make you feel my love

samira kehmet. 314. djayyar. surgeon for the prosperity.

[daphnerux]

"Yes, tragically or not my parents apparently have allowed the family legacy to end with me," Daphne said, shaking her head. Ugh, when would the matchmaking attempts end? When she was fifty? "I think the lapse in judgment came from the idea that they might want to look even more legitimate if they had someone on their side. Either that, or they secretly wanted to see how uncomfortable they could make me. Not one of their usual tricks, though, so I'll call it a bad choice." There wasn't too much of a choice there, really. "I could try pretending that I'm already married if they ask again and not elaborate. I've never tried that one before."

[samira-kehmet]

Samira, as a mother, never quite understood the reasoning behind having only one child. Who was the child supposed to grow up with? Who was supposed to help the child take care of their parents when they grew old? It seemed unfair to have one child. "I feel as a family as influential are yours could smell a fake marriage. Unless you have some very intricate lies set up." She was a bit too much of a realist to offer any positive feedback on this plan. "I'm glad at least that younger generations seem to be pushing back on forced matchings. A long time ago, a lot of people simply let it happen." She shrugged. "I was not one of those people, but I did witness it very often."

[sarasvatistella]

@samira-kehmet

"I don't... actually plan to delve into the medical sciences, but it's always a possibility," Stella said as she walked into the medical bay. Samira had not asked her to show up or anything. Stella just wanted to be here. Sometimes she liked to come by and talk about science. "But legally I think I would run into some issues if I tried to obtain a medical degree and then actually tried to use it beyond the implied timeline of a human or erkuss lifespan... If you could go back to school to study something else, what do you think you would like to go into?" Stella had never actually gotten to see her graduate studies through because of the Incident with that one woman which had been so embarrassing. But she wanted to know more about what Samira's nice interests were.

[samira-kehmet]

Samira didn't think much of Stella suddenly appeared and delving right into science talk. She was used to it by now. She looked up from her tablet and listened. "Well... surely there are resources out there that can modify your medical degree to appear more up-to-date should the need ever arise." That didn't sound too unrealistic - though it sounded like an uncommon request since there most likely was not a lot of Stella's species out there pretending to be a human or Erkuss medical professional for several centuries. She blinked at Stella's question, blanking on an immediately answer. "Oh... hm... I haven't thought of that." She put her tablet down. "My entire existence has revolved around medicine. I'm not entirely sure if there's even something else I would study, otherwise. There's so much to study within that field alone. It took me decades after I initially completed my medical training to completely study every sub-specialty possible."

[daphnerux]

Daphne grimaced broadly and looked up from her tablet to see who was nearby enough to see an emotion. Just Samira? That was acceptable. To be honest, Samira was one of the four people on the crew that she would have been okay with seeing that (the others were Sky, Muffy, and Grau.). Everyone else was on thin ice. "Parents figured out that I'm on Kraysha. Or, well, they knew earlier and decided to reach out now. I'm not convinced they aren't going to try to try to matchmake me with someone else if I go, if you're wondering. Once they tried to set me up with a galx official which was moronic rather than simply irritating. You remember what my parents do, correct?"

[samira-kehmet]

Samira had only intended to pass by, but it was a coincidental sequence of events where she had just happened to look at Daphne as the captain made a face at her tablet as she walked by. Samira had long taken Daphne as the type to not speak of her feelings, so she was going to offer an awkward hello before Daphne spoke first. Alright, it seemed like this was going to be a fellow rich kid problems conversation. That was fine. "Yes, I'm familiar with your family's business," she answered. It was difficult to live in Rungung and not know of the New Australian scandal, but also she knew what Daphne's parents actually did for business. "You're an only child, correct? The likelihood they'll try to discuss matchmaking is nearly one hundred percent." She was thankful to be spared that part of being in a rich family - but that was only because she couldn't produce more Kehmets. "A Galactic official is desperate, however. Usually marriages are about advantages, not conflicts of interest."

[marshallmaevik]

Marshall found herself beaming as Samira agreed, as if it wasn’t even a question.  She supposed she already knew that she’d agreed to meet her family at some point a while ago at that costume party, before they’d even established some sort of relationship, and these people she would be meeting were a tier lower than that family.  But it was best not to assume when that was months ago, and at a club.  She felt her heart skipping a beat as Samira further told her that learning about where she spent her childhood was important to her.  It was still strange to feel so elated over a relationship, but since it was Samira, it also somehow felt entirely natural.  “Then I’d love to show you my childhood.  And then tell you about the parts I can’t show.”  Was that weird?  To want Samira to know everything about her?  She decided it didn’t matter if it felt right, and it definitely did.  Marshall leaned over and gave her a kiss on her cheek.  “Thanks.  For…I don’t know.  But it’ll be fun, I think.”

