(no subject)

[yondu]

Who: Yondu and OTA
Where: Cinema Car
When: Llama 3
What: Yondu shows a few of the holovids he got from home (Battle for Xandar, Flerken Documentary, Ravager Info)
Warnings: A "Damn Nature, You Scary!" scenario

OTA in the Cinema Carriage

Newsreel: Battle for Xandar
Yondu's been looking forward to this one the most. Partially 'cause he wants to remember some of the good times of bein' back home. This victory was a definite high point, even if he missed a good chunk of the battle from above. He'd still been fighting below.

It's a ground view of the notorious (in his universe) battle. He points at the Eclector as it's approaching, speaking over the correspondent on the ground who's narrating the airbattle. "That'n was my ship! An that other'n was called the Dark Aster." He says as a swarm of small M-ships drop out of the bottom of his own vessel.

Then he points to the ship up between the two blast ships. "That'n was me. An' down there's Quill, that's my boy. An' there was Kraglin' an' Rocket. Now the plan originally was that they'd blow a hole in that there an' both me an' Quill'd go in but uh..."

He's quiet until a chunk of debris takes a third of his ship off during the mayhem of the frantic fight and he starts going down.

"...Looks worse than it was. Ended up fightin' ground troops an' havin' to watch from down there, too." He says as a bunch of little Nova Corp Star Blasters show up, escorting Peter's ship. Then he claps once and points with a big jagged grin "-Lookit that! Look at how damn good Peter did flyin' in there." He's proud as hell of his dumb boy.

He finally settles back in to watch the grid up, where it cuts away to talk to an eyewitness reliving their portion of the account and what they were doing that day.

"They show some more in a li'l' bit."


Flerkens: The Improbable Creature
Yondu's quiet this time, listening to the David Attenborough level voice narrate.

It's set in some space ruins, about Earth levels of development though before whatever apocalypse happened there. In a cityscape there's a 'cat' wandering, an orange striped tabby, looking fairly normal at this point.

"The Flerken mother's clutch is near hatching. The young will be vulnerable, so she is patrolling the area of potential predators. And she spots one. A native canine commonly called a 'three-eyed terror hound."

The view shows a massive dog, about the size of a horse, sniffing around the remains of an alien vehicle. "It has caught the scent of a potential meal. The mother-to-be needs to act quickly." The tabby goes darting along an overgrown curb, flattened down as low as she can get, stalking. She has that wild-eyed cat look. She bides her time under the car as the monster-sized animal gets near a rusty shipping container, swiss-cheesed with holes from age.

"Now, she strikes."

That's when the Flerken darts out with the speed a mother cat is usually seen exhibiting before protecting her kittens. What is not usually seen (by humans, anyway) is the mother opening her head completely up and tentacles pouring out of her mouth. She makes a nightmarish noise as she grabs the would-be egg-eater and swallows it whole.

"Her young are safe. For now."

A camera inside shows the Flerken mother going to lay among her eggs, of which there look to be at least 200 some.

"That's what cats look like to me," Yondu says to the person watching with him, then carefully eating a piece of popcorn.


Ravager Country
There's a wide-spanning shot of something that looks like an asteroid until it pans to an angle that reveals that it's a massive skull with a city built into it. This narrator sounds a little more energetic and excitable.

"Welcome to Knowhere." The camera cuts to a street view of pretty questionable looking people wandering around. Everything still mostly intact because this was filmed before Ronan got ahold of the place, but that doesn't say much for quality. A pink man with brown hair and dressed about as recognizably like a field reporter as a space person can look is guiding the cameraman through a marketplace.

"This is one of the best places to find brokers that deal with Ravagers. Usually they serve as middle-men between someone that wants an item or a capture and the Ravager faction they hire. Different factions pass through Knowhere on a regular basis. In fact there are over 100 Ravager factions, and we have one moving in now."

The camera turns to show a bunch of Ravagers walking towards a bar. They're all wearing black and have a different 'flame' design on their uniform. The reporter approaches them to talk.

"I didn't know none o' them," Yondu says, wrinkling up his nose and shrugging. "I think they got Contraxia in here, too." He'll just not mention half of what he's done on Contraxia.

