Lydia Seong

At this point it had been thirty-three years since she had started training formally, though she did have some experience prior to that as well, much of it self-guided. “A few decades,” Gwen answered, because she didn’t mind answering this - but for the most part she preferred to avoid specifics. At Lydia’s next question though, Gwen almost found herself thinking that it wouldn’t matter how good Lydia turned out to be at self defense if she would have to deal with a deluge like this every time she engaged her in conversation. She was fine though; she’d committed to this and she would do it. “I don’t brood,” she answered calmly. Mostly calmly anyway; some defensiveness did creep into her tone. “I have a variety of interests.” Many of which pertained to training in some way, but she didn’t feel like elaborating on her answer to a question that she felt had been an attack- so she redirected. “What do you do for fun, besides training and asking people questions unprompted?” It was fine if Gwen asked a question, of course, since she was more or less just repeating back the question Lydia had asked her in the first place.

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Ryder blushed from all the compliments and special attention, ducking their head to focus on the painting and to hide the flush on their face. “As Robin’s twin, I don’t endorse that statement, but thank you,” they laughed quietly as they painted Lydia’s hair. Ryder would hope they were Lydia’s favorite, since they worked so closely with her, but they still felt the need to defend Robin’s honor out of loyalty. He nodded in agreement about cooking. They did all need to eat, and it would be nice to be able to fend for himself better, but it just seemed like there was a lot of opportunities to mess it up–like starting a fire. 

Ryder didn’t want to be conservative or a prude. They didn’t know why talking about certain things made them so uncomfortable. A lot of things made them uncomfortable, so they were pretty sure it was just ingrained in their personality. Part of being painfully shy. “I should probably be better about talking about that as a medic,” they said wearily. Their crew was supposed to be able to come to them for all kinds of health concerns, and Ryder could barely say “condom” without choking on the word. Pathetic. “I will,” Ryder promised, even though they probably wouldn’t. Lydia assured him she didn’t take things personally, but they would still be afraid to hurt her feelings. “I need to be better about it anyway though. I can’t…seduce a cute guy if I also act like a blushing virgin all the time.” 

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“Yeah, exactly. That’s kind of what happened with English. It’s a Germanic language, so it shares a lot of words with German and even French and Spanish,” Ali explained. He was definitely in his element with this conversation. He was fascinated by language, and loved to study it and learn new ones. He didn’t think he’d ever stop trying to learn new ones, he just might expand to some space ones.  “I think it’ll take a lot more than just getting over it, but hopefully one day,” Ali shrugged. Earth definitely had it’s big conflicts, and he was sure other planets had that too, so it would be interesting to find out. “That’s true. America is like entertainment central,” he nodded. That did mean things like Jersey Shore, but he couldn’t deny it was pretty iconic. “Well, you’re probably the nicest surgeon I ever met. Now that we’re moving, I’m probably going to walk Ellie around. Wanna join?”

Since Blue’s current living arrangements at the palace for the past month included a Lydia rooming with them, sometimes it just made sense to go together from their room to whatever whim either of them had.  Since Blue had her mind sort of set on figuring out the blonde hair situation, Lydia was dragged along on her errand.  Luckily, she didn’t seem to mind.  They nodded at Lydia’s theory.  “It definitely is–not a language I know, though,” Blue switched her current one out for the new one and powered it on at Lydia’s suggestion.  Immediately, the interface looked complicated, looking like it needed quite a bit of setup for the customization.  “Mmmm.  Not sure if they want me to be messing with this too much before I buy it.”  They read the label and–ah.  “There’s the snag.  No touch-interface.  I don’t know, Lyd, it might be a little jarring for someone to touch me and I feel like this,” they held up their arm to display very textured black, white, and turquoise skin.

Blue was a fun roommate have. While they did have some Kdrama marathons in her pod every now and then, it was different when they actually shared a normal sized room especially once with a burning lady. She felt like if she ever had to decorate her own room, that would have been the way to go. She had grown up sharing a room with her moms and even when she was in medschool, she had a roommate as well. It was nice to live with someone else again even if it was jsut for a little while. She quite liked the company. The Laykul really did a good job on the ambience and decorations. “Same. It sounds really cool though,” she said with a smile. “Hmm, I think you have very nice skin, Blue,” she said, reaching over and stroking their arm. “But it’s up to you if that’s a deal breaker for you. You really shouldn’t worry about what other people think.”

