open

[vitis]

WHO: john & you!
WHERE: various: tisse, apprassage, chata
WHEN: 06.07
WHAT: odd jobs and screw-ups. hella SoL.
WARNINGS: swearing?! tbd

a. anywhere outside →

[ evidently, john's bitten off a bit more than he can chew by attempting to walk several dogs at once. and while he generally has a good grip on this, all going well and under control, a few of the dogs can be pretty rambunctious should a stranger stroll too close (not that this is a difficult feat, as they tend to take up the sidewalk) to the pack. in that one or two whine happily, strain hard against their harnesses for attention, try to jump up— etc. ]

Hey, Ruthie! [ err, no, crap. that's definitely wrong. ] —whatever your name is— Get down—

b. union grocery →

[ welcome to union grocery! serving all your fresh produce needs since way before john started working here. as it's the late afternoon, the establishment is on the emptier side during these hours. no need to fret: surely, there's a ready and able worker available to help with all your grocery needs(?).

or you might be ready to check-out with your various organic knickknacks. in an unexpected turn of events, it just so happens that the cashier is fast asleep at the register. he's got his boots kicked up on the counter, his cap pulled over his eyes while his hands rest behind his head. wanna thieve some dancing apples, some irresistibly greyscale broccoli? draw him a fine mustache? scare the shit outta him? well, now's your chance. ]

c. around the university →

[ rocinante's dead.

that name belonging to john's shitty, au!pickup truck that comes complete with a camper modification. it stalled, started, stalled and then stopped doing anything whatsoever in the middle of a parking lot, likely blocking a few spaces and generally being an eyesore. john's been scrambling about it for the last few minutes, trying anything he can think of: the diagnosis is likely that it's damn old.

there's a final, a hard slam of a door and then a stricken wail of rocinante!!!, akin to a father losing his only son. sorry, for the next few moments, he'll be preoccupied with mourning. ]

d. obligatory bar prompt →

[ it's been a rough time lately; thus, john's pretty much convinced that he's earned himself a drink. or a few. whatever. by the time he approaches someone, he's a few coins short and definitely heavily buzzed. ]

Hey! Wanna play a game? [ a wide, confident smile. ] I win, you buy me a drink.

[ geez. what an offer, right. ]

e. wildcard →
( ooc: if you'd like something else, pm me! i'm happy to write a starter.)

Comments

c

[protegge]

Uh.

[Why does he keep running across weird shit? This is the second time in two months. Well, three if you count turning tiny, but that's less weird than this in his opinion. He's been standing here for about a full ten minutes, watching with growing concern as John paces circles--funereal rites?--around his truck.]

[And now he's yelling. So.]

You gonna make it?

B

[thesettingsun]

[Shuji understands the temptation of sleeping during work hours. He does! Especially on shifts where there aren't as many customers. But the last time he did that he got yelled at, so he should be helpful, right?

He leans in close to whisper some subliminal messaging while John's asleep.]

Overalls never look good.

[This is being helpful.]

a.

[rygdea]

[Being the average 'beat cop' has it's ups and downs, and no one knows this better than Officer Fynn Izunia.

The best positive about being a cop is that most people are generally friendly towards you. He gets free cups of coffee all the time at his favorite café in Chata. Hell, sometimes he even gets free lunch at various little fast food places. The shopkeepers are also usually quite friendly and eager for a chat.

It's not a bad set up. Not at all.]

[Now for the long list of negatives that follow the badge. Fynn, more often than not, always ends up behind the desk filing incident reports thanks to the local hoodlums that like to hangout by the college. That and the fact some citizens literally think the local police are their indentured servants and expect Recollé PD to handle every petty squabble that comes up.

That's a huge negative, like the worst. Then it's the mind numbing boredom and that chance for danger the longer he lingers out here in uniform. Luckily, Fynn doesn't have to worry about that last bit.

The only danger here is getting mowed down by a few overenthusiastic dogs.]

Hey, hey!

[An amused chuckle escapes Fynn once one of the many dogs leap at him. Thank goodness he's a dog person. The officer ends up petting the friendly pooch after his initial shock. Still wearing his trademark blue aviators and usual navy blue uniform, Fynn takes a moment to scratch behind the dog's ears before turning towards the unfortunate dog walker with a grin.]

Rough day, kiddo?

d

[wordcarvings]

[ Koutarou doesn't go drinking that often, and when he does it's mainly at The Inkwell. Sometimes he goes to other places though. But even if it's his cousin's bar or another one, he would have the same answer to that question. ]

I'm afraid that I'm not very good at games.

[vitis]

[ the question is enough to pull john out of his despair (considering how objectively shallow it was). there's a moment in which he looks up, eyes the stranger, and then straightens himself back to his full height. ]

No.