Comments

[renegadeprince]

While he's not one to spend a lot of time in the cinema car, Vegeta does still enjoy the use of media between tasks and training, a chance to unwind and not have to focus on too much. This showing had also caught his attention as, unlike back on his Earth which normally had 'sci-fi' as fiction, this was actually real life. Then again, aliens and space battles was still mostly unknown to his world, or at least they tried to keep it that way.

"Your ships still utilize a wing based design? Are they meant more for lower atmosphere encounters?" He has always been told off, normally by Bulma, about talking during a film or show, but since Yondu seemed happy to chat during this then Vegeta would as well, curious about the technology involved. Vegeta really has had nothing to do with air or space-based combat when it came to the use of ships, he was always a ground troop to take out the opposition before they had a chance to start a defense, but these were all very alien ships, even with how many other alien races he has encountered over his years. There really was nothing like these that he had encountered back in his universe.

That grid was equally interesting, Vegeta leaning forward in his seat to try and spot all the holovid allowed. "A shield made up of ships? I wonder if an Attack Ball could get through it... It's still based on rear propulsion, correct?"

[yondu]

"Star Blasters- that's what the Nova Corp. there is usin' -just have rear, gives 'em some pushback after they link up."

Bulma's said pretty much nothing but good things about Vegeta, so he comes in with a pretty high recommendation. Her judgment's been pretty solid so far, so he's about as casually friendly as a wry Ravager can be.

"M-ships- them are the ones that did the fightin' first? They got back an' lower, but changin' the shape of their wings can kinda adjust where that propulsion is goin'. We did space an' atmosphere battles. They had a Transmatter system, too. Meanin' if somebody got downed you could swing by an' pick 'em up without even gettin' out. Even in the middle of a battle if ya had a couple o' folks coverin' ya."

Or if they got spaced. And that's an unfun nostalgia right there. But he'd saved a few people like that, so not as bad as it could be, considerin'.

[renegadeprince]

No doubt Bulma would of had a field day talking tech with Yondu and comparing technologies between the universes. It was one of the few bonuses of being forced together, being able to trade ideas and get new ones based on others knowledge. Then again, Bulma wasn't really the type to share back, at least not with Capsule Corp secrets. Cornering the market or whatever they did.

"The fleet I was with had little concern about aiding its members in times of trouble. You either survived yourself, or died." Sure it meant a loss asset, but they were just property to the likes of Frieza, and a Saiyan knew that any battle they entered could be their last.

"That shield must have a breaking point though, it doesn't look like it will hold back the mass of that ship." Which in itself was... a strange one, lots of moving parts. Not that he's ignoring your lovely ship too, Yondu, don't worry, it's just not that interesting compared to ones designed as shield to protect a planet's surface. If an entire planet could put a permanent version of it up, it would offer a great level of protection. Depending on the strain it could take. Everything had an overpowering point before it broke.

[yondu]

They talk about it some from time to time. Also having been parents, though Trunks is a smart man. Peter Quill... well, he's got other stuff he's good at. Yondu's accepted this and is proud anyway.

Yondu had been a slave himself, right up to his own adulthood. It had skewed his own perspectives on leadership. "I did my best to keep what men I could. Up until some of 'em double-crossed the rest." There's some contempt there, but that's another story. "Wasn't gonna be like my old owners. I had to lead rough but I weren't about to throw folks away like they was nothin'. ...Just had to look like I might."

He scrunches his face up at that whole 'had to look hard to live' thing. He shoulda kicked out the asshole portion of his crew long before. He did have real good folks in there he coulda hung onto.

But yeah, the Nova Corp shield doesn't last forever. The city is a little more sparse when a video from a different angle comes back on to where the Dark Aster breaks through. Its from the shaky perspective of people leaving the city on a transport, and there are civilians chattering frantically in the background audio, dimmed down to make room for the narration. Yondu just gestures. "Kree were military through an' through. They'd do what you're talkin' about. Nothin' else mattered so long as they won." Even if Ronan was a rogue at that time, he still stank of everything in the Kree Empire he hated.

