[open]

[polyhistor]

Characters: Spencer Reid and open.
Date: From April 5th-14th.
Location: Various locations in Keeliai and Atam.
Situation: Reid does SCIENCE!! And other things. There will be some specific threadstarters and some general ones.
Warnings/Ratings: Excessive tldr?
Other: prose or actionspam are both fine by me. Also if you could fill out my permissions post that would be awesome. Reid is a behavioural analyst with the FBI and he tends to use body language and linguistic cues to 'profile' other characters. Obviously this is an ability that tends towards 'hugely infomoddy' so I like to keep things above the board whenever possible.

Comments

Keeliai, various dates [open]

[polyhistor]

[Reid isn't really a network sort of guy, but he has a longstanding appreciation for coffee houses. Even ones that are undergoing rather severe rationing. So he can be found sitting in a corner with his messenger bag and mounds of paperwork, and approximately half a dozen empty cups neatly stacked together at one corner of his table.

He can also be spied doing SCIENCE across the city itself. Taking samples, sketching the decomposition rate of flora, that sort of thing.

And if none of that suits your fancy, why not run into him in a bookstore? The shelves have become increasingly bare since the rationing began, but surely there's something worth reading left?

Or, choose your own adventure!]

SCIENCE

[angermanaging]

[Bruce had put together a homemade centrifuge with the sort of familiarity and ease that suggested he'd done it many times before. It wasn't too hard if you had a rotary motor to start from, and in this case he'd taken one out of a small cooling fan for the purpose. It was honestly soothing to be doing something he was used to, in the midst of all this newness in Keeliai.

He'd done it before realizing that he probably could've gotten an actual centrifuge instead of making one. Oh well. Might as well use it now.

Of course, while he was putting it together and getting the samples balanced properly, he'd had something to keep himself busy with, a polite fiction that meant he didn't have to come up with conversation. Bruce was perfectly comfortable working in complete silence.

While they were waiting for the results, though... He was probably supposed to say something here, wasn't he?] So... Anything you want to talk about? [There's a small, sheepish smile acknowledging his social failure. Yeahhh, he tried.]

ALWAYS SCIENCE

[polyhistor]

[Reid glances up from the haphazard scribbling he's doing on a bit of homemade paper (easier and cheaper than buying it) and offers a furtive little half-smile.]

The weather's nice.

SCIENCE IS MY FOREVER GIRL

[angermanaging]

Are we really going to talk about the weather? I thought I was better than that.

[His smile turns lop-sided, very much not above making fun of himself.]

cool kids at coffee houses

[depicted]

[Dorian steps into the coffee house, hoping only to spend a few twilight hours away from everything that haunts him. He acquires himself a cup of coffee, regrets the alcohol rationing, picks a seat nearer to Reid out of the new instinctive desire to place himself closer to foreigners and further from kedan, regrets the alcohol rationing, glances out over the coffee house, regrets the alcohol rationing, notices the stacks of paper, and really regrets that his coffee isn't spiked.

He opens conversation with the foreigner. He isn't sure why, except perhaps that it isn't his custom to be alone.] You'll have to tell me who your paper supplier is. Mine must be overcharging me.

[polyhistor]

[Reid blinks. Looks up.]

Oh-- I, um. I make my own. Recycling.

[Oh my God it's Dorian Gray. They've never spoken, but Reid has seen him about the Network, and given the presence of Lord Henry it's not exactly surprising.

But he's still surprised.]

[depicted]

[Dorian's lips lift in a confused smile. The man is shy, he guesses? Though how anyone can monologue like Reid did—and Dorian remembers that monologue, would do so even if he didn't have a good memory for faces—and yet be shy is a little beyond Dorian.

Dorian is used to a very social sort of people.]

On your own? How?

option 'I do what I want'

[controlledvariable]

[Following someone home is, admittedly, a little more like something Tim "I'll follow you until you love me" Drake would do, but in Steph's defense, it's not like she purposefully set out to follow Spencer.

She just.

Saw him walking along the streets while she was moving across the rooftops on patrol, and with the way things have been lately with the kedan, she'd been a little worried. She knows he's an FBI agent, and can probably (maybe) look after himself, but he also looks like a strong wind could blow him over. So - Spencer has a bit of shadow, flitting along the rooftops above him, just to ensure that he gets back to his suite without running into any trouble from the kedan.]

[polyhistor]

[His survival instincts have their ups and downs. Certain things-- psychopaths with guns, for instance, he always seems to underestimate. He sees the good in people. He hopes for it, and sometimes that hope ends up misplaced.

It doesn't mean he's going to stop hoping. But it does-- make it a little harder than it used to be. He doesn't even know when he tripped over the line from optimist to realist, just that it happened at some point and he doesn't think he can ever go back.

But when it comes to being followed? He's got an almost eerie sixth sense about it. Maybe it's because people used to shadow him around school before they stuffed him into lockers. Either way, the fact that someone's trailing after him doesn't go unnoticed.

Of course, he has no way of knowing how long it's been. The only thing that even confirms it is the fact that he catches a glimpse of a shadow on the ground when he passes beside an alleyway.

He has no idea why anyone would follow him. The kedan don't run around on rooftops, and he doubts he's interesting enough to any of the foreigners to warrant following. Which--

Leaves Steph?

He ducks into the next alley, shields his eyes with one hand (unnecessary, it's dark) and looks up to see if he can spot her a second time. Maybe he's just paranoid.]

[controlledvariable]

[...Oops.

Most people, she's found, don't just duck into alleyways and look up at the rooftops for no reason, so she figures that either Spencer is expecting someone, or he spotted her. And the latter seems much more likely.