It was good to hear that the ship’s surgeon took her job seriously enough to stay in good shape so as to maintain the stamina needed to perform her duties effectively. She still wasn’t quite convinced of Ryder’s capabilities as a medic, but she supposed that if only one of the ship’s medical staff was reliable she would want it to be the surgeon anyway. Not that she’d made that determination of Lydia just yet. “Get your things,” Gwen agreed, and she started walking. She did want to lead the way, yes, but she didn’t want to say she wanted to lead the way - it sounded childish, so she just went ahead and did it without saying anything.

Lydia nodded and scurried to gather her things and catch up to Gwen. She smiled excitedly as she stuffed her things in her bag as she walked. “How long have you been training for in general, if you don’t mind me asking? It seems like you’ve been doing this a long time,” she mused as she walked behind her, just lagging behind by her heels. “Also, you’re awfully quiet. What do you do for fun other than train and brood all the time?” She asked.

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Ryder knew that both Salem and Lydia were working with Al to learn more recipes. Salem made Robin Korean fried chicken after asking them what Robin’s favorite food was, and they made both him and Robin seawood soup for their birthday. It was honestly impressive, and maybe Ryder should make an effort to join them. It was easy to fall back on the fact that Al could just cook for them. “Yummy,” Ryder hummed. “That seaweed soup for our birthday was really good. Maybe I’ll actually join you in cooking lessons one day. I have to learn how to feed myself eventually.” Whenever Lydia or Kryss said something that made him flustered, he usually just reacted and then tried to change the subject. For some reason, he didn’t realize it was as easy as just telling Lydia it made them uncomfortable, but she reacted well to it, which was a relief. They would hate to hurt her feelings. “I know I’m not supposed to be ashamed about it,” Ryder sighed. Ali definitely said it enough during sex-ed, and everyone else tried to drill it into them too, but that didn’t make him feel less embarrassed. If anything, they felt more embarrassed. “I guess I just feel singled out sometimes. Like–when Daphne recommended I do the sex-ed classes. I know I don’t have a lot of experience, but it’s hard to get it when we’re traveling with the same people so much. Thanks for listening.”

“Really? I’m glad to hear it! I really wanted to make your birthday special because you’re such a good friend, and you deserve all the best. It goes without saying that I love Robin too, but you already know you’re my favorite,” she said, waving a hand dismissively. “I think cooking is a good skill to have because we all need to eat anything,” she said, agreeing with them. While she was eager to find someone for Ryder, she never wanted to make them uncomfortable. She just wasn’t good at being to tell when they didn’t tell her exactly how they were feeling. She always had trouble reading in between the lines. “While I don’t really get that, I know some people aren’t really comfortable talking about it. I mean, I met a few conservative people in med school where you’re not really suppose to have a filter when you talk about genitals or weird procedures. To each their own, you know? I can totally respect that!” She said. “Of course! I’m always here for you. Just let me know when I go too far, and I can totally back off. I’m not one to take these things personally, and I’d much rather you be honest with me at all times, if possible.”

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“Yeah, that’s true. Once you find the common words between languages, it makes them a lot easier to learn,” Ali said. He also just had a natural affinity for languages. It was just something he always got. Living all around the world and his long life-span helped a lot too, but he might still struggle to remember some of the ones he learned without practice. That wasn’t a problem for him though. “Yeah, it’s still very much a thing,” Ali grimaced. He wasn’t sure how much he should get into that conflict right now, but he was the earth expert, so his job was to answer questions about Earth. “They’re still technically  at war, and you can’t really visit without special permission from the government,” he explained. He never saw the show Lydia mentioned, so he couldn’t comment on that. “Yeah, they’re really doing them right. The ones in America aren’t nearly as good,” he snorted. When Lydia asked how he was feeling, he realized he was pretty much completely better now, no longer worried about hurtling into space. “I think I’ll live, Doctor,” he joked. “Thanks for distracting me.”

