LET'S [test] DRIVING

[cava]

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN, YOU KNOW THE DRILL. Here's a few options, all stolen shamelessly from previous iterations.

> The Park. Man, what a nice day out. Why not enjoy it? I'm sure -- shit, yep, there's some echo monsters or whatever they're called.
> The Mall. Exactly what it says on the tin! Dodge the hordes of teenage mallrats or take part, whichever suits your tastes.
> Rainy Day. Agh, it's fucking awful out. And is it raining those vermilion things?? Now you've got an Echo to contend with on top of everything else. Find some shelter, quick!
> Arts and Crafts Fair. WILL THE KITSCH OVERWHELM YOU


or make up your own whatever this is basic and just for the purposes of getting a new test drive up.

Comments

Springer/Stephanie Gentry | Transformers [IDW Comics]

[givesachoice]

[Stephanie is a tall, muscular woman that has no problem swinging a crowbar if need be - and today, it apparently needs to be, because there's nasty creatures poking around her wrecker and they're apparently filling her head with weird thoughts. Something about cups and crystals and a lot of dead robots - why that's coming up, she has no idea.

For now, she's gonna try and put that out of her head and chase these things off, or kill them. Or die trying, because who knows how dangerous these things are.]

ROBOTS /zooms in on

[reapsthewind]

[Chris is on her way to her swank office job programming drone avionics when SUDDENLY vermini attacking a lady]

[at this point this is just like god whatever so Chris pulls over, puts her ZipCar in park, and gets the Walther P-38 out of the glove box]

Yo! You need backup?

Hanji Zoe || Attack on Titan || Open

[titanology]

[Anyone in the hospital knows that Hanji's been working overtime on their latest project, and that they probably haven't left the lab for several days. No, they haven't been eating. Or...pretty much anything besides staring at a microscope, writing things down furiously, then repeating.

Someone should at least get them out of the room, if not out of the hospital. Whatever they're doing, it's not healthy, because they've passed out in the cafeteria getting coffee. Again.]

[amajin]

[Jin's in a suit, coming back from lunch with some of the bigwigs with his boss. He's a little too overbearing to be that great at schmoozing, but they seemed to like him. Something of the eccentric genius is acceptable in the man who designs your weird surgery robots. He saunters into the cafeteria, feeling like a juice after a heavy steak lunch.]

[It's dead, though. Except for what looks like a researcher passed out on the table. He's a little concerned, he pokes their foot with his.]

Hey, you all right?

Joe / Joe Weller | The Protomen

[originaljoe]

[What a nice day for the park. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, children are laughing. On a park bench is a guy in his late 30s, maybe early 40s depending on how you guess the stress line on his face, looking a bit out of place.

He looks like he'd just gotten out of a fight, his clothes a bit torn and dirtied with plenty of scrapes over his arms and face. Most oddly, he's tossing a green motorcycle helmet to himself while humming and just seeming to enjoy the weather.

So, who wants to say hi to one of Locke City's former officers of the law?]

[unwakingwaters]

[dang it really is a nice day isn't it. Maya has an umbrella and is nearby, re-reading SnowCrash]

Kokoro Belmont | Otomedius | I warned you

[stavros]

*Tessa Hart, fifteen-year-old mall goth, is easily distinguishable from the other kids hanging around the local Hot Topic by the fact that she's actually inspecting the displays with a pen and paper in hand while the workers aren't looking.*

Calculating fandom appeal merchandise, band merch -- that stuff's legacy, I shall not want to mess with it, but it's for the statistics -- and actual dark fashion in a ratio... They've almost taken over half the store. I suppose I cannot blame them, but am I the only one who's ever thought it strange to regularly find Harmony Dolphin figures taking up two shelves?

...I wonder if I should actually be permitted to submit these results as my math assignment.

*Also by the fact that her entire wardrobe is emblazoned with cross shapes when she can get away with it. Apparently some things never change.*

Masato Jin/Jin Aznable | Spec-ops Cell Go-Buster

[amajin]

[Jin's taking a long lunch to go to the mall and see what he can pick up for nice clothes. He's not exactly vain, but he likes looking nice, that's for sure. His ex-wife is coming to town in a couple weeks, and she always gives him dirty looks if he's wearing worn-out shirts.]

