Finding Your Place With the Outcasts

by TikiBat

Chapter 8: Offloading Some Thoughts

BZZZZZT

Sine winced as the needle touched her foreleg.

“Sorry about that,” Ink Rose apologized. “The first touch is always the worst for me.”

“Yeah? Me too,” Sine retorted. “It’ll dull soon, though.”

“If you need a break at any time, just let me know.”

“That makes it worse,” Sine pointed out.

Ink Rose nodded. “For a lot of ponies, but I still have to make it available if you need it.”

“Mhmm,” Sine nodded. “I appreciate it.”

BZZZZZZZTTZZT

Sine winced and let out a small yelp again, cursing under her breath.

“So… what’s new with you?” Ink Rose asked, clearly realizing she needed to distract Sine from the painful needle running against her sensitive foreleg.

“Not a whole lot,” Sine replied through clenched teeth.

“Not a whole lot?” Ink Rose pressed. “I heard you didn’t rip out bird brain’s throat, so I’m guessing something productive came out of that.”

“I guess you could say that,” Sine started to relax as the sting of the needle started to fade into the background. “He apologized to me and helped me do some yard work, offered me a job too to boot.”

“Offered you a job? Doing what? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I don’t,” Sine shook her head. “I guess he’s ditching the whole weather team thing and wants to make an arcade of all things.”

“An arcade?” Ink Rose continued running the needle across the stencil’s design. “Seems like a weird choice for him, but a great opportunity for you.”

“It’s better than a great one,” Sine agreed. “Let’s me move my stuff out of the rec center’s back room and into a proper place.”

“And you can move some of your collection out of your spare room,” Ink cheerfully pointed out.

“Mhmm,” Sine nodded. “That too… Not all of them, though.”

“I didn’t say all of them, just some of them,” she stuck her tongue out. “You gotta keep the best for your own personal arcade.”

“It might even give me a chance to pick up some other collections I’ve been eyeballing.”

“More cabinets?”

“Yeah,” Sine confirmed. “Don’t worry though; I’m not gonna pick them up until bird brain shows me the place and gives me the go-ahead to keep them there. I gotta be responsible with my obsession; otherwise, I’m a hoarder.”

“That’s fair enough,” Ink agreed. “What do those things run you anyways?”

“Not as much as you’d think. The auction I’ve been watching doesn’t have mint or even gently used cabinets. They’re kind of run down, but a lot of them look fixable, and the ones that aren’t… well, I can use them for my other hobby.”

“Your homebrew projects?”

“Bingo!” Sine smiled. “Bird brain’s covering the new flowers and some more of the repair costs for what he broke, which means I get to use my hobby budget for more fun endeavors. If we’re opening up an arcade, then I’ll need surplus parts and materials, and cheap arcade cabinets are a good way to source those… ‘sides; what else am I spending my money on?”

“Food, utilities, insurance, tattoos….” Ink listed off. “And probably more outside of just hobbies.”

“That’s what my hobby budget is for,” Sine smirked.

“I guess I can’t argue with that. I’ve got my own hobby stuff I dig into too.”

“Like what?”

Ink lifted the needle and looked away, shaking her head. “It’s nothing amazing.”

“I didn’t ask if it was amazing or not,” Sine continued. “I rattled your ear off about my hobby stuff, so it’s only fair for me to let you do the same. So try me.”

Ink looked back at her. “I’ve got a whole room here that’s just a private library. I didn’t bother showing it to you before because that’s my own personal escape from reality,” The mare admitted, clearly seeming embarrassed by that admission.

Sine paused for a moment, a big grin crossing her face. “Seriously?”

“I know, I know,” Ink resumed her tattooing. “It’s such a nerdy thing, and I always feel like such a geek when I share it.”

“It’s incredibly geeky, but it’s awesome.”

“Really?” Ink’s ears perked up. “You think so?”

“Of course,” Sine nodded. “We all need our escapes, and reading isn't all that different from my games when you think about it.”

“What do you mean?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Well, stories and games both let you check out of reality and go off on a fun adventure for a while. They’re even both two sides of the same coin if you think about it.”

“I…” Ink Rose started. “You know, you’ve got a good point, and I guess I never put much thought into that before.”

“I don’t think a lot of people do— at least not right off the bat. I don’t think the first thing that runs through anyone’s mind is that both mediums serve the same purpose.”

“They technically don’t, but it’s probably more complicated than I understand,” Ink admitted.

“It depends,” Sine said. “You could say they serve different purposes, and they honestly do. Not every game is designed to have a compelling story that transports you to a different world, but I think the end result is still the same in a weird roundabout way— even for the most simplistic things.”

“Like Tetris,” Ink giggled.

“Yeah, basically,” Sine replied with a chuckle of her own. “There’s not a story there, but it does take you out of the real world for just a bit. I guess in a way what my hobby is is a way for me to merge what I like from both of those mediums.”

“I think I understand,” Ink replied. “So what’s your goal with your hobby then? Tell compelling stories through your arcade game projects?”

“Something like that. I don’t think I’m the best writer ever, but I love making a big world to set something in, and my hobby is an extension of that. I’d love to tell a great story inside of that too, but who knows if it’ll come off that way.”

“I see,” Ink focused her attention on lining one of the remaining parts of the tattoo. “That’s kind of the most fun part if you ask me.”

“Making a world?”

“Making a world and telling a story in it. A playable story told through an arcade game sounds like a very cool way to tell a story.”

Sine perked up. “You’re a writer?”

“I dabble,” Ink Rose grinned proudly. “I write fanfiction sometimes, but I also want to make something original sometime.”

