#♡. rem.ic ⁄ ⁄ flash of hope .

[stellarhistoria]

"You are still loved, even in your pain."

[astrummorte-m]

rem saverem tags

[stellarhistoria]

The well-loved book is unfurled in the young independent's hands, claws teasing and bending the frayed pages. Lenore had given it to her, had told her that - perhaps with some luck - the old greats of literature might inspire her to 'find herself' rather than aimlessly commit to being another subject in a long line of scientific endeavors.

It's quiet, for a time, and the girl has probably consumed the same several passages of Romeo & Juliet now at least a dozen times over. But then inspiration seizes like a bolt striking from the cosmos, the glyphs inlaid into her fair skin coming briefly alight. She hops out of her chair and scurries over to Rem, a single claw pointing to a single word on the page within the prologue, "This!" She says, "Verona! That can be my name!"

semi unprompted / verona & rem. / @strywoven.

"That's a wonderful name, Verona!" of course, rem would have said that to nearly any name - in fact, there wasn't one that she would consider bad, as all names can be beautiful if said by the right person... not to mention that it was the person the name was under that made the name beautiful. not the name itself.

( names were jumbles of letters given meaning - as most words were. )

"Do you want a last name as well? You can choose any of those as well! Most last names have meaning, like attaching you to a family, or to a lineage of some sort. Like my name! If I recall correctly, my name means 'riverbank' and my last name means 'dwelling of the just'."

[stellarhistoria]

never a dull moment when the two independents are in the same room together. and for all the ways they seem to reflect one another - so startlingly similar it often comes into question whether the two are related - they never muster the faith to get along for more than several moments at a time. today is no different.

music is the one thing the two agree on. or did.

nai and verona stand opposed, their backs to each other, mirror images of offense and irritation ( all crossed arms and deep scowls ). the piano sits untouched, the room quiet until nai breaks the stalemate, "that's just dumb, you never listen when i talk," his head snaps over his shoulder, pinning the elder with a narrow-eyed glare, his tone point and accusatory. "i said chopin, not joplin, learn some taste!"

verona fumes in response, metaphorical hackles rising at the direct dig on her preference. she growls, a low, fierce noise that pushes out her words through the bite of sharp teeth, "taste? i would rather have soul! that's what music is for! get over yourself!"

it's nai's turn to bristle, incredulous ( & slightly hurt ) both at her words and her tone. he turns, looking to rem overseeing the heated debate nearby. he doesn't say a word, simply flings out his arms towards verona in hapless gesture as if to say: see? see how she is?

"Both of you have taste, and both of you have soul, just in different ways." she intones with a quiet chuckle, kneeling down to be sitting on the tip toes of her feet while being closer to their level so they can both look her in the eyes.

"Nai, you have taste in the form of preferring the classical genre, something most people can feel their lives flash before their eyes and as if they were back in that time, as well as having the soul of a poet, someone who has a heart that could never turn his back on his people no matter how badly he gets hurt for it." and her gaze flickers between the two of them at that moment. they were more alike than they believed, and it was adorable to watch.

"Verona, you have taste in the form of preferring the classics, something most people can feel the music through their whole body and live in the present and believe in the future, as well as having the soul of a musician, someone who can bring out any emotion in a person with just a few notes of a song, speaking truth and ensuring justice in the most lively way possible."

and she opens her arms, gesturing to the piano.

"Now, can't you both find a way to mix the two genres? Back home, they were called mash up songs. I'm sure with your brilliance, the two of you could find something that'll get stuck in the crew's head for a while to come."

[stellarhistoria]

"miss saverem?" voice is unsteady, uncertain, dark eyes glancing up to her authority. "is it alright if we... discuss the proverbial elephant in the room?" doesn't mean to make light of things, but lenore - the young scholar, the prodigal scientist - does indeed gesture her hand towards the stasis chamber housing verona, forced into indefinite sleep following a recent assault on the ship's crew. "i... feel i must speak my piece to someone who would likely listen," she takes a seat in the open spot beside the older woman, picking at her sleeves, "and though i know my stance is a conflict of interest, i- i do think verona's logic is sound."

a pause. head turning to eye once-companion sadly through the glass. how far she's fallen ; how much farther will she fall? lenore shudders to think.

"the crew thinks her violence is unprompted, but that's... absurd!" lenore's hands ball into fists against her knees, the ire and conviction burning bright in her gaze. "i know she's not the most virtuous of creatures, and i know she's troublesome... but i also know her to have a gracious heart and- and a wonderful, vibrant soul-- i cannot allow them to consider terminating her!" voice trembles, eyes welling with tears. "you must understand!" lenore looks at rem, pleading and desperate like anyone who has ever been driven by a consequence of star-crossed love, "she's no monster! they're just afraid of her because they won't even try to know her! and- and... that's... how is that fair?"

