saveourearth | Water, Water Everywhere

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Water, Water Everywhere

Date: March 1st ; ETA: March 2nd
Characters: Walter Weekes, Sadie Moore ; ETA: Walter Weekes and Benjiro Thorne

It hasn't even been a full week, and though Walter's learned much he is still struggling without sight apart from the not-quite-darkness of webspace.

More mundanely, the house is still barely livable after the disastrous flooding; Ben's assistance, among other things, has been vital towards getting the place drained and dry.

Other visits - like Sadie's - are much appreciated, and Walter is well aware of what chaos Echoes have been wreaking in her life lately.

His mind keeps coming back to that water, though, and he can never quite settle, never quite relax-

The next day comes the first chance to test a possible workaround - finally, finally, by Walter's account, though he still feels guilty for having the notion.

After all, he's not in charge of the passage of time.

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“A mixture would be reasonable. Maybe they will try to encourage volunteers the same way they did after the poppy flowers spread all over,” he considers aloud. That would allow for the able-bodied individuals to address what they can and lessen the intensity of work asked for a wider call of volunteers.

Benjiro continues onward with Walter, falling back into step immediately beside and behind him as space allows or slowing to pass an obstacle behind him as necessary. At the mention of cameras, the teenager cringes visibly to a small degree. He had avoided most news coverage secondary to his later arrival after the tsunami had hit, but he had found it necessary to change his intended route once to stay out of sight of a lens. “A small favor at least.” Then he asks, “How are you adjusting? Any latency issues?”

"If the outcome is similar, that would be a good outcome," Walter replies, smile flickering as he successfully sidesteps another piece of debris. Huzzah!

He can't see Ben's reaction - even if he'd had normal sight, he doesn't have 360-degree vision - but some of it Walter can catch in the teen's tone.

"The latency's not worse than what I'd already been dealing with," Walter assures, turning around (and subsequently stopping so he doesn't trip over anything) to flash a reassuring smile at Ben.

"Your work is fine, Ben. And it can only improve in the future, I know."

Taking cue from his friend, he comes to a stop as Walter turns around while he answers the initial question. His perception outpaces function, so that the use of the camera has not worsened that gap of staggering processing from reaction appreciably is a relief. Fast enough for him does not guarantee it to be fast enough for Walter after all.

Then his friend offers encouraging words, and Benjiro feels his cheeks warm under his mask as he reaches to rub at the back of his neck, “Thanks… Adequate function in a timely manner was the priority,” and with a spike of confidence he suggests, “Next will be a more natural representation of the visible spectrum in different lighting conditions.” Or in other words, make it so Walter can appreciate all the sky has to offer.

Hand lowering, he gestures loosely in an open manner, “But if you have any other suggestions for changes or potential areas of improvement, I’d appreciate the inspiration.”

Edited 2019-04-04 00:20 (UTC)

"I'm not going to rush you," Walter says - which is followed by a wry smile, because if anything he knows Ben is going to rush himself, even if Walter doesn't.

"But as for suggestions - perhaps being able to adjust to sunlight the way tinted sunglasses do?"

Because this would be a time for him to ruin his eyes with UV Rays or the like.

After how long the voice device required, he certainly will not waste any opportunities.

“I could probably manage that, although I would have concerns about losing the opaque tint indoors. These should protect your eyes, and while it would transition inside more naturally with a lessening tint so the glasses appear to be perscriptuon, I don’t know if other people being able to look at your eyes would be an issue,” especially if they move in a searching manner if Walter is not constantly focused. Direct eye contact may also be difficult to manage without significant practice to compensate for the video to real life positioning.

Edited 2019-04-07 15:38 (UTC)

"Perhaps combined with dual or clip-on lenses..." Walter comments, before shaking his head.

"That is an important angle - particularly when close and sustained eye contact is treated as a sign of trustworthiness."

If he were to start acting in a way - or seem to - where he came up short... No, he doesn't like that.

Potentially.

“In this culture at least. You would have an easier time in Japan. Direct eye contact is considered rude and aggressive,” he states. The times he moved between countries with family has made him more sensitive to cultural differences.

“In any case, think about it as you use it. You might not notice something right away.” Then putting his hand on his friend’s shoulder, he gestures the other hand with an open palm towards the path ahead, “Speaking of trial use, let’s see if we can find any blank spots in wifi access.”

"Exactly," Walter agrees, nodding slightly at the reminder.

He takes the advice with relaxed grace, scanning again and again across the webcam's view - and fighting the urge to keep adjusting the glasses, because even if no one's watching there's still a part of him saying it would be odd to have one hand up constantly.

Someone might think the sun's getting in my eyes, is one oh-so-helpful answer, and he bites back a laugh at that thought.

"That would be an ideal."

But, considering the priorities for getting power back up in affected areas, any opportunity for wifi to be struck out near High Street is probably closed even by now.

