Discussion, fic, art, squee, and all sorts of other content about the pairing of Jim Kirk and Leonard "Bones" McCoy.
Discussion Post: Games and Hobbies
I think about what the guys do in their downtime a lot, I admit. And not just the sexy kind of downtime interaction. //grins// When they're not working--at least, not actively, we both know they're both always on call--what do they enjoy? When you write a fic, what do you have them do for fun? When you read fic, what are some of your favorite hobbies folks have come up with?




For me, it's difficult to picture either of them having hobbies on the ship, as I would assume there would always be something mission-related they would be working on, either paperwork or research or various ship problems. But here's my stab at it:
TOS Jim: Reading, sparring, puzzle solving (linguistic puzzles, math problems, etc), flirting with people on the ship, finding the best houses of ill-repute on the planet they're scheduled for next for leave on.
TOS Bones: For some reason, I see him as a poetry lover, and think he spends a lot of time informally counselling crew members. I also totally see him having a lot of pets when he's on earth as well as a kick-ass garden. Post-TOS and pre-TMP, I see him picking up people in various clubs as a hobby :P
TOS Jim: Running, puzzle solving.
AOS Bones: Fighting with Jocelyn (not that his marriage/Joanna is cannon), being forced by Starfleet to take courses in bedside manner, rummaging through Chekov's belongings, playing practical jokes on crew members.
Of course, both AOS and TOS Jim and Bones probably set aside a decent amount of time to drink with each other.
Interestingly, my own experiences at work over the past year or so are what make me certain that the overwhelming amount of work that they have to do on ship means that they must have totally not work related, fun hobbies that they engage in regularly.
I spent about two or three months working twelve hour days early last year. I stopped after the problem I was trying to solve went so much to shit that even twelve hour days couldn't fix it, so why keep doing them? And then my productivity and my emotional health were for shit for about three or four months until my therapist forced me to take a three week break.
These days, I do as much or more work in my regular 8 hour days as I had been doing in those 12 hours days--and I'm happier and healthier. (Kudos to my boss for understanding this, as well.)
Even assuming that Jim and Bones have a substantially higher capacity for long days and stressful work than I do--and I really believe that they both do--that experience convinced me of the importance of downtime, fun, and hobbies. No matter how good you are at working, you will not be working at your highest level if you don't let your brain rest.
Anyway, all that side, I love the idea of puzzles as a hobby for Jim. I'm not sure that any of the ones you listed for Bones actually qualify as hobbies, though I'm sure he engages in them all regularly. lol.