[renegadeprince]

Vegeta... really isn't going to bring up his own degree of 'leadership' and how he had been back during that time. He really had cared nothing for those limited Saiyan numbers that survived their planet's destruction, each dying off and their numbers dwindling; until he had killed the last of them himself. Now days he does regret it, though Vegeta has trouble seeing the likes of Nappa being able to overcome his past and to move beyond just mindless destruction. Radtiz maybe, but he wasn't the brightest person around. Much like his brother.

"Sounds like how Saiyans were. If you weren't able to win in battle you were considered worthless." True, they had their share of people in other fields, but those typically were in support of their fighters; technical staff that maintained their ships and gear, got them ready to head off world, or kept their people alive back on their planet. However Vegeta is under no illusion of just what his people were like, and just the damage they had done to their universe. "Provided there was a profit or fun in it."

He also still can't get over these ships, Vegeta shaking his head as he settled back in his seat. "All your ships are so... angular."

Battle for Xandar

[goingthroughaphase]

While she'd only meant to stop by and see what was currently playing, Kitty somehow finds herself sticking around for the newsreel. She's only somewhat paying attention to what's on the screen, though, listening more to Yondu's commentary about it. And she can't help smiling, hearing the pride in his voice when he talks about his boy.

It's sweet.

"It looks like it was a really impressive battle," she says.

[yondu]

"Oh yeah. I thought we was dead for sure. I went into that knowin' Peter an' the girl he took up with was dead set on doin' it an' if I didn't it was that or him dyin'."

For a lot of reasons. His crew wanted Peter dead. If he went alone, they'd definitely be dead. If he succeeded by some miracle and ended up with that stone, they'd all end up dead.

(He figured that Peter'd pull some kind of fast one but he was pleasantly surprised to discover he hadn't just sold it to the first buyer.)

"Unfortunately Ronan's ship makes it all the way down- tears through the Star Blasters an' you'll see a big ol' mess o' purple light but no recordin's." He gestures to the screen before settling back in a chair, kicking a leg up over the arm of it.

[goingthroughaphase]

She turns back to the action on the screen. "So what happens? What's the purple light?"

[yondu]

"Somethin' called an 'infinity stone'. I weren't there for that part, I missed exactly what happened." He leaves out this time that his boy could handle it. That requires too much explanation.

"They had to contain it. If the thing touched the planet it woulda wiped out ever'thin' on it."

Flerkens

[labcatte]

"Amazing," his companion breathes. Honestly, they look pretty much like a cat themself, being more or less an anthropomorphic tiger person. "God, I'd love to read an actual academic book on their biology—really figure out what makes them tick. That's exactly the kind of creature we should have on Mundus."

[yondu]

"I'd give 'em to ya if I could." He gestures at the screen. "I only came across nests a couple o' times an' both times I made a real quick point of gettin' completely outa dodge."

He's lost some crew to one. It'd be more tragic, except even Yondu has to admit some of his crew would consistently make bad choices. He really, really shouldn't have put hiring on Kraglin's shoulders. That said, those particular deaths had been almost an argument in favor of Natural Selection.

[labcatte]

"I mean, I'm not sure we should have any real ones there," Bacon admits after a second. "But I'd like to recreate something like them for the adventurers to fight. You need to come out with new creatures every once in a while, just to keep them interested."

[yondu]

"...How bored do all your adventurers get? I mean-"

He gestures at the screen. This is stuff that he did all the time. Though sometimes that he forgets as a kind of space pirate his life is pretty unique in that he's always dealing with dangerous shit. Or he was, anyway.

"I mean... what was available in the wild anyway?"

definitely flerkens!

[forceshadowed]

Jaisyn hasn't had this much downtime that she can just spend her afternoon watching holovids... so here she is. She's also not opposed to being wrangled into watching a documentary about creatures called flerkens, though she's waiting for the punchline, because she'd been told they're dangerous. And dangerous animals are kind of her specialty.

So when the mother flerken finally shows what stuff she's truly made of, the young Jedi actually laughs. "Holy kriff." She turns to Yondu in amazement. "And you've seen them? In person?"

[yondu]

He laughs wryly at that. "Yeah, a few times. Seen a nest twice. Backed out both times an' left the whole area." Just had his crew board and decide it wasn't worth it until someone cleared the area 'cause even a little one can eat a fully grown man.

"If they ain't tamed they'll definitely eat people. But I seen the socialized ones, too." Some very crazy Kree keep them. At least crazy as hell in his opinion.

