Mainland Road Trip- Friday- 11/19/2021

[alwaysonguard]

  

Dwight stood, leaning against the side of his SUV, taking a moment to enjoy the cool breeze and the salty spray of the nearby waves. Having lived in Haven, on the coast of Maine for most of his life, there was something oddly comforting about ocean sounds and smells. And all the Fandom craziness had just gotten a bit too crazy at last, so he and Miguel had plotted and planned and decided there was only one solution - road trip!

So it was, he was now standing at the end of the causeway waiting for Miguel. He already had his duffle bag in the back along with a cooler. And as far he was concerned, Dwight was ready to leave the Fandom insanity behind him for a few days at least.

[NFB once they leave the causeway due to distance]

[ETA: Never mind, this is too long to do in a thread. Preplayed with what_the_shock!]

Comments

[what_the_shock]

Miguel walked along the causeway to the parking lot and grinned and held up a hand as he got closer. He had a duffle of his own slung easily over one shoulder and a plastic bag dangling from the other hand. "Hey! I brought lunch for later."

[alwaysonguard]

"Sounds good," Dwight said, opening the back up for Miguel to put his bag in. "So what's for lunch?" he asked, eyeing the bag with a smirk. "Yah know, so I can prepare for a Miguel homemade creation if necessary," he said teasingly, knowing he had no room to talk really considering the last monstrosity he had managed to create.

[what_the_shock]

"Hey, I'll have you know I'm a shocking good cook," Miguel said. "Empanadas, beef and cheese. Easy to eat whenever." He slung his bag into the back and kept the food with him. "You decided where we're starting out to yet?"

[alwaysonguard]

"Well are you in the mood for modern comforts, a little roughing it in the great outdoors, or something in between? Got camping gear in the back if that's the route we go. Also can just hotel hop as we go. Don't think there will be much trouble finding something for any of those,'' Dwight said simply. "And I am not at all averse to just picking a direction and seeing what we find along the way."

[what_the_shock]

Miguel snorted. "All of this is roughing it, you twentieth-century heathen. I'm good just driving for now. Normal, uncrazy, the vehicle does what you tell it to, driving." He climbed in on the passenger side and crossed his arms behind his head. "Something predictable."

[alwaysonguard]

"Sounds good to me," Dwight said as he got into the driver's seat. "Normal sounds very nice. No weirdness like sentient holes swallowing up half the town, the dead coming back to life for the weekend, or everybody turning into kids. Just normal driving where all you have to worry about is running out of gas and running out of road!" Dwight said with a grin as he pulled out of the parking lot and they started off.

It had been way too long since things were easy, normal, predictable. A road trip to who knew where, with no rules or schedule or check list might actually be exactly what they both needed.

[what_the_shock]

Miguel wasn't sure he'd ever known what most people called normal. Maybe Gabriel was normal...ish? Nah, he'd grown up with the crazy lady, too. Anyway, he definitely didn't know what normal was for this time.

"You know I've hardly ever been onto the mainland since I moved here? Running out of road's not a common problem, is it?"

[alwaysonguard]

"Ha, no not usually," Dwight said with a chuckle. "And even if the actual road runs out, as long as we are not talking about water or major rough terrain, off-roading a bit shouldn't be too difficult," he said as he gave the steering wheel a few pats.

Course, Miguel was from far in the future. Dwight knew that much but not a lot else about what things were like in that time. He glanced over at Miguel as they pulled onto the main road.

"Still got regular gas guzzlers in your time? Or is it all flying cars and such?' he asked, somewhat teasingly but also still genuinely curious if mankind would ever manage to make good on those flying cars he had been promised as a kid growing up.

[what_the_shock]

"Flying cars," Miguel answered. "Not a lot of internal combustion engines around anymore, either. There are still some roads outside of the cities, but they're mostly for freight and things. And people that like being old-fashioned. Or don't have a choice," he thought to add. Hey, he was getting better at that sort of thing.

"Nueva York's all vertical, though. Groundcars wouldn't get very far."

[alwaysonguard]

"Ah, so instead of 'head five miles East' it's more like 'head five miles straight up', then?" Dwight said, sounding quite impressed. "Guess that's the logical way to go if you have the ability to do it - up, up, up as far as you can go. And finally the flying cars!" he said, a little more excited than a 35-year-old man should have been. "At least there's hope for that... even if there's not likely to be many Hendricksons around still by that time."

[what_the_shock]

Miguel frowned. "Why wouldn't there be - oh. Right." He winced. "Still, you never know, right? It's less bullets, more energy weapons in my time. Anyway, not exactly five miles up, but a lot further than it seems to be these days. Downtown - the old city - fits under the current one. I won't pretend it's great in a lot of ways, but we do have flying transport. I'd offer to show you, but...uh...I can't exactly go there much."

[alwaysonguard]

"Well, partly the bullet issue but also that as far as I know, on my side of the family at least, I'm the last Hendrickson," Dwight stated simply. "Parents were only children, and they're both gone. My sister died before she ever had kids. And I've not had much luck with the 'starting a family' business either." Dwight glanced over at Miguel and gave a small laugh, shaking his head. "Eh, it is what it is. Though it sucks you can't go back home as you wish."

