Almost Gets You Nowhere in Life

Independent RP account for Carter (Terminal) Wilson from Batman Beyond. TV and Comics Canon

[theroyalten]

flames, new & old

[theroyalten]

She was aware of each of her problems and, although she promised to fix them, she really didn’t care much to. Not right now. Not when so many of them kept her safe. Well, except for her tendency to become self-destructive when she was doing well. That one her old juvy therapist claimed was a result of her not being hugged enough as a child.

Psh, what did she know.

Melanie made a noise of agreement before looking up at Carter with a lift of an eyebrow. She hadn’t thought that she was his only source of amusement but she hadn’t thought it was anyone she might know. Davis was nice enough, she felt bad that he had to suffer at the hands of an asshole like Charlie. There was another thing they could bond over besides their substance abuse issues.

At his groan she had to laugh; a genuine laugh that she hadn’t felt like having often since she got here. Screw any eyes that turned their attention onto her. She pressed her face into his bicep as her laugh faded into a giggle. “I can’t imagine Rebel gave up her position easily,” she remarked before sighing. “Food is food, really. My mother liked to hold meals back as punishment or when she decided I was on a diet. I don’t like to miss any unless I can’t help it.”

Realizing the personal information she had so easily given him she tensed slightly. Just because she wanted a few touches from Carter didn’t mean that she meant to spill her life to him. Ugh.

[falling-at-terminal-velocity]

Most people, fortunately, left Carter to his own devices. They kept their distance because they couldn’t quite tell some days which version of him they were speaking with. After all, they’d confiscated the grease paint. Even if he was an ex-Joker, Terminal hadn’t quite gotten with the new program yet. He was rebellious and defiant as ever on the inside, even destructive.

“Oh, she didn’t. She treated that position like a legitimate job.” Right. As if they were paying her proper wages. It was probably still way more than she got to keep on her home level. “The good news is that the Jello Girl always gives it back. We all just have to suffer until she does.” No one trusted Nepenthe in the kitchen anymore, after all. Not after something nearly killed Shriek.

“Mothers are overrated,” he found himself saying, either in an attempt to console her or to keep Terminal at bay. Dissociating would do neither of them any good. “I’m serious, though; I have some instant meals from commissary that will probably be better than gelatinized liverwurst or whatever else Miranda’s going to torture us with.”

That was sticking in his mind, though. Someone else in here had a control freak for a mother. “You had to be perfect for her, didn’t you? Your mother, I mean.”

[theroyalten]

flames, new & old

[theroyalten]

She didn’t care who he was to the outside. It was a name that she remembered having heard but not a name that screamed danger to her. Melanie feared very few people and Charlie took the whole cake. His tag read ‘Terminal’ but as far as she was concerned, he was the sweetheart who saved her and she was happy to get to know him.

A soft laugh sounded from her as she slipped her arm into the crook of his elbow again, pressing herself to him slightly as her head tipped upwards to smile up at him. “I’m almost always genuine,” she assured him. “I know what he planned for me. And you saved me from that.”

They began the walk to the cafeteria and Melanie was relieved that none of the guards pulled her aside to get a statement. Having her history with Big Time dug up was certainly not something she wanted to deal with. Ever.

[falling-at-terminal-velocity]

This was a great concern. As kind and as polite as Carter could be, he could only vouch for his own behavior when he was Carter. Terminal sometimes did things (and people) without him knowing.

Like Nikhita Lahiri. That memory still made him break into a cold sweat and feel sick. Under the right circumstances, she would have been his type, but he still felt so violated. His trust was breached. Terminal breached his trust all the time. Now Carter didn’t trust himself to be fully honest with anyone.

“It doesn’t take a full psych degree to figure out what’s going on in that meathead’s brain,” he sighed. "The man’s a neanderthal.” Charlie wasn’t stupid, but he certainly wasn’t some great genius, either. “And you aren’t the only poor soul he’s harassed in recent memory. If you’re feeling brave, talk to Davis Dusk. He has stories, too.” Not just about Big Time, either; poor dreg had his fair share of Holly Day encounters, too.

Aaaaaaaaaand there she was at the very first table, grinning at them and wiggling her fingers in greeting. Already, Holly smeared mint pudding across her face like a masque. Freak.

