a starfield away

Rey Skywalker | Star Wars | Intro | Musings | Aesthetic

Cassandra Cain | DC Comics | Intro | Musings | Aesthetic

Tali’Zorah vas Normandy | Mass Effect | Intro | Musings | Aesthetic

William Grace | Westworld | Intro | Musings | Aesthetic

Zatanna Zatara | DC Comics | Intro | Musings | Aesthetic

The other offered a small comfort to Helaena.  “It is nice to know others have struggled.” She picked at the top of her nail bed, “Most of my family has seemed to just fit in, like a puzzle piece..” As usual Helaena was the awkward jaded piece that never felt like it quite belonged.  “Bitter might just be what I need… I thought about trying every possible cup— wasn’t quite sure though if that would be recommended.  I just don’t know my own taste..”  She had never really been allowed to have a say in her life, not even when it came to her meals.  She didn’t realize how many choices she’d be able to make in a single day.

Liara listened to her friend, she often felt empathy for the Quarians.  She couldn’t imagine the pain she’d fell knowing she had lost Thessia and there was a small chance they’d ever make it home safely again.  “Perhaps there is technology aboard this ship that can help with re-assimilation to your planet.”  Liara offered, “Maybe the Research and Science division could help find a way for you to jumpstart your collective immune systems.” Back home re-colonization was reliant on their efforts against the final surge of Reapers.  Liara hated not knowing how it ended, not knowing if her friends got to live their dreams.  If Shepard and his ground squad had made it home safely.  It was a lot of unknowns that she hoped to get answers too before returning home.  “I’m glad to be with you too Tali.” She smiled placing her hand on her friends covered shoulder.  “I’m learning quite a bit, but sadly not much about our home.” She wouldn’t admit it to any of her crew, but a part of her didn’t want to know if they succeeded or failed.  She wanted to cling a bit to the naivety that they were all alive and well back home.  

“You’re not allowed to get that sick,” said Garrus, teasing tone doing its best to hide the genuine thread of worry her arrival had inspired within him (not because she was there – it was better to have her in front of him and visibly alive than to not know where she was or if she was alright – but because cryo had taken a toll on her). Hopefully his subvocals wouldn’t betray him. Tali seemed uncannily good at perceiving and reading them, for a non-turian. Or maybe she was just good at reading him, other turians be damned. Hearing about her suit VI quells the worry a little bit, at least. “It would compromise the mission. If I end up the sole person on this ship who can taste the awful dextro food, then where will we be? Doomed. And I’ll have to do something drastic.” He shut the door to his quarters behind him, careful not to let too much heat escape. “But yes, getting frozen is, uh, not good.” He’d seen footage of earth felines being bathed against their will, crawling out of the water with what could only be described as homicidal airs. That was (though he’d never in his right mind confess this to any of the Normandy crew after the debacle over the comms earlier) how Garrus had felt coming out of cryo. Frigid, uncomfortable, irritated enough to claw someone’s eyes out. “Let’s find something warm.”

Though certainly larger than the Normandy, it turned out the station wasn't quite as large as the Citadel. And, infinitely more welcoming in some parts. For one, no Keepers. For two, and all points after, no one was giving her dirty looks. Curious ones regarding her suit and helmet definitely, but not the sort that said they were automatically judging her as a liar and thief because of it. It made familiarízing herself with the ship significantly easier, letting her explore in ways that would once have been tentative. She'd wanted to maybe start on top and work her way down to the engines, but found that not all areas were welcoming. Tali found herself face to mask with a human barring her way. "The command center is through there, then? I understand why it would be closed to particular personnel on a military ship, but this is civilian- are there not even tours? I'd just like to see some of the tech that's being used."

“ That’s because it’s not , not really , ” he offered , spinning his chair around so that he could face her. He understood why Joker was always raving about the seats , it was comfortable. “ It’s a waste of resources and manpower , especially when there’s something else you could be doing. ” He spoke from experience , though he doubted anyone on board knew that , or cared enough about him to ask the archivists what his life was like. “ You manage to get in there , grab my rifle for me , would you? ”

John was glad he got to work with Rey , she made everything seem a little less bleak. She was a good kid , he knew he’d have done his damnedest to get her on the Normandy if they were back in his home universe. “ I’m not sure why they got me flying the ship when I’d be better off in security or science. I’m kinda glad they didn’t stick me in science though , it’s been years since I was that guy. ” His face fell just a little bit as he thought of the Council , and he nodded , before he offered a small shrug. “ I wouldn’t call them my best friends , that’s for sure. There was only one I could get along with , and that’s because I appointed him , and then he stepped down because of how shit the Council was. ”