That doesn't stop Walter from keeping on, though.

Paying mind to the people sharing the sidewalks, Benjiro falls into step beside Walter as much as foot traffic allows and falls behind temporarily to maintain comfortable passage as needed. He mentally maps the route Walter is leading them on, glancing occasionally to his own phone to keep tabs on wifi coverage in an attempt to anticipate loss of open wifi access.

Whenever they cross streets, Benjiro is vigilant to listen for vehicles while attempting to discern if Walter makes use of the lateral cameras in the glasses.

Indeed, they have to go a ways beyond High Street before anything changes - Walter does start experimenting with the lateral cameras, and apart from some minor disorientation that requires him to stand still just so he can work through the learning curve in that area, he's still giving thumbs-up and the impression of being at-ease.

And then, there's a place where Walter just... stops.

It's not directly in traffic, fortunately, but it's a near thing.

Comfortable enough traveling with Walter without filling the time with talk, he continues to monitor the use of the device. It will require practice to use fluidly, and he smiles slightly at the gesture as Walter compensates enough to manage the first trials.

Mind drifting towards possible parts for the next version of the device, he takes a stride further than Walter before he manages to stop upon noticing the halt. Realizing his friend is right in front of a door, he quickly reaches to take under his arm and pull forward, "Sorry, sorry, one more step, please!" Out of the path of the door as it swings open with a bell chime, Benjiro releases the grasp to instead rest his hand on Walter's shoulder with concern.

"Did we finally come across a dead spot?"

Walter realizes only after the fact that the door was in use; still, his shoulders slump when Ben pulls him ahead.

"I think that was the dead spot..." he whispers, glancing about and wondering if it's just that the glasses have gone fuzzy.

"Or-"

No, it was more like stepping out of a dark room after hours and hours of adjusting - he could see for himself!

The mixture of emotions lingers long enough that Ben can pick up on it.

Quieting as he hears most of the whisper from Walter, which includes enough to make it out, Benjiro stays close to his friend. He reads the delay through body language and most of a facial expression with the sunglasses hiding his eyes from view, and the teenager prompts gingerly with a light squeeze on his shoulder.

"...Walter?" No need to hurry him for an explanation.

Well aware that they could draw attention (only bemused looks nothing to be scared of), Walter keeps a close eye on his own body language, and restrains himself from laughing for joy - or moving so much that he falls back out of the WiFi-free zone.

"We've found one," is all he confirms - but on top of that is the bright smile now plain on his face.

Ben can also tell any difference between focusing the eye based on camera input and focusing it based on the eye's own input.

That is all it takes for Benjiro to grasp a proper understanding, and the teenager echoes with a smile of his own at his eyes as he releases Walter’s shoulder. Excellent. It may not be a permanent gap, but something within walking distance for Walter is appreciated.

“You can take a break from the sunglasses if you’d like. I’ll see about how far the gap is along the walk,” he says to encourage his friend to take advantage of the space. Phone raised to watch it search for networks, he walks slowly down the path further ahead to determine the stretch available.

Walter nods, though he keeps the glasses safely tucked in a pocket.

Settling back against a spot of door-free wall, he notes internally that he is never going to take this view for granted.

No matter how limited it might seem.

Watching his phone with care taken to not entirely ignore obstacles of other people walking and objects, he makes it almost all the way to the corner of the next street before a new signal is strong enough to register. Phone pocketed, he turns around to walk with a much faster pace to return to Walter where he leans at the wall.

Easing himself next to his friend to also lean against the wall, he gives the report, “About a meter shy of the corner. At least for this side of the street.”

Hopefully no one would read their behavior as suspicious - but it's easier to remain calm when Walter can see, and rejoice at it.

"I'm not going to ask you to cross the street to find out how wide the gap is," Walter emphasizes. He's still clearly pleased, though.

"We might not want to be kicked off the sidewalk for loitering, either way."

“You don’t have to, Walter,” he points out. The task is a simple one, and if he can follow the dead zone along another direction, then that means all the more space for Walter to enjoy.

Benjiro shrugs his shoulders, “I don’t think anyone will take notice with only the two of us for a while. Especially if we don’t block other pedestrians from passing easily.” Leaning against the wall, he closes his eyes as he settles there to encourage Walter to stay and simply take in the view.

Perhaps he is too concerned with 'what it might look like' from the outside, if Ben isn't worried about the matter.

Fortunately, this sidewalk isn't the most narrow in the neighborhood, so the offer is accepted with grace.

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Water, Water Everywhere

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... Should we flip a coin on them finding a spot?

I say you should go for it; Walter is the one experiencing this

Alright, I'll be nice to him. ;P

It's only fair

Pulling a delayed-reaction/double-take scenario on Walter is difficult; how's this?

Looks good to me!

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Hmm - continue to the end of the wifi deadzone, or fade out?

Fade out in a few tags I think

Sounds good!

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Aaand thread wrap?