rekindleme | Technology sure is a thing, ain't it? [OPEN]

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Technology sure is a thing, ain't it? [OPEN]

Who: Rocketbilly and you!
Where: Building 1's first floor media centre
When: 11 July, afternoon
Summary: Billy is not technologically inclined; his guitar is as fancy as he gets. But turns out he's not exactly a dab hand with the network terminals. Any good musician knows you need practise to get the hang of a thing, though, and there's a lot of gadgetry in the media centre for the work.
Warnings: Billy likes to flirt with the ladies. Otherwise, nothing to worry about!

Billy has known about the network for a while. He'd even love to use it! But every time he sits in front of one of the terminals in his apartment building, he just sort of fumbles for a few minutes before giving up. Spike and Mika were the gearheads he relied on back home, in no small part because who can work a computer without solid hands?

But here he is, alive and with the opportunity, and… and he's more than a little stumped. He's very stumped. Grandma never had one of these things. And… well, he didn't last long enough once he hit the city to learn there.

For once going without his guitar – it's… weird to not have to have it with him constantly any more and he feels kinda naked, really – he decides to knuckle down and go nosing about the media centre in building one. Maybe if he just futzes around long enough, he can hammer out the basics. Or maybe he'll get lucky and there'll be a cute girl hanging around to show him the ropes. Of course, he's not going to look all that charming as he peers in carefully through just enough of an open door to get his hair through without messing it up. A bunch of screens and computers are way more intimidating than even the ugliest bar crowd he's ever faced down.

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Unfortunately, one of the people to catch sight of Billy in the media center isn't exactly a cute girl.

He's come down from the floor above to go do some more surveillance on his own--mostly because being around Steve constantly is exhausting and he prefers the solitude--when he spots the young man he remembers encountering the first day he was here. The soldier watches him hesitating in the doorway with a dull expression for a moment before speaking.

"What are you doing."

He looks a little less unkempt this time, with a mostly clean shaven face and clothes that don't look as rumpled as the ones he was wearing before. He's definitely a lot less wound up, too, fortunately for everyone involved.

Billy damn near bashes his head on the door in shock, yanking himself back out when someone just pipes up from behind him without warning. His hair gets a good ruffling of it, though, and one hand's already flown up to try and fix it before he even turns around, frowning.

"Y'oughtta not sneak up on a person like–" He stops. Then he grins, bright as a 100-watt bulb, when he recognises that face. "Hey!"

The soldier is a little confused by the grin, considering a) he's only seen Diarmuid smile at him like that and b) their last meeting had ended rather abruptly and without any real friendliness. He looks Billy up and down for a moment, eyebrows knit slightly as he tries to determine the reason behind his cheerful greeting. He... can't, really.

"You let your guard down," he says, responding to the cut off remark. Because clearly it's Billy's fault for being caught by surprise, and not the assassin's creepily silent way of moving about when he feels like it. Clearly.

"Didn't figure this was the kinda place I'd need my guard up," Billy says and waves off the matter with a shrug. As easily as the wind changes direction, he slips back into a happier rhythm, going on, "And I didn't figure I'd see you again so soon. You settlin' in all right? Or are you too busy sneakin' around spookin' folks?" This last he says with a wink and a smirk, gently ribbing. Maybe he shouldn't, he thinks only after he's said it, but it comes second nature to him.

"Catching too much attention," he mumbles, sticking his hands in his pockets and looking behind him. Sure, he's made a truce... sort of... with the one person who's attacked him, but there are plenty more threats in the city that might be dangerous if he's not careful enough. "... but fine."

He can see that he's doing a lot better than he was, at least.

"What are you doing," he repeats, thinking that the blond was distracted from his question by the unexpected interruption.

Edited (wow i'm so bad at this tense thing i'm sorry) 2014-07-12 00:57 (UTC)

Tall, long-haired, and spooky does look better than he did when Billy first met him in the Welcome Centre. Billy's glad for that, too; if it was Juji, he knows this wouldn't be nearly so happy a meeting.

"Huh?" he blurts out at that question. Then it catches up to him and he turns sheepish, nervously reaching up to fix his hair again even though it's already as settled back into place as it's ever gonna get without a fresh application of pomade. "Oh. Uh." He's fully prepared to be called stupid even though he won't like it, so he says, "I, uh. I wanted to try practising on these computers. I'm not… I'm not real good with 'em."