[ he looks a touch bothered for another second. but, okay, it's definitely not this bystander's fault and there's no way he's asking for guff. john snags his cap back over his head, it having fallen during his pacing. ]

I mean— yeah. Sorry. Gotta call a tow, I guess, and... there's a bus 'round here, yeah?

[ please. let the busses still be running. ]

Re: B

[vitis]

[ holy shit, you know that kind of sleep, where you definitely know you should not be sleeping, thus putting you on some sort of unconscious high alert for trouble and breeding recipe for overreaction— it's that. at the whisper, john startles; he knocks over a cup of pens with a stray elbow and actually very nearly falls from his chair. ]

Oh, hey! —Shuji.

[ he doesn't recognize that there'd been any actual words, but he's smoothing out his overalls. did someone diss his terrible taste in fashion, what? ]

Uh, how long was I out for??

[vitis]

[ it's a cop! of course, it's a cop. john swears there must be some bad karma coming back around for him. despite his mouth going momentarily dry, he manages a friendly smile in return. that's certainly made easier when this man isn't, you know, allergic to dogs or anything or arresting him for walking too many dogs at once. was that a thing? he hasn't a clue. ]

[ the dog's pretty insistent on nudging fynn's hand with its nose for even more pets, and might try to lick at his face should there be too long of a lapse of attention. john covertly puts a little more pressure on said dog's leash... ]

Ah— A lil', but it's been as good as can be, all things considered. Gotta make that extra dollar, y'know? [ his smile takes on apologetic air to it: ] Sorry, sir, a few of 'em are pretty excitable 'round new folk.

[vitis]

[ john might have a bit of a bias for the inkwell, too, so it's completely within the realm of possibility that they're there. but, oh, hey, a university professor. were he a bit more sober, he might recognize this as a 'take caution' sign instead of something encouraging. ]

You serious? Any of 'em?

[ an eyebrow cocked, he laces his fingers behind his head. ]

C'mon, you dunno even what we're playin' yet. [ frankly, he might not know yet, either. ]

[thesettingsun]

[Shuji yelps a little when John wakes up suddenly and halfway falls over. As if John had been the one to scare him, and not the other way around.]

I don't know. Probably too long? I won't tell your manager.

[Managers are scary.]

[vitis]

... Thanks. [ oh my god, the yelp though... john's does a quick, cursory glance about the place to ensure no one noticed... his exclamation, the yelp, and the mess of crap that just fell. and also to take note the current time.

coast is clear. he puts his feet back to the ground and begins to gather up the pens. ]

Shift's almost over. Guy that replaces me should be here soon. [ beat. he looks shuji up and down. ] —Were you gonna buy somethin'?

[thesettingsun]

I'm here to observe newly-grey vegetables in the wild.

[...since god knows his fridge barely has anything that could be considered 'healthy'.]

I might buy something that didn't used to be green. Or blue, I guess.

[vitis]

[ ?! that startles a laugh out of him. john rises from his seat, replacing the pens on the counter. ]

Geez, it's just awful, ain't it?

[ WELL, SINCE THERE'S NO ONE ELSE HERE... and he's bored just manning the counter... he's just going to. leave the cash register unattended for a few moments. ]

Might be tricky findin' you somethin' that doesn't look like it's sproutin' mold, but we can do it. [ tosses a grin back at him, stepping towards the produce. and because he assumes shuji eats like a reasonable person (and not a broke college student), he begs the question: ] Well, what'd you like? Any recipe you're goin' for?

B!

[flowrite]

[So it's the first time Fai has run into John since the bar, when they were tiny and Fai tried really hard to take John home with him. But at least they've spoken since then, through text, and things are sorted out. So Fai really doesn't feel too guilty or ashamed when he spots the cute blond sleeping at the register and decides to have a little fun with him.

He's buying celery, among other things, so Fai sets his basket down, carefully picks one of the leaves from the end of the celery, and creeps around to the other side of the register. And uses the leaf to tickle John's ear, trying really hard not to laugh out loud until the other man wakes up.]

[rygdea]

[It's a cop! Thankfully he's a friendly cop. Some of the others at the precinct are quite surly at times. While Fynn does have his moments, he's definitely not so bad. That's why he doesn't mind Fido here trying to lick his face. He laughs it off as he tries to get the mutt to stay put with a pat or two.]

No need to apologize. [Fynn says cheerfully as he tries to keep the excitable dogs at ease here. He likes dogs a bit more than cats just because they don't scratch or hiss. Felines sometimes terrify him. After living at his brother's home for the last few months, Fynn is a little sick of cats.]

Trying to save up for college or somethin'?

[The blond does look a bit young...]

You look like you could use some help. Where you heading to?

[thesettingsun]

[Oh, John, you poor, naive soul.]

