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

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.

[amajin]

[He grins and looks at her in surprise]

Hey, bun, fancy running into you here!

[He knocks back into her, lightly.]

You close down practice early cos you wanted to go shopping??

[He shakes his head]

So irresponsible... So like your father...

[sucrosity]

[She rolls her eyes.]

Coach decided it was too hot to run a full practice.

[Then she shrugs, reaching up to hook her thumbs in the shoulder straps of her backpack purse, to show how much she's really bothered by the decision. She likes practice, but it's hot out, and the mall is so much cooler...]

Anyway, it's not like we were doing much--half the regulars have a summer cold. I never spent my birthday money from Mom, so...

[She trails off, remembering the timing, and then shakes it off, bouncing a little forward to pluck a pair of truly horrendous pink sunglasses off the shelf.

She pushes them on, grinning.]

Perfect, right?

[amajin]

Yeah, it is hot out today. Maybe too hot for me to go back to work.

[He fakes holding a phone up to his face]

Hey boss, sorry about this, but I'm trapped at the mall by the heat. I'll get you a pretzel for tomorrow.

[Then he smiles at her glasses and grabs a pair of his own, with purple star-shaped lenses.]

Absolutely. You get those, I'll get these.

[sucrosity]

[She snickers, first at the phone conversation and then at his sunglasses.]

You could bring him some sunglasses, to go with his pretzel. That'd get you a pass for sure.

[She slips them up on her head, next.]

If I'm spending this much on sunglasses, I want them to be making a good statement, Dad. You should think about adding those to your permanent wardrobe, though. Maybe you can wear a tie to match?

[She's ribbing, of course. She twists to pluck the sunglasses off and set them back on their display box.]

[amajin]

[He puts his own back and then picks up a very 1970s-80s pair with gold rims and puts them on. They're a little ridiculous, but as he looks at himself with them on in the mirror, they suit him.]

I actually like these ones, though.

[He gives her a fingergun]

Pow!

[sucrosity]

[She's going to be a smart alec, but the sight of Jin in the sunglasses makes her pause, recognition freezing her. Why--? After a ten second pause, she rushes to cover it by pulling a page right out of his book, lifting her hand to her chest and grunting as if shot.]

You got me...!

[amajin]

[He puts his hand on her shoulder]

Your sacrifice will pave the way for me to be super cool in these sunglasses for the rest of my life. Go gently into that good night, my dear bun...

[Then he pops them off and looks at them again.]

Yeah, I think I'm actually gonna buy these, you wanna wait a sec?

[sucrosity]

You? Super cool?

[She raises her eyebrows, and puts her hands to her hips. He can probably feel the wave of unimpressed teenage attitude coming off of her, but when he takes them off, she relents, relaxing her posture.]

Are you gonna buy me lunch if I do?

[Said as sweetly as possible. There's even some batted lashes.]

[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.]

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.]

[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.]

[cava]

[Calista and Val dragged him along for this one, though he found himself separated from them both early on. Frustrating, considering he'd been trying to keep Calista from paying too much attention to his roommate on this outing. Ah, well.

He frowns, stopping next to Jin without thinking. His goggles are around his neck, as they usually are these days. A silver pair of shades with dark brown lenses on the rack caught his eye, but he isn't...really sure why. Something tells him Calista might like them.]

... Odd.

[amajin]

[He turns slowly towards the warm body next to him, ready to make a snide remark, but something in the cast of the man's face strikes him silent. It's like a hand clasps fast to his heart and won't let go.]

[He almost walks away, it wouldn't be unreasonable, it's not like he has to strike up a conversation with a stranger.]

Yeah, you'd think they'd have retired some of these designs already...

[He picks up a pair of shutter shades]

So two-thousand-and-late, am I right?

[cava]

[He's quite unaware of the effect he's had on Jin. Just gonna pick up the silver pair he'd been looking at.]

Hopefully they're just making a final effort to clear out discontinued inventory, but we should hardly be so lucky, non?

[he chuckles.]

[amajin]

[He clears his throat and slides the shutter shades onto his face.]

Hah. They're gonna have to clear this stuff out into a trash bin.

[He purses his lips, inspecting the young man's face. He sounds French, vaguely...]

Do I know you?

[cava]

... You do seem oddly familiar. But I'm not entirely certain if we've met..

[he frowns slightly, thinking. one hand goes up to absentmindedly fiddle with the goggles around his neck.]

Your name?

[amajin]

[He clears his throat.]

Jin, Jin Aznable. Nice to meet you.

[He pokes around in his pockets for a business card and doesn't find one, finally offering his hand up for a handshake.]

[cava]

[THANK FUCK FOR THE MAGIC OF TEST DRIVE MEMES AND NOT NEEDING ECHO REQUESTS

because guess what just hit him.

he takes the hand lightly, shaking once. may as well. that frown stays.]

... Not Masato Jin?

[amajin]

[He shudders, overwhelmed by an unpleasant feeling of deja vu, especially at the forbidding expression on the young man's face.]

No. No. Jin's my first name. Masato? Haha, what an old man name...

[He rubs the back of his head, intensely uncomfortable.]

No one would ever call me that, no way.

[cava]

Really? How odd.

[that expression shifts to a light smirk. oh, this is too good.]

Are you so sure about that... Beet Buster?

[amajin]

[Despite the disorientation that has suddenly come over him at the mention of the name... He gives the stranger a smile.]

Beet... what? Man who would bust a beet. It'd look like a murder scene.

[But it's thundering in his head... LET'S MORPHIN! Beet Buster, Stag Buster... And he catches a glimpse of a girl... It was Yoko. But who's Stag Buster? He feels a strong sense of fondness for the... Is he a man? He stumbles back, trying to look like he's just taking a step...]

How did you...

[Then he realizes that something about this man is menacing. He doesn't want to run, but he stands more solidly on his feet and frowns at him.]

And what's your name, stranger?