[He pauses in front of a display of sunglasses, pursing his lips. Something about them tugs at him, just a little.]

[sucrosity]

[It's not like Yoko can miss her dad, even from behind. It's the hair. She considers walking right by, but she knows he'll, like, detect her. Dad radar. Dadar? Whatever. Better to surprise him than to be surprised! Especially since her plans for the day are 'buy one pair of shorts dad will find acceptable, and then buy two more that he won't'.

So she hops right in next to him and butts her shoulder against his bicep.]

I think the reading glasses are at a different store, you know.

Enjolras | Les Misérables

[runarevolution]

[ You know what a nice day in the park could use? Activists! That's right citizens, it is time to better yourself and learn about social justice via pamphlets from a stern looking blond fellow. He's even on his best behavior- since this is no rally, just an attempt at recruiting more volunteers! And he's learned that potential volunteers don't really like it when you get fierce and passionate and you know, sometimes your voice just rises because you're burning up with righteous indignation-

And by then any would be volunteers have fled for cover.

SO instead he has put on his best smile, though there's still much of that burning passion flickering in his fierce blue eyes. Will you take a pamphlet? ]

yes yes yes

[hopediesalone]

[ ...Oh, this is always fun. Raul hasn't been keeping his ear to the ground as much as he'd like with the radical scene in the past couple of months, having been distracted with the Numbers Club's business and his own work.

What the hell? Have a dude in shades approaching and tossing a little flick of a wave.]

Hey. What organization are you with?

[he isn't sure if he knows or recognizes this guy or not--at least not by sight--he runs into so many people in this scene. but still, he's clearly interested.]

Mint | Threads of Fate

[worlddominationbaby]

[ HEY, YOU. Are you turning the corner of a stairwell in one of LSU's buildings? Because there's a girl in a lab coat one level above you who's performing a really fucking high flying kick. The soles of her shoes are right on track for your head.

She notices, but it is too late to stop. ]

Oh, SHIT.

omg mint SHRIEK

[amajin]

[He manages to dodge, just barely, by flattening himself down onto the stairwell. For a minute, he's almost shocked into silence, but then he turns over, crossing his arms as he lays over the stairs.]

Genius, and split-second reflexes as well. Is there anything I can't do?

arts and crafts aww yeeee | Yoko Usami | Spec Ops Cell Go-busters

[sucrosity]

[The kitsch has nothing on one Yoko Aznable, who wanders between stalls and tables with her arms full of arts and crafts kits and enthusiasm bright on her face. She's wearing a letter jacket for Locke City Academy over her shorts, but what's most concerning at the moment is the loose shoelace on one of her combat boots. The one she can't see, because of aforementioned kits half-blocking her vision.

In fact, she appears to be so blinded that she's not even paying attention to anything besides what's right in front of her. (In reality, she's focused on getting to a table across the fair as quickly as possible without outright running. Austin at the cancer center would kill for that homemade planetarium kit. ...and so would she, honestly.)

Either way, she's definitely not looking, because she smacks right into the nearest table (or person), then trips on her shoelace when she tries to recover her balance, and a full half of the things in her arms scatter all over the floor before she even hits the ground.]

Oh, crap! Oh, crap, ow--!

Re: arts and crafts aww yeeee | Yoko Usami | Spec Ops Cell Go-busters

[infinitecombo]

[Yuri's here with his kid sister (well, he says kid but she's almost fifteen already) and looks pretty bored. (hair shorter than in the icons, but still long enough to pull back into a ponytail.) She's dashed off in one direction and he can't really be bothered to follow, not when he knows she's going to spend about fifteen minutes at every booth. He'll find her again later.

He's considering wandering away from the noise and bustle, maybe to grab a smoke--no, trying to kick the habit, remember? Maybe there's a bake sale around. Fairs have those, right? A little distracted, he doesn't realize someone's about to bump into him until it's too late.]

Woah--

[he throws his arm out, catches his balance on a table, pushes himself back up and snatches three flying objects out of the air in one fluid motion.

Uh.

College basketball star or not, he definitely wasn't able to do that yesterday. But crap, that wasn't very smooth. Save the stuff but not the girl?]

H-hey, are you okay?

