((Open to all whoa are interested in fucking around in a mall. Specifically this mall, if you wanna look at the stores available. I think it's about 20 to 30 minutes away from Detroit, if I remember correctly. Been a little while since I've been there. Since this is like 10 years in the future, you can probably get away with putting in whatever you want xD))
Malls were the last place Anthony Rollins wanted to be when he wasn't shooting anything. He hated shopping, was of the mindset that if you were going into a store, you were going in to buy something and get the hell out. Malls were the epitome of wasted time to him; you go to shop, but then get caught wandering around for an hour. He'd rather have been working on something with Anna, or doing something for the Drama club.
But it just so happened Anthony didn't have much to do when his mom figured she needed to get some new clothes, and then bribed him by saying she'd throw him some money if he went out to Great Lakes Crossing in Rochester Hills, just so she didn't have to drive home. This was not to be taken lightly. Anthony still didn't have a job yet, and barely managed to keep gas in his car (an '85 Ford Ranger that basically hemorrhaged fuel), let alone go anywhere. Besides, his mom usually bought him dinner when he went out with her, too.
So off they went, and Mrs. Rollins started her trip with son in tow. She was about to go in to Forever 21 to look at fashions that were probably about twenty years too young for her, when she told Anthony the magic words.
"You go ahead and do whatever you want, I'll meet you in the food court in about an hour and a half." And then she slapped a fifty dollar bill in Anthony's hand. Just like that, he was free.
Anthony knew already where he was going, and before long he was standing outside FYE. There weren't that many people; entertainment had long since fallen by the wayside and the entertainment chain didn't have as much power as it used to.
"The day is mine, then." He muttered to himself, grinning. He started in to the store, but before he even could start to the classic movies section, something caught his eye. There was a carboard cutout of a boy, probably about his age (but like twice his height), with torn clothing and smears of blood on his face. On racks around waist level were plush dolls, mugs, and other things that seemed to carry the boy's likeness. The advertisement read "Jonathan Stone Merchandise, ON SALE!"
One of the sales reps must have caught Anthony looking, and they strode up to him.
"Can I help you?" He asked.
Anthony nodded to the rack. "What's all that about?"
"Oh, it's just SOTF-TV merchandise. Don't you watch?"
Anthony's lip curled up a little in revulsion. He had heard of SOTF-TV, even watched an episode or two. The show tried to play up that reality-show vibe, but he didn't believe it was real. The whole thing smacked of amateurish, trying to play off of people's love of bloodsport than any actual cinematic quality. Half the time you couldn't even see the people in the story.
The rep must not have seen Anthony's distaste, because he kept going.
"Yeah, Jonathan Stone's one of the more popular people from one of the earlier seasons. We're just trying to clear out some old merch so we can get ready for the new stuff they're making for him. It's real cheap today. Want something? They make great gifts!"
Anthony waved him off. "Nah, I'm good, man."
"Alright. Well, ask me if you need anything. Keep in mind, DVDS of Survival of the Fittest Season 3 are 25% off! Get yours today!"
Anthony kept walking, and waited till the rep was out of earshot. "Fat fucking chance." He found the classic movies section, and started browsing.
Suspension of Disbelief
The open thread at a mall! (Detroit Central)
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Casey The Undead*
- Posts: 196
- Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2018 3:44 am
Jaszmine Johnson loved malls. It was a breeding ground for ideas. Besides seeing what stores put in the windows, she also got to see what people were wearing- actual people, that is. Instead of models in Paris and Milan, she was getting a first hand view of what her future customers liked. In between actually going shopping, she'd usually park herself on a bench, just sitting and watching. Sometimes she'd got down notes or ideas, but usually she just watched. Today however, she'd hit a roadblock.
Jaszmine hated the days when she was uninspired. It made her feel so lazy and useless- two things that reminded her too much of Darren to make her comfortable. So after about an hour of sitting in front of a blank piece of paper, eyes going fuzzy and zoning in and out, she got up and started walking.
She'd never been in FYE before, and for good reason. It wasn't at all Jaszmine's place or style. She was going to walk right past it, but something caught her eye. SOTF-TV sale.
Jaszmine was not the biggest fan of SOTF-TV in the world, not by a longshot, but she did watch the show, and rather enjoyed it. She didn't need any merchandise, persay, but it wouldn't kill her to check it out.
She nearly burst out laughing at the cardboard cutout of Johnathan Stone. People who bought lifesize cut outs of anything needed hobbies. It was an utterly useless thing to have.
The collection of Season 3 DVD's weren't bad, and a good price too, but Jaszmine already owned all of season three, and besides, SOTF-TV lost a lot of it's charm the second time around. When you know who's going to win, the shock and suspense vanishes entirely. Her mother and Darren disagreed with her however, and so all of the DVD's were nicely lined up on a shelf, getting rewatched every week or two. Jaszy drew when they watched.
Johnathan Stone had actually inspired a design of hers, interestingly. It was very simple, but she liked it enough that it made her wall of fame- next to the sketches of graffiti she'd made outside this very mall. Jaszmine was proud of those drawings- they were realer than anything else she made.
