IC CONTACT ( meadowlark )

[secondnature]

@keith.kogane | ■ ▲ ◌ ▼

 

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@jughead.jones

[drivein]

Hey man.
That whole thing was pretty harsh. You wanna- I don't know- get out or something?

[secondnature]

Uh, sure.

Yeah. Let's do something.

[drivein]

So, what do you do outside of the whole saving people thing?

[ not at all knocking it, because saving people is kinda what he does in his free time while he solves mysteries with his girlfriend. ]

1/2

[secondnature]

I draw. Not that it's easy here.

I like nature. Not that it's easy here.

[secondnature]

And then there's fighting and piloting.

I think I need some new hobbies. I guess.

[drivein]

Yeah, not a lot of stuff seems easy here.
You do arcades? They have VR simulations here. It makes Space Invaders look like it's from the stone age.

[secondnature]

You think they let pilots just head off into space without experience?

I've played. Not a lot or not outside of school, but I've done stuff like it.

[drivein]

Look, I've never been a pilot so I can't tell you what they do before they let them fly off.
Alright, so let's jet.
Show me how good you are. Let's see that high score up in lights.

[secondnature]

This should be fun.

I'll meet you on the street that's down the block from the safehouse. It's the only one with open businesses.

[drivein]

I'm sure I can find it.

[ per the text, Jughead is waiting out on the street that Keith suggested. he even sends him a pin! it's! kinda neat! in a very George Orwell type of way.

while he waits he cruises through some news outlets and blogs on his neural implant, still not entirely used to the way that it works, and stuck between simultaneously thinking it's neat and way, way, way too invasive. he's not even really a phone person.

he's got on a pair of pants that are too big and some loose knits, fingers tucked in his pockets. he's just a scrawny kid. ]

[secondnature]

[In the middle of the attack, Keith had picked up a neat jacket. Now it's a million degrees outside and Keith is wearing ... a tank top and a pair of jeans that do fit him well, thanks to his looting exercises early on. In order to fight, he needs to be comfortable, so he took it as a necessity.

(Besides, Keith isn't one to really fret about theft of goods.)

There are nicks and scratches that don't pepper Keith's arms so much as appear if someone looks at them long enough. It's the same for the base of his neck, disappearing underneath the shirt. If he were a shorts guy, he'd have shorts on. But he's not.]

Let's hope this place has AC. [Even Keith, who's grown up in a desert, doesn't like this. It's awful out here.]

[drivein]

[ Jughead has a reputation to keep in a place he doesn't have a reputation to keep. that said, it's hard to do it without his trademark crochet beanie, and he's suffering its loss currently (literally the worst thing about showing up here). he's had a few hot days in the trailer, and AC has generally been a luxury. it's best to at least try and ignore it. ]

Yeah, and let's hope they don't kick us out before we get to enjoy it.

[ he tucks his hands in this pockets and begins to drag himself along the street in said heat. ]

[secondnature]

[Two rebellious kids walk to the arcade. Of course, Keith is an adult now, but the sentiment is the same. He does hesitate when Jughead mentions them getting kicked out.

That's ... strange.

And as a rebellious kid (of sorts, albeit Reformed), he pays attention to it.]

You're not planning to cause problems, are you?

[drivein]

[ oh, he knows that adult Look. ]

Let the record show that I'm not usually the one that starts them. [ bUT HE'LL FINISH THEM. ] Sometimes they find me.

[ he's gotten kicked out of better places than this. while there's no AC, the fan's on, and the circulation of air gives the illusion of something cooler. he's walking up and down the rows of machines (that look way, way different than he's used to), trying to find something alluring. ]

[secondnature]

[Keith gives him that look again, but that's as far as he's going to go in his impersonation of Shiro. That's asking too much of him.

He trots in, looking at the different labels. It looks like they stand in it and prepare, but he's looking for something specific.]

Look for something with a fighter pilot scenario. I feel like breaking some records today.

