Shopping for SOTF

[Namira]

((Life Wasted --> Bounce))

It was a relief to finally have escaped from school, especially after that horrific English lesson and the run in with Kent Chirper. However, unfortunately for Bounce, the day wasn't quite over yet, and she had been denied access to her escape. Her computer.

Upon Bounce's arrival home, her mother had told her that she needed to get herself a few more clothes. That was exceptionally annoying - Bounce was eighteen, old enough that she didn't need her mother leaning over her shoulder demanding she get herself new things to wear. Still, Bounce had relented, if only because she wanted to avoid an argument. All too often recently one or the other had said something wrong and sparked off a confrontation. For now, it was easier for Bounce just to go along with it.

Besides... her mother had never specified what exactly to buy.

Bounce was browsing idly in Hot Topic, searching for SOTF tees. Those were her preferred wear, and it wasn't as if it was worse than the shirts of a band or something. Aside from the occasional person with a bee in their bonnet harassing her about condoning murder...

From what Bounce could see of the selection on offer, a majority were merely variations of 'SOTF' or the words 'Survival Of The Fittest' in a number of different designs. A few shirts had memorable quotes on them (much like the one that Bounce was wearing : "And as much as your offer of rapage with the butter knife was exciting, I'm going to have to pass, I'm just NOT in the mood today."), whilst a smaller number had character designs on them. These usually comprised silhouette shots of contestants, with their name and number beneath.

In all honesty Bounce wasn't really interested in what was available, but she supposed she had to buy something at least.

Ugh. Why could my mother not have just left well enough alone?

[landlocked†]

Hm. Team Edward or Team Jacob? This would be a crucial decision - the opinions of all of the fellow fans that saw her wearing this shirt hinged on it. Sure, Edward was the perfect boyfriend, but Jacob was pretty hot, too... Why couldn't Bella just date them both at once? It always seemed like the best option...

Normally, Regina Straw wasn't one to shop at Hot Topic, but she had a soft spot for a few specific kinds of merchandise that they stocked, and Twilight was definitely one of them. Sure, she got a lot of crap from her friends, especially the male ones, for reading the series, but what difference did it make to them what she read, anyway? It had tons of other fans, too, why was liking it such a problem? She had no problem admitting that she longed for an Edward like in the story, the perfect, gorgeous guy (Yeah, I should definitely go with Team Edward) that wanted nothing more than to be with her - Wasn't reading supposed to about getting away from reality? People just needed to fucking relax.

Sadly, the only Team Edward shirts that were available weren't in her size. Guess I'm not the only big girl into Twilight around here. Regina pouted a bit as she continued to search through the racks. She could always just go a size smaller, it'd be a little uncomfortable, but it'd help show off her boobs, at least. Or maybe she could just get some pins for her purse, or a keychain or something...

Noticing another girl moving nearby, Regina turned around and realized she'd completely missed the SOTF section of the clothing racks. How could she have forgotten?! Regina wasn't quite as avid a fan of the game as... (What was that weird girl's name again, I see her all the time and she's always wearing a SOTF shirt...)... whoever, but she did watch the show relatively regularly. It made for some great drama, and Regina had to admit there was some catharsis in seeing pretty girls like Melina Frost and Sera Wingfield being brutalized. Her favorite contestant by far, however, had been Matt Wittany - he was just so freaking ADORABLE!!

Eagerly, Regina began searching the SOTF racks as well, not speaking to the weird girl, but trying not to get in her way. She finally found a t-shirt featuring Matt in her size. A shirt dedicated to all of the members of SADD, double win! Neil Sinclair had been pretty hot, too. She gave a loud squeal of delight as she removed the shirt from its place sandwiched between two large groups of shirts, knocking a few others off of the rack as well as she did so.

[Namira]

Well I have to come to a decision at some point. The longer I procrastinate, the later I will arrive back at home. Tch, I have homework too, that means tonight will hold even less time on the computer.

If there was one thing that Bounce absolutely hated, it was being prevented from getting onto her computer. It made her feel anxious if she went an hour or so overdue of checking up on the various websites she visited. It was almost like a junkie aching for a fix. The internet as a drug? She'd heard stranger comparisons. Besides, it was a hobby, there were many worse things Bounce could be up to (although admittedly a number of these could be accessed from the web). If anybody thought worse of her for it... then so what? It wasn't as if the opinions of others mattered.