Razputin | Psychonauts | WAITIN FOR DA BUS IN DA RAIN IN DA RAIN

[rararazputin]

[ORDINARY 13-Y-OLD MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT RAZPUTIN AQUATO is waiting for the bus in the rain, in the rain

he takes the public bus to school because he really hates being with the other students as inevitably everyone's like WOW SO WHAT'S IT LIKE HAVING PARENTS WHO ARE ACTORS IT'S COOL RIGHT no

no it's not

shut up

SCREAM RAZ here these two have something in common

[goodboybestshot]

[Despite being sixteen, Thad in no way had a drivers license. He'd barely had the time to worry about that kind of think while he and his dad were gallivanting across the globe doing his dad's show. ]

[So here he was, also waiting for the bus in the rain. Looks like he also forgot his umbrella and sort of had his jacket pulled over his head for cover.]

Of course.

Nanami Kiryu | Revolutionary Girl Utena | THE MALL

[moorecowbell]

[ohhhh dang everyone get the fuck out of the way it's RICH BITCH]

[somedaytogether]

[Rita's never been a big mall-goer - shopping is not something she enjoys - but she needs a dress for a conference next weekend. She is browsing through the racks, trying to find something that isn't ugly, uncomfortable, or revealing when her shoulder knocks into the back of the young woman behind her.

Oh, I'm sorry.

KYLE RAYNER | GREEN LANTERN | LOCAL COMIC SHOP

[shinygreenjesus]

[Hey wow it's LOCAL COMIC BOOK ARTIST Kyle Rayner and he is signing stuff]

Hisana Kuchiki (Lilly Oaks) | Bleach

[dead_wife]

[The skies might have been gray, but the weather was warm enough that Lilly decided to wheel out the flower cart down the street and set up shop at the corner of the town square. For most of the day, the weather forecast held true, and there was no rain. But at 3:41 PM, the clouds decided to turn the weathermen into liars, and fat drops of rain begin to pepper the sidewalk.]

[Lilly debates the pros and cons of staying. While the cart has a large shade umbrella that shelters her from the rain, the bad weather drives customers to extinction. There's only a little over an hour left before she closes for the day, though, so is it worth it to go back, open the shop, and then close it again a short while later?]

[She holds out her hand to catch a few of the raindrops, to verify that yes indeed it's pretty wet and likely to get wetter. If she must wait out the rest of her business hours without customers, she decides it's best to wait indoors before the puddles start to get too big. She hangs the folding sign on its rusted peg, stacks the empty vases, and locks up the cashbox. With a sigh of mild disappointment, the petite flower peddler throws her weight into the cart to nudge it forward, wheeling it home.]

[Behind her back, she doesn't see the little black specks drifting down, seeking new matter to infest. Or maybe there isn't any fluff at all and this is just a rainy sort of day. You pick.]

[pitch_slap]

She's got her umbrella up already, bright red and cheerful against the gathering clouds, but is aware enough to side-step the large cart rumbling toward her, even giving the woman pushing it a nod, but she doesn't really need flowers right now.

And then...

The Echo isn't much, just a photograph of a woman, the one she just walked past (like a memorial photo) and the memory of a voice saying something about "my wife" and "your sister" which--what the hell, shes doesn't have any siblings-- and Lucy stops dead in her tracks.

The rain splashing on her face wakes her back up to herself enough to turn abruptly and go chasing back after the woman, thinking quick for any excuse, any at all, to talk to her. Digging in a pocket, she comes up with about $3.57 which, well, it will have to do. "Excuse me, miss?"

Shadowmaru | Brave Police J-Decker

[sassymaru]

[Now a detective going by the name "Yuji Takenaka" (or Takenaka Yuji if we're being more accurate here). He's a fairly friendly, outgoing, and sassy talkative sort of guy, who tries to charm his way out of anything he accidentally gets into.]

[He's probably at the park, watching people and their dogs run around on his day off or something along those lines.]

[detectivetroll]

[Hey there partner.

Guess who's also at the park on his day off, sipping a cup of coffee as he cuts through it on the way back from the stand with the really good croissants.

Then he spots Yuji, and changes course to slide up next to him.]

No karaoke bar today?

