Being new is no excuse [Open]

[tacticianing]

WHO: Kidou and you!
WHERE: Around Maurtia Falls, but any city is okay.
WHEN: all August!
WHAT: General catchall, being proactive
WARNINGS: Not that I know of


1: It's not stalking, it's proactive people watching

[The back alleys of Maurtia Falls aren't great for stalking around; he may have gotten his start keeping to the shadows, but Kidou doesn't particularly like what's in these ones. Kidou's quickly taken to keeping to the main streets instead, ducking into cafes or the like to watch people.

But he's always watching. Observant ImPorts might notice that there's a weird bush of dreadlocks from behind a thick pole, or a strange kid with goggles staring directly at their table from across the room. He'll keep showing up in the background, largely staying hidden.

Kidou's eyes are sharp, his attention to detail honed to as close to perfection as he can manage. He's keeping an eye out for power demonstrations, specifically, but it's proving harder than ever to really see what people are capable of. This isn't soccer; he can't predict where he'll see something by heading near a field or posting spies around. This is something far more random. It's frustrating, but in the meantime all he can do with some of his spare time is casually trail anyone who doesn't appear to blend in with the general crowd around here.

Different clothes, or hairstyles that don't seem as generic as the ones he sees on the streets of Maurtia Falls? Odd accents? That could be an ImPort.

Of course, he had to pick the worst possible city to try to start doing this in.]


2: Stylin' Steampunk Fashion & Accessories

[Kidou strains to catch words as his new boss - a large man decked out in Victorian era clothing with a surplus of unnecessary gears attached - drawls in a painfully thick accent. Vowels slur, words change from what he's studied, but at least the man talks slowly. "Ah 'preciate what you got on already. Goggles, nice touch. But y'all oughta dress it up a little to the right style. This ain't any ol' where; we have a look you gotta match if you're to be sellin' it. Now Ah realize you're new here, and I figger nobody told you-"

Kidou says nothing. His hand barely twitches towards his comm.

"-what with you skippin' th' innerview an' all, so I'll let you look around a whal, find sumthin' you like. But Ah tell you hwat, Ah expect you'll be in gear by next week. You unnerstand, ain't gonna go easy on you on account'a bein' famous. We clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Look forward to seein' what you come up with." To add to things, he claps a friendly hand to Kidou's shoulder, who stiffens even further, staring at the man as he walks away.

Then at the wall. Then at the floor.

What was half of what he just said?]

2b: What are these?

[If left alone for a bit, he'll spin on his heel and start obediently looking through the stock, keeping a very blank face as he goes through a wide selection of Neo-Victorian costume pieces. Some look decent. Some silly. But he wants to look through the whole place before he makes any selection about what his costume here would be.

He can't hide a startled and dismayed look as he encounters classic jodhpur pants, pulling them off the rack to stare in disbelief at them.]

What...?

3: Maurtia Falls 003

[Kidou doesn't seem to understand what 'summer vacation' means. He doesn't use it the same way other 14 year olds might.

Time runs strangely. In his world, there's still the rest of the school year to complete. In this one, the school year hasn't yet started.

To his alarm, he's unsure if that means he has to repeat half a grade, or will have to figure out how entrance exams work in the US. He's been taking the time off desperately trying to prepare for the start of the school year. It starts simple with preparations for history, given a lack of knowledge of the US. It ends with frantic studies to try to catch up with the history of an alternate world, envisioning failing grades if he doesn't master this before school begins.

To that end, he often can be found with library books or on his comm on the desk in the den, using the desk to take notes from a few US history books. Or trying to research how American high schools work, just in case.


His routine otherwise is fairly simple. He wakes up somewhere between 5:30 and 6 AM, gets dressed, makes his bed and goes down to the kitchen to try to struggle through making breakfast on his own. It's an ongoing adventure.

If he's not doing that, he's pitching in to help keep the house clean, spending a lot of his time outside, and getting to bed at a reasonable hour. There's no time for anything like finding fun things to do, given his busy schedule so far; if he's not exploring the city or following people, he's trying to put in as many hours as possible frantically catching up on studying or getting used to his new job.]

4: Wildcard

[Throw a starter down or request one.]

Comments

1

[monge]

[In Komasan's never ending search to find the best coffee, he just happens to be in the same cafe as Kidou today. For awhile, he just sorta...stares back, those oval, green eyes somewhat vacant like he's staring into the very fabric of time itself.

Eventually he gets bored with being weird and hops straight into obnoxious, throwing a paw into the air as he waves at Kidou and shouts from across the room.]

Hi hi, zuraaaaa!!

[tacticianing]

[Ah, yes.

Kidou'd been wondering about the youkai ever since they talked on the network, but he hadn't particularly counted on running into him. There were a lot of people across several cities, so the odds of running into one particular person unintentionally was low. But... ah...

He can't help but stare.

