text; un: ren

[killthepast]

Explain to me what a "ram stein" is and why you would describe a person as looking like one.

And who or WHAT is a "goth"?

[ Brought to you by: somebody calling Kylo a "Rammstein-looking goth motherfucker." HE SUSPECTS IT'S AN INSULT. ]

Comments

[killthepast]

Have you. Like what?

[ LOOK. He's. Just curious. Definitely not looking for an excuse to punch holes in his walls or anything. ]

Perhaps all of their instruments are metal.

[ Just. Various bits of metal they bang together, IDK IDK IDK. ]

du hast.mp3

[fhux]

You walked around in a mask for a year with no one sure if you were even human/horrendously disfigured, and were physically violent utilising the Force. The rumours were not kind. I don't see how Stormtrooper gossip is a surprise on that note.

Minus the abysmal lyrics (singing?) this song sounds a lot like your lightsaber when it cleaves through metal. I suppose you like it.

[killthepast]

It isn't surprising. [ That they gossiped isn't news to him. It's more the content of it he was wondering about. Buuuuut Hux is smart to deflect. The specifics will only invoke a temper tantrum. ]

I do like it. [ Even if he has no idea what the lyrics mean. ] I suppose you prefer music with more restraint. Classics from the days of the Empire.

[fhux]

We had no opera in the Outer Rim when I was a boy. In any case, I don't care for it.

You don't know what I prefer, but feel free to keep guessing.

[killthepast]

You can tell me, or not. I'm not interested in guessing.

[ A bit curious now, since he'd leapt to an incorrect assumption, but... even Ren isn't so petty as to make a huge thing of this. So, NO THREATS TO YANK THE INFO FROM HUX'S MIND OR ANYTHING. ]

[fhux]

You're only interested in being rewarded for nothing, then?

[killthepast]

[ YOU INFURIATING MAN. ]

Do you actually WANT me to guess? I don't know which music made its way to the Outer Rim.

[ Because Kylo's from the Core Worlds. You know. THE PLANETS THAT MATTER. ]

[fhux]

[ Say that to the Hosnian System. His favourite past-time is infuriating Ren (without getting strangled, kthx). Smiling to himself, he relents only when he reads that frustration in text. ]

We had little to no frivolities, of which music was one. Luxuries such as that were to be earned through hard work and achievement.

I have no preference because I have no interest.

[ A lie; he has some unsung tunes that he works to but none he feels comfortable sharing with Ren. It would only amount to giving the man ammunition. ]

[killthepast]

[ ok ok fair point

And look, Ren may despise Hux. It may be an extremely mutual animosity. But this is also the first time, in however many years they've worked together, that he's ever actually spoken to the other man about his life and experiences.

It's unusual, which makes it a matter of some interest, for the time being. ]

No interest. [ It sounds believable enough, but: ] Then what luxuries or frivolities do you favor? Surely you have some interests beyond your dedication to the First Order.

[fhux]

[ MILLICENT, the best indulgence!! #catlyf His reply comes quickly, as though also noting how revealing deeper personal details could rapidly backfire. ]

This is hardly a constructive conversation.

[killthepast]

This isn't a TRAP

[ You paranoid weirdo. Though Ren has to wonder why he's even frustrated over the deflection. It's not like he is asking questions out of any desire to befriend the general. He's just grown curious, is all, and would rather have that curiosity sated, because what else is there to do here?

...

Quarantine really has ruined him. ]

Not every conversation must be constructive.

[fhux]

[ Horrendous man. How dare he call out Hux's paranoia, that's so kriffing rude! And accurately hits the nail on the head, forcing him to give up something so as to sate Ren's curiosity.

After ten minutes or so of silence, he sends a link. ]

It rained near daily on Arkanis, I studied to the sound. It helps me focus.

[killthepast]

[ NO, UR HORRENDOUS.

He's surprised, he'll admit, to actually get a response after calling Hux out. And more so, he's a bit surprised by the song itself. It's probably another ten minutes before he responds, now: ]

It sounds melancholy. [ Or maybe it's because Ren's AN EMO KID.

Anyway, it's a bit... awkward to leave it at that. So have an attempt at stepping up his conversation game: ]

But I can see how it would help you focus.

[fhux]

[ Ren really is one to talk when he apparently listens to music that amounts to little more than aggressively enthused screaming. But at least he isn't being as much of an arse as he could.

Similarly, he isn't sure what else to say. They haven't ever chatted before, there just ... hasn't been the time. When Ren had first arrived on the Finalizer Hux had been keen to get to know Snoke's apprentice, perhaps use them in some way, but those hopes had been swiftly crushed like a throat by the Force. ]

It's not to your tastes, I can imagine.

[killthepast]

[ Really, it's only because of the realities of his life in Quarantine-- being forced to get on with strangers, without the backing of Snoke or the First Order to lend him any authority-- that Ren is now somewhat more approachable than he'd been back in their galaxy.

Sometimes.

His new life experiences have been helping in that regard, too. Here's Kylo Ren with approximately 45% less repression! ]

It is, actually.

[ It reminds him of what he hears when he meditates-- outside, in nature, as opposed to in the sterile confines of a starship. ]

[fhux]

[ What does he say to that? ]

I have more.

[killthepast]

[ Ren doesn't know what to say to that, himself. He doesn't know what to say to any of this conversation, with its tenuous, fragile civility.

Honestly, he's half-tempted to just hang up or insult Hux, just to return to a more familiar, comfortable dynamic. ]

I wouldn't mind listening to more.

Perhaps we can trade.

[ You can get some sweet, sweet metal tunes. ]

[fhux]

[ Not about to lie and saddle himself with music he hates, he pauses to consider what this might mean for their working relationship. It's a new angle and suggests Ren will listen to Hux's opinion. Maybe it shouldn't be discounted so quickly.

And nothing says he has to actually listen to that "metal" racket.

Picking a list as he considers a blend of both genres, he sends it over in another link. ]

This band may be better to your liking.

[ As much as Ren can be mindlessly angry, Hux opts to appeal to anything else alive and thoughtful in that Force-laced chest. He may as well try. ]