[OPEN] mingle time for your starstruck pals

[theroadwarrior]

 Who: Starstruck crew and visitors.
Broadcast: None.
Action: The Starstruck!!!
When: January, all throughout!

[Just your usual mingle, folks, don't mind us. Yes I used the dorkiest icon I had for it.]

Comments

OTA | CW for some gore in a dream sequence, we need more of those bad boys.

[theroadwarrior]

A.) BOW-WOW.

Easy enough today - give the dog a bath. Easier said than done. Rock the dog has never had a proper bath, and while Max has learned at least a semi-decent bathing schedule, Rock is not so keen to do the same. You may find a soaking wet dog hobbling through the ship on his bum leg, moving surprisingly fast for his age.

And trailing behind him with a towel and a mild scowl is Max.

... Well, it's not like he can't relate to Rock's desire to flee from a situation.

But he'd really prefer it not involve him.

Look out for water on the ground, guys.

B.) GOODBYE. | future-dated to Ahsoka's departure

Max is working on repairing one of the wheels of the shuttle from where it had skimmed a icy point down on the planet; he had a fondness for travelling around down there, but with unpredictable terrain it was easy o get a little bit of damage. Clearing the ice away and repairing the dented metal is easy enough, soothing enough.

But Max is still troubled, regardless.

If you're visiting, he may break the silence with unfortunate news.

"Ahsoka's left."

And it... doesn't upset him terribly, per se. He knows how important being able to let go of familiar faces is. It's important to know how to say goodbye, even when a goodbye isn't possible in the wake of how people up and vanish. He's dealt with other crew members leaving, too. FDR, for example. Ahsoka, though, leaves him in a bit of a solemn mood.

Just one way the crew's changed him (and he's not sure how to handle that).

He's not upset.

But he's not happy at all.

It makes him rather restless this week, too.

C.) (UN)SWEET DREAMS.

Have you ever been too close to Max when he has nightmares? Some know not to interrupt him while he slumbers. He's found a little resting spot in the shuttle where he often kicks up his feet and sleeps. Today, it's particularly bad, however - night terrors are not new to him, but sometimes they're fierce and unrelenting and he's at the mercy of it. His arms twitch and his expression pulls into a grimace. Sweat beads on his brow.

He whimpers, a coarse sound, buried in sand. Twitches. Flinches. His eyes dart behind his eyes. Heartbeat pitter-patters wildly. The kid he'd returned to her family waves at him from beyond the sand dunes, and he screams at her not to stay there, but his voice won't carry, won't even leave his throat. The buzzards drive so fast - they're coming and they're going to run her down.

Mr. Survivalist, you really must stop causing such a commotion, Peggy says, hands on her hips. She looks very much dead, a fist-sized hole in her skull as she addresses him. Other members of the Starstruck linger in the distance, equally worse for wear. He tries to move toward the kid anyway because someone has to make it out of this, but his feet sink with every step. Dry quick-sand, radioactive and sucking, pulling him down deep. His feet touch arms and legs under the earth.

Grab him, he hears rough men say. Hands grab him and his arms and legs darken purple under their palms, blood collecting hot under the skin.

Anyone who attempts to snap Max out of his terrible dream will be in for a terrible surprise. Probably in the form of Max's fist flying at them, accompanied by a feral and desperate yell of escape.

[mucked]

[ she knows she knows better. she really does. peggy knows from experience earned long before meeting max that shifting a man in the middle of his night-terrors is asking for trouble. but she's just retreated from the punching bag -- loose hair and sweat on her skin. she can hear him from outside the shuttle. ]

Max? [ she speaks his name with more comfort than she used to. like she maybe might even know him, now, and treasure his name because of it. peggy ducks her head and enters the shuttle. she takes a seat on the passenger's side -- canting her upper-body back against the chair. her muscles are all alive and aching after her workout. she takes a moment; waits; wonders if he'll settle.

when he doesn't, she proceeds gently. more like a fellow soldier than anything else, she presses her palm gingerly against the top of his head. the way she'd seen the commandos do when knocking their fellows' helmets in careful congratulations. ] Max. It's time to wake up.

[ she knows she risks his instincts when she does this but -- damn, this dream seems (from the outside) to be particularly bad. ]

[theroadwarrior]

[Max's eyes snap open after a terrible rasping gasp, like she might as well have burned him with her touch - moments after she puts a hand to his head the panic stumbles in and he's moving before he's even really awake. One fist swings wildly, the muscles taut and fear flashing in his distant eyes. He's still not awake. He's fighting - not Peggy, but he's fighting, and Peggy's face is right in the way of that fight - no, that flight. He just wants to escape whatever dark place is pulling him in.