Inside the cafeteria, Carter could also see a certain redheaded hacker chumming it up excitedly with Rewire, murmuring something under her breath. “Oh, this isn’t good,” he groaned. “Rebel isn’t cooking today. If it’s Miranda back there, we’re getting nothing but Jello food.”

[theroyalten]

flames, new & old

[theroyalten]

She nearly plopped herself in his lap for that smile. But she liked to pretend she had more self control than that. Instead she returned his smile and kept her fingers in his warm hand. At the very least he would be a good, new friend.

“I’m glad, thank you, Carter,” she replied softly. Her eyes briefly flicked to the nametag on his chest, black on white and declaring ‘criminal’ for the staff. She returned her ice blue gaze to his face, meeting his eyes easily. “I’m Melanie. And really hungry.” She offered a light laugh for him to join in before she gently pulled on his arm to get him to stand up.

The ice bag was removed from the glaringly purple bruise on her cheek and she held it at her side. It would go back on after her face didn’t feel completely frozen.

“Let’s go, monsieur white knight.”

[falling-at-terminal-velocity]

Melanie. Lovely name. It wasn’t he heard too often, but he wouldn’t exactly mind hearing it more. Every last part of his own name (and his half-brother’s name) came from former presidents. That even held true for his mother.

Her eyes went to the nametag and spotted the moniker right away. Before he could even say this was something he could explain, she admitted she was hungry. By now, she had to know where the cafeteria was--and who ran it. There’d been a bit of a passive aggressive turf war for the head cook position between Rebel One and Nepenthe a few months back. Rebel won.

A little tug on the arm, along with the let’s go, indicated it was time to head that way. Carter eased himself up and held out a hand to assist Melanie. “You’re laying it on a little thick. You know that?” he told her, but his face showed some ruddy color in the cheeks for the remark. “I just didn’t want Big Time to hurt you.”

[theroyalten]

flames, new & old

[theroyalten]

Family was a pain in the ass in Melanie’s experience. Her mother and father were locked up on a 25 year sentence, but they could always escape. At the same time, her brother was causing all sorts of trouble without landing back in jail. If she didn’t love Jack so much, she would’ve washed her hands of him so she could try to have a wholly legal life.

Choosing the people she wanted to be around was a much better idea. Like Willie and now Carter. He seemed nice enough – he had to be at least somewhat decent since he got her help and didn’t stand around like useless sheep.

Melanie tenderly probed at her chilled jaw with her own fingers. She could talk fine, but she’d have to be careful chewing her supper tonight. The bag of ice returned to the swollen area as she slipped off of the gurney. The nurse said that someone would locate her to pick up the ice-bag later. Her free hand lifted and dropped to show her acknowledgement before she headed for the waiting area.

He had stayed for her. What a sweetheart.

“You didn’t have to wait,” she commented softly, smiling at him. She was happy he did though. Melanie reached out for his hand, waiting. “Sit with me at dinner?”

[falling-at-terminal-velocity]

Madison Wilson was quite possibly the root cause for most of Carter’s dysfunction. He’d known from a very young age that he’d been hand-picked for adoption because this woman was obsessed with pedigree--not that he knew where he really came from. She controlled every facet of his life: his appearance, his diet, his activities. Arkham gave him far more social freedom...and shockingly, more privacy.

“What else is there to do in here?” Carter countered, slowly giving Melanie a sheepish smile. “I’m not even joking; it’s been a slow day.” All until Charlie decided to be his regular dickbag self, anyway.

As the girl held out her hand, asking him to join her at dinner, he graciously accepted the invite--and the hand. “I’d love to,” he insisted, giving her a firm handshake. “I don’t think I caught your name anywhere in conversation, though. I’m Carter.”

That nametag of his said Terminal, though. He clearly had himself a record.

[theroyalten]

flames, new & old

[theroyalten]

She noticed his blush with a tickle of delight. Melanie rarely, if ever, blushed anymore but she loved making other people do so. She hoped that Carter didn’t mind how close she was to him, how she clung like he was her lifeline – but the first caring physical contact she’d had in a while and she didn’t want to lose it. Touch was everything to her.

Melanie looked up at him through her eyelashes and gave him a small smile. “I don’t feel so lonely anymore,” she replied softly. She gave a shake of her head before leaning against his shoulder again. “I’m not used to being cut off from everyone at night, at my home I can at least hear my roommate breathing.”

