nexus_crossings | HELP HOW DOES I ANNIVERSARY

HELP HOW DOES I ANNIVERSARY

Brace yourselves, Nexus citizens. James Tiberius Kirk is back, after a somewhat lengthy absence. Not the one who went AWOL and scared the shit out of a lot of people, as he hasn't been gone nearly long enough to grow a beard to rival the Jim that is currently standing in the plaza looking concerned, confused, and very mildly alarmed. At the very least, he isn't behaving like it's an emergency, or like anyone's life is at stake. No, his problems are of a much more mercifully benign type today. Hooray for mundane difficulties!

"What the hell do people do for anniversaries?" he asks, once he's sure that Hunter isn't anywhere to be seen. It wouldn't do to make him seem unprepared, next week. Assuming he figures out what the hell he's going to do, that is.

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Quality over quantity, Jim. At least, that's what Caspar would say if he knew. But he doesn't, and it's reasonable for him to assume that Jim cares about Hunter a great deal. Wanting to fix up his apartment, for example, or keeping him company in the hospital. And willing to ask the Nexus for advice on how to celebrate an anniversary.

He raises an eyebrow at the question about a performance schedule. Does he look like a ticket agent. But, he reminds himself, he's the one who brought up the idea... "There's a kiosk in the Theater District that lists show times. It's about as reliable as something in the Nexus can be."

You sure did, Caspar. You mention it, you can't be surprised when there are follow-up questions. In any case, Jim nods in gratitude for the answer he does get. "I'll look into it. Thanks."

He wouldn't deny that he truly cares about Hunter, if asked. It was never supposed to get this far between them, but it has, and it scares him sometimes how attached they've both become to each other. It's a real relationship, not just a tumble in the sheets, and that's completely new territory for Jim. Good thing his career is being an explorer of the unknown, right?

Yeah, he did. He's going to have to get used to this. Ugh. How is Adia able to so effortlessly help others with their endless questions?

Then Jim thanks him, and there it is, that unusual feeling of satisfaction, that he helped someone out. Someone that he's not madly in love with. "Do you want me to show you where it is?" he offers, surprising himself. What? Well... it'll score some brownie points with Adia, at least. And maybe he can pick up tickets for a show, too.

Well now, that's an unexpected offer, but if somebody as skittish as this guy is reaching out, Jim's not gonna say no and send him back into his shell. Even if he could probably handle it himself. "If you've got time, I wouldn't mind. I haven't spent a lot of time over that way."

"I was headed that way, anyway," he replies. shrugging and pretending that he's not acting out of character. It's too late, anyway, he's tied himself up into an obligation, he might as well see it through.

He waves Jim towards a direction that he heads in with a turn of his well-polished heel, leading them out of the Plaza and towards the Shopping District, although he eschews the shops and cafes for an area that caters more to live performances. "I prefer the clothing stores," he says casually, "But I've been branching out my explorations."

Hey, however he wants to justify it to himself is just fine with Jim. A light smile teases the corners of his mouth as he walks with Caspar, deeper into the Nexus. "You usually more of a practical kinda shopper then?" he asks, still somewhat trying to feel out the other man. Their last - well, kind of their first, as well - encounter didn't exactly involve a lot of friendly conversation.

"Atlantis is a nice place to settle down, but it's lacking in a few amenities." He glances at Jim briefly, and it occurs to him that he doesn't know much about this man, despite their time spent fixing Hunter's apartment. Adia has told him plenty, but almost all of it was in reference to the other Jim. Who knows if any of that applies -- Caspar wouldn't even assume that of one of his brothers, despite essentially all being alternates of one another. "Given the choice, I prefer to live in comfort, or at least look like I do. Besides." A small frown graces his face. "Adia has done without for too long."

If there's one thing that Jim has picked up on, it's Caspar's obvious affection for Adia. It's something he might not have fully related to, a year ago. A lot has changed since then.

"That's what I hear," he agrees, just as seriously. "I'm glad she's got a guy like you looking out for her. She seems really nice."

The comment surprises him; it's rare for someone to give approval for their relationship, let alone the fact that he's trying to take care of her. "She is," he agrees, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips, his eyes lighting up. "She's the sweetest girl in the multiverse."

