When Lucas is about halfway through unlocking the series of two barrel-bolts and four locks, he pauses in the middle of his actions and looks down at Willy waiting patiently by his feet.
"Hey, wanna show Dan, er Black Ash Snow his lookalike?" Lucas asks the pup with a huge mischievous grin spread across his face.
Willy promptly gives a single, excited, bark. After voicing his opinion, he dashes off to fetch it himself.
"Oh! Um, since it's right there, should we bring all three?" As Jonathan makes his timid recommendation, he gets a bark that is clearly a question based on its tone in response.
"Yeah, they're just across the street from each other." Lucas answers on Jonathan's behalf, and there is another enthusi
As Lucas continues expressing his displeasure at his severe limitations on romantic prospects, 427 tries to tune him out as hard as he can. Not that Lucas can even tell, he's far too wrapped up in stating his grievances.By the time Lucas has smiled in response to sly looks from not one, nor even only two, but three different women, he's lost most of his momentum in his mental bitching.'Eheh, the attention is pretty sweet at least.'[…]Jonathan has had greatly conflicting feelings concerning the attention he's been getting, ultimately settling on just being shy and awkward, surprising no one.However, his attempts at trying to ignore all
Only a few seconds into the service bot's lengthy explanations regarding the wide range of features available for this section of phones that should qualify for Lucas's needs, Lucas's eyes have glazed over. Jonathan has been diligently listening, nodding along occasionally as he keeps playing with a different pair of phones after about a minute of testing each.'Duuuude, he might as well be speaking another language. I haven't learned shit about technology here. Oh, I know what waterproof means, at least.'[…]"-Ultimately, any of the models in this display over here should be sufficient for your needs, provided they are protected by one of the multiple nanogel-filled case options available. The one-millimeter case is sufficient for slash and bullet res
With the merchandise reclaimed, the service bot opens the main door to the store and holds it open for the three guests to enter before it.Following the proper order of priority, Willy gets to go in first, followed by Lucas, and then Jonathan who still beats everyone else back over to the phone display he was at before. Finally, the bot enters as well.Willy lies back down in more-or-less the same spot he was in before, now paying attention to the previously neglected Mind Flare chew doll. At least, he considers chewing on it as counting as paying attention.The service bot brings the phone back over to the counter he used previously to attach the case, pulls some cleaning wipes out from a drawer nearby to wipe it down, and then performing the case-mounting process in
As Lucas is stuck debating between vine-covered trellises versus conventional hedges to surround the fencing of his several-acre fantasy animal sanctuary, the service bot has returned with a small multi-tiered pushcart.The bottom shelf has five boxes, namely those of the three tablets and two phones. The middle shelf has a large selection of potential cases for the tablets, and the top shelf bears the array of cases for the phones.Right after Lucas decides that the vine-covered trellises would probably be a bit too pretentious, the service bot stops the cart right in front of him. Barely a moment later, Jonathan is standing on the other side of the cart, facing toward Lucas but his attention is down on the nanogel phone case designs. Before the cart is even at a complete stop, he has already started going through them, re-s
As the transaction is finalized and all purchases besides the phones themselves are bagged, Jonathan has set about filling his contact list with the information from the impromptu supervillain social circle symposium last night. Unfortunately, his super-speed doesn't do him much good with most technology as the majority of devices can only accept so many inputs at any given moment.For the rest of that time period, apart from finalizing payment, Lucas is busy giving Willy a photo shoot, trying to decide on wallpaper for his phone.In the end, the victorious photo is a shot of Willy sprawled out on his back with his legs up in the air. He's curled into a C shape, he has the pseudo-Josephine resting on his stomach, the imitation Mind Flare across his chest, the artificial Black Ash Snow sideways between his teeth, and last but
After spending some time contemplating Willy's hardships, Lucas's mind wanders off in another direction.'...Hey, so Jon hates his family name, yeah?'[It seems like it? You could just ask him?]'Well, could I just like, become his legal guardian or something, and he gets my name instead?'[...Given that you are considered a full-grown adult and he is a minor, I don't see why not. Ah, though becoming only a legal guardian wouldn't terminate his parent's current rights. Even though they disowned him, there is a chance they did not do so legally. Heh, did we make enough son jokes that you started to take it seriously?]'Hey, each and e