An idea started to pop into Sine’s head, and she couldn’t help but smile in excitement.

“Would you want to help out with my game?” Sine candidly asked.

Ink looked up from the outlined tattoo. “As in, help with the story?”

“Yeah,” Sine shrugged. “I think it’d be a lot of fun… if you’re interested, that is.”

Ink glanced towards one of the closed doors that led further into the house. “I’ve never collaborated with anyone before.”

“The offer’s on the table if you ever do,” Sine smiled as she glanced down at her half-finished tattoo. The tattoo wasn’t the most complicated thing in the world— just a rolling wave surrounded by a sequence of mathematical equations that Sine had picked out. Currently, it was just a basic outline, but Sine could already tell that the end result was going to be amazing. “You’re doing great with this.”

“Thanks,” Ink said. “I’ll be able to finish it tomorrow if you want, or whenever it works best.”

Sine looked back at the tattoo, then at the other designs that Ink had already made for her. “I’ve got another day of work with bird brain, so let me get back to you on that.”

Ink Rose wrapped up Sine’s hoof and turned away to put her supplies away but was sure to still follow along. “That’s all fine by me. So what’s next on your agenda then?”

“Not much, to be honest. I’m probably going to go grab a bite to eat on the way home; you’re welcome to join me if you'd like.”

“You want me to go along?”

Ink seemed to zone out for a brief moment, and something about the way she carried herself read to Sine as if she was lost in deep thought.

She didn’t take it negatively, though, considering she probably did the same just as often, if not more, when she was rambling about her hobbies and likes. Choosing not to read too far into it, Sine smiled and continued. “Only if you want to; it’ll be my treat. I went there with bird brain, and it was a nice place. I hate going alone and would love to have a friend to go with.

Ink Rose seemed to snap out of whatever she was in and hesitated for a moment. Seemingly embarrassed, she looked back at Sine with a small smile and nodded. “That would be lovely.”

Something about the way she hesitated and the subtle way she tensed up surprised Sine, but she shrugged it off. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, just got lost in thought for a moment,” Ink replied. “Why don’t I finish up, and then we can head over there?”

“We could do that,” Sine paused for a moment. “Or… maybe you could show me your library?”

Ink stopped her cleanup and looked back over at Sine Wave. “Wouldn’t you rather just go get a bite to eat? That’s probably going to be more entertaining than some dusty old books.”

“Maybe, but they’re your dusty old books. ‘Sides, they can’t be that boring and dusty.”

“Okay,” Ink shrugged. “They’re not dusty, but they’re probably still pretty boring.”

“Hey, it’s your call, but I think it’d be cool to see. I got to show you my nerdy hobby stuff, and I’d love to see what kind of stuff you’re into too. If you’re not comfortable sharing it, then that’s okay too.”

Ink Rose considered this and then finally nodded. “Okay. Don’t laugh at me, though; I have a lot of trashy romance novels too.”

“Trashy romance and old classics? Interesting combo.”

“Mhmm,” Ink waved Sine towards the door. “Guess I have some weird tastes, eh?”

“Not really,” Sine replied. “You like what you like; there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Ink pushed the door open and gestured to the tall shelves that lined every wall. “Welcome to my own personal oasis.”

Sine Wave couldn’t help but marvel at the pristine collection of tomes as she stepped in. “Gotta say,” She started. “You’re giving my nerd stuff a run for its money.”

“Am I?” Ink Rose asked.

“Mhmm,” Sine leaned in to inspect a few of the collected volumes. “I wish I could have a collection set up like this.”

“You kind of do, don’t you, though?” Ink asked, referring to Sine’s vast collection of vintage games.

“I do,” Sine admitted. “But this looks so much more refined than my setup.”

Ink perked up and replied with a goofy grin. “You really think so?”

“I do,” Sine confirmed. “It’s genuinely cool to see what kinds of hobbies others have.”

“I appreciate it, but I can’t take all the credit for these,” She looked through one of the shelves and picked out one particular book containing an assortment of Japanese art. “Stuff like this? Art and concepts… sure. I’ve bought plenty of them. But I can also blame my mom for building up a lot of my collection.”

“I see,” Sine smiled. “I bet it’s a good hobby to bond over.”

“It is. She’s a schoolteacher in Riverview, so she’s always been the kind of pony that loves to get her hooves on rare books. It’s something we did bond over and still do, but obviously not as much as before I moved here.”

Sine Wave gently ran her hoof over some of the leatherbound books. “It seems like a special hobby, for sure.”

“It is,” Ink Rose joined her. “Mom always loved to read; I always loved to collect big volumes of concept art and just art in general. We didn’t share a lot of common ground, so having something that bridged both of our interests was great. It’s also something that’s given me a lot of inspiration whenever I needed it or felt creatively dry.”

Sine looked down at her wrapped up hoof and then towards Ink’s nearby art book. “I can see that. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t do the same from time to time.”

“It’s not a bad thing,” Ink said as she set her art book down. “There’s a lot of great ways to take an existing concept and make it your own. That’s my job a lot of the time, and I’m going to guess that it’s yours too…” she paused. “But I think that’s enough of my dorky hobbies for tonight, I’m starting to get peckish, and you did offer to treat me to dinner, so maybe we should skip away to that.”

Sine Wave smiled. “Maybe we can chat some more about our dorky hobbies then?”

“We could,” Ink smirked. “You offered to let me work on your game with you, so perhaps that’d give us some good creative ground to bounce ideas off of?”

“I think you’re onto something,” Sine chuckled. “Let’s get going then, and we’ll see what happens next.”

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[ProgAltRocker]

Everyone has that inner nerd when it comes to their hobbies.