He's quick to recover his steps and continue on, past buildings with elaborate marquees and posters advertising all sorts of shows. On the street corner is a brightly-colored kiosk, although no one is manning on it. An LED display scrolls a repeating list of shows available on all sides. "You can touch a name of a show to get more information, although I usually interface with it directly." It's easier for him that way. "You have to go to the venue itself to buy tickets."

Aww, that's cute. This guy doesn't look half bad when he's smiling, and the part where it's his girl that put that look on his face is all the sweeter. Jim grins but doesn't call him out on it, hardly wanting to spoil the moment.

Their surroundings are one hell of an attention-getter anyway. Jim keeps his head on a swivel, enjoying getting to be a tourist for once and taking in all the sights, before they arrive at the information kiosk. That sure is a lot of shows it's scrolling through too, holy shit.

Good thing they're organized by category, or he'd never find anything. Jim watches as it scrolls through the lists of live music. "Makes sense, especially if the concert hall decides to hop across town or something. Man... this place is great at giving options."

Good call, Jim. Commenting on any of that would not only spoil the moment, it would probably send the Cylon walking away without another word. As it is, that grin is enough to cause his gaze to flick back to street in front of them, his expression returning to its typical neutrality and the subject firmly dropped.

"Hmm." He's got a hand on the side of the display, his eyes unfocused, although he's able to concentrate on Jim's words without trouble. "I wish I was familiar with more of the listings. There's a few plays I recognize, and not much else." Colonial culture is woefully under-represented, and anything to do with Cylons? Forget it. "You said you were looking for classical music? You'll need to be more specific, that term doesn't mean much here."

Caspar's talent doesn't draw any strange looks from Jim, who is pretty used to hanging around nonhumans with all kinds of interesting talents. From what he can see, it's like a computerized version of a Vulcan mind meld, which makes a hell of a lot of sense to him.

"Yeah, I didn't think it would," Jim says, a little dryly. Of course he'd have to be more specific. With countless universes and countless eras to choose from, the classics are a matter of perspective. He takes a moment to remember what the hell that genre of music is even called, besides 'good' and 'old as fuck.' "I think they used to call it 'rock and roll.' It was pretty popular in the late twentieth century on my Earth."

They should talk about Vulcans sometime. An entire species that prides itself on logic and not throwing out emotions like it's everybody's goddamn business is a-ok in his book.

"Rock 'n roll," he murmurs, half to himself. In an instant, the display switches to a listing of live "rock" performances. "Not your style, though? You have a favorite genre?"

"Oh no, I like it too," Jim is quick to add with a smile. "It's just super old and outdated in my century, so it can be kinda hard to find. Xenofunk electronica is all the rage these days, that's not bad either. It's the kinda stuff that gets played in all the clubs."

Yeah, that list looks more familiar. A lot of names he doesn't recognize, but enough that he knows they're in the right category. Johnny Cash, AC/DC, Motörhead... mostly cover bands and ensembles, but hell, what hasn't been covered over the centuries since most of these songs were written?

"There's not some small underground vinyl shop that caters to it?" Caspar asks with a faint smirk. "I've always had a fondness for ambient techno, but there aren't as many live performances of that."

His attention returns to the display, although he's not looking at it so much as listening to it, his head tilted towards it slightly. "Do you know anything about musicals?" he asks. "I think Adia would like a good musical, but I've never heard of any of these." He frowns. "There's one about cats. Do you know it?"

"What's vinyl?" Eh, doesn't matter, he supposes. If he doesn't know what that is, then chances are pretty good it's something that's too old to be around anymore. "If something like that exists, I've never heard about it."

The question has him arching his eyebrows in mild surprise. "Yeah, Hunter's shown me a couple he had on film. Fiddler On the Roof was really good." Cats, though? He thinks for a moment, then shakes his head. "Can't say it's ringing a bell for me. Sounds cute though."

"It's a kind of analog recording," he replies. "On a plastic disk. I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it, it's ancient technology by our standards." And yet some prefer it. Strange, that. "What about some sort of music database? Shouldn't you have access to it?"

