expiationlogs | [open/mingle] everyone needs a hobby

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[open/mingle] everyone needs a hobby

Who: anyone in Aldrip who wants a hobby
Where: Kotone's club building!
What: It's finally time... for ~~school~~ clubs to be available.
Warnings: None as of yet, but please let me know if I need to edit this!

There's been a building under construction at the edge of town for a few months now; it looks as though at one point it had been a small warehouse for dry goods and storage that hadn't seen use in quite some time before being acquired by Kotone. When time allowed, she's been working on retrofitting it into what could almost (almost) be mistaken for a school practice building on the inside. Now, a sign has been posted on the open door, quite descriptively labeling it as Club Building Now Open!! Come in!!

🎾Gym

Interested in starting a sports team, or just want somewhere indoors and relatively open? There's a volleyball net, balls, and various other kinds of sports equipment that Kotone was able to find/buy/acquire around town for the months she's been preparing. There are also some (wooden practice) weapons available for training and sparring, and a few lockers and showers nearby. They're available for anyone to use at any time, though if anyone breaks a window with her things, she'll be so disappointed and expect help fixing it. :(

🪑"Classrooms"

While not true classrooms in that there's no school and not very many desks, there are several empty rooms available to be repurposed into an activity room. In one room, one can find a very small assortment of musical instruments; in another, a few easels and art supplies. Another room that's far better outfitted is a room with a cute handwritten sign reading Sewing Club! 💖 on its door. Inside, as one might expect, there are two dressforms and several bolts of cloth alongside some Aldrip-style (read: vintage) sewing machines, as well as plenty of needles and thread.

👩‍🍳Kitchen

One of the places that had taken her the longest to set up was the galley-style kitchen and tables. While it may not be the most modern or ornate kitchen in the world, it features the kind of appliances the Chosen would expect to find in Aldrip. It's very much a bring-your-own-ingredients situation, aside from basic spices and bulk staples that are available for anyone -- Kotone doesn't exactly have the same kind of funding a real school's Cooking Club would have, after all! -- but perhaps more importantly, it has a decent selection of pans, trays, and other cooking and baking supplies in the cabinets and cupboards.

Shinjiro has posted a simple sign that says "Cooking Club" on the door. Another sign says "Wash your hands."

⛅Roof

What would a protagonist's building be without a flat roof to climb up to and stare wistfully into the distance? It's a roof. There's a few benches, or you can just stand on it. Be careful!!

This is also where Scott's Teens With Abilities and Talents club meets. Come say hello!

[This is an open mingle! Use it for all your club-creating/club-joining purposes. Feel free to assume that as long as no one is intentionally and obviously going to cause harm with their club, Kotone will approve it and make sure they have a room and (basic) supplies! The pictures are just a guide; adapt a classroom however you see fit! For organizational purposes, there's an open OOC post for club sign-ups here!]

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[ Oh, no, British. Mizuki snorts, tempted to imitate The Accent, but luckily for both of them, she thinks better of it. He seems to be taking her teasing in stride, anyway, so at least he's not offended or whatever. ]

Maybe he'd be proud of you. You know, for leading your own gang of superpowered teens.

[Scott's mouth parts as she brings that up. It's weird to think that the professor of the institute for mutants would be proud or impressed with anything that he does. His brother's there anyway and he's far more reliable when it comes to... everything.

He glances to the side for a moment.]

...Maybe? I dunno, he probably wouldn't care too much. [He doesn't really know a lot about Professor Xavier now that he really thinks about it.]

Honestly, he's probably going to be mad that I uh, borrowed one of his cars to go on a joyride with my friends.

[ Putting aside the fact she has no idea what his home situation might be, or whether or not his mom and dad are still around, he at least isn't quick to seek approval from authority figures, which is honestly... pretty cool. She has to let out an soft snort, however, at the mental image. ]

Hey, that sounds like something I'd do.

Not that I need to anymore, and Date's piece of junk isn't worth joyriding in, but... Since Xavier's an old Britsh white guy, hopefully you had better options.

You, stealing a car? ...Yeah, I can totally imagine it.

[He truly believes her, even if she doesn't need a car to get around to places. There's just something nice about driving a motor vehicle around and going as fast as possible, especially with other teens that you're trying to impress. Scott's pretty sure that Kurt and the others had fun too, so that's good.

He definitely looks more cheery once more, a smirk forming across his face as he recounts the whole trip.]

Oh, definitely. Say what you want about the professor, but he has pretty good taste in cars. Maybe he's into collecting? Because I'm pretty sure that he doesn't even drive most of them.