The growl is for show; it's threadbare defiance or perhaps a sad attempt to chase away the terror that is clearly coiled up all around him. Whatever happened in his dream wasn't pleasant; a jagged tear dashed across his cheekbone. Loss, bitter terrible loss that is both destructive and inescapable. Somewhere in his head, he's living it and there's a little girl who is crushed and discarded in the sand, and if Max weren't fighting the enemy he could have given her a fair burial -

Peggy just better be ready for more than one wild swing if she doesn't act against the first.

After all, he's good at struggling.]

Bow-Wow

[kill_switch]

[Furiosa still comes around about once a week to ensure Max has an actual meal, bringing over simple things that aren't protein paste; meat bartered and bought from waypoints and planets, fruits and vegetables grown on her own ship or from the Iskaulet.]

[She's making her way to the shuttle she knows Max likes to nap in, when she hears the skittering of nails and a wet cur goes hobbling by her followed by a scowling Max.]

Need any help there, Fool?

[theroadwarrior]

[The look he gives her is so very deadpan, pointing at the vanishing mutt.]

He's worse than me.

[And he's leaving water everywhere.

This is what I get for trying to be a decent pet owner.]

A) Doggy bathing time!

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[Near the top of her list of people Wanda wanted to see now that her memories had returned (almost entirely) was Max. She had not spoken with him in what seemed like forever, and she wanted to try and possibly explain her weird behavior the past three weeks or so. She doesn't have to look for too long, the soggy, hobbling dog and his scowlly faced towel bearer are easy to spot bumbling down the hall after each other.]

[Wanda puts herself in front of them, dropping down to rest on her knees to reign in Rock -- keep him mollified with some good 'ol behind the ear scratches she now remembers he loves so much -- and allow Max to catch up to the three-legged canine.]

Who's a good boy? Huh? [She giggles as Rock attempts to shake himself dry, splattering Wanda with water.] Good to see you too, Rock.

[Her smile dips a little as she looks up from the dog to his owner. She's not really sure how much Max has known about what's been going with her. Hell, she's having a hard time remembering exactly what the last thing they talked about even was.]

Hello, Max.

[theroadwarrior]

[Max admittedly had been more determined to give Wanda room than anything. After all, he knows what it's like, to have your memories messed around with. She hadn't been herself - and Max respected that, let her handle it. Not that he didn't have his concerns; lord knows this crew is ruining him. When he sees her, he's unsure how to approach, but she makes it infinitely easier to do so.

Even if his name is still so, so strange falling out of anyone's mouth.

Rock is more than content, grumpy old mutt that he is, with using Wanda as a means to evade Max's grasp. He surrenders, for the moment.]

... You doing, nnm. Better?

[He figures she'll get the idea why he's asking.]

b

[willynilly]

[Ochako admittedly didn't know Ahsoka well - too little too late for regrets, there, but she regrets it nonetheless - but it's hard to lose a familiar face around what's more or less become your home. With Max, who is usually so gruff and hard to ruffle, to be restless and even more disgruntled, is telling enough that at some point she gives a knock to his door, a little decorated box in one hand and a teapot in the other.]

Umm, Mr. Max? Can I come in?

[theroadwarrior]

[Max is generally surprised by any visiting company; his room is generally empty and unused, but she'll find that his room is, really, just him cooping himself up in the shuttle. He's slept there in the damn thing since practically day one, and though it's scarce of anything personal, it's always well-stocked and fitted with supplies in case of emergencies.

... Oh.

He blinks down at the box first. Like it just magically visited him on its own.

Teapot next. Ochako's face third.]

Um.

[He's. Not a fan of visitors. But since this is a crewmate... Well.

He steps aside for her to enter. He's having a hard time considering she might want to actually visit him of all people. Peggy and the others are far more enjoyable company to keep, child.]

ota.

[mucked]

[ it's been a busy few weeks for the starstruck. high highs and low lows. your captain has decided to cope with these vacillations by finding work in every corner. work, some might say, that doesn't quite exist. careful. she might rope you into it.

