far above the world

Darío shrugged, “I’m not sure. I would keep an eye on those that seem to be repeat costumers to those things. They might be feeling homesick and need someone to lean on.” He looked back to the machines, tilting his head a it, curiously looking it over. It was fascinating to him how everyone was so eager to get off earth, to leave it all behind, off for a brand new adventure with new things to try, only for them to suck themselves right out of the experience and quickly dive right back into it. He doesn’t think he’ll ever want it, though, because he truly couldn’t get far enough from earth. “Well,” he says, mostly thinking out loud, “I would be sucked in if they started offering concert experiences. That would be neat.”

"Well I'm sure they've got the staff looking out for things like that. If not - does this place have a suggestion box?" Bo asked, referring to the entire starship when he said 'this place'. "I'm no professional or anything," he was far from it, in fact, "but I think a suggestion box would be a good idea, and I think that suggesting people look out for the wellbeing of the people who spend a bit too much time in here is a good suggestion to make." Bo wasn't exactly the kind of person who looked out for others; of course, he cared for others, very much so in some cases, but it was more that Dario inspired the thoughts inside of his mind that caused him to say what he had.

His face lit up at the thought of concert experiences. "Oh surely they've thought of that!" There was a look nothing short of completely enthused as he thought of it. "Surely they've got a bunch of different experiences tucked away for special occasions, or for when we get bored of what we've already done a million times. I bet someone thought of that, they have to have."

The other guy was fine, in fact, the other guy was tucked away safely in a hypersleep pod. It felt nice to pretend for a moment, though, that he had done some damage in return. It also felt nice to hear that Dario believed him capable of that - even while he had no clue about the circumstances. "He definitely deserved it," he said as a way to conclude that part of the conversation, in order to get back to a more positive beat. "Hey, maybe you could even teach me a trick or two, help me work towards getting a license over on Mundus. At least we know I wouldn't get us hurt if I failed, right?" His suggestion was light-hearted, as was the laugh that followed it.

the plan really was that they would never see each other again. kermit had too much on earth to stay for, and len was in a position where he couldn't stay. kermit understood, he really did, but he would be lying if he said it didn't break his heart. things changed within a matter of days for kermit and he signed up last minute, now here he was. it seemed like the logical decision, to go where he knew only len could be.

staring at his partner, or ex-partner, whatever they were now, everything seemed alright with the world. it felt like this was where kermit was supposed to be, and like leaving earth was the right decision. he anguished over the choice he made every night on the ship so far, wondering if he had made a mistake. but right now, it seemed like the decision he made was the only option.

he takes a few steps towards len, lifting his hand to cup the other's cheek. "you really think i could stay away for long? you're my whole world, babe. no way i was leaving you behind." it was a partial truth, but in this moment, it was how he really felt.

Seeing Kermit on the starship raised what felt like a million questions all at once, all swirling intensely inside of Len's mind, but the most pressing feeling that Len felt upon meeting those familiar eyes was the feeling of relief. It was as if everything had so suddenly fallen into place, the missing piece of the puzzle bringing the perfect conclusion to the brilliant picture. Len had been struggling with the decision that he had made, but all of the many internal arguments he had had seemed to disappear without a trace now that Kermit was in front of him. It felt like this was exactly what was meant to happen, that this was exactly where he was meant to be, and that everything would now be okay.

It was overwhelming, but Len wouldn't have wanted to change a thing. He leant into Kermit's touch, and as he felt Kermit's skin against his own, he finally broke. The tears came hard and fast, but as did the giggles. They weren't tears of sadness, or devastation, or of anything of the likes; instead, they were tears of pure happiness.

Ever found the people on board positively fascinating, and while there were so many things to see and to do aboard the Pigeon, people watching had swiftly become her favourite activity. Perhaps it was part of her mission to find herself throughout the voyage, or perhaps it was because she was a journalist at heart; no matter what the reason, though, that was exactly how she found herself so entranced by the other's struggle with the robot dog.

“Believe it or not, I think it’s going to be the most earth like things. Walking around the stars is great, except there are stars all around us, but scuba diving? Driving? Now that’s…” he wagged his finger in the other guy’s direction, “that’s different. Suddenly we don’t have the luxury of getting in a car and taking off. There are no oceans out here, unlike on earth. And now, when we suddenly don’t have access to those very day things we used to, I think people will want them more. Either homesick or they will want something they can’t have.”

Bo nodded his head. He had thought as much, thought that the most popular simulations would likely end up being the experiences that everyone had just willingly left behind on Earth. "I wonder if that'll do us any good," he mused. "I wonder if it'll make people feel satisfied about their decision, or if it'll make 'em regret it." Bo was speaking as if he wasn't a passenger on the starship himself; it clearly hadn't hit him, not just yet, which made sense considering that he was a last minute sign up for the voyage.

kermit had...been avoiding len, to be completely honest. the pigeon had taken off only 6 days ago, and kermit could have talked to him by then. he knew that he wouldn't be able to avoid len forever, what with both of them working in the theatre. but, he just hadn't been able to get past his nerves. what does he say? how will len react? will len even be happy to see him? these questions and more echoed in his head.

people were still settling in on the pigeon, but operations had largely started. kermit had managed to narrowly avoid running into len on his first of work by hiding in the wings and other areas of backstage. sometimes, he'd catch a glimpse of the other man, and wonder how he was doing. but, today, he decided that he was finally going to approach len.

he fidgets with his sleeve with one hand as he walks towards him, pulse pounding in his ears from nerves. this is it, it was now or never. kermit does his best to smile, but it's more forced than genuine. "um...long time no see." he begins lamely, idly swinging his arms at his sides as if to dispel his anxiety

The choice to leave everything and everyone that he knew behind on Earth hadn't at all been an easy one to make, particularly not when it came to Kermit. Len had spent countless hours weighing up both the pros and cons in what had been a mentally exhausting process. Ultimately, as he had explained to Kermit, his partner at the time, Len had felt like he had a better chance at living a good - and a safe life - on Mundus Meus. He had cried more than he cared to admit upon leaving Kermit behind.

