open

[scythegun]

WHO: Jaeger and you!
WHERE: Various shops, Leviathan's Claw, the tunnels
WHEN: 1/20 - 1/21
WHAT: Jaeger’s regained his heart blastia and he’s trying to adapt to the change. Also tunnel exploration, because that’s easier than acknowledging his issues!
WARNINGS: None, but I’ll edit this if anything comes up!

I - Locked to Leviathan’s Claw employees (1/20)

[Jaeger’s made no secret of the fact that his birthday is January 20th. In fact, he’s made sure to mention it multiple times to his lovely employees so they’ll hopefully get him gifts and/or work harder if they’re scheduled that day. He’s a great boss like that.

But instead he woke up this morning with this strapped to his chest. The blastia seems to serve as his heart here too, which has led him to a minor meltdown this morning. He’s actually a little late when he sends the text out.]

Leviathan’s Claw will be closed today. You don’t need to come in.

[That’s it for the message, no explanation or anything. He sends it to all his employees, even the ones who aren’t scheduled today, because quite frankly, he can’t be bothered to remember who was working today in this state.

He’ll be fine eventually, he’s just really not fine right now.]

II (1/20)

[The blastia sits oddly on Jaeger’s chest, which means that none of his clothes actually fit properly anymore. He’s already had to change his wardrobe up thanks to Retrospec’s interference but having to do it again is frustrating. But Jaeger doesn’t have much of a choice, now does he?

He’s able to keep the blastia covered so no one can see it, thankfully. Unfortunately that means he’s back in that outfit he got several months ago. He looks ridiculous with the purple hair and this stupid outfit on, but he’s doing his best not to think about it and get his shopping done.

You can run into him just about anywhere that’s selling men’s clothes, though he does prefer suits and the like. He’ll be looking over the selection with a critical eye, the usual expression of cheer gone and replaced by a small frown. He doesn’t seem too bothered though, all things considered.]

III (1/21)

[Shopping yesterday was mostly successful, so Jaeger’s wearing something normal today as he heads to work. Leviathan's Claw will open at the usual time and Jaeger seems just as chipper as usual. There's no explanation given for why he closed the shop down yesterday. He certainly doesn't seem ill or anything, he's acting like he usually does, if perhaps a bit more annoyingly over-the-top.

Occasionally you can catch him with his hand on his chest, almost like he can't quite catch his breath for a moment before he notices what he's doing and forces himself to stop. You're welcome to call him out on this, of course.

Otherwise he'll be aggressively cheerful and spending most of his time out in the shop proper today instead of doing work in the back. He'll absolutely try to sell you something if you're checking the shop out, be warned.]

IV (1/21)

[Well, Jaeger did manage to get some work done today, but he closes the shop up early and heads down to the tunnels. He’s got a briefcase in one hand, a flashlight in the other, and a backpack on his back. You can find him checking out the train cars, though most don’t hold his interest for very long.

It’s the one with the instruments that catches his interest, and he’ll enter the car and check things out in here. Unfortunately for him (and you, presumably), the doors slam shut. Jaeger goes to try to get the doors open, but the music starts playing and the car begins moving.]

Looks like we’re in for a ride. How annoying.

[He doesn’t look all that annoyed, though. He’s still smiling, after all.]

(For this one I’m willing to use any memory from here or we can use one of your memories! Just let me know what you’d prefer in your comment!)

V (1/21)

[Jaeger eventually reaches the central station, which is exactly where he was trying to get today. The incident in the car earlier doesn’t seem to be bothering him as he makes his way to the shop with the Retrospec symbol. He’ll be in here for a little while, studying the different pamphlets until he comes across one that cheerfully reads “Welcome to Terca Lumireis”. His grip is a bit too tight on that one specific pamphlet and his smile is gone as he studies it. It doesn’t seem like he’s finding whatever he’s looking for though, but he pockets the pamphlet anyway.

The “Welcome to Recollé” book holds his interest for a bit as well, and you can find him taking pictures of a few of the pages, anything that catches his eye. Eventually the electronic recording will interrupt him and Jaeger glances over at you after it’s over.]

That’s strange. Should we check it out?

WILDCARD

[If you’re interested in doing something else with Jaeger you can hit me up on plurk at pokerap!]

Comments

II

[thesettingsun]

[It shouldn't be much of a surprise to see Shuji clothes shopping. If this dome stays up longer, he'll probably want to dress largely in brighter colors, for ease of visibility so he doesn't get run over whenever he's going anywhere.

He's checking out a bright orange tunic - safety's one thing, but he could never put this on his own body - when he spots Jaeger shopping in the same section.]

Jaeger, hi, what are you looking for?

