08-17-2023, 06:09 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-17-2023, 06:29 AM by Damien Coleman.)
The laugh that had come out of Ju was surprising in how spontaneous it was, but also in its quality too. There hadn’t been much laughing after the last Artemis mission. In fact it had been in turns incredibly somber, and then also the most heated trip back to base that Coleman had had since his time on the Atlanta. So hearing her laugh, and seeing the way it lit up her face with the smile reaching all the way into her eyes, reinvigorated some of Damian’s spirit.
“Well, you might have still beat me, I don’t know your tolerance.”
She was right of course. Without thinking much on it, Coleman really wasn’t sure exactly how much he drank on the regular. Though the Artemis was practically a still with nacelles. A majority aboard her drank with some regularity, and some more than just regularly. A few names immediately came to his mind, though some of them were making strides to curtail their crutch on the stuff.
Focusing on Ju as she spoke, Coleman listened intently about her upbringing. At first, he thought that they would share a common bond; being stuck in space as they grew up. Though it seemed her parents had understood the rigors that would have come with being stuck on a starship. That, or they were on a smaller ship that didn’t cater to families. Either way, it sounded like she spent her more formative years in Korea, with her halmoni. When she smiled at him, he warmly smiled back.
Their back and forth was playful, and many of Ju’s responses sounded humble. Perhaps because she hadn’t been as social as Damian had first considered. Her grandmother, her halmoni, had been pretty strict in terms of instilling a work ethic into Ju. And so, Coleman had to concede that perhaps she hadn’t been as much of a partier as he had thought. That, or she simply ensured that her partying time was quality over quantity.
The smarter move. At least in Security, there was far less studying, so partying was easier that way. The downside was the early morning PT drills after a night of heavy drinking…
“I think I talk too much,” she laughed and seemed to make a self-comforting gesture by getting her hair out of her eyes.
“All the better for me,” Damian joked in return, “in my previous department, getting people to talk was part of the job.”
As he asked her for a bit of a game, something that would let them get to know each other better, Ju’s eyes caught the overhead lights and seemed to sparkle. That made Coleman smile, and for a moment, he got a bit self-conscious himself. Kind of like Ju’s worry that she talked too much, he wondered if he was smiling like a big idiot too often? It was only a moment though, as he pushed aside that little hangup. If he wanted to smile freely, he would. It was nice. It was fun.
“I shouldn’t have talked so much, this would be much easier.”
“You haven’t said anything too self-incriminating yet,” his smile formed into more of a smirk now.
There was a bit of silence between them as they walked, with Ju carefully crafting her answers. People often thought that the lie was the hardest thing to craft in such games. In actuality, it was different for everyone. Truths were easy to come up with, but sometimes they were too specific and obvious. That meant, if you were playing the game to win, you had to blur the lines a little. Lies were easy to conjure for some too, but some people made them too outlandish. The best lies, he found, always were variations on the truth. Damian had played the game many times with all sorts of people; good liars, good storytellers, those with incredible poker faces, and some who outright just didn’t have a bone in their body that could tell a fib.
Watching over Ju as she formulated her responses, he guided her gently with his own movements, being sure to stop her from running into anyone or anything. Though as they continued down the Promenade, the amount of other people walking about dwindled. It was then that he could use his attention to window shop some of the stalls and shops. There was a moment though, that he could hear Ju change the way she was breathing, and he focused intently on her then; watching her face as she spoke, listened to how she said the words, and what expressions happened as Ju gave her answers.
Having a dog wasn’t uncommon, but it also wasn’t something people usually lied about. Plus the specificity of Ju wanting to bring the pet aboard the ship made it seem even more true. And finally, there was uncertainty about whether she’d be allowed, something else that most people wouldn’t add to their lies.
“The last part, about your dog, that sounds like a truth,” he said quickly.
The other two were much harder to know for sure. It was easy to see that she could know three languages fluently; almost certainly she knew Korean and English, and so a third one wouldn’t be a stretch. However, it was equally likely that she was a martial artist, particularly in taekwondo.
“I could see you doing martial arts,” he aired his thoughts, letting his mental processes regurgitate the information, “and being good at taekwondo. But I could also understand you knowing three languages as well, as I’m already pretty sure you are fluent in Korean and English.”
He paused his speech for a moment while his legs continued walking with Ju,
“Maybe that’s the lie? It’d be an easy stretch to say you know three languages when I can be certain you already know two. And you differentiated between knowing three languages, and being fluent in three. Plus maybe Halmoni wanted you to be strong both physically, and mentally?”
Damian stopped in his tracks and turned toward her,
“Yeah, that is what I’m going with. You are a third degree black belt in taekwondo, but you aren’t fluent in three languages?”
