( open ) there's nothing here to run from

[winscenario]

who: Jim Kirk & YOU!
what: open prompts for flood things and monster fighting + sparring later in the month; specific closed prompts as I plot things out with people
when: month of April
where: all around the Quarantine
warnings: possibly some violence and injuries in any monster fighting and sparring threads; NSFW for sex in his thread with Victor


I ▹ FLOOD & DISASTER RELIEF

[ Jim's never been the kind to stay still, even during quiet and peaceful times. So when something goes wrong and people are in danger, it should come as no surprise that he's right in the thick of it.

After his network broadcast warning people of the dangers of getting too close to the rising waters, as well as asking for help in dealing with the damage and other consequences of the flood, he's made sure to set up a perimeter along the river, trying to get people to keep a somewhat safe distance from the waters. Still, it's impossible to make it completely safe or to isolate every single spot along the river, even with a lot of people helping out, and between that and the monsters crawling out of the water, anyone who finds themselves in a tough spot is likely to run into Jim.

Or rather, have him run towards them, possibly yelling out if he spots an oncoming danger, whether that is the rising water level or some wild creature getting a little too close, holding a phaser or a dagger in hand. ] Watch out!

II ▹ RECOVERY & SPARRING

[ Sometimes he likes to think nothing can stop him, if only he's stubborn enough. It usually worked out well back home, and even here when Bones was around, because a dermal regenerator, or some quick advanced surgery in more serious situations, would fix just about anything to perfection.

That's not the case, this time around. During one of the skirmishes with the flood creatures, he was attacked pretty viciously, and now that he's had the injury mostly treated, he's sporting a (yet healing) bite mark covering all around his shoulder and part of his upper arm. It doesn't bleed anymore, and as it heals he doesn't even have to keep it bandaged or wrapped up, but at times when he moves there's just a tinge of discomfort, a dull ache that makes him hiss.

Sometimes he's just sitting at work, pressing against the wound over his clothes, trying to ease the sore muscles. Ignoring it doesn't always work, but boy does he try.

A little later in the month, though, he gets more frustrated, and more intent on working through the mild pain and discomfort. For anyone who's a regular around the Perimeter Guard, Jim can be easily found around the training facilities, warming up on some gym equipment, or practicing a few simple moves on his own on a training mat.

What's left of his wound, as well as some bruising on the skin around it, is visible when he's only wearing a tank top, though he doesn't seem to pay it much mind, or tries not to anyway. If he spots anyone lingering around the area he'll look up and promptly ask— ] Wanna join in?

III ▹ WILCARD

[ Want to run into Jim elsewhere? Go right ahead! Also, if you'd like a prompt more specific to your character, feel free to ping me @ extreminator and I'll write one up for you! ♥ ]

Comments

for Victor

[winscenario]

Jim had to admit, there was a silver lining to the injury he'd suffered at the hands of that wild creature. Granted, it had landed him in the hospital, and left him with a wound that, while on the mend, still had to be looked after, cleaned up regularly, taken care of. Well, that and he had been ordered to stay in bed and absolutely not put any strain on the arm and shoulder until it was at least looking a little better.

That drove him a little crazy. Sitting around wasn't something he was fond of doing, even less so with the flood going on. He felt a little useless, admittedly. And yet... it meant he got to stay at Victor's place, because both he and Lucy had insisted he stick around so they could take care of him.

And getting to sleep next to Victor every night, waking up to his face every morning— well, that he didn't mind. Not one bit.

Still, even he had his limits. He'd read half of the books Victor had by now, spent most of the day watching movies, and right now he was aching to both get a shower, and have something to eat. So right now he was sitting on a stool in the bathroom, wearing only a pair of sweatpants, trying to peel his bandages off before washing himself.

"Ow! Damnit," he hissed at the hint of pain as he pulled a piece of the medical tape from his skin, upsetting the sore muscles around the wound.

[jolting]

Victor had been in physical pain before, but that was nothing like how he felt when he heard James was in the hospital. He dropped what he was doing and rushed over to where he'd been admitted immediately, and refused to leave until he was sure the other man was stable.

He didn't like that this was the reason James was in his house now, but James was safe and alive, and they were together. He was happy with that.

Though he found that all the things he loved about James did not go well with someone who needed to let their body heal. He so happened to pass by the bathroom door when he heard the hiss of pain.

