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

[amajin]

I'm basically as cool as a dad can get, don't lie.

[He raises his eyebrows.]

I was probably gonna have to buy you lunch anyway.

[He flips his fingers and flutters them as he hops off to buy the glasses.]

[titanology]

Yes, we've been studying the flu virus mutations and seeing if there's a pattern at all....the mutation seem to happen more when the weather is warmer...

[reapsthewind]

[yeah fuck it she barges in]

Hey, so, I know that you probably don't know me too well since I'm in avionics and not astronomics so I haven't really taken any of your classes but I'm from another department and I need you to uh

[she looks at the stack of papers in her hands. they're equations, stuff that she's remembered, and it occurs to her that half of them are in Decepticon. Whoops.]

I've been doing, um, some work on my own, and I, er, needed someone to... verify my work and check up on some stuff.

[A lot of it has to do with planetary motion, including some really unorthodox uses of Larange points and gravitational flings, plus a bunch of stuff about wandering exoplanets.]

You can ignore the stuff in the... um. Cipher. It's just something I use when taking notes. I'm not sure why I left those pages in, ha ha.

[titanology]

[And Hanji flails, tipping over the coffee off the table, sending it crashing to the ground as they wake up violently.]

Ah---Yes, just....

[Wait a second.]

I didn't know you were so rebellious, Esther! Pink's a bright color. Is it for the kids?

[amajin]

[He's about to turn away, but then he turns back.]

Well, that's curious, cos more people get infected when it's cold and they're indoors with other people who can infect them...

[titanology]

Yes, I know! But that might be due to the higher amount of people in an enclosed area where the virus gets circulated. Either way, it could be a mess-up.

[amajin]

Well, yeah, but that's where it gets the chance to mutate, unless...

Maybe other animals are incubating it over the summer? Like cows and pigs and birds?

[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....

*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.]

[titanology]

Perhaps, although they generally don't catch the human strain....they might be infecting those with compromised immune systems and mutating there.

....You are a medical professional, right? I could show you the work I've done, if you're interested.

tonight in "sandy figures out what other bad habits yoko has picked up from jin"

[sucrosity]

Cool dads really are doomed...

[She lifts her hands to wiggle them back.

Then, a beat too late--] Hey! I could buy my own lunch!

[She scowls. Stupid Dad... With him distracted by the teller, she lapses into a less clearly irritated silence. She wonders, idly, why his new aviators had seemed so familiar, as he pays, her expression slipping into something more furrowed and thoughtful for a moment. It fades away by the time he gets done--she can't think of any reason why, and it's too frustrating to beat around in her head only to come up with nothing. She puts on a smile.]

[arsmedicamenti]

[Esther yelps in surprise, trying to catch the cup before it goes over, but to no avail. She jumps back, barely managing to avoid getting it on her scrubs.]

Woah! Uh.... [distracted by the spill, she just sort of blurts out:]

I-I hope it's not against regulations or anything, because I can't seem to--I mean--yes! [she's sort of a terrible liar.] I, I decided I needed...a little adventure in my life!

[she pushes her hair behind her ears self-consciously, hurrying to get some napkins for the coffee, face burning a little.] L-let me help with that.

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.]

[amajin]

[He saunters back, wearing the sunglasses despite the fact that he can't see too well in the mall with them on.]

You could buy your own lunch, but it'd be with my money.

[He does an idle little spin and makes a goofy arms-raised pose]

Face it, bun, you're in my debt forever. It's Confucian.

[sucrosity]

[Not for the first time, Yoko resolves to get a job. (As soon as time permits, so... never.)]

It would not! It's in my account, so it's mine.

[Confucian...? She follows him, half-waiting for him to go falling over because it's not like a forty-year-old old man should be spinning around wearing sunglasses indoors.]

What does Confucius have to do with lunch?

[amajin]

[Well this forty-year-old man is in impeccable shape, thank you very much, though he almost walks into a bench as they go and has to tip his sunglasses onto his head.]

You know, filial piety, all that jazz. I raised you with blood and sweat and lots of tears, and there's no way you can repay me, so you gotta respect me as much as you can and take care of me when I get all old and feeble.

[He abruptly leans over and onto her.]

And I have a feeling it might be soon... But til then, I'm gonna spoil you as much as I can.

[At the last, he squeezes his cheek obnoxiously into hers, hugging her shoulders instead of leaning on her.]

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?

[amajin]

[He grins and offers his hand]

Doctor Jin Aznable, MD, PE, PhD. Basically I'm a certified genius who engineers medical robotics.

I'd love to see your research, but I dunno if I could do you any good. I haven't practiced actual medicine pretty much ever. My ex-wife is pretty famous in the research field... But she probably wouldn't be interested in anything I'd be showing her.

[He laughs.]

{...} | 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.]

[sucrosity]

[She's a little glad to see the sunglasses atop his head instead of perched on his nose. He'd hurt his face for sure if he fell over, and she'd never hear the end of it.]

Tears?! That's only because you cry, like, any time I do anything, Dad.

[She huffs, but she knows it's just the two of them, in all the ways that count. Any momentary flashes of filial piety are interrupted by him leaning on her, and she groans, craning her neck away.]

Daaaaaad! Come on, lemme go.

[She jerks her elbow at his ribs.]

You're only forty, Dad, you'll be around to be annoying for a while-- [she breaks away for a good with a brisk pace.]

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. ]

[sucrosity]

[Not smooth at all, and while part of Yoko appreciates not having to worry about those three packages, she doesn't appreciate being on the floor.

She pushes up enough to make sure she isn't crushing anything, and then turns to look up at this idiot who got in her way and then let her fall over.

Her expression is irritated when she looks at him.] I'm fine.

[The 'no thanks to you' is probably implied. Hmph. She looks back toward the ground, to the mound of supplies, and pushes herself up into a squat so she can tie that shoelace and gather up the supplies. She stacks them with care, examining each box by turns.]

[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. ]

[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. ]

[infinitecombo]

[he resists the urge to reply with "good, maybe next time you'll watch where you're going." She could probably crush his toes with those boots, and he's not that much of a masochist.

He holds out the stuff he rescued.]

Well, a "thanks" would be nice.

[and there goes his big mouth again anyway.]