One the youkai starts staring back, there's no way his game isn't blown. He acts calm, a single sweatdrop the only visual indication that something's wrong at all. No, this is normal.]

Hello.

[monge]

[And he just...continues to shout from across the cafe, even cupping his paws around his mouth.]

Can you hear my voice, zuraa?!

[And he just has to make the biggest scene, Komasan then stands on his chair. Because of course he does.]

You can sit by me if you want to, zura!!

[tacticianing]

[People turn to look, first at the youkai making a scene, then to try to determine who he's talking to. Kidou has a momentary urge to sink into his chair or stand up and leave the cafe entirely instead of getting involved. Draw all eyes to them, yes...]

How can something so small have such a loud voice...?

[His quiet hypothetical question gets no answer, as it shouldn't. He stands up and walks over.]

You can sit down. I hear you.

2B

[momentaryspring]

[ryoga had little to no idea what 'jodhpup' even meant, but he did decide they must be riding pants of some kind, like the kind you saw on tv]

Ha! Does that thing come with a horse? Americans wear the weirdest things.

[tacticianing]

[That sounded like a decent assessment to him. Kidou didn't particularly watch a lot of TV that was too far outside his interests, often too busy with practice, or research, or training of some sort or other, but he'll take the cue that it must be related to riding a horse. It's the right time period, he ... thinks. Or do Americans still ride horses?]

There's a whole row of them.

[He sounds more than a little lost, which doesn't set well with him. He's supposed to know. He works here.]

[momentaryspring]

Hmm... some kind of fad? You know what I heard?

There are people who buy pre-ripped jeans. Imagine that! You could just get them normally by wearing them.

[tacticianing]

[Kidou lets the pants fall back into place in the rack. He hadn't heard about that particular trend.]

What kind of person would willingly pay for destroyed clothing? I can't understand that way of thinking.

1

[freckledninja]

[And here comes a turtle, ready to distract a kid from all this intense and boring people watching. WHAT A HERO. Just dropping in from seemingly nowhere (it was a roof) to Kidou's side]

Whatcha doing?

[tacticianing]

[Possibly not an ImPort, Kidou finally concludes, watching the lime-haired girl pop gum for the eighteenth time. She chews openmouthed, staring apathetically out into the middle distance as a few other teens try to get her attention. There's less attention on her from others than he'd expect-

He's so focused that he doesn't even notice anyone else around until a large shadow drops beside him, landing distressingly lightly on its feet and casually asking a question.

Kidou freezes, shoulders hiking up in surprise.]

Eh?!

[He takes a step backwards halfway into a fighting stance, head turning to look at who dropped in on him.]

[freckledninja]

Whoa, jumpy! You gotta watch your blood pressure!

[Just watches Kidou react, not too bothered or worried about the reaction aside for the mild concern a friend would clearly have for this person being so unreasonably jumpy!!1]

b/c test drive CR

[tacticianing]

Ah. It's you...

[He recovers quickly enough, standing straighter up to give Michelangelo his full attention.]

Where'd you come from?

Alien Catch-All

[starlinings]

text;

[starlinings]

[It's about sunset when Kidou gets this text. Maybe he was just getting off of work, or maybe he'd already gotten home. The sky is orange by the time this message reaches him, and it's obvious who it's from the moment it pops up as a preview.]

Kidou-kun, are you free? ★

text;

[tacticianing]

[The sun sinks low in the late summer sky, casting looming trees and benches across roads and walkways. Kidou hasn't taken that long to get going once off shift; while he may spend plenty of time on his recon missions to get to know the city... he doesn't really want to be out in it after dark without a reason or specific destination. His explorations have given him that much so far. His pace is fairly brisk on the walk back to his house.

His pocket buzzes to get his attention. After a second...]

Yeah.

text;

[starlinings]

[Oh good. With Maurtia Falls the way it is, he was worried he'd caught him too late. But Kidou will always be Kidou, and the answer is prompt and to the point. It doesn't take him much longer to type back.]

Can you come to Heropa's beach? There's something I want to show you. ★

[He'd seen a small glimpse of his power the day he'd arrived, when he was running with Ken through the city. But it was more in awe that something had happened rather than WHAT had happened.

And now after some practice, he knew. And Kidou had to be the one to see it.]

2;

[amadaman]

[Ken doesn't come to Maurtia Falls often, but with Junpei and Mitsuru here along with a new soccermate, he's venturing into the town more often. This time Koromaru isn't with him, and Ken's tenser than he would be in any other city. Years of living next to danger does that; his hand hovers over his hip the entire time ready to pull out his Evoker at any moment.

But he still relaxes a little when he catches Kidou at his job, walking into the store without so much as a glance at what's on display just yet.]

Kidou-kun! So this is where you were.

[tacticianing]

[Kidou looks up from his quiet floor contemplation, a smile sliding into place on his face in recognition.]

Amada!

[They hadn't really... established names so far yet.]

Yeah, I work here now.

