[1969 ORP] The Fiddle and the Drum

[iloveyouDIE]

Rider-Waite's campus seemed to be in an almost continual state of some level of protest. Sit-in's, love-in's and even formal roaring protests took place often. Today was one of those days.

The school quad was full of students of all kinds. Tie-dye, fringe, burning bras and sideburns were rampant. Motorcycles lined the pavement as bikers lounged over each other. One large bearded blonde man played a guitar to the entertainment of the men and women around him in the familiar tones of Give Peace a Chance.

Pedestrians were bothered with fliers, waved signs and sometimes engaged in debate with the young people of all colors and creeds that spouted their anti-war and anti-nuclear rhetoric. The word 'commie' was slung freely and the smell of patchouli and prime bud hung indiscriminately in the air.

The police seemed to hover, ever present for anyone to step too far out of line, but for now seemed to allow the peaceful protesting. Mostly it seemed like a never ending hang out spot more than anything else.

On one of the benches close to the path a brunette young man in glasses sat and read a book, barely engaged in the protesting around him, as he ate a sack lunch and occasionally spoke to the young woman next to him who kept bouncing up to hand out literature - hand written of course (do you know how much xerox's cost?) - on various school and community organized functions.

Quote:

This is an optional ORP!! Just for fun to set the tone for the era and get you guys together if you want before we move to the next stage

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kuropeco

cibarium

moonrazor

lizbot

kolina

grey dragon

chiickadee

blade kuroda

smerdle

daekie

 

[Blade Kuroda]

As Shun meandered closer to where the college should be, he tilted his head as he spotted what appeared to be some sort of protest going on. There was definitely a sort of hippie flair to what he saw ahead. He glanced between the youth in the area, to the cops that were hovering nearby to ensure nothing went out of hand. Thankfully it seemed that it was more or less a giant hang out. During his early years in New York, he's had to stand watch at some protests and the like here and there. They were mostly dull.

Briefly, he eyed the motorcycles, but he was trying to keep an eye out for anything or anyone acting oddly in particular. He did spot the young man who ran into him before.

"Oi. This happen a lot around here?"

Iloveyoudie

 

[Daekie]

Even without the almost-familiarity Ashton had with the young man who'd given him the flier (there was something familiar about him, his accent and his glasses -- but it was hard to place -- it was probably a college classes thing, someone they'd passed), he would have gone anyways, just to meet up with everyone else who'd come through the rift. Hopefully they'd be there.

Ashton was mildly liberal at the best of times, but here in 1969, even that was a little out of place for the hotel he stayed at -- so he'd be lying if he said free love, free hippies wasn't a pleasant idea. But there was someone now, someone who'd be better suited for the scenario.

"Detective Kuroda," Ashton quietly greeted with a casual wave, moving to greet the other man.

blade kuroda

 

[iloveyouDIE]

The young man in the glasses glanced upward and blinked, recognizing the man from his jacket. He'd never seen him before and the asian man and his colorful haired friend had stood out. Must've been in one of the bike gangs here for the concert.

"Yes, all the time," Obviously. "I mean you've seen the news haven't you?"

The other approaching young man was given a polite nod as well but he quirked his head to the side curiously, "Detective Kuroda?"

If he wasn't mistaken that was a japanese name.. and the man didn't look anything like a detective.

blade kuroda

daekie

 

[Blade Kuroda]

Hearing his name be called, Shun turned to see a familiar face. One of the others who came in through the door. He had to wonder how many others ended up here as well.

"Not yet, unfortunately. I am admittedly a little out of the loop. Been on the road for awhile," he stated, "Mind filling me in?"

There was a pause. Algernon seemed puzzled by what Ashton had called him, understandably enough. He wasn't exactly dressed like a detective right now.

"A nickname. Long story," he dismissed before casting a glance to Ashton. Hopefully they'd pick up on it.

iloveyoudie

Daekie

 

[Daekie]

Well, naming had been a mistake - but he could work with it. "I can't fill you in any more than you can you," Ashton says, with a mild look of comic dismay - he knows how to school his features, knows how to make his expressions perfect so that anyone would think what he was feeling. They'd be wrong, of course, but they wouldn't need to know that. "I only got here a few days ago, there was a mixup on the train -- I'm staying at a hotel right now, but they'll only tolerate me so long as I'm the cheapest doctor for hire. And, ah -" he turns to Algernon - "don't worry about it. Long story - sometimes I forget we're being listened to by other people!"

He puts on the personality of a scatterbrained, easily embarrassed young man in only a few sentences; his posture changes, slight but there, and he scratches the back of his head and gives an embarrassed grin. "Well, anyways -- judging from the look of you, I wouldn't think this would be your kind of place, either of you..."

Blade Kuroda

iloveyouDIE

 

[kuropeco]

The man in horn rimmed glasses suddenly had a girl with waist-length red hair leaning over to peer at his lunch, an armful of leaflets with scribbled handwriting all over them clutched to her chest.

"Share," said Maren, grinning expectantly at him before turning her gaze to the others, brows raising almost into her fringe of bangs.