Well now... Jenson and Starr are beyond ancient, even if people keep insisting on releasing new merchandise featuring them. There is not anything with Dodd here that I do not already own... I never particularly liked SADD. Jacks has too many fans who continually proclaim him as SOTF's answer to Chuck Norris... Hm, how about-

Bounce's train of thought was interrupted when somebody abruptly walked into the SOTF section and began browsing through the shirts on offer. Bounce glanced over at the newcomer, a look of resentment coming and going swiftly on her face. It was somebody from school: Regina something or other (Bounce didn't recall her surname). She wasn't anybody Bounce knew, but that was hardly unremarkable. Mostly, Bounce just disliked the intrusion on 'her' space.

Her eyes flickered up and down Regina once, then returned to perusal of the shirts. Regina was a little bit taller than Bounce, but was considerably larger. Indeed, this was made more noticable by her choice of attire. Perhaps a little bold, but Bounce didn't claim to be an expert on fashion. Bounce couldn't help but feel a little small next to Regina, both shorter and much slimmer. She wasn't a big person by any means, and people like Regina just made her feel tiny.

Bounce had just begun to look at the t-shirts again when her thoughts were again disturbed, this time by a squeal, and a couple of the articles of clothing falling at her feet. Irritation firmly set itself on her features, and Bounce turned to glare at Regina.

"Would you mind keeping your juvenile excitement to yourself in the future? Nobody wants to hear it, least of all me."

[landlocked†]

...What.

As Regina began picking up the clothes she had accidentally knocked off of the rack, she heard SOTF Girl insult her, and after placing one or two of the shirts back where it belonged, turned around to see that she was staring daggers at her. Bitch! Where the fuck did she get off, talking like that? She hadn't done anything this girl (What the hell was her name?! Jesus Christ, she's tiny, she's trying to pick a fight with me when I could probably step on her and break her?) wasn't doing as well - browsing for SOTF merchandise. What did she, think she was better than her somehow?

"Ohhh, I'm sorry," Regina responded, glaring right back at her while still keeping her voice as innocent-sounding as possible, "I didn't realize I wasn't allowed to make any noise at all in here! Silly me. You'd think they'd turn the music down if they wanted it to be quiet or something!"

She continued picking up the clothes without saying another word to the girl. Like she's worth the time, anyway. She's just some tiny little punk that thinks she's hot shit, I could squish her without even realizing it... After cleaning up the scattered shirts and putting them all back as neatly as she could (Like it has to be perfect, anyway, the people that work here will just fix it later) Regina considered simply leaving, but decided against it. Besides the fact that she had some extra money and wanted to see all of the SOTF-related stuff the place had, leaving first somehow felt like she would be letting this uppity chick win. So, she continued to browse.

Ooh, they've got buttons for this, too! I wonder if they have any Steve Digaetano ones? Eee! They do! I can put one on my purse!!

"Don't you just love Steve Digs?" she said to the girl in a sickly-sweet tone of voice. She wanted her to be quiet, well, she could go fuck herself.

[Namira]

Bounce snorted derision at the response to her remark. Regina could be as sarcastic as she wanted to be - she didn't really care. One of Bounce's main problems was that she was too used to conversing on a forum or a chatroom. On those occasions, it was perfectly reasonable and possible to throw a single insult then avoid the discussion altogether, either by leaving or not contributing further to a thread. Real life... didn't quite work that way. If you insulted somebody they were still right there in front of you, and in most situations, you couldn't just walk off. Indeed, Regina was still present, and it didn't look as though that would be changing anytime soon.

Nevertheless, Bounce did her best to ignore Regina after her initial comment, much as she would have liked to have responded to the larger girl's sarcasm. Bounce didn't like continuing arguments, as she found that they would usually just be fruitless. Few people ever admitted they were wrong, nor took kindly to that fact being pointed out. Kent had been a notable exception, but that was another case where she couldn't exactly avoid the person she was arguing with. He sat next to her after all. In this instance, well, Bounce wanted SOTF clothes and had an order hanging over her. She wasn't going to allow some clumsy oaf to stop her from carrying that out.