Does instant ramen count as a recipe? I really don't cook much for myself...

[Shuji looks a little awkward as he heads toward the suddenly much more grey produce section.]

[vitis]

... Don't you just "add water" to that?

[ that is not a recipe!! but okay, look, john will check himself. he does recall that one time the two of the grabbed a bite to eat; it'd been pretty cheap food. but that's eating out, and he'd like shuji's diet could maybe be improved.

there's a shake of his head, dispelling the ramen thought. ]

We'll keep it reasonable, 'kay? [ he plants his hands on hips. this is suddenly, apparently, a mission. ] What do you not hate to eat, anyway?

[thesettingsun]

[God bless you, John Steinbeck, you're doing the Lord's work.]

I don't hate vegetables! Unhealthy instant food is just cheaper and less work to make for the amount it fills your stomach. Fruit and stuff gets expensive.

[vitis]

[ john's mouth presses into a thin smile, holding back a laugh at the officer's overly-affectionate predicament. thankfully, having received an apparently set quota of attention, the more excited of the dogs have settled down a bit. in fact, one or two haven even taken to politely sitting.

but, ah, there's the question. curse his own young, boyish good looks! ]

Kinda! [ there's a roll of his shoulders in the form of a shrug. fortunately, his situation doesn't cause him embarrassment, ] Dropped outta high school a few years ago, so earnin' my GED at the University. Mostly it's just bills, sendin' some cash back home— the whole lot.

[ but financial woes are a different story. the mention of help surprises john, evident by the way his eyes widen a fraction. he doesn't want it to presume to be a direct offer, but— ]

Just 'round the block a few times, back to some folk's houses, then to the shelter. [ he points at the respective dogs. some he's being paid to walk, others are homeless and thus a volunteer job. and some he's still trying to remember the names of; give it a second. ] If you feel like lendin' a hand, those two—Lily 'n Ollie—seem to have taken a bit of a liking to you.

[vitis]

Expensive compared to absolute crap, yeah. But it was an earnest question, y'know? Surely, you gotta have some preference for your fruits 'n veggies 'n grains.

[ he claps shuji on the back. his voice lowers (like, really, listen closely here), ]

Plus, if it's bothersome— I'll give you my employee's discount this round. [ also please don't tell anyone that... he's pretty sure his job goes straight into the toilet. but just this once should be okay. ]

[thesettingsun]

[Shuji lowers his voice too, speaking with utmost seriousness.]

They'll fire you for that. I have a minimum wage retail job too, you know.

[He might hate spending a lot of money on actually healthy foods, but he's not going to get John to lose his job because of him!]

[vitis]

That's if you get caught, right?

[ but it's a point well-taken. john places his hands on his hips. ]

But okay, okay—[ a sincere sigh of resignation! ]—I won't betray anyone or make any risks here. Better?

[thesettingsun]

Better. Don't get in trouble just to improve my diet.

[He appreciates the thought, but seriously, it's not that important...]

[vitis]

[ why this!! at first, john continues to sleep, for the most part—he swats idly at the leaf with a few fingers, presuming it to be an annoying insect or something of the like. it's persistent. john peeks open an eye. turns out, it also a celery leaf. which, okay, usually don't move around on their own, let alone hover near his face. ]

Shit— What the hell!

[ congrats, fai. you've got him jumping from his seat. he hasn't put it together yet— give it a second until his nerves settle down again. ]

[vitis]

Aww. Looks like you've saved my hide twice over, now.

[ you know, plus that sleeping thing. it's teasing, but also hummed in a way that implies that's touching— would john allow someone to get in trouble at their job for his sake? ... depending on the job and the return, probably. he leans against one of the produce crates, sizing shuji up (in a much less intimidating manner than that verb might imply). ]

What's it that you do, anyway? Don't reckon I ever asked. [ beat. ] —Bet it's somethin' fashion-related.

[rygdea]

You dropped out of high school?

[There's a look of honest surprise on his face. It's not too often that kids these days ditch school completely like that. His parents would've skinned him alive for such a thing. They almost ruined his brother's entire life just because the man didn't want to go into politics.

It sucks. No Izunia could get away with such a fest. None.]

That's pretty rough. You're lucky that the university has a program like that.

[He turns his attention towards the polite pooches again with a grin. It seems that the pair certainly seem pleased with him. That's good. They're nice looking dogs. Their owner must be some sort of big shot.]

Lily n' Ollie? Now that's definitely cute.

[Fynn can't help but smile as he leans over to grab their leashes. While he normally wouldn't go out of his say to help like this, Fynn can't stop himself from wanting to help somehow. The blond seems like a good enough kid trying to make a quick buck. Plus, he literally has one too many dogs to walk. Just too many!]

Alright then, lead the way.