[what_the_shock]

Miguel shrugged. "Honestly, there's not much I miss. A couple people, my AI, not having to clean my own home. I miss the chance to research, but I find ways to keep myself busy. I've been back once or twice quickly, and Gabriel's been here, but we try to keep it quiet. The last thing my brother needs is Alchemax getting wind he's in touch with me; they'll find some way to use it, and it probably won't be pleasant."

[alwaysonguard]

"Kinda how I feel about Haven in a lot of ways," Dwight stated as he turned them onto another road to continue on their way. "It was home but just... isn't anymore, you know? And Haven's craziness was ramping up like never before right before I left. So, who knows how insane it has gotten there already."

He gave a soft sigh and then continued.

"I mean yeah I had a few friends, but no one close. I'd probably just cause more issues in Haven, and lord knows they have enough to deal with already. So, it just seemed like it was time for a change. And so far, I'm thinking this isn't too bad of one," Dwight said, giving Miguel a smirk before turning his attention back to the road.

[what_the_shock]

"Despite being trapped in a hole for a couple weeks, randomly teleporting around, and turning into a kid?" Miguel asked, laughing. "Shock, you've got low standards."

[alwaysonguard]

"Hey believe it or not, even with all the fandom craziness, this is still the safest I have felt in quite a while - as far as my Trouble goes and all," Dwight said, giving a one handed shrug. "Don't have to worry about being shot when there's no guns around. And compared to Haven - with Troubles going off at every turn and people actively trying to rid the town of the Troubled, Fandom is a bit of a nice change. Odd yes. Turning into a younger version of myself brought back a lot of memories I'm not quite sure what to do with right now. But at least most of the Fandom shenanigans seem to be the less-deadly kind... and a few new friends? Yeah, don't think my standards are too low."

[what_the_shock]

"Yeah, there's a lot to be said for people accepting weird," Miguel admitted. "Stupid as it can get, Fandom's still pretty safe if you're different." He paused. "Unless your name is Beaker. How that kid's still alive I have no idea."

[alwaysonguard]

"Yeah dumb luck really seems to play a part in it for some of them, doesn't it? Also helps when you have a sense of humor to go along with it. Cuz I think we have established that some of us tend to attract other sarcastic bastards," Dwight retorted with a laugh.

[what_the_shock]

Miguel snorted. "I mean, you've met Rosa, right? I still have no idea how we put up with each other, but it seems to click. My first real girlfriend, Xina, she was like that, too. Not afraid to tell me when I was being an ass, not afraid to be an ass herself if someone was asking for it. She's probably one of the people I miss."

It was probably bad he missed Xina more than Dana, right? And Lyla more than either of them? He was such an ass sometimes.

"You, on the other hand," he said, pointing at Dwight accusingly, are barely sarcastic enough. You need to let it out more."

Yeah, take advice from the self-admitted ass.

[alwaysonguard]

"Thousand apologies," Dwight snarked back. "Will be sure to work on it. After all, I wouldn't want to lose the approval of the king of sass," he said, giving Miguel a smirk. "Be careful what you wish for, cuz we still have a few days to go... might regret making that statement by the end of this trip. And it will be 100% your fault. I take no responsibility," Dwight added, raising one hand in mock innocence.

[what_the_shock]

"I'll remember that," Miguel promised, rolling his eyes. "Trust me, I grew up with the crazy lady, I'll survive. So which direction are we going now? City seems pretty spread out, but I'm guessing it ends in a bit?"

[alwaysonguard]

"Yeah we still got some pretty spread out cities during this time," Dwight said, glancing at one of the signs they were just passing." We're actually coming up on the outskirts of the city now. The airport, with its 'lovely' antiquated planes, is just a few miles that way," he said, pointing out the window. "From here on out for a bit things are going to be even more spread out. So, since we are kinda driving with no clear destination or purpose, if you want or need to stop for any reason just let me know."

[what_the_shock]

"Will do," Miguel said, settling back a little as he watched the city fly by. "Planes aren't all that different, actually. Different fuel, faster, but there's only so much you can change and still have it fly." He was quiet for a moment, then glanced over at Dwight.

"So are there traditions for road trips? I usually just argue with my brother, but that's not really an option here."

[alwaysonguard]

"Well, aside from the traditional options of fighting over the radio channel, telling stories, and spamming social media with photos, there's always classic car ride games. Things like "Fortunately/Unfortunately" or our family's favorite back when we still took road trips, "Two Lies and a Truth." Dwight looked over at Miguel as he continued. "The best thing about a road trip is it can be anything you want it to be. "

[what_the_shock]

"Two lies and a truth I know," Miguel said. "Not familiar with the other one. I'm kind of afraid either of our stories would turn nasty pretty fast. I've never fought over radio channels; that could be fun. Or sending the weirdest or most boring pictures back home. Rosa'd kill me," he said cheerfully. Especially since she might not see them until she got back, and she'd have to wade through a ton.