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Who: Jim Kirk 2.0 & you?
Broadcast: no
Action: Marsiva
When: latter part of the calibrations; during the glitching issues

[ Jim notices something is off right on the first day it happens.

It doesn't take much, granted. Having a pilot augment, and having taken to exploring this ship for the past few weeks, he quickly notices when previously plain and inconspicuous glass squares now reveal themselves to be actual computers. He doesn't touch them right away, though, first making sure that he's completely alone in the hallway, and< then he starts poking around.

He doesn't dredge up all the information in one go, unfortunately. But he also is perfectly convinced that he can just go back the next day and pick up where he left off.

But the next day he wakes up, and he remembers none of it.

The second time he's not as stupid, though. This time there's something nagging at the back of his mind, like when he knows he's forgotten something, he just can't quite put his finger on what. Something clicks when he passes by one of those screens again, though. He looks far more worried now as he digs up all the information he did the last time, and then some. He lingers for longer this time too, tries to find out even more from the computer, even attempts to find some way to save the data or send it somewhere.

When all that fails, he makes a beeline to his room, and grabs his personal journal so he can start jotting down everything he saw, everything he remembers. The names of any of the files and research reports that wouldn't open; the names of planets and whatever basic information was there on them, including all the comments on this "Evronias" planet; all the coordinates provided; all the ships' names and information, present and past; even the basic information on every passenger on the Fleet. He has an excellent memory, nearly flawless, but he still goes back to the computer another time, making sure he has all the information he manages to get his hands on.

Then, at the end of it all, he adds a single line: "You've forgotten once."

And from then on, each day that he wakes up and goes through the same glitch again, he adds another line to his journal, explaining what happened this time, and saying how many times it's now been that he's forgotten. He'll probably look more and more concerned and frustrated as the days go by, and more and more attached to his personal journal too. If he sees someone he trusts, he might approach to ask if they've noticed anything weird going on, but if not, he might still be easy to spot near one of those squares made of black glass, or sitting somewhere, jotting something down almost frantically into his journal.

Whatever's going on, he'll find a way to keep remember it. And he can only hope that whatever's making him forget about this one thing, won't make him forget about everything else, too. ]

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[Bucky's eyebrows definitely rise at that - but he looks sympathetic, almost, as he shakes his head.] No, I haven't. Sounds like a town?

[Although it is nice, he thinks, to have someone who maybe knows what it's like to have another him running around.] Can I ask... have you talked to him? Uh - talked to yourself?

A quarantine city on a moon. Another alternate reality I was in before this one. I think I met someone who looked like you. Can't say for sure that he was you, though, since he never even introduced himself.

[ There is one way of knowing if he is the same guy, but considering how the man had reacted to Alexander Pierce's name back in Riverview, he's not so sure he wants to say it out loud now. ]

Oh, yeah. Regularly so. We're friends. Well, almost like brothers, really. [ Or maybe less like brothers since they did make out and are evidently attracted to each other, which is... already weird enough in and of itself, even to Jim Kirk. But anyway. ] You haven't talked to that other you?

Huh. [It's definitely less of a "you're crazy" huh and more of a "that seems completely reasonable, based on my life experiences" kind of huh.] You sound like a popular guy, [he adds, and the twitch of his lips is wry - almost understanding. It sounds rough, but this guy also sounds like he's handling it amazingly well, which Bucky respects.]

Wasn't this me, as far as I know. But maybe that doesn't mean so much, anymore.

[Still, it's interesting - and honestly, a little heartening - to hear that you can be friends with yourself. Or that at least someone has managed it.] Not yet. He doesn't sound like the social type. [Which is already off-putting - Bucky's always been more social than Steve.] I mean. He's been through some shit. I honestly can't imagine. But I want to know, all the same.

Maybe I can help.

[He figures maybe someone in the same boat will understand why he thinks that.]

No, it's something. Same thing as if you'd met only my other self. Wouldn't be me.

[ And Jim had met enough people here he knew from before to know how to separate these things, understand the difference. Even if the guy he'd met before was Bucky Barnes, he wasn't the same person. ]

Well, if he's not the social type, then maybe you should be the one reaching out to him. [ Jim hadn't had that problem, evidently. Both he and his twin were plenty sociable, plus Kirk had quickly reached out to him after his arrival, so that had never been an issue for them. ]

Right. I guess it's kinda like twins. Really, really creepy twins. [But still - twins are separate people, and that's the case here. At best, you can predict what the other you is thinking, or how they'll react.

At best. And definitely not always, he's guessing.

At that, though, he smiles a little and nods.] That's a good point. I don't think it's what he wants, but I think it's what he needs. [He chuckles, just a little.] Guess I do have some practice dealing with people who don't always want my help.

[His smile widens a little, as he looks over Jim.] So I should be on the lookout for your lookalike, huh? And not get offended if I say hi and you look at me like a stranger.

Sort of? I don't find it that creepy, honestly. I think... it varies, from person to person. It might depend on how different you two really are, or-- well, how much you like yourself, essentially.

[ Luckily Jim likes himself quite a lot, so that's never been an issue between him and Kirk. He lets out a soft chuckle at the last comment, then promptly lifts his hand to show Bucky his engagement ring. ]

If it helps, he doesn't wear one of these. That's the one physical difference between us. Well, the one physical difference you can see while we have our clothes on.