[...Mostly because he can't WHICH IS A LITTLE INSENSITIVE but Scott doesn't dwell on that.] Be a total waste just letting them sit there.

[ She's all about her motorbike-slash-scooter now. Maybe she'll take Scott for a ride sometime if he asks nicely. But before she can offer that, she looks amused when he continues.

Old, British, white and rich. Figures. ]

You never got caught?

[Please show him her cool motorbike.....even if it's also a scooter.]

Well. [To tell the truth or not? Scott stretches his hands in his pockets, purposely prolonging his answer to her, because he wants to be cool still. But also, getting caught in a lie is going to be embarrassing.] I only stole his car once so far and haven't yet returned... but he probably won't catch on. I'm totally sneaky and everything.

[Nevermind the fact that Xavier is a powerful telepath. IT'S FINE...]

Edited 2023-08-04 17:13 (UTC)

He won't even notice.

[ Sarcasm to match sarcasm... Does that mean he doesn't know if he'll actually get caught or not? Are there timelines where he gets caught, and some where he doesn't?

She can't believe she's thinking about this. ]

But seriously, what did you need his car for? [ Can Scott even drive— ]

[To ditch school and everything! He can definitely go with that answer and 100% be cool, but Scott holds back on that, suddenly remembering how much fun Kurt had experiencing a mall for the first time. Or just spending time with Jean a bit more and how happy she was no longer being cooped up in that stuffy old mansion.]

Just wanted to take some of the other mutants out to the mall. They needed it, believe me. I mean, staying cooped up in a old British mansion would make anyone go crazy.

[ Mutants?

Yikes. Something about that wording leaves a bad taste in her mouth, and what follows about life in the mansion isn't much better. She doesn't make any assumptions, though. Just comments casually— ]

You're probably exaggerating, but that makes it sound like a prison.

Does it sound like I'm exaggerating?

[He 100% is, not to mention the fact that Scott only lasted two days before he decided to go out on a little joyride with his new friends.]

Besides, aren't all schools a prison? Especially that all girls school you mentioned earlier.

[ Mizuki snorts. Now she knows he's exaggerating, so that settles that. ]

You still think like a highschooler. [ Said the highschooler, who would probably agree with him wholeheartedly if she didn't know her Freedom was imminent. With this planet, though, who knows. ] This is how I knew you weren't 20.

Hey!

[Scott huffs, looking a little offended and 100% not pouty, what are you talking about. And sure, he technically is a highschooler, but that doesn't mean he can't be insulted still!! Especially since it's obvious that he's supposed to feel insulted and everything.

He crosses his arms, before trying to straighten up, wanting to look older-- maybe more mature? It's not working.]

You totally believed that I was 20 at first.

[ It sure isn't! Which kind of delights Mizuki even more. His pouting gives her strength. She gives a light shrug. ]

I didn't really have much to go on other than words on a... [ screen? ] weird hologram. But hey, 19 and 16 really aren't that different anyway.

What do you mean? It's a whole wide difference.

[He's still in a huffy mood, displaying the full whiny demeanor of a teenager that just wants to get older and everything.] 18 you're at least mostly an adult, being able to get a full driver's license and crap like that. 16 isn't much of a milestone.

[ Who cares about a driver's license? Long as you can drive, you won't get caught. What she really happens to mean that it doesn't feel different, and he won't magically wake up at 18 and feel like an adult, have all the answers to his problems. ]

Guess I just grew up faster than most.

[ Doesn't seem like it was by choice, but she won't elaborate, choosing instead to redirect. ]

Did they really call you "mutants"?

[Scott slightly catches on that, but he doesn't put much thought into it. He gets that some parents are harder on other kids and crap like that. So, that's probably what's going on with Mizuki. Maybe it's just the result of going to an all girls school. He'd totally believe that.

The mutant question draws a slightly puzzled look from Scott, but he doesn't seem upset or anything. He figures she's just curious or something. After all, he is the only mutant in this place and everything, so makes total sense.]

Yeah, for years, ever since they-- we became known to the public. [He's part of that... race? Group? It's a little weird to think about, which is why Scott doesn't do so in the first place. Not really.] It's... the only term I heard, really.

[ That pause from Scott has a weight to it that makes her think she could stand to be less of a show-off. But who cares who knows, if her strength can help someone.

She hums. ]

Pretty on the nose. I mean, it's got something to do with your DNA, right?

Yeah, I have something known as the 'X-Gene.' I'm pretty sure that's the only difference between me and... regular people.