Bounce was a little startled when Regina spoke again. She had assumed the larger girl had already said her piece and would shut up if Bounce didn't reply. It took her aback that Regina would speak again, especially so conversationally. Clearly, it wasn't friendly, Regina... well, Bounce didn't know exactly what Regina was up to, but it wasn't good. Bounce wasn't very good at picking up tone or vocal cues, especially since English wasn't her first language (although in all fairness, she'd learned it from a fairly young age). Still, even if what Regina was getting at wasn't Bounce's forte, SOTF most certainly was.

"Digaetano is interesting enough, but the majority of his fans are pubescent girls who are attracted far more to his looks than any appeal he has as a character. I would agree that he is somewhat compelling and a reasonable character to watch, but what has happened to him is not anything that has not appeared in earlier versions. What precisely is your point? Did you just experience a random desire to share your opinion with the nearest convenient person?"

[AnimeDutchess†]

Usually, Sora Najikano didn't go anywhere after school.

Usually, right about this time, he was finishing up his homework while his mother (that sweet woman, she did too much for him) was resting and watching something on the only Japanese station their television had, usually some talk show with Gackt (why did women flock to this man? He didn't think he'd ever understand). Then, he would go into the kitchen, grab a snack (maybe the Doritos...or the popcorn?), and head out into the backyard. He'd be up to his elbows in dirt and plantlife until dinner, when his father came home from work, and they'd all enjoy some peace together. Yes, that was how his weekdays went, and he loved the simple routine.

Today, however...he'd been tricked into coming here by his sweet, sweet mother. She'd told him that she just had to do an errand, and she'd need his help. That errand turned into two, then three, and now she'd dropped him off at the mall, saying that he should get a few new shirts. After all, most of his were worn now! He needed new clothes.

But I really, really like my old ones, He thought, sulking a little as he entered Hot Topic, And if I get anything new, it'll just get worn and dirty like everything else...

He already had a plastic bag in his hands, from some store he didn't bother remembering the name of. He'd gotten himself a couple new shirts; they were tees, of course, with abstract designs on them. His mom wouldn't mind if he looked around, or got a little something for himself other than clothes.

His eyes floated past the Twilight merch (what was this series, anyway? Sora didn't mind that he lived under a rock when it concerned popular culture), and settled on some jewelry. It was guy jewelry, with the singular, nice sized charms on chains. He made a beeline for them, picking one up and fingering the charm. He wasn't concerned over whether this made him look manly or not, he just liked simple necklaces like this.

He heard voices from the other part of the store. He looked up; two girls were looking through t-shirts, and seemed to be...arguing. Oh, dear. Well, he shouldn't interject. He looked back at the necklaces, trying to figure out which would suit him.

[landlocked†]

...Whaaat. Who talked like that? This girl, apparently... Regina was a little disappointed when she had ignored her first jibe, but she responded the second time... and spoke like she was a machine, apparently? Was she speaking weirdly to mess with her? Because that was a pretty dumb way to do it. It took Regina a moment to process exactly what Machine Girl was saying because her diction threw her off so much, but she understood nonetheless. Jeez, the bitch really didn't like it when she talked, did she? That just sucked for her.

"Who said it was anything about looks? Steve was hot AND he was a badass. He had the whole package," Regina said, not realizing she had somewhat missed the point Machine Girl was trying to make. (Who gives a fuck what she thinks, I'm just gonna keep talking until she leaves.) "Oh, right, I'm sorry, you don't like hearing anyone else talk, do you?" she said in her tone of false sweetness again, raising her voice with every sentence. "I'm sorry, I just get SO excited about Survival of the Fittest I just HAVE to talk about it! It's like, a reflex, almost!"

She kept sifting through the box of buttons on display, rattling off the names of some of her other favorite characters with increasing volume. "OHHH, SPEAKING OF! They've got Gabe McCallum in here, too! And Adonis Zorba, he was pretty cute. And James Ellet! And The Riz! How exciting!"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that there was another kid standing nearby. Perfect.