He wanted to be more certain, but in the end, it was an icebreaker. Though, a competitive side in him hoped that he had nailed it. The want to be easy going collided with the fighter in him, and so he waited with bated breath for the real answers.
== tag Eun ==
“Well, you might have still beat me, I don’t know your tolerance.”
She was right of course. Without thinking much on it, Coleman really wasn’t sure exactly how much he drank on the regular. Though the Artemis was practically a still with nacelles. A majority aboard her drank with some regularity, and some more than just regularly. A few names immediately came to his mind, though some of them were making strides to curtail their crutch on the stuff.
Focusing on Ju as she spoke, Coleman listened intently about her upbringing. At first, he thought that they would share a common bond; being stuck in space as they grew up. Though it seemed her parents had understood the rigors that would have come with being stuck on a starship. That, or they were on a smaller ship that didn’t cater to families. Either way, it sounded like she spent her more formative years in Korea, with her halmoni. When she smiled at him, he warmly smiled back.
Their back and forth was playful, and many of Ju’s responses sounded humble. Perhaps because she hadn’t been as social as Damian had first considered. Her grandmother, her halmoni, had been pretty strict in terms of instilling a work ethic into Ju. And so, Coleman had to concede that perhaps she hadn’t been as much of a partier as he had thought. That, or she simply ensured that her partying time was quality over quantity.
The smarter move. At least in Security, there was far less studying, so partying was easier that way. The downside was the early morning PT drills after a night of heavy drinking…
“I think I talk too much,” she laughed and seemed to make a self-comforting gesture by getting her hair out of her eyes.
“All the better for me,” Damian joked in return, “in my previous department, getting people to talk was part of the job.”
As he asked her for a bit of a game, something that would let them get to know each other better, Ju’s eyes caught the overhead lights and seemed to sparkle. That made Coleman smile, and for a moment, he got a bit self-conscious himself. Kind of like Ju’s worry that she talked too much, he wondered if he was smiling like a big idiot too often? It was only a moment though, as he pushed aside that little hangup. If he wanted to smile freely, he would. It was nice. It was fun.
“I shouldn’t have talked so much, this would be much easier.”
“You haven’t said anything too self-incriminating yet,” his smile formed into more of a smirk now.
There was a bit of silence between them as they walked, with Ju carefully crafting her answers. People often thought that the lie was the hardest thing to craft in such games. In actuality, it was different for everyone. Truths were easy to come up with, but sometimes they were too specific and obvious. That meant, if you were playing the game to win, you had to blur the lines a little. Lies were easy to conjure for some too, but some people made them too outlandish. The best lies, he found, always were variations on the truth. Damian had played the game many times with all sorts of people; good liars, good storytellers, those with incredible poker faces, and some who outright just didn’t have a bone in their body that could tell a fib.
Watching over Ju as she formulated her responses, he guided her gently with his own movements, being sure to stop her from running into anyone or anything. Though as they continued down the Promenade, the amount of other people walking about dwindled. It was then that he could use his attention to window shop some of the stalls and shops. There was a moment though, that he could hear Ju change the way she was breathing, and he focused intently on her then; watching her face as she spoke, listened to how she said the words, and what expressions happened as Ju gave her answers.
Having a dog wasn’t uncommon, but it also wasn’t something people usually lied about. Plus the specificity of Ju wanting to bring the pet aboard the ship made it seem even more true. And finally, there was uncertainty about whether she’d be allowed, something else that most people wouldn’t add to their lies.
“The last part, about your dog, that sounds like a truth,” he said quickly.
The other two were much harder to know for sure. It was easy to see that she could know three languages fluently; almost certainly she knew Korean and English, and so a third one wouldn’t be a stretch. However, it was equally likely that she was a martial artist, particularly in taekwondo.
“I could see you doing martial arts,” he aired his thoughts, letting his mental processes regurgitate the information, “and being good at taekwondo. But I could also understand you knowing three languages as well, as I’m already pretty sure you are fluent in Korean and English.”
He paused his speech for a moment while his legs continued walking with Ju,
“Maybe that’s the lie? It’d be an easy stretch to say you know three languages when I can be certain you already know two. And you differentiated between knowing three languages, and being fluent in three. Plus maybe Halmoni wanted you to be strong both physically, and mentally?”
Damian stopped in his tracks and turned toward her,
“Yeah, that is what I’m going with. You are a third degree black belt in taekwondo, but you aren’t fluent in three languages?”
He wanted to be more certain, but in the end, it was an icebreaker. Though, a competitive side in him hoped that he had nailed it. The want to be easy going collided with the fighter in him, and so he waited with bated breath for the real answers.
== tag Eun ==