"You should be wearing gloves," he noted helpfully. "Too late now, I guess."

[winscenario]

Jim startled a little at the voice, though the surprise eased into a sigh when he looked up and saw Victor standing by the door. "Wearing gloves for what? I just wanna shower, I feel gross."

He wasn't smelling exactly, but he felt sweaty and itchy in weird places and his hair was just... he didn't want to talk about it. Let's just say he was very glad for the products he'd left at Victor's place before.

He stopped trying to take off the bandages for a moment, instead turning his attention to Victor with a warm smile. "I didn't know you'd be home so early."

for John

[winscenario]

[ Jim is perceptive; he always has been. He knows that, he takes pride in it, and he takes advantage of that fact. Knowing how to read people, what they're feeling or thinking, has afforded him a lot of advantages, both on personal and professional levels.

When it involves people he knows, it doesn't take a whole lot for him to be able to tell when something's off. With John? Hell, all he needs is one look. He might think that putting up a front and trying to wear a mask will be enough for everyone to think he's doing just fine, but it's not working on Jim.

And it's one look, literally, that comes as the first sign. Poe's on the far end of the guard one day, and John makes it a point to just walk the opposite direction in large strides, quickly vanishing from his line of sight and towards the shuttle bay area. It's that moment that tips him off. John doesn't even pause, doesn't lift his eyes, doesn't look for Poe's like he normally would, like he always did.

The next days, he just keeps catching little clues, scattered here and there and all over. They don't steal glances at each other, neither of them smile (not honestly, anyway), and Jim hasn't once nearly walked in on them stealing a kiss by some corner (no judgment, evidently, he's just aware those little moments aren't happening anymore).

There had been a gut feeling telling him he should switch up their schedules so they didn't have to work together, and as the next days go by, he's surer and surer that he made the right call doing just that. It also affords him the unique opportunity to be alone in the shuttle with John, the rest of the bay area mostly empty and quiet. John's looking a little worse for wear, bags under his eyes, beard a little unkept, his hair messier than usual, in a way that doesn't look as nice as it normally did. He looks worn and tired, drained out of energy and joy and the will to do just about anything.

Jim wishes he didn't know what heartbreak looks like. But God, does he know. And all too well.

Tired of pretending like he's reading anything of interest while going through some random report, he sighs and closes the holoscreen in front of him, then gets to his feet abruptly, gently grabbing John by the arms and steering him towards the nearest seat. ]

Okay, that's enough of that. You, sit down. You're gonna tell me what the hell happened with you. Now.

[ He's not forcing him per se, but it's probably obvious that Jim isn't going to let it go. He feels as though he's earned the right to care by now, at the very least. ]

[deploy]

[He's been prodding at the same panel for the past half an hour, like he knows how to fix it. He doesn't. John's a pilot, not a mechanic, or engineer. If he has any specialty outside of flying, it's combat.

Poe's the person to call for this sort of tweak. Which is why John's been uselessly screwing with it, trying to do it himself. Because he doesn't want to call Poe, or even be in the shuttle at the same time as him. That, and he's stubborn.

If he can do this by himself, without him, maybe it means he can-]

Hey, what the hell- I was working on that!

[Jim grabs him by the arms, and John doesn't have it in him to fight. He's tired. Hasn't slept or eaten properly in days. He comes to work, goes home, drinks, showers the smell of alcohol off himself, and comes back in.

That, or he hits the bar, and fucks whoever's stupid enough to want to fuck him. Bonus points if they look nothing like Poe, if they're bigger, stronger, and can wreck him the way he wants to be wrecked.

Except it's never enough. Never hard enough. Never painful enough. Never punishing enough for the guilt, or the self-hatred, to stop eating him up inside.

It's not just Poe. That's what he tells himself. Poe is just one person in a string of people he's loved who didn't love him back, starting all the way back at dear old dad, because he wasn't good enough. Special enough. John's has decades of proof to defend his hypotheses that he, as a person, is unlovable.

And that's where his heads been, since that day Poe came into his office, and told him they were a mistake. Just days after the idiotic vacation he'd planned like a clueless moron who couldn't read the signs.

He sits down hard, shoving at Jim when his ass makes contact before crossing both arms over his chest. Somewhere between defending himself and holding himself. John doesn't look at Jim, eyes staring down at the floor.]

