culero | IC CONTACT

[Oh, hello-- Green it is, and it takes him an additional moment to realize his own little face is up there in the corner, so hmm-- feel free to critique his angle again, he's working on it.]

Are you saying you'd rather not hear about the portraits? [aha....] I could buy you a drink, if you happen to know where the nearest tavern is.

It's not that I don't want to hear about the portraits, but drinks are definitely more up my alley. I can hear all about it over something strong.

[Tavern, though? He can't hide the silly grin on his face as he tries to wrap his head around just how old this man has to be to not know the term bar.]

Bars, friend, we drink in bars. Or pubs. Taverns are..they don't exist anymore where I'm from.

[He waves a hand, which makes his camera angle slide a little more for a second as he isn't desperately holding the phone still with both hands, but ah- taverns, bars, yes yes.]

How different could it possibly be? It hardly matters— anything with a tap will do! I will treat you to something strong and probably very colorful, like the rest of this city.

[Jackie can't help but be amused at this whole situation. In person Constantin is probably far less amusing, or more if he factors in hand gestures and charisma. He's clearly make for a great drinking partner even if the way he speaks and his fashion sense is incredibly antiquated.]

I don't know. Don't really trust anything that's too colorful, but that might be all they have here. What's your drink of choice? Wait, no, lemme guess. Wine? Ale?

[He's really not trying to be a dickhead about their difference in time period, but Jackie can't really help it, and it's all in good fun. The other man probably thinks he looks strange too with all the circuitry on his face.]

Either way, it's gonna be an interesting cultural exchange.

What's wrong with wine and ale? Only the cheapest swill at the rowdiest taverns sets the most interesting mood, most certainly.

[This one is only kind of a joke, but as Constantin does not plan on getting himself thrown into a table hard enough to break its legs off anytime soon, perhaps emphasis on "kind of." Anyway, cultural exchange, yes... That is a term for it.

Well, he likes Drinks and he won't turn down even the most minor bit of socializing, so. Cultural exchange it is!]

What do you recommend instead? If I drink your incredibly modern liquor, you must promise not to treat me like a relic too often.

Nothing, nothing, I swear. I'm just giving you a hard time.

[Jackie's gone from smirking to chuckling at the mental image of rowdy taverns next to what a packed bar might look like. For whatever reason that tickles him to no end, and the way Constantin responds to it is even more amusing. Clearly he hasn't had much excitement going on lately.]

Tequila or mezcal. Wouldn't call it modern, but it's plenty different than wine or ale. Good stuff would knock you on your ass, hermano. If you can keep up with me, I'll never treat you like a relic. En serio.

I've never heard of either of those, but I am feeling up to the challenge.

[He's going to make some bad tequila choices, but that's fine, he'll learn. It's a process and no one has ever accused him of having fantastic self-preservation skills, actually.

Plus, sitting around in his dull new apartment is even duller when there's liquor decisions to be made out in the world.]

What does that mean, en—? [Another little gesture, like, you know,] Well, far be it from me to spoil the whole word like some kind of oaf.

[Good tequila just hits different. He's excited to share that with his new friend if they can find a close enough approximation to it. Otherwise he's going to be wine and ale-ing it up with Constantin instead.]

Sorry. [He's used to his words being automatically translated by bioware. Then he remembers that he and his people might be the only ones with bioware in this place because it clearly doesn't exist for Constantin.] Bad habit. It's just Spanish.

Tell me more about where you came from. What's the place called?

[Just wait until Constantin discovers some wine comes in a box. The novelty!! In any case- he sort of... hums mildly, with absolutely no recognition of "Spanish" whatsoever. Well, it does sound nice!]

Well— my city is New Serene, on the island of Teer Fradee. But I was born and raised in Serene itself, capital city of the Merchant Congregation.

[A beat, for emphasis, then,] Any bit of that ring familiar at all?

You may as well be from a different planet. Are those supposed to be on Earth?

[He hums, wondering if maybe his knowledge of the world outside his hood is really that much of a mystery to him or if maybe he's right. They may be from two entirely separate planets? Is that even possible?]

What are you doing right now? Want to get that drink?

Unless someone has moved whole continents somewhere else, yes, I am very much from Earth.

[Imagine! Actually he tries not to, as this place is shocking enough if he lets himself think deeper than the shiny, neon novelty of it all, but imagine. When it blindsides him on some idle afternoon, inevitably, he hopes it will be after a point that he's at least used to things here.

But that's a bit much for drinks, so, hmm!]

In any case, I'm doing nothing particularly riveting, so! Our drinks await! Where shall I meet you?

[Jackie's tempted to point out that the continents do tend to drift around, but he doesn't really want to do anything to blow Constantin's mind right now. He'd rather meet up with the guy and see if he can do anything to help him adjust to this place. It couldn't be easy.

Hell, it's hard for him and Night City isn't even really that different from here tech-wise.]

There's a bar I passed by once that we can meet at. I'll send you the location.

[Oh, wait. Only after he's hit send does he wonder if Constantin will know how to use the maps app. Well, this is one way to find out..]

[He knows that there is, indeed, a map? There's that much. But give him a moment to fiddle around here, as one skeptical eyebrow continues to get higher and higher, then--]

Well, hold on, it's blinking at me. Is the other blinking dot meant to be me?

[Literally, please help him connect these dots, then he can handle the difficult hurdle of walking all on his own.]

Blinking dot is where you are. Follow it to that other dot that isn't moving, and there you have it.