Jaszy turned to leave, already bored with the items in the store, when someone caught her eye. It was that scrawny kid from school, Anthony. The one who was always hanging out with the white chick- Anna- who made that webshow. Not necessarily Jaszmine's best friend, but hey, she had nothing else to do. Casually, Jaszmine strolled up to the boy.
"Hey. Anthony!" She didn't wave, but she did smile a little as she walked up. It was that whole "being an optimist thing." Shit required tons of smiling. But waving took it way to far into creeper territory for Jaszy. She did not know this kid well enough for waving, hell no.
"What you doin' here? This what you and that Anna girl into?" She glanced over the classic movies, lined up neatly on the shelves. "Damn. Shoulda pegged you for a movie nerd."
Jaszmine hated the days when she was uninspired. It made her feel so lazy and useless- two things that reminded her too much of Darren to make her comfortable. So after about an hour of sitting in front of a blank piece of paper, eyes going fuzzy and zoning in and out, she got up and started walking.
She'd never been in FYE before, and for good reason. It wasn't at all Jaszmine's place or style. She was going to walk right past it, but something caught her eye. SOTF-TV sale.
Jaszmine was not the biggest fan of SOTF-TV in the world, not by a longshot, but she did watch the show, and rather enjoyed it. She didn't need any merchandise, persay, but it wouldn't kill her to check it out.
She nearly burst out laughing at the cardboard cutout of Johnathan Stone. People who bought lifesize cut outs of anything needed hobbies. It was an utterly useless thing to have.
The collection of Season 3 DVD's weren't bad, and a good price too, but Jaszmine already owned all of season three, and besides, SOTF-TV lost a lot of it's charm the second time around. When you know who's going to win, the shock and suspense vanishes entirely. Her mother and Darren disagreed with her however, and so all of the DVD's were nicely lined up on a shelf, getting rewatched every week or two. Jaszy drew when they watched.
Johnathan Stone had actually inspired a design of hers, interestingly. It was very simple, but she liked it enough that it made her wall of fame- next to the sketches of graffiti she'd made outside this very mall. Jaszmine was proud of those drawings- they were realer than anything else she made.
Jaszy turned to leave, already bored with the items in the store, when someone caught her eye. It was that scrawny kid from school, Anthony. The one who was always hanging out with the white chick- Anna- who made that webshow. Not necessarily Jaszmine's best friend, but hey, she had nothing else to do. Casually, Jaszmine strolled up to the boy.
"Hey. Anthony!" She didn't wave, but she did smile a little as she walked up. It was that whole "being an optimist thing." Shit required tons of smiling. But waving took it way to far into creeper territory for Jaszy. She did not know this kid well enough for waving, hell no.
"What you doin' here? This what you and that Anna girl into?" She glanced over the classic movies, lined up neatly on the shelves. "Damn. Shoulda pegged you for a movie nerd."
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Axel Stadler walked through the mall with a fast pace and his eyes locked straight ahead. Avoid the frivolous bullshit, he thought to himself. His hatred had for the mall had been ignited as a small child dragged along for hours of shopping by his mother, and it had not abated much since. He disliked most of the stores, he disliked most of the merchandise in those stores, and he disliked the crowds browsing through the merchandise in those stores.
He was there for SOTF-TV's DVDs, specifically for the discounted Season 3. Grab it and get out of here. DVDs were the only thing he ever came to the mall for; the video stores closer to him in Detroit had pretty much all gone broke. Axel had a picture of the old Blockbusters' fading neon sign he was proud of: the failing lights had left it as a sad 'BLOCKBUSTER VIDEO'. He couldn't help wondering if it had been deliberate or not.
His right hand slipped down into his pocket and his fingers brushed against the $20 bill tucked inside. Checking his pockets was almost an unconscious action for him. Satisfied that his money was still where he thought it was, he let his hand fall to his side again. He couldn't understand why so many people kept their wallet or their money in a back pocket, in a blind spot so much easier to reach than the front. Sometimes you even saw people with bills sticking halfway out of their pocket; not on Detroit people, mostly on those suburban chicks. Axel didn't believe in theft, but if he saw someone's bills protruding like that he would snatch them without hesitation. After all, he didn't have any problem picking up money off the ground, and those bills were already halfway there. This particular 20 had been legitimately acquired, however. Not from a job, which Axel didn't have, but from his parents. They were willing to feed him a 20 every other week or so if he could tell them (make something up about) what he'd be spending it on, but they got resentful after a while and periodically made empty threats about cutting him off if he wouldn't go find a job.
Axel was whistling the notes of a guitar solo under his breath but suddenly killed it when he saw someone make eye contact with him. He felt himself a go a little red and then started up again after a few steps put that person behind him. He knew it would be less awkward if he just ignored their momentary notice, but silencing himself was instinctual whenever he caught someone's attention.
Axel turned in to FYE, dodging around someone exiting the store. He snorted at the line of cardboard cutouts. Who the fuck would buy one of those? He made his way over to the shelf of DVDs. "Hi, is there something I can help you find?" asked an employee.
