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

[dead_wife]

I cannot argue that.

[ There was a time when price didn't matter to her either, but now it does. Still, her fiance asked that she wear something nice for their dinner date, so she's looking around. It's hard to find something that fits, when she's the size of a twelve-year-old girl.]

What do you do for a living, if I might ask?

i was going to apologize for the fact that she's an ass but somehow i think we're good

[sucrosity]

For what, standing in front of somebody who's got too much stuff to see properly? [Her pile made and her shoes tied, she pushes to her feet and plucks her things from his hands, her every movement the picture of huffy indignation.

Her voice is low when she continues speaking, because she's turned around to gather up the whole pile. Mostly because she's no longer speaking to him.]

Next time I'm bringing a shopping bag or five.

[sucrosity]

[There's some groaning as she pulls out her ponytail and begins to smooth the top and tie it back up.]

I'm not a bunny!

[At the offer of new boots, however, she grins, and whirls to look at him while she talks, walking backwards.]

You mean it?! New boots would be great, the other ones are getting all cracked along the side...

[Wait.]

You were here for more than sunglasses, though, weren't you?

[She's certainly going to take him up on the offer of new boots, but if he's here for something they should take care of that first.]

[sucrosity]

[Yoko turns the corner on her way home from tennis practice, and stops when the lady attacking black fluffy things with a crowbar registers. She doesn't shout for her, or anything, wondering if there's anything she can do to help.

In another life, she's a super spy. Here, all she has is a backpack and a tennis bag.

She's not attacking these things with a tennis racket, though. They're expensive. Instead, she sets her things down and drags out the next best bludgeoning weapon at her disposal.]

Hi-yah!

[That was unnecessary in every way, but it probably makes whacking something with a hardcover twelfth grade physics textbook a little more impressive?]

[sponsorigami]

[ He bows as part of his apology but then chastises himself over doing so. ]

No glass... only a ill-fated cell phone.

[ Ivan bends over to pick up the fallen object. Screen's cracked and black. Damn it. That's not a good sign. He doesn't care much about the phone, but all the progress on his writing... ]

[nishikikouji_tohri]

I see I must work on my brand image! Perhaps it's just not so well known in Locke. No matter.

[business card! It's... fancy. It's really fancy! Imprinted gold lettering, imprinted black scrollwork frame around that, the edges are made to be able to fold down so that it doesn't have to lie flat on a surface, it's propped up like a picture frame.]

Nishikikouji Tohri, my dear. Artistic inventor, renaissance man, head of Golden Feather LLC. [He's contracted by the military to develop experimental systems, but this version doesn't see the need to mention that everywhere.] New in the area, obviously.

[dead_wife]

[She makes a point of reading his business card politely before placing it in her purse.]

How very impressive. Lilly Oaks, it's an honor to meet you.

[All she does is sell flowers at a little shop, she hasn't really considered the use of business cards before.]

I hope you find the city to your liking. Have you managed to settle in comfortably?

[nishikikouji_tohri]

[He doesn't say 'of course it is', but somehow it comes across in his smile.]

It's not much of it very artistic. I can't say I think much of some of the neighbors. That Thunder Corps, hmph. But, a jewel shines brighter in a dull box.

[dead_wife]

[Thunder Corps...? Perhaps Lilly's a little too sheltered, she's not familiar with them.]

I, ah... Yes, that is true. What does your company do?

[cava]

[Cain's here because Calista dragged him along for some reason he's yet to determine. Calista's run off. As usual. Whatever. He practically whirls around when Yoko runs into him, his goggles serving as shades on a bright day like this.]

Ostie de tabarnac!

[Well, at least he didn't shout English obscenities.]

Do make an effort to watch where you are going, hm?

[did you expect help? because hahahaha]

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. ]

[sucrosity]

[Yoko registers the French as she trips. When she sits up, her eyes narrow. French. Her one true academic nemesis. She'd made it a week before giving up, and she's still bitter.

Also, this guy is a jerk, so that's two strikes. She turns her head to scowl at him.]

Why don't you try not to stand in the way of people holding too much stuff to see clearly?

[Ooh, she hated him already. She starts to slide her supplies back toward her, so she can gather them up.]

[moorecowbell]

Hey! Watch where you're going!

[WOW SUDDEN INSTANT DISLIKE. She isn't sure why she abruptly HATES YOU but holy crap. she hasn't felt this way since she was a teenager!]

"two jerks at a craft fair" sounds like a comedy movie pitch

[infinitecombo]

Yeah, then you'd actually be able to see. And didn't your mom ever tell you to tie your shoes before you leave the house?

[he folds his arms, part of him wanting to smack his forehead into the nearby wall repeatedly. Is he really picking a fight here? With a rude girl at a community craft fair? What has his life become.]

[cava]

[Like a formal French class would have helped her learn curse words from an outer dialect anyway. YOUR DIRECTIONLESS BITTERNESS ABOUT FRENCH WILL GET YOU NOWHERE, AZNABLE

So you acknowledge your mistake, then, mademoiselle? C'est bon. Though when admitting an error, it's generally considered poor form to pin the blame on someone else...

[he sounds a little amused, even as he shifts focus to check his phone while talking]

[sucrosity]

[It's all Greek French to her! SHE'LL BE AS BITTER AS SHE WANTS AND YOU CAN'T STOP HER.]

Well, generally other people pay attention to where they're standing, but I guess they never taught you that, either, huh?

[She pulls a face since he's looking at his phone, and shifts to tie her shoelace--with a double knot, this time.]

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...]

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.

[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.*

Ryuuji Iwasaki | Spec-Ops Cell Go-Busters | Bookstore and/or mall

[brodad]

[The long anticipated artbook with specs for all the mecha from the last 10 seasons of (insert expied giant robot show here) had finally been released two days ago. Val Motoki had preordered a copy months ago, and there was no way he was going to take the (...admittedly small) chance that the bookstore had been sent too few copies to meet demand.

So now he's flipping through a book while walking with a dorky grin. He's looking up every now and then, but. This can only end well.]

[un_muted]

[Hyun-ae's so absorbed in her task that she doesn't notice Tessa until the girl goes crashing into the shelf in front of her.]

Whoa! Uh, you okay? Do you need a hand up?

[stavros]

Ow ow ow... *The mall goth looks up in embarrassed disarray.* Sorry! Uh, yes, please.

*Whyyyyyyyy*

[un_muted]

[Hyun-ae leans down a bit and extends a hand to Tessa.]

You're not badly hurt or anything, right? Nothing broken?

[stavros]

Not really. *She takes Hyun-ae's hand and gets up.* At least it doesn't feel like it. I regret to admit that I was not watching where I was going and perhaps had entirely too many things.

[un_muted]

Well, I'm glad you're okay, at least! And really, don't worry about it. I get a little overenthusiastic in stores like this, too.