[There was that self-depreciation again. Why did he keep talking like that?
As Bart speaks, Thad watches him critically. Like he's trying to dissect his words and mannerisms for some greater meaning. But he doesn't catch on to Bart's partial lie, because that self-depreciation just bothers him. He wasn't even sure why exactly. Maybe it was because it felt like Bart was placating him, or maybe it was just because it was a trait that felt so off from the version of Bart he knew.
He curls a lip at the offer to talk and get to know him. What was that even supposed to mean? Bart already knew him. He very clearly recognized him when he saw him.
And he's just about to voice that when he hears the words "We are family", and it feels like someone shoving a knife back in a fresh wound and twisting it. The world goes white with anger, and he doesn't remember moving from behind the fallen monster or running up to Bart, but suddenly he's in front of him all the same.]
We are NOT family!
[Speedforce energy crackles off of him dangerously, as he screams in the other boy's face. As far as Thad was concerned, what Bart said was an attack. It didn't matter that he obviously hadn't meant it that way, it felt like one. And so fresh from their confrontation in the speedforce, he was in no place to rationalize it as anything else.]
Family love each other and you said love means you're willing to die for them or with them! Those are Your Words!
[A finger gets shoved at Bart's chest to emphasize that they came from him. In case he forgot. They were words Thad hadn't been able to get out of his head since they broke his chest.]
You got to have a family, I got spiteful ghosts and a man who treated me like a tool! How dare you just casually throw that at me like...like...[It's a struggle to put it into words, to conceptualize what this feels like, how much it hurts.] like some scrap of meat you're throwing to a starving stray!
[Stepping back, Thad's fists clench into fists, tears falling down his cheeks as he vibrates in place, glaring Bart down like he's on the verge of going back on his claim that he wouldn't kill him here.]
no subject
As Bart speaks, Thad watches him critically. Like he's trying to dissect his words and mannerisms for some greater meaning. But he doesn't catch on to Bart's partial lie, because that self-depreciation just bothers him. He wasn't even sure why exactly. Maybe it was because it felt like Bart was placating him, or maybe it was just because it was a trait that felt so off from the version of Bart he knew.
He curls a lip at the offer to talk and get to know him. What was that even supposed to mean? Bart already knew him. He very clearly recognized him when he saw him.
And he's just about to voice that when he hears the words "We are family", and it feels like someone shoving a knife back in a fresh wound and twisting it. The world goes white with anger, and he doesn't remember moving from behind the fallen monster or running up to Bart, but suddenly he's in front of him all the same.]
We are NOT family!
[Speedforce energy crackles off of him dangerously, as he screams in the other boy's face. As far as Thad was concerned, what Bart said was an attack. It didn't matter that he obviously hadn't meant it that way, it felt like one. And so fresh from their confrontation in the speedforce, he was in no place to rationalize it as anything else.]
Family love each other and you said love means you're willing to die for them or with them! Those are Your Words!
[A finger gets shoved at Bart's chest to emphasize that they came from him. In case he forgot. They were words Thad hadn't been able to get out of his head since they broke his chest.]
You got to have a family, I got spiteful ghosts and a man who treated me like a tool! How dare you just casually throw that at me like...like...[It's a struggle to put it into words, to conceptualize what this feels like, how much it hurts.] like some scrap of meat you're throwing to a starving stray!
[Stepping back, Thad's fists clench into fists, tears falling down his cheeks as he vibrates in place, glaring Bart down like he's on the verge of going back on his claim that he wouldn't kill him here.]