First_Son (first_son) wrote in dc_nextgen,
@ 2011-06-02 23:32:00

Entry tags:

Learning to fly all over again
He's been pondering this for a while. Quite a while, really... but first Svalin... and then, just Jon being Jon has had him hesitant, and second guessing himself. He's still not intending anything serious anywhere... but socializing has been good. He can't deny it. Goosing Maria, much as he's sure he's going to be embarrassed later, also has him in a little less serious mood than usual.

Still, cute as she is, she also moves a little fast for him, especially after recent events.

He calls Alina's number, after looking it up in team records.

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	collateralmagic 2011-06-20 07:01 pm UTC (link)
	"I'm in too good of a mood to whine right now, but I'll keep that in mind for later," Alina says. "Do you usually get onions on your cheeseburger?" Onion-breath: one of the potential dangers of burger-joint dates. It's okay if both parties have it, but just one and things get awkward. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-06-20 08:50 pm UTC (link)
	"Sounds good... I'm in a pretty good mood too, go figure. And... sometimes, if you want onions, I'll get them too." Yeah, he's sympathetic to that. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

collateralmagic
2011-06-24 05:16 am UTC (link)

"Both of us in good moods," she drawls. "Will the wonders never cease?"

Accommodating sort of guy, Jon. Alina ignores the suspicious little voice in the back of her head -- he's being nice because he's a nice guy, not because he's got an ulterior motive. It's entirely possible that Jon's never had an ulterior motive in his life.

"I am in the mood for onions, if that's not going to be a deal-breaker," she says.

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	first_son 2011-06-24 05:21 am UTC (link)
	"Honestly, when it comes to burgers, I' fine with just about anything on the menu. If I can eat Tameranean cuisine, onions on burgers are all good... so go for it, whatever you like." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	collateralmagic 2011-06-27 05:46 pm UTC (link)
	"If I ask about Tameranean cuisine before the food gets here, am I going to regret it?" Alina asks, raising her eyebrows at Jon before glancing back down at her menu. Now that the onion question had been solved, the rest of burger-building would be easy enough. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-06-27 06:02 pm UTC (link)
	"I just figure it helps me appreciate burgers even more. Their signature dish is probably Glorkk... its sort of like sushi ice cream." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	collateralmagic 2011-06-27 10:41 pm UTC (link)
	"That doesn't sound so bad," Alina says dubiously. "Weird, but not bad. Did it have weird tentacles all over it or something?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-06-27 10:45 pm UTC (link)
	"No, and after a while, its not /that/ bad, just an odd mix of flavor and texture when you're used to Earth food." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	collateralmagic 2011-06-30 04:39 am UTC (link)
	"I guess," Alina says with a shrug. "...Sushi with wasabi or without wasabi?" Because wasabi-flavored ice cream would be weird enough to point to and say 'if I can eat this, I can eat anything'. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-06-30 12:10 pm UTC (link)
	"With. And whenever they can get it imported from Earth, via Starfire and company, they usually think mustard is the perfect beverage to accompany it." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	collateralmagic 2011-07-01 01:55 am UTC (link)
	Alina eyeballs the bottle of mustard in the condiment basket on their table, then laughs and shakes her head. "And that would be the finishing touch on the weirdness factor right there. Alien food and something familiar served with a twist. I am so up for hearing more about your space adventures." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-07-01 02:27 am UTC (link)
	"Tamaran was definitely a highlight as far as very different experiences go. Along the way to where Krypton used to be, I hit Rann, Thanagar, New Genesis, Okaara, Oa... each one really different than the others." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	collateralmagic 2011-07-06 12:09 am UTC (link)
	"I guess that makes sense," Alina says. "Considering how different cultures can be here on Earth, I'd bet that they vary even more wildly from planet to planet. But none of their eating habits topped Tamaran?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

first_son
2011-07-06 12:14 am UTC (link)

"The cultures vary from Earth quite a bit, but a lot of them are a lot older, as space faring cultures, even multi-planet empires, than humans. In a lot of cases, one city or nation within a lot of the are a lot more like one nation on Earth to another - in the places with high awareness of humans, Earth is considered kind of an anomaly for that. As for eating habits... not really. Okaara kind of feels like either a hunter culture - meat, and plenty of it, or slightly exotic bar food, New Genesis was actually kind of familiar... Rann and Thanagar both have their weirdnesses. But I think the sushi ice cream on Tamaran would top the list for oddest."