Growing up and living like she had, Rey found the waste unfathomable. Which left her mind scrambling for an actual reason behind the seemingly mindless traversal, and getting antsy about it in the meantime. “And what something else would we be doing, if we don’t have an actual goal.” It wasn’t a question so much as a complaint, because she could see how that was going in circles. It was a waste to wander around, but they were going to do nothing but in the absence of a goal. Or, knowing the goal, at least. There had to be something, some reason they were all brought here. She chuckled again, a bit more glumly. “I’ll do my best, but if it’s nice enough I might just keep it.” Not that she had any business handling a rifle.

It had taken only moments for Tali to get tangled up on Shepard, curling close on his lap and resting her helmet against his shoulder, as if that could replicate the need for closeness that nothing ever quite fulfilled when stuck in her suit. They'd need to wait- until they were sure she wouldn't get sick from the cryo, until she'd buffed up her immune system and sterilized the room- but she wanted him to look at her face, to see her, to feel him properly. "This is torture." Tali bemoaned glumly, feeling as if she'd never hated the envirosuit more acutely than this moment. "I am- incandescent to see you. I am so happy! It would have been hell to be stuck here alone but you're here and Garrus and Liara and that's incredible! But I want to kiss my cute human boyfriend now and I hate this!" With a groan, she twisted up to look at him, gloved fingers lifting to skim along his jawline then his shoulders and upper arms. Very nice ones, very strong. "And I know that's very selfish... You have been here alone, with all these humans- no offense- for how long, now? I am sorry I wasn't here earlier... And I hope you're not thinking this is your problem to solve all by yourself because it's not. Your crew is here."

"Rannoch means walled garden in Khelish." Tali pronounced the name of her people's home world deliberately, trying to get past the translators so she didn't end up saying walled garden twice in a row. That'd be a bit redundant. It usually worked with the translator units on the Normandy, so she hoped she didn't sound silly here. "Our skin carried the seeds that grew into desert grass. It won't be like that again right away, though. Maybe ever." And right now she couldn't reach out and touch a flower without crushing it. Her homeland was far, the Quarians who knew how far along in their resettlement of the planet. "You probably knew that already- but, I guess I'm saying... I want to find something here that will help everyone rebuild. Which I guess sort of makes this like a Pilgrimage part two. Which makes me even gladder you're here, I was in the first place, but now it's almost... Circular. Like a story." There were certain ways Tali felt like she'd grown up with Liara. Not in a known her all her life sort of way, but in that they'd both fought and suffered and learned from that same awkward young adult place they'd been to the powerful assured people they were now alongside each other. Quarians didn't have siblings by nature of the crowding on the flotilla, but if Tali had ever imagined a sister, it would be Liara. "Does that make any sense? Are you learning a lot here, in the archives?"

The Normandy was cozy in size compared to this place- which seemed more Citadel-like, though luckily with no Keepers skittering about- and she’d grown so used to having Garrus close at hand that being in space, with him, but not near him felt unexpectedly... unsettling. He wasn’t as far away as another planet or system as they had been before, but there was no ambling around the corner to tease him or peer over his shoulder at his work like there had been either. Keelah se’lai, Tali found an uneasiness in her that simply demanded to see Garrus in person, immediately. It was one thing to replicate their playful banter over the little comms unit, but another entirely to see him, hear the low thrum of his voice and watch the little flick of his mandibles as he quipped at her. She rapped at his door, shifting from foot to foot and fiddling with how the cloth decorating her envirosuit sat on her hips before snapping to attention when he opened it. He couldn’t see much of the smile that erupted over her features, so it was unabashed and, yes, seeing him quelled that plaguing agitation. “Garrus, we have a mission. We need to find tolerable dextro-food before I become too ill to taste it.” Her head shifted, an easy tell. “Not that I think I’m going to get that sick. Maybe. My suit VI is reading optimally and I only feel a little stiff so far, but getting frozen can’t be good for even sturdier species, right? Either way, we need to find the good stuff sooner rather than later if we're going to be here indefinitely.”

wanda let out a soft hum. the room cleared eventually and she made her way out with quiet footsteps and a slow walk, allowing cassandra to follow—if she so desired. “not really. i’ve never been into movies, not enough to keep up with them.” there’s a chuckle behind a closed-mouth smile, and she glances to cassandra through her peripheral vision.

despite her time aboard, Wanda felt restless. her work only allowed for so much room, and it wasn’t enough. she couldn’t even study, couldn’t practice. she felt trapped, enough so that resorting to being polite with strangers was something of a change she wanted to seek out in her routine. she simply just wanted to go home. “i’ve always been more into cable tv shows. i grew up on them as a child, and watched them with my brother.”

