001 | ( VIDEO. ) | JULY 30th

[pubertytwice]

_{[ The feed clicks on and shows a kid appearing no older than 13 seated back in a chair, curled knuckles against his face. His eyes look tired and expression rather thin. He's wearing a uniform of some sort, though pieces of it look tattered or stained. One of his legs bounces in his seat (aren't his shorts cute?) but after a moment of mulling over what to say, he leans forward, hands folding together neatly. ]}

I already lack faith in gathering information from anyone here, and yet, here I am with inquiries. Serious responses only.

_{[ What could this boy possibly be asking for?? Where is the best place to get ice cream? Hardly so. ]}

Has anyone has ever even attempted hacking into any confidential files that could be in the government's system that operates here? Alternatively, if anyone has ever attempted to assassinate the Queen?

_{[ Oh.. what.. ]}

If not, is there any place on this goddamn planet that serves coffee? Decent coffee. Every place here is a shit hole.

_{[ That's it. No thanks for your time or anything. ]}

Comments

[mylawn]

I prefer drinks, but you seem a little young.

1/2

[pubertytwice]

_{[ womp womp womp ]}

[pubertytwice]

I'll get a water. It's fine.

_{[ IT'S NOT FINE. HE WANTS TO DRINK, DAMMIT. ]}

[mylawn]

Suit yourself.

[He's gonna drink! Also, here's the address. Bing!]

( VOICE → PERMA ACTION. )

[pubertytwice]

<sub>[ He's already caused a handful of trouble and doesn't want to cause anymore over alcohol and age matters (though apparently talking about treason and killing people is perfectly okay.) Anyway, he goes where he's supposed to and disappears at the front door, reappearing inside the bar without using the door.

He keeps a look out for.. an old guy. Cause that's how 76 sounded.. a lot like him before he got reverted back to his teenage body. ]</sub>

[mylawn]

[Here he is. An old guy. An old guy who looks like he's seen some shit to boot. Conversely, 76 knows exactly what he's looking for, because Five had gone and put his face on the network. A kid in a place like this sticks out like a sore thumb either way, and when he spots someone of the appropriate age, he offers a nod.]

You're shorter in person.

[That is supposed to be a joke.]

[pubertytwice]

You're older in person.

_{[ That's the quip back that rolls off of his tongue as he takes a seat. Though, it's promising. There seemed to be a lot of young people on this situation.. or those weird.. 1000 some year old beings that look young. ]}

Guess my foolish move on the network is working in my favor.

_{[ He's actually got a few bites from people he thinks will be useful. 76 looks like he could be one of them. ]}

[mylawn]

I get that a lot.

[Clearly more joking, because 76 definitely thinks he sounds as old as he looks—or, at the very least, like he’s been chainsmoking constantly since his twenties, despite the fact that it’s somehow not the case.

He's already drinking, and he doesn't offer Five anything because he is clearly a tiny babychild. Instead, 76 leans back a little and appraises him with a raised eyebrow. ]

Don't tell me I'm not the only idiot who agreed to meet with you.

[pubertytwice]

_{[ Thanks, 76. Don't give drink to the tiny babychild. In any case, a rather proud look crosses his face. ]}

Quite a bit of idiots, actually. It was almost difficult to pencil you into my schedule, but I think you and I might have some things in common that you don't even realize, so I wanted to at least match a voice to a face.

_{[ Similarities like they're the same age. Sort of. That's really only the biggest thing. And drinking, he guesses. ]}

Care to take a guess?

[mylawn]

[Of course there are many idiots here interested in overthrowing the government, or at least, forcibly figuring out what's going on here. If there's a larger conspiracy to be worried about. The trick will be actual coordination, and 76 isn't quite sure if he has much faith in that yet.]

Yeah? Like what?

[He's been surprised before, but 76 looks fairly incredulous, giving Five a good look up and down.]

I don't play guessing games.

[Out with it.]

[pubertytwice]

For starters, I would have gotten the same drink as you.

_{[ He sort of gestures to Jack's drink. ]}

But because I look like this, nobody wants to make me one. Good on them.

[mylawn]

[Well, 76 is drinking straight whiskey, so color him intrigued. He turns a little to face him.]

What are you supposed to look like?

[He imagines that's what Five is getting at here.]

