trans_9 | Slightly Less Animated Than Usual [Open]

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Oh we have drawing where I'm from," Kaya said, "but they don't move, they just stay in one place. It'd be pretty interesting to know what kind of technology they use to make them do the things they do!"

At this, Kaya looked sympathetic. "Peter was someone you cared a lot about, wasn't he?"

Starfire nodded her agreement on both counts. "It is interesting! And Peter...he was my boy who is a friend. We began a long time ago, but I was hesitant. I had hoped for a friend from Earth, but when he did not appear..."

Kaya smiled. "I think I remember. You were looking for Robin, the one that YOU knew. And over time, you wound up caring a lot about someone else who liked you. And now he's podded."

She looked down, giving the girl a sad smile. "I've been there, actually."

"Yes. I would not know what to say to him now," she admitted, rubbing her arm. That would be an awful day, but she knew it would come---even if it wasn't for a while.

"How did you recover?"

"What do you mean?" Kaya asked, which was not entirely true, but she wanted to know the specifics. If there was one thing she wanted to do for star, it was help her avoid feeling as horrible as she had for several months.

"I had friends, I had the ship," she said, smiling. "It's not a hurt that goes away overnight of course: you miss them all the time, and then there's a period where you're scared you might have forgotten all of the things that made you sad about them leaving in the first place. That's sort of the blessing and curse of Stacy: so much is going on, there's hardly time to grieve."

"How did you trust again? Gain the courage to forge new friendships, even knowing they may not last."

That was her real wonder. Starfire knew in her heart she'd be able to do it, but it was hard to see the light up top from the bottom.

"I remembered that they would want me to do the same," Kaya said. "The moment we step foot on the ship, we know we have to attempt to be strong, because the things that would hurt us come very quickly, and get us where it hurts most. So when I see you all, when I have people I trust, it helps."

The hurt never just went away, but it lessened, and that helped, more than most people knew.

Strength resides within.

A faint memory from her home came to mind. Starfire offered her hand to Kaya in gratitude.

"And therefore you allow yourself to enjoy this while it is with us?"

"I make sure I enjoy every day I spend with all of you. Even with the idea that one day someone might take that away, I will fight tooth and nail for it. Liking people, forming bonds that lead to a podding hurts, but the memories they leave you should never be taken for granted."

She took Starfire's hand gratefully, smiling.

"You make more, then? Every day is a new opportunity?"

Perhaps there was an idea in that. Maybe. It sparked in her mind.

"Always. That's been my philosophy the moment I stepped onto the ship. It's not an easy one all the time, but at least I know that I can keep making new memories with people. That I miss them when they leave is proof that they mattered, and so did I."

Starfire smiled once more. "Then...perhaps we should get together and enjoy ourselves, as we once did. I neglected the group, I should not have."

"The group hasn't been one for awhile," Kaya admitted. "Everyone gets podded all the time. I think if we're going to make anything out of what we were, we might have to just start making it a place to hang out and train, no title to begin with."

"Then we will do that," she offered gently, curling closer. "Perhaps we could make use of the pool? I have never had the opportunity."

"Of course, are you kiddinng?" Kaya grinned. "I clean it every few days in case someone wants to take a dip! I think that girl with the purple hair might sometimes, but I don't know if anyone else does."

"It would be my honor," Starfire smiled over at her. "We should extend an invitation!"

Kaya grinned, clapping her hands. "Definitely! A pool party! It cool definitely help ease some people's fears."

"I will be there," Starfire promised, finally smiling again. "I will see you soon?"

Kaya nodded. "Of course, I'd just have to clean everything up again, set up everything! And I'll be really happy to see you there!"

Slightly Less Animated Than Usual [Open]

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