( inventory ) -- apart from crew quarters, peggy has started to systematically check through each room on the starstruck. she begins with the kitchen, hauling items out of cupboards and from the freezer. since losing their cook, she knows it falls on all their shoulders to make certain they have an appropriate amount of supplies on hand. her system is twofold: for now, she plans to make a hard copy of what's in stock -- but she also has her christmas gift from winn on hand (a little handwritten journal filled with how-tos for basic computer programming) to help her envision how she might implement a simple stocking program. this continues throughout the ship, and if she catches any idle crew she might try and recruit them: oi, does that tin have pears or peaches in?; didn't we once have a set of seven-pound weights in the recreation area -- where the devil are they?; i'm counting medkits, so have you got any stashed in your room?

( new year's resolutions ) -- not long ago, she had a bit of a playful tussle with steve in the gym-area of the shuttle bay. there was no bloody way peggy ever anticipated winning against steve with his enhancements, but flexing her ordinary strength against his extra-ordinariness certainly put certain things in perspective. she needs to be better. especially since she's fallen out of old habits; she hasn't been training, lately. that changes with the new year. peggy wakes up early and hits the treadmill for a short burst of cardio before heading over to the punching bag. her punching bag, practically, although everyone but steve is free to use. heaven help them if they should split it without replacing it. peggy ends these sessions drenched in sweat -- from her not-yet-curled hair down to the simple cotton shirt. if anyone else is awake on the starstruck (or visiting) they might catch her without her war-paint.

( first mate wanted ) -- ahsoka's gone. that means the starstruck is lacking in a first mate, and peggy is at a crossroads with where to take her decision. in theory, it needn't be her decision at all. but she hasn't felt any push-back from the crew about her choices thus far. the vacancy weighs heavily on her mind, and -- when she's not working too hard in every other corner of the ship -- she can be found scouring the fixtures in ahsoka's old room. by whatever grace the atroma allows, the place is already spotless. yet here she is, cleaning it anyway. ]

Inventory

[kill_switch]

[Furiosa still comes around about once a week to check in on Max, bring him a meal, leave him some assorted foodstuffs, make sure he's doing alright. She's stopping in the kitchen to stash a couple containers marked with MAX in big black letters. She stops in the doorway, seeing Peggy admist all of the tins and boxes.]

Am I coming at a bad time?

[mucked]

[ she's on the floor -- reaching into the back of a floor cupboard. but at the sound of furiosa's voice, peggy grips the counter's edge and finds her feet. she looks well enough, except for the split brow on one side of her face. it's been perfunctorily bandaged, but the bloom of an initial bruise is beginning to rim her eye. ]

No. Not a bad time -- merely a busy one. [ peggy nods at the containers. ] The usual care package?

Action; Ahsoka's room

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[Wanda hadn't seen Peggy in a little while, but it's only now that her memories have returned (at least almost entirely) that she's become aware of this. She decides to try and pay Peggy a visit as well as the other members of the Starstruck crew that she hasn't seen in a while. She finds Peggy cleaning an empty bunk room which already seemed spotless to Wanda's eyes. It takes her a second, standing in the doorway and surveying the room, to realize -- Ahsoka had gone home.]

[She takes another second to swallow that particular bit of regret, and then softly knocks on the inside of the open doorway. Her body weight leaning up against the opposite side of the door-frame. She tries to seem as calm and nonchalant as she can. Not sure how Peggy is currently feeling about things, or how much she knows about what had been going on with Wanda.]

[mucked]

-- Ship's starting to feel a bit emptier, isn't it?

[ peggy retreats from her 'work' and turns to face wanda. she hasn't bothered doing much to conceal a nasty, blooming bruise on her temple. but nor does she seem too hampered by it -- after all she meets the young woman with crooked (albeit rueful) smile.

she intends to be gentle, knowing what she knows about wanda's current state of flux. ]

» inventory

[uprightness]

[ some days are rather simple; predictable, even. in the wake of new memories, Steve welcomes this sense of routine. there's still a bit of trouble; he's keeping close tabs of the shifts in the clouds around the nebula, but until now, everything seems stable.

he's reaching for a top shelf for something, sugar for his coffee, perhaps when the question comes. turning to her, he's already in the middle of an answer, ]

I think it's peaches, or something pretending to be -

[ and then, a pause and a frown and the thoughts of canned food disappear entirely because, ]

what the hell happened?

