[open]

[zerotohiro]

Who: Hiro + open
When: 2/12-14 (IC)/8/1-3 (OOC)
Where: Shopping district, CERES game center, various?
What: Event shenanigans
Rating/Warning: N/A

---

Shopping District

[So. Things are still super weird. Everything about this colony and everything he’s learned over the last couple of days has been very strange to him, not to mention stressful.

Initially when he woke up a few days later shivering he had assumed maybe he was sick. Not that that had mattered. He burrowed further in his blankets and that was that…except that it wasn’t. Everything felt cold, even Baymax activating his internal heater did nothing for him.

So he left. He took off, taking his robot on the train with him and headed for the shopping district. Over the course of the day he’s wandering with Baymax, occasionally burying himself further and further into piles of clothing. Sorry if he startles you by being there.

On the other hand, taking Baymax anywhere is always a hassle. When Hiro’s not trying to warm up, he’s chasing after the robot, occasionally bumping into people.]

Baymax! Wait! [Baymax might not be fast, but it’s easy to get separated from him. Heads up, he’s not at all watching where he’s running. He might just run right into you…or through you. Or through a building. Well that’s not normal, is it? Who knows where he’ll end up.]

CERES Game Center

[Being nearly invisible is kinda bad. He’s almost completely faded by the time he makes his way to the CERES game center with Baymax at his side. The robot and invisible-boy are blocking the entrance to ViViD today due to the fact that Hiro’s sitting just outside of it scowling at it, moving around the system to try and figure it out without going inside. If he sees someone passing by though or even approaching to play, he’ll catch their attention, trying to grab them by the arm and phasing right through.]

Hey, I have a question for you.

Wildcard

[Random scenario time! Hit me with a prompt of your own, or send me a message and I’ll write something specific for you!]

Comments

[faithfulflame]

Flamines. The aliens that supposedly destroyed our homes? I don't think they're entirely real, no. And no, it's not working on anyone except the extremely foolish.

[And you, young man, are a lot more intelligent than the average bear. She can tell that just by how you talk. Something about you reminds her of an old friend, when she was about your age.]

Baymax is your friend? [She gestures towards the robot marshmallow over there.] Oh...and you know, I didn't exactly introduce myself either, did I? My name is Rei Hino.

[zerotohiro]

Oh. Them. [Yeah he was totally paying attention during all of this. Really. Absolutely.] If they were really a threat, you'd think we'd hear more about them by now instead of the distractions. Guess the question is how many extremely foolish people they bring here.

[He grins then, looking back at Baymax.] Yup. This is Baymax, and I'm Hiro. [He doesn't provide his last name yet. With the whole...Tadashi thing, he's been a tiny bit cautious on how to approach people here. He can at least be polite though.] Nice to meet you, even if this isn't really the greatest circumstance.

[faithfulflame]

You'll find that this place is never the best circumstance, but there are worse. The people here at at least nice.

[Rei looks to Baymax and waves in the same circular greeting the bot had given her before giving the young man a half smile.]

You as well, Hiro-san. And you too, Baymax. [It's a robot, so it doesn't get an honorific, even if it is kind of great.]

He's your friend, yes? A...machine? Or is he alive?

[zerotohiro]

Most of them. [He met some really, really weird people inside ViViD, Rei. You actually seem less-crazy which is nice. Baymax is busy looking over Rei, scanning her vitals as per his job. Hiro doesn't even seem to mind what Baymax is doing, even when the robot responds with a It is nice to meet new friends.

He's not sure he'd go that far yet, but Baymax sees things a lot more easily than Hiro.] He's my best friend but yeah, he's a machine. He's a nursebot. [That also doesn't seem to bother him at all. He has zero issues admitting that his closest companion (besides Tadashi now, again) is made out of metals and vinyl.] But he works better than most. You don't have robots back where you're from, do you?

[faithfulflame]

[Rei is warm. She’s very warm, but Baymax may just register that as slightly above average body heat. Her vitals are otherwise normal, if somewhat faster paced than most. Heightened metabolism, perhaps?]

A nursebot. That’s…actually rather fascinating. So he functions as a doctor? [Her mouth? She has to force it to close and tearing her eyes off Baymax is an effort. But Hiro is talking. Okay.]

We do, but nothing so advanced. It’s…1997 in my world. A little earlier than most people here I believe. Our most advanced robots [Tomoe’s killbots aside] are mostly arms and such used in construction and industry. Unless there’s something I don’t know about, which is entirely possible. I’m bad with machines.

[zerotohiro]

[Baymax finishes his scan. If the robot could smile, he probably would. Instead, it's just a cheery:] You appear to be in excellent health, Rei.