[samira-kehmet]

If Samira did actually have reservations, they would've dissipated immediately after seeing the look on Marshall's face when she agreed to go. Samira had almost forgotten how it felt making someone else happy. It was nice. She smiled softly. "We definitely don't struggle when it comes to having fun together," Samira remarked, reaching up to tuck strands of hair behind Marshall's ear. "If your family is even remotely like you, then it won't be an issue enjoying their company. I look forward to it. And I look forward to meeting your dads and siblings one day, as well." Samira figured she may as well establish that the inevitable "meeting the family" event would be fine, too.

[aliothizan]

Ali's eyes widened slightly when he realized just how long it'd been since Samira dated someone. This really must be a lot for her to wrap her head around then, but she seemed to be adjusting well. Not for the first time, it really reinforced just how early into his life he still was. He was around Earth in the 40's, which was a completely different time, but he was just a little kid then too. "It is kind of a strange word, yeah," Ali laughed softly. "For me, it felt like too small of a word to describe Skylar." He pictured Samira calling Marshall "bae" and snorted. She would be really hip with Gen Z then. "I think "bae" stands for "before anyone else" actually. The younger crowd tends to use it more, like mid twenties and younger, so I don't think you need to include that in your list of affection terms," he explained. "Some pretty common ones are babe, baby, love, darling, honey..." He listed off. "Me and Skylar call each other "babe." Darling is kind of a more classic, mature one."

[samira-kehmet]

Samira blinked at the true meaning behind "bae". "The youth now refer to their significant others with acronyms?" She would disregard that one, then. Referring to Marshall in the same manner as the "lol" or "WTF" phrases used in written communication these days felt like the complete opposite of romance. "I see. It's nice to hear some terms have withstood the test of time, at least. Darling is quite nice," she mused. "I'll leave 'babe' to you. That still feels too modern for me. I do find it interesting that you think 'bae' is too small for Skylar by comparison. Is it because it's missing the extra 'b'?" she teased.

[aliothizan]

Ali got what Samira meant. He never thought he'd meet another Djayyar, so it was pretty incredible he met multiple. Their conversations could get pretty heavy, but it was still nice to even have someone who understood how he felt. "It is nice, yeah. I really do appreciate your advice and opinions," he said. Ali didn't expect his nudge for Samira to tell him more about her to work, but it looked like she did actually have something she wanted to tell him, leading him to perk up with interest. Her news was a lot more exciting than Karmel's reminder she existed, and Ali was really happy for her. She deserved to keep living her life when she had so much left of it to live still. Ali knew Samira and Marshall were close, but he didn't realize they were this close. He thought it was great. "Congrats!" He said cheerfully. "I'm happy for you both. It's good you seem to be on the same page too."

[samira-kehmet]

Samira smiled at the congratulations. It was a sweet sentiment, even if she didn't feel it was entirely necessary. "Thank you. The last time I 'dated' someone was... quite a while ago. So there's a lot of adjustment needed on my part. Particularly getting used to the term 'girlfriend'. That was not a word we used back then. That's how long it's been," she chuckled. The word sounded strange from her lips, still. It was fine hearing it from other people, but she had never said it to refer to someone else. It almost sounded a bit juvenile, like she was too old to even be saying it. That was a problem she had to sort out herself, though. "I may need your advice on present-day terms of affection. There's one I've heard a few times - bae? Is that short for 'baby'?" That was a very strange shortening of a word, but she didn't know what the kids were into these days.

[marshallmaevik]

“I think so too,” Marshall took the drink sample back from Samira and sipped the rest, then tossed the small cup in the booth trash can. She laughed about the free samples, reaching for her hand again. “Couldn’t agree more. Unofficial free samples that don’t also mean that someone wants something.” She was unfortunately too suspicious of people now. Then Samira was watching her expectantly, and she had no issue launching right into it. “Since my extended family lives not far from here, I decided I’m going to visit them at some point this week. I received a message from my dads from the last mail call with their contact information and some old photos from when we lived here--I also gave one of my aunts a call yesterday, and she and the rest of them seem excited to meet up. What I was wanting to know… was how you felt about potentially coming with me? I would completely understand if it’s too many people to meet, or just too soon in general for something like that,” she finished calmly. It was true that Marshall would understand, and she hoped that she wasn’t putting too much pressure on her. But she also felt it would be a good experience, only heightened by Samira being there. As all experiences were.

[samira-kehmet]

Marshall's comment was fair - now that Marshall wasn't a child, but rather a very pretty adult, it was hard to expect unofficial free samples as pure altruism. Samira was familiar with that type of cynicism. She intertwined her fingers with Marshall and began walking to check out the other stalls they hadn't yet looked at. She nodded along as Marshall spoke about her extended family who lived here. It was nice that Marshall wanted to see them. However, it was Marshall's question about how she felt about also meeting them that gave her pause. Did it feel too soon? This was Samira's first time "taking it slow" with someone. And Marshall seemed to be on the same page about that. But they were also friends before this, so it wasn't like Marshall was a complete stranger to her. "Of course," she decided, not feeling particularly pressured about doing so. "I'd love to meet your family. Learning about where you spent even a fraction of your childhood is important to me."

