'cause it's better than nothing

[thespaceopera]

[ Calibration Rooms ]
( for N-Z characters )

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ROOMS BY CHARACTER

N - P Otono-Tachibana Makie Pavel Chekov Peter Parker Pidge Gunderson Prompto Argentum Psycho Mantis

Q - S Randolph Lyall Remy LeBeau Sandalio "Biffy" de Rabiffano Sanza Stark Shin-Ah Sorey Steve Rogers

T - V Taako Thor Tim Drake Tyrion Lannister Ulaz Vash the Stampede Victor Frankenstein The Vision

W - Z Wanda Maximoff Zaveid

(last updated: 1/25/19)

Comments

[abracafcku]

"Oh, well, if you say so."

The elf rolls his eyes, then notices how the stranger is looking at the stew. He laughs before taking his own bowl and eating from it.

"If you think I'm going to poison my own food, you definitely can't be smart enough to stab me. Sit down, you nerd, and eat before it gets cold."

[straightouttacarbonite]

"Hey, sitting around in the woods doesn't make you automatically trustworthy."

But he does sit down, poking at the stew to cool it a little before he takes a spoon of it. Why not.

[abracafcku]

"Sure, fair, but offering what little I have to some rando that pops up outta nowhere should at least earn me some points."

He shifts, resting back on the makeshift stumps that make the chairs around the firepit and watches as the stranger starts to eat. The stew is, despite not looking like much, delicious - hearty and rich, the sort of thing you'd expect find on a restaurant menu and not out here in the middle of nowhere.

"So, what's your name anyway? I'm Taako."

[straightouttacarbonite]

"I'm not complaining," he points out. Free food is usually welcome.

He takes a seat too, a little awkwardly because the stumps are a bit short.

"Han." He nods. "You, uh. You're from the Fleet?"

He doesn't actually even mean the question-- it seems like a given-- but he's trying to figure out how deep this weird thing goes.

[abracafcku]

The Fleet? Taako pauses, like he can't quite remember. The name tracks though and as he thinks on it, he recalls the truth of his situation. The Marsiva is where he really is, right? This forest, the world around them isn't real but a construction of his mind and the Atroma messing with it. This is the him that he's willing to show people he doesn't know - cautious, but talented, a simple idiot wizard with a culinary flair.

After a pause that goes on a little too long, Taako nods. "Mmhm, that seems about right. Gonna assume you are, too, seeing how you're here and not some weird illusory NPC shadow. These traipses through the mind, y'know, normal for this place? Because, no offense, Taako's not so cool with strangers all up in my headspace."

[straightouttacarbonite]

He's got no idea what an NPC is, but that seems like derailing. They're sort of working through something more important here.

"I dunno. I think it's been happening-- a couple days?" He looks perplexed. It feels like there's a bowl of stew in his hands, but he must be asleep, or something-- right?

[abracafcku]

"Greeeeeeeeeeeaaaaat." Taako rolls his eyes as he squeezes every last ounce of sarcasm out of that single word, dropping his bowl and spoon onto a nearby stump. Until Han mentioned it, he'd nearly forgotten about the Fleet, about how all of this wasn't part of his natural routine. It doesn't make it any less normal to be in the middle of the forest, talking to a stranger though. This was what this place was for, after all. But it does make Taako a little more abrasive than he normally might be.

"So? What're you doing in here then? Just curious about the most beautiful elf in space? Or just got lost trying to find someone else's head?"

[straightouttacarbonite]

"Trust me, if I had any idea how to pick where I go I'd be eating meat pies in the market in Coronet."

Or probably he'd just be in his own ship, where preferably he wouldn't have to deal with strangers.

"What's the most beautiful elf in space?"

[abracafcku]

Huh, meat pies could be nice. He'll have to remember that for later. They're easy enough to make as long as the crust is flaky and light. It's all about chilling the butter and keeping the mixture cold, if memory serves him correctly. He's lost for a moment in the recipe and flicks open a book at his side, taking a note in the margins, before he looks back up at Han, eyebrow raised.

"You mean who, and he's right in front of you." Duh? Taako really doesn't get why people don't compliment him more often on that. He's drop dead gorgeous and he knows it. He might not be everyone's type, no one is, but come on! "But if meat pies are more appealing to you than people, then maybe it's not me that's got the problem."

[straightouttacarbonite]

Oh, elf is a species. That makes a little more sense.

