( open ) slow i'm getting up

[evasives]

who: Cassian Andor + open!
what: rebel spy poorly adjusts to civilian life
when: mid september?? whatever is convenient
where: various! multi-choice.
warnings: will edit as necessary!



i. perimeter guard

[cassian has gone beyond the wall a handful of times by now, but he has yet to stay more than one night. when he's at the headquarters, he hangs out in the hangar, poking around at the transit, or with the maps, pouring over them very meticulously. sometimes he's hunched over his own map, adding details or working on a copy to keep. survey work is easy enough, because surveillance is key to being a spy. he's got a very good memory.]

[other times he's sorting through a haul of old scraps and pieces of technology he managed to pull in, figuring out what can be fixed, what needs to be tossed, and what can be reused. it's all sorted into three distinct piles, and once in a while he tinkers with some of it, trying to make it work again.]

K2, what do you - [oh. no. wait. it's instinct to just ask his droid for technical opinions, but he cuts himself off and his entire expression darkens while he turns his screwdriver a little too aggressively.]

ii. perimeter guard redux

[he's very prepared for monsters in the sense of combat experience. most of his life, however, has been spent fighting people not beasts. cassian is meant for stealth; he's a sniper, an assassin, an informant, and his kills tend to happen quickly and quietly.]

[of course this one happens when he's alone, having separated for about an hour from jyn to cover more ground, though he hasn't gone too far from the wall. he'd shot it from afar and knocked it out, but it hadn't been alone; the companion zeroes in on cassian's location as he switches his blaster from stun to kill, any sense of invisibility lost when he fired the gun the first time. great good monster times all around.]

iii. how do you food

[grocery shopping is bizarre. cassian has lived essentially his whole life off rations or basic levels of food (sometimes even whatever he could snag on the streets). he was fed appropriately enough, but the Rebellion hadn't exactly been brimming with fine cuisine. the stores here sometime feel like too many options. he spends more time staring at the choices before picking the least flashy, unable to break the habit. he also piles his basket with enough food for two people, a habit he's picked up in the month or so he's been here.]

[he's keeping a very cool and collected facade, but there are probably little signs of uncertainty that should not belong to someone who's just browsing through a grocery store. frowning at perishable packages and the rainbow of juices, squinting at labels warily. he may also have an obscene amount of water bottles. you can never have too much!]

[he's perpetually grumpy at nearly every box he picks up to read over ingredients.] These percentages are far too precise. How is this necessary?

iv. how do you escape hypercompetency

[the perimeter guard keeps him busy, but cassian hasn't stopped reflecting on what jyn said weeks ago, how he doesn't have to be a spy here anymore. there is no one to report to, no war on his heels, but the habits don't die out even when he tries to remind himself otherwise.]

[he goes to the library and tries to find books for leisure, but ends up looking between the shelves to see who else is there, skimming the titles belonging to the person sitting next to him. he takes out too many because this is a luxury at least he can share, and some of the books he picks aren't really leisure.]

[every time he turns a corner inside a building or out on the street, he looks around in a very calculative way. he steps around people and weaves through crowds too easily, turning over his shoulder to make sure none of them noticed him. paranoia doesn't sit well with civilian life.]

[he often goes for a run in the mornings, stretching it further each day to keep testing the strength of his leg and spine. sometimes it becomes too much and he has to rest on a bench, practically chugging his water as he watches the people slip by him. he catalogues them without realizing, huffing out a sigh.]

[he really doesn't know how to turn it off.]

Maybe I need a hobby. [muttering to himself is not a good hobby.]

v. wildcard!

[make up your own or hit me up: communism @ plurk, romanitas#5368 @ discord, pm this journal.]

Comments

ii; come on and slam

[pundemic]

[She spends most of her time out past the perimeter. She's not really... comfortable around people anymore, not for long periods of time. Taako's place (her place) is a bit of a haven in an otherwise fucked up bubble of humanity, but even it gets stifling sometimes.

James gets it. So does Taako, though for different reasons. Clark used to, but she's trying not to think about Clark these days.

--He left too. Not his fault, but it's just one more person gone from her life, and dealing with that has been. It's been--

Well. She's out here for a reason.

Her beretta is tucked in her jeans, she's got a rifle slung over one shoulder. She's quiet about it, not really looking for a monster hunt but not planning on running away from one either when she hears the crack of that weird fucking gun. She flings herself flat, not having the first fucking clue where the shot even came from, and lifts her head just enough to see what's going on a couple hundred yards away.