[He's never really had this deep of a discussion about mutants before, as he was mostly too busy fretting about killing people with his eyes. Of course, that's a thing he still worries about, but having protective glasses at least helps with that anxiety. Scott gets a look that may seem strange on him, one that's more serious and contemplative.]

...Kind of weird how one gene or whatever can cause me to shoot lasers. Or allow other mutants to teleport or read minds. It's all pretty strange, really. [Sometimes he wonders if he can just simply go back to normal society or whatever back home.]

Hey Mizuki, what do you do with your powers, back home?

[ A single gene? Is that the kind of shit Horadori was messing with? Maybe it's a similar idea for the same process. She certainly heard of any instances of laser beam eyes, mindreading or any sci-fi-esque shit like that, though. Just enhancements of what's already there, like in her and Bibi's case.

...She's quiet for a while. She's told Kotone this, because she just kind of has that effect on people, but it isn't something she freely announces. ]

I just became a cop, actually.

[ She doesn't even know if she should talk about ABIS. ]

[With the sudden silence, Scott was expecting a far worse answer.]

Oh, well, that's kind of cool. So, you're trying to protect people and everything then.

[Stop crime and all that. Scott doesn't see any problem with this, since she's definitely using her powers to help others and crap. Course, he doesn't want to say something like that out loud, because embarrassing, but he truly thinks that's neat. Plus, it's kind of cool to imagine Mizuki running around with her powers and making sure that people are safe.]

So, people with powers is pretty common in your world too?

[ That is exactly the vibe she wanted to give off, so that earns him a bit of a smile at least. Maybe she's less proud of it now than she was before, but she'll just have to earn that back my working more cases. Hopefully less fucked up ones. ]

Nah.

I mean... There was a guy. He got away with doing a lot of experiments on children before he was stopped, because he wanted to save his son. Genetic experiments. I... don't really know all the science-y stuff, but I was one of them. And it's only ever been what I've shown you already. Super strength, super speed...

Basically living weapons. Nothing like teleporting, or reading minds, or laser eyes.

[UHHH what the fuck. Experimentation of children?? Living weapons?? Mizuki being one of those test subjects????? He didn't just imagine hearing all that, right? Well, it be sort of fucked up on his end if he did, but hearing her bring all this up so suddenly is... a lot.

A lot to process and Scott's jaw hangs slightly for a few seconds, not really knowing what to say about any of this besides fuck. He can't even imagine the sort of crap she went through and he doesn't really want to ask; it seems like of shitty anyway. What, is he just gonna ask 'what was it like getting experimented on?' No, it was obviously horrible.]

That's fucking terrible-- holy shit.

[He wonders if there's some mutants back home that are similarly getting experimented on... probably. Kind of a grim thought, but, one thing at a time.]

[ Aaaand this right here is why Mizuki doesn't have a boyfriend. Also why she generally won't talk about this stuff, but for just a moment, apparently she felt comfortable enough around this basic bro.

She wouldn't expect anything else out of a reaction to all that. It still turns her stomach when she remembers little bits of what Bibi had to go through, for her sake. ]

Yeah. I-I don't know why I said all that. [ An apology plays at her lips, but even that doesn't feel right. ] Maybe I should just...

[ Just as she pushes herself off the railing, however, eyes trained toward the staircase down from the rooftop, here come a couple other teens, just casually chatting as they step into the fresh air. It's not clear whether they're here for TWAT, or are just kind of exploring. ]

[He feels like he said the wrong thing, although he's not sure what that may be exactly. Was he too blunt? She brought up the whole experimentation bit in the first place, so he doesn't understand. Scott frowns, mostly in concern, and an apology is ready on his lips, but he stops himself as Mizuki hops off the railing while a couple more teens come up to the roof. Maybe new members? But Scott doesn't go over there to greet them yet, his focus still on her.]

Mizuki-- are you okay?

[ She hates that question. Don't percieve her.

Her stare is distant, like she's staring right past the supposed recruits. She is frozen, but as they draw closer, she lets out a low, annoyed hum under her breath. Without thinking, she starts to sway her head out of a feeling of disappointment, but then stops when she realizes that's the exact opposite of what she wants to convey. ]

'Course I am. Forget about it.

[ The newbies stop just a little short, but still stare a little expectantly, as if wondering if they're interrupting something. ]

Why don't you introduce yourself? I'm gonna run down to Cooking Club to see if I can grab us some snacks.

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laserguy - 2023-08-24 01:23 (UTC) - Expand

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usarinpa - 2023-08-27 14:13 (UTC) - Expand

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