They arrived at the nurse’s station and she reluctantly let go of him to go get looked at. The nurse was sympathetic without being smothering about it when Melanie murmured what happened. Fingers prodded gently at the swelling jaw to make sure nothing was cracked before Melanie was given light painkillers and a cloth ice bag to put on it.

Sitting there on the gurney, she looked for Carter to see if he had left while the nurse took care of her.

[falling-at-terminal-velocity]

It intrigued him a bit at just how close this girl was in proximity to him. People tended to treat him like some kind of pariah in this place, leaving him alone with his thoughts, frets, and bad memories. The closeness rose his anxiousness by a bit, but the thought that his company could put someone at ease for once...?

“...I can hear mine at home, too,” he found himself confessing. The problem was he heard way more than that from his mother. Her bedroom and bathroom were the only two rooms in that entire penthouse with any sort of door or privacy. Carter’s actions were laid bare in there. She heard him breathe, saw each expression on his face--

At least Arkham let him be.

The nurses and medical staff were polite overall, save for one or two doctors who truly couldn’t care any less even if they tried. There wasn’t much else Carter felt he could do with his day, so he stayed behind, reviewing brochures and other things while the nurse tended to Melanie’s injuries.

Who knew? She might want an escort back to her cell.

[falling-at-terminal-velocity]

[theroyalten]

flames, new & old

[theroyalten]

Melanie sighed at his question, half of her answer. “I dated him,” she admitted. Her gaze dropped, veiled behind her thick black eyelashes. She didn’t want to see the look on his face that other people gave her when they found out that. “Biggest mistake of my life, actually. He beat me when I told him ‘no’.” The distress in her voice was enough to let him know she nearly died.

She gently tugged him down and raised up on her balls of her feet so she could place a whisper of a kiss on his cheek. “You’re sweet,” she informed him. Melanie didn’t give him any time to react to it as she continued walking, gently tugging him along.

Her best friend had wanted to go after him when she came home from the hospital, but Melanie had pleaded him not to. She never wanted anyone to get hurt because of her.

“I was trying to stay away from him, to hide myself. I just want to get out of here.”

[falling-at-terminal-velocity]

Well, that certainly clarified matters. Charlie was acting like an abusive spouse by the time Carter witnessed the altercation. The shame in Melanie’s confession made Carter’s heart sink. What’s more, he found himself subconsciously giving the girl’s hand a squeeze when she indicated just how badly she’d been treated under Charlie’s “care.” Poor thing.

Her next reaction, with that little kiss and whisper, made more color rush to the honor student’s face--though he tried to hide it. ‘I’m really not,’ he thought grimly, though he gave her a sheepish smile. ‘I’m in here because there’s something very wrong with me.’

“I can understand that. It’s lonely in here.” Stifling, too. “It’s even lonelier at night.” Carter didn’t have many friends left even on the outside, but his attempts at trying to get others to warm up to him in here had backfired so horribly that he felt more alone in Arkham than he did in the rest of Gotham City. Out there, he at least had Terry.

“The problem with this place is that the doctors won’t want to release you until they think you’ll be fine outside this place. I’ve been here since August.”

[falling-at-terminal-velocity]

*casually fucks up every good thing that happens to me*

[theroyalten]

flames, new & old

[theroyalten]

He was definitely even cuter when he smiled. Melanie liked knowing that she was the cause of a smile like that. She was allowed to be shallow sometimes, she reasoned. Besides, he’d rescued her and didn’t she have just a wicked case of falling for people who did that. Could she really be blamed?

Melanie leaned down to retrieve her tube of lipstick that she’d dropped before giving another warm smile (as much as it hurt). “He’s the king of dregs,” she offered, slipping her hand onto his arm. “You helped.” She laid her head against his bicep for a moment and closed her eyes, briefly showing her exhaustion.

“I would’ve hurt more if you hadn’t gone for help,” she reassured, opening her eyes to look up at him. Without waiting for Ted to give the approval of them leaving, she gently tugged Wilson in the direction of the nurse to get away from the entire scene.

[falling-at-terminal-velocity]

It wasn’t exactly a secret that Carter was an attractive young man. This was part of why his mother had pushed him to do a little catalog modeling in high school. Unfortunately, that was how he met the likes of Holly Day before she changed her name. That was right; he’d even dated that loon before she started shanking people on their birthdays.