He's silent for a second as he glances to the machines inside the room and considers what Billy's saying; though he had to be taught how the network functioned when he arrived, he caught on quickly and hadn't thought that others might have issues with it.

"What don't you get," he says, and though he doesn't mean any insult, his blunt wording may not get that across entirely.

"…Uh." Well, he's not being called stupid outright, so Billy can't really complain. He shifts his weight from one foot to the other and shoves his hands into his pockets. "Didn't really have this kinda stuff growin' up," he explains, then gets to the awkward point of and I died before I could learn later and isn't sure how to continue. He fumbles for a second or two before adding, "And didn't get much chance to figure it out once I started playin' gigs."

He's starting to get the feeling that he's missed out on a lot of really great stuff. Knowing how to use a box to talk to people on the other side of the planet sure beats having bullets pass through you.

"I mean I can figure out how to get it goin'," he goes on, not wanting to look that dumb, "but we never had anything much like 'em back home." And they never looked so intimidatingly simple. Give Billy a panel of buttons and switches and he'll probably manage just fine. Hand him a shiny, smooth tablet with only one or two buttons, or a terminal that looks like it's just a screen and a keyboard, and it's another story. Minimalism is so not his thing.

Despite the length of the explanation that Billy gives, it doesn't answer the soldier's question, and he furrows his eyebrows and slightly tilts his head. He'd thought it was easy enough to understand and answer, but people have been strange in how they've decided to respond to him. He isn't frustrated, but it's somewhat confusing.

"I've examined how to use it. What are the problems?"

He can't really solve anything when he doesn't know where to start.

All right, so maybe Billy is more embarrassed about this than even he thinks. He doesn't usually ramble on like this much of an idiot.

"Oh. Uh." Awkwardly, he looks at his feet, then back up at the terminals. "Um. I can't get the damn thing onto the network."

Edited (HTML why) 2014-07-27 14:47 (UTC)

That's a simple enough thing to show, the soldier thinks, so he moves forward past Billy to approach one of the screens and turn it on. As he's waiting for the monitor, he glances at the young man to see if he's going to come closer or not.

Billy indeed follows along, eager and grateful for the help.

"I'm sorry if I'm bein' a pain or anything," he mumbles. "You probably got plenty more important stuff you could be doin'. But I sure appreciate it." Bashful and all, he nevertheless shows his appreciation by watching carefully.

"I wouldn't do it if it cost that much effort."

He's blunt as always, but what he doesn't say is that he's felt the need to do something of use. Even if it's as small as teaching someone how to operate one of these machines, it's still something.

With the monitor turned on, the soldier proceeds to touch an icon in the top corner of the screen; his left hand is less precise with these things, so he leaves it at his side.

"This brings up the list of previous posts," he explains, then taps the button on the opposite side. "This opens a new post."

Right out of the gate, Billy looks stricken, like he just realised what an idiot he really is. He buries his face in one hand, ashamed.

"…I didn't know you were supposed to touch the screen," he mumbles into his palm as he turns red as his jacket from his collarbones to his hairline. Computers back home, unfamiliar as he was with them, he knows they didn't do that.

The man watches Billy's reaction, and after he hears what the problem was, he glances back to the screen. He doesn't suppose there's any real indication one should touch it; he was simply taught fairly soon. He likely would have taken a while to figure it out if left on his own, as well.

He turns back to the kid, indifferent.

"Now you know."

"Yeah," mumbles Billy, sheepishly looking up again. He's glad this guy isn't looking at him like he's as dumb as he feels – it's not really easygoing, the atmosphere around him, but not as tense as it was the first time they met, either. It's not as… empty as he remembers. Billy smiles. Mistakes were made; not like he can go back and change it. Can't change a chord once it's been played, after all.

Might as well just carry on and make something good out of it.

"Okay, so, I touch that one there," he prompts, pointing to but not touching the corner that opened up the list, "to see what all's been goin' on. Right? And this one's how I put in my piece."

If that was the only major problem, this is going to take even less time and effort than the soldier originally thought. He follows Billy's motions to see that he's been listening, which is a good indication he'll get it soon.

"Right."

He's usually the one being taught something these past few weeks, so it's a bit satisfying to be able to be the one who knows things for a change. It's not exactly like they're being ordered to kill anyone here, so he doubts he'd be able to instruct anyone on that end...