After a few more minutes of tormenting Jonathan, Lucas's interest has finally started to fade in regards to his trolling. Still holding the phone up in the air, he reaches up with his other hand and gently presses down on the top of Jonathan's head to stop him from jumping around anymore."Okay, okay. Funs over, I promise I won't send it to anyone. Don't make me delete it though, it's hilarious." As Lucas soothes the pouting young teen, he slowly lowers his arm, making sure Jonathan isn't about to snatch the phone out of his hands."You... You better not! Jerk!" The sulking boy finally quits flailing around, crossing his arms over his chest to demonstrate his mopey cooperation.Since his hand is already primed and ready, Lucas makes a point of messing up Jonathan's hai
Thanks to the two ladies' interruptions, Jonathan hasn't actually had a chance to get very far in the check-in procedures over at the self-service kiosk. Please disregard the fact that most of the interruption was in the form of him being doubled over in laughter at the creative insult-compliment hybrid that was sent Lucas's way.Lucas, being the oversized man-child that he is, sticks his tongue out and blows a raspberry at Miss Masher before turning his back to her and going over to check on Jonathan's progress, if it could properly be called that.Behind him, she snorts and stalks over in the direction of the glasses-wearing woman. Once she's in close range, she starts a low conversation with the other woman.As Lucas leans over Jonathan's shoulder, it's his turn for
Lucas and Jonathan—dressed decently but nowhere near as fancy as yesterday—are most of the way to Cat’s Paw Cafe, pointedly not utilizing the stinky subway station to get there.‘Ya know, it’s been surprisingly peaceful, yeah? Though, not havin’ people gawk as much as yesterday is kinda nice. All that attention was gettin’ old fast.’[Ahem, well, fortunately, Boss System approved my long-term task priority filtering proposal.]‘Oh? Whassat?’[Compared to before, now it requires an opt-in before being bombarded with every single task in range. Before receiving alerts—and therefore penalties for ignoring them—we’ll run the calculations of the tasks’ estimated impact vs. potential unwanted attention. This effectively weeds out a majority of minor tasks—plus some moderate ones—by accounting for how suspicious it would be for you to know the event was taking place, let alone be believably compelled to interfere. I knew there was no need to ask if you were interested in activating it immedi
Once the allotted thirty minutes have passed—precisely down to the second—427 tentatively undeafens Lucas. At first, all he can hear is a booklet’s pages being flipped through, followed by Lucas grumbling.Hesitantly removing the remaining sensory suppressions one at a time, 427 nearly sighs with relief upon discovering that Lucas is standing in the kitchenette by the new automatic drip coffee maker—thankfully dressed—in the midst of poorly attempting to demystify its instruction manual.‘How the hell is this so complicated?’[Ah, making good on your promise to Jonathan?]‘Oh, thank fuck; yer back. Took ya long enough.’[…Hello, again, to you, too.]‘Yeah, yeah, yeah. Welcome back. So, anywho, can ya scan through this or somethin’ and tell me how to use it?’[…I already looked up the instructions from everything’s model numbers earlier. First, measure out—]427 guides Lucas through measuring and grinding a serving’s worth of coffee beans and setting it up in the machine with such in-d
For a few peaceful minutes, Lucas delights in demolishing the delicious delicatessen delivery. As Jonathan reaches for his coffee cup to gauge if it’s cool enough for a sane person to drink, he ends up cutting himself off with a yawn, earning a side-eye from Lucas.“Hey, ya barely got any sleep, yeah? Instead of havin’ caffeine, shouldn’t ya go take a nap?” Upon Lucas’s question, Jonathan pauses, looking at the contents of his mug with an obvious longing. “I’ll make ya a fresh one in like half an hour; I’m sure 427 can figure out howta use whatever newfangled machine ya got,” Lucas continues, his eyes also fixed on the beverage.[…I suppose I appreciate your vote of confidence.]Jonathan’s gaze lingers on the coveted coffee for a moment before he sets it back on the table. As soon as he lets go of it, Lucas lays his claim upon it.“Um, o-okay, yeah. I just, um, sh-should take a shower first,” Jonathan stammers as he stands.Lucas hums an agreement around a mouthful of coffee.[Did y
Thankfully, there are no further interruptions during the rest of this round of deliveries. Or even during the next one, either.Once Jonathan finally has the fourth and final load of freight, he makes a detour to a delicatessen. More specifically, the one where he previously purchased yesterday’s breakfast.After equally uneventfully acquiring milk, third breakfast for himself, and first breakfast for Lucas—since he’d totally only eat sugary baked goods if real food wasn’t conveniently available—he makes his way home.With his back to the recently re-locked front door, Jonathan reclaims the last armload of supplies as he looks at Lucas’s still-shut bedroom door.‘…Our food will still be too hot to eat for a little while; I’ll make some coffee first.’Jonathan may or may not be making up excuses to keep putting off waking up Lucas in the hopes that he’ll do so on his own, knowing full well that he probably won’t.While taking longer than necessary to decide which appliance to christen
