ximilialog | ( open ) time is tickin' I cannot waste it love

Entry tags:

( open ) time is tickin' I cannot waste it love

CHARACTERS: Erik Stevens + Everyone / Mingle! I’m not the boss of you.
LOCATION: Open Field near ish the Palace
DATE: Sometime in July
CONTENT: Party, drinks, dancing.
WARNINGS: N/A

( i. party hats )

[ this had been the stupidest condition of his goal, but it’s a doable one so erik handles it the way he would handle any kind of mission; single-mindedly. he gets to work and makes a couple of dozen party hats of various colours and size. some might seem too small, others too big, a few that are just right, no he doesn’t accept constructive criticism. ]

Just put the damn thing on, it won’t kill you.

( ii. food and stuff )

[ unfortunately there are constraints. if they were back in usa, setting up the supplies of food and drink would be a cinch. however, he’s working with fantasy asian cuisine, out of which he knows half of. still, his position as a nobleman’s attendant gave him a hefty salary and he put it to good use. there are plenty of caskets of booze, all the kinds he could find and various eateries and snacks. some from the palace, others he cobbled together with the use of their kitchen like basic butter cookies and wafers.

eat, drink, he’s not here to card you kids ]

( iii. dancing )

[ and of course, there’s music. lively music, slow tunes. erik managed to hire a band (like three people on instruments but details). the sun was setting, the breeze was cool and maybe for a brief moment, you want to enjoy yourself. give up your worries for a day. the light hits the flowers, giving the scenery a warm orange glow.

grab a partner and have a little fun. ]

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You mean I'll have to spend more time with you? Oh no, the horror. I don't know if I can put up with that.

[ Not so much having to spend time with Finn, as it is getting to spend time with him. Sounds absolutely delightful, in Jim's honest opinion. ]

You've got yourself a deal. Just name the time and place, and I'll be there?

[ He'd call it a date but Finn's head might explode. ]

[ As far as Finn's aware, this is planning out to be "Flirtatiously Hanging Out" rather than a date. But clarification would probably make his head explode, yeah.

He laughs lightly from the joking around. ]

Oh, I will. Very soon. [ Because making plans right now, with all this going on, may not work out well. ] I'll be sure to make it as excruciating as possible. I've been told that I'm terrible at flirting.

[ Which, if Jim saw or heard about what happened by the wall, he'd know it, too. ]

[ That actually gets a laugh from Finn. ]

Yes, so I've heard! We might have to work on that. Just a little.

[ To be fair, Jim is 100% fine with Finn's brand of flirting so far. Which mostly it's Finn just flustering and smiling cutely while Jim shamelessly hits on him. ]

But for what it's worth, you don't need to work on it a whole lot for my sake. I'm easy to please.

[ Ah, that's a nice laugh. Finn shrugs. ] You deserve the best. And I've also been told that I'm eager to please, so it works out.

[ But, yeah, Finn's flirting style is somehow super effective. Who knew? Certainly not all the people that took pity on him and offered him lessons. (They still might be right, though. (Wait, was that flirting, too?)) ]

Oh, eager, are you? Well, that certainly works to my advantage.

[ Boy, is he looking forward to this now. All of it. Also yes, Finn, it was most likely flirting too. Try and catch up, will you. ]

You wanna keep dancing? We can just grab some drinks a find a corner to sit and chat.

[ This does appear to be working to Jim's advantage, if his interest is anything to go by. Finn's still not totally sure if it's still just messing with him for the sake of it or an actual interest, but, again, he doesn't much care. He likes having James' attention, turns out. ]

As much as I do enjoy dancing with you, a break doesn't sound half bad. Maybe we can pick this up again later? I've already learned a lot out here.

[ Like a lot. ]

Sounds good to me. We'll find other opportunities to dance.

[ For now he likes the prospect of just chatting with Finn, so he slows them down and instead hooks a hand around Finn's arm. ]

Come on. Let's get something to drink.

[ Finn hadn't had a chance before to check out what food and drink Erik managed to scrounge up for the party. He's only sorta interested at this point, to be honest, a lot of his attention clearly being taken up.

What's fortunate is that, thanks in large part to Black Squadron back home, he's able to hold his liquor to some degree. The caskets of said booze may look a little intimidating, but he's never been one to worry about that sort of thing.

He gets a glass of it for himself, holding up another in offer to Jim. ]

[ Jim's given the drinks a try already, so he knows they're pretty good. Still, he lets Finn get him a glass, taking it with a smile. ]

Thanks.