Nothing happened. I'm just tired. Getting more tired by the minute, with you hassling me.

II

[bythehand]

[ Finn was pretty glad to see him here today, generally speaking, and he walked up with every intention of at least saying hi. After Sampremi, saying hi to him in the training facilities is arguably one of the least troublesome prospects possible.

What happens when he gets close enough for Jim to look up and ask if he wants to join in is more of a mildly-impressed, mildly-concerned eyebrow furrow than it is a "hey". ]

What, looking for a test run after you got an arm reattached? When did that happen?

[ Nothing says angling for friendship quite like immediately saying something argumentative, in the Finn dictionary. ]

[winscenario]

[ It's a good thing that Jim's never been the type to get awkward around people he's had flings or hooked up with. Usually it goes the other way around, though— someone who'd expected for a little more than just a good time, and Jim finding himself in the undesirable position of having to turn them down easy.

He's got a good feeling that's not something he'll have to worry about with Finn, though. Thankfully so, because it really had been great fun and all, but he'd still like to get to know Finn a little better, maybe even strike up a friendship.

The approach only makes him surer of this, and he sketches a vague smile when Finn mentions his injury. ]

Something like that— almost. [ He glances at the wound, then shrugs. ] Early in the month. I can thank the creatures crawling out of the river, they aren't exactly friendly.

ii;

[neversurrender]

[Steve spends a lot of his free time in the training facilities, enough that he's probably sparred with the better part of the Perimeter Guard at least once, including a few trainees. So the fact of running into a face he hasn't seen around before is enough to draw his attention away from his own training.

He watches Jim work on the mats for several minutes before the other man looks up and notices him. The question brings a smile to his face and he begins stretching his arms out above his head.]

Alright. You working on anything in particular?

[winscenario]

[ He was kind of assuming that someone watching him for that long had to have at least some interest in a friendly spar, and he's glad to see he wasn't wrong. He eyes Steve up and down, a silent sort of appreciation in his gaze. Not that looks mean much of anything when it comes to skill, really. He could be all ripped and still move like some old guy.

Jim seriously hopes that won't be the case, or else he'll be horribly disappointed. ]

Not really. [ He purses his lips and shrugs. ] I'm more of a 'go with the flow' sort of guy. Any particular discipline you lean more towards?

I;

[hasitsthorns]

[ For someone deathly afraid of water, Rose should probably be trying to steer clear of it. Instead, she's been doing the opposite. Maybe it's some kind of convoluted way to try and get herself over this dumb fear. Or perhaps she's just trying to blend in more because, really, who's afraid of water? It's not the water in and of itself. It's drowning in it, which is a more common concern than Rose even recognizes.

But it's not actually the rushing current that she has to watch out for. She doesn't see it as she walks past but it certainly sees her; a creature slithers after Rose only seconds behind her pace. When Jim shouts, however, they're both jumping. The blond whirls around to see him with phaser in hand. Immediately, her eyes dart down to whatever it is he's targeting. It looks like some kind of alien snake? Of course it is.

Before he can fire, however, she's acting in a flash and crushing it beneath her heel as she extends one hand in a 'stop' motion. She looks uncharacteristically intense as she does, teeth grit and eyes narrowed. ] Don't worry, dude, I got this. [ It squeals beneath the pressure she's putting on it and writhes. Just when it starts to lose fight, the blond lifts her foot and watches as it darts away as quickly as possible. Rose watches it to make sure, then-

She's ready with a bright smile for him. ]

That could've been close! Sorry, didn't mean to ruin your dashing hero routine but I didn't want to kill it either.

[winscenario]

[ To be fair, one would have to be crazy to not be afraid of these waters. Jim certainly wouldn't get any closer to them than he has to, and even just watching the river rush at such an unbelievable speed fills him with dread and concern. He's sure he wouldn't be able to stay afloat if he happened to fall, for instance, no matter how good a swimmer he is.

Rose isn't standing too close to the water at least, but that doesn't make the threat of that animal sneaking up on her any less serious. It's a pretty large snake, with teeth longer and sharper than usual, and Jim's rushing to get to Rose before it catches up to her.