There's a guy engaged in a fight with one of the monsters. No superpowers that she can tell, though that doesn't mean much. She chews on her lip, trying to decide what to do. He looks like he can handle himself, so-- you know, whatever. You do you, dude. Ellie is not really a fan of the whole 'strangers' thing (wayyyy less so in the middle of nowhere) so she actually kind of pushes herself up on her knees and then starts inching backwards.

Except.

While he's busy trying to fend off the one tooth-and-claw motherfucker, there's another one (looks more like a cougar, except, you know... monster-y) that's decided to creep up on him from behind, and while Ellie is a lot of things she's not actually an asshole. Most of the time.

She's also not dumb enough to yell to get its attention, so she just unslings the rifle from her shoulder very slowly, lifts it up against her shoulder. Steadies it the way Joel (she's not thinking about Joel, either) showed her. Exhales. Squeezes the trigger. The recoil is little more than a punch to the shoulder, and the shot's a good one. The cat-thing drops like a rock. Cool. Mission accomplished.

Now the real question is, can she get the fuck out of dodge before the guy even notices she was here? Time to try it.]

and welcome to the jam

[evasives]

[cassian hears the surprise third monster before he sees it; he takes a shot at the one rushing him, before turning around just in time to see the cat-beast drop, presumably from the shot he hears seconds prior.]

[he spares a quick glance in the direction it must have come from, but first he needs to get rid of the pest he's merely grazed so far. he fires another round, hitting it twice in the chest where it finally stumbles over and dies with a screeching wail. he keeps his gun trained on it, making sure it doesn't get another twitch of life, but when he's satisfied it's actually dead, cassian immediately looks back towards whoever it was that came to his aid.]

[they're far enough that he wouldn't be able to chase them down, kind of small in stature. he's torn between getting their attention or just letting them disappear, but he supposes it was their kill. maybe they want it.]

[only he doesn't want to yell and draw anymore attention to himself from any other monsters, so he just lifts his arm in a wave to signify he saw them. a pseudo thank you.]

[it was a very nice shot. he would know. sorry if they wanted to slip away unnoticed or anything of the sort :)]

[pundemic]

[She hesitates.

Now that he's seen her, if she runs... well, he might feel like tracking her down later. If he's going to do that, she wants the actual measure of this guy first. She's past the point of thinking that everyone here is, you know, a horrible cannibal fuck (which is basically her high bar for Awful Human) but she's still mighty suspicious.

She waves back, her jaw set. Then, grudgingly-- what would Clark do? She hikes her rifle higher up on her shoulder and starts to trudge towards the guy. Might as well.]

[evasives]

[he's a little surprised when she starts to head over (a girl, he thinks as the distances closes up), but he's not about to ignore her. he pokes around at the dead monsters, trying to see if there's anything of value worth taking off them, but he might have to wait for jyn to get back depending on the haul of it.]

[cassian lowers his blaster as the girl gets closer. he doesn't want to come across as hostile, but he's not about to holster it up again when three beasts just tried to kill him. his leg aches a little from landing a little too hard on it, but it's nothing a quick rest won't solve.]

[corpses for company, great??]

[by the time the girl is close enough for him to pick out features, he frowns, because she really doesn't look that old, but she clearly knows how to handle her guns. then again, it's not like he didn't at that age. he stands with the slightest tilt to favor one leg, barely noticeable.]

Nice shot.

[pundemic]

[She shrugs, a rather heavy-handed deflection of the compliment.]

Who says I wasn't aiming for you?

[A few months ago maybe she'd have sounded hostile about that. Now it's almost a joke. But it's a Thing with her, she likes to push people (guys, mostly, older than her, dark hair--) just enough they know not to fuck with her.]

iii

[spellslots]

[In all honesty, Taako doesn't go to the grocery store that much. He prefers to stick to the markets, where produce tends to be fresher, or he goes directly to the source and makes sure he has good relationships with supplies, so that he can pick stuff up straight from them.

But sometimes he's feeling lazy and it's easier to swing by a store to grab a bunch of everything, including some party supplies for next weekend, and that's where he's at today, a basket hooked over his arm as he ponders two different kinds of sprinkles. He doesn't even notice Cassian until he hears the dude talking to.. himself? Probably, but that's not going to stop Taako from butting in.

It's like a nutrition thing, so you know what you're getting, and so you can tell if there's any nasty shit in there you don't wanna be eating. [And then, because he's not totally rude:] Hello again, darling.

