[OPEN] hey, you, look around, can you hear that noise it's a rebel sound

[normandysbest]

Who: Commander Shepard and YOU! (+semi-closed prompt for CR)
Where: All over the Citadel
When: During the Citadel Event! (April 1st-4th)
Rating: PG-13 for guns and swears, mostly
Summary: Shepard's home, and she knows it's temporary, but she's gonna live it up while she's got it.
The Story:

i. [closed to CR; personal apartment] alive, alive, alive is all I wanna feel

[She wakes up in her bed in the apartment Anderson gave her, and for a moment, she thinks it was all a dream.

She jerks up, looks around, and everything's where it should be. But she can remember. Shepard pulls up her omni-tool in a flash, pushes around the extranet, and... there's Wonderland's network.

It's an event. Her event.

She takes about an hour doing all the recon she can. What year it is, who knows what, where she should be in universe, and she balks when she finally finds it. 2186. The Reapers haven't landed. This apartment shouldn't even be hers, but the recordings from Anderson are around as if the war had already started (and she can't contact him, of course, can't contact anyone except the people in Wonderland, so she knows she's stuck here). So she pulls herself up. Checks around the entire place. And ends up with a cup of coffee, on her couch, watching the cars fly by.

Eventually, she walks into the study, and pulls up the call list, pinging as many friends as she can with the address and a simple message.]

Hey, it's Shepard.
If you've got some time, come up and see my place around here.
Let me know if you're coming.

[And she sits back down on the couch, messes around with her omni-tool while she waits for responses, and tries to hold the feeling of home as much as she can, with the time she has.]

ii. [open; docking bays] oh life can hurt when it gets too real, I can hold you up when it's hard to feel

[The next place she has to check is her ship.

Of course, she can't get through the airlocked door to go get it, and it makes no sense timeline-wise that it should even be docked here, but leave it to her to imagine a version of the Citadel without the war. She remembers standing here, thinking about going back to the war. She was standing in this very spot a year and a few hours ago, when Wonderland took her for the first time.

And now she's back. Almost like she never left.

She remembers that Cortez used to talk about how he loved stargazing here, and she tilts her head a bit to look out at the cosmos. She never thought she'd see this again. And yes, she knows it's fake, but... it's beautiful. The stars always are.

Regardless, if you're looking to stargaze, you've probably found her. And for once, she'll just be happy to talk.]

iii. [open; armax arsenal arena] you better find your voice, better make it loud, we've gotta burn that fire or we'll just burn out

[She sets her high score incredibly early, but that doesn't change the fact that Shepard intends to spend a lot of time in here. So she's suited up, toggling in settings downstairs before heading into the arena. Maybe you're here to play too and wanna tag team. Maybe you've been drawn in by the announcer proudly yelling Commander Shepard, the Hero of the Citadel, the first human Spectre, about to take on the Armax Arsenal Arena! from the speakers outside and you wanna watch some simulated carnage. Or maybe you've just been looking to beat her bet. Regardless, come one, come all, come tear apart some pixelated baddies.]

iv. [open; out and about] and it gets lonely when you live out loud, when the truth that you seek isn't in this crowd

[Shepard intends on going as many places as possible while she's back, so she tries to go everywhere she can think of. Spends a bit of time in middle looking at the huge lake, going shopping at the kiosks, and even (for some reason) sitting in the lobby of the Huerta Memorial Hospital. If you want to find her just around the Citadel, hit her up! She'll be happy to show anyone the sights or recommend a cool place to go.]

v. [open; wildcard] we'll take what's ours for once, and baby, run like hell

[Want a different prompt or starter? Hit me up through DMs or on plurk at cancerously and I'll set up a new thread for you!]

Comments

( armax )

[chantes]

( Leliana had been curious for two reasons -- she hadn't known what the Armax Arsenal Arena was, though she could certainly take a guess at what it involved, and Shepard had invited her... in away.

Leliana had taken a look around some other parts of the Citadel first, shopping with Robyn earlier in the day, before she'd heard the announcement. It was one way to get her there, especially if Shepard had been there all day.

She's watching silently when she first arrives, the weapons that Shepard uses are incredibly unfamiliar and the enemies themselves... space was a strange place )

Is your score increasing each time?

( She didn't know how a thing like this would even be scored. Wasn't there just a winner and a loser? )

[normandysbest]

[Shepard has her helmet off, wiping some sweat from her brow as she sucks down some water between matches. God, it feels good to be out and about like this again, just going all out and letting off steam. She perks her head up as Leliana speaks, giving a small smile at her approach.]

Not really. Each round counts as it's own score, and you get extra points depending on speed, finesse, and health. So it's not just what you do, it's how you do it.