She normally wouldn't have been so eager to talk to someone she'd never really met before, but this was about revenge, after all. (He isn't bad-looking, either, hehehe.) "HEY!" Regina yelled to the boy over the music. "Are you looking around for Survival of the Fittest stuff too? You a fan? Who's your favorite contestant?" (And that's what we in the theater biz like the call a belt.)

[Namira]

Bounce had found a likely prospect for something to buy, at long last. It was another of the quotation shirts, this one from Bryan Calvert: 'God, if you're up there....er...well, you know. Amen.'. Still, with a suitable top found, Bounce then had to go on to attempt to locate one that matched her size. Given how small she was, that wasn't an entirely simple matter. Of course, just as Bounce began to search, the inevitable interruption from Regina happened.

Is she incapable of keeping her mouth shut? This is becoming absurd.

Predictably, Regina had missed the point of what Bounce had said completely. Bounce should have known better than to try and speak logically. There was plenty of discussion on SOTF to be found, but a goodly proportion of it was from deranged fans, not to mention holier-than-thou types and general internet trolls. Regina fell, it seemed, into the first category, which was rather unsurprising.

This time around though, Bounce didn't want to be drawn into conversation. This kind of thing wasn't about scoring points or 'winning' some kind of competition. Not for Bounce anyway. Regina had been annoying her, and Bounce had informed the larger girl of this in no uncertain terms. It was really as simple as that.

Bounce continued to ignore Regina even as she tried her very hardest, it seemed, to get everyone in the store to hear what she was talking about. Bounce thought of numerous unflattering things she could say, but decided not to actually say any of them out loud. Regina could probably squish Bounce just by sitting on her or something.

Go away now please. Bother that unfortunate over there...

[AnimeDutchess†]

Sora jumped as one of the girls seemed to shriek in his direction, but he wasn't sure she was talking to him. He glanced at her, then around at the store. It was relatively empty, except for the three of them, and the cashier in the corner, flipping through an imported lolita magazine and fitted with a huge pair of headphones. He then looked the girl in the eyes and pointed to himself. He didn't point to his chest, like normal Americans. No way, that was lame. Sora had the 'pointing-at-the-nose' reflex, as a friend of his, Ileane, liked to call it. It was a cultural thing.

"Me?" He mouthed, not wanting to yell. Well, damn. I didn't want to get involved...but I suppose if I talk, they'll calm down... Yes, having someone else in the middle of a fight usually cooled things off, didn't they?

...And what had she said? Survival of the Fittest? Sora shivered at the thought of the show. He only remembered watching one episode at his friend Ileane's house. She loved that show. He honestly didn't see the appeal.

[Solomir†]

((Peter Siu continued from dz/dt))

Ah, the mall. A place bustling with tweens, teens, and the occasional college kid. There were lots of things to do at the mall: shopping for clothes, eating snacks or meals, meeting up with friends, or just plain relaxing after a boring day of school.
You forgot checking out cute guys and girls.
There wasn't anything in particular Peter felt like he needed to buy today. He was here mainly to avoid Tiffany dragging him to today's GODspeed meeting. It wasn't a bad club... except maybe Rachel. That girl really made Peter wonder if people actually believed that faking faith would get them to heaven.
Some people are idiots, get used to it.
Peter was interrupted from his thoughts by the purring in his pocket telling him that he was getting called. Peter pulled it out of his pocket and sighed at the sight of the name on call display. "Hi Tiff. What's-" Peter winced as Tiffany crowed back her greeting. That girl had no bounds to her energy. "I told you, I have some stuff to take care of for the fundraiser." He froze in his tracks as Tiffany asked him where he was.
Busted
"Yea, I'm uh..." Peter looked around frantically for a suitable excuse to be at the mall, "buying... decorations for the fundraiser." Peter knew he was a terrible liar. Even if he had prepared a story, he'd not have fared better. Tiffany's response wasn't- wait a minute. Was that Sora he just saw walking into Hot Topic? Peter wasn't paying much attention to Tiffany response, which had started to become whiny in that adorable way she did it. "Well, I'll still be here after the meeting, so we can still do some shopping."
Not one to turn down a date eh? Why don't you just ask her out and make her day?
Peter had never imagined Sora to be a Hot Topic kind of guy. Whenever they went hiking, Sora usually wore much plainer clothes, not the gaudy stuff that Hot Topic carried. And now Tiffany was going on about something they were doing at GODspeed. Elections? Is she trying to destroy any semblance of social life left for me? I have enough things to plan as it is. Not that I couldn't do a better job than Rachel... "Sorry Tiff, I can't make it. Now stop pleading or I'm hanging up in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1." Peter sighed as he ended the call. He'd apologize to her later.
Only because she's such a goody goody.
Now the more pressing topic at hand was saving Sora from the evil clutches of the godawful clothes inside Hot Topic. The big gardener could probably look damn fine considering the size of t-shirts sold there, but there were far better places to get good clothes. And Peter could never forgive himself for letting his friend reduce himself to Hot Topic of all choices of brands. How am I going to get him out of there without needing to walk into that godforsaken place myself?
Look at your hand you numbskull.
Oh right. He had a phone. It took a moment to find Sora's number and dial it. "Sora, why did I just see you inside Hot Topic?"