With little hesitation, Cassandra followed along. Talking with new people was good. Enriching. And... strategic, to know the surroundings and the people there. Mostly they were bored. “They’re very long. And there’s a lot. It would be a lot of work to keep up.” She knew Tim had favorite franchises; franchises that had what seemed like dozens of movies, all hours long. It seemed daunting to sit still that long. 

He remained silent as she spoke , taking in the situation as best he could. He had no physical weapon , but neither did she. The Force was strong within her , that much he could feel , but was she as strong as he? He wouldn’t let his guard down , because he knew the answer could be yes. Anakin could tell that her guard was not down either , by the tone in her voice and the way she looked at him , but he took no offense to it.

That she took the Skywalker name surprised him , and it showed on his face for a brief moment , but he offered a nod as she explained. “ Luke did have my last name. ” That one of his children did , it meant more than he had ever expected it to. He assumed their baby would take Amidala , to play it safe. Knowing Luke was a Skywalker , it was nice. “ If Luke felt you deserved the last name , I don’t have anything against it. ” He stood then , and offered a small smile. “ I don’t believe I’m in such a position I can be offended , anyways. ”

“Mhm. I saw yours in the comms. Lots of Skywalkers bumbling about. I mean, more than I expected. It’s not bad, though! Definitely not.” After all, there hadn’t been any left to complain when she’d initially claimed it. An odd, off-kilter feeling settled in her gut. She didn’t want to fight. She knew it would be hypocritical to given all she’d pursued the light buried in Ben. But that didn’t make it any less strange to be conversing someone that had, in his own future, been such a huge, towering figure of the dark side. And- someone that had known Palpatine.

(Cassandra Cain)

“Pigheadedness can get in the way of finding the right solution to the problem. Everyone wants to be right,” Betsy replied with a shrug and stuffed half of a cocktail shrimp into her mouth to chase the cheese. She wasn’t sure what it was exactly about the food, but she found she couldn’t put it down.

“Not on the ship, no, but I have a brother. A twin. We argued all the time growing up. Thankfully, I get to be the older one or we’d both be knee deep in some of his shenanigans right about now.” Not to mention stubborn. Brian had a hard time convincing her to do anything she didn’t want to do.

“You’ll have to introduce me. Perhaps I can be the mediator to your little squabbles.” She wrinkled her nose in amusement at the idea. Sibling squabbles always seemed to be the best.

Stubbornness, Cassandra understood, it afflicted them often enough. But the real goal was always learning and getting better, and to do those, they often needed to give up and listen, or watch. The only time they felt the need to be right was when rescuing people, which they felt was admirable enough. Not in arguments, not really. “Huh. I think doing what’s best for everyone is usually right. But things don’t always work out easy like that.”

when rey spoke up, it seemed to pull ellie out of her stupor. there was a slight raise of her brow in confusion, and she glanced to her plate to point at what she only assumed rey was talking about. “this? it’s fine, i guess.” she attempted to fall back into silence, since she didn’t entirely feel like keeping up a conversation, but there wasn’t much of a point.

about two minutes later, she ended up picking through her plate, and gently pushed it forwards. “if you want these, you can have them. i don’t think i’m gonna eat everything.” she was trying her best to be polite, it seemed, though there was a mannerism to her gestures that seemed clunky, almost robotic—as if she didn’t entirely know what she was doing. coupled with the sleepless nights and a lifelong intensity to always be rough, jagged, and tense in her bones, ellie didn’t quite know how to be gentle. to be comfortable.

Rey hummed, almost biting her lip in holding herself back from blurting out more. Inexperienced though she was with interacting with strangers, she could most certainly read a vibe, and this person’s was saying quiet. Rey, though, was anything but. “Just fine? There’s loads of food here, bet we could find something you’d say was good. It’s crazy there’s so much around in the first place, but maybe you’ll discover a favorite.” It probably read oddly to be so impassioned about food choice, but for most of her life she hadn’t had that, and this place really was bonkers.