James "Jim" T. Kirk (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
finalfrontiersman) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
expiationlogs2024-08-01 03:31 pm
finalfrontiersman) wrote in expiationlogs2024-08-01 03:31 pm
[ Trek Crew Catch-All ] And you may ask yourself
Who: Jim Kirk, Spock, Tendi, Bones & friends.
Where: The Trek house!
What: Catch-all for the month's nonsense.
Content Warnings: Profanity. Potential for discussions of survivor's guilt and Gnosia-related trauma.Old man yaoi.
See below for closed starters! This post will serve as a catch-all for the Trek cast~
Contact for plotting:
James "Jim" Tiberius Kirk | ![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
trickster88, PM, Discord by Request/Game Discord
S'chn T'gai Spock | askefise, Game Discord
D'Vana Tendi | posolutely, Game Discord
Leonard "Bones" McCoy | PM, Game Discord, Discord: chatnoir
Where: The Trek house!
What: Catch-all for the month's nonsense.
Content Warnings: Profanity. Potential for discussions of survivor's guilt and Gnosia-related trauma.
See below for closed starters! This post will serve as a catch-all for the Trek cast~
Contact for plotting:
just two bros sitting on a couch approximately 76.2mm apart
Perhaps the sitting room was ill-advised. ]
Ah, [ Spock says, almost like an afterthought. And it is, really, against the dry commentary he tips over to Jim silently. He doesn't aim to retrieve his other hand. He knows that Jim will likely relinquish it when he moves, but even so.
Even so, thankfully, his higher functions kick online faster than most species in the Federation. Humans? Certainly. Other Vulcans? As a matter of course. Before he ever tilts his head toward the sound, he's already settling any residual autonomic functions, rerouting any suggestion of vasodilation across the shells of his ears and the high points of his cheeks. The result? He's quite pointedly not flushed a shade or sheen near or about a greener hue of ochre. Instead, he blinks.
He blinks once, twice. It mirrors in many ways the passive observations of a Terran feline, woken from a particularly restful sleep. He clears his throat, just loud enough to catch. One eyebrow twitches upward, fleeting. ]
Excuse us, Lieutenant.
[ His words come clear and unmodulated, almost as if she had simply walked in on them having a typical conversation. It was a conversation in its own right, but that's something he keeps to himself (and, subsequently, Jim). To Ms. D'Vana Tendi, the read is undoubtedly difficult. To Jim? Well, he's still contending with increased cardiovascular activity. That will return to baseline momentarily, but for now? Well, the beat is markedly quickened where it thrums against Spock's side. And if he is in some part ruffled? Well, that's something Jim too will be able to gather before he loosely reconstitutes the typical level of shielding. ]
and they were roommates...
To be fair, back in the day (AKA, Jim's present) they were kind of running and gunning it. Honestly, Jim's convinced most of the admiralty thinks they're making up half the shit they report, but space really is that bizarre when it's all new and interesting. Anyway, he digresses - Tendi is kind, exuberant, and a total science geek (affectionate). She's a capable officer, but she also fits right in with the Spock-Jim-Bones typical brand of nonsense off duty - and frankly, despite the gap in rank the gap in age is only a few years. Is Jim really more mature than most of the junior officers she's accustomed to?
The answer is very definitively no.
Clearly he's a bad influence on Spock, or maybe they're both just enablers. Either way, the history books were kinder to the pair of them than they deserved.
That's not what you said ten minutes ago.
Jim starts to sit up, Spock helping him to gain leverage, but between the shock on Tendi's face (that she's attempting to hide behind the tablet, bless her, but too late, Jim spotted it) and the cut-off reaction from Spock that Jim is getting in play-by-play - he collapses in a fit of laughter, turning his head to bury it in a pillow for a beat. Spock's deadpan dryness while he redirects his biological reactions beneath the surface is too fucking funny.
This is hardly the worst thing Jim's ever been caught doing, so he's just going to go for shameless with both hands. He does manage to sit up under his own power, releasing Spock's wrist and setting himself upright - they're still definitely too close for polite company, but Jim doesn't have the ability to re-route his vascular system, so he's just gonna chill for a second. He's aware that there's this image Tendi seems to have in her head of the three of them as (potentially infallible?) leadership, though speculation as to why that was, exactly, hadn't been confirmed. It's not like Jim's the brass, he's Captain of a tin can. The fastest, coolest tin can in the galaxy, but still a tin can. ]
Cat's out of the bag, Spock. [ Not that they were really hiding it, but weren't they?? Jim didn't know how to tell Bones. He sure as hell didn't want to tell Peter and prove the little shit right. He's also not even sure what he would say. We're lowkey Vulcan engaged/married/
mythic-level soulmates/other infinitely nuanced option?? ] Tendi, yes you did, and I'm not going to ask you to pretend otherwise. We just, ah...didn't expect anyone home yet.It's - you know - [ Jim makes a helpless gesture between the two of them, unable to help the slight snicker, residual amusement leaking through. ] - kinda...new.
no subject
... not the point.