"I hope they realize that, no matter the terms they decide to use for it, they're trying to decide whether or not to kill a child." a huff of annoyance slips past the biologist's lips, eyes narrowing in decided disgust, knowing well that perhaps her own place in the matter is a conflict of interest, but that doesn't give anyone the right to take a life - or decide to take a life, regardless of how they're perceived.

it baffled rem to know that people would go to such lengths when they didn't believe someone was worth human decency. ( truly, has the human race fallen so far that kindness towards someone who needs the most of their attention to grow, to thrive, to survive, is off the table when they're just a little more difficult than the ones they ACTUALLY enjoy being around? ) verona was a child, STILL IS a child, and she deserves to enjoy her life as much as anyone else. but if she can't convince the crew to let her exist as a person...

she shakes her head at her own thoughts, and reaches out to place her hands on lenore's shoulders, eyes squinting ever so slightly with mirth and vibrancy, the sort that rem had always been known for. as well as a glint of geranium red determination.

"Don't worry, Lenore, I'll take care of it. Verona isn't going anywhere."

[stellarhistoria]

strange is it that verona would be found smiling so much; lips split at the seams to show off teeth, teeth, teeth-- but all out of joy. something's gotten into her ... or someone. lightfooted step brings the youth into stride with rem, hands folded behind herself as she carries along with a plucky gait. "can i ask you something?" verona asks, waiting for acknowledgement before continuing, "what should i say when i like someone?" baffling enough is the question, verona is not known to give good graces to anyone. but it seems 'like' might rather instead imply 'love'. or whatever squishy, messy warm feelings a teen might fall privy to.

maverick just met me and gives me sof things @strywoven. / verona & rem.

"When I like someone, I usually tell them, but I have a feeling that you don't quite mean that sort of like." rem had always been privy to the emotions of plants, of some animals back home on earth, but when it came to people, it was as if she was always at a distance, no matter how hard she tried to seem like she had everything under control. perhaps that's why it comes so easily to talk to those that don't talk back in the cryo stasis pods - because they were much like non-independent plants.

"Well, in this case, it would depend on who you're trying to tell that you like them! Because not everyone responds to that sort of affection the same way. Some people love the feeling of being liked! And others would much rather be invisible. Could you tell me who you like? Maybe I could help."

[stellarhistoria]

"apologize?" the youth balks, comically incredulous at rem's offer to make amends. why? why should she meet the man halfway when HE started it...? features fall lax, silver eyes roll as a dramatic sigh pushes free. "... oh, i suppose i could," verona relents, drumming her claws along her arm, offering an uninterested shrug, "but he deserved it!" and i'll do it again, is the unspoken afterthought burning in her scornful gaze, made clear by the way her lip curls back from serrated teeth. // i offer you 1 problematic child...

rent free in my inbox / @strywoven. / verona & rem.

"Kindness is a choice we make every day." the biologist smiles warmly as she kneels down to be closer to verona's height, the young girl so terribly used to such hatred that it saddened rem to know that she couldn't have intervened sooner in her life. "It's not something that we should expect to be returned, but instead just something we do because everyone deserves that at least once. You never know what people are facing, to make them act a certain way."

though, she giggles softly and reaches out with one hand, a finger tapping the girl's nose affectionately as her head tilts to the side in a near comical manner, exaggerated as she always is.

"Don't be a pushover, but don't be a bully either. Stand up for yourself without looking down on others in the process. Does that make sense?"

[stellarhistoria]

inbox call. // @wclking-fire. // reunion, and many more.

she's silent for a moment, considering - weighing what would be most important to say, to ask. and, truly, she knows that she doesn't quite know what's going on, but... this is her baby boy. one of them, at least. and she's no stranger to the idea of bottling something - even though she doesn't do it anymore.

so she takes a seat next to the familiar boy ( and he still was; just a boy, scared and angry and hurt ) and stays silent for a little while. letting her ideas spiral and wind through her fingers. she can tell that he is hurting just to see her. how long has it been? time has become a little strange these days. but, it didn't matter.

"I'm proud of you, Vash. That will never change."

[stellarhistoria]

@pleiadeshalo [ AKECHI ] replied:

There's a scoff, almost growl-like. "How dare you say that? Who are you to claim so boldly something beyond your understanding?" Brown eyes glimmer a silvery black. "Choose your words more carefully next time, stranger."

"Love is beyond no one's understanding." the woman says with a quiet smile. "Be it myself who gives it, or someone you keep close. Love is love, and love remains no matter what."

but, she finds herself sighing dramatically, resting her hands on her hips.

"But! I can't convince you of something that isn't even in your head right? So, tell me, what makes you believe that love from someone who doesn't know you is so far out?"

[stellarhistoria]

rem tags

♡.   rem.ic     ⁄ ⁄   flash of hope .

♡.   rem.aesthetic     ⁄ ⁄   flash of hope .

♡.   rem.visage     ⁄ ⁄   flash of hope .

♡.   rem.v01 ( main )     ⁄ ⁄   geraniums & white irises .

♡.   rem.v02 ( au )     ⁄ ⁄   a second chance for forever .

♡.   rem.about     ⁄ ⁄   there is always hope for a brighter tomorrow .

♡.   rem.bond: ( vash )     ⁄ ⁄   a blank ticket to tomorrow .

♡.   rem.bond: ( knives )     ⁄ ⁄   always; still; forever loved .

♡.   rem.thoughts     ⁄ ⁄   the world once was wide enough .

♡.   rem.asks     ⁄ ⁄   the color red is for strength .