[chantes]

I see. ( Sort of. In a way. She understood training, and repeating movements to perfect them and challenge your opponent -- to find a new way to beat them ) And how does it mark you?

ii of course

[punful]

[Sans just happens to be here, literally sitting on the floor near one of the windows, just staring out into space. Picking out stars and wondering what their names are, wondering what sort of constellations people have invented. Wondering if this or that nebula has a name, and if it can be seen from Earth, and if it has a Messier number or not.]

[He's alert like he always is, though, so he notices when Shepard appears nearby, staring out at a specific ship. Probably her ship. He's content to leave her alone, since she looks pretty lost in thought, but eventually their eyes meet and he grins up at her.]

hey. nice event you've put on for us.

yaaaaas

[normandysbest]

[She meets his gaze with a small smile of her own.]

Guess so. Not what I expected, from my end.

[She looks back out into the stars.]

Usually my life is a firestorm. This was one of the only quiet moments I ever had. But I guess there's no point in looking a gift horse in the mouth.

Maybe Wonderland wanted to get some time in space, too.

[punful]

yeah, heh. pretty obvious i wasn't expecting any of this to go well, either.

[But it keeps just being okay. It keeps just being a bunch of aliens on a space station. It keeps just being...]

[Good.]

it's...nice. nice of wonderland to kinda...give people a break. maybe you're right. maybe it wanted one too.

i ayyooo

[wriggedywrecked]

[He's a little surprised when he gets this message, because what the fuck. He's honestly not sure he cares whether or not he sees where she actually lives, especially considering he's way more interested in some of the tech around here, and also the Reapers, and also several other things. But, hey. Maybe this is one of those...fr...frie...friendship sort of things people keep talking about, which makes him a little uncomfortable, but--hey, it's Shep. She gets it. She's not all touchy-feely-mushy about this shit, which is nice.]

[So he lets her know he's on his way and goes.]

[It takes him about a half an hour since goddamn are the elevators slow around here. They really gotta fix that shit.]

[Eventually he knocks on her door.]

Hey, it's Rick, what upppppp.

AYYYYY

[normandysbest]

[The door pops open in the middle, like Mass Effect doors do because they're classy as hell, and Shepard extends her arms in greeting, and also because she wants to look cool as hell.]

Welcome welcome. Come on in, check it out.

[To be fair, this is a pretty sweet pad. Also, she knows once she says "fully stocked bar" to Rick, he'll be totally on board.]

It'd be a shame to be here and not use this place. Felt like inviting somebody over.

GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSS tastes bad

[wriggedywrecked]

[Stylin' as fuck tho.]

[He laughs a bit at how into this she is. Probably feels good to be home.]

Oh shiiiiit, nice digs. G-Guess saving the galaxy a few times pays off.

ii.

[startingpoint]

[ Even with everything he knows is possible in Wonderland, Kurt couldn't have possibly fathomed an event that would bring them something like this. It's not just the vastness of space that has him in awe, it's the beauty of being immersed in it. The depth and breadth of space is too much to even comprehend and it's incredible to think that right now they're in it. It's not real, but it's as real as it will ever get for him. He has no such illusions of ever getting to space back home. The kind of training required to qualify for space travel is well beyond him now at his age, and he's not sure he's made of strong enough stuff to be launched into space in a rocket.

But this, this is nice. There's so much to do, and he's done plenty of exploring, but there's something equally peaceful and more enthralling about just standing here and stargazing. His arms are folded loosely over his chest as his eyes roam, taking in every star. He happens to look over, though, noticing someone else looking at a ship and then the stars as well. It's a hell of a ship, really. ]

That must be yours?

[ He gives a little nod in the ship's general direction ]

[normandysbest]

[She tilts her head just a little to look towards him, eyes following, and she smiles gently before looking back towards the ship.]

Yeah. That's the Normandy. Had a lot of good years in that ship.

It's a shame I can't get into it here, but I think Wonderland knows I would've just taken off again.

[startingpoint]

[ He's watched plenty of movies with spaceships and always wondered what that would be like, piloting a ship through the stars. And she's lived it. ]

Wonderland's particular like that. No one can leave unless they say so.

So this event, it's from your world, then. It's one of the better events we've had in a while.

iii.

[determinedest]

[This is a...bad idea. Probably. They're not good at the FIGHT, not as good as they should be. It's only thanks to how much they've regressed since the Underground that they didn't do more damage, back when they were in Hell.

But no matter how they try, it seems they can't keep dodging forever.

They watch her play, for a bit. Taking down pixelated enemies with a casual, easy efficiency, too set on the tightness churning in their middle, the twisting and pulling at the threads of their sweater, to really enjoy it.