What is the point, here, is that Tendi is surprised enough to say some truly stupid things. She's saved the mortifying thought of responding "you're excused" to Spock, but only because Jim is so much more forthright and...well, chatty, and doesn't that make sense? Everyone knows he's a--]
New? Are you kidding? I thought everyone knew about tha-- [She manages to clamp a hand over her mouth seconds too late to stop herself from outing that truly stupid response. I mean, it's true though, everyone knows that Captain Kirk and Mister Spock had something special, something unique, a bond that transcended description.
(She will neither confirm nor deny her involvement in beta-reading several fanfictions put together by friends at the Academy.)
(Said fanfictions are stuck firmly in the front of her mind right now.)
(This is really unfortunate.)
Come on, Tendi, there's gotta be a way to salvage this. Focus!]
... I mean. I. [... ... ... no, there's not really another way to salvage this, is there? She grimaces, and then resignation works its way into her expression.] ... I haven't been honest with you. The truth is, I'm from Starfleet, just like both of you. Just...not the same time. I'm from your future. Like, way in the future. Over a century in the future. Everything that you've done on the Enterprise -- and not done yet, I guess, it's all in the history books, in my time. Stuff we study at the Academy now.
[... Okay, she's rambling, a bit. But she stops there, and that grimace has not left her expression the whole time she was talking, but she's also weirdly...relieved? Like she doesn't have a giant secret to keep anymore. Phew.]
no subject
It is in no way more than a simmering lash, a spark of some kind of play made in the spirit of Jim's usual movements across the chessboard. His mirth is of course greeted with an exasperated round of fondness, knowing what it is was he was inviting by making such quips in the first place. Even so, he supposes he should sit up as well and make himself decent. It doesn't take him nearly as much effort as it does Jim, though Tendi's response is far more gracious and collected than it would be for most in this position. At least, that is, among his own immediate colleagues.
He feels the vague impression of mentioning such a thing to Bones and Spock too has no further insights on how that might be handled. Chances are, the good Doctor has own suspicions, but he should like to wait on the "I knew it"s and the endless pit of ammunition that might be provided.
Even so, Spock does a quick bit of math as Jim releases him. His natural inclination is to lean into the proximity he provides, but that is more a baseline. It had occurred long before the commencement of this manner of relation and thus, it continues now. ]
Seven days, thirteen hours, twenty-seven seconds.
[ Spock clarifies, just as Tendi slams her own palm over her mouth. Curious, but the fact of the matter is that it's far too late now to unring the metaphorical bell. ]
I had suspected that was in fact the case, though I could not without doubt definitively prove it. [ He does he even manage to say this without so much as blinking an eyelash? Vulcan blood certain hand in it, but most would easily read his movements as casual instead of purposeful. He takes time to smooth his (vaguely wrinkled) shirt, primly cross his legs before him. He's taken to combing out the definitive mess of his hair as he appends: ] I was... Not under the impression that the betting pools and future historical reports would fuel such speculation.
[ Okay, it might be a vague lie. He's certainly aware that the "rumor mill" upon the USS Enterprise was robust and alive, but he hadn't thought those along the lower decks would be so bold as to carry out a longstanding argument centered around their... Rumored involvement. It is true that within his own frame of time, there was no such establishment of... This. At least, in ways that he might have so readily defined. There were moments - Spock clears his throat, again. ]
no subject
[ Jim's head turn is comical, the way he ping-pongs between Spock and Tendi. Who was his question directed at? Well, both, honestly. What the hell, even. ] You have it down to the second? And what do you mean, 'everybody knows'?
[ It means you're not subtle, Jim. Does this transcend description, or are they just Starfleet's biggest ever cover-up? Getting caught giving hickies on the couch is pretty open and shut; maybe Tendi will get a visit from the Temporal Investigations guys upon her return (probably). Viva la resistance, refuse to be silenced!
It becomes obvious, however, what exactly it is Tendi means by her comment as she explains, and Jim drags a hand over his face. Okay, it's little harder to be shameless when they're apparently acting something out from her history textbook. If Zefram Cochrane appeared before him to star in a softcore porn, Jim's pretty sure he'd have the same gut reaction. ] You study - this?
Oh, what, you didn't think this would make the cut into your biography? [ Jim rounds on Spock, nudging him with an elbow. He can absolutely sniff out a shifty Vulcan, mental bond or not. Tendi's caginess does make sense now, though; Jim had thought there was something she was concealing, though the exact nature of it had been unclear. He certainly hadn't fully predicted her confession, even if Spock wanted to pretend otherwise. ] I see how it is. Just another in a long line of conquests -
[ Jim rolls his eyes fondly, an indicator that his ribbing is good-natured. Tendi still looks like she wants to bolt, and Jim gestures for the armchair, for her to sit down. ] Glad we're all on the same page, at least. The future, huh? It's easier for us to avoid compromising time traveler knowledge if we know you're a time traveler, you know.
no subject
Either way, Spock's admission, and Jim's subsequent losing of his mind, have her sporting a grimace. This is definitely one of those moments where you see, in stark relief, every bad choice you've made to get to this point. They're all laid out in a nice little line. Not that the other two are totally guiltless, here -- like, aren't you supposed to put something on the door, in a situation like this? A...a sock? or something?? ... But she is definitely the one that's been lying to them.]