"You can change what your post is here," the soldier continues, sliding a bar near the side between options. "Text, voice, or video. The same goes for replying to someone else's posts."

Being able to just talk at it sounds easy enough, thinks Billy. Grandma tried with him, she really did, but he's a terrible typist. He nods along as the other guy resumes, mimicking the directions he's given on his thigh. Always learned better by sight and touch.

"I figure I'll just stick with video, but it's handy to know," Billy murmurs. And to think, all he had to do was touch the damn screen. Fancy stuff.

The task apparently finished, at least mostly, the soldier rested his hand on the edge of the screen.

"Were you gonna post something?"

It's simple curiosity, combined with the fact that he's going to be checking the network periodically anyway. Best to keep up with what's going on in his surroundings.

"…I dunno," Billy answers after a moment to think it over. He could now, if he wants.

Hell, why not? He grins and thumps into the seat at the terminal and promptly pulls up a new video post. He doesn't wait for the soldier to clear camera range, either.

"Hey there, all!" he says pleasantly, waving at the camera. "Rocketbilly here. If you haven't met me yet, you will sometime! I'm down at the park just about every night playin' by request, so stop on by." Getting a little more comfortable with the format, he leans forward on his elbows. "Y'know, I couldn't figure this thing out 'til today? But I got plenty of help from–" He stops and blinks. "From, uh…" The textbook picture of confusion, he sits back and looks over his shoulder. "I never did get your name," he mumbles awkwardly.

The soldier isn't exactly keen on being recorded, but he supposes he can easily move from the location soon--he has no reason to stay and wait for any responses the post might get. So for the most part, he stays where he is, only shifting his posture so he's half off-camera as he watches Billy make his post, largely disinterested.

He'd halfway to deciding to leave when the kid addresses him, and he doesn't see a real reason not to answer the unspoken question.

"James." Although his friend calls him Bucky, he can't really say the name feels like his. Not that James does either, but at least he's already given out that one to others.

Billy smiles easily; he's not sure if that's really this guy's name, but it rolls too readily off the tongue and feels too natural that Billy ought to say anything. Won't be the first time he's met somebody with stuff they don't want to talk about.

"Well then thanks, James," he says and offers his hand for a shake.

He glances down to the hand and only hesitates a couple of seconds before taking it in his own; he's starting to learn the ins and outs of interacting with others, even if he isn't that great at it yet. At least he hasn't taken it as a possible attack like the first time he met Billy, or decided to use his superhuman strength in handshakes...

As evidence of that lack of social prowess, however, the soldier turns to leave only a moment after the handshake and without a word. He's helped the kid understand the network, and he has a few things to do anyway. It's about time he went to get some quiet time to himself.

Billy is more than content to have a normal handshake after the last time! He doesn't try to stop James from high-tailing it out of there, either. He understands… mostly.

Which is why he can't wipe the satisfied smile off his face when he turns back to the terminal.

Is Shura a cute girl? That's open for debate, but for now, a girl in shorts and running shoes walks into the media center, with just a short towel draped around her neck to cover her bare chest, barely. Her skin is glistening with sweat and her back is almost fuzzy with bits of skin peeling off her, but most remarkable is the ink black full body tattoo on her. She spares Billy a glance as she scans the room to pick a terminal.

Billy knows he'd get a good smack from his grandmother for staring, but stare he does as the lady passes him on her way in. At first, he thinks the pattern on her belly and shoulders is part of her shirt.

At first.

Then he realises he doesn't see sleeves… or fabric… just the towel around her neck. And he turns as red as his jacket from his collarbones to his hairline, covering his face and looking the other way. He can appreciate a fine lady in just about any kind of clothing, but all his charm and suavity evaporate when there's too much bare skin involved. And boy is there a lot of bare skin there.

"Y'know, it's just a chest," Shura points out, since the camera of the terminal she picked is picking up the man and the red face he's trying to cover. It does annoy her when people think this is something to write home about, especially because her nipples are as black as the shapes on her breasts and thus invisible, but not enough yet to start wearing shirts in this heat.

"I – but–" Billy sputters, strongly considering tucking his tail and running. Ladies walking around with no shirts on is something he'd write home about if only to promise his grandma he wasn't getting forward with any of them. "I just – I didn't mean to stare is all!" And he still keeps looking the other way.