[It's nice that Baymax seems to be working...considering Hiro's had some concerns. He still has them, but he's more quiet about them now that they're in company. His eyes widen though when she mentions the year, and a soft laugh escapes him before he can stop it.] Yeah, it's...2032. We're kinda ahead of you guys. [A hand comes up to rub the back of his neck sheepishly.] Machines are what I work best with. [Hence the brobot.] I was just starting college back home for robotics but I've been working with machines and engineering projects since I was a kid.

[Please ignore the fact he is, in fact, still a kid.] If you're bad with machines, what're you good at?

[faithfulflame]

Um. Thank you, Baymax. [What a sweet robot...]

And you must be very smart, if you're already starting college. I'm about to start my first year, if I decide to go.

[She may not. She's got a life goal already done, and there's only three more years till the world changes forever anyway.]

As for myself? I'm a priestess. I'm good with spiritual things. Fortune-telling, exorcisms, things like that. And academically? Social sciences, linguistics, that sort of thing. Hard sciences are my friend Ami-chan's domain.

[zerotohiro]

[His grin morphs into a small smirk.] Well yeah. My work's just really good. [Oops, sorry, were you expecting him to be modest? That's kinda not happening here when it comes to his brilliance.] I graduated high school last year and took a break, but I'm getting back into stuff. All I can say is that you should only go if you think there's something left for you to learn there. [He had zero intentions of going until he saw what SFIT had to offer.] ...but maybe that doesn't even matter anymore, huh?

[He pauses again, listening and though he's trying not to be skeptical he is a tiny bit. Fortune-telling? Spirits?] Social sciences are interesting because you kinda have to understand them on a base level to really connect with some of the hard sciences. Think about Baymax. If psychology wasn't applied to understand how people react to pain and to friendly, huggable robots, he wouldn't be as effective of a nursebot.

[#logic. He waits, seemingly debating on something before he just asks. He might not believe in it, but he's curious anyway.] Does that stuff actually work? Fortune-telling and stuff.

[faithfulflame]

Well, I already have the job I'm looking for. But furthering my education? Well. I can't say I'd be against learning more languages. English and French are interesting enough, but...I'd honestly like to improve my Latin and Chinese. [Said with such a casual attitude that it might lead one to believe she's arrogant. Though she's smarter than she lets on, able to keep up with Ami's 300 IQ academically. Because 90s Shoujo

The commentary on Baymax and the applications of social sciences received a nod, as she agrees and doesn't really have much to add, but the skepticism in his sense? Well, she knows it when she sees it. Ami'd been the same at first.]

It does work, yes. At least, some of it. Tarot is a little inaccurate, and anything involving a crystal ball is a farce. But some people, like myself? [Rei flashes a mysteriously knowing smile.] Are gifted with prophetic and spiritual talents. I can speak to spirits, and sometimes they'll share visions with me. It's...a little hard to control at times I admit, but it's saved my life more than once.

And?

[She holds up a fingertip, rolls back her sleeves to show she's hiding nothing? And wills a single, flickering candleflame into being. While casually neglecting to mention that she's the reincarnation of a martian angel/goddess of war and fire thing. That's not necessary!]

[zerotohiro]

I'm kind of balancing a couple of jobs back home, but college helps with both of them. [SFIT is a good place to store his armor and upgrade it when necessary, honestly.] And Chinese I can get, but Latin? [It's okay, Rei, he'll match the arrogant tone without meaning to be arrogant either.] What's the point? I mean I only speak two languages, too, but Latin wouldn't be most people's first choice as a third.

[It's the explanation of her talents that gets him to shut up again. A few questions crop up and his eyebrow raises higher and higher because this kinda sounds nuts, but...okay. Sure. She can speak to spirits. He's technically living with one. It's not that weird. (It's pretty weird.) He doesn't interrupt until she's finished though. It's probably good that he doesn't though because before he can speak, she's holding out her hand.

...annnnnd then there's the magic.]

Dude. What? [Yeah, he's just...well he's not getting much closer because flames are still a bit iffy despite making Fred's supersuit, but he's openly impressed.] That's part of your spiritual talents? Most people I know can't just produce flames like that.

[faithfulflame]

[Rei casually taps the cross dangling from her wrist. As if that answers it. In her mind, it does. She attended Catholic school, and from a Shinto perspective it wasn't a mutually exclusive thing to be interested in...] Theology. [There, have your answer.

And your nutty speak. Because she's magic. She is not just gorgeous, she is magic. And the ruffled look he gives her? Well that says volumes. It was exactly like Ami the first time she'd manifested abilities outside of a transformed state.]