[pubertytwice]

Kind of like you in a way. Though.. less of a "I've been through a warzone" aesthetic and more of "I've been through the apocalypse" aesthetic.

_{[ A beat. ]}

Same hair color at least.

[mylawn]

I don't follow.

[Not entirely true--he thinks he's starting to understand, but perhaps he gets a little bit of pleasure in making Five be more specific about his circumstances.]

1/2

[pubertytwice]

_{[ jfc ]}

2/2

[pubertytwice]

Look, I know I don't look it, but I'm old. Old like you, actually. Maybe even older. I'm 58, I just look.. some years younger.

_{[ Some years younger he says. He can give Jack an explanation, but sometimes he really wishes people would just accept it. ]}

[mylawn]

I’ll say.

[He looks thirteen, maybe. 76 is a little more willing to believe fantastical things, now that he’s been on an alien planet for the last few months, but he prefers to maintain a healthy amount of skepticism for any given situation.

So how does something like this happen to a guy?

[pubertytwice]

_{[ Here we go. ]}

I have the natural ability to spatial jump, which I improved on my own to where I could jump though both time and space.

_{[ Humble yourself a little, Five. Your guardian helped you pushed your limit. No? Okay. ]}

I do this without the use of any equipment, but instead, pushing my consciousness forward into a quantum state that extends throughout each variable plane of time— it's mathematics. I jumped forward in time— the future is shitty, by the way— and I made a simple mistake in my equation when traveling back in time since I had never gone back in time before.

I ended up back in the time period I had intended to go to, but it effected my physical form.

[mylawn]

[Ah yes, math. Just math. 76 tries to follow along as Five describes what happened to him, and he finds himself wishing Winston were here to explain a few things. Still, he thinks he gets the gist.]

I knew someone once. Got unstuck from time in an accident. We ended up having to invent a device that kept her anchored.

[It’s clear, however, that in contextualizing this for himself, he’s taking Five a little more seriously. Is he a 58 year old in the body of a teenager? Maybe not, but at least it doesn’t sound too far-fetched, now that he has the story.]

That’s about as far as we got in that department.

[pubertytwice]

_{[ God. He could probably handle another talking monkey, actually. They could chat for hours. ]}

Yeah. It sucks when that happens.

_{[ He's talking about this like having an exchange about the weather. ]}

Did she end up stuck in a specific time period or just somewhere incomprehensible-- sandwiched in between where time meets space? 'Cause that's the worst.

_{[ A beat. ]}

Unless you project yourself into the future so far, you find yourself the last man standing on Earth.

_{[ You know. Kind of like the experience he had. ]}

[mylawn]

Yeah, it does.

[76 says that with some skepticism, but mostly because he’s never heard of anyone even the least bit familiar with Oxton’s condition. He imagines if she were here, she and Five might have a few things to talk about, but he pushes those thoughts aside in order to get to the bottom of how similar Five’s experience may or may not have been.]

Is that what happened to you?

[So far into the future that there wasn’t much left of anything, he thinks.]

[pubertytwice]

Yeah. That's exactly what happened to me, only I couldn't get back. God, I was so young and naive back then..
_{[ ???? ]}

My old man was right, but I guess I wanted to prove to him something. He always acted like none of us were good enough for anything.

[mylawn]

As opposed to now?

[76 takes a slow sip from his glass with an eyebrow raised. Apparently he can't resist getting one last jab in there, even if Five's assertion that he is an old man trapped in a teenage body is starting to seem not so crazy.]

I thought we were here to talk about overthrowing the government, not your daddy issues.

[pubertytwice]

More like reflecting on my youthful mistakes. Surely a seasoned person like yourself has plenty of regrets.

_{[ He's got a Feeling, okay. ]}

In any case, I won't hesitant to use any of my skills to do what needs to get done. I'm a new arrival, though, so I was hoping there was at least and idea for a starting point.

[mylawn]

A few.

[Not any he’s going to voice out loud to a stranger, that’s for sure.

But 76 has similar frustrations about lack of progress. Still, what is it they’re supposed to do? They’re in a bad position to make any moves.]

Seems to me that these people will only be interested in us for as long as we’re useful to them. After that, well, there’s no reason to keep us around.

[So, death. Probably.]