[...and why are you wearing that godawful suit?]

[scythegun]

[That certainly is a bright orange tunic, isn't it... Yikes. Jaeger's attempting to find shirts that will fit over the blastia, so the ones he's checking out appear to be a size too big for him. He can always get them tailored to better fit him later... after a month has passed and no one finds the blastia weird... this is going to be so terrible.

Anyway, he inclines his head a bit in greeting before speaking up.]

Good afternoon, Shuji! I'm just browsing right now!

[The usual cheer isn't exactly gone, but his smile seems a little strained today.]

[thesettingsun]

[Shuji takes a look at what Jaeger's 'browsing'.]

Oversized shirts aren't in fashion right now. They're still better than that suit you're wearing, though.

[Jaeger, he loves you, but he doesn't love you so much that he'll spare your feelings about your terrible clothes.]

[scythegun]

[Ouch, thanks Shuji...]

It's from Retrospec. Apparently this is what I wore in my past life, if you can believe that!

[No comment on the oversized shirts, though.]

[thesettingsun]

Too bad. If it wasn't from Retrospec, I'd tell you to burn it.

[At the very least, don't put that hideous thing on your body...]

IV.

[drydrown]

[You know what's nice about Sundays? Unless Cumore is having a particularly off week, no legal work on Sundays. Thankfully Recollé's crime rate has always been low for such an urban area; getting everything cleared ahead of the week to come is something that he's capable of managing easily, and as such he's got nothing to do with himself today and...well. Everyone and their grandmother has been talking about the stupid subway tunnels, and even if the idea of going down there sounds absolutely disgusting and not like his idea of a good time (it's dark down there? there are probably rats and filth and god knows what else??), he's kind of. decided. that this is a thing he's doing today.

...He's decided this up until the point that he's about halfway down the stairs, at which point no, no, actually fuck this, he's out, thank you very much.

At least until he hears someone else coming down here; thankfully the light here hasn't died yet, so he can see who it is.]

...Well. You certainly came prepared.

[Cumore doesn't seem to have much on him, himself - he's wearing a suit down here, for fuck's sake, though the jacket has been left open and it seems he's got a few things on his belt, nothing major but he has a flashlight and a few canisters of...something or another, whether he's planning on using pepper spray or something on whatever's down here has yet to be seen. If all else fails maybe we can mace the rats, who knows what his thought process is here, the point is that he isn't conventionally armed with anything because of course he isn't.

He pauses for a moment before glancing down toward those tunnels; this is going to be a shitshow, regardless of how this goes, but - ]

Escort me down there. I've been told that places like these are worth looking into, and I'd like to see it for myself.

[...It's not a request, from the sound of it. More like you're getting voluntold into the world's worst escort mission.]

[scythegun]

[Oh. Hi, Cumore. Jaeger was sort of hoping he wouldn't run into you at all for the foreseeable future since he's still trying to deal with "also this fucking blastia" but you know what, this is fine. Fine. Absolutely fine—]

I certainly wouldn't have expected to see you here!

[No, seriously, what are you doing here. Why do you want to go exploring the subway tunnels. This is... interesting. Jaeger's not entirely sure what to make of Cumore's everything here, but one thing's for damn sure: this man absolutely needs someone to escort him. Look at the pepper spray and mace he's got, this man has no idea what to expect.]

Well, I certainly don't mind escorting you, but the last time I came down here we were attacked by a train, so are you sure you want to go?

[He says this so casually...]

[drydrown]

[The look he gives Jaeger at that says many things, but the most prevalent thought here seems to be "Are you high?"]

I'm sure I'll manage.

[scythegun]

[Well, if we do find that train again we are totally fucked, but!]

Suit yourself! Come on!

[And he'll go ahead and lead the way, heading down the stairs and further into the tunnels.]

[drydrown]

[You are so fucking enthusiastic, why are you so fucking enthusiastic. This is fucking disgusting? He'll follow of course, but ew, god, where does this even go - ]

How many times have you been down here, exactly?

III

[feistytrader]

[...It was odd getting a text to not show up on a day off, and more odd for Jaeger to be... More obnoxious than usual, if anything, but. That's fine. He can stick back, he doesn't mind Jaeger jumping in with a sales pitch before him, maybe he can just sort stuff in the back today, and... Something is off, something is wrong, but he can roll with it and mind his own business.

Until he notes Jaeger grabbing his chest, at any rate.]

Hey, Boss? Is everything alright?

[Sure, he can ask it casually, but the alarm and concern on his face are telling a whole other story. Something is very wrong. Why are you grabbing your chest? Did something happen?]