They find her after. Or...between matches. Can hardly look her in the eye. Feels like they've messed up, like they're already messing up, but if they have to learn from anybody - they want it to be her.

She knows what it's like.]

Shepard?

[Clear your throat. Speak up. No one likes it when you mumble.]

[normandysbest]

[She's messing wth the settings for the next round, sort of off in her own world of being home, doing what she does best, when she hears them speak and stops everything, turning to look down towards them. And because looking down on them doesn't feel right, she crouches, leaving her arms on her knees as she squats down more to their level.]

Hey, Frisk. What's going on?

[determinedest]

[Shouldn't be doing this. Still can't quite look her in the eye, even if she's making an effort. Wasting her time and everything, worrying at the edges of their sleeves, chewing on their lower lip.]

Can you...

[They shouldn't be doing this. They shouldn't.]

You don't, don't have to. If you're busy, or, or if you...don't want to.

[Haven't even gotten to what they want, and they can't even spit it out, can they?]

ii

[choosetruth]

[Georgia is well aware the stars aren't real. Everything here is fake. But they're also beautiful, and softly enough lit that she's even taken off her sunglasses, her fully dilated pupils making her eyes flat and black as always. She looks up when she hears Shepard approach and nods in greeting.]

This is your world, right? [She turns back out, looking at the stars.] Or at least, a facsimile of it. Obviously we're just as much trapped in Wonderland as ever.

[normandysbest]

[Shepard nods back, also looking out towards the stars and her ship more than Georgia.]

It's my memories, at least. Wonderland did a pretty good job on the details though. I couldn't map this out if you gave me a pen.

[She tilts her head towards Georgia just a bit, looking her over.]

Why? You have questions?

[choosetruth]

Always. [She's a reporter stuck in a fantasy land. If she didn't have questions, there'd be something seriously wrong.] Not sure how many you'll be able to answer. A lot of them are more relevant to how Wonderland works than space.

iii

[romsapience]

[This game was very intriguing! Turing watched a few of Shepard's plays, as she dodged and fired at the pixelated enemies. Perhaps this was because it was all a simulation, but it looked rather fun! They caught up to her rather quickly after another match.]

Magnificent! Your moves at the arena were so graceful, yet powerful! I think I'd like to give this game a try.

[normandysbest]

[Shepard pulls her helmet off as she exists, shaking her head a little bit to clear out her hair and some sweat off her brow. She spots Turing with just enough time to nod to them with a gentle smile in acknowledgement.]

Thanks. Glad I was fun to watch.

[She crouches down a bit so they don't have to look up at her so much.]

Have you ever shot anything before?

[romsapience]

[Turing shakes their head.]

I personally haven't, but my friend from back home has. When we were undergoing our investigation, there were a few times where they had to use their laser gun to stun a few people that were...impeding on our progress. Had there been another option, I wouldn't have suggested to stun anyone, but we had no other choice.

Oh, I'm sorry, I'm rambling again! No. No, I haven't shot anything before.

ii

[mourning_ghost]

[Nageki enjoys watching the stars and had thought to see if there were any he recognized around. The closest he'd gotten was around Cygnus before and that was in a dream.]

[Shepard will see a abnormally large mourning dove wearing a leather pouch to carry things in.]

Hello. [He greets Shepard when he hears her, before turning his attention back to the stars.]

[normandysbest]

[She tilts her head a bit, before realizing, yes, that is in fact a bird and it is talking to her. She thinks about making a comment, but like... what's she gonna say? If they're a sentient bird, she's pretty sure they know. So she shrugs just a bit, and nods their direction.]

Hey. Enjoying the view?

ii

[onetruemorty]

[ It's pretty easy to get caught up with all the shopping and games and stuff at first. When Wonderland drops something on everyone that seems to be pretty cut-and-dry... well, decent, Morty figures people have to take advantage of the good stuff while they can.

And the good stuff does include stargazing. Once the rest of the more obvious stuff settles down.

Look at that view. There aren't any incoming meteors or anything. Morty also remembers Commander Shepard from his first day in Wonderland, possibly mostly because she's the one who said "i'm sort of friends with rick" and "he missed you" and all that. He could think of worse people to run into. ]

I-it's kinda nice, being out in space again. You know, without a whole lot of other messes going down at the same time and all. I was kinda worried when this one started up, but it's been like, "nah, this one-- this one's on me, guys, just hang out on a cool space station."

[normandysbest]

[She recognizes his voice when he speaks, and she smiles just a bit.]

Yeah, out of all the stuff Wonderland could've pulled from my world, this is definitely the better end of the bunch. Especially since most of the population has never been off Earth.

You enjoying yourself?