[evasives]

[cassian has yet to get into the habit of fresh foods, too used to needing non-perishables. he'll pick up mango now and then, or some grapes for jyn, but he always feels the need to eat it quickly, just in case.]

[he's very aware of being joined in the aisle, but it's not until taako speaks up that cassian looks over with more recognition.]

[he nods his own hello.] Taako. [a beat, while he sets back the box.] Rations don't usually come with detailed labels.

[nor does mess hall slop.]

[spellslots]

[It's not too surprising that Cassian is some kind of military, but Taako doesn't give it too much thought. There's plenty of people here who come from places where food isn't easy.]

Neither does food you've caught yourself - [which is how he grew up, either food they caught or food they stole.] - but really, you can just ignore that shit unless you're allergic or watching your weight.

[And someone who's used to rations isn't likely to be doing the latter.]

[evasives]

[it would probably be easier to ignore if he didn't feel a weird compulsion to at least skim the labels. this is why it's easier to sort through whatever jyn tosses in.]

Or food you find. [hi5 for food thievery.] I have been ignoring most of it, sometimes. It's just unwise to dramatically change your diet in a short timeframe.

[too many options means too much overthinking ok.]

iii

[talentedscavenger]

[It's hard to comprehend that there's so many things here. So many packages, so many food items. Rey was used to portions herself, and having to work for her food. Even then, she was still starving, still trying to make things work. She rationed her food to the point where she did go to bed hungry. To go into a place that has a near abundance of different fruits, packages, meats and such...it was overwhelming...

And the question became of what did she choose?

She had to be mindful of her funds, only a limited amount, and what would be the best in terms of caloric intake... In trying to pick something, she overheard someone having the same issue as her.]

It shouldn't be, but who knows why.

[She looked over at him, he didn't appear threatening..]

[evasives]

[it's great to be in a world where all these options are so normal, but it doesn't mean cassian will immediately get used to it. he's not even sure what his favorites might be. he knows how to cook, but it's not like his recipes are fancy.]

[he's dimly aware of all the other shoppers, unable to turn that off, so when the girl speaks up, he peers over to get a better look. she's younger, probably not older than twenty, not overtly a threat, but it's clear she's got a level of strength to her.]

A fortunate luxury. Useful for allergies, I suppose.

[talentedscavenger]

Possibly. It's more surprising how many things they could make into a packet.

[Instant ramen for example. Just add hot water and it was good to go, but...the flavors were confusing. Oriental? What could that taste like? Shrimp? Interesting flavors, but Rey would rather go for something fresh, like the fruits. They were a rarity in the desert.

The brunette didn't offer a smile or anything of the like. She was trying to keep to herself, but couldn't help but agree to the stranger's assessment of the situation. So many things...in different colors, packaging, and boxes.]

[evasives]

The human body does technically require certain amounts of nutrition.

[for a pretty boring and shitty diet his whole life, cassian isn't in terrible shape, but he chalks that up to all this infinite training. he knows proteins and veggies and all that important stuff, but sometimes you just gotta eat gross things to stay functional.]

It's likely all just meant to be convenient. [doesn't mean it is, of course. he glances at her again, a little curious.] What does your food come in usually, if not packets?

i >> end of september?

[amelioraate]

[ Tony has only been back a few days when he starts back up in his office slash workshop with the perimeter guard. there is shit to do and he has more than a little catching up to do after his impromptu nap there. so he spends a great deal trying to clean the mess that was left up, and takes to also wanding around more than once to see what is new, what has changed.

which is how he comes across a new face, settled amongst piles of scrap and wires, looking more than a little annoyed at himself for calling a name that had nobody. and that was something that Tony understood; the number of times he had started to talk to Friday in this place was ridiculous, and he kept meaning to rebuild the AI and get some holographic projectors working for her but-- well--

wandering into the space, Tony makes sure that he isn't too quiet (he has learned that there are more people in this place with the reflexes of Natasha and Bucky than not, and he does not need to go back to the hospital anytime soon, thank you), eyes looking over the things that are spread out on the floor with clear interest.]

This is one hell of a collection you got going here, if you need anything, uh-- you can check in my office if you want?

[ which is Tony speak for 'hi, you seem cool because tinkering. ]

works for me!

[evasives]

[people are always coming and going while he works, and even if cassian doesn't look at them, he hears them. he's aware of them and their movements like a permanent sixth sense.]

[he can appreciate the care the man takes to make a little noise, documenting the steps even if he doesn't look up till conversation is started.]

I am not really building anything. Some of the things found outside the wall are just worth saving. [he vaguely recognizes the man, but cassian vaguely recognizes most people who come through the guard even if only by face. he's working on it!] Dare I ask what is in your office?

