Iskaulit Mingle

[passingthrough]

Who: Everyone!
Broadcast: Nah!
Action: Iskaulit
When: April!

[So many spaces to explore. So little time.]

Comments

Pavel Chekov | OTA

[candothat]

[Library]
[Since Chekov has no idea what to do with himself on the Iskaulit--or anywhere else, honestly--he goes to the library with the intention of reading every piece of nonfiction he can get his hands on, as one does when one wants to be useful and does not know how to best go about doing that. Learning everything seems like a solid place to start.]

[Gym]
[Since Chekov continues to have no idea what to do with himself and can't sit still and read indefinitely, he visits the gym. Long-distance running is the only physical activity that he's ever been good at, but he is a Starfleet officer who finds himself in peril on a regular basis. Peril has a way of making a person appreciate a certain amount of fitness. Also? Beating up a punching bag is more therapeutic than he thought it'd be.]

[Space Bar and/or Málum]
[There is a point (or several) where Chekov gives up on being productive and takes it upon himself to check out the bars. Do either of them have space vodka? Scotch? Does anyone want to hear about the Russian origins of scotch?]

[Other]
[...? ...!]

Gym

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha thought she was familiar with most of the regulars in the gym. Especially the ones who might be using the heavy bag. But then... new people were coming through all the time.

Might as well have a look at this one.]

Hey.

[She leans against the wall to one side, watching, arms crossed over her chest.]

Do this often?

[candothat]

[He's momentarily distracted from the bag and, naturally, it swings back and hits him just hard enough to bruise his dignity. Please be impressed by his athletic prowess, stranger.]

Ah... no. Almost never. [There's a ridiculously thick Russian accent going on.] I hope to best it in the next round.

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha's English—if that's what they speak when they're not consciously trying to speak a language&is more or less unaccented. She was trained to sound generic.

When she hears his accent though, she switches to Russian. And that, unlike her English, is not generic. It might be less distinct a few hundred years in the future, but it's clear she's a native speaker.]

Well. Good luck with that. If you need a few pointers, let me know.

[candothat]

[He absolutely lights up when she starts speaking Russian and replies in kind.]

I would take any pointers you have. This might shock you, but I don't know what I'm doing.

[outstandingbalance]

You can barely tell.

[She says it dryly, almost deadpan, except for the smile she flashes at the end.]

What are you trying to do? Just blow off some steam?

[candothat]

[Speaks Russian, has a dry sense of humor. Yes, he likes her already.]

Yes, mostly, although I do have dreams of becoming a competent fighter someday. [He offers her a hand to shake.] I'm Pavel Andreievich Chekov.

Space Bar

[takingkarabusiness]

[ Kara is at the space bar, generally just to socialize but maybe a little to see Mon-El. But she lights up when she sees Chekov ]

I think we're going to need to see some ID, kid.

[candothat]

[He's similarly pleased to see her! And possibly the tiniest bit tipsy.]

My ID is in another universe, I'm sorry.

Would you like a drink? I think that there's something sad about drinking alone.

[takingkarabusiness]

I would love a drink, and I'll give you a pass on that ID this time.

And I don't know if it's always sad, but context does matter.

[candothat]

You're very kind, thank you. Please get what you like. [He pushes enough chips to buy a few drinks her way, just as much out of a genuine lack of understanding of money as generosity.]

Today the context is that it's sad and I appreciate your company, Kara.

[takingkarabusiness]

[ she pulls out a chip for her drink, orders a simple cocktail, and returns the rest of them to him ]

Are you sad?

[candothat]

[He leaves one out just in case and pockets the rest. They probably won't last long.]

I'm Russian. I have a patriotic obligation to be a little sad at all times.

Library

[passingthrough]

[A voice behind you!] This library isn't big enough for both of us. [Smiling at him and not seeming to mind that he's in the library at all.] Find anything good?

[She's looking especially happy today. Yesterday was her anniversary and it was a very good day.]

[candothat]

[He's not startled! It's almost like he's used to people who can phase through things for extra-effective sneaking. Since she's smiling he has to smile, too. It's a rule.]

Eh, they're acceptable, but none of the endings are very surprising and their plots are predictable. [He has a couple of thick physics textbooks with dry titles. Good stuff!] ...Did something good happen?

[passingthrough]

I have already read both of those. [Tiny gloating as if he couldn't out physics her, but she has been tearing up the science selection in here for over a year and physics is her first choice.