"I'm not big on eating people," he says lazily, intentionally misconstruing it. Because Han is an ass if he's anything. Besides, it's probably poor form to flirt with random elves when you're maybe dating someone from your future, right?

[abracafcku]

Taako, despite himself, barks out a laugh, and returns the jest easily, "Don't knock it 'til you try it. You never know. Maybe we'll find a planet where Person is a delicacy."

[straightouttacarbonite]

"I think I'll pass, I don't wanna be on the menu."

He's heard some unpleasant stories from people in the Fleet. All in all, he tries to avoid eating anyone he could have a conversation with.

[abracafcku]

"What a shame." It's obvious he's joking, but Taako pretends to put on a disappointed look anyway. Then he tosses his bowl to the side and cocks his head at Han, regarding him for a moment, gaze sharper than before as he bandies a decision around in his head.

Han seems interesting. He's got a good sense of humor. He's been smart this entire time. Taako wavers on the edge and then seems to come to a conclusion, stretching his arms over his head with a loud, exaggerated yawn.

"If you ever wanna eat something that isn't weird paste or human, come see me. I run the restaurant on that big Iskaulit ship."

[straightouttacarbonite]

"Yeah? Sure," he says, because Han does like food, and on occasion company.

"Though I gotta say, what they've got in the galley isn't that bad," he adds. "Better than I've had on some hauls." It's kind of a mystery to him why people groan about it so much; it's easy and no one ever has to replenish it.

Han is not a gourmet, for sure.

[abracafcku]

The look on Taako's face says it all. He's done a lot in his life to survive, eaten things that aren't fit for consumption, scrounged and fought over scraps, done whatever it took to live another day. But even then, Taako would never describe the paste gels in the kitchen as "not bad." They weren't food substitutes, good enough in a pinch, but never to be classified as "food."

"I've eaten literal garbage and even that was a step above that 'nutrient paste' they pretend to flavor."

[straightouttacarbonite]

Han shrugs. He can't help it.

"I'm not saying they're good," he hedges. But they're plentiful and free, that oughta count for something. And easy. Easy is the best part. Han isn't really much of a cook.

"One too many long hauls with expired frozen rations..."

[abracafcku]

"If it's not good, don't call it food. It barely qualifies as sustenance except in the barest sense of the word." Taako rolls his eyes and sighs. How people would take that crap over actual food when it is readily available boggles his mind. If there were no other options? Sure, even he would stoop to eating it because he'd rather be alive than picky, but with the options present he can't stand those gels.

"And you're not on some long haul with expired rations. You're on a ship with a magically replenishing nutrition supply and a restaurant not but one shuttle ride away that has actual food available. Puh-lease tell me you know of the Melting Pot."

[straightouttacarbonite]

But they're so convenient! And plentiful! And, well, Han is... Han. It'd probably be an improvement if the stuff was deep fried, because almost everything is improved when deep fried. But he's easy.

"Okay, okay," he says, holding up his hands. "Yeah, I've been there a couple times."

It's just he's a creature of habit, and habit means sticking to his ship. Is kind of it dumb? Yes.

[abracafcku]

"Then have better taste than calling the gels 'not bad.' They're atrocious and real food is obviously superior."

Case in point? The stew he made in this mindscape. Sure, it's not actually filling and not really food, but it tastes real and it has that rich satisfying flavor that comes from simmering bone and meat for hours to create a perfect broth. The meat was practically fall apart in your mouth tender and the vegetables the perfect medium between soft with a clear bite. He's proud of his cooking, whether it's real or not.

"So promise me you'll come by more often or I'll hunt your ship down and set fire to the kitchen."

[straightouttacarbonite]

It is a good imaginary stew. Han isn't arguing about that! It's just, well. Long habit is hard to overrule. And he's used to living on his own, getting by.

Working with a crew... Well, not all those memories are the best ones.

He laughs at though, bold and genuine, at that.

"It's a deal."

He's still gonna eat spicy-chocolate-teriyaki protein sticks when no one's looking, though. Sorry friend.

[abracafcku]

Taako smirks, properly mollified by Han's deal to come by sometime. Not only has he potentially secured a new customer, but hopefully another person to tell him how great he is at cooking. Not that he needs the ego boost, but it's good to hear after Glamour Springs.

He opens his mouth to reply, but as he does so, light starts to break through the trees, streaking across the sky like daylight. Taako turns and looks behind him, where the trees are fading away and taking the rest of the landscape with it.

"Well, with that, I guess this means you're ready to move on. Make like a moth and head toward the light, and you'll be back where you belong."