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so never mind the darkness

CHARACTERS: Heather Mason and you!
LOCATION: The media library
WARNINGS: possibly salty language, depending on who shows up?
SUMMARY: Heather is ~~having trouble sleeping~~ ~~homesick~~ bored and hunting through the media library for something to remind her of home. Probability of success: 0
NOTES: Open open open! Let's pal around.

Heather's not even aware of the frown crinkling up her forehead as she searches through the collection of music. She hasn't encountered so much media that she could neither pronounce nor understand since dating a fan of Norwegian black metal. There's something that, as far as she can tell, puports to be the harmony of the spheres – which she's heard of because Harry had some weird-ass books and raiding dad's library was an easy cure for boredom, not because she's a secret nerd or anything – that sounded like slow strings and might have helped her sleep, if it hadn't suddenly dropped into all these weirdly upsetting minor notes. She's heard some people were lucky enough to come over with mp3 players, but ruled out the idea of asking for help over the network. Aside from the fact that she hasn't got much to offer in return, the thought of announcing to the ship that she's craving the dulcet tones of Axl Rose sort of fills her with dread. So searching it is.

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Sometimes Kasumi thinks that in different circumstances, she could actually like it here on the ship. Some of the simple eeriness of its unfamiliarity and the situation they've all found themselves in has worn off in the time since she first arrived and if it weren't for the occasional worrying event since, this all might remind her enough of home for her to relax, let her guard down.Case in point: the media libraries. They're just another example of how this ship was meant to be a home at one point, albeit a temporary one, not something menacing or suspicious.

Having spent so much time going out of her way to avoid meeting most of her new shipmates face-to-face, Kasumi's actually a little startled to find she's not alone this time. But startlement gives way to curiosity pretty quickly, and she lets her steps grow heavier and more audible so that her sudden appearance nearby doesn't come as such a surprise.

"Find anything good?" she asks.

Heather's not so comfortable yet that she's not wary of strangers, and this one? Has her face covered. Which is weird. Then again, she's not so much sneaking up as being there when Heather didn't really expect to see anyone, so Heather offers a single-shoulder shrug and a small but friendly smile.

"Depends on your definition of good," she says. "I found a lot that's... uh, interesting. I don't really get much of it."

Kasumi stays just far enough away that it doesn't seem like she's trying to peak over anyone's shoulder -- personal space paranoia, especially when it comes to privacy of information, is common in her line of work -- but not so far as to make having a conversation weird or awkward.

"Interesting is a good word for it," Kasumi agrees, a hint of amusement in her voice (as usual). There's a bit of a smile back beneath the edge of her hood. "I've always thought you can tell a lot about a person or a group of people by what they put in a place like this."

Heather perks up at this, nodding.

"Right? I mean... this whole situation is just screwed. Everybody just pulled away here with no idea why, from all over. It seems so sinister, but then there's things like this. I can't believe this ship's from somewhere so different that music's not for entertainment. Or any of this stuff." And she laughs, because it's still weird to say stuff like this ship. She can't imagine a situation in which it won't be.

"Have you been here long?"

Kasumi's smile this time is a little bigger than the last.

"A month and a half or two," she says and then adds, for clarification, "It's hard to keep track of. A standard day is a few hours longer where I come from." She looks up toward the ceiling, as if it's just as interesting as everything else in the library. "It's like a small museum, and I've always liked museums."

Edited 2012-01-28 23:51 (UTC)

"It's nice," Heather says, immediately making a face at using such an insipid word. "It seems less... you know, shrouded in mystery," she explains, wiggling her fingers illustratively. Because this place at least seems to offer some clues, cryptic as they may be, while to Heather's mind the rest of the ship seems to be saying ha ha, fuck you.

"Where are you from? If you don't mind me asking." And because that may seem a little rude, she offers up: "I'm Heather. From Earth. Um, in 2003, for what that's worth."

Kasumi wouldn't say that she's developed an eye, exactly, for people from the 21st century. They don't really sound or look any different from anyone Kasumi knew back home, other than being mostly human. But there are a few clues she's started noticing. Asking about the kind of place you're from is one; looking a bit like they feel in over their heads is another.

So she tries to be as understanding as possible as she says, "Kasumi Goto. Before I wound up here, I was on a spaceship called the Normandy. 2185. Making this is all a little more comprehensible for me, I bet."

"Ffffyeah," Heather says, avoiding cursing at the last second because hey, it's not that strange, or even really that far in the future, if she thinks about it. After all, a pretty lady with slightly sinister dress sense and a chronological advantage is way more normal than some of the other stuff around here.

"So this is just like, really rude and inconvenient for you, rather than all futuristic and creepy?"

Kasumi bumps her shoulder into the nearest bit of bulkheading (which is far more architectural and far less streamlined and utilitarian than the stuff back home) and leans her weight into it, putting her other shoulder to use in a shrug.

"Let's call it rude, inconvenient, and possibly creepy but not futuristic. I'd tell you that you get used to it, but I've never really been in your position."

Heather laughs at that, deciding Kasumi's not so spooky after all. False assurances have always rubbed her the wrong way, and the fact that Kasumi doesn't offer any is weirdly soothing. She turns her chair backwards, folding her arms over the back support and resting her chin on them.

"I appreciate your honesty."

"If there's one thing I can give away for free, it's honesty," Kasumi replies with a another smile. Not that she always does, but she figures there's enough misinformation and unanswered questions swirling around without her adding to it. "If it helps, though, I've always found that people are a lot alike. Even when they look intimidating and have confusing histories and think weird things are beautiful."

"Um," Heather says, her smile turning sheepish as she adds being totally transparent to the list of stuff around here that she's not used to. It's funny, though, how well Kasumi's illustrated her own point; that's exactly the sort of thing Heather's dad used to say.

"It does. Help, I mean. Thanks."

If Kasumi knew she was striking home with Heather, she'd probably attribute it to luck or some kind of common bond between people lost in space. But though Kasumi's got a good empathetic sense for other people, she doesn't quite spend enough time analyzing them to know exactly what the sheepishness in Heather's smile means, so she just shrugs a shoulder and nods at the library console.

"I hope the getting it part gets easier."

Jane is also bored and prone to wandering when bored, wanting something to occupy her mind. Some nights she was fine, others, not so much, and tonight was one of them.

So she came to the media library, wanting something soothing to listen to, or at least something different than the noises of the ship.

"What is that even supposed to be," Heather grumps, shutting off her latest attempt, which sounds like the noise of a wet finger on glass and an elephant's call somehow had a baby and makes all the hairs on her arms stand on end. "Come on, I'll even take Coldplay!" She leans back, frustrated, and spots a young woman who pretty much must have heard that.

"Um," she says, trying to ignore the warmth rising in her face. "Hi."

"Hi." Jane says, amused. "What were you listening to?"

Jane had something of a clue to music, but not as much as Darcy had, but she wasn't so clueless as to not know who Coldplay was at least.

"I have no clue, but I think it's giving me a bad hair day." She runs her fingers through her hair, then briskly rubs her palms over her forearms, exposed with the sleeves of her jumpsuit rolled up as they are. That was weird. And speaking of weird, this woman definitely wasn't. How refreshing!

"Hey, you don't happen to know if there's any music around here from Earth? In, like, the 20th century? This stuff seems like kind of an acquired taste, and I'm way too tired to do any acquiring."

Jane shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. This is my first visit here. But maybe the two of use can find something?"

She was game to try something, and maybe she could even find a little something of home on this ship streaking through the stars.

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so never mind the darkness

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