Perceptor | Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

[sciencetank]

[Except now he goes by Percival Carter, and yes, he's about as British as it sounds. It's probably not possible to be more insufferable than he is. Working as a professor of astrophysics, he literally has no friends, because no one can ever stand him and his chatter for more than ten minutes.]

[He's good though, who needs friends, he has work.]

[... and a need for a new pair of pants, hence the inevitable day spent trudging unhappily through the mall. Ugh. Human interaction.]

NOT THE MALL. ON CAMPUS ACTUALLY

[reapsthewind]

[shiiiiit. This is very annoying, but she's going to the astrophysics dept. because she needs to check some things.]

[1. Is this sudden new knowledge of astrophysics even accurate? She's pretty sure some of the math here shouldn't work. Also, it's in another language, but that's beside the point.

2. haha there can't be a planet in THAT location THAT'S SILLY also Cyberton's a dumb name]

[SO HEY, LOOK! A GRAD STUDENT FROM THE ENGINEERING DEPT AT YOUR DOOR]

Professor Carter?

Rider | Fate/Stay Night

[blind_devotion]

[Now a perfectly ordinary twenty-something librarian named Alexa (haven't decided on a last name) and with brown hair. A lot of crazy shit has been going down of late and she does not really know what to make of it or how to handle it!]

[Also she has a horse now? Why does she have a horse she doesn't know how to ride a horse or take care of a horse and she lives in the frigging city and aaaaaaaaaaaah where did this come from]

[nishikikouji_tohri]

[How to explain Nishikikouji Tohri... let's go with "Tony Stark, but a flamboyant artist instead of a playboy". He wears heels and decidedly feminine clothing and grows his hair out because fuck you, he looks good like this. He's also contracted with all kinds of... tech... things... particularly the development and design of experimental weaponry, because he seriously is a genius.

The main differences between preincarnation and reincarnation - this Tohri is less petty, has a comparatively small ego, and isn't screamingly insecure at all. And isn't a bird.

Now he's at a crafts fair, luxuriating in the stares, perusing various garish items of clothing while talking to himself in his fairly deep voice.]

Hmm. Unfortunate. No. No. Maybe fifty years ago. No - ah, ah, that is quite beautiful....

[dead_wife]

[Lilly doesn't wish to be rude, but as soon as she hears that deep voice, she can't help lifting her head and looking around. The only men who tend to frequent such places are often dragged here by their significant others, suffering the onslaught of kitsch like it were some trial of the gods to prove their love.]

[She sees no men, however. Then the voice again, and her gaze is drawn towards the woman at her elbow. ...Except it's not a woman.]

[Goodness.]

[Her knuckles tap against her lip as though to apologize for her surprise, though she hasn't openly reacted with anything more than a brief wide-eyed stare. Her gaze drifts to the garment he holds. Well. Who is she to judge? Besides, he does seem to have good taste.]

It is. The stitching is quite fine.

*Hyun-ae | Analogue: A Hate Story

[un_muted]

[Kim Hyun-ae, computer science major at the local college, is in the crafts store at the mall, poring over the fabric selection with a look of intense concentration. Every now and then she pauses to consult a piece of paper in her hand, then frowns or shakes her head a bit.]

No, that's not quite the right color...

[See, things have been a little weird for Hyun-ae lately, and if there's one thing that's guaranteed to take her mind off her troubles, it's working on her latest cosplay project.]

[stavros]

*Tessa is in the craft store too! Because she has to get all the Totally Deep And Meaningful iron-ons and charms for all her clothes somewhere. Unfortunately, she ends up taking too many things into her arms and falls over, knocking into the shelf.*

Princess Zelda/Evelyn Harris | Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

[predestinarianism]

[The weather definitely didn't mention this rainstorm for today, but here she is, trying to squeeze under the awning of a store with her bicycle, because she can't afford to let it get wet in this torrential downpour. She knows she can't stay here (for one thing, the guy behind the counter is already trying to not-so-subtly shove her away with the door) and so instead she keeps skimming the surroundings, looking for anywhere she could possibly bunker down.]

[eras]

[ How about the shop next doorish? If she's in Japantown, there's a certain antique shop...and Aria's manning the counter there, and might not mind the bike. At least, if she sees Evelyn outside of the shop looking around with her bike, she'll wave her over.