Len had been trying to live a good life aboard the starship no matter how broken his heart was, however. He expected that he would need an exorbitant amount of time to heal, but that everything would be okay in the end. The end wasn't near, but brief moments of happiness had still been awarded to Len in the waiting process. The theatre was where most of them took place; he felt so lucky to be able to hold onto his passions and his career, even while floating amongst the stars out there.

Some moments in the theatre, however, Len couldn't help but think of Kermit. He'd wonder what time it was down on Earth - were they still following the same time? - and he'd wonder if Kermit was in the wings of their old theatre alone. He couldn't stomach the thought of Kermit in the wings with someone else, but that thought crept up occasionally, too.

Len was looking particularly forlorn that day, funnily enough, thinking about Kermit. He was fiddling with an LED, readdressing it for the next show, when he looked up, and saw what he felt was as good as a ghost. He was completely speechless, standing there as still as a statue, the small screen on the back of the light blinking at him impatiently. Only when Kermit speak, was Len able to snap out of the trance.

"How likely do you think those two will make things on board interesting?" Nodding towards a couple, how they were making out in the hot tub overlooking the stars, before smirking at her acquaintance. "First, they introduced themselves to each other. They swam together, talking, laughter between them. Then, they started fighting over in the water park because that one—" she says, pointing to the tallest of the two, "looked at the lifeguard a second too long. Now, they're kissing and making up in the hot tub, which is definitely need to be disinfected after they're done. All within the past twenty minutes. Now, my theory is that they're already a couple, and taking advantage of this adventure to start a new life and have a little fun by pretending to not know each other. I work fast, but not that fast. What do you think? Already got your eye on anyone, or simply enjoying the beginning of our voyage among the stars?"

👽𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜: burcu yilmaz & up to player ( @pigeonstart )

🧑‍🚀𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗: the acquatic centre

Gideon had been trying to ignore the pair. Love, intimacy, and anything of the likes was a particularly sensitive subject for him at the moment, but he knew that he couldn't run away from it, not when it was such a fundamental part of not only life, but of literature, which was en enormous part of his own life. He wasn't at the acquatic centre with the intent of undergoing some type of exposure therapy, however. Instead, he had pried his eyes away from a book, and he had thought that it might be more healthy to spend time anywhere other than his own living quarters on the ship.

His stomach dropped at the mention of the couple, though he assumed that his company was nothing short of well intentioned. "I could see that," he finally spoke up, only at the suggestion that they might have already been a couple. "Did you read over the regulations for couples on board?" He questioned, thinking back to the section in the application about how couples who weren't engaged, married, or otherwise legally binding had to undergo extra steps to their application in order to apply to board together. "Perhaps they lied and said that they were single, and are pretending to have made a match on board." Gideon took a beat, contemplating the pair. "It feels like there's more there than a quick connection between strangers."

"Did you ever imagine this? Growing up?" Ora stocked up some records before glancing over. It was weird: going to work, as if in any other regular place... Yet if you looked out any window, there was stars. There were planets. "Y'know, when I was a kid, I had a dream where I was lying on a planet, yet there were stars and planets all around me. I was reclining back, just like I would under a tree, but there was no gravity. No spacesuit to keep me safe. Just space, and I could bounce from planet to planet if I wanted to. This feels pretty close to that. It's... surreal. Like any moment, I'll wake up in my shitty bedroom, hearing my shitty roommates throughout our shitty house, ready to tackle Toronto for the day."

👽𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜: morgan "ora" hotchner & up to player ( @pigeonstart )

🧑‍🚀𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗: turntable express

"I never imagined anything like this, that's for sure," Ever admitted, feeling somewhat embarrassed over her inner monologue, for no good reason at all. Ever, having previously been a Mormon - for most of her life, too - had only engaged in cosmic dreamings when they were related to the afterlife, to put it plainly. It didn't exactly feel like the best time to get into all of that, however.

"How ready are you to fuck an alien?" Their grin grew mischievous. "I'm just saying: a lot could happen in the next twenty to twenty-five years before we get there! What if these Cosmo thingamajigs are genetically mutating us, slowing our physical ages to make us live longer and look like we're ten, fifteen years younger than our biological age? What if aliens also move to Mundus Meus, causing us to co-live with them? Do you think they could be homogeneous or diverse, just like humans? What if we could procreate with them? What do you think a human-alien hybrid baby would look like? Ugly-cute or cute-cute or ugly-ugly-but-in-a-cute-way?"

👽𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜: iris clover & up to player ( @pigeonstart )

🧑‍🚀𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗: space gamers

Bo's laughter came out with a loud snort. Their question was just about the last question that he would have expected to come from them, in all honesty. The voyage had only just begun, and already people were talking about getting intimate with aliens? Bo hated the fact that he didn't hate the question, but that type of self-hatred brought him an incredible amount of amusement.