"No, I'm good," Axel told her. He got to the shelf and ran a finger along a line of the DVDs. Fuck these theftproof cases. He didn't want to steal one, just pop it open to check the disc for scratches. It was really annoying to have to go back and exchange it. Season 3 was the most interesting of the series for Axel. Sure, season 1 was the classic and 2 was everybody's favorite. But 3 was the most interesting from the cinematographical persepective and in Axel's opinion, the psychological one.
The first two seasons of SOTF-TV had been filmed on what were basically security cameras; there were enough of them to cover the whole island, but in a lot of cases you could only get one angle on a situation through them, and it was not the optimum one. You missed out on faces, gestures, a lot of the action. The third was where the developers had decided to address the problem, and introduced some new techniques. They'd upped the number of the cameras, of course, and installed some newer remote operated ones that could be panned and tilted manually to get the best angle. They'd also gotten a lot more into the aerial angles, operating from choppers, drone aircraft, and even a blimp for wide establishing shots of the whole island.
Season 2 sucked, thought Axel as he glanced at its cases. Season 2 was probably the most popular of all, because it was the bloodiest. The SOTF-TV execs had been looking to top their hit first season, so they'd deliberately aimed for bigger battles, herding the contestants closer and closer on purpose. They overdid it a lot, in Axel's opinion, producing a few spectacular battle scenes in the beginning but screwing over the rest of the season in the process. They blew their load too early, was Axel's overall opinion of it. Character development got screwed over for the rest of the season with so many dying so soon, and that was really Axel's favorite part of it. The blood and the violence was exciting the first time you saw it, but each time you rewatched, focused on a different person, saw how their mind dealt with what they experienced, it only became more and more interesting. So as he rewatched them all, Axel came to dislike Season 2 more and more than any other in the series. Season 3 was where they learned from their mistakes in the second one, and upped the cinematic quality a lot, and Axel wanted the DVD's behind-the-scenes commentary on these aspects.
"Excuse me," said someone from behind him, and Axel realized he'd been standing there an awfully long time thinking. He moved aside wordlessly and went to go pay for his DVD set...
He was there for SOTF-TV's DVDs, specifically for the discounted Season 3. Grab it and get out of here. DVDs were the only thing he ever came to the mall for; the video stores closer to him in Detroit had pretty much all gone broke. Axel had a picture of the old Blockbusters' fading neon sign he was proud of: the failing lights had left it as a sad 'BLOCKBUSTER VIDEO'. He couldn't help wondering if it had been deliberate or not.
His right hand slipped down into his pocket and his fingers brushed against the $20 bill tucked inside. Checking his pockets was almost an unconscious action for him. Satisfied that his money was still where he thought it was, he let his hand fall to his side again. He couldn't understand why so many people kept their wallet or their money in a back pocket, in a blind spot so much easier to reach than the front. Sometimes you even saw people with bills sticking halfway out of their pocket; not on Detroit people, mostly on those suburban chicks. Axel didn't believe in theft, but if he saw someone's bills protruding like that he would snatch them without hesitation. After all, he didn't have any problem picking up money off the ground, and those bills were already halfway there. This particular 20 had been legitimately acquired, however. Not from a job, which Axel didn't have, but from his parents. They were willing to feed him a 20 every other week or so if he could tell them (make something up about) what he'd be spending it on, but they got resentful after a while and periodically made empty threats about cutting him off if he wouldn't go find a job.
Axel was whistling the notes of a guitar solo under his breath but suddenly killed it when he saw someone make eye contact with him. He felt himself a go a little red and then started up again after a few steps put that person behind him. He knew it would be less awkward if he just ignored their momentary notice, but silencing himself was instinctual whenever he caught someone's attention.
Axel turned in to FYE, dodging around someone exiting the store. He snorted at the line of cardboard cutouts. Who the fuck would buy one of those? He made his way over to the shelf of DVDs. "Hi, is there something I can help you find?" asked an employee.
"No, I'm good," Axel told her. He got to the shelf and ran a finger along a line of the DVDs. Fuck these theftproof cases. He didn't want to steal one, just pop it open to check the disc for scratches. It was really annoying to have to go back and exchange it. Season 3 was the most interesting of the series for Axel. Sure, season 1 was the classic and 2 was everybody's favorite. But 3 was the most interesting from the cinematographical persepective and in Axel's opinion, the psychological one.
The first two seasons of SOTF-TV had been filmed on what were basically security cameras; there were enough of them to cover the whole island, but in a lot of cases you could only get one angle on a situation through them, and it was not the optimum one. You missed out on faces, gestures, a lot of the action. The third was where the developers had decided to address the problem, and introduced some new techniques. They'd upped the number of the cameras, of course, and installed some newer remote operated ones that could be panned and tilted manually to get the best angle. They'd also gotten a lot more into the aerial angles, operating from choppers, drone aircraft, and even a blimp for wide establishing shots of the whole island.