[ Before taking a sip, he instead looks around, spotting an empty spot for them to take up. It's comfortable enough for them to sit together, and he guides Finn there, plopping on the seat first and waiting for Finn to join him. ]

Do you do a lot of these parties, back home? I'm not very used to them anymore.

[ Finn takes the seat beside him happily and tries the drink. And it is good. Potentially too good but that depends on how the night goes. ]

Not really. [ Said with a little laugh into his drink. ] We only throw parties after a big win, and those are kind of few and far between. But the parties are crazier than this, so I guess it works.

I got the impression you do this almost regularly, though. [ He did mention how dancing is important to do with other cultures, and Finn has it in his head that Jim is some form of diplomat. ]

[ The drinks here are pretty great, Jim will give them that. And he would rather be at a party like this with other orbers than another banquet thrown for them or in their honor. ]

Well... we hold some formal events at Starfleet. Certain banquets and celebrations on planets we visit. But it's a lot more proper than this, this is a more relaxed setting. I don't go to a lot of parties like this anymore.

[ There was his birthday party, so there is that. But that's the only one he can remember in the three years or so. ]

Well, if we're talking about parties in relaxed settings, then I can't say I've seen a lot of them.

[ This is probably the first one he's been a part of, now that he's thinking about it. Since it's somewhere between just hanging out and a 'banquet in their honor,' he's just flowing with it. ]

Why don't you go to these things anymore?

This is going to sound a little cliche, but I just grew out of it. [ He shrugs. ] I used to go to all sorts of wild parties before and during the Academy, maybe even once or twice after that. I just don't feel like I enjoy myself the same way getting completely plastered and making terrible mistakes.

[ Now his terrible mistakes essentially boil down to how many ways he can risk his own life for the sake of others, rather than on whose bed he ends up crawling into at the end of the night. Not that he'd call those mistakes, but some may argue. ]

It's fun when you're younger. Give into that wild side, enjoy a proper rave every so often. Pretty sure most people get tired of those as they grow up, though.

[ Finn hums, agreeing. Well, to an extent. ] I know what you mean. I've been to the parties that my friends put on, but I don't do much in the way of participating. Not like that, at least. [ He usually just talks, relaxes, maybe get swung around on a dance floor by whichever of his friends decided they were going to be drunk and clingy for the night.

But he definitely doesn't have the same experiences as James does. It's hard to say if Finn would have even tried those things out if he had the choice. ]

What did go to this Academy for? You seem like a type of diplomat or something.

Well, luckily there are many types of parties, we don't all need to like the wild kind. [ Jim could make all kinds of suggestions about parties for two but he'd rather not make Finn's head explode today.

Anyway, interesting question, so he'll stick to that instead. ]

It's the Starfleet Academy, I'm Captain of a starship where I'm from. So yes, among other things, I had to fulfill diplomatic duties every so often. Though I did have skilled advisors on my crew to help me with that.

[ Finn has calmed down considerably since all that blustering on the dance floor, but it could totally come back in a heart beat, so- Anyway, that's beside the point.

His eyes practically sparkle with this revelation. ]

I didn't get the impression that you were in a military. [ He still doesn't, in all honesty, and his voice sounds a little skeptical on that front. This seems different. ] What's the complement of your crew? What do you guys do?

[ Sorry, he... has a million questions. ]

I'm not in military. Starfleet strives to place itself as far away from a military structure as possible. It's... a work in progress, you might say. But I'm definitely not military.

[ He wouldn't call himself a soldier by any stretch, certainly not a fighter. He'll do it if he has to, and even then... ]

We've borrowed the ranks from the now defunct Earth's Navy. Seems fitting, since we're on ships. There's a complement of about one thousand crewmembers on my ship, the Enterprise, and our primary focus is deep space exploration, scientific research, diplomatic relations and peacekeeping.

[ Careful, Jim. He's getting all starry-eyed about it. It certainly sounds idealistic compared to his own home, but he doesn't miss the signs that it's not all roses and rainbows. Like how it's a work in progress to make sure they remain non-militant. And the peacekeeping thing.

But still- ]

That sounds amazing. We don't get time back home to just explore our own galaxy. [ Too busy trying to kill/save one another. ] You must have seen some incredible things. Every planet I've been to has something amazing about it.