[ Because while he sports scars on his torso and arm, his twin has tattoos, but that's not the kind of thing Bucky would be able to see by looking at them while they're clothed. ]

I guess creepy isn't the best way to put it, [Bucky has to concede with a rueful chuckle.] Or maybe it is - I've heard my other self isn't really a friendly guy.

But it's more that I've been through some weird shit, and this is just... weirder than most of it, is all.

[He does look maybe a little surprised, but a little impressed, too, at the ring.] Ah - well. I'll be sure to look for that, then.

[He considers for a moment, then - ] Someone back home?

[Who's wearing the other ring, he means.]

No? Well, that's too bad. Luckily you are, at least, so that's something.

[ So maybe Jim will like this Bucky more, if nothing else then simply because he's friendlier. ]

No. Someone here. [ He smiles softly as he turns the ring around his finger. ] Someone I met in that other place I mentioned, Riverview? We got engaged shortly after we got here.

Based on what I do know, I'm not sure I can really blame him, [Bucky has to admit.] But it doesn't make it easier for anyone.

[Bucky does look nothing if not mildly impressed, though, at the information.] Huh. [In a way... it makes perfect sense, then. Lightning struck twice - why wait around? Especially given the nature of things around here. He doesn't need to ask whether the uncertainty bothers them. He's sure it does, but he gets doing things despite that kind of uncertainty.]

I can respect that, [he says, smiling, after a moment.] Waiting around never got anybody much of anything. I mean - congratulations. I feel like you probably deserve that sentiment more than most people.

Maybe it's even harder for him, being stuck here. On a ship full of people.

[ Full of strangers, more likely. If the other version of Bucky is anything like the man he ran into back in Riverview, then he's probably having a really tough time. ]

I'm not a very patient guy, but I would've waited for him. But... we're both ready now, and these places are so-- uncertain? One day we're here, the next we aren't. We got lucky last time, leaving Riverview and ending up here, the both of us. I just don't want to miss my opportunity.

[ Even if Victor is such a believer of the power of True Love that he is convinced that no matter what, they'll always end up in the same place together, even if they might be parted. ]

It's not really the easiest place to be antisocial, [Bucky muses; which is just weird to think about. Yeah, he's got his moods, and he's had some rough times. But he was always more social than Steve, and trying to imagine himself hating people... well. He can't imagine himself after having gone through whatever happened, so maybe it's just one more thing to add to the list of unimaginable things he'll just have to find out for himself, one day.

The him gives him the tiniest pause - not because he has a problem with it, but he still feels like the "future" is new enough that he's not entirely used to people being able to say that sort of shit. But he's also learned to roll with the punches, and he has been in the twenty-first century long enough to have heard it once or twice.] Honestly, it was that way during the war, too - people getting hitched left and right, just to do it before they shipped out. I get it.

I mean - plus, getting married on a spaceship sounds pretty swell to me.

No, it really isn't. [ There are always ways to be alone, though, all one must do is look for them. Someone eager to avoid people would no doubt find a way.

Jim doesn't even think twice about the fact that he's marrying a man. It's such a common thing where he's from, sometimes he doesn't even think that some of the people here aren't used to it. Or, well, as used to it, anyway. He hasn't really gotten any negative reactions so far, though, so it's just the kind of thing he mentions without thought. ]

Yeah. Well, we're not exactly at war here, but that feeling of not wanting to miss out on something important... it's kind of the same, in a way.

We don't want to get married on a ship, though. We're waiting until we reach the next star system. Hopefully the next planet we visit will be suitable.

[Honestly, the more people mention it, the more Bucky gets used to it just being a thing you can mention without, you know, getting arrested.] Yeah, it's more about the same - uncertainty, [he agrees, because the war was more about not knowing what would happen tomorrow, or the day after that, than anything. And that is definitely how things are here, to a degree, even if people seem to have settled in pretty well.]

Huh - well, yeah. I could see that. There are probably better places to get hitched than a metal box, [Bucky admits with a smile - even if he stands by his ten-year-old self's idea that getting married in space is where it's at. To each his own.] I guess that's sort of something you just have to be... ready for? In case it happens to work out?

[ The truth of the matter is that no one knows what will happen tomorrow. People just get comfortable with the thought that things will stay the same in times of peace, and they make plans, they have dreams and objectives. Bad things are much less likely to happen, of course, but they can still happen, even when one least expects it.

So that's why Jim always likes to take every opportunity, and not let a single moment go to waste. No one truly knows how long they have. ]

It'll be a quickly planned wedding, but we do have the main ideas in mind, and a few people willing to help out. We don't want anything that's too over the top either, you know? Something simple is enough to make us happy, so long as it's special for us.

[Honestly, it's really not a bad philosophy, in general.]

Sounds like you're pretty set, then. I hope you manage to pull it off sooner rather than later.

[He nods to the panel.] And in the meantime, maybe we can figure out what the hell this means. I guess it's one way to pass the time.

Thanks. So do I.

[ Jim offers a casual salute, smiling at Bucky. He'll make sure to write his name down and do a quick sketch too, just in case. He has only forgotten about finding these screens so far, but he doesn't want to risk forgetting Bucky too. ]

One way to put it. I'll see you around, then.

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