Intro Shenanigans

[pleiade]

WHO: Asterope and y'all
WHERE: Whale Comb Sent Her, the Bishop, Wildcard her
WHAT: Introductory nonsuch
WHEN: Late August
WARNINGS: None explicit yet, but Asti is a genetically modified human who had a Bad Upbringing


1. Whale Comb Sent Her
Whether one's here to make a Soup Lies request or use the replicator, it's likely you'll run into Asterope, who's found a place to sit (or possibly perch, up on a counter or table with legs dangling) as she works out the specifics of the shape of what she's requesting from the replicator. She's working with a chunky piece of charcoal on a large sketchbook, trying to map and math the curves of a violin, before she tries to spend one of her replicator uses on it. Lots of curves, a couple spirals...for someone who's working from memory, she seems to have a good start on it.

As she works, she's humming, not really paying attention to anyone else in the room, yet.

2. White Pawn Takes Bishop
Asterope seems a little awed by the ship. She's been told most people don't live on their ships, and in truth she doesn't understand why. Sure, it might be cramped quarters, but she's used to kind of being in small, institutional spaces.

The other members of the crew can find her settling in, either in the kitchen acquainting herself with the protein dispenser, or picking out a bunk to take a nap in.

3. Wildcard
Find Asti anywhere else learning the lay of the land. She's more active at night, and spends a lot of time stargazing (sketching it all out in her sketchbook), if you want an excuse to run into her.

Comments

[pleiade]

She lets out a small laugh at the mildly frantic attempt to catch them all. "Do you need any help with all that? Back home, tea's usually sold in bags already--never seen the full leaves before."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"I'm good!" Ezra says brightly, and he does indeed seem to be mostly successfully collecting the tea.

"Yeah, where I grew up you're much more likely to find the bags, too, but I guess the full leaves is more traditional? And Obi-wan and Padme didn't grow up on the same planet, but they both come from cultures that take tradition pretty seriously, including tea, it seems."

[pleiade]

"Tea has traditions?" She seems genuinely surprised to hear that. "Probably broke all the rules. It's just nice to have as something warm, when it's cold outside."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"There's whole Japanese tea ceremonies on Earth."

Then he pauses and squints. "I'm...pretty sure that's real."

Another beat. "Ok, full disclosure, I kinda have memories of two lives in my head. A number of us here do - it's a whole thing. So, I didn't grow up on Earth, not really. But I also I have pretty vivid memories of growing up in a version of America on Earth. Where Obi-wan was called Ben, and was my brother. And our mom was from Japan. And our dad was from Scotland, but also Jewish, which why I had any clue what you meant by klezmer."

[pleiade]

"That has to be confusing for you, living with two sets of memories. What do you do when they conflict with one another? Does it...how does your sense of who you are stand up to that?"

There's an undertone of concern with the words. Asti's resolved her own issues of failing to be who she was supposed to be by...sort of accepting that her self is meaningless, but she knows that's not a healthy method of treating selfness, not for anyone else. And Ezra seems to be okay with who he is.

She wants to understand that.

[ezra_of_lothal]

"I'm pretty sure you'd get different answers from each person who went through that here," Ezra admits.

"I know Obi-wan's struggled some because the way Jedi were traditionally raised, like he was, is so very different from life as Ben. So for him, I think the main thing that he's, um, kept is that he's my brother. The details can fade away." He raises a hand and unfolds it, as it letting go of something.

"For me, a lot of the details can be useful. Because....I lost my parents young and mostly raised myself for years, and didn't do much formal school. But as Ben's brother, I did go to schools, good ones. And he was always there for me. But the practical stuff can sleep in the back of my mind until I need it, and I can just let that feeling of belonging, be a feeling."

[pleiade]

"It's definitely complex to synthesize, huh? But it sounds good, that you got that feeling to bask in."

It's a feeling she can't help but envy. She doesn't know what it'd be like, to belong. To feel loved.

[ezra_of_lothal]

"Really good," he agrees.

"It's not...completely new. Back home, there were people who took me in as a teenage, eventually. My first master, Kanan, and the people he was close to. And I think the, um, spell, stuck Obi-wan and I together like that because we'd already decided to call each other family, too. But it helps the two of us talk about hard stuff, I think."

[pleiade]

"Do you two have a lot of hard stuff you need to talk about, between yourselves?" She tilts her head to one side, thoughtful, curious.

[ezra_of_lothal]

"Um. Yes," Ezra replies with a slow nod.

"It's complicated and some of it's more private and personal, but the big picture isn't any kind of secret. Stuff like - how do you fight a totalitarian government bent on killing or converting people like you, and protect the other groups it targets? What lines shouldn't you cross? How did the head of that government even get in charge? How much of our traditions should change now that there's so few of us, and is how things should be when it's peace time a different question?"

[pleiade]

"Oh. That's...a lot of big stuff, yes." She frowns, ducking her head slightly, as if she can feel the weight of all those questions as something physical. "It feels like not all of that is stuff you can address here."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"Not directly, no," he agrees. "But we can prepare as best we can for if we go back home."

[pleiade]

"Are you assuming you'd go back to the moment you were taken, or are you accounting for possible time dilation along the way? The situation you return to might not be what you left."

She goes back to drawing her violin as she speaks.

[ezra_of_lothal]

"We can't really know," Ezra admits. "Those of us from my galaxy all come from different points in time, anyway. It's possible, I guess, that we're not actually all from the same universe, at all. Just from so close, it's hard to tell?"

He spreads his hands wide, shrugging, and settles on the floor next to her. "Like, I'd met Obi-wan back home. He was older, hair gone mostly white. He already knew who I was, and why I'd come looking for him. So. Did he know because he'd met me here, in his past, or is that just a coincidence?"

[pleiade]

"Dunno. Not sure it's possible to know, from here. Your universe has some clear identifying features, though. For others, it might be hard to pinpoint anyone coming in from the same place." Like her 'verse. Though part of that is her own lack of experience.

[ezra_of_lothal]

"It seems like there's a bunch of parallel versions of Earth. Sort of recognizable, but also big differences."