[aliothizan]

Ali realized that might be the wrong thing to say around Samira a little too late. At least he knew he had an option, she found out after her family was already gone. Ali preferred knowing what he knew while he still had time, it was just...a lot, and it wasn't only his decision either. "Nah, not really," Ali agreed with a shake of his head, appreciating the shoulder pat. He had to travel all around Earth so humans wouldn't suspect him, which was fun for him, but not easy. It wasn't like he ever had any real friends because of it. "Thanks again, Samira. I'm sorry all our conversations end up being about this or blood samples. I'm sure you have much more exciting things going on than just that."

[samira-kehmet]

Samira chuckled at the apology. It was a common topic of conversation between them, true, but Samira hadn't minded. "No need to apologize. It's always nice to have someone around that would even understand this particular topic. I'm glad you've been spared the couple extra centuries I had to wait for that to happen." Samira would've been surprised months ago that she would actually have something going on that wasn't related to Djayyar issues. She wasn't normally one to be so eager to share something as personal as her love life, but she also thought that maybe it would be useful for Ali to see that it was possible to still advance in the romance department after losing someone once before. "Well... I do have something unrelated to our current predicament currently going on." She almost felt silly, like a teenager about to confess she had a crush on another girl in her class. But if Ali and her could have deep conversations about fear of loss and the struggles of their species, how could talking about being in a relationship be tougher than that? "Marshall and I are together. We're taking things slow, given our own separate reservations about falling into relationships. But it's been... incredible, to say the least."

[aliothizan]

Ali didn't either, but he was overthinking a lot more than he usually did lately. He would say he typically thought the appropriate amount, but a lot was happening. Much to consider and all that. "I'm sure she would too. Maybe, I'll actually have an answer for her then," he shrugged. "Everything was a lot simpler before I went in that cave." It wasn't that he regretted going, but he definitely understood why that information was locked away so securely. And now he sometimes had counting in his head, which wasn't related...he didn't think, but definitely new.

[samira-kehmet]

Samira's eyes narrowed slightly at Ali's remark that everything was simpler before the cave. She was empathetic to the pressure he was probably feeling right now, when he was quite young in his lifespan. Far too young to think ahead of the consequences of accepting, or not accepting, Karmel's deal. She wished she could do more than offer wisdom whenever Ali asked for it, but Ali was his own person at the end of the day and therefore the only one who could really make his own decisions. "Unfortunately, I don't think there's any aspect about being a Djayyar that's ever 'simple'." She offered a consoling pat on Ali's shoulder. "There is a lot of weight to carry with what was discovered in that cave, though. But, at the very least, you don't have to carry all of it alone."

[marshallmaevik]

"Mm, maybe not," Marshall chuckled, handing it back to her, then taking a sip of her own drink to remove the taste of the one prior to it. "This one's pretty good," she offered her fmoople juice sample for Samira to try in exchange. Then she was asking about some childhood memories, and it was really sweet that she wanted to ask, that she wanted to know more about her as a child. Smiling to herself, Marshall thought for a moment. "I don't remember a lot; but I do remember the stalls and everyone being a lot bigger," she joked. "I think Holly--the sister who's two years younger than me--and I would try to run around and take samples from every table. Obviously we were adorable, so we may have received some samples that weren't free for everyone else." Saying all this reminded her of her message from her dads, and that she'd been meaning to talk with Samira. Was the market the best place for it? Maybe; Samira could easily run in the other direction if she desired. "Actually--I wanted to get your thoughts and possibly ask you something. Something that you can very much say no to," she expressed.

[samira-kehmet]

Samira decided to give the fmoople juice a try. "Mm. This one is much better than the other one." No weird aftertaste. Still, she wasn't a juice person so she didn't feel incline to actually buy any. She handed Marshall back the cup and listened to her talk about what she remembered from the market. She smiled warmly, imagining a tiny Marshall - and her tinier sister - running around market. She always had a soft spot for children, even before she had children of her own. "How precious. I think you should still get to receive unofficial free samples, but what can you do," she joked. She looked at Marshall with a curious expression when Marshall told her she wanted to ask her something. "Of course," she gave the cue for Marshall to say whatever she needed to say.

[aliothizan]

Ali nodded and slid the gift certificate in his pocket. That didn't really seem like a Samira activity anyway. "Nailed it," he chuckled. "I hope she doesn't think using it counts as an agreement. I don't think she really has a way of knowing though." Ali knew where he was leaning in his decision, but he wasn't going to persuaded by free shots. "Oh well. At least some of us get a drink out of her hint, right?"