[landlocked†]

Regina was a bit put off at first when Machine Girl didn't respond, not even after she had yelled, but she got over it quickly. (Guess the bitch gave up. But hey, now I can talk to this guy!) "Yeah, you!" she shouted again, totally ignoring his attempt to be subtle. "Hey, wait... don't you go to Bayview?" Getting a closer look at the guy, he did seem kind of familiar, and Regina was pretty sure she'd passed him in the hallways before. Hopefully Lloyd didn't mind her talking to him... (Oh please, he'll deal. Like anything's gonna come of it. If Bella and Jacob can do it...)

She held up the SADD t-shirt she planned to buy and waved it at him, once again knocking a piece of clothing off of its rack. "Come over here!" she yelled again, "I just want to know if you're a fan! You know Survival of the Fittest, right?"

It was probably pointless to ask - more or less everybody had heard of Survival of the Fittest by this point. She remembered quite vividly the time when Season 3 was airing - everybody had been talking about at lunch and between classes. Yeah, there was the odd person that thought they were 'above' all that or whatever (Oh god please tell me this guy isn't a SOTF-hater, what the hell is so wrong with liking a TV show?!) but a lot of the students were at least casual fans.

Completely ignoring both the shirt she had once again knocked over and Machine Girl, she walked over to where the other guy was, the same sweet smile plastered on her face, but this time with purer intentions. ...Or at least less sarcastic intentions, anyway. "Sooo?" she said as cutely as she could manage, "are you a fan?"

[laZardo†]

Cisco Vasquez did not know what he was doing in the "trendy" fashion section of the mall, let alone Hot Topic, but then again, sometimes he didn't care. The currently dyed-green-haired boy was dressed like he'd just binged at Adidas and Reebok, wearing his fluorescent-yellow-green goalie jersey today minus the gloves and cleats, the latter replaced by plain sneakers. He silently and jokingly wondered if he would get his wrists slashed for stepping into Hot Topic turf, before noticing that Hot Topic was in the midst of its own turf war.

Twilight and the forced-smash-hit reality show SotF were both jockeying for shelf space, it seemed, and it subtly told him where to move. He had quite a loathing for Twilight and its fans, so he gravitated toward the SotF section, where a number of his classmates appeared to be lurking and chatting. Not that he didn't particularly loathe SotF, he had just lost interest about halfway through the current "season." Exactly whose bright idea it was to turn an actual terrorist attack into a hot fashion label he didn't know, but he figured that whoever was plotting the attacks would probably not have expected it unless those two were the same person.

He passed the "for sale" bin, which had a number of items from previous season that had gone out of style as per the norms of American pop culture. The only V2 items that were still in-style, it seemed, were those of the top few, although those items were becoming few and far between. Something in particular about the item on top of the bargain pile disturbed him greatly, and not because its bright red color was causing it to stick out like a sore thumb. He was quite thankful the fad he was reminded of went out of style quickly enough.

This despite the fact that he took the item and slung it over his shoulder with the intent to purchase it. Maybe I can buy it, burn it and do someone else a favor.