Season 2 sucked, thought Axel as he glanced at its cases. Season 2 was probably the most popular of all, because it was the bloodiest. The SOTF-TV execs had been looking to top their hit first season, so they'd deliberately aimed for bigger battles, herding the contestants closer and closer on purpose. They overdid it a lot, in Axel's opinion, producing a few spectacular battle scenes in the beginning but screwing over the rest of the season in the process. They blew their load too early, was Axel's overall opinion of it. Character development got screwed over for the rest of the season with so many dying so soon, and that was really Axel's favorite part of it. The blood and the violence was exciting the first time you saw it, but each time you rewatched, focused on a different person, saw how their mind dealt with what they experienced, it only became more and more interesting. So as he rewatched them all, Axel came to dislike Season 2 more and more than any other in the series. Season 3 was where they learned from their mistakes in the second one, and upped the cinematic quality a lot, and Axel wanted the DVD's behind-the-scenes commentary on these aspects.
"Excuse me," said someone from behind him, and Axel realized he'd been standing there an awfully long time thinking. He moved aside wordlessly and went to go pay for his DVD set...
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"She's into all this even more than me, girl. Girl breathes and eats movies. Scares me sometimes." He said, grinning. This much was true. Anthony loved movies. Anna lived movies. Way he figured it, when she watched one, she was imagining herself inside them. He was fine to be the guy behind the camera. Seemed safer.
Anthony kept the movie in his hand as he stood up, leaned his weight on one of the racks. "So when you gonna come design some costumes for us?" Anthony said, smiling a little. "Anna likes some of your designs, and let's face it, we're not fashionistas, know what I'm saying?"
As he waited for Jaszmin's response, he watched a tall, lanky kid (Alex or something like that?) grab something from the SOTF rack.
"God, who would buy that shit?"
Anthony kept the movie in his hand as he stood up, leaned his weight on one of the racks. "So when you gonna come design some costumes for us?" Anthony said, smiling a little. "Anna likes some of your designs, and let's face it, we're not fashionistas, know what I'm saying?"
As he waited for Jaszmin's response, he watched a tall, lanky kid (Alex or something like that?) grab something from the SOTF rack.
"God, who would buy that shit?"
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Casey The Undead*
- Posts: 196
- Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2018 3:44 am
Jaszmine grinned, unable to keep the pride out of her expression. "Hey man, name a time and place, and I'm there. I got nowhere to be." Being a fashion designer for a web show. Life was going pretty good right now, Jaszmine would say. Besides, she liked Anna. Girl was loud as fuck, but she was nice- for a white girl.
Jaszy turned to the boy at the front of the store, buying the SOTF stuff. "Darren," she scoffed, a bit louder than she knew. She turned back to Anthony. "Someone who cannot appreciate this artistic crap y'all are into." She picked up one of the movies off the shelf, glancing over it. "For real, I have got to watch some of this. Better than the shit my rents got playing." She laughed again, louder.
"But yeah. Hit me up, I'll make you some clothes. But remember me when y'all are famous- little people who got you there. Anyways, how you and Snowflake doing? Y'all fucking yet?"
Jaszy turned to the boy at the front of the store, buying the SOTF stuff. "Darren," she scoffed, a bit louder than she knew. She turned back to Anthony. "Someone who cannot appreciate this artistic crap y'all are into." She picked up one of the movies off the shelf, glancing over it. "For real, I have got to watch some of this. Better than the shit my rents got playing." She laughed again, louder.
"But yeah. Hit me up, I'll make you some clothes. But remember me when y'all are famous- little people who got you there. Anyways, how you and Snowflake doing? Y'all fucking yet?"
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Axel heard the comment pass behind his back, who would buy that shit? He didn't turn back, he couldn't be 100% sure it referred to him and his SOTF-TV DVD, but there weren't many other people here it could have been meant for. He started having a moment of indecision, a moment stretched out into an hour as he paid for the movie. Should he turn around and respond or should he keep on ignoring it?
The conversation from behind him moved on and he lost track of it, each second passing by making response more and more pointless. He pictured the person who'd said that in his mind. Hipster film geek. SOTF-TV was beloved by the elitists and the general public alike; it was truly an incomparable experience. There were knock-offs of it already but they bombed in the reviews and in the ratings because they were fake, scripted or semi-scripted, the violence and the drama carried with it never real.
There were only a few types of people who didn't like SOTF-TV. You had your moral guardians in a constant uproar, decrying it as an overproduced snuff movie. You had the people who couldn't stomach the blood and guts and the hatred, who were afraid of it. And there were the people who didn't watch it because they didn't watch anything. But finally, you had the hipsters who just had to be different, to criticize that which deserved praise, to miss the point that everyone else got. And which one of those people are you really going to run into in a genuine video store?
He spun away from the counter when he was done with the cashier and started walking out. The glimpse he took at the other people was enough to tell him he might have recognized them a little bit, maybe from the film club at school he'd stopped going to after the first few meetings. But not enough to be sure. "Not a Survival of the Fittest fan, are you?" he said under his breath. Your opinion doesn't matter.