\ o /

[amelioraate]

[ Tony has startled onto too many assassins in his time, he knows the value of approaching a new person without scaring the shit out of them. He can be quiet if he wants to be, but honestly in this place he doesn't think that he has to be right now.

As the man continues to tinker, Tony hums and looks over a few things, picking up what looks to be a piece of an engine and turns it easily in his hands as he speaks. Like he isn't used to not having something to do with his hands. ]

Mmm, mostly just a mess in my office right now, but a small army of roombas that will try to eat your shoelaces, and the skeletal prototypes for some defensive turrets that I have been working on. [ Does he sound annoyed about that? Maybe a little annoyed about that.] Speaking of, mind if I borrow this piece? You are welcome to come along and borrow what you like.

[evasives]

[he doesn't know what a roomba is?? turrets makes sense though. cassian watches the way the other man picks up the piece, recognizing that natural way he fiddles with his hands. he does it himself all the time.]

Take what you like. I don't bring them back from behind the wall to hoard for myself. [he gestures at one of the piles.] These may not be reusable, but most of the rest is very fixable.

Where is your office?

iv.

[realists]

[ jyn had been running the opposite direction, twisting the other way at the start and passing each other every so often as they finish each loop. she would run with him, but jyn can't decide yet if she's running for the exercise or because she doesn't want to feel and both of those options include running for far longer than cassian's body can handle at the moment.

but she always winds up on the bench next to him, taking the water right out of his hand to gulp some down, breathing labored. ]

Isn't running a hobby? [ for people that didn't grow up fighting a war, maybe. a rich person's hobby. ]

[evasives]

[he thinks it might be nice to run with jyn, but he also knows his inability to go as long as her for now is probably a factor. besides, it gives him a chance to quietly collect his thoughts outside the unfamiliar silence of a comfortable bedroom.]

[he's not surprised when she sits by him though, nor does he bother fighting her off for the honor of his water. he might not run with her, but these little breaks on the bench are welcome.]

I'm not sure it counts when you have done it too much to fall under leisure activity.

[realists]

No, [ jyn agrees, leaning back against the bench, letting her head drop back over the back, neck bend at what looks like an incredibly uncomfortable angle. ]

But there's something enjoyable about it now.

[ it's still strange, doing anything for herself, treating herself. everything feels like an indulgence, from grapes to running to taking a break during work to give her shoulder a break. her decadent collection of three pillows. made all the more indulgent due to the fact that she only uses one. ]

[evasives]

[he makes a face the weird angle, but ultimately leaves her to it even if the urge to toss her a dumb comment is there.]

I suppose it is more of a choice lately. [he snags the water back to drink some more.]

I like it. [look he admitted a thing.] When it's running for the sake of running. It clears my head. [and helps him get a better sense of how far along his body is healing but only one (1) weakness at a time.]

[ ii ]

[jedies]

[ Obi-Wan is not a fan of killing animals. Even creatures like gundarks or rancors. A far cry from the person he once was, when his master saddled him with pathetic life forms and expected Obi-Wan to display the same kind of empathy and boundless love.

Somehow, along the way, Obi-Wan has become more like Qui-Gon than he realized. Perhaps it was having his own pathetic lifeform for a good chunk of his life that taught him better. Obi-Wan raises his hand, reaching out in the Force to still the creature. It stops with a yowl, listening to the phantom call of the Force. Obi-Wan tugs with his hand and it runs off, meek as a mouse. With that, Obi-Wan adjusts his cloak before approaching Cassian. ]

Are you all right?

[evasives]

[cassian doesn't have the same qualms about killing animals, because it's far easier to kill them than people. the way the monster suddenly shifts startles him, and he's very aware that the man in the cloak is seemingly responsible, but cassian doesn't take his eyes off the fleeing creature, gun aimed and quite ready to fire until it becomes more of a spec than a threat.]

[it doesn't come back. it's good, really, but cassian frowns, looking over at his new company. his gun is still out, though pointed at the ground.]

I am fine. [he's hiding it well, but there's still something wary in the way cassian holds himself.] How did you do that?

[jedies]

I used the Force.

[ Obi-Wan surveys the man coolly to see if he's telling the truth before smiling. ]

[evasives]

[record scratch bzzzz what.]

[his frown deepens; cassian clearly recognizes what the man is talking about, even if he is also clearly very skeptical. he's also very fine, save for the way he seems to slightly favor one leg.]

Is that a joke?