is a thing
- ~~Showing too much skin is Very Bad and makes big brother unhappy~~ [So gone!] Pants for women = weird!
- Bankers are just as boring as they are in my time
- Don't call da Vinci "da Vinci" because that is wrong
- Popes can have the cutest daughters
- Medicine is pretty much leeches and opium
- Cardinals are not all old men with wrinkles
- "Italy" isn't really a thing yet, just a bunch of city-states (or something? I forgot. Sorry!)
- Something about chaperones... dating is complicated
- Insert more stuff I should remember

[Tap tap. This is Steph not talking about nightmares or crazy cats or bumps to the head or depressing things that have occurred in the past 30-something days.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Lana doesn't joke around as often these days. B( ]

You don't think it's foolish to flirt with countless women and expect only good results?

Oh... that.

He's working on it. Well, parts of it. As best he can. [He has a list and everything.]

So I heard. Something about 'no more married women', at least.

It's a big step. There may have also been something about age limits and prostitutes...

[ UGH AGE LIMITS. Don't remind her about Lucrezia... Lana had no clue the girl was that young before she went home.

But oh yeah, while she actually has her in a filter, Lana might as well fill her in on the barest minimum. The less people who feel inclined to ever all her Mrs. Luthor, the better. ]

Which reminds me... Not the prostitutes, but...

I went home. I'm not married any longer, so the stigma of the Luthor name no longer haunts my driver's license.

Oh, you did? [Whoops, missed that. Lots of people doing that lately.] I'm so out of the loop.

Congratulations are in order, no?

[Ugh, Luthor.

... THOUGH NOW SHE TOTALLY FITS THE EZIO CRITERA heh heh heh]

...Yeah, I guess. And hopefully, before long, the Luthor tyranny will be nothing but a memory for everyone.

[ Yeah, read into that what you will. ]

I didn't announce it or anything, so you're not out of the loop. Only Ezio and a couple other friends know.

[Oh, she's trying not to.]

That's cool. Guess you didn't have a dramatic re-entry, huh?

[ ...Well, you know. Minus the screaming and denting the clinic wall. But she's happy that not everybody heard about that, it's kind of embarrassing. ]

No, I just woke up here like it was any other day. Then everyone told me the nightmares had only been a week earlier.

Uh--[crapcrapcrap]

Speaking of nightmares, about that...

[ A respectful pause. No matter how long it's been, Lana remembers. Those nightmares suffered that week are far more vivid than normal dreams. ]

You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to.

[The out is tempting, but she almost feels obligated to at least sort of explain the scary guy with the skull face and stress that she's fine, definitely okay, and certainly not traumatized by that event. Even if the nightmare itself would suggest otherwise.]

I don't mind giving the SparkNotes version, if you were... curious. But if you want to just--not, or whatever, that's cool too. I don't mind either way.

I don't feel like it was an accident. But I also don't want you to feel like the castle has to dictate what you should and shouldn't share.

Personally, I do want to know.

The theme generally seems to be "honesty is the best policy." I don't think it's necessarily bad. [For some things, anyway.]

Once upon a time, there was a big gang war in Gotham. [One that was both her fault and Bruce's, but she's not going to bring him up during this if she can help it.] The guy with the gross face was Black Mask, Roman Sionis, and he tried to get information out of me. Hence the... tools. Long story short, that night led to me being "dead" for over a year, but who really dies or stays dead anyway, right?

My doctor decided to take me to Africa with her to get away from Gotham, so I could recover and have a chance to start over.

Obviously, not one of my better nights.

...He tortured you.

[ Oh Steph. B( She had been hoping those were for someone else, or just part of the dream. ]

Everyone thought you were dead? You couldn't return?

Yeah. The city was blacked out, but he had enough foresight to bring a generator for the power drill. [Driest. Chuckle.]

Everyone. My mom, Bruce... though I guess he figured it out before I ended up coming home. I wasn't kept prisoner over there or anything, but it did take me a long time to get back on my feet. [Physically and emotionally.]

And for a while, it just seemed easier, you know? Life is different when only one person knows your history and you can just build a new one from scratch.

...I understand. I might better than most, actually.

I didn't have anyone with me, though.

Did you go back?

Only because Lex found me.

[ And because she didn't have the guts to shoot him in the face when he did, like she had planned, damn it! ]

I was prepared to remain dead forever, to be honest.

I was, too. In the beginning, anyway. I was too afraid, too ashamed. But there came a point where I realized that Gotham was a part of me, as sappy as it sounds, and so was this whole vigilante thing.

The gang war and Black Mask happened a long time ago, and I'd never make the same mistakes again, but I guess some things just stick with you no matter how much you've dealt with them.