casually draws various sentients without their permission (open!)

[spacesharks]

Who| Kyle Rayner (spacesharks) & anyone!
What| Readjusting to the superhero life.
Where| The mess hall.
When| Lunchtime!
Warnings/Notes| N/A!

On a better day, he might have gone about this differently. Kyle wasn't entirely new to the concept of working with a team—he knew, at least in theory, that it'd be a good idea to meet everyone, to get to know the people he'd be spending the next who-knew-how-long with. And he wanted to. But it wasn't that long ago that he'd arrived, and maybe he still felt a bit— disoriented. It was like his body was here but his mind hadn't quite caught up yet, still lost somewhere in the past, somewhere in the middle of the war in the Vega system.

So he opted for a more indirect route in adjusting. Drawing was a good way to unwind, to give his mind a chance to catch up to where he was right now, so he took a seat in the mess hall and started sketching. People passing by, excitedly chatting with their friends, their expressions when they nearly drop their food— oops. Well, it wasn't like they'd ever know...

He was paying more attention to the sketchbook than his food, but that was okay. He was more here for the people, anyway. This felt so normal compared to what he'd left. And once he was able to accept the fact that everything he'd been through in the past couple months didn't mean anything right now, then he'd go about doing this the right way.

...eventually.

Comments

[ringslinging]

Hal had been around more than long enough to have a routine, and to adjust it according to such important criteria as "grab lunch after the shifts change, the afternoon crew has that hot Tamaranean chick."

The hot Tamaranean chick he was presently engaged in lively conversation with as he grabbed a tray, of course, and who he was clearly paying far more attention to than the food he was loading up on. And who was definitely holding more of his attention than Kyle, who he had yet to notice.

He said something. She laughed. Whatever was going on, it appeared to be going well.

[spacesharks]

The pencil was already moving on the page (it was her expression that caught his attention) before it occurred to him that— he knew that guy, didn't he?

Actually, yeah, he definitely knew that guy. And while there was a part of him that felt a sort of relief he hadn't felt in ages, there was also a sort of... well, he wasn't quite unimpressed. It was more like he just wasn't surprised.

But maybe there was something good about that. This situation wasn't that strange, but he kind of appreciated the familiarity anyway. For a moment, he debated leaving him alone, but if he did that, he might not see him again...

So for this one, he took the initiative. Kyle got up, headed over, and put a hand on Hal's shoulder.

"I'd be careful around this one. He's kind of a troublemaker."

[walkingballpit]

Once upon a time, Robbie used to be something of an artist, but that was in high school. He hasn't so much as doodled in years. He knows the posture however: shoulders a bit hunched, head tilted, and the scribbling. The last one is the real giveaway.

"Is this seat taken?" He doesn't want to interrupt if he's unwanted, but the space station has felt empty lately. Sure, there are hundreds, if not thousands of people on board, but Robbie hasn't seen as many people he knows lately.

That's a blessing and a curse. He's appreciated the time to fully wrap his head around the past weeks - future, space capes, formerly dead friends - but Robbie's starting to feel alone in his head.

This guy is here, looks about Robbie's age, and is doing something interesting. That's enough to start with. Worker, original Legionnaire, new Legionnaire- who cares? Robbie sits down across from him without waiting for approval. He'll buzz off if it's unwelcome company. "So are you more of a Picasso or Dürer?"

[ringslinging]

Unexpected. When the hell had Kyle gotten here?

Still, Hal squished the surprised look pretty quickly, and smoothly added, "For the fun kind of trouble, anyway. I'll see you around, okay?"

And then, shifting his tray to one hand, he used his other to steer Kyle away with him, back towards the tables, before the kid had the chance to be any more of a cockblock. "Remind me never to ask you to be my wingman, Kyle. When did you get here?"

[bachido]

Kubo wasn't in the habit of intruding up on people, but he also wasn't in the habit of noticing other artists and not paying attention to them.

He came up beside Kyle and craned over his sketchbook, spotting the subject across the room.

"Wow," he said, reaching for his shamisen, delighted at Kyle's drawing. He could hardly believe that someone could make mere lines look so realistic. "That's really good!"