She pauses in the shadows at the edge of the roof, but figures that not showing herself would probably worry him, if he thinks someone's following him, so a moment later she's hopping over the edge. It's a simple matter of slower her descent on window sills and balconies, so that when she does hit the ground, landing in a crouch, she doesn't break an ankle. Her cape still kind of billows dramatically, but that's a design flaw.]

Sorry. Hi.

April 12th?

[superoverachiever]

Reid! Hi! [bookstores are Ava's favorite places, even ones here that never have any of the kinds of books she likes to read for pleasure.]

[And also there's a Reid. And she needs help.]

[polyhistor]

Hey, Ava. How've you been?

[He actually puts down the book he's thumbing through to give her a bit of a smile.]

[superoverachiever]

I've been alright. [She frowns, peering back at him with worry in her eyes.] My friends haven't, though. I could use your help.

because SCIENCE

[fotia]

[Leo almost lights himself on fire just to see the reaction of the kedan who threw a rock at him and that he narrowly missed. Instead, he forces his temper away and runs, and for a moment he feels transported back to the days when he used to run from foster homes, because one day he might overtake the grief and guilt he felt at losing his mother.

But those days are over now. Right now there is a man doing... something. Leo's run slows down to a halt as he watches curiously, one hand rising to scratch the back of his head.

After a while (in reality, after five seconds), he asks,]

Are you experimenting on something?

scree tiny science baby bro

[polyhistor]

I-- hm?

[He was in the middle of writing out an equation, Leo, geeze. Reid looks up, pencil poised over his little notebook.]

Right now? Not exactly. I'm noting the rate of decay for the flora by sector to see if there's any sort of variance to the overall--

[... he stops himself. Scratches a spot above his eyebrow with the non-pointy end of the pencil.]

You're Leo, right?

Coffee House | Hipsters Anonymous

[storm_warning]

[Ororo turns from the counter, leaving no tip for the stellar service she didn't receive in ordering her coffee. The cup is three-quarters full (at best), but she drops it with a roll of her eyes and then a scan of the space to see the best place to sit.

She spies him in the corner, half unrecognisable behind the paper, and so it takes her a second to identify him as the source of her craving satisfaction once upon a time. Ororo smiles and heads over, looking at the cups, bag, and papers.]

Having a party all by yourself over here, Mapquest?

[polyhistor]

[-- oh. well then.]

Yep. It's BYOC though, I'm afraid.

JAVA DELIVERY

[wintershepherd]

[ Jack had still been allowed a handful of deliveries for the kedan, though most had turned him away. It was a fraction of what he had been doing before but simultaneously grateful for the small amount of work and relieved for the lowered requirement given how tired the warmer weather was making him.

He dropped off the bags of sugar and a small box of parts for one of the cafe presses, and was just about to leave when he spotted Reid and his paperwork at a corner table, ambling over with a smile at the stacked cups. ]

Looks like I owe you a thank you, you seem to be keeping me in business coming here.

[polyhistor]

Hey. It's Jack, right?

[Reid raises his cup in combination thanks and greeting.]

How've you been?

Atam, various dates [open]

[polyhistor]

[There's a completely individualistic ambiance to the city of Atam. It's nothing like Keeliai, architecturally, socially and otherwise. It has all the rigid uniformity of a military base, but the people are friendly enough. He spends his time exploring the city, checking out the shops and the public market. He talks shop with the law enforcement people he comes across, and basically just explores the city as much as humanly possible.

If he sees another foreigner, he'll either wave awkwardly or nod in their general direction. Because social awkwardness.]

[traumatizing]

[Terry's sort of nosing around, he's a bit more comfortable in the military atmosphere. It's not much like the Initiative, but it's closer to what he's used to than Keeliai. He's a bit on edge without his powers (he doesn't imagine he'll be here longer than a few days before he can't deal with it,) but that's abated by all the new stuff and things for him to look at.

He's looking at the odd thing at a stall when he spots Reid out of the corner of his eye and nods back.]

Hey. Doctor Reid, right?

[giving an impromptu lecture on the network leaves an impression]

[polyhistor]

[He nods, not particularly bothered by the recognition. He's not the only one with access to the Nework, after all.]

Spencer works, too. You're Terrance Ward, I believe? The therapist?

Eponine and Gavroche [closed]

[polyhistor]

[He's got an armful of books when he sees Eponine across the street, and he shifts them about in his arms so he can wave. She's travelling with someone-- younger, a boy. Reid recognizes him from the Network, but not enough to make anything more than an educated guess as to his identity. Still.

He waits until the traffic has cleared and heads across the street to say 'hi' in a slightly more official capacity.]

[chiot]

[ They do talk--it's not like they were cut off from each other--but this is different. In a weird way, Gavroche is optimistic about the whole thing--maybe not start over, but they can at least get to know each other a little more. He'd long since learned to do the best with what he had, after all. It was good to have his sister with him.

Besides, he's getting fed here a lot more regularly. Rations are more than he'd had back home. But currently, he's walking backwards as he talks. ]

--an' then--oh. Summin's lookin' at you, 'Ponine. All wavin'. [ He wrinkles his nose, as if disgruntled even though he isn't. ]

Why's a boy doin' that for you?

[knowsherway]

[ Eponine had never thought that she might have a second chance to do things differently with her brother. But if there was really a God in heaven, or someone pulling the strings, it seemed as though they might be looking upon them with at least a somewhat favorable eye.

She was listening to Gavroche prattle on about some escapade of his with interest. This city seemed tame, even with the rumblings of discontent coming from the kedan. It wasn't as though she wanted to resort to stealing in order to cause a ruckus, but she was growing restless.]

That young man? [She looked to the side, across the street where Spencer was standing.] He showed me where to go when I first arrived.

[And it was because he was nice to her that she might have the beginnings of an interest in him, but that is not something Gavroche needs to know at the moment.]