[ Except Jakku. Unless we're counting the people. ]

[ Well, some peacekeeping has to be involved when Federation space touches on the Klingon and the Romulan Empires. They're not exactly the friendliest, particularly towards the Federation, although Jim hopes that will change with time. ]

That's too bad. Getting to travel around and visit new places is a great part of the fun for me.

[ The more political aspect of it is a little less exciting for Jim, though he knows it's just as important. ]

Do you have any place you liked more than the others? Anything that stood out to you?

[ All of the places Finn liked ended up having some bad memory attached to it. Instead of names, the map in his head consists of "the place Poe got stabbed in the leg during that bar fight" or "the place I tripped and almost fell of a cliff without even being chased" and the like. So he has to think about it and hums while he's doing so. ]

The Core planets are cool sometimes. The more advanced ones, I mean. Coruscant and Corellia are just giant cities. The wealthier areas are- Well, they show off their wealth. [ And it looks cool, Finn's just saying. ]

The places I really liked, though, are the ones that's just wildlife. Not deserts. But there's a few that's like big jungles. They're quiet. Less populated.

But I have seen some crazy things. Like this planet that was covered in white salt with bright red sand just beneath. And there's another that's covered in giant blue crystal spires. I just didn't enjoy them as much as the quiet ones, I guess.

[ Jim nods, trying to picture all those places in his head. Alas, he's not picturing Finn nearly falling off a cliff on any of them. ]

That's pretty cool. And I agree, the more deserted planets do sound like fun. I've never been too fond of places that like to show off their wealth.

[ Mostly because he's never grown up in wealth, never really gotten used to that notion of social stratification based on currency, and that capitalist mindset still boggles him. ]

I like the ones with warm but not hot environments. Maybe not jungles, but I like mountains, forests, lakes and oceans. Caves can be fun too, sometimes. It depends. And I'm not big on ice planets myself, I kind of hate them, but there's this inhabited moon, Andor, which is an ice world, constant freezing temperatures; the cities are built underground, in complex cave systems that go hundreds of meters or more below the surface of the moon, and they're all connected by deep tunnels that extend for thousands of kilometers. It's all pretty damn impressive.

[ Finn most certainly didn't grow up in wealth either. But he likes seeing architecture and fashion and all of that when people are allowed to just imagine it up. Those same people usually ruin it pretty quickly, though. Not to mention how bad things start to look when the credits for a glorified fountain could have fed a thousand villages in the Outer Rim for a year. ]

That's pretty incredible. I've seen some places like that, but they usually inhabit the surface, too. And they didn't go that far. Makes you wonder how things developed in a place like that.

[ The answer back home is usually "displaced colonists stumbled across ancient ruins" or something equally depressing/mysterious. ]

[ Yeah, that's what rubs Jim the wrong way the most. Earth is beautiful, it has some amazing sights and modern architecture that never depended on currency or wealth, so it is possible to achieve that. The same can be said for plenty of other planets in the Federation. Doesn't take money or sacrificing the basic needs of others to do that. ]

Well, life can evolve in all kinds of unexpected places. The Andorian physiology is very much a mirror of the world they evolved in; cold blood, blue skin, all that. Earth, where I'm from, has a more temperate climate overall, and it shows in the way we've evolved too. [ He sips on his drink, tipping his head at Finn. ] What about you? What kind of world do you come from?

[ Finn's not from Earth, Jim knows that, but he does look Human. Still, Jim wonders. Could be he's from an entirely unfamiliar species to him that just looks very similar. ]

[ Earth. He's heard of that planet a few times since coming to the station. Enough to know that there are multiple planets with the same name, because Jim probably would have mention things like giant monsters from the oceans by now.

To the questions, Finn gives a little smile and shakes his head. ]

I grew up in space, on ships. Sometimes we touched down- [ going from base to base ] -but none of those places were home. I'm human, far as I know, though. And there aren't a lot of people that live entire generations on stations, so I'm sure mine were from a planet or moon somewhere, too.

Oh. You're a space baby, huh. [ Jim smiles, absolutely endeared and none the wiser about the real story of Finn's life, the real tragedy of it all. It's probably going to break his heart when he finds out about it, but anyway. ]

I was born on an emergency shuttle, but I did grow up on my planet. It was only in my twenties that I took off on a ship. I've been pretty much living in one for the past seven or so years.

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I can't believe I wrote 'Finn' instead of 'Jim' AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN TELL ME

WHOOPS

Sorry about the silly mistake (I know u don't mind but anywayyy)

i never mind ♥ but now you gotta tell me about all my typos, it's a full-time job

only if i even notice them, whoops

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