Aria Megido is also sixteen, and attends Locke High; and hey, she's never been one to turn down someone needing a little help, even if it's just a place to stay dry. ]

{...} | Hanna is Not a Boy's Name

[crossstitched]

[The approximately-thirty-year-old, laid-back, does-something-for-a-living Yuri Ota had an unusual experience with his morning coffee adequately-timed to put him off of water from the tap for a while - he'll be watching the news and internet for a while, and gave his brother a call asking if the water at his place has been all right, and with that done, he'll be quietly dealing with the consequences.

Which is to say finding some stylish way to hide the wing-shaped white tufts of hair that have popped up at either corner of his hairline. He owns a couple of fedoras, but they're just a tad small to tuck them inside comfortable. A dropping-by at the mall to select a new one it is.

After which at sometime around sunset he'll be at the park on a walk with his dog, new hat and all - concerns settled for now 'til proved they oughtn't be.]

yay for Hanna is Not a Boy's Name characters!!

[dancingonapin]

[Also wandering the park with the oddest urge in the world to feed ducks in the local duck pond has Dr. Francis Fell tossing crumbles of bread to the hungry little beasts all by himself. Which really didn't feel right. No, he knew this was familiar, but something- someone- was definitely missing. It was the most frustrating feeling in the world, to have the experience on the tip of his tongue, but it just didn't feel right. This memory had been particularly stubborn, returning to him only bit by bit over the past week, and it still wasn't there in full.

With a groan of frustration, Francis curses gratuitously loudly as he throws the rest of the bread crumbs into the pond, much to the delight of the ducks there, as he storms away from the edge of the pond back to the little path that wound through the park.

And that's when he notices the man with a fedora over his head who'd been nearby during that tantrum of his, (which may or may not have rung some bells, though not nearly enough of them), and hesitates, clearing his throat and blushing red. His accent is distinctly British.]

Pardon my outburst... It's been a... a frustrating work week, you see... [An awkward pause.] ... You have a very cute dog.

Ivan Karelin / Ivan Orimoto-Karelin or something IDK / Tiger & Bunny

[sponsorigami]

[ Walking through the park with a cellphone in hand, Ivan's more focused on the story he's writing than where he's going. As one of Locke City's many Japanese residents (or half Japanese, half Russian in this case), he should be heading back home to Japan Town to do his homework.

However, he's taking his time. It wasn't like wasting a few more hours before studying would hurt, and there's a reason he bleaches his dark hair lighter and tries to look less Japanese.

He should probably be paying more attention to his surroundings as he's bound to bump into something or someone. ]

[metalbent]

[ Paying attention might have been a good idea, yes. Sophie might have been able to avoid the collision if she'd been walking the opposite direction from him, cane sweeping out in front of her.

...She's walking across the path he's going down, though, at an intersection. So when someone comes at her from the side? She can't field it, and stumbles back a step or two, flailing. ]

Hey! What the heck! Haven't you ever heard of watching where you're going?!

[ of course if this person is also blind she will have to eat her words but FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE.

for now she'll just focus on not toppling over and glaring in the direction of the sudden collision. ]

Marius Pontmercy | Les Misérables

[bonapartes]

[ maybe he should have checked the weather, he bemoans, before deciding to check out the town around locke university. the shag of his brown hair is plastered to his forehead, and the thin cotton of his shirt soaked through when he finally finds somewhere to take cover; on the curve of a sidewalk under the shelter of a store overhang.

there's nothing much to do now, he supposes idly, except track the darkening clouds and try not to get splashed by oncoming traffic. ]

Riderman {AR} | Kamen Rider Decade

[forgottendecade]

[Rider Garage was just what was on the tin - a huge box shaped building with four garage doors, two of which were propped open to let in air and out fumes. Piles of mechanical equipment laid around the concrete floor in a kind of chaotic order that most garages seem to hold while three figures in coveralls were poking at unmoving vehicles with various tools of the trade. There's a semblance of an office in one corner - a boxed-off room with windows on all sides and a door that could be kicked in if given the right pressure. Sitting at the desk, his bad leg resting on as stool, a cane sitting right next to his hand and an open ledger on his knee, is the owner Kerry "Kyo" Rider formerly called Joji Yuki.