This blonde could have modeled. There was a classical, old world beauty to her face. “You two know each other from outside, don’t you?” Had he harassed her before? Stalked her, maybe? “No...no, I didn’t help that much. I wanted to bash his brains in for what I saw, but...”

It was no contest. True, he’d played rugby and lacrosse at one time, but Charlie was Charlie. Even with his medication, that nitwit stood at 6′6″ and dwarfed virtually everyone else. Carter wasn’t a small man, but he certainly looked like one in comparison to Charlie Bigelow.

“I think I’ve seen you in the game room once or twice.” The library and the cafeteria, too. He’d briefly seen her talk to Rewire or Rebel One, maybe the chick with the Hannibal Lecter mask. “You mostly keep to yourself.” So did he. The doctors kept begging him not to talk to any inmate with ties to the Jokerz gang. They might drag him back in.

[theroyalten]

flames, new & old

[theroyalten]

The way he spoke to her gave her a gross feeling all over. Like his hands were touching her but with words. Melanie blinked, causing her tears to stick to her long eyelashes even as a few trailed down her cheeks. Her jaw hurt from where he connected but she didn’t think it would be anything but a good bruise.

She breathed a soft sigh of relief, silently, at the tone of voice from the guard. He wouldn’t put up with Charlie’s bullshit. She wouldn’t get up until he went down. Melanie pressed one hand to her aching jaw as she sniffled softly, staying on the ground. Her face was going to look gorgeous with a purple bruise, which was already blooming on her fair skin.

Ted was a face she recognized from the Powerhouse, the man that Charlie had shot to escape. Oh. She felt a twinge of guilt (rare) in her stomach. But she didn’t have much sympathy for any workers of the Powerhouse from what she had heard.

Nonetheless, she slipped her hand into his when he offered it. No reason to be rude when he helped her. Melanie stood up, keeping her hand on her jaw both to hide the bruise and to keep it from hurting more. Ice would be great right now. Still – there was a cute boy to thank.

“May I see the nurse first?” She asked, already feeling how painful it was to talk. Two days for nearly beating her and possibly raping her – fantastic. The blonde turned to ‘Wilson’ with a warm, but trembling smile. “Thank you.”

[falling-at-terminal-velocity]

Charlie was a sick fuck and there was no nice way to rephrase it. The man was what he was and Carter Wilson had no patience nor respect for trash like Charlie Bigelow. Some people deserved to be in the Powerhouse and that brute was on the top of the list.

He had no clue who the blonde was, only that she and Charlie clearly had some sort of personal history with one another and she didn’t want any part of him. That alone merited a cautious glance. When Charlie refused to back off, Carter continued watching with suspicious, wary eyes.

Then things turned violent and a mere onlooker wouldn’t be able to do enough. Then again, Charlie’s mere size (even without medication) made it abundantly clear Carter couldn’t take him in a fight. The next sane solution was to go out and search for a C.O.--or Mad Stan. That really rude guard who transferred from the Powerhouse only happened to be the first one Carter spotted.

Leaving that poor girl to deal with that monster unattended was cruel, inhumane, and reckless. When it was all over and she smiled his way ever-so-meekly, it may as well have been contagious. “I wish I could have done more,” he admitted, offering his own arm. “I can take her to the nurse, Mr. Rasmussen. I’m sure everyone else can give you an account of what happened while I came to get you.”

His eyes were on the blonde, trying to figure out why she looked semi-familiar. “He didn’t hurt you too badly, did he?”

[myfrancoisarnaud]

Francois Arnaud & Evelyne Brochu in CompanyX S01E01

[fuckyeahfrancoisarnaud]

François Arnaud for ‘La Presse’, photographed by Édouard Plante-Fréchette [x]

[fuckyeahfrancoisarnaud]

[bigkuzdra]

Francois Arnaud - L`Officiel Italia - Rainer Hosch  HD

[bigkuzdra]

@Angelo Kritikos

[fuckyeahfrancoisarnaud]

I don’t live anywhere at the moment. I just go wherever work brings me. I share a house with friends in L.A. and I share a house with friends in Montreal when I’m there. I’m always on the road, which I like at the moment. (x)

[everythingisamovie]