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	collateralmagic 2011-07-08 10:35 pm UTC (link)
	"So, what, does space-travel sort of average out a planet into one culture?" Alina wrinkles her nose. "That's...I'm not sure how to say this, but I like the culture mish-mash we've got going on here. Not that it doesn't sometimes cause problems, but it does makes things interesting. It'd kind of suck to lose it." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

first_son
2011-07-09 05:38 am UTC (link)

"Best I can figure it out, its sort of like accents - the more contact one has with other cultures, the more they kind of blend, then even out. When a planet has largely had one government, instant real time communication with voice contact and near instant travel, or even teleport capabilities, and has had it for centuries, there's a lot of history, but the mish-mash dies down some. I kind of like this too, admittedly."

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	collateralmagic 2011-07-14 04:27 am UTC (link)
	"Good to know that we've got awhile to go before anything like that happens to Earth," Alina says. "Though I bet the period right before everything boils down to a single culture is a mess and a half. People do not like it when their own personal culture starts changing around on them." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-07-14 04:39 pm UTC (link)
	"True, most of the space-faring cultures I visited have had one planetary government, or even small empires for several centuries. We're not anywhere close to the one planet government yet." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	collateralmagic 2011-07-19 03:08 am UTC (link)
	Alina snorts. "That's for sure." She rests her chin on her hand and looks at him. "Space travel must have played merry hell with your sense of scale. How's it feel to be back on Earth after all of that?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-07-19 03:23 am UTC (link)
	"Honestly? For all that it should seem smaller, its a lot more confusing and taking more getting used to than all of the 'out there' put together." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	collateralmagic 2011-07-20 08:48 pm UTC (link)
	"Really?" Alina drops her hand onto the table and leans forward a little. "I hope you weren't planning on saying that and then dropping the subject." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

first_son
2011-07-21 12:12 am UTC (link)

"No, not really. I... don't talk to people about myself that much, so a little awkward maybe... but I said it. I got all the permissions to go out into space, see and do stuff, to kind of try and find myself and figure out... well, a little of what it meant to be Kryptonian, and came back with just as many questions. And I've never really been buddy-buddy with people, or dated, or done a lot of that, so there's a lot of just figuring out life as Jon Kent."

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collateralmagic
2011-07-30 05:12 am UTC (link)

Alina cocks her head to the side as he talks, tapping her finger on the tabletop. This...wow, this isn't something she expected. It's not surprising now that he says it, but you'd think that a guy who helps save the world in his not-very-free time would get a pass on the usual teenage identity issues.

"I guess that makes sense," she says slowly. "You go all that way looking for answers, and you don't find 'em? Yeah, that's going to make coming back harder." She brings a hand up to her mouth and bites her knuckle, trying to actually put words to the thought taking shape in her mind. "But, uh, speaking as someone who's having a great time getting to know Jon Kent right now...I'm pretty sure you're not going to find him by hitting known planets."

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	first_son 2011-07-30 05:22 am UTC (link)
	"I'm glad I did the tour and all, had a look at where my dad's side of the family is from - where Kal El is from - but Superman is definitely from here. And, honestly, despite all the issues of late, I like Earth, and while its difficult, its been an interesting road to discovery lately." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	collateralmagic 2011-08-26 03:16 am UTC (link)
	Alina blinks a couple times, then makes a flapping sort of gesture with her hands. "Well, I'm glad you're planning on sticking around. I haven't actually tried teleporting interstellar distances yet, and that's not really something that's encouraged without a safety net." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)