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meadowlarklogs2020-08-28 08:44 pm
closed ✧ just passing through now
WHERE: new casablanca
WHEN: june 14
WHAT: space buddies & cookie search 2512
NOTES OR WARNINGS: talking shit about earth
--
[ new casablanca is not the same casablanca of old, though they kept the spirit of it alive. like the rest of the cities on this earth, the buildings are built very high up and very deep down, but the colors — pale blue and cream and deep crimson, jade and warm orange — make it feel like an entirely different environment. the façades feature intricate carvings and horseshoe arches, tiled in highly detailed mosaic friezes, and stepping inside for relief from the sun exposes ornamental muqarnas like colourful, man-made honeycombs.
the open air market is low and wide, a rainbow of umbrellas and flapping awnings keeping shade across the wide streets. vendors sell fruits and vegetables at fixed stalls with bowls overflowing with individual fruits and jars of preserves. there are entire meals offered from food trucks, some that seem permanent fixtures, some that seem more transient. there are clothing sellers, small household furnishings, a lot of stalls that seem small and artisanal until you go to pay and realize it's owned by one of the large department stores and simply set up to look small.
bantha shit.
presently, jyn is sat on the edge of the huge central fountain, one hand lifting from the blue and white tile to shield her eyes from the sun as she looks up at cassian, even with sunglasses on. she takes a bite of her pear, juices dripping down her palm to her wrist. despite the summer heat and the beating sun, jyn has a grey long sleeve shirt — so thin that the logo of her tank beneath is still visible — on over her shorts.
with her mouth full of pear because she is a street urchin, ] I told him to meet us here, but I doubt he'll be hard to spot.
no subject
He can feel his brain short circuit as he scans for an excuse or explanation or anything to deflect that line of conversation. A tinge of rose flushes his cheeks ever so slightly, perhaps enough to say that he's feeling warm from the heat.
He's had some time to consider his feelings about his friend and he's wondering how other people seem to pick up on it so easily--first Lexa and now Jyn. Meanwhile it took him the better part of seven years to realize he may care about Garak as more than a friend. He must tread carefully though--Garak is an extremely private person. Julian isn't yet sure if he would drive Garak away permanently by bringing this up.
He needs to gather more information, to even see if that's something Garak would even entertain.
In that split second, he's very grateful for Garak's quick thinking.]
I haven't traveled as much as my friend here, but I haven't heard of Coruscant either in my studies. And what of other species where you're from?
no subject
in any case, she shrugs because coruscant ain't shit. ]
Innumerable.
[ she's wearing long sleeves and inches one of them down over her hand so she can take cassian's hand without the empathy bond glowing to life between them — she is not just a pretty face — because now that they've all met up, she wants to walk around. ]
Our galaxy has millions of habitable systems. The planet I was born has a native species, the Valltii. They were blue and furry since it was a snowy planet, but I was only a baby when we left, I don't remember them.
[ she tugs on cassian, find this girl food. ]
no subject
[ he doesn't think anything of it when jyn takes his hand, taking it to simply mean it's time to find some more food. ]
It was not always as easy as hopping through a gate to travel on Earth, but being restrained to one planet is frustrating enough. Back home I have been to many a planet with many a species scattered between them. Migration is frequent, though it can be difficult depending on the system.
no subject
Many of our worlds are a little more homogeneous. There are, of course, exceptions - settled colonies, vacation worlds, and also various space stations - but there's always a great deal to say for one's homeworld.
[Which he misses sorely, but that's not relevant to here.]
Transporter beam hubs are common on a vast majority of civilized worlds, step into one and rematerialize somewhere else nearly anywhere on the planet. It's quite efficient.
[In many ways, because it makes it easy to track people too.]
The gates are a start, here, though with their lack of resources in general I can't see this planet making it without extensive external help.
no subject
It's hard to ignore and Julian is simply glad there's a couple of layers of clothing between them. He follows Garak's lead.
He also doesn't miss Garak's comment about homeworlds. At the very least, people like Jyn and Cassian don't have to worry much about standing out, even if they're not familiar with Terran cultures. Garak is a complete fish out of water and Julian is acutely aware of it. He does his best to keep his concern under wraps, knowing Garak can take care of himself, but it's hard to ignore the target on his friend's back.]
Never a dull day on our station, of course, because of all the different people.
And yes, this version of Earth is quite different. It's missing a lot of indulgences unfortunately...
[It's been a struggle without coffee or tea.]
no subject
[ jyn, typically, is fairly self-contained and reserved, but her outburst comes with the same enthusiasm (vehemence, in this case) as when she flagged them over. maybe she is just really enthused about talking shit about earth. ]
It takes them six months to get to Mars.
[ this should be a global embarrassment. she knows that the government hindered many scientific advancements by convincing the planet to fear ai and thus, in some ways, technology. but six months is ridiculous. it didn't take more than a couple days to go from one side of the galaxy to the other. ]
Unfortunately hyperspace travel isn't my expertise so I can't help them get better.
no subject
A lot of Displaced are from another version of Earth, but this one seems to have suffered a string of crises leaving it a terrible state. [ NO CAF. he feels that deeply, julian. ]
[ jyn talks as much shit about earth as she does about terraforming jupiter. he harbors a lot of the same judgments, he's just quieter about them. ]
Travel is common for us, but homogeneity still exists. For example, the planet Ryloth is inhabited near exclusively by the Twi'lek. Homeworld displacement is just common with many thanks to the Empire too.
no subject
It would take a couple of weeks to get from my homeworld to Earth at a typical cruising speed. Ten days, if one was in a rush. I'm certain that to go from Earth to Mars is a matter of hours at most where we're from.
[He glances over at Julian in case he wants to weigh in on that.]
Has this Empire taken over homeworlds, then?
no subject
There are plenty of more homogeneous worlds as well where we're from, some planets more open to outsiders than others.
It's a shame that this version of Earth is so...bereft. It's a lot more compelling in our universe.
[He glances back at Garak. It's a look knowing that Garak could have A Lot to Say on the topic.]
no subject
[ the empire can get fucked. ]
Planets that aren't hollowed out for natural resources are subjugated, oppressed, enslaved. But slowly, by bits, so no one protests until it's too far gone and the people benefitting from it can turn a blind eye.
[ especially if the planet being ruined is non-human. ]
no subject
[ especially knowing jyn has inspired them already. that sort of gusto isn't born out of happy lives. ]
The Empire has taken over the majority of the galaxy. It is as Jyn says, there is no good end result. The way this Earth is now is very reminiscent of the way they drain all the resources and wreck a planet.
What makes this Earth different from what you know?
no subject
[He shakes his head, acting like his world isn't currently occupied by the Dominion and in danger. He's fine. Garak is always fine.]
But if you want a description of current Earth, I fear I have to defer to the good doctor. I've never been to the Earth of my universe.
[Garak grins.]
Or that's my story.
no subject
Of course, he knows that Garak was mentally strained right as they came here. He understands Garak's need to not address it with other people here. It's too much, it's too complicated.
That teasing remark is Julian's opening at least to distract.]
I know for a fact you've never been to Earth, else your quarters would be full of Swiss and Belgian chocolates.
[To Cassian and Jyn:]
There are a fair few foodstuffs missing here that were critical to some a lot of cultures' food.
I'M SO SORRY
[ if jyn weren't the type to already hate rich people, it would be the lack of chocolate because they ravaged the planet so much that it couldn't sustain... well she doesn't know how chocolate is grown. (it is like a pineapple? that would be neat.) ]
If you want coffee cheap, go to New Honolulu.