[forceshadowed]

"Do you know anything about taming them? Or where to find out?" Oh no. Jaisyn, no. You're not going to go down that dark path like some very crazy Kree.

[yondu]

"I'm sure somebody plum out of their mind wrote it down. I just never looked into it. Even if I wanted one a bunch of my crew'd piss it off an' get themselves ett for it."

But really, if there ever was a creature that'd be at home in her universe, it would be a Flerken. As far as Yondu's concerned she can have them.

knowhere

[pleple]

Ple Two has seen repurposed asteroids - her faction in the war she participated in was based out of a large asteroid that had largely been mined out, and repurposed as both a living space and a fortress. This is... of course, when you have more than a single solar system at your disposal, you would find exceptional things like a giant skull asteroid. It's perfectly reasonable that the infinite vastness would contain such things.

Still, she's a bit wide-eyed at the incredible size. On the other hand, it's clearly not quite so civilized as any asteroids back home - a place to find mercenaries, for black markets, and other seedy deals.

"I wouldn't imagine that you'd know everyone there." Unless Ravagers ran in reaaaaally tight circles.

[yondu]

"I knew quite a few back in the day." Before he became an exile. "That'n' I think was made in the last ten years or so? Looks like it from the flames." He pats his own on his coat. "These represent generations. They change the style as time moves on."

He points at the screen.

"You know, that was actually a part of an actual livin' thing, once. That's the head of a celestial. I knew one who made a little small people-sized version of 'imself an' a planet-sized big version? Fella was a dick."

He sneers. "Makes for a neat lookin' pit stop." The reporter passes by the Collector's collection, but don't go in. There's also a bipedal Duck outside drinking.

[pleple]

"That's an interesting way to go about it..." Representing the passage of time. Generations. Of course, the descendants of Zeon slowly altered bits of their aesthetic as well.

...wait.

"L-living? That enormous?" Ple Two could believe it after everything she'd seen, but how grim. "Ah! Another duck! Like Della!"

[yondu]

"Yeah, I heard that Della was from Terra an' it blew my mind. That'n's from 'Duckworld' in my universe- Yeah, on the nose. Probably ain't what they call it. But," he waves dismissively, "I just figured Della came from there until I learned otherwise. I guess Terra evolved more like their world did there."

Duck shapes on two planets make about as much sense as Yondu looking as human as he does.

"Yup... Celestials grow that big. More time they got to think about what they wanna be, the more they take in."

Flerkens, of course

[tortoiseshelltigress]

Saash has the wild-eyed cat look, ears slightly laid back. Were it not for the fact the tabby was orange, that could be Urruah, there. At least until the creature practically split its head open and spewed tentacles.

"I admit I haven't been off Earth much, if at all, but if I saw that? I'd be running and begging the Queen for whatever lives I had left," she admitted. "No wonder you were so frightened of me! That's terrifying!"

She spends a moment to composure-groom, before turning golden eyes on Yondu. "Are we a little better now?" Flerkens didn't seem to talk, after all.

[yondu]

"I figured out y'all ain't Flerkens at least." Saash and the other cats on board.

"I mean... look at me. I got a Terran sorta shape- a lotta species do I guess. But my blood's got copper an' iron both in it. My vision's more keen. Sense of smell is better. Guts are a little differ'nt 'cause I need more protein. Our women got pouches. But it's still pretty much all the same shape.

"You an' Flerkens are about like that. More extreme, but about like that."

[tortoiseshelltigress]

"No, no, that makes sense. I mean, I can tell you're not a Terran, but you're not like some of the other alien types, either. I can't say I've met any, until I came here, but. Put you and a human next to each other and I can smell the differences, for example." And it's not like Rhiow and Nita hadn't told her about some of the alien species from her own reality. Their tales were enough to put her fur on end.

Just like the Flerkens.

"But I do know what to do if I see a cat that doesn't smell like a cat, now. Run like hell! I just hope one doesn't show up here," the tortoiseshell says, quite fervently.

[yondu]

"What! One might find you right perty, though! I know a few Terrans that ain't so bad on the eyes. Quite a few right on this train. You might even find you a nice polite'un."

He's teasing because he can now. At least it shows he's much more comfortable.