The conversation from behind him moved on and he lost track of it, each second passing by making response more and more pointless. He pictured the person who'd said that in his mind. Hipster film geek. SOTF-TV was beloved by the elitists and the general public alike; it was truly an incomparable experience. There were knock-offs of it already but they bombed in the reviews and in the ratings because they were fake, scripted or semi-scripted, the violence and the drama carried with it never real.
There were only a few types of people who didn't like SOTF-TV. You had your moral guardians in a constant uproar, decrying it as an overproduced snuff movie. You had the people who couldn't stomach the blood and guts and the hatred, who were afraid of it. And there were the people who didn't watch it because they didn't watch anything. But finally, you had the hipsters who just had to be different, to criticize that which deserved praise, to miss the point that everyone else got. And which one of those people are you really going to run into in a genuine video store?
He spun away from the counter when he was done with the cashier and started walking out. The glimpse he took at the other people was enough to tell him he might have recognized them a little bit, maybe from the film club at school he'd stopped going to after the first few meetings. But not enough to be sure. "Not a Survival of the Fittest fan, are you?" he said under his breath. Your opinion doesn't matter.
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler Flayer. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.
Anthony put a hand up, slapped Jaszmine on the back lightly. "Glad to see you onboard. I'll see what Anna's got going on far as the next shows. You know that chick, her ideas have a habit of flipping around every couple of days."
Last he heard, Anna had wanted to do some kind of Shakespeare parody or something. If that still held true, then they REALLY needed someone who could do some period costumes.
He looked at the DVDS Jaszmine picked up, and he held up the Chaplin film he had considered buying. "Yeah, real art, right here. Man didn't even need to talk for you to laugh. It's a damn shame that the classics are going for like-" he looked at the price tag. "Two fucking bucks? Jesus Christ."
And then Jaszmine dropped the big question, the one Anthony occasionally caught shit for. He snorted, held back laughter. "Yeah, we're fucking all over the place. She's thinking of putting it on camera, you know. I'd be hittin' it, and she'd be making cracks about it. We'd get a million hits, and then I'd be so embarassed I'd never show my face in school again." He smiled again, shifted his weight over to his left foot.
"Nah, you know she's just my bud, man. What about you? How'd that shit go down with Goldman?" He'd heard about the break-up. Most people from school did. Jaszy and Bobby had been a fairly visible couple for awhile.
Last he heard, Anna had wanted to do some kind of Shakespeare parody or something. If that still held true, then they REALLY needed someone who could do some period costumes.
He looked at the DVDS Jaszmine picked up, and he held up the Chaplin film he had considered buying. "Yeah, real art, right here. Man didn't even need to talk for you to laugh. It's a damn shame that the classics are going for like-" he looked at the price tag. "Two fucking bucks? Jesus Christ."
And then Jaszmine dropped the big question, the one Anthony occasionally caught shit for. He snorted, held back laughter. "Yeah, we're fucking all over the place. She's thinking of putting it on camera, you know. I'd be hittin' it, and she'd be making cracks about it. We'd get a million hits, and then I'd be so embarassed I'd never show my face in school again." He smiled again, shifted his weight over to his left foot.
"Nah, you know she's just my bud, man. What about you? How'd that shit go down with Goldman?" He'd heard about the break-up. Most people from school did. Jaszy and Bobby had been a fairly visible couple for awhile.
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Casey The Undead*
- Posts: 196
- Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2018 3:44 am
Jaszmine rolled her eyes at Anthony's crack about him and Anna. "You two will one day. Y'all gonna be all up in each other and I'm gonna sit back there just saying 'told you so' as many times as I can."
Jaszmine nearly bit off her tongue when he mentioned Bobby. "Oh god, you just had to go there, nigga. You don't even wanna know. It ain't good. For him, at least."
Jaszmine sighed, shaking her head. "Look, I ain't told anyone about what went down. But I like you, even if you is some crazy ass art-freak, so I guess you got a right to know. But if you tell a word of this to our chatty little Snowflake, I will tear your black ass open, got it?"
"Bobby, as it turned out, was a complete jackass. Probably shoulda called that one, what with him being a Jewish boy with a racist mother and a douchebag attitude, but whatever. I had to be a stupid bitch and actually like that motherfucker.
"But this dumb ass white boy thinks that he good enough to get me, and I mean 'get me' get me. He think he got game or something. I told his stupid ass to fuck off and that I wasn't ready, and he got all fuckin pissy at me, as if I fucking owed him some shit. So I told him where he could shove it, and to get some skank to fuck him, but that I wasn't doing it. I told him he wasn't good enough for me, and it's damn true.
"He ain't got no right asking me to fuck his sorry ass, and he ain't got no right acting as if it's all my fault because of it. That's some serious bullshit. I don't need his racist mother, I don't need him. I can do so much better. He's a jackass with a hair trigger temper who thinks he's cool cause he can play a sport. Fucker don't know anything."
Jaszmine stopped, realizing just how bitter she was. She sounded pathetic. "But I'm gonna get over him real quick. Find someone worthy of Jaszy Johnson, you know what I'm saying?"
Maybe the breakup hadn't been exactly the way she described it, but Jaszmine was bitter, single, and done with everything that was Bobby Goldman. So frankly, she didn't give a fuck.
