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

[mucked]

Not everyone. But a whole bloody lot of them.

[shamisens]

It must be hard for the people who don't want to be involved.

[mucked]

Yes, well -- so many able bodies were needed for the fighting, Kubo, that they began to conscript them. [ ... ] Are you familiar with conscription?

[shamisens]

Noo?

. . . Should I be?

[mucked]

Heavens, I think not. [ she considers it a good thing that he isn't. ] But it's when a nation forces its citizens to join up in order to fight a war -- because they can't rely on volunteers any longer.

[shamisens]

I don't think anything is going to happen on my world. It's too . . . big. Vast.

[ He pauses because Kubo knows he's not explaining himself well. ]

We have an emperor but I doubt anyone would want to conquer what we have.

[mucked]

[ she's about to say that she hopes it's true, except -- ]

What sort of emperor is he?

[shamisens]

[ Kubo shrugs. He has no idea. ]

We just sort of know he's there. It's a large land, with mysteries and magic. I doubt even he knows the full reach of it.

[mucked]

Sounds challenging on all counts.

[shamisens]

For him, probably. The rest of us just . . . live our normal lives.

[mucked]

And what exists beyond his borders? Anything?

[shamisens]

[ He blinks, ruminating on it. ]

I . . . have no idea.

[mucked]

[ that's troubling, but she tries not to let it show. ]

Must be a very vast land, indeed.

[shamisens]

It's a strange land, with many unusual places. The world is always changing and magic changes with it.

But it's not always like that. People get by without ever seeing magic at all.

[mucked]

Have you?

[ seen magic. ]

[shamisens]

[ Kubo blinks before remembering that Peggy hasn't seen him at work. ]

Uh, yeah. I have magic on my mother's side.

[mucked]

...You make it sound hereditary.

[shamisens]

[ He rubs the back of his neck, reluctant. ]

I think it might be. I don't know any other people with magic except for some people in my family.

[mucked]

Something like that -- goodness, it must feel like a burden. At times.

[ she says it expecting a protest. a deflection. ]

[shamisens]

[ That's a strange thing to say and Kubo's eyebrows cross together. ]

No. Why would it be?

[mucked]

It verges on a legacy, does it not? [ a beat. ] Unless you'd argue otherwise.

[ she almost wants him to. ]

[shamisens]

[ His pause is quiet and measured, as he works it out in his mind. ]

My mother's — my family's legacy isn't about the magic. Or the power. My magic is just part of my nature.

[mucked]

-- What is its legacy, then?

[shamisens]

[ Kubo squirms. He doesn't want to outrightly lie but he doesn't want to touch on that uncomfortable bit of family history. ]

I couldn't say. They weren't like . . . normal people. They lived in the Heavens. Like Gods.

[mucked]

Like Gods, but not actually Gods?