He smiles faintly. "She does like cats..." He does, too, which makes the musical more appealing. "Find anything good, concert-wise?"

"Oh yeah, we've got those too. Some of the older stuff was lost during the last big intra-Terran war though, before they could be digitized." Jim traces down the list of rock shows with one finger, investigating the details of some of the more promising candidates.

"I think so. What d'you think, Van Halen or Foo Fighters?" Sure, they're pretty much all covers, but that hardly matters to Jim. Nor does the fact that he's not terribly familiar with either band. Can't find things you like unless you try new things, right?

"Intra-Terran?" he repeats. No stranger to war, he's inherently curious. "I didn't know you had that sort of history."

The question gets him to turn from the display and raise and eyebrow at Jim before he shrugs and resumes his search for the perfect musical. "Van Halen. That must be someone's name. Foo Fighters sounds ridiculous."

No, he's never heard a note from either band. But Jim did ask for his opinion.

"Oh yeah, Terran history's a long and bloody one. We had three World Wars, back when Earth was divided into different nations, and hundreds of other smaller wars over the centuries." Jim is pretty far removed from such conflicts, so it doesn't bother him at all to talk about a history that plays little direct part in Terran life today. "The third World War ended in 2053 and we made first contact with the Vulcans ten years later. Finding out what else was out there made all that petty fighting among ourselves seem pretty damn stupid."

He manages not to laugh at the look that Caspar gives him. "I think it's tradition for rock bands to have ridiculous names. Oingo Boingo, Hoobastank, Limp Bizkit..." He chuckles and shrugs. "Van Halen sounds cool though. Worth a shot."

Edited 2018-01-31 00:31 (UTC)

Ah, this is Earth history. He's not surprised that it's so violent. Humans are good at not getting along with each other until there's some sort of uniting event. Which sounds like, in this case, contact with aliens. "Sounds like the Vulcans were a positive influence. I'm not surprised."

He drops his hand from the display and wrinkles his nose. "I agree, those are ridiculous names. But I didn't listen to much rock music even before --"

The thought goes unfinished for a long moment while he decides if it's worth sharing. "When I thought I was human," he finally says, looking back at the show listings.

"I can get my hands on the history files, if you're interested," Jim offers, seeing that interest in to the Cylon's expression. "There's been a lot written on Earth warfare over the centuries, all the way back to when we were using spears and stones."

The long pause is a curious one, though Jim doesn't call attention to it. He hasn't quite worked out why Caspar is cagey about some things more than others, but he's used to interacting with nonhumans of all sorts of shapes and sizes. If there's some cultural norm at work here, he doesn't want to tread on any toes. "What'd you listen to?" he asks instead, casually curious.

Well, he can't say he's not interested in a history of warfare. That's in his code, inherited from his ancestors who were programmed for fighting. "Sure, I'd like to learn about that." A pause. "Thanks."

The question surprises him; he looks at Jim, the tension he was holding in his frame disappearing completely. "Uh... well, some folk, some jazz. I had a lot of lot of instrumental soundtracks to fantasy films." His mouth twitches into something of a smile. "I was a huge nerd."

Jim nods, already making a mental note which particular records he'll send Caspar's way first. "No problem. Do you have a PINpoint, or should I send them to Adia's?" After how skittish the Cylon has been, he's not about to corner the guy by demanding his contact info just to send along some history books.

He pretends he doesn't notice the shift in Caspar's body language, that jolt of surprise like he was expecting something else. Prying questions, maybe. "Hunter's introduced me to his century's film soundtracks. Some of them are ridiculously catchy."

"My PINpoint is fine." He pulls it out of his pocket -- sleek and black, like a smartphone -- and unlocks it with a flick of his thumb. "You want to give me your number? I'll shoot you a text."

He had been expecting questions about being a sleeper agent. A discussion about music is downright disarming. "A good soundtrack can take you somewhere else -- to the film's universe, or somewhere else entirely. When you live on a spaceship, you need that kind of escapism." He smiles faintly, then adds, "I don't listen to that so much anymore. Adia has been introducing me to Earth music. Sometimes she sings along."

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