“Ah! Um…” Jonathan’s face scrunches up a bit as he looks over his pending purchases.‘Can we at least turn off tasks while my hands are full? I really don’t want to drop everything and have it get broken or stolen by the time I get back to it… It will be annoying enough having to run back and forth a bunch.’[Requesting temporary task suppression… Permission granted; disregarding minor tasks for one hour at no penalty, effective immediately.]Jonathan barely represses his urge to sigh with relief.Before Ji Soo works up the nerve to express concern over Jonathan’s vacant stare at the wall behind the service bot, Jonathan’s attention returns to reality and redirects to said bot.“Um, c-could you hold some of it for a few minutes once I’m done paying? I-I won’t take long… Like, five minutes?” Before fidgety Jonathan even finishes asking his question, the bot is already nodding.“Certainly. Do you wish to use a private scanning kiosk to complete your order?”‘I’m surprised it’s even an
Jonathan, however, doesn’t hear the utterance of recognition. Unaware, he continues his quest for a coffee maker.A short time later, Jonathan stands--while quietly grumbling--before a row of two-in-one coffee/espresso machines.Behind him is a sea of drip coffee machines, with cold press equipment further off to the side. Alongside the arrangement of two-in-ones sits a selection of espresso machines, both automatic and semi-automatic.‘How are there so many!? What even are the differences? Wait, no, don’t answer that. The technical details will probably just be even more confusing.’[Understood.]Although Jonathan notices movement in his peripheral vision, he doesn’t outwardly react to the recent arrival at the end of the aisle. Instead, he pulls out one of the two-in-one machines set at eye level, rotating it so he can read the back of the box.“Ah! Don’t get one of those! That entire line is overpriced trash,” the newcomer blurts out, muffled by the layers of carbon-filter fabric f
After the harrowing--see also; totally normal--experience of getting his hair professionally cut, Jonathan blinks a few times as he looks himself over in the mirror. ‘Oh, wow. That’s way better.’ He’s now sporting a long-top, backswept, tapered hairstyle with a rounded back. Given how clearly tense he was throughout the entire cutting process, a trendy skin fade would have fairly obviously been too much for his liking. After giving Jonathan a few moments to make his mental evaluations, one of the hairdresser’s dreadlocks uses a soft-bristle brush to clear away the loose hair clippings around the collar of the barber cape. A few other coils of his hair organize the various tools he used, setting them aside for cleaning. Meanwhile, he quickly sweeps aside the bulk of the rogue tufts of hair on the ground in a much more conventional hands-on-broom method as he uses the mirror to make eye contact with Jonathan again. “Lookin’ good, mon. Well? Whaddya tink?” His question pulls Jonath
Once Jonathan is finally en route to the hairdresser...[Safe distance from Mikah’s power detected. Alert; you have exceeded 10 GDV. You have one enhancement available.]‘Oh! Um, you said before that rank three vision should be good enough to see through Maria’s powers, right?’[Correct, rank three should be sufficient as long as her target is in motion. Rank four would be necessary to see anything stationary, given the current strength of her powers. Please be aware that going beyond rank three for any individual enhancement has additional requirements.]‘Three should be good enough to avoid most of her pranks... Use my upgrade on vision.’[Please confirm that you would like rank two vision.]‘Yeah.’[Understood. Please close your eyes during calibrations to avoid nausea.]Jonathan slows from running at enhanced speed into a normal-paced jog for a few steps, then stops and shuts his eyes.[Bzzt... Calibrations complete.]He opens his eyes and looks around, blinking several times.‘Wo
The duo’s fiery funnel further forces the growing multi-car pile-up towards the middle of the street for a few seconds longer. Finally, the flames falter and fade. After a short delay, the wind wanes as well.‘Oh, I shouldn’t give them any extra reasons to think I’m a threat.’Jonathan swiftly shuts and pockets his switchblade as he follows the sidewalk. While doing so, his attention flicks between the ongoing chaos in the street and the front door of Howling Cartographer’s HQ lobby.Ashley steps through the door with Jason right behind her. They both take a moment to appreciate their destructive handiwork with smug expressions. Considering that Jonathan is conspicuously the only person still in the immediate vicinity, they quickly focus on him.Before either of them manage anything beyond a glare, Jonathan raises both hands in a submissive gesture, showing that he isn't wielding a weapon. "I-I just wanted his gun!"Ashley's exposed eye squints with amusement, the not hair-hidden cor