[He's tempted to see if Constantin can manage to do that, but he starts to think of all the things that could go wrong if he leaves the poor guy to wrangle technology on his own. So, shortly after he has a better idea.]

You're in the public housing building, right? Give me your unit number and I'll meet you. We can walk together.

Oh— you are a lifesaver, sparing me the humiliation of getting lost in record time!

[Lesson learned: he doesn't have to learn how to use the maps app, actually. No, no, he will— some other time. Following dots from one end of the street to the other in a straight line sounds feasible.]

My quaint little chambers are number 114. I will loiter in the hallway.

[He actually will, in his blatantly anachronistic ye olde getup, very hard to miss.]

Claro. See you in a minute.

[That's about how much time it takes Jackie to leave his own unit to find Constantin. At some point along the line he disconnects the call, assured that it'll be fine because he spots the man in the hallway before he even gets close enough to get to the door.]

Ready to go?

[So convenient, this public housing. Constantin straightens up from leaning against the wall and heads down the hall to meet him halfway, rather than stand there and awkwardly watch him approach.]

Certainly! You are the one with the knowhow, so please—

[He gestures; please lead, they both know he didn't absorb a single thing about the route from the map app, nobody has to say it directly.]

And you asked about me, but you didn't tell me where you're from, you know.

[Jackie isn't going to delay their little adventure any longer, he does take another moment to look Constantin over, though. On the screen of his phone it was hard to tell how tall he was, or his build--not that he's checking him out too closely. That would be rude, and someone from back in the day might find it rude, right?

He clears his throat and gestures for them to leave the building, leading the way with the help of the very same app he's trying to get Constantin to learn.]

Earth. America. California. Night City? Any of those sound remotely familiar?

[If Constantin notices any lingering looks he politely does not call anyone out-- that, also, would be rude, and there's no harm in it, after all. For all intents and purposes he does not look like a man who can hold his drink, literal lightweight that he is, but perhaps miracles are real in this neon city! Who knows!

He does hold up a finger to point out, however,] I do remember we've already established that I am from Earth, my friend. But the rest, not at all. Night City is an odd name for a place.

[And "Serene" is not, never mind. He gestures broadly at the street, as they get on their way.]

It must be more like this place than my own dear city, no?

[Jackie doesn't think Constantin will be able to outdrink him for a moment, but anything could happen. Or people could be born with incredibly functional livers where he's from--who even knows? The walk isn't too long according to the app, and it's an excuse to take in some of the sights. As similar as the tech might be to his home, the look of things (and cleanliness) is something he is 100% unused to. It all feels far too fancy for someone like him.]

Maybe. I never gave it much thought. The place I come from in NC is called Heywood. That probably sounds a little less weird, right? [He's generalizing about the very few ye olde-era names he knows and everything ending in -wood has to be acceptable, right?]

It's close but also..not at all. If I had to explain it, this would be like a king's castle. Where I come from would be where the peasants live. [Jackie glances over to see if he's making sense at all. Hopefully he's not met with a completely puzzled look.]

That sounds like treating me like a relic. But! I understand what you mean, even the part where you make it sound like feudal lords are back in style.

[And in fairness, he is not unused to some level of luxury, but the luxury he's familiar with is, say, a consistently hot bath, not so many shiny... light up things. Understanding what a phone is puts Jackie's skill level far beyond his own, he's already decided.]

Personally, I've never been in a place so... safe? [He looks sideways at Jackie, brow furrowed, like, is that the word he wants to use? They were kidnapped, but he's yet to see anyone stabbed in the streets or have a rifle waved in his face, so-- safe will have to do.] For all of the rampant confusion about us, the people here do seem more or less content.

Oh, guess I took that reference a little too far back. My bad, friend. I'll do better. Lo prometo.

[Despite their differences, as vast as they are, that next point is one Jackie can absolutely relate to. Night City was a very dangerous place, and here it seems like peace and order is the norm. It's almost unsettling.]

That makes two of us. Worst part was nearly suffocating when we first got here, but since then? Smooth sailing. You do have boats back home right? [The grin on his face makes it clear that he's definitely just pushing Constantin's buttons to see how he'll react to all the joking.]

[Sir... He makes a face, but it's only a moment of faux-offense before he can't help but laugh lightly and shake his head. This relic joke he will allow, yes.]

Would you believe I have even been on boats? I live on an island!

[And before that, a different port city, not that he actually knows the first thing about sailing. He waves that - and the other, actual relic comment - away with a hum, looking back down the street again as if to survey the city at large. There's not even any plague! Remarkable.]

Well, I suppose we kidnappees must stick together, in case of terrible tragedy.

Boats? How cultured you must be, my good sir.

[Jackie laughs, shaking his head at himself mostly. Humor is the best way for him to deal with just how different this place is for him too. He feels out of place and still can't really let himself relax completely. No matter how often he's reminded he's not the only one in this situation. Hell, he may not even be the only one to have died before getting pulled here.]

I don't know about you, but I'm going to do my best to avoid any terrible tragedies. [And once they get to the bar, he gestures for Constantin to step inside ahead of him.] I don't consider getting pleasantly inebriated a tragedy, though.

I concur! Fascinating new drinks to explore, company to get to know, too many glowing bits and bobs to count... This is— [and he pivots on his heel once he's actually into the bar, gesturing out again like this place is highly cool and exciting and not just, like, a neon bar,] Fun!

[Fun. Where is the wine and ale. There are so many bottles behind the bar itself, he's already mildly overwhelmed. And yet it's still better to be overwhelmed by liquor variety than, say, terrible tragedies, so!

Outlook: optimistic!]

Let's sit.

video!

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