“It’s so cool how languages work like that. It takes from different cultures as more people learn and add to it. Like even though at some point, they didn’t have translators or something yet, they still found a way to communicate and maybe even form new languages along the way,” she mused. It had been easy for Lydia to pick up on a few Krayshan languages seeing as how she had learn them when she was very young, so it had been easier for her to learn them. “Oh, that’s wild. It’s been a while since they’ve been like that, huh? I wonder when they’ll get over it,” she said thoughtfully. “What Americans do get right is good music and reality tv,” she said with a laugh. “Always happy to help! Comes with the job description,” she said with a smile as she patted his head affectionately. 

(open starter)

Blue was as serious as they could be about deciding that they wanted to go blonde.  The only issue was that instead of popping out and buying hair dye like any other species that actually had hair to speak of, this involved a lengthier process of actually upgrading their sformer so that it wouldn’t default to the dark brown.  Their trusty Iselg Donatello they’d saved up for a couple years ago ran great, and so Blue wouldn’t be doing anything if this involved a downgrade of any sort.  Their eyes scanned the selection of devices in the technology room, wondering when they came out with new ones.  “Clfoogk?”  They read aloud, more than a bit lost.  “Now they’re just making things up.”

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Lydia’s family was so big compared to Ryder’s that it was sometimes hard for them to keep track. She had twin hybrid step-siblings, which was always interesting to Ryder, because while they were growing, they were still pretty rare. Meanwhile, their own family was just his parents and Robin. A small family, but their mother had a big enough presence that she felt like three people in one. A family of four was fine with Ryder. “Which ones did he teach you? I’m still pretty bad in the kitchen. Teaching us how to cook wasn’t really a priority growing up,” Ryder laughed lightly. Lydia had a good point. Ryder probably needed more people in their life who encouraged them to break out of their comfort zone. Kryss was also good at doing that, even if she almost gave them a heart attack on a daily basis. Ryder didn’t think they could stop her from overstepping though. “We’re a good pair,” they nodded in agreement with a grin. “If you do find someone for me to hook up with, I just don’t want to talk about all the details in our group chat. Everyone thought I was a virgin until recently, because I like to keep those things to myself.” 

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“No, definitely not,” Ali shook his head with a laugh. “I’d be fluent by now if it was. My first language is Gevit. But yeah, I’ve been to South Korea. Not for as long as I would’ve liked, but yeah, it’s really cool. Their convenient stores are like five star restaurants compared to American ones.” That was such a small thing to get caught up on, but Ali will never forget the first time he went inside for some snacks. He didn’t really watch Kdramas, so he couldn’t confirm or deny that part. “I’ll take any and all books. They’re the best ways to learn.”

It was a good enough idea to spar with Lydia to get a sense for where the human was at when it came to self defense and physical offense, in case there was any worthwhile skill there. Still, that didn’t stop Gwen from instantly regretting what she’d agreed to when Lydia came at her suddenly. She dodged, instinctively ready to fight - it wasn’t that kind of approach though, so she refrained and stayed at a safe distance instead, not reacting to Lydia’s apology. She was absolutely going to judge the human’s skill level regardless of the request not to - what was the point of sparring at this juncture if not to assess? “I understand that staying fighting fit isn’t part of your job description,” she acknowledged. “We can go now,” she decided - she’d been about to get going on the next machine, but she’d prefer to get this over with.

“Oh, uhm, things. If you want this space, I can go away. I just- I like books. And reading. And reading books. I know that not everything that we read is a book. I’m less interested in reading traffic signs than books,” Stella said, completely aware that this was not anything normal to state. “Do… you read a lot of traffic signs? They don’t have any here. Do you want to talk about what you’re reading that probably isn’t a traffic sign?” Oh, this wasn’t going well.