He looked at Kyle and played a short riff on his instrument. A piece of green paper flew out of his pack and, hovering in midair, folded itself in time to the music into a shape far more intricate than the usual constraints of origami, and as like to Kyle in form as paper could be. Turnabout was fair play, right?

[spacesharks]

"I think I already did," he said, mildly amused. He'd feel bad, but he knew what he was doing. Besides, it wasn't like he'd ruined Hal's chances with all of Legion World. (Unless Hal had already done that himself...) Either way, he let Hal guide him away with no hassle. "But you'll be fine. I actually just got here. I mean, a little while ago."

Something like that. It was recent, either way.

"You're a sight for sore eyes, believe it or not. I didn't think I'd know anyone here."

He hadn't seen anyone he really knew in months, so it was actually really nice. A pleasant surprise.

[spacesharks]

"I'm not sure how to answer that," he says, looking up, a thoughtful but amused expression on his face. "Either way, I'll just sound pretentious."

The conversation is welcome, truthfully. Maybe the things that got most people about this place didn't quite bother him too much—he lived in space more than on Earth sometimes, and being in the future was weird but it wasn't unbelievable. But there was still a disconnect there, and the conversation was so pleasantly... well, normal, compared to the past few months. In a way, it didn't feel right, but it's not like he could help that he was stuck here. So he kind of needed it, this normalcy. He needed to get used to normal things again.

(Or... well, "normal." Because being okay with being whisked away to future space was probably not normal. But that's beside the point.)

"These're just sketches, anyway. Nothing fancy. I haven't had a chance to draw in a long time."

[ringslinging]

"You actually just missed the Lantern party. Most of the Corps got dragged through to this era and nearly started the war up here." Hal shook his head. "If things seem quiet around here, just wait a few minutes."

It was a lot more like home than it looked, when you thought of it that way.

[spacesharks]

"Thanks, but that was awesome."

He was genuinely impressed. Kyle did other things besides drawing, and he didn't think he was too bad at the whole art thing, but this was on a different level—he'd never seen anything like it before.

"How'd you do that?"

Was it magic? Was the instrument magic? He wasn't sure, but whatever it was, it was awesome.

[spacesharks]

"Nice to know some things don't change," he said, somewhat bitterly. "But I guess too much quiet can be a bad thing, too."

If he had to be stuck here, he'd rather be doing something than nothing. At least then, his presence here would be— meaningful. And maybe normally, he might not have cared, but leaving one war to fight another? It kind of left a bad taste in his mouth.

"What happened? Is that when you got here?"

[bachido]

"My mother taught me." Great answer but really, what else would it be but magic? Kubo had no context for explaining unusual things as anything but that.

"My name is Kubo," he introduced himself. "I'm a storyteller. This is how I tell my stories."

With Kubo's shamisen silent, the little paper Kyle stayed still, shifting slightly like a living thing waiting for instruction. Kubo didn't know enough about Kyle yet to give it any.

"Is your magic in your drawings?" he asked, looking back over Kyle's art.

[spacesharks]

"Oh." He looked down at his work for a moment and then shook his head. "No, I wouldn't call that magic."

He'd never heard anyone call it that before. How could he describe it...? He was pretty sure most people just called it talent. ...but that would just make him sound full of himself. He had another idea.

"But I guess this is kind of like my magic," he said, balancing the pencil between his fingers as he held open his palm, and in his palm appeared a glowing green action figure-sized Kubo. "I mean, it's my superpower. If I can picture it in my head, I can make it."

It was a little weird, being able to make a construct without his ring, but it seemed to work just the same way.

[ringslinging]

"I got in before that. Stuck around after. The reds and the yellows teamed up, everyone else teamed up to take them down...the orange ring was just kind of floating around until Parker grabbed it for a bit, so I've got no idea if Larfleeze was even here or not."

The idea of Larfleeze lost somewhere in the future is...slightly worrisome, but since he was separated from the ring, Hal saw it more in a I feel sorry for the future way than a serious threat to be dealt with.

[spacesharks]

"What ever happened to the ring?"

He could only think of a few reasons why there might be a Larfleeze-less ring hanging around, and the last time he'd encountered one, it wasn't exactly harmless. (Well, the "ring" was, but the reason wasn't. He missed that little guy, though.) But then again, if Larfleeze had been dragged here to the future just like them, then it couldn't be that bad... right?

