HARPG
Show: Retro Revival
Characters: Charlie | Co-Pilot
Registry Number: 31
Class: Show Jumping
Stable: MidAir Stables
Country rider represents: United Kingdom
Art belongs to: Volt-Draws


Did I spend way too long on this? Yes. Did I do a lot of research on old tech just to probably get something mixed up? Mmm *sigh* probably. Did I have fun and enjoy myself? YESS! :dummy: So glad I got a chance to join this show! Did I name the title something contradicting just for kicks and giggles? No more questions! >8(

The lighting was tough to get down, drawing Charlie and Lad in a realistic style was challenging, but I had no idea that the puddles would end up being one of the hardest things to draw. xD

Lad patiently stood still as he was being tacked up and prepared by the MidAir team. It was no doubt an unusual sight to see a content Lad, not rushing everyone along at this part of the process. Lad would always get excited when it was time to tack up. For him it meant that he was one step closer to getting to the course, being finished with the course, and even closer to heading back home, and getting to resume his scheduled long naps under his favorite tree at MidAir. Though he was excited to get out to the arena, he was very forgiving to the long tack up time caused by some buckle malfunctions. He was in a good mood, had a tasty breakfast, and was just plain thankful that the show jumping class took place a lot later in the day than the vet check did. He was able to get in a lot of shut eye, so he could afford the team taking time out of his objective of getting home quick.

Charlie was happy as well, but for a different reason. He was pretty proud of himself for being able to find a way to equestrianize his 1970s inspired pilot's uniform. Even finding a place for his custom pilot emblem that read "MidAir" on his riding helmet, among other features. Everything seemed to have worked out nicely with his look. He was glad that it did too, it had taken him quite a while to think it up and put it together. And, he had to admit, he probably wouldn't have finished it in time if his friend, who happened to be a clothing designer, wasn't there to help.

Lad was finally finished getting tacked up, and Charlie was finally done staring at himself in the mirror. The team made their way to the arena and waited near the entrance for their turn. Charlie had a chance to take a good look at the course while they waited. The obstacles were nicely designed with nostalgia and retro fun in mind. There was a oxer designed to look like an early 1960s laser. He vaguely remembered seeing one of the staff members flashing it on and off during the course walk that had taken place earlier. He would definitely have to try and give it a poke when the course was finished being used. He would love to see how it was all put together. He could see a vertical made of two large blue and black guitars, and even a jump that was made to look like a 1980s style laptop. He did his best to stay focused and not get caught up in looking at the features, but the attention to detail on some of these obstacles were mind blowing.

Lad and Charlie cantered into the arena when it was their turn. Charlie was surprised but thankful that his Co-Pilot was in a cheerful mood instead of fighting with him. Charlie didn't have to try and slow him down the whole way through because he was trying to recklessly zoom through the course. All Charlie had to do through nearly the whole course was direct the proper angle of attack, set a speed, and Lad practically flew over the course. It was a rare but very welcome shift in behavior for the bay. If only Charlie knew how to repeat this behavior on command. It seemed he would have to take note on time, bit type, breakfast, and other factors in order to find out what the special formula was. Till then, they had a course to finish. They made their way over several cleverly designed obstacles, before swinging back around to go over the last two jumps spaced out quite a bit. Lad timed his stride nicely and they were able to finish with a clear round.

Making their way out of the arena and back to the stables, Charlie had time to think back on the fun course. He saw that were many great and memorable jumps throughout the course, but the oxer double combination made to look like a giant VHS video cassette and the other an audio cassette tape, stuck with him the longest. The audio cassette was probably loosely inspired by the Type IV pure metal particle cassette that was introduced in 1970s. But, if he had to guess, he would say it was more based off of a cheap but rare variation of the type I cassette, because of the lack of a viewing window. He had vivid memories of seeing his older cousin holding this kind of cassette up to the light to try and see what position the tape was in, all while mumbling about the inconvenience it bought. There were nice songs on it, but she would always avoid playing them from that tape, in favor of the more easy to use and clearer sounding ones in her collection. Charlie would always tease her about neglecting the tan windowless cassette and leaving it out.

As the years went by, and her cassettes either wore out, or got misplaced, her collection dwindled in number till there were none left. Later, she made up a new collection of tapes, but none of them held any of the memories her older ones did. One day, an unlikely cassette turned up during a routine Spring cleaning. It bought back a wave of nostalgia and many good memories for her, of both friends and family from years ago. Turns out, the windowless cassette that had been considered a pain all those years before, remained in her possession after all this time. Because it was from her original collection, it went from most hated tape to the most valued cassette in her collection. He couldn't help but feel a bit of that nostalgia himself seeing that cassette standing there in the arena. It was even the same color as her windowless tape, it would have been nice if she was here to see it as well.

Suddenly Aki came running towards him holding an item. She had bought some souvenirs from a nearby store during their stay, and one of them happened to be a vintage camera. She had a lot of settings wrong, and the camera was a little dirty, but she managed to learn enough about the camera to get it to snap some photos. She showed him a few photos, and to his surprise, she captured him and Lad jumping over the double combination. She apologized for the bad camera quality, but the retro look was actually fitting. It sort of made it look like they were frozen in time. He was able to get the photo and have it sent over to his cousin, so that she too could savor this point in time.