Happiness Is A Warm Gun

[Nara Phln]

"That's just the Kowakian monkey-lizard paradox though, isn't it?" She ignored the woman's expected antics in regards to violence.

"Nobody really cares about them, because they're just monkey-lizards right? They're rare and unimportant. But try it, keep an eye out for them, and you'll find signs pointing to them everywhere. You'll hear someone talk about them in passing, see some local company use them in their logo, or even see one being peddled on a market. You see the pattern, the monkey-lizard conspiracy, and now your mind is blown. Except, it doesn't mean a *thing*. There's no pattern, no conspiracy. It's just random chance, and you didn't notice before because you hadn't bothered to care. For one dumb reason or another, you decided to pay attention to the name Bellionas. Then you started seeing it everywhere. But why should that mean anything? Besides, if the universe were trying to tell you something, don't you think it'd tell you more clearly?"

"Now that you mention it, a couple of the kids did have monkey-lizard backpacks....."
Nara turns to peer at a distant former student, chewing her lip. Random chance....or pattern and conspiracy?!?!

"I kinda like it when the universe tells you something on the down-low. Everyone I've met who thought the universe was telling them to do something real clear was a serial killer....well except for that one guy who became a paediatrician, so maybe it swings both ways. Like, the universe has never told you anything super straight and in your face, right?"

[Tyllia Demici]

She brought a hand up to her face and shook her head a little. "You're missing the point again."

[Nara Phln]

She brought a hand up to her face and shook her head a little. "You're missing the point again."

"I dunno, maybe I'm really in tune with the universe and am picking up on things. I mean, just do the odds. There have to be millions of monkey-lizards but there's only one Bellionas..."
Dropping her voice to a whisper
"...That we know of. So I'm way more likely to notice monkey-lizard stuff than Bellionas stuff. So if there is a lot of Bellionas stuff then it can't be a coincidence."

[Tyllia Demici]

"No, that's not..." the headshaking didn't stop as quickly as it could've. "...okay, I mean, I could keep trying to explain how probability and psychology works but. But okay. Say it's totally amazing and meaningful. Now what?"

[Nara Phln]

"No, that's not..." the headshaking didn't stop as quickly as it could've. "...okay, I mean, I could keep trying to explain how probability and psychology works but. But okay. Say it's totally amazing and meaningful. Now what?"

"Then I have to find out why!" Punching a fist into her other hand
"It's a mystery to unravel and I bet there's something really exciting at the end of it. Like, maybe I get off the ship and a super secret cabal offers me a once in a lifetime opportunity. Or maybe my old commander is there and he offers me one last job to stop a bunch of terrorists. I refuse at first but when they kidnap my daughter it gets personal."

[Tyllia Demici]

"So, you're just going to go and hope the conspiracy just walks up to you and reveals itself? And do you even *have* a daughter?"

[Nara Phln]

"So, you're just going to go and hope the conspiracy just walks up to you and reveals itself? And do you even *have* a daughter?"

"I mean, ideally someone would try to tell me about the conspiracy before being shot by an unknown assailant and dying in my arms after revealing a cryptic clue. Pointing at some birds is a classic. As for a daughter?"
Firm headshake

"Not that I know of! Now, if someone had secretly cloned me and raised little me as a badass I'd be all for it. But really they'd probably grow up all lame."

[Tyllia Demici]

She sighed and shook her head again. It really was hard not to.

"Has anybody ever told you that you've got an exhausting personality?"

Of course they have. She must get that all the time.

[Nara Phln]

She sighed and shook her head again. It really was hard not to.

"Has anybody ever told you that you've got an exhausting personality?"

Of course they have. She must get that all the time.

“All the time! I have high natural energy! But don’t worry Tyllia, you can get your own fitness up no problem!”
Thuuumbs up

“The trick is regular core focused workouts but you gotta keep anything high impact spaced out for recovery. I do a lot of running myself. Running after people, running away from people, running my mouth if I’m stationary. It just makes me feel great.”

[Jaxom Ursae]

Jaxom did not have high energy or a core that he worked out. What he had was boredom. This is why he hated space travel. You could only stare at the walls for so long. For now, he was people watching.

He wasn't listening to the nearby conversation. He overheard something about monkey lizards and Bellionas, but not much else.

[Tyllia Demici]

"Alright, alright... now you're just doing it on purpose. Soo, anyway... so you're heading to Bellionas following your conspiracy theory. I kind of *don't* want to ask... but what do you actually know about the place? Please tell me you didn't just get on a transport without doing *some* research. And please tell me you didn't do 'research' by looking up even more conspiracies on the holonet."

[Nara Phln]

"Alright, alright... now you're just doing it on purpose. Soo, anyway... so you're heading to Bellionas following your conspiracy theory. I kind of *don't* want to ask... but what do you actually know about the place? Please tell me you didn't just get on a transport without doing *some* research. And please tell me you didn't do 'research' by looking up even more conspiracies on the holonet."

" 'Course I did research. It has a culture known for its unimaginative naming conventions and there's an active shipbuilding industry. I imagine it's like most Outer Rim planets. Based on Tatooine but with one or two distinct differences. As for conspiracies...."
Whispering

"I heard that the emperor has a secret son. When news on that breaks in 45 years you can thank me."

[Jaxom Ursae]

"Tattooine is based on Bellionas, with more sand." Jaxom spoke up.

[Nara Phln]

"Tattooine is based on Bellionas, with more sand." Jaxom spoke up.

“See? I’m totally right! Thank you stranger.”
Nara was a little surprised, usually she had to bribe onlookers beforehand to get them to agree with her.

[Tyllia Demici]

She hadn't been expecting any enlightening new information of course, but that didn't mean she hadn't hoped for *something* more than what's on the tourist bureau's holosite.

Tyllia was about to get into the head-shaking and sighing business again, when a third party made it known they had been listening in. Hardly surprising that would happen given the nature of being packed in tight on a ship like this, but that didn't mean it wasn't noteworthy.

"Hmm?" She turned to face the man, "You're familiar with both, then?"

Truth was, she'd never been to either world. Or even just heard of this Tatooine. Insiginificant little outer rim worlds were half a cred a dozen, after all.

[Jaxom Ursae]

"I disagreed with you. You said Bellionas was based on Tattooine." he shook his head. "Not that I've been there. All I hear about it is the sand, regardless."

[Nara Phln]

"I disagreed with you. You said Bellionas was based on Tattooine." he shook his head. "Not that I've been there. All I hear about it is the sand, regardless."

“Well, which came first? The Bellionas or the Tatooine? Does anyone know the respective age of the planets?”
Fiddling with her commpad

“The tourism bureau just had a lot of really good self-effacing jokes about the planet. Seemed like it was targeting ironic tourists.”

[Jaxom Ursae]

"I don't think Bellionas gets many tourists." he shrugged. "The planet's pretty dangerous, outside the walls. The upper city might get some off-world visitors, but I imagine that's mostly for business."

[Nara Phln]

"I don't think Bellionas gets many tourists." he shrugged. "The planet's pretty dangerous, outside the walls. The upper city might get some off-world visitors, but I imagine that's mostly for business."

“Duh. That’s why they’re going there ironically you wouldn’t go to a nice normal tourist destination ironically.... well not unless you were one of those people who just can’t stop being ironic and it becomes your whole identity.”

Nara shakes her head slightly, it was a common condition.