( 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

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.]

[spellslots]

Oh, for sure, that's a valid point.

[Taako swaps his basket from one arm to another, freeing up his left hand so he can grab his phone and start idly typing. It's not the "I'm bored and doing something else" kind of typing, he seems to have some purpose.]

Was it a lotta processed shit, that you were getting? What kinda food groups are we looking at?

[evasives]

[cassian frowns the tiniest bit, stealing a glance at the phone screen. there's a long pause before he finally answers, mostly because it makes him uncomfortable to feel like he's being helped, but curiosity wins out.]

A lot of starch. Most vegetables and meats were frozen or canned.

[spellslots]

[It's a secret!!!]

Hachi machi, that's rough.

[It's even worse than eating shitty rabbit and root vegetable stew for months in a row, at least in his opinion. Food shouldn't come in cans.]

I'll be real with you, my advice would be to skip all this packaged shit for now and work your way back to it later. All the sugar and salt isn't gonna be great for ya. So like, start with fresh food? I'm gonna-- what's your number, bubbale? I'm gonna send you some recipes.

[evasives]

[cassian sort of shrugs it off. it's probably rough objectively, but he's used to it. he's wary instantly when taako asks for his number, before slowly reminding himself yet again that this world is not home.]

I can cook. [that's where he starts, before digging out his comm. he won't say no to more recipes, he supposes. it'd be good to have better starting grounds.] I am just used to more limited options to work with.

[spellslots]

Never said you couldn't, but I'm also gonna send you a link to this app that's been a fucking lifesaver. You can pop a couple recipes in and create a shopping list for ya so like, you can prep for the week and knock all your groceries over in one easy go.

[He's taken to technology quite quickly, especially in cases where it might make life easier.]

[evasives]

[it's on the tip of his tongue to ask what an app is, but that is definitely something he can figure out on his own. besides, it's not hard to make a guess from context clues!]

[maybe it's easier to go along with just because he gets the sense taako has had some shit food experiences too.]

I would prefer to make my own lists, but it could be useful for a base.

[hi he has a thing with control. but it's also his way of saying go for it, send the link.]

[spellslots]

[It takes Taako a few seconds to send everything; what he's actually done is set up a dropbox equivalent full of recipes, and included that + a link to the app in a message to Cassian. There's also a couple thumbs up emojis, because that's how he do.]

I'd offer to tell you where to get the real good shit, but a chef never divulges his secrets. [Also he doesn't like Cassian enough (yet?)] But there's a lotta markets that sell fresh produce, that way you know there's not gonna be any weird chemicals in your food.

[evasives]

[cassian steals a quick glance at what's sent, but he'll go through it more meticulously later when he's not standing in the middle of a grocery store.]

[he looks back up at taako, giving him half a grateful nod.] I'm sure I can find the better places soon enough. [he has already talked to others about preferences, even if he's never gone to any of them yet. it's like a mini investigation. it'll give him something to do!] The chemicals are not quite a concern. But - thank you. For the information.

[taako feels like a good resource on this place, okok. better to be polite enough.]

[spellslots]

All good, bubbale.

[It's not a particularly arduous task that he's just completed, and he likes doing this sort of thing anyway, so it all works out in the end.]

But hey, have you been settling in alright? It's been a weird few weeks, huh? I swear it's not always this fucking crazy.

[Soulmates, kiss bubbles, the weird bed nonsense. The fire. It's wild.]

[evasives]

[so many diminutives?? why. he forgets people do this.]

[cassian offers another careless sort of shrug.] I could have done without my room catching on fire so quickly after I moved in, but I suppose all things considered it could be worse.

[the planet you're on could blow up and stuff. there's no war here.] I'm settling. [only like, half a lie.]

[spellslots]

[Or it could get consumed. Both aren't great.]

Oh, fuck, right. I do not get why anyone is still staying in that shithole, I got pretty done with it after a couple weeks.

[He stayed longer, because Clark asked him to keep an eye on Jon, but still.]