"Hear me boy. You say a fucking word to anyone, and I will tear your shit up, got me? A. Fucking. Word."
She knew Anthony wouldn't. But she still had to make sure.
Jaszmine nearly bit off her tongue when he mentioned Bobby. "Oh god, you just had to go there, nigga. You don't even wanna know. It ain't good. For him, at least."
Jaszmine sighed, shaking her head. "Look, I ain't told anyone about what went down. But I like you, even if you is some crazy ass art-freak, so I guess you got a right to know. But if you tell a word of this to our chatty little Snowflake, I will tear your black ass open, got it?"
"Bobby, as it turned out, was a complete jackass. Probably shoulda called that one, what with him being a Jewish boy with a racist mother and a douchebag attitude, but whatever. I had to be a stupid bitch and actually like that motherfucker.
"But this dumb ass white boy thinks that he good enough to get me, and I mean 'get me' get me. He think he got game or something. I told his stupid ass to fuck off and that I wasn't ready, and he got all fuckin pissy at me, as if I fucking owed him some shit. So I told him where he could shove it, and to get some skank to fuck him, but that I wasn't doing it. I told him he wasn't good enough for me, and it's damn true.
"He ain't got no right asking me to fuck his sorry ass, and he ain't got no right acting as if it's all my fault because of it. That's some serious bullshit. I don't need his racist mother, I don't need him. I can do so much better. He's a jackass with a hair trigger temper who thinks he's cool cause he can play a sport. Fucker don't know anything."
Jaszmine stopped, realizing just how bitter she was. She sounded pathetic. "But I'm gonna get over him real quick. Find someone worthy of Jaszy Johnson, you know what I'm saying?"
Maybe the breakup hadn't been exactly the way she described it, but Jaszmine was bitter, single, and done with everything that was Bobby Goldman. So frankly, she didn't give a fuck.
"Hear me boy. You say a fucking word to anyone, and I will tear your shit up, got me? A. Fucking. Word."
She knew Anthony wouldn't. But she still had to make sure.
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler Casey The Undead. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.
Let's see here... Mumford & Sons, Blind Guardian, Stratovarius, Kamelot, Three... What else? Oh, fuck yes, box set of Spartacus.
Marcus knew he probably shouldn't be buying this shit and did have a pang of guilt every time he grabbed another item, but they were in the bargain bin. He shouldn't be feeling guilty for the bargain bin, right? Oh well, he needed to spoil himself once in a while, at least according to his friends. Speaking of friends...
"Oh, hey, it's you two."
Marcus called out as he left the isles and the bargain bin behind, carrying a rather massive stack of CDs, DVDs and even a few games in his arms, struggling to keep them steady. The last thing he wanted was to let them go toppling and end up breaking something. Then again, he was buying all this shit. Still, he'd rather buy them in good condition instead of broken and shattered. But given the massive stack of crap he was holding, it seemed that Marcus had been there for a while, sneaking around the back isles, looking through bargain bins. FYE wasn't the greatest of stores but they had a decent selection. Decent enough for Marcus' tastes, at least.
...How am I going to get this shit home on my bike?
"Dude, Anthony. You don't happen to have the truck here, do you?"
Ask for a favor. That should work. Otherwise, it looked like Marcus would be making a trip to Timberland on his way out, pick up a backpack or some shit like that. Definitely didn't have the room on his bike for this stuff and it was a long way home.
"Oh, if either of you have anything, feel free to toss it in the pile."
Now would be a good time to start paying for this stuff. And leave the store, before he ended up spending all his money.
Marcus knew he probably shouldn't be buying this shit and did have a pang of guilt every time he grabbed another item, but they were in the bargain bin. He shouldn't be feeling guilty for the bargain bin, right? Oh well, he needed to spoil himself once in a while, at least according to his friends. Speaking of friends...
"Oh, hey, it's you two."
Marcus called out as he left the isles and the bargain bin behind, carrying a rather massive stack of CDs, DVDs and even a few games in his arms, struggling to keep them steady. The last thing he wanted was to let them go toppling and end up breaking something. Then again, he was buying all this shit. Still, he'd rather buy them in good condition instead of broken and shattered. But given the massive stack of crap he was holding, it seemed that Marcus had been there for a while, sneaking around the back isles, looking through bargain bins. FYE wasn't the greatest of stores but they had a decent selection. Decent enough for Marcus' tastes, at least.
...How am I going to get this shit home on my bike?
"Dude, Anthony. You don't happen to have the truck here, do you?"
Ask for a favor. That should work. Otherwise, it looked like Marcus would be making a trip to Timberland on his way out, pick up a backpack or some shit like that. Definitely didn't have the room on his bike for this stuff and it was a long way home.
"Oh, if either of you have anything, feel free to toss it in the pile."
Now would be a good time to start paying for this stuff. And leave the store, before he ended up spending all his money.
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler Dr. Nic. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.
Anthony listened intently as Jaszy fed him the information, smiling as she did some obviously much-needed venting. He hadn't looked too much into the Jaszy/Bobby thing, so it was nice to get info about it from the source. Just in case he needed to know what not to say.