However, it seems she's more than capable of handling the situation on her own. Before he even gets to lift his phaser or aim it, she's already crushing her heel on his head, and he slows down considerably. He makes the rest of the way to her once the snake's slithering away from her, though at a less urgent pace now. ]

I was just going to stun it. [ He's not a fan of killing any of the creatures on the moon unless he absolutely has to. His lips twitch a little. ] Using a heel is definitely more cruel, if you ask me.

i.

[latrodectus]

[ Natasha had heard the warnings about the rising water, but she needed to walk from work back to her apartment. That is the explanation she had prepared for anyone who might accost her for being outside, with the alarm bells out.

Of course, the real reason she's taking the dangerous way back is because she wants to see it for herself. Natasha's been keeping a private log of all these monthly disturbances, trying to find a pattern. But sometimes, when you're looking for something, like Natasha was, in the water, you miss what's right in front of you.

Or behind, in this case. ]

Ah!

[ Jim's warning hits her just in time, as she steps back— a reflex— nearer to the shoreline and the rising water, but out of the way of the beast. ]

[winscenario]

[ At least it's not one of the largest creatures. Some sort of large frog, but at least this one is lacking the spikes on its tongue like the one he ran into before. It still can jump like crazy, and when Natasha moves out of its way, it seems to shift its attention and head straight towards him.

It catches him a little by surprise. His eyebrows raise up his forehead, but he promptly reaches for his phaser and aims it at the creature.

The first shot doesn't reach the mark, though, his aim failing him with the wind and dark and the thin rain still falling on their heads. The creature keeps rushing at him, and he reaches for the dagger sheathed to his waist instead. ]

I

[dancingmd]

[Like Jim, Beverly can't stay away when there are people who need her help. While she's not straying as close to the flood zones as the Perimeter Guard, she is still nearby with a med evac team, ready to step in when she's needed. Except this time when they get a call after one of the crocodile attacks, it seems the beast is not yet gone.

When Jim calls out, Beverly instinctively reaches for her own phaser and turns towards the danger, protecting her two medics hauling their patient out on a stretcher.]

[winscenario]

[ Sadly phasers don't seem to have much of an effect on the creature. Jim's tried several times by now, both on stun and kill settings, but at most he's only managed to anger the creature further, rather than stop it or even slow it down.

He has to find a way to get it to move away from the medic team, though. He motions for Beverly to lower the phaser so she won't catch the creature's attention much, then urges her to get away. ]

I'll distract it! Go!

[ He starts shooting at the creature himself, aiming repetitive shots at it until it turns to face him. It starts on a surprisingly fast pace for a creature its size, opening its large mandibles, the rows of teeth not inspiring Jim with a lot of confidence. ]

Hey! Come on!! [ He yells at the creature, hoping to get it to follow after him and away from Beverly's team. ]

ii.

[realists]

[ jyn leans against the door frame, watching him prod at the wound hidden under his shirt. ]

You're not going to work it out that way. Did they give you stretches to do?

[ she jerks her head back toward the gym because if they haven't, she certainly can. jyn is something of a pro when it comes to shoulder injuries, considering it's honestly a wonder her own isn't constantly wrenched out of socket the way she puts strain on it. ]

[winscenario]

[ Jim looks up at the voice, his hand dropping from his shoulder almost immediately, as though he was a kid caught doing something Very Wrong. ]

No, I... I mean, yes. My doctor recommended some physical therapy, and some exercises. I've been working on them.

[ Not because Jim's the type necessarily —he's not used to being injured this long, it's a little weird for him— but because Victor is always watching him and making sure he actually does the exercises and sticks to his treatment. ]

I won't say no if you have other suggestions, though.

ii.

[evasives]

[did somebody say?? sore muscles?? aching bones?? cassian's back has been haunting him since he arrived, and despite all the medical assistance and physical therapy available in the quarantine, he's been stupid about it. it's probably self worth related, but the aches don't stop him from functioning so he doesn't do more than idle stretching and down a bunch of aspirin.]

[the point is! he recognizes the way jim shuffles around the guard, favoring certain sides or holding the injury. nothing debilitating, but cassian knows people and he knows jim and it's easy to read between the lines. healing wounds impact physicality.]

[he's very aware as he approaches jim that this could get very pot meet kettle, or whatever the star wars equivalent, but bros before war wound consideration.]

Having a bad bite day?