"Did I hear that right? You're a deee-teccc-ttiiiive?" she trilled, drawing out the word, smile wide across her intensely freckled face. Gum snapped as she chewed, her gaze flickering up and down his outfit before they moved back to his face, and then the face of the other one.

"What about you?" she asked, flipping sheets of red locks from a shoulder. "What does that make you? Are you like, his assistant or something?"

iloveyoudie

daekie

blade kuroda

 

[iloveyouDIE]

Algie adjusted his glasses a bit to look at both of them. Something in his expression didn't seem totally convinced, or at least slightly suspicious, but Maren's interruption distracted him adequately.

"Like Sherlock and Watson?" His mouth tilted in amusement, "The detective and his doctor." That's what the other had called himself after all.

His lunch bag was blindly handed to Maren, the contents being impeccably made and packaged, "Don't touch the lemon bar." The brunette's eyes cut to her sharply.

His legs crossed and he straightened, "It's a college.. we're students." He waved between himself and Maren, and then idly at the surrounding protesters, "And with everything going mad in the world I thought this was going on everywhere.."

kuropeco

blade kuroda

daekie

 

[Blade Kuroda]

The girl that came up was not one he recognized. He tilted his head at her, furrowing his brow. While she and Algernon were speculating about what he and Ashton were, he couldn't help but let out a sigh. Good thing his badge wasn't visible right now.

"Do I really look like a detective?" he asked, "No, it is not anything like that. Long story short, I just like a good mystery."

Shun looked over towards the protesters, nodding slowly.

"World is pretty crazy right now, yes. Wars, nuclear threats... I just was not sure if this was a result of something more recent or what."

Kuropeco

iloveyoudie

daekie

 

[Daekie]

"There's always so much going on," Ashton sighed. "I'd really like to be more of an artist myself, but that doesn't pay the bills, you know? So I've gotten a little out of touch with the news."

He smiled hesitantly at Maren, then, no teeth shown. Unthreatening. Nobody would think Ashton could be any dangerous, acting like this. "No, not really, like he said it's just a nickname...but I don't think I'd be a terribly good assistant. Could I have one of those leaflets, please? I'd like to read it..."

Blade Kuroda

Kuropeco

iloveyoudie

 

[MoonRazor]

Rylan and Ves wandered toward the heart of campus. The sound of activity hummed everywhere, but in the middle of it all, they finally spotted some familiar faces.

"Look, Lieutenant."

"Rylan," he said. "Just Rylan."

They approached the gathering group of visitors from the present day, feeling just a tad more at home, perhaps, now that it was clear they hadn't ended up in 1969 alone.

"What brings us all here today?" He said with a small, knowing smile.  

[kuropeco]

Maren immediately opened up the bag, made a face at the mention of the untouchable lemon bar, and dug around until she found half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich wrapped in plastic. Mouth full of strawberry jam, she said thickly, "Naw, you don't look like a dee-tech-tive," drawing out the last word again as though it amused her (which it did). "Your face is too pretty for that."

Grinning, she raised her eyebrows, swaying a little on the bench so that her shoulder gently bumped into Algie's every few seconds; she seemed unable to sit still for more than a few minutes at at time, something the other man would probably know all too well at this point.

Maren passed out a leaflet to the other boy, then thrust several more in the direction of the newcomers.

"Concert on the beach," she said airily. "Come visit us, it's gonna be a blast. Do you all know each other or something?" she added, smiling serenely at the one with the violin case. "Ya'll in the same class here, any of you come here? It's a good school - but you know what's even better?"

Maren finished off the last of the pb&j, licking her fingers. "No more war. And concerts," she added, jabbing a thumb at the flyer.

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blade kuroda

iloveyoudie

moonrazor

kolina

daekie

 

[cibarium]

Leila and Eve ended up wandering over to the Rider-Waite campus in their continued quest to survive in the 1960's while trying to save the world -- certainly there'd be people or resources available to help them get a better sense of how they could do so. Naturally they gravitated to the familiar faces at the quad, offering a wave to Shun once they were close enough to be recognizable, and they took a spot among the group just in time to witness the lunch bag exchange taking place.

"Is that a lemon bar?" Leila asked. It came out sounding more pitiful than she'd intended. They hadn't gotten to eat much.

blade kuroda

kuropeco

iloveyouDIE

 

[iloveyouDIE]

Alg watched sadly as his PB&J disappeared but thankfully he was well prepared with something for Maren because with her, this was normal.

The sack lunch was curled in his hand and pulled close, green eyes narrowing as more strangers arrived and inquired to his food, "My lemon bar is in here, yes."

His eyes drifted to all the strange faces, so many flocking together and seeming to be familiar with each other. Perhaps they were all in the carnival that brought this 'Shun' and his pink haired friend from before. It would certainly explain the ratty violin wielder and the way the others looked hungry.

"Do you all know each other? Have you all been... on the road?" In a very particular repetition of Shun's explanation.

Shun would then be handed a newspaper from that same day to catch up on local news, and Leila - only because his manners often overruled his wants and needs - received a half a sandwich if she wanted it.

No. She wasn't getting his lemon bar.

cibarium

blade kuroda

kuropeco

everyone he's not immediately touching or talking to