[Regardless of what he thinks about that right now, it's nonetheless true.]

It's an interesting place, isn't it?

[Interesting is a word for it. Two thirds of the store is full of clothing racks. Some pull from Victorian England. Some, from the Wild West. Where the line between those two begins and ends is rarely clear; there's a lot of bleedover. Vests, fancier older style shirts, pants, skirts, hats... there's a startlingly broad selection of multiple styles. It's fairly clear that these are specifically intended to fit into any interpretation of 'steampunk' provided. Along the wall, shelves of shoes.

But beyond the clothing racks and table of order catalogues full of everything they don't have in stock are the accessories. Bins, shelves, prop weapons hanging from racks - anything from a ship's wheel to glass potion bottles secured by leather straps meant to go on a belt, to leather pouches and gears,a lot of jewelry and decorative keys, clocks, gauntlets, masks, old science or medicine kits, spyglasses and things intentionally made with no clear purpose... the list goes on and on, all poorly organized and left intentionally there to be discovered. A few gear-laced saddles rest on top of one of the shelves. Glass bottles line the top of another.

It's all crammed together, trying to fit as much as possible in the narrow aisles. The whole place looks older, with wooden walls, an ancient desk serving as a checkout counter, hanging yellow tinted spheres of glass serving as light sources. Kidou only looks vaguely in place, being the one thing here not fully decorated in steampunk fashion of some sort.]

[amadaman]

You can say that again.

[Ken doesn't touch anything, but now that he's taking a look around, he also finds himself interested and at ease with it. He wouldn't have felt anything but embarrassment before, but he's dressed in clothes as intricate as this before, and his costume at Fanport, as uncomfortable as those shoes had been, was undeniably fun.]

I had a friend who used to work at a themed place like this too, but yours is a whole other level. And time period, it seems like. Steampunk, right?

1

[valuemeal]

[ Hyunsoo does stand out a little - sure, he might not exactly be half-dragon or whatever kind of weird stuff you might expect in this city from the way people talk, but his completely bleached hair at least makes him stand out a little from the rest of the population.

.. Enough to draw attention, apparently. And the guy doesn't even notice it himself at first, considering he's not that sharp, even if he's not a complete dumbass. But after wandering around a little while in the middle of doing some shopping chores, it does slowly start to feel like there's a gaze prying straight into his back.

It's easy to first brush it off as just him being paranoid (because he is, honestly), but when he spots some dreads poking out from behind a pole, it's much more difficult to just dismiss it. Instead he calls out, almost dropping the bag he's holding from being startled. ]

H-hey! What are you doing?!

[tacticianing]

[It takes discipline not to flinch.

Kidou holds his position, eyes narrowing behind his goggles. There's no guarantee that the guy's specifically calling out to him. From his position, he can't quite see the guy; he'd pulled back to listen to him walking away to avoid too much direct chance of being witnessed. The pole is thick, he might be hidden. But if he reacts to that, then he'll be given away regardless of if he was suspected.

But just in case...

Thinking quickly, he pulls his comm out, standing otherwise perfectly still. His heart beats a little faster, brows furrowed. Who was that call to... does he hear any other voices?]

[valuemeal]

[ He does actually just stand there for a moment or two, staring at Kidou - or, well, in Kidou's direction if you're standing from Kidou's point of view. It's not like it's exactly super clear.

But Hyunsoo does have a very specific target, and at least one thing is true about him - he doesn't let stuff like this go that easily. Not without throwing some semblance of a fit, anyway. So a moment later he's already stomping over to where Kidou is standing.. and he's not even shutting up along the way, nope siree. ]

Hey! I'm talking to you! [ Yes, being very clear here, Hyunsoo... ] Why were you watching me? Don't think I didn't notice..!

[ Says the person who didn't notice it for quite a bit there. ]

3 - early morning breakfast;

[grimreaping]

[ Thankfully, Kidou may be off the hook for making breakfast this morning, as Kid wakes around nearly the same time and enters the kitchen shortly after Kidou begins his attempt. ]

Good morning.

[tacticianing]

[He hasn't even gotten past the 'see what they have available' stage, closing the refrigerator and investigating the pantry. Whatever the hour, his hair is already up and goggles clearly in place.

If he ever takes those off, it's unclear.]

It's not just me up this early in the morning, I see.

[Habit or poor sleep? Thing he'll learn in time.

He steps back from the cabinet to peer at his phone.]

[grimreaping]

[ Kid's already dressed in his typical suit attire, so he's hardly one to comment on early morning wardrobe choices. The goggles do get a bit of a glance, but they're as symmetrical as any goggles get to be, so he lets it go after a moment. Patty's come down to breakfast wearing stranger, he thinks. ]

No, you'll likely find me up this early most mornings, I'm used to it at home.

[ He automatically reaches for the coffeemaker, then stops. Liz isn't here. ]

Do you know if any of our other housemates drink coffee?