It's actually like, super fucking easy to rent a place here? I guess cause they know everyone's showing up with nothing but the clothes on their back.

[evasives]

Not having to worry about lodging while you are adapting to the Quarantine could be helpful, and then the familiarity keeps them.

[he picks up two of something that looks vaguely healthy and drops it in his basket.]

The rooms are small, but I would not classify it as a shithole. [he's stayed in worse!] It's good to know there are other options, but I am fine to stay there for now. What kind of place are you living in then?

[spellslots]

Oh, huh. Guess that makes sense.

[It's not something he'd really considered all that much, being so used to moving constantly. Most people probably like having somewhere they can consider a home base.]

We've got ourselves like, this kinda townhouse thing? And not that I don't love the Starblaster but it's fucking nice having a real kitchen, not a shitty one designed for a two month mission.

[evasives]

[cassian moves around so much that he doesn't really get attached to places, but he does understand why people do. loss of home and security is a prime tool for recruitment into the rebellion.]

[a...house. he could get a house here? that's so odd. he barely remembers living in a house.]

And the large kitchen allows you to cook so expertly. Is the rest of it spacious?

[for once he's not asking to learn more about taako, just asking after the idea of house and what else is out there.]

[spellslots]

Sure is, we got like four bedrooms, three bathrooms, couple living rooms and a real nice sunroom.

[The sun room is his favorite, he does a lot of meditating out there when he wants to rest during the day instead of doing his trance at night.]

Rent was kind of a bitch for the first couple months cause it was just two of us there but now I've got Lup pitching in and the business is going better so it's not hard to make ends meet. Kinda like, weird? But nice.

[Stability is an odd thing. A century on the Starblaster meant he never had to worry about rent, but it also meant constantly running from the apocalypse, so being somewhere quiet and having a place to call home is a new experience.]

[evasives]

[well ok now that's just sounding like TOO much space. he'd probably only need, like, two bedrooms, and that's on the automatic assumption that jyn would come with him. a space to call his own, really his own, sounds like such a fake concept. especially for a big house??]

Well, it's good to know something like that is an option. [A WEIRD OPTION.] What is your business?

[he honestly has no idea. taako is too all over the place to feel secure in any one theory.]

[spellslots]

For sure, half the people I know got their own places by now, it's great.

[Mostly because it means he literally never has to go back to communal housing, except to see Rin sometimes, which is.... baffling, but whatever.]

I'm kinda like a pâtissier, but there's no bakery or anything, I just do catering and that sorta shit, you know?

[evasives]

[well thanks taako, for putting the idea in his head, even if nothing will come of it just yet. but... maybe. maybe one day.]

[annddd that would not have been cassian's first guess. maybe a couple down the list. he snorts a little.]

Well I know who to come to if I ever need baked goods. [does jyn like pastries?? he should find out. they can do dessert in this world, how fancy.] Maybe they'll be a good snack next time I am beyond the wall, assuming they hold well.

[spellslots]

Oh, for sure, if you want like... whatever. If you're looking for shit that'll keep I can always whip something up with that in mind, cause usually I go for stuff that's best fresh.

[He rarely has anything left lying around for more than a day or two, especially not with Magnus around.

But he's happy to make something specific for Cassian, because that's how he rolls.]

[evasives]

[taako did have a lot to say about cooking, the baking fits in with that too.]

[dryly:] You're so versatile. [compliment?? fact?? both???] But helpful too, nonetheless. I should make it up to you by ordering something sometime.

[spellslots]

I try my best.

[Hand on his heart and everything, since he does take that as a compliment. Being helpful is a good way to make people like him, which is one of his main goals in life bc that sweet sweet attention.]

But yeah, my man, go for it. There are a million and one ways you can hit me up, but right now I'll let you get back to your shopping. Ciao!

[He's more than willing to totally steamroll someone into a conversation, but he figures he's stolen enough of Cassian's time for the day, and there are groceries to be done.]