the times they are a'changing

[retropolis]

WHO: NELSON GARDNER and YOU
WHERE: Around the City! Locations specified.
WHEN: January 28th - February 2nd
WARNINGS: Will edit if needed.
SUMMARY: Nelson copes with the unpleasant surprise of arriving in faux-New York almost fifty years in the future the rational way: varying levels of hysteria and despair.
FORMAT: Tagger's choice.



It wasn't often that Nelson's asthma acted up -- not noticeably, not for years -- but he had been having on-and-off hyperventilation attacks of increasing severity since he arrived in this... wherever he was. He coughed and gasped and the pain in his chest seemed to tell him (scream to him) that whatever this was, it at least wasn't a hallucination. He knew plenty about pain, after all, and you didn't feel it from simple fantasies. That knowledge didn't help his confusion any.

In a way it was both everything he wanted and everything he didn't want all in one (hah) breath. A team of heroes could protect the world (a team of the right heroes), but what good did a whole city of them do? How could they do more than stumble over each other and cause more problems for themselves and everyone in their paths? It was tactically clumsy, at least from Nelson's perspective. More than anything it was overwhelming. How could anyone stand out this way? But that was a selfish thought. He was old and he was out of shape -- really, if he hadn't been obsolete already this seemed like the final nail in his coffin, and the worst of it was that this city looked like every social ill Nelson could imagine multiplied by ten; where was he? What had happened to New York? Just looking at the communicator in his hand perplexed him. It was apparently some kind of combination telephone and walkie-talkie, which was already beyond his comprehension.

Get ahold of yourself, he coached himself, willing himself the confidence to stand up straight again and walk steady until he could find somewhere to sit, or someone that could help. Of course he could do this -- with his USMC experience, he could do anything if he stayed alert, confident, optimistic… and strong. He was going to put his best foot forward and try to meet this situation with all the dignity he could muster.

Or if not dignity, at least steady breathing.

( I can be contacted on PM or plurk if further planning for any thread is wanted. Obviously most of these scenarios are pretty flexible; I'm open to location changes and/or time jumps occurring (e.g. they meet at coffee, then go to a movie, or the tag-in doesn't occur directly after the specific moment the set-up implies but rather an hour later) after the initial set-up unfolds, or if someone else has tagged and using a different time of day or slightly different (but nearby) location makes more sense. Tagging multiple days is also totally fine if desired! )

Comments

[retropolis]

[ Nelson raised his eyebrows. ]

What? Oh -- you heard that? [ He shakes his head, exhaling a little as he remembers his frustration. ] I don't usually like letting my temper get the best of me, but those employees were so utterly unhelpful I thought they deserved a piece of my mind.

[invoking]

Were they? Admittedly, I haven't been to that store in a while... [ They're always nice to him. Particularly the young ladies. ]

What was the problem?

[retropolis]

Absolutely. [ He frowns. ] They tried to insist to me that their faulty product was working properly when it was obviously broken. That's the real problem with modern technology. Bookstores shouldn't be so reliant on all this new, unreliable merchandise.

[ And a sad head shake. ] I don't think it's right at all.

[invoking]

[ Suddenly, Gil's taken a renewed interest in Nelson. ]

You're not familiar with this time either? [ Well, he is older than Gil. He could be assuming... ]

[retropolis]

[ Nelson raises his eyebrows again -- Gil is the first person so far he's spoken to that has alluded to being from a different time. He nods slowly. ]

I'm nearly fifty years from when I'm, er, from.

[invoking]

[ That explains a lot... but not why he had yelled at the other employee. There's no need for that, he thinks. ]

The technology here does take some time to get used to. It's always... changing, too. [ Updating? Is that the proper word? ]

[retropolis]

[ He looks a little distressed at the thought. ]

Always? As if it weren't complicated enough. [ He wrinkles his nose. ] It's unnecessary -- purely indulgent, if you ask me. We got along just fine before.