Maybe you're here because you heard about the former racing star. Or maybe you're here to pick up a vehicle left in the care of him and his gang because the price is cheap. Or maybe you're a cop checking up on a couple parolees working at reattaching mufflers and fixing breaks. whatever the case, going to speak to Rider results in a very sour look.]

Buttercup | The Powerpuff Girls

[buddahcup]

[Twelve-year-old Ellen Green has an older brother who she idolizes in a band with his high school friends, a younger sister who idolizes her, and an actively hypercompetitive streak, especially where they're concerned, that she developed all at once some time ago in spite of the fact that she's on good terms with them both.

It's manifested in a couple of things - one is an interest in music, even if she doesn't have any heart in the idea of actually making it that may allow you to catch her rooting carelessly through CDs at some store or another; the other is a longing to take everything she does to an EXTREME. She loves adventure. She loves excitement. She loves adrenaline. And often enough she turns to seeing how much speed she can pick up rollerblading down the street or through the park for all o' that.]

[warriorsaint]

[There is currently, that is to say at this late evening hour after most people have gone home, quite a sight to be seen in the park. Somewhere out of sight, around a bend in a rock garden and some distance off the trail, a woman who stands holding an enormous guandao.

It's a beautiful weapon, and it fits right into Sheng Xiaoyun's hands. Despite its weight, she has no trouble handling it. She is, after all, quite tall and very fit, a national martial arts champion and a decorated police officer: she was built to fight since she was young. But this weapon, this weapon fits in a way that staves and guns never have, and that unnerves her more than anything.

She had found this quiet spot in order to give it a trial swing, which is impossible to do in her small apartment. Now she stands with her eyes closed and breathes with the blade, waiting for the right moment.]

lloyd asplund | code geass oh god am i even doing this right

[knightmaking]

[ And this is Lloyd Franklin (mostly still brown-haired, although he looks to be going silver a bit early for his age), dull as heck accountant by day, weirdo dressed in dark clothing who not-very-expertly raids cars and other mechanical objects left outside in the wee hours of the morning by night. As it turns out, trying to spend all your money on junked parts legally gets him yelled at by the boyfriend. So does attempting to "improve" the appliances already in the house.

So fine, if getting parts a normal way got him in trouble, he might as well get them illegally! Right? Right...?

Alright, alright, this is really a huge deviation from his usual mannerisms, but there's this thing he just has to build!

So, here we are, at some godawful time of the night or early morning, trying to figure out if a part of this [ insert object here ] is actually something he needs or not. He doesn't really know, honestly, but he's trying, he's trying. ]

Hmmm. I may as well take it anyway.

[ You never know! Into the bag random bit of metal goes. ]

Hope you don't mind another potential applicant? ^^

[warriorsaint]

All right, that's enough.

[This is not your lucky day, Mr. Franklin, as Officer Sheng happens to be patrolling this particular parking lot, and she is about the last person you want to catch you red-handed. Tall, imposing and severe, she strides across the lot with the cool purpose of someone who knows that she can chase down her target if he tries to bolt. She catches him in the beam of her flashlight and scowls at the scene.]

Something tells me that this isn't your car.

Sango/Sonja Spencer | InuYasha | Museum!

[taijiya]

[Sonja is, for the most part, a typical teenage girl. Average height, long dark hair, big brown eyes, wearing a pale pink tee shirt with a messenger bag slung over one shoulder. Tailed by a young boy who bears a striking resemblance, she's well-known to anyone who frequents the Locke City Museum of History as the teenage girl who mans the reception desk on weeknights and -ends, or at least when she's not at practice for one school sport or another. Sometimes she even gives tours, if traffic is slow enough.

There's not much to do right now, so she'll be clicking away at the computer as her brother digs into his homework behind her. Whatever she's doing on there, it looks likes she's pretty into it...]

[eras]

[ The Museum of History, you say? Well, Aria Megido can often be found there - though not as a worker, but rather as an avid history fan and visitor. No, it's not a particularly cool thing to be a fanatic about - not when you're in high school, anyway. Aria's sixteen, like Sango, and attends Locke High. So perhaps they've seen one another around, or perhaps they're better acquainted than that. We just don't know.

She at least knows the girl well enough from her frequenting the Museum, though, and Aria will grin as she steps up to the desk. ]

Hey! Is the new exhibit in yet?