Mid September 2012; Leena's B&B

[damncompass]

Things are actually wonderfully, completely settling out. Thank everything.

Steve's settling in quite well, if a bit over-questioning of Artie sometimes, Myka's back, much to everyone's relief, Helena is much more relaxed, and Joshua is taking a couple days to just freaking do nothing.

Thus, he has installed himself on a couch in the living room, much to Leena's chagrin with his 3Ds, a 2-litre of pop and a bag of potato chips. Watch out, Joshua, you're going to turn into Pete before long.

Comments

[thebettersort]

"How about you tell me about this thing you've been playing?"

Zelda, was it?

[damncompass]

"Oh. It's just... well, ok. It's an old videogame that they've remade for the hand-held console." He flips his 3DS open to the menu screen. "Basically, you're this little kid who has to go through time to save the world."

... no wonder he likes it.

[thebettersort]

"I've seen Pete play that. At times, it involved throwing many things at the screen."

Myka never really understood why, it didn't look that hard.

[damncompass]

"I try not to throw things at the tiny screen, but I have thrown styli across the room and lost them before." He makes a sheepish face.

"It's... harder than it looks sometimes, mostly because the controls can be crap." He shrugs. "It is one of the best and most classic games ever, though. Go on a quest, save the princess, etcetera." He grins. "Although, now that I think about it, we totally need to get a Smash Brothers tournament going. Helena's scary good at video games for a Victorian, and I'm sure that I could teach you how to play, if you wanted to participate."

Just... not Artie. Joshua can't really imagine Artie playing video games.

[thebettersort]

"Smash Brothers? That sounds pretty violent."

[damncompass]

"Nah. It's mostly just people bouncing off of things." He shrugs. "It's not Mortal Kombat. I mean.. I guess we could do Mario Kart, that's just the video game version of bumper cars."

With blue shells.

[thebettersort]

"Oh!" Myka brightens up. "I've played that one. My sister loved competing on it when we were kids."

Her sister liked video games an awful lot more than her, but that one had been too cute to deny.

[damncompass]

"I'll have to warn you on that one, then. Helena is scary fucking good. I don't know if it was beginner's luck in Switzerland, or if she just... is good, but damn."

He laughs. "I'm pretty good, but Claud used to beat my ass every so often too."

[thebettersort]

"Helena," Myka says with a soft smile, "Is scary good at everything."

[damncompass]

Joshua laughs. "That she is." He shakes his head. "I mean, come on. Video games are so far after the Victorian era that she has no business even being able to work a controller, but she picked it up and started beating my records."

[thebettersort]

"I wouldn't be surprised if she had conceptualized something like them back in her day." She seemed to be so darn spot-on on many things.

[damncompass]

Joshua laughs. "She probably did. I wouldn't be surprised."

Because it seems the only thing she didn't think of is post-it notes.

[thebettersort]

"Though she probably did not conceptualize something as boring as pong."

[damncompass]

"I can't imagine anything Helena doing being boring." Joshua laughs, and shakes his head.

"Maybe we should get out of here for a while. Go to Featherhead or something. Artie can manage without us."

[thebettersort]

"That would be wonderful," Myka says, standing and offering a hand to him. "We can paint the town red."

Kidding tone and a smile.

[damncompass]

Joshua grins and takes Myka's hand. "Nah. Not red. Purple. Everything we do is purple." He looks down at his t-shirt and athletic shorts. "Er, maybe I should change my clothes before we go somewhere. I look terrible."

[thebettersort]

"You look perfectly fine to me, but if you'd like to, I can wait," she says. "I can prepare my purple marker."

[damncompass]

Joshua squeezes her hand. "Make it at least a paintbrush. I'll be right back." He grabs his game player and runs upstairs, returning in a button-down shirt and pants with his ubiquitous bag slung on his shoulder. "Ok. Shall we, then? I think it's nice enough that I can put my car's roof down."

[thebettersort]

Myka had hurried back to her room while he was gone and dug out a purple hat to wear. She has one and it seems to be their theme, so why not?

"Ready," she says, meeting him back where they started.

[damncompass]

Joshua grins at her. "Oooh, I like that hat. Is it a new one?" He goes outside, unlocks the car and holds the door open for her.

The top to his car is already down, mostly because it hasn't been rainy in a couple days.

[thebettersort]

"New enough. My sister discarded it my way. Joke's on her as it's a nice hat."

Myka has little appreciation for her sister's tastes, but much appreciation for what she doesn't like. She sits on the car and grins up at him. "What a gentleman."

[damncompass]

"Unfortunately, I doubt any of Claud's cast-offs would be my style, let alone fit me." He grins, shutting the door, and then hops into the driver's seat. "Hey, I learned from the best. Everything my dad didn't do."

[thebettersort]

"I don't think I know much about your parents," Myka says, her voice quiet. She may be curious but she's not going to show it, as she does not know how sore a topic they are.

[damncompass]

"Mom was nineteen when she got pregnant with me. Her first year of college. She dropped out to get a job and raise me, and Dad finished. They were going to do it the other way around, but the VietNam draft happened, and Dad just didn't want to have to go to war. As to personalities... well, Dad was a stoner, Mom didn't care too much, but they both tried to shape up once Claud came around. They did alright for themselves, but, well." He pauses, shrugging. "Car crash."

[thebettersort]

Myka gives him a sympathetic look, putting a hand over his for a moment. "They sound like they were wonderful people."

They certainly created wonderful people together.