"You go, girl!" He said, and gave a little circle snap as he popped his hip. "Girl don't need no man who don't need her back! You be doin' good!" Anthony said, grinning.
Then Marcus walked up, looking like he had every TV show ever made on dvd in his arms. Anthony gave him a upwards jerk of the head in greeting.
"Nah man, my mama drove me here today. She's getting clothes, I tagged along." He watched as Marcus struggled to hold onto his cache. "You want us to get you some bags from the front? Or a basket or something?" As he said that, he moved to take some of the DVDS out of Marcus's hands.
"You go, girl!" He said, and gave a little circle snap as he popped his hip. "Girl don't need no man who don't need her back! You be doin' good!" Anthony said, grinning.
Then Marcus walked up, looking like he had every TV show ever made on dvd in his arms. Anthony gave him a upwards jerk of the head in greeting.
"Nah man, my mama drove me here today. She's getting clothes, I tagged along." He watched as Marcus struggled to hold onto his cache. "You want us to get you some bags from the front? Or a basket or something?" As he said that, he moved to take some of the DVDS out of Marcus's hands.
-
Casey The Undead*
- Posts: 196
- Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2018 3:44 am
Jaszmine smirked at Anthony's reaction, glad he wasn't calling her out on her bitterness, or upset that she was ranting. She was exhausted though- getting all that anger off of her chest had taken the rest of the conversation out of her.
Luckily, Marcus strolled up right then, looking like Santa on Christmas Eve. "Hey Marcus. You, uh...you really packing there." Jaszmine looked him up and down, deciding to not question it. It was just easier to come to the understanding that no one she knew was normal then to try and rationalize their behaviors.
"Sorry, I can't help you either. I took a bus. Was easier than attempting to bum a ride off my ma." Jaszmine rolled her eyes at the thought of shopping with either of her parents.
"Maybe you should put some of it back?" Jaszmine nodded to the stuff in his hands, knowing that he would never leave it. She sighed. "Otherwise you're stuck on that bike of yours. Sorry."
Luckily, Marcus strolled up right then, looking like Santa on Christmas Eve. "Hey Marcus. You, uh...you really packing there." Jaszmine looked him up and down, deciding to not question it. It was just easier to come to the understanding that no one she knew was normal then to try and rationalize their behaviors.
"Sorry, I can't help you either. I took a bus. Was easier than attempting to bum a ride off my ma." Jaszmine rolled her eyes at the thought of shopping with either of her parents.
"Maybe you should put some of it back?" Jaszmine nodded to the stuff in his hands, knowing that he would never leave it. She sighed. "Otherwise you're stuck on that bike of yours. Sorry."
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler Casey The Undead. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.
-
Spinelloccio*
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2018 9:08 pm
(Seth Tarvend pregame start!)
Seth abhorred driving. It was annoying, it was ugly, and it hurt the beauty of the world as a whole, not to mention the damage it did to his family's limited funds. But a few pounds of carbon dioxide into the greenhouse-gas-saturated sky was worth the sacrifice if the entertainment store -- or what passed as it anymore, with all that "Survival of the Fittest" trash and cacophony -- had the equivalent of the Holy Grail to the singer: An original DVD of one of Luciano Pavarotti's last concert in Paris.
Pavarotti. Il maestro di maestri. Even now, decades after his death, he was considered unparalleled in the opera community. Well, it would be more accurate to say "what was left of the opera community". How Mr. DiChiera kept an opera season going in Detroit each year after even the Met in New York had to shut down perplexed Seth. He must have chosen to personally finance it. How long could he conti-
A blaring horn brought Seth back into reality just in time to swerve out of oncoming traffic into his own lane again. The roads were always in such disrepair thanks to the ice heaving that one had to constantly adjust, sometimes drastically so, just to continue in a straight line. With how little time Seth spent in the car, it was easy for him to forget while contemplating "big thoughts". That's what his mother always called them at least. Thankfully, he'd have time for thoughts of immense magnitude once he parked the old Prius and made sure to secure everything.
Upon entering the bustling mall, Seth looked at the advertisements in the pillars and banners around the structure. They never advertised anything he'd want aside from an extraordinarily expensive tuxedo, but in order to make sure his art form never died, he'd have to make compromises and learn what the culture enjoyed. How they enjoyed fads such as SOTF-TV, Seth resigned himself to never comprehending, but he needed to do what he could so that he could share true beauty with others down the road. But now his thoughts were getting too big even for himself; he'd somehow failed to hit anybody in the crowded hallways (though his black "La sonnambula" t-shirt got its usual amount of confused stares), but he had succeeded in getting himself lost.
Out of the corner of his eye he glimpsed the FYE sign. That was it! The understudy for La Cenerentola had sold his rare DVD -- only some thousand existed -- for booze money. To Seth it was unthinkable, but who was he to complain about the circumstances behind his chance to own a non-"remastered" high-quality audio and video recording of his idol? Even if he could watch most of the pieces on YouTube from his ancient 1-terabyte computer, there was nothing quite like a disc to feed into the television. Even though he doubted anyone would be hunting for it like he was, he entered the store, ignoring the pop-culture layout and moving all the way back to the shopping area for old DVDs. Without even noticing them, he passed by a few of his classmates on his way there and began rooting through the jewel cases without his usual grace. Hopefully they were all transparent; he didn't want to open every single one to find his bounty.