[scythegun]

[Jaeger jumps a bit when Silver's voice cuts into his thoughts and he turns to Silver, his hand still clutching the blastia hidden beneath his clothes.

It takes him a moment to let go, but he forces his hand down to his side.]

Ja, of course everything is fine!

[The response comes easily, it's practiced and simple to fall back into. But didn't he say he was going to be more honest to the people he actually likes?

...Does that really count in a situation like this? Honesty is one thing, but telling people that his heart was replaced in the middle of the night is kind of...]

You don't need to worry about me, Silver.

[He's trying to be reassuring, but he's already losing the cheery expression.]

[feistytrader]

[That's believable. Should he be more or less concerned that he actually lost his cheer?]

Did someone hurt you? I'll make them a chew toy.

[scythegun]

No, no, no. Of course not. Really, there's no need to be so concerned...!

[That doesn't even sound believable to his own ears, he's going to have to figure out something quick, but he doesn't want to flat-out lie to Silver either, ugh... This is so complicated...]

[feistytrader]

You've been nothing but concerning for the past two days.

[He glances at his chest for a moment, then shakes his head and returns to the counter. Maybe he shouldn't be pressing this. Jaeger's always been a private guy...]

III

[floret]

[ As it turns out, the 20th had been an important day for Jamie, too; he got up early, spent seven hours and thirty minutes taking the MCAT, went home, and slept for an additional thirteen hours and forty minutes.

But now it's the 21st! for better or worse, the exam is over with, and until his results come in, it's no use thinking about it. Unsure of what kind of emotional and psychological recovery he'd require, he had arranged to have the day off work, so... there's nothing he needs to do other than wander around and visit places ne normally doesn't. And Leviathan's Claw is one of those places!

He's not exactly in the market for anything in particular, nor does he have a ton of spare cash to drop on stuff that isn't food or shelter, but gosh. Some of this stuff looks pretty magical! ]

[scythegun]

[Leviathan's Claw is absolutely the place to go if you're looking for strange, potentially mystical or haunted artifacts! The shop is a bit crammed with so much stuff, but it's surprisingly cozy in here. While you're looking, Jaeger will pop up seemingly out of nowhere to greet you cheerfully.]

Good afternoon! Welcome to Leviathan's Claw! Are you looking for anything in particular?

[He's got a thick German accent, which makes the pronunciation of "Leviathan's Claw" kind of painful. It might be hard to make out what he's even saying there unless you saw the shop name on the way in. Why did he name it that when he can't pronounce it, the world may never know.]

[floret]

[ Even though Jamie's still drifting about in a bit of a haze, his nerves are (as always) in poor enough shape that he does start visibly when Jaeger appears. ]

Oh! Uhhhh.
Just browsing, I guess? I'm not really sure where to start...

[ What kind of thing in particular would a person come here looking for, he wonders. ]

[scythegun]

There's plenty to see here, so feel free to take your time! If you have any questions, I can answer them!

[floret]

Oh, thank you!

[ Normally he can't help but react to the presence of salespeople, no matter how low-key and friendly the approach, with fear and anxiety...
But he does actually have questions, so. ]

...Is there anything you'd recommend?

III / IV

[matchbreaker]

[ Knock knock okay no you don't knock at a shop, but Elda's once more coming in looking for the manager. She's got ... a wrapped present for the man? Did her hear about it from Albert? Silver? Sakura? him? Look I just want a cute gift giving thing leading into a tunnel exploration thing maybe so we can do a memory thing so this is a handwave. But all the same she's got a bag and generally looks like she might be ready to head down to the tunnels later today but right now she's got a cute little gift wrapping box for him today.

... She didn't find him yesterday, after all.

So. ]

sounds good!!

[scythegun]

[You won't have to go very far to find him, he just sort of appears from behind one of the shelves, prepared for his usual greeting—]

Oh, Elda! I wasn't expecting you. Is there something I can help you with?

[...He's absolutely eyeing the present. Is it for him???]

[matchbreaker]

Well, I heard it was someone's birthday, but I don't actually know how old they are...?

[ She says this... honestly more coyly than is necessary? Oh well. ]

[scythegun]

Thirty-five! A nice age, wouldn't you say~?

[He's easily matching that coyness because. well. it's Jaeger, what do you expect from him.]

[matchbreaker]

Oh, it is a nice round number, it's true!

[ So he is younger... she thought so. She nods a little and then shifts the box around, offering it how to him!! ]

Belated birthday, I suppose.

[ And thus, a belated gift. The box is only like the size of a baseball, but that's because inside there is just! It's a very nice watch. One of those ones which is waterproof up to several meters, claimed to go on forever, you can put three different timezones in it, expensive, etc. Also it's backlit, which is relevant right now these days. ]