Slightly Less Animated Than Usual [Open]

[starbolts]

Who: Starfire and anyone who wants to join her!
Where: Media Library
Summary: Starfire's received news that her love has returned to stasis in the pod caverns. Her escape is the bright and colorful world of cartoons.
Warnings: Nothing too serious here! Some potential sadness if that line of conversation is followed, but a little fun can be had here.



Visitors to the Media Library today will find a rather distressing sound coming from one of the watching pods. It's a croakish, scratchy sound that might be called a laugh...if the listener were underwater, inebriated, and otherwise less able than usual to discern the sound. The sound contains the basic elements of a laugh, anyway. It's loud, sudden, and presumably in response to funny events on the screen!

In this case, a bacon-eared and sausage-lipped breakfast monster is in hot pursuit of a banana boat. Colorful cherry-men are yelling in musical-sounding gibberish, directing themselves down a river of orange juice in their attempt to avoid the meat monster. There's a dip in the river, and the little banana boat flies---only to slip on the air (how does that work?) and do a flip into the monster's mouth.

Thus ends one segment of this bizarre cartoon. Starfire is clutching a small pillow from her room and laughing at the screen. Or trying to, anyway.

Comments

[17thangel]

Maria has a look of someone that Starfire would know from home in her deadpan confused look.

"So um, maybe... You could do... A... Thing... That was less confusing? You kind of sound like you're forcing it."

[starbolts]

"I will try not to force it," Starfire repeated slowly, sinking back into the couch. She sounded lost and confused.

"Perhaps we should try a funnier program. Would you like to try the Three Stooges? It is not a cartoon, but friends have enjoyed it."

[17thangel]

"I dunno, watching confusing stuff on a monitor seems kind of... Off. Want me to do your hair?"

[starbolts]

Their hair! Starfire had almost completely forgotten. She nodded quietly, turning her head and lowering herself to the floor to allow it.

"Did you rest well after we net last?"

[17thangel]

"Yeah, I slept for about a day. The cannon really took a lot out of me."

She peers at the hair and ponders.

"Want me to curl it? Or maybe braid it?"

[starbolts]

"I would like a braid, please," Starfire asked, a fleeting smile on her face. That would keep the hair out of her face, and she really needed that right now.

"I am glad that you have recovered. You will be safe now?"

[17thangel]

"As long as I keep firings of the graviton cannon under 5 times in a day I'm sure I'll be fine. I just really overused it and had to set it to its highest containment zone."

She moves behind the other girl and ponders slightly, pulling out her brush and starting to run it through her hair.

[starbolts]

"Then it should not be a problem for a while yet," Starfire is relieved to hear. She relaxes, allowing Maria to proceed with her work.

"Have you forged friendships recently?"

[17thangel]

"Do you count? I am... Not the most social person."

She lets out a breath and starts working her fingers through Star's hair for a simple three strand braid.

[starbolts]

That's one of the best things Starfire has heard all day. She smiles brightly, just barely restraining herself from spinning around to hug the other girl.

"It does, yes. I am honored to call myself your friend." As a bonus, her hair was going to look so pretty! Life is good.

[17thangel]

Maria smiles slightly and continues braiding Star's hair.

"And I'm glad you wanted to be mine."

[starbolts]

Starfire agrees wholeheartedly. "You have been a wonderful new friend. You even handle hair well!"

She would've looked nice for...no, no use thinking about that. She presses on. "What did you do for your enjoyment?"

[17thangel]

"Back home? Flying mostly, not really enough space for it here though. I also did a lot of reading in the library when we were on lock down, and we were on lock down A LOT."

[starbolts]

"I did not often have the opportunity to read once my formal education was complete," Starfire sighed. "I was always on the battlefield, I would have liked more stories. But you must have tired of literature."

[17thangel]

"On any given day, 12 or so hours were either in combat, or on combat alert. Every time they lowered the gate to let someone in or out for a mission I had to be on guard. The few hours where I could read in quiet were... Calming. Especially since I was stuck as a guard and couldn't handle the fight my way."

[starbolts]

"I should try this reading," Starfire decided. A moment of relaxation sounded wonderful to her. With her hair out of her eyes, she could do more without worry.

"What stories were your favorites?"

[17thangel]

"I kind of liked the old historical texts, the ones about what happened before Solaris came to power when everyone was free to do as they wanted. They always sounded so free and wonderful."

[starbolts]

Starfire could understand that. "My planet was once peaceful as well. I was captured and nearly enslaved, but I battled for my freedom. I was fortunate enough to meet my future friends, and they assisted," she recalls, hugging her knees and smiling faintly.

"Sometimes I wonder if we will ever be truly free."

[17thangel]

"We're as free as we let ourselves be. That being said... Its really hard to just be free I think."

[starbolts]

"I understand." Starfire nodded her head, tucking close to her knees. Freedom...so elusive still. She sighed.

"But we have moments. This is one."

[17thangel]

"I guess. Feeling trapped here too?"

[starbolts]

"When we are powerless to keep our friends beside us or change our courses, yes," Starfire agreed, reaching back to pull her hair past her ear. She liked the texture hanging there.

It was almost a comfort. "We are what we have."

[17thangel]

"Loosing people can be really tough. Want to see if we can sneak into the pods and hotwire whoever it was out? It can't be that hard, can it?"

[starbolts]

"That is not possible," Starfire confessed, sounding wistful. She closed her eyes in thought.

"I have often wished to do the same, but the pods are designed to protect our friends while their souls remain in a state of instability. It has never been possible to open one of our own will...only SHODAN was capable of it, and she did so to kill."

The slaughtered bodies from that attack came to mind.

[17thangel]

"Right. So we step on this SHODAN and steal their schematics or something? I dunno, this is all a little over my head, but sometimes its better to look forward into what you can do, instead of back into what's been done and can't be changed."