[samira-kehmet]

"I doubt she'd assume that would be an agreement." Karmel didn't strike Samira as an unintelligent person. She wouldn't assume such a huge decision from a trivial thing like getting free drinks. "She may be testing the waters though. I wouldn't be surprised if she decided to come to you if enough time passes by." She wondered how that conversation would pan out. She wasn't involved, really, but she was available for support when needed. "But, free drinks don't hurt. I doubt it's a sacrifice on her bank account to pay for ten shots."

[aliothizan]

(open)

Ali furrowed his brows at the gift certificate Karmel gave him and his husband suspiciously. This was so far in the back of his mind compared to visiting the retirement community, but Karmel was still connected to the whole thing. He knew he still didn't give her a real answer and was basically leaving her hanging, so he wondered if this gift was meant as some kind of reminder to make a decision. Well, they hadn't made one yet, so she'd have to wait a little longer. "Ten shots," Ali announced aloud as he looked up from the gift certificate. Of course, he and Sky could split these down the middle, but it might be more fun to share with the crew. "Should we check it out? It also includes water shots."

[samira-kehmet]

"A gift certificate for ten shots?" It wasn't hard to deduce who had provided that gift certificate to Ali - there was a particular person who lived in this city that had a very heavy interest in him. "I'll pass - I think there are others on the ship who would make better use of that. Enjoy them." Ali's expression said a lot. She decided to offer a person for him to speak to about it if he desired. "Karmel dropping a not-so-subtle hint, I presume?" She would've been more surprised if Karmel hadn't reached out while they were in town. It didn't seem like Ali and Skylar had made a decision yet on her deal.

[marshallmaevik]

Marshall had one or two memories of coming to the Weegl market as a small child, so it was interesting and fun to come back and experience it again.  What was more, she was experiencing it all with Samira, while holding hands.  She’d never held hands with someone at a market before, and found that doing so greatly heightened the experience.  She’d already purchased a couple bread loaves at the previous stall, and they made their way down the street, stopping at a juice stand that caught Samira’s eye.  Marshall picked up what she could reasonably ascertain as fmoople juice, but held it as she watched the djayyar try her own.  Very curious based on the face Samira was making after she’d tried it, Marshall accepted the cup of blue liquid in her other hand, fully expecting some blue raspberry flavor regardless of being told it wasn’t terribly sweet, but when she brought it to her own lips, it was definitely not that.  “Hm.” She held it out, looked at it, and took another sip.  “I don’t think I like this.”  Another sip, rather than putting it down.

[samira-kehmet]

Samira chuckled as Marshall took another sip even though she said she didn't think she liked the juice. It didn't hurt to be double sure, she supposed. "I assume that will be a no on taking an order to go, then." She doubted she would be missing out much on not taking any juice with her. She hadn't aimed to make any purchases actually - her sole goal was to spend time with Marshall. "Do you remember anything from this market when you used to live here?" she asked curiously. Even though Marshall had spent most of her life on Kraysha, it was good to know things about her childhood. It was also nice to hear about someone actually having a childhood. Something as simple as being a young child exploring random stalls in a market sounded lovely.

[samira-kehmet]

closed for @marshallmaevik

Visiting a local market was always an opportunity to educate oneself on the culture of an area. Samira also liked to think her current company elevated this experience. She was more than content spending the day at Weegl, holding hands with Marshall as they looked through the different stalls. It was a shame it took centuries for her to fully appreciate the smaller things in life, but better now than never she supposed. One stall caught her attention, which sold different juices made from the local fruits. The vendor was offering free samples of various flavors, and he assured them they were safe for Erkuss consumption. Samira figured it would also be safe for her to drink. She grabbed a small cup filled with a neon blue liquid and took a sip. "Hm," she hummed. She held the cup towards Marshall, offering for her to try as well. "Not terribly sweet, I think. An interesting aftertaste." She visibly debated internally whether she enjoyed it or not.

[samira-kehmet]

Do you think Ali should power up a planet?

"I think Ali should do whatever is best for himself, and for Skylar by extension. I've already told him if it were me, I would do it without hesitation. But he's not me, and I am not him. There are negative consequences that come with either choice. But I trust he will do what's best for him."

[samira-kehmet]

What kind of future do you see with Marshall?

"If... I'm to allow things to go anywhere with Marshall, I can't allow myself to think too far into the future at the moment. I would like a happy future, that's all I can say for right now."

[samira-kehmet]

How long do you think you'll stay on the ship?

"I didn't join the ship with a particular deadline in mind. I'm certainly in no rush to leave, either. I suppose I'll leave when it feels right. Not exactly sure of the factors that would determine that."