She smiles, looking a little shy.] That obvious? I was kind of mopey in the prison, wasn't I? Must be whiplash. [Not sure if it's a great idea to say this, but she wants things to be normal. Can she make them normal but just pretending? No, but she isn't a good liar so...] Yesterday was my one-year anniversary with Winn. He arranged a really sweet day for us.

[candothat]

The library will need to invest in more books to keep you entertained. [Note to Pavel: buy more books if any present themselves.]

You weren't mopey all the time. [Trying to keep it light and only failing a little. The better times would have been after she remembers... or maybe she was never that much happier. She wasn't this happy, he knows that. Maybe she hadn't been as content with him as he wanted to believe.

That line of thought definitely puts him in a good frame of mind for the last bit but he is not going to be sad about something that she's so happy about, it's not allowed. Smile, Pavel! Everything's fine now, and if things aren't fine then he's going to make Kitty sad and that is not the right way to be a friend!] Ah... good. Good! One year is a long time in a place like this.

[passingthrough]

I invested in some for myself a couple worlds back, so I still have some fresh reading to do. I donated them first so that people weren't waiting on me to get through the stack. [Yes, do it!]

[She's trying to hold back too if it helps. She wants to jump up and down and be generously ridiculous with how happy and in love she is and share that with him, but she's keeping it to the things she can't control well like the way it lights up her face.] It's a long time anywhere. And now I have a baseball game to watch anytime I want. [Did that track? No, she left out some steps.]

[candothat]

Always considerate. [That wasn't sarcasm. It looks like sarcasm typed out, but it wasn't.

He wants her to be able to express exactly how happy she is without holding back! He also wants to hide in his bunk for a few more weeks and analyze all of the ways in which he is inferior to Winn and clearly never deserved to be with Kitty in any universe, but he really hates himself for that one. What was he doing? He was being happy for her. Also confused.] A baseball game?

library

[scanninggaydis]

[The library is an excellent choice of venue. Definitely where all the cool kids hang out.

...Actually Felix has been spending way too much time in the library recently, but at this point, he may as well be a completionist and read...everything. Plus, they're in transit again, so it's not like he has that many choices of places to hang out.

Upon entering the space, he makes a few rounds of the shelves, passing Chekov's table at some point. One of the titles catches his eye, and he stops, looking first at it, and then at the person seated near it. He usually wouldn't bother a stranger, but actually...he has a reason to talk to this guy.]

Is that one any good?

[Gesturing in the direction of the aforementioned book.]

[candothat]

[The coolest, happiest kids with the most friends. Yep. This is the place to be.]

I find it predictable, but-- [He looks up and his thought is immediately derailed. It's not like he and the Felix in MarinaNova had been close, but they'd occupied the same space long enough for Chekov to consider him a friend. (In all fairness, that Felix would probably not have considered Chekov a friend, but.)] Gaeta! Er. You wouldn't remember me, of course. I knew you in another prison... or not you specifically, I know that, but a version of you.

[scanninggaydis]

[...That takes him by surprise, both of his eyebrows lifting for a moment. He's more than aware that things like this can happen, he just...didn't really expect to experience 'hey I knew a version of you' from this end.]

Oh. Uh, yeah, that happens.

[Is it that easy to tell someone? Maybe he and this guy weren't that close? For a second, he imagines actually telling Eugene, but "hey you were my closest friend in this other place, no pressure" sounds like...the worst thing to spring on someone. Yeah, he's just going to keep on keeping that to himself.]

So, I guess I don't have to introduce myself. [Your move, Chekov.]

[candothat]

Frequently. I have had to reintroduce myself to several people already.

[Which he doesn't mind as much as he used to. There's a point at which a person stops taking all of the forgetting personally... or maybe Chekov is unusually good at not taking things personally. Either way, it doesn't occur to him to not tell people that he has met them before.]

You can if that would make this less strange for you. [He stands and offers a hand to shake.] I'm Pavel Andreievich Chekov and it's good to meet you again.

[scanninggaydis]

[Very little is going to make this less strange. Felix doesn't take Chekov up on his offer, though. It would be kind of pointless. He shakes the guy's hand.]

It's nice to meet you too. For the first time. [There's a short pause, as if he's exactly sure he wants to ask something or...isn't sure how the question will be received.] ...How well did you know, uh, me?

[candothat]

[Chekov smiles as if this is a perfectly normal and sensible question to ask.] Not so well. We had several good conversations about faster than light propulsion systems, but otherwise you weren't very... ah. Forthcoming?