"G'deeeeevning!" he began, in his swaggering accent. "I see we are trying to be trendy today..."

[Namira]

Bounce picked out a shirt in the correct size for her, and half turned to start towards the check out. Then she stopped, sighed, and turned back to the shelf. She somehow doubted that her mother would be satisfied with a single article of clothing. Mrs. Volkova had been fairly clear on what she wanted Bounce to purchase. Bounce wasn't going to get away with just the one shirt.

Why did it have to be today? Or more accurately, why did it have to be when that ludicrous Regina girl was already here? Ugh. At least she has decided to inflict herself on that other fellow instead.

Reluctantly, Bounce considered buying one of the generic Survival of The Fittest logo shirts. They weren't anything fantastically interesting, but at least they didn't have characters that Bounce particularly hated on them. She had just picked one up when a greeting startled her. Bounce wheeled to look at who it was. Someone she recognised, at least, Cisco. Bounce knew that he was a member of the school's anime club, much like her friend Ileane. Beyond that, not much else.

"...'Trendiness' has nothing to do with what I buy. I purchase Survival of The Fittest merchandise because I enjoy the show, not because it is in... fashion."

[AnimeDutchess†]

To say Sora was perturbed would be...pretty accurate. He gave the girl a blank, kind of scared look as she came over, and when she asked if he was a fan, he just kind of blinked.

"Of...SotF? N-No, not really..." His voice was slow, cautious. If he'd learned anything from having a fangirl for a friend, it was this: never put down or speak harshly of something a fangirl likes. Calmly and rationally explain just why you happen to disagree.

But he didn't have time to explain. His phone was playing a recording of some R&B tune his phone had come with. "Ah, excuse me..." He fumbled for his phone, pulling it out of his pocket and letting his eyes scan the little screen at the top. He smiled and flipped it open, bringing the phone to his ear.

"Hey, Peter," He said, turning around so he could feel as if he was having somewhat of a private conversation. "What's..." He scrunched his nose a little. "They have nice necklaces here, that's why. I already bought clothes for myself...wait a minute, how do you know I'm in here?" He looked out the entrance to the store and felt a bit stupid; Peter was right outside. He waved sheepishly. "I'll come out, alright? See yah." He flipped the phone shut and turned back to the girl.

"I-I'm really sorry, Miss," He said politely, starting to back away. "But that was a friend of mine. I gotta get out of here. I'll...see you around?"

[landlocked†]

Suddenly, Cute Asian Dude's phone rang, cutting off his train of thought, although Regina had to admit she was looking a bit more than she had been listening. The ring snapped her back into reality, however (What a stupid ringtone...) and she made her face up into the poutiest look she could muster at the interruption. This tactic didn't seem to do much for her, however, as Cute Asian Dude turned back to her and made an excuse to leave. (Oh, well, excuse me, I'm sorry I couldn't be more interesting than your stupid friend.)

"Oh. Well, whatever, maybe I'll see you," she said curtly, twirling around with a flourish of her hair and marching her way back to the racks to find that Machine Girl seemed to have company. Regina managed to catch the tail end of what she was saying to him, and was unsurprised to find she seemed to be bitching in AP English at him, too. Having found the opportunity to get one more retort at Machine Girl in, Regina almost began yelling again until she noticed exactly who the kid she was talking to was. She didn't know Cisco Vasquez (Ugh, that kid is so fucking weird.) by name, but his speech impediment had earned him quite a bit of snickering behind his back, and that coupled with his slightly odd appearance caused Regina to avoid him aside from the occasional nasty comment when he wasn't listening. (Fuck that noise, I'm not talking to them...)

Still, she couldn't bear to go without a final jibe at Machine Girl. Picking out one last button from the box (I think I'll go with Darnell, dude was fine.) in addition to the one she already had and the t-shirt, she threw another remark at the two of them.

"Oh, don't mind her, her ears are just so sensitive she'll bitch at anything that makes noise."

Before either of them could respond to her, she quickly marched her way to the counter, rang up her items, and sped out of the store, this time finally using the grace her dance lessons gave her and taking care not to knock anything over as she went.

((Regina Straw continued in My Plastic Fantasy))