That is indeed part of my abilities. I can make flames, and if I'm near an open source? I can move it around. [She closes her eyes in concentration, and the flame grows and grows, becoming a small fireball about the size of a golfball, burning with the light of a miniature sun. A far cry from her true power...but still something that should impress a teen, right?]

And honestly, how many priestesses from another reality do you know?

[zerotohiro]

[He makes another face. Right. He...theoretically knows about theology but it pretty much drops off his radar easily. It makes enough sense that he can only nod, arms folded over his chest still as he watches closely. He's too young to be so skeptical but what do you want from him? Still. The idea of making flames from a person's body fascinates him. He knows how fire works, how molecules of oxygen work and what-have-you so...yeah. He's having a hard time just accepting that it's just magic or how she's created or however you'd explain it.

He does take another step back the moment she created that fireball, and though he's grinning in sheer amazement he's also just a tad wary of where it's going. Congrats, Rei, you have in fact impressed the teenage boy.]

Okay, so that's a fair point. I'm pretty sure I've never met any priestesses from my own reality. How does it actually work though? [Because...yeah, it's part of her abilities, but how? Other than because 90s anime.]

[faithfulflame]

[She shrugs and tosses the ball up in the air, letting it vanish in a whiff of smoke. Her attention refocuses on Hiro, and she smiles somewhat mysteriously. It's probably not going to be an answer that he likes but...]

It's magic. I just...concentrate, and the flames come. Or bend to my will. I don't know if there is a scientific explanation for it. It just happens, and it has for some time now.

[zerotohiro]

[Nope. He's just furrowing his eyebrows together because magic is not an answer. He's looking at his own hands, like he's trying to conjure fire himself.]

There's an explanation for most things if you look enough. [Oh well, that's going to be a lesson he gets to learn here.] It's not something you could teach somebody, is it?

[faithfulflame]

[Rei closes her fist and the heat disappears, a smile flickering across her lips. She shakes her head at the question.]

I can't, no. I have tried, but nobody I've attempted to has succeeded. And I've had my blood tested for irregularities, it's not a mutation before you ask.

[Ami had definitely tried that.]

[zerotohiro]

[He was actually going to ask, but he doesn't get the chance to before Rei beats him to it.] Have you ever tried using any of the other elements? I mean that's really cool, but the others could be useful, too.

[faithfulflame]

I can't. [Rei smiles gently, and wiggles her finger.] Fire is mine. But there are other people in my world who have powers like mine. Those elements are theirs, if you want to think of us as a group. Even if I could, I wouldn't feel right.

[zerotohiro]

That's actually really cool...having an element that's totally yours, I mean. Especially if you've been using it for a while and you get really good at using it. [Though, there's one other thing...] Are any of those other people here?

[faithfulflame]

No, unfortunately. One of my friends from home is her. Minako-chan. My...um...girlfriend.

[It's obvious from her tone that this? Is a new development.]

But she's not someone like me and the others.

[zerotohiro]

[If he's bothered by the idea of Rei having a girlfriend he doesn't show it, but mostly because it's not really his business and it's not a big deal. 2032's a world where people hardly bat an eye now.]

I'm gonna guess that Minako knows about your powers and stuff though. At least you're not alone? [A beat.] I had somebody waiting for me here, too. Kinda weird to wander through ViViD and find him.

[faithfulflame]

[It's more that it's new to her. She'd hardly expect him to judge her for that, really. But then, she's oddly comfortable with the idea of it despite her time, mostly because of Haruka and Michiru and those odd memory flashes...]

She does know about them. and yeah. I...a month alone was bad. But you have someone already? Who?

[zerotohiro]

[Must be nice having people who know everything about you. There's a slight smile at that but he doesn't say anything to it. Instead, he focuses on her question.]

My older brother. [There's a strange sort of look on his face, like he's still getting used to saying that.] He's been here for a little while, but he came and found me inside ViVid.

[faithfulflame]

Oh! [She does notice the look, but...doesn't really seem to focus on it.] Well that's lucky. I suppose that having him might make the transition easier. [She smiles again, gently and in a hopefully reassuring way.]

What's his name? I may have met him.

[zerotohiro]

Maybe a little. [He's blowing that off because ha...haaaa.] His name's Tadashi. Taller, short dark hair, kinda dresses like a huge nerd? It's pretty hard to miss him if you've ever met him.

[faithfulflame]

I've seen him on the networks. [They formally meet at the baseball game.] And I'm not sure you can judge him on fashion, Hiro-kun.

[Not in that hoodie.]