[ the what is actually quite clear, a punch to the face. the why is what matters, really. ]

[mucked]

[ perhaps she should have warned him. messaged him, earlier, to prime him for the shock of her brow split and the flesh around her eye just now beginning to change colour. peggy turns on a heel and couches her palms against her hips. ]

A misunderstanding. What happened was a misunderstanding -- nothing more. [ an edge of conciliation finds its way into her voice. uncharacteristic, maybe, but she can anticipate the upcoming battle. ] And it wasn't undeserved.

[ ota ]

[shamisens]

[ 1. ]

[ Kubo quietly slipped through the corridors of the ship, taking in all the sights. It was different from the Marsiva, after all. According to the Fleet, this was his ship. Not that Kubo quite knew what he was supposed to do.

Which is why he blinked and found himself near the cockpit. Looking at all the buttons. ]

Woah . . .

[ Dare he press all of them? ]

[ 2. ]

[ Even though the kitchen was something Kubo had never seen or had much real experience with, it was easy enough to navigate. He tried all the appliances, turning them on and off as new knowledge filtered through his head. Satisfied, Kubo leaned over the counter to get himself some rice. He fills out one bowl and nearly fills out another before he realizes his mistake.

His expression flickers before he puts it away. There was no need for making two meals a day anymore. ]

[ 3. ] [ wildcard. ]

1.

[mucked]

[ perhaps kubo has witnessed the captain striding through the ship before -- or else, perhaps, this is his first exposure to the dark-haired woman and the sound of her well-heeled shoes thudding against the floor of the starstruck's bridge. either way, she's here now. a brief smile before she pauses by a console. ]

Careful. [ there is just enough sweetness in her voice to suggest she might be teasing. ] You wouldn't want to accidentally blow us out the airlocks.

[ hello, fresh meat. ]

[shamisens]

[ Instinctively, he pulls back with a gulp. ]

Can it do that?

[3]

[kill_switch]

[Furiosa is there often enough, it's only a matter of time before she runs into her friends' new crewmate. Passing him in the corridor, she spares a moment to stop and say hello.]

[Visually, her expression has grown less harsh in her year here, and she no longer wears the black grease of an Imperator. Her prosthetic is new; a shiny, chrome resemblance of a human left arm from just past the elbow down.]

Hey, you new to the Fleet?

[shamisens]

[ Kubo stares at the metal arm because he's never seen anything like it before. It takes him a few moments to snap back into attention. ]

Yeah. My name is Kubo.

[2]

[theroadwarrior]

[Hey, look, it's a dog! No, not Max, but Rock. The old mutt limps through the kitchen right past Kubo, toward a small foodbowl left for him; his owner comes hobbling in after him, smudged in black grease and hair askew, smelling of mechanical parts.

Ah. He looks over, glances at the two bowls, glances at Kubo with that surly sort of expression. Hardly a welcoming sort of guy, but he does try — and it helps that this is pretty much a kid in the wake of adults. Peggy'll kill him if he's rude to a new fleet-member who is also a child, lbr.]

... New?

[shamisens]

[ Dog!! His attention is completely on it before he snaps back to Max. ]

Yeah. I'm your new cook. I'm Kubo.

Wanda | OTA

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[Since regaining her memories during her interaction with Steve, it's taken Wanda a little bit of time to process everything, sort through it all, and get herself mentally back in line. Thus, she's been fairly quiet on the ship of late. However, this has not been especially new behavior for her this past month given the memory loss glitch. Still, she's trying to make a point of walking around the ship and touching base with each of her shipmates. Thus, Feel free to bump into Wanda wherever you so desire aboard the Starstruck.]

[Alternatively, Wanda can always be easily found in her room. There, she'll be sorting over the various items and pieces of clothing that she's picked up during her time in the fleet. While they had once each been a large source of confusion to her, she was now going over each one, trying to verify that she now remembers it all. Any visitors will notice that there does seem to be one item noticeably set aside, kept separate from everything else -- a camera. The camera some might recognize as the one that belonged to Vision.]

just prior to drift week

[lord_wizard]

[Once news of the blips start to make the rounds on the network, Felix makes an immediate visit to his old ship to see to the wards he'd left in place there. The sense of responsibility for the crew lingered despite the fact that he'd left them behind, and thus the wizard flies a shuttle over and invites himself in without any warning or announcement.

After connecting with the ship, he immediately makes for the kitchen and the softly glowing centerpiece he'd left behind. There isn't much ceremony to what comes next - merely hands laid on the surface of the stone, his eyes closed, and a wordless few moments later a tiny pulse of energy within the statue.

He feels infinitely better once the spell has been reinforced, and lets out a quiet sigh as he draws back his hands]