[invoking]

It is excessive, I agree. [ Hence why he doesn't bother with most complicated devices-- iPads, laptops, tablets, etc. Even with the communicator he can't private conversations properly yet. ]

Some of it is useful. Things for the home or the current transportation systems.

[ He pauses. ]

Are you new here?

[retropolis]

I never needed anything more than a radio. All these... televisions and computers... [ Well he'll save his ranting about them, but. ] For hospitals and transport I could understand. Otherwise it all seems completely imprudent.

[ He nods again. ]

Yes. I suppose I am.

[invoking]

[ He nods along, silently agreeing to everything. It's excessive and reminds him a lot of the way high society back home shows off whatever expensive fashion is trending, jewelry or even manors they owned. Trying to make personal statements for no real reason. ]

I see now. The employees at the bookstore are only used to whatever they must work with in this world. I'm sure they didn't mean to slight you.

[retropolis]

This whole situation could have been avoided if they just stuck to tradition instead of complicating the process with their slick computer programs. [ He's hardly apologetic about his outburst because he still thinks he was right. ] I'll just try another store next time.

[invoking]

[ He adjusts the small plastic bag in his hand, his eyes idly checking it over to ensure the book's still in place and didn't slip out when he tumbled over. ]

There are some antique bookstores you can find throughout the City. Their selection is a lot smaller, however, so I don't know if you'll find what it is you're looking for.

[retropolis]

I'm not looking for anything in particular. Where it comes to fiction I don't mind the classics, but I just wanted something to occupy my mind a bit.

[ He smiles a little, though it's a touch weary at the whole predicament. ]

[invoking]

It's a lot to take in at once. [ Gil's gaze drift skywards. Sometimes, those skyscrapers still seem so unreal. ]

[retropolis]

[ Nelson nods in agreement. ]

I take it you're like me. Out of time. [ From... he doesn't know, but, it's certainly closer to what Nelson's used to than this, surely. ]

[invoking]

[ More than he'll ever know. ]

Something like that. I'm not sure what my world will be like in over one hundred years from now. It might not be like this country at all. [ Maybe Americans are different from... whatever they're called in PH. ]

[retropolis]

[ Nelson raises his eyebrow. ]

What country are you from?

[invoking]

[ Insert... some possibly French-sounding country name haha canon hasn't somehow clarified that... cries... ]

It may be um, England in this world? I'm not too sure myself how the geography lines up at all.

[retropolis]

[ He frowns a little, having no idea what that means. ALTERNATE UNIVERSES.....,, ]

I might of guessed England, but I didn't want to assume. [ He's just going to go with the easier way of thinking about it. Gil u crazy. ]

[invoking]

That's alright. Everyone here assumes I'm from that place or a tourist, but I'm not sure we get many of those from England anymore. [ He shrugs; he doesn't exactly keep up with tourism here. ]

[retropolis]

I was under the impression you got types from all over. The nature of the beast and all that. [ He means the Porter. ]

[invoking]

ImPorts anyway. [ Gil nods, looking at Nelson again. ] Not just humans; ghosts, aliens... [ It's still so unreal for Gil. ]

[retropolis]

[ Nelson stares at him, eyes widening a little. It's unreal to him too. ]

What? [ He smiles a little like he's being kidded. ] You aren't serious, are you?

[invoking]

[ He can only rub the back of his head sheepishly. ]

It's hard to imagine... but there are people here who aren't human. People who can use magic or fly without wings. [ This guy seems so... normal. In a way, it's a slight comfort to someone "ordinary" like Gil. ] Then there are those who aren't...

[retropolis]

[ Nelson frowns, looking at his hands and feeling very much the way he'd felt when he'd first heard about Dr. Manhattan, who could walk through walls and see the future and dozens of other things Nelson couldn't wrap his mind around. People like that just didn't belong in the world with people like him, he thought. It's a slight comfort to him as well that Gil seems so down-to-earth. ]

Normalcy seems to be a dying breed nowadays.