ship mingle: february is for starstruckers.

[mucked]

Who: Crew of the Starstruck
Broadcast: N/A
Action: Y, aboard the ship
When: All month

[ welcome to february. y'all know the drill. ]

Comments

[shamisens]

[ It takes him a few weeks but Kubo finally manages to settle into a routine much like the one he had at home. He wakes up just before dawn before heading down to the kitchen and turning on the stove. Kubo managed to purchase a few cans of baked beans and other food supplies from the planet which he stores in the cupboards above (and some he left for Max outside his door as thanks).

Otherwise he wanders around the ship, exploring places he hasn't seen before. One of the storage spaces becomes a tiny area for origami animals propped up in a row. You could even catch him poking at the droids and giggling as they beep at him. ]

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[As Kubo places a new folded origami creation among the collection already amassed in one of the ship's storage spaces, he'll hear a voice from behind him.]

Ah, so you are the one behind the little critters.

[Turning around, Kubo will find Wanda leaning against an open door opposite from Kubo. She smiles, seeming friendly enough despite her possibly accusatory greeting.]

I was wondering where they were coming from.

[shamisens]

[ Kubo whips his hand away, startled before he calms down. ]

I can move them if you want.

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[Wanda giggles softly at his reaction. She always did seem to have a snack for sneaking up on people. Naturally, it helped that her powers gave her a certain heightened sense of others' awareness. She steps over to Kubo, getting a better look at the little display of paper animals.]

They are more than welcome to stay.

[She turns her attention to the origami.]

I was simply curious as to who was building up this little zoo on our ship.

[shamisens]

What's a zoo?

[ He moves the tiger so it's in the center, cautiously eyeing her. ]

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[Wanda blinks at Kubo for a moment, caught off guard for a second by his question. She recovers quickly though, returning to her gentle smile from before. She's been in the Fleet long enough now that she can recognize when someone is from a different time or place where things may differ vastly from her own home.]

It is a place where people can go to see many different types of animals. Lions, tigers, polar bears, monkeys, elephants, all sorts of different species.

[She looks again at the origami critters. They were kind of cute really.]

Though they tend not to be made of paper.

[shamisens]

I haven't seen many of these animals. My mother described them to me and I just make them.

[ It's easy when you have magic at hand - his imagination and the words filled in a more realistic picture than his hand-made origami could. Though he still practiced the folds. ]

not technically here

[expellerhead]

[once or twice, kubo may return to his origami storage space to find an addition hanging out with his other buddies.

never a note, signature, or indication of who left it.]

[shamisens]

[ Kubo picks it up gently, squinting at it before giving the other animals a dubious look. He's quite sure he hasn't lost control of his powers recently. After a few minutes, he simply shrugs and puts it in the center with a grin. ]

peggy carter » ota

[mucked]

( EARLY FEBRUARY )

[ first things first: peggy, acting as both captain and communications officer, gets whiff of some of the other ships fiddling with those scrambler devices found not long ago on some of the fleet's vessels. shipmates are free to discuss the possibility with her, and ultimately the device gets installed back into the system. she chooses a brusque but informative hailing message: this is the ss starstruck. is anyone out there? during this time, she can be found tinkering on the bridge. extra credit to anyone who brings her a cuppa while she works.

additionally, she sticks to her early morning training sessions in the cargo bay -- either clocking cardio on the treadmill or by throwing heavy punches into the hanging bag. in these moments, she's always at her most casual: hair tied back, plain white cotton shirt, loose trousers. she's stopped applying lipstick before her morning workouts. there's a renewed toughness to her. ]

( REST OF THE MONTH )

[ -- her schedule remains much the same, barring a few trips off-ship to poke around this new planetary system. but there are a few notable oddities. one morning, she's brushing her teeth in the communal bathrooms, humming to herself, and a pile of washclothes starts to float a few inches off the counter. or she's drinking tea while tackling paperwork and the subsequent calm she finds in its completion causes her (and her chair) to lift fractionally off the floor.

or, perhaps, she's caught in a foul mood -- and everything in the room starts to feel a little heavier. simple dishes are suddenly a chore to lift and move. ]

( 02/14 -- PRIVATE TEXT: STEVE ROGERS )

Do you think the Starstruck could manage without us for a day?

[uprightness]

[ February brings with it a planet that offers plenty of open space, sunshine, rivers and sandy beaches. The abundance of fresh air serves as a call of a sort and steve ventures outside frequently and at times, for a few hours at a time. there's plenty of ground to cover, plenty of views to enjoy and wildlife to draw.

and as Valentine's Day draws near, there is a gift to find.

The message finds him in the kitchen, pouring over his sketches, writing down names and terms he heard the locals use.

he looks at it and smiles; ah, seems like she beat him to it. ]

It's a peaceful planet. I can tell Wanda to call us if there's a need.