[ringslinging]

"The Corps took custody of it. Not sure how well that's gonna go, but I can't really think of any better alternative." Hal shrugs.

[spacesharks]

"I'm just glad someone's there to keep an eye on it," he said.

It'd probably be worse if it was still just flying around out there somewhere. If something bad had to happen, at least people who were equipped to deal with it could.

"Did anyone else stick around?"

[uzuki]

Shion had been in sort of the same boat. Physically present, but mentally? She was in and out, at best. She did realize, however, that being a recluse wasn't going to benefit her much in this environment. Especially with no distracting work to be consumed by.

So, that meant reaching out the best way she knew how. Over a meal.

After grabbing something to eat, she surveyed the mess hall. Most of the people there seemed to be socially engaged already. Sure, she could absolutely squeeze into a conversation that was already happening. But, she noticed Kyle. He was alone, just like she was. He seemed to be occupied, but... Why would he come to such a busy place to work if he wasn't hoping to be approached? She stared over, mustering a friendly smile.

"Excuse me, would you mind if I took a seat here?" She asked, indicating the spot across from him.

[bachido]

With a look of astonishment, Kubo reached out to touch the figure.

"That's amazing!" he said. "You don't even need something to make it out of?"

[spacesharks]

"Oh," he looked up at her, and shook his head. "No, not at all, go right ahead."

He gestured for her to take a seat. His expression turned somewhat sheepish as he continued, though. "I, uh, know it probably doesn't look like it, but I actually wouldn't mind the company. I'm kind of new here."

Just in case she was worried about intruding or anything. He understood that 'artist staring down at his sketchbook' probably wasn't the most inviting image he could be conveying right now.

[spacesharks]

"Well, sort of. It's made of energy."

Willpower, to be exact. Technically, it was expendable (or at least, it was when he had the ring), but he supposed that probably wasn't the case now. He wasn't quite sure how it worked himself, so he didn't bother trying to fuss over the details out loud with him.

"But it's entirely solid. See?" Kyle reached over with his other hand and lifted the little action figure's arm. "Just like the real thing."

[uzuki]

"Thank you." She nodded, setting down the tray with her plate of delicious orange pixels vegetable curry before she seated herself.

"So I guessed right, you were looking for company!" She laughed, just a little. "I used to do the same thing back home when I first started my job." Well, sort of. More like she did all her work in public, hoping to see the guy she liked, but whatever.

"I'm Shion, by the way. I'm new here too."

[bachido]

"Made of energy?"

The word didn't translate well to Kubo, with his lack of understanding of any sort of physical science. Kubo tapped the figure with his index finger.

"That's incredible magic," he said, finally. "Even my mother needed paper to make things out of." Even back when she had enough focus to spare for displays of small, origami magic. "Why isn't it magic?"

[spacesharks]

"I'm Kyle," he said, reaching over to shake her hand with a smile. "It's nice to meet you."

A kindred spirit, too, no less! He kind of appreciated that, because it meant he didn't have to explain why he wanted company despite apparently being busy with something (or, well, semi-busy, because it was more a thing to help unwind than anything else). She already understood.

"Where I was before, I wasn't around people very much." Or when he was, the circumstances were kind of... stringent. It was hard to really enjoy the few times he did have chances to be 'social.' "So it's nice here. Feels a little more like home."

[spacesharks]

"You know," he tilted his head, thoughtfully. "I'm not really sure."

He'd know the difference if he saw it, probably, but that wasn't very helpful. There were also plenty of people whose powers kind of blurred the lines between 'superpower' and 'magic,' anyway.

"To tell the truth, I don't know a whole lot about magic. Back home, I can only think of a few people who know how to do it." Powers like his were rare, too, of course, but it seemed like magic was even more rare. "Do you know other people with special powers like yours?"

[ringslinging]

"Nope. Just me before, just us now."

Seeing Kilowog had been great, for about the five minutes they actually had to talk before it was one thing after another. (Hal still had the bruises from that hug, though.) But what he would've given to have a little longer. Or to see any of the others from Earth. John. Even Guy.

Carol.