[winscenario]

[ Cassian better hope Jim never finds out about his back, because he'd definitely be the type of friend who'd push and annoy and insist until Cassian was just too fucking done with putting up with him and simply gave in just to shut him up for once. Fine, Jim's not really used to dealing with injuries for this long, so there's probably a lot he does that he shouldn't, but he also does everything his doctor tells him. He's good like that.

He raises an eyebrow at Cassian's question, letting out a faint chuckle as he sits back on his chair. ]

Quite literally, yes. [ He shrugs (with his good shoulder) and sighs. ] It's fine. It doesn't hurt or anything, it's just annoying me. I'm not used to it.

for Dani

[winscenario]

[ When he talked to Dani about going out for drinks, a place easily came to mind. It probably isn't too extraordinary to her, considering where she comes from, but Loki's club has always made Jim feel pretty comfortable, particularly since he can make himself comfortable upstairs and entirely avoid the louder area of the partying— the basement where everyone dances their night away to loud, almost deafening music. (He's definitely getting too old for that.)

Wearing a pair of black pants, white t-shirt and a worn leather jacket, he's waiting just outside for now. It's a big place and it just seemed easier for Jim to meet her by the door before heading inside. He checks his phone for the time. It's just now turning 9 o'clock, so he expects she should be getting there any moment now. ]

a million years late

[millenials]

[ dani's glad that he's so willingly and immediately accepted going out for drinks. she's spent plenty of time at the festival, but that didn't really help in terms of getting to know the regular night life of this moon. it's still weird that she's on a moon at all, but that weirdness shouldn't keep her from enjoying herself, should it?

so bar recommendations are welcome. having someone handsome to hang out with while scoping out the recommended bars? even better.

she isn't very late, but she isn't exactly on time, either. getting her winged eyeliner to be perfect takes a while, sometimes — but by the time she makes it, some five minutes after nine, she does look pretty great, if she may say so herself: a short dress, high heels, some lipstick and of course the eyeliner. ]

Hey. Did you wait long? [ she recognises him from the picture. ]

for Bodhi

[winscenario]

[ Since Bodhi had mentioned coming by on that same day, Jim's been keeping an eye out for the guy. He hasn't put his own tasks on hold by any means —he's too busy and there's too much going on for that—, but he has stolen glances around the Guard a little bit during the whole afternoon.

It stands to reason that Bodhi's busy with other stuff. Closer to late afternoon Jim starts to think he might've been delayed and forced to postpone his visit, and since Jim was hoping to use the last bit of daylight to fly down the river and make sure the barriers he'd put up are still in place, he starts firing up the engines, stepping out of the shuttle so he can grab a flight suit to change into. ]

[onlydoubts]

[ Bodhi isn't meaning to run late or keep Jim waiting, he has a patrol - which he manages, and when he gets back it's a little later than he'd expected. Having already let him know he'd be in that day, he hopes the other man hasn't left yet... though given the amount of activity going on, he wouldn't be surprised if he did.

But he told him he'd be there, so Bodhi is still gonna try (but he's already formulating some kind of apology in his mind so he can ask to meet another day). He's pleasantly surprised to get to the shuttle to find it powering up so he waits where he is when the other man appears. ]

Jim Kirk, yeah? Bodhi Rook - we spoke earlier. I know it's a little late, but I'm here now.

for Hux

[winscenario]

[ Hux's office isn't really on the way to anywhere. Whenever Jim ends up there, it's because he meant to, and it's no different today. Not that he has a specific purpose, mind, just that he found himself with free time on his hands, and wondering how the General's been doing these past couple weeks.

There's the distinct possibility he's not even there right now, actually. Or there was, at least, until he comes close enough to hear shouting. He recognizes Hux's voice, but not the other man's, and can't really decipher what they're yelling. The other man storms off before Jim even gets a decent look at him, and after a short pause, he makes his way to the door and knocks, carefully poking his head in. ]

Hux? You okay? It's Jim.

[fhux]

[ If he hadn't just climbed onto his bed and settled the kittens on his lap, he would get up to see who just entered the workshop. Instead, just to tiredly spite himself, he calls out from the office and hopes his raw voice carries across the lab, his strangled throat rasping in protest. ]

We're closed!

[ If he could actually decipher the intruder's identity or hear properly from inside the office at the other end of the workshop, he might have still said the same thing. He's a morose mess. ]