Seth abhorred driving. It was annoying, it was ugly, and it hurt the beauty of the world as a whole, not to mention the damage it did to his family's limited funds. But a few pounds of carbon dioxide into the greenhouse-gas-saturated sky was worth the sacrifice if the entertainment store -- or what passed as it anymore, with all that "Survival of the Fittest" trash and cacophony -- had the equivalent of the Holy Grail to the singer: An original DVD of one of Luciano Pavarotti's last concert in Paris.
Pavarotti. Il maestro di maestri. Even now, decades after his death, he was considered unparalleled in the opera community. Well, it would be more accurate to say "what was left of the opera community". How Mr. DiChiera kept an opera season going in Detroit each year after even the Met in New York had to shut down perplexed Seth. He must have chosen to personally finance it. How long could he conti-
A blaring horn brought Seth back into reality just in time to swerve out of oncoming traffic into his own lane again. The roads were always in such disrepair thanks to the ice heaving that one had to constantly adjust, sometimes drastically so, just to continue in a straight line. With how little time Seth spent in the car, it was easy for him to forget while contemplating "big thoughts". That's what his mother always called them at least. Thankfully, he'd have time for thoughts of immense magnitude once he parked the old Prius and made sure to secure everything.
Upon entering the bustling mall, Seth looked at the advertisements in the pillars and banners around the structure. They never advertised anything he'd want aside from an extraordinarily expensive tuxedo, but in order to make sure his art form never died, he'd have to make compromises and learn what the culture enjoyed. How they enjoyed fads such as SOTF-TV, Seth resigned himself to never comprehending, but he needed to do what he could so that he could share true beauty with others down the road. But now his thoughts were getting too big even for himself; he'd somehow failed to hit anybody in the crowded hallways (though his black "La sonnambula" t-shirt got its usual amount of confused stares), but he had succeeded in getting himself lost.
Out of the corner of his eye he glimpsed the FYE sign. That was it! The understudy for La Cenerentola had sold his rare DVD -- only some thousand existed -- for booze money. To Seth it was unthinkable, but who was he to complain about the circumstances behind his chance to own a non-"remastered" high-quality audio and video recording of his idol? Even if he could watch most of the pieces on YouTube from his ancient 1-terabyte computer, there was nothing quite like a disc to feed into the television. Even though he doubted anyone would be hunting for it like he was, he entered the store, ignoring the pop-culture layout and moving all the way back to the shopping area for old DVDs. Without even noticing them, he passed by a few of his classmates on his way there and began rooting through the jewel cases without his usual grace. Hopefully they were all transparent; he didn't want to open every single one to find his bounty.
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the former handler Spinelloccio.
((Michael Clark - START))
Michael was often surprised by how easily his parents allowed him the car for a spot of loitering, window shopping, and the occasional purchase at the out of the way mall. Maybe it was just because there literally wasn't anything good on anymore. The entertainment industry had just died. Literally everything had been done.
There was that one show. Michael supposed he would see last season's DVDs when he got to where he was going. The show reminded him of something he read once. Not an exact match, but similar themes. But it was still the freshest thing anybody had seen in a decade. He pulled into a free parking spot, got out, locked the car, and began walking toward the mall. His first destination was of course FYE.
It seemed like the only thing new was that Survival of the Fittest show. Nothing had done well enough besides that to warrant a DVD release. So he'd be off to Classic TV. He walked with purpose to try to avoid the aggressive sales associates. He'd watched Survival of the Fittest and had to admit that it was the most interesting thing on television, but he really didn't need it on DVD. The reruns got played often enough, and it was all over the internet. If he really wanted some merch from the show he'd get it at Hot Topic. He had some rewards points to spend anyhow, so he could get a decent deal if he did.
He scanned the rows of DVDs until he found the treasure trove; The Simpsons, Family Guy, even Daria. Michael continued to search for nothing in particular all the while feeling nostalgic for an era he wasn't born into.
Michael was often surprised by how easily his parents allowed him the car for a spot of loitering, window shopping, and the occasional purchase at the out of the way mall. Maybe it was just because there literally wasn't anything good on anymore. The entertainment industry had just died. Literally everything had been done.
There was that one show. Michael supposed he would see last season's DVDs when he got to where he was going. The show reminded him of something he read once. Not an exact match, but similar themes. But it was still the freshest thing anybody had seen in a decade. He pulled into a free parking spot, got out, locked the car, and began walking toward the mall. His first destination was of course FYE.
It seemed like the only thing new was that Survival of the Fittest show. Nothing had done well enough besides that to warrant a DVD release. So he'd be off to Classic TV. He walked with purpose to try to avoid the aggressive sales associates. He'd watched Survival of the Fittest and had to admit that it was