[drivein]

[ it's a sort of strange place to be in, he hadn't expected the the LAN towers, download stations, and co-op booths. he wasn't sure what he expected, actually. this is futuristic, like he walked out of some kind of scifi short story magazine. feeling a little reckless, he untucks his hands from his pockets and approaches the first tower he sees with a plane hologram on it. ]

How do you know if it's a fighter pilot simulator? [ a pause, and he turns to look at him. ] Aside from the obvious.

[secondnature]

Well ... if it's even anything close, I think it'll do the trick. [For him. He hadn't ever been a sharpshooter like Lance, but Keith's not bad once he's shooting. Half of piloting in those scenarios involves being able to move and aim at the same time, which is something he's never struggled with. He's an undeniable ace. The best of his generation.

Etc.]

Maybe we can get a two player one. I'll carry you through it.

[drivein]

[ while Jughead has had his fill of video games, they've always been the television variety, and not the whole ... VR type in-your-mind variety. ]

You haven't done this before, have you?

[ because it sounded like Keith hadn't done this before. ]

[secondnature]

Video games are usually a waste of time, but I had to do a lot of simulations when I was in school to become a pilot. It's how I got recruited. [As strange as it is, he's now reminded of Shiro here, and how he helped Keith. Jughead reached out to Keith, but it's turning out that Keith might be able to help him put his energy elsewhere.]

And after flying a lion, I have a feeling this will be a breeze. Maybe I could fly your ship, too.

[drivein]

It's a good way to blow off steam when you've got nothing else. Simulations probably aren't far from the same thing.

[ he played them at Archie's house, since his wasn't exactly the best place to do it. they had fun together. but Archie wasn't here, and suddenly he's very aware of how alone he is. ]

You could, but let's give it a try. I kind of want to do it myself.

[ it takes him a moment to figure out how to connect his neural implant, but the station they're standing at lights up. Jughead seems to look, maybe, just a little proud. ]

... Cool.

[secondnature]

[Once they're inside, Keith can't help but feel like he's seeing some amazing Earth technology, partly because it's almost on par with Altean technology. Like—the Garrison never had anything quite this good. It's amazing. The simulation that Shiro gave everyone back in the day as a test wouldn't stand up. What's before him and Jughead looks like an actual terminal, with ships up ahead of them.

He reaches out after a moment, taking Jughead by the shoulder.]

Let's go. We've got some flying ahead of us.

[drivein]

[ it's like he feels like he's ten again, the same swell of wonder and anticipation with a new game at the arcade—not that anything compared to this. for the first time since he's arrived, he really wishes that Archie were here with him to see this. there aren't many good things about this place, but seeing some of this firsthand is amazing.

Keith's taking his shoulder, but Jughead is already jogging toward one of the aircrafts like a kid who got an early Christmas present. ]

You don't have to tell me twice.

[ he's already taking the ladder onto the wing to drop himself in the pit. ]

[secondnature]

[Once he's in his own cockpit, he makes a derisive sound.]

I'm not surprised, but most of the tech here is simple. [Keith has been piloting robots and Galra Tech for the past few years. Oh, and some Altean tech. He's done that, too. He's not the best judge.] It should be pretty intuitive for you, so if you don't mind, I'm gonna skip the tutorial.

[Which will skip it for both of them.

Whoops?]

[drivein]

[ that's fine, he's ignored enough gaming tutorials and smashed enough buttons to know how to work without them. it doesn't exactly always turn out, but this is just like on the screen, right? he's definitely got this.

his fingers itch, stretch, and then grab on to the stick. it's not too hard to figure out how to start it up, his fingers clumsily poking at a few buttons before he manages the right ones. when the machine hums to life he grins like a kid with an extra dessert. ]

Whatever, man, I can figure it out.

[ he's not gonna say he can't. he pulls the control column and takes off, because of course he does. ]

[secondnature]

It should be simple. [Says Keith, flyer of alien stuff. He takes off rather gracefully himself. This simulation is advanced enough that he's able to do it with ease, falling into pace with what's going on. There are some aliens that come out of nowhere to fight, because of course they are.]

Tell me what's on your right! That's in my blind spot.