When asked, people never meant to stare anyway. They just do. Often.

"I'm surprised this is your first time seeing me," she continues as she quickly surfs the network for new posts. "I'm not exactly new, and neither is the bare breasts thing."

Lord, spare this poor country boy.

"I mean," Billy stammers, glancing through his fingers and somehow flushing even redder, "my grandma taught me better than that – I just–" He's a young man who likes the ladies and she's a lady and she's pretty and she's pretty half-naked and he has no idea where this sudden truckload of shyness came from. "–A-and I've only been here a month or two," he finishes lamely.

He tries again to look, though, very carefully over her shoulder because… she's just tapping away at that terminal like it's nothing at all.

Her fingers fly on the keyboard, answering a message calling her racist, before she looks at the man with the radical hair over her shoulder.

"That explains why you've never seen me bare-chested before. I'm Shura."

Edited (WHAT IS ENGLISH) 2014-07-14 00:43 (UTC)

"I'm Rocketbilly," he says, fumbling for normalcy. Introductions. He can handle introductions. "Rocketbilly Redcadillac. But you can just call me Billy. It's a pleasure to– I mean it's nice to meet you Miss Shura."

So maybe he can't quite handle introductions. Rather than turn tail and flee from what is so clearly a losing situation, however, he keeps watching. She's a natural with that thing.

"You're, uh – you're really good at that." Hand him a guitar, doesn't even have to be his Electrigger, and yeah, he'll look as smooth with that as Shura does at the terminal. "The computer, I mean," Billy adds awkwardly.

That makes Shura turn around to look at him, surprised. "... no computers in your world?" HOW DO YOU LIVE.

"What?" Billy blinks, still processing the question. When it finally sinks in, he forgets to be embarrassed for staring and scrambles to explain instead. "No! No, I mean, we got computers back home," he says and waves one hand as if to dismiss the idea that they don't. "They just – they don't look like that. And I'm not really good with 'em."

"Oh." She thought the Saeng Seong terminals were really user-friendly, actually. That Billy cannot wrap his head around it is... a bit strange, to her.

"I can teach you. It's easy."

Billy perks up a little and, at least for the moment, forgets that Shura is less dressed than he's really ready to handle in favour of the chance to be less of an idiot with the terminals. You'd think with them so simple-looking he could manage.

"That'd be awful kind of you, Miss," he murmurs as he ambles over.

"S'all right," she said, returning the terminal to its welcome screen before stepping aside so Billy can stand in front of the computer. "Where should I start? I mean, are there things you know how to do, or do you want the whole explanation?"

"Uh… well, I can turn 'em on," says Billy as he slides into place. "But I can't get 'em to get me on the network. I must not be hittin' the right keys or… something." He demonstrates by cautiously hunting and pecking his way across the keyboard entering every command he can think of that would work on a computer back home. The terminal doesn't respond to any of them.

"Oh! Entering commands is the way old way of doing it. These terminals have a touch screen. Just... poke the icon of the function you want."

Pressing closer, Shura reached out and touched the Network icon. Immediately, a page opened with all the topics of the network on a horizontal timeline. "It's sorted from most recent on the left to older stuff on the right. You can scroll by sweeping." Which she did, to show Billy what she meant by sweeping.

Well, that's certainly new on Billy. He blinks, fascinated and embarrassed all at once. He flushes again, but Shura has nothing to do with the why of it this time.

"Oh," he says lamely. "I… didn't know they did that."

"Now that you mention it... it's not indicated anywhere, is it?" People here took technology like touchscreens for granted, apparently.

"But yeah, the keyboard is mostly for text post." She sweeps back to the beginning of the timeline. "You touch a post to read, listen or watch it. You can touch a corner arrow to reply to the post itself, or to reply to someone in particular, in the format you want. If you touch this symbol here when replying," she did so, "you get filtering options and the possibility to post anonymously."

"I probably oughtn't do too much with typing," Billy jokes, trying to recover some poise. After all, Shura just saw firsthand what lousy keyboard form he has. He adds absently, paying more attention to her instructions as she continues, "But I think I can manage that video thing all right."

Man, this network stuff has a lot of options. He mimics Shura's movements on the desktop beside the keyboard as he follows with his eyes.

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Technology sure is a thing, ain't it? [OPEN]

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I mean come on I can't not

:D

^^

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