Why?

[mucked]

[ she's planet-side -- gathering supplies for an adventure he hasn't yet agreed to take. but peggy believes he'll join her. she peruses a selection of canvas and hide shelters. not quite tents, but close enough.

and she texts him at the same: ]

Got given a map to a spot in the mountains with stellar views of the planet inside the ring. Thought we could check it out together.

[uprightness]

[ he arranges his notebooks, gathers them up and sends his rather obvious answers. ]

Where are you? I'm on my way.

Need anything from here?

[mucked]

[ it's entirely possible that she'd banked upon this very level of helpfulness from him. ]

Pack us an overnight bag. Some spare clothing, a few blankets, anything you think you'd need. I've got rations and shelter handled.

[ surprise! we're going camping. ]

[uprightness]

[ he smiles a bit - she has a plan but then, he's not really surprised. ]

give me twenty. Where do I meet you?

[ and he sets to work. Some of the things she asked for are easy enough, blankets, his phone if only for the camera, some pencils and papers and sweaters - but as far as Peggy's things go, well.

Steve has gotten terribly used to spending his nights with her. there was the hotel and now there's here but he never actually made himself familiar with her things. he draws a blank for a moment, what would she take if she were here?

be brave, rogers.

he's perhaps a bit fascinated by her clothing, how her scent seems to linger on the fabrics. he has to remind himself that she's waiting.

he gathers up his senses. Peggy would go for comfortable and practical, he knows this, he knows her. this shouldn't be so difficult.

and evidently, she doesn't mind him searching, which is sweet, really.

it takes a little longer than he anticipates, trying not to move anything out of place, trying not to stare too openly at things that are hers and are private ( he definitely doesn't trace at the hints of lace and silk that are more familiar that they ought to be ).

he's running a little late, he realizes and that alone makes him put aside his nerves and finish packing up.

he packs her gift as well - at an inner pocket of his jacket. ]

REST OF THE MONTH

[outstandingbalance]

[Steve had lectured Natasha about visiting more often. So, here she is. On the Starstruck, poking around.

That's how she happens across Peggy in the dining area, sipping her tea while everything around her gets a little... lighter.

Natasha included.]

That's new.

[If there's a little more hiss in her voice than normal, it's only because being lifted like that comes as a very real surprise.]

[mucked]

New and annoying is what it is, [ peggy growls without looking up from a narrow pad of paper. it looks as though she might be working (quite happily) on a new cipher for the network's entertainment. however, the moment she expresses her disapproval for the current phenomenon, everything thuds gently back on the ground.

peggy at long last glances up -- frowning. it takes a certain amount of concentration to keep her good mood at bay long enough to let natasha keep her feet on the ground. ] Sorry about that.

[outstandingbalance]

[Nice to be back on solid ground. Natasha moves closer, glancing over Peggy's shoulder.

Or around it.]

Don't worry about it. Clearly not something you're doing on purpose.

[mucked]

-- It's been a few days, now. Utterly inconvenient. [ a scowl. her pen starts to feel heavy; she sets it down. at the moment, the notepad's contents just look like a jumble of letters. ] I hear some people are struggling with, say, being busybodies. I'd take that over this any day.

[outstandingbalance]

Really? This doesn't seem so bad to me.

[Natasha can't say what's causing it—what the trigger is for the floating. She feels when things get a little heavier though and she can already start to speculate.

If it's what it seems, then no wonder Peggy's annoyed.]

Give or take your stationary floating away.

[ rest of the month ]

[shamisens]

[ Kubo, of course, cleans up after people finish eating. It's another habit that he doesn't think too hard about. However, when they get heavier, he's visibly struggling to pile them onto the sink. ]

[mucked]

[ -- after dinner, peggy's hung back in the kitchen. all throughout dinner, she'd been quiet. absorbed in whatever puzzle or cipher she'd been cracking in her notebook. evidently, she's dissatisfied with the results. and that dissatisfaction is what lends the dishes their heaviness.

she grumbles -- pushes the notepad aside -- and crosses the kitchen so she can flip the switch on the electric kettle. ]

This is a problem which needs tea, I think. Copious amounts of tea.

[shamisens]

I'll . . . get it. In a minute.

[ He grimaces as Kubo finally manages to lean on his toes and put the plates in the sink and fills it with soapy water. Automatically, he goes for the cups and scowls again when he feels the weight of them. ]

[mucked]

Don't be ridiculous. [ a shake of her head. ] I can make tea, Kubo.

[shamisens]

Okay, but everything's kind of . . . heavy right now.

[ Kubo turns, trying to show the cup which he has to hold with both hands. ]