"No, you're alright. I like your company. You are good people. I like reading too. That's why I'm here. I haven't read any traffic signs in a few years, so I think I'm a little rusty with what some of them mean. Do you think they might have books here about traffic signs?" She asked with a smile. "Oh, I was collecting books on Laykul culture, anatomy, physiology and diseases. Do you want to read those with me? If not, we can talk about traffic signs while I collect books. I've got a stack going on the table over there," she said, gesturing over to her table. "We can share a table if you want!"

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“That’s what I was thinking, but I’d still pick my dad’s cooking,” Ryder said loyally. He went back to his painting of Lydia, filling in her outline with paint. Ryder bit their lip in thought. They could use a distraction, because they had a lot on their mind lately, and almost none of it was good. Their talk about their mom and all the memories that brought up, plus this weird feeling of isolation was really weighing them down. Ryder didn’t think it was too obvious to the others. By now, they were pretty good at acting normal even when they weren’t feeling it. They could be wrong though, they were before. “We’re the opposite,” Ryder laughed softly. “Sometimes I feel like I’m too hyperaware of what everyone is thinking or feeling, and it makes me assume the wrong thing,” he explained. “I just don’t like feeling embarrassed or scared, and I feel both really easily.”

“Understandable. I’m the same way with my stepdad’s cooking. There’s just nothing like it, you know? I didn’t really grow up with him for the most part, but there’s just something so comforting about his food. He was nice enough to teach me about a few of his secret recipes, and I think I’m pretty much set for life,” she said with a giggle. She watched as Ryder focused on their painting. She supposed painting and surgeries were two different but also quite similar artforms. They both required a lot of patience and concentration, and both processes were very delicate. “I suppose that’s why we’re besties, I guess. We keep each others in check. I find ways to help you chill out, and you tell me when I’ve gone too far or am overstepping,” she said. 

“I’m not sure if that’s how it works,” Robin said, sort of wishing that was how it worked, but in reverse.  He did know what DDR was, based on his knowledge of earth pop culture his dad showed him and from various movies, but he’d never actually tried it for himself.  His mind thought about him and Lydia potentially getting as good as Scott Pilgrim and Knives Chau, but Robin was himself, and didn’t particularly see this going well.  “Okay.  Matching a beat, fun, cardio, sounds good to me,” this didn’t sound good to him.  He stood up onto the machine, fully willing to take advantage of Lydia saying he could pick the song, but he didn’t recognize any of them as he went through the selection.  “I give up,” Robin laughed.  “What’s a good song to use?”

“Sure it does. Dizygotic twins share about 50% of DNA, so you’re both technically half the same person, you know?” She said with an excited smile. Lydia had played this game a few times whenever she’d find the machines at different arcades. She didn’t have much practice with it, but she’d played Guitar Hero too, and she felt like that might give her a bit of an advantage. They kind of had the same idea of bopping to to the beat to a certain degree. “Exactly! I knew you might like it,” she said as she got on the other side of the machine. She pursed her lips as she scanned through the selection. “How about ‘Dance Dance’ by Fall Out Boy?”

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“Yeah, that’s a good idea, especially if there’s a lot of interest in it. I was thinking of offering language classes to everyone, and I guess I know my first language now,” he said. It would give him a chance to improve too. He didn’t expect Korean to be the high demand language in space, but he was pleasantly surprised. He was just glad he could still use his skills, even though he assumed a lot of these planets didn’t speak the languages he knew. “Huh. Interesting,” Ali commented, brows furrowed in thought. “I guess I still have a lot to learn about the different planets. Maybe Salem could tell me more if he’s comfortable with it.” It sounded like a sensitive subject, even if the vanneer wasn’t alive for it, so he wouldn’t push. 

“Oh, was Korean your first language?” She asked, completely misunderstanding the statement. While she didn’t know Ali all that well, she had a vague idea that he grew up on Earth. She just wasn’t sure where exactly he had been and how long he stayed in certain areas. “Have you ever been to Korea? Is it as cool as all the Korean dramas make it out to be?” She asked excitedly. Her parents never really talked about that place, and she was never really at a liberty to ask. While most topics were fair game in their family, there was just something about Earth that made it a bit off limits, or at the very least she’d get vague answers from them. “Hmm, maybe. I have some books about it too if you want to read about it.”