Wh-- no, no one studied this, like-- this this-- [She's gesturing wildly between the two of them as she tries desperately to explain that not a single text in Starfleet Academy had a single detail about them that included surprise makeouts on the sofa.] I mean your career!...s. Careers. Both of you. ...well, all of you, like, the whole bridge crew. ...Not that there wasn't any speculation, I mean-- every historical figure gets analyzed like that, I think. It's kind of hard not to--
[Oh, jeez, she has totally lost the narrative, here. She shakes her head, the grimace turning into a frown.]
But that's not the point! The point is that you guys are a big deal! And I shouldn't be saying any of this because I'm pretty sure the temporal prime directive rule is to literally not tell anyone you're from the future! So I'm probably breaking the timeline saying anything, but it's kind of hard to lie about this longterm. And I-- guess-- this isn't exactly about the. the thing [here she gestures at them and the couch again, yes, we're calling this the thing now apparently,] anymore, but that's also part of it...I think?
["I think," meaning, she's somewhat lost the point in all of this. She has done enough rambling for the next five tags right here, probably, but of course she keeps going because she can't stop until she hits some kind of point.]
--but I'm sorry. For keeping that from you guys. I know the rules don't really apply, here, but it's still hard to internalize that.
no subject
And as Tendi continues, it is only the subtle hum of rumination that gathers at his end of the bond. That they should be studied isn't surprised, but he should wonder why beyond the content of their deep space mission. How long did they end up serving? Long enough for him to become Ambassador, it would seem. But, such deeper contemplations are not suited for the now. Not when Jim is elbowing him playfully and making jokes like that. And though he knows Jim does so in jest --
He leans into the connection between. In the absence of touch, Spock lays sincerity round and sweet along it.
Negative. Were it mine you failed to appear in, it should be considered a very poor fiction.
And it would be. Either way, as his attentions move again back to Tendi as she finishes her explanations, Spock merely inclines his head. It is a subtle gesture, as much as they most often are. His face settles once and again into a placid, silent mask. ]
Apologies are unnecessary where no offense is taken.
[ Said as simply as it is, there is no real way to protest it. He knows regulations as well as she does. He also knows he and Jim have spoken upon their own expectations to follow them and which extensively. Were he capable of feeling slighted (which he is, but he isn't), this particular revelation is not something he would find himself slighted by. It simply isn't, to borrow a Terran phrase, "personal." ]
no subject
...get a room, except they already share one, so really - yeah, okay, maybe this isn't that surprising??
Jim cocks his head at her, taking in the rambled explanation alongside Spock's logical queries. It causes a bit of think-to-speak delay for Jim, as it has been ever since the bond cemented - he's been getting better at it, but it was a lot to pay attention to. Spock's sincerity is met with a pass of Jim's hand over the bond, an acceptance and a reassurance all in one. I guess we never told...anybody?
Jim's not sure what to think about that. Had they not lasted long enough to do so? It's the only thing that makes sense, because while they're not exactly advertising it, Jim isn't under any kind of misapprehension that Spock wouldn't claim him, eventually, and vice versa. He's not going to ask Tendi for confirmation, for obvious reasons, but he wonders -
Nope, no, Jim shuts down the line of thought before it can even come to full fruition, imagining the thought in a soundproof room. He's not the best at it yet, quarantining things he doesn't want Spock to hear, but he'd rather not touch Khan with a ten-foot pole at the moment. Hopefully he didn't get much of that, and hopefully it wasn't as suss as it felt, the swift way Jim had nipped his own brain in the bud. ]
Well if you get back home, I guess the academics will be punching the air. [ Jim can't help but laugh at this point, ludicrous as it is. ] You misunderstand, Tendi, the temporal prime directive is to maintain the timeline to the best of your ability. But out of everyone in Aldrip we -
[ Jim makes a vague gesture between him and Spock that ends with his hand brushing against Spock's forearm and staying there. ] - we know not to ask you questions you can't answer.
[ It's clear neither of them are mad, just amused - Jim, outwardly so, Spock in his own uniquely Vulcan affect. His eyebrows rise, watery blue gaze alight with mirth. ] You can call it a relationship or sexual congress, whichever one is more in like with your futuristic sensibilities.
[ Alright, Jim, don't be a total idiot. ]
Since the rules don't apply, though, that means we can ask each other questions, right? [ Presuming there's anything on this planet Tendi could possibly want to know about them. The question about whether not they're allowed to ask questions is directed at Spock, puppy dog eyes at the ready, mental poke nudging up against him eagerly. Really, Jim just wants to know: ] What's the coolest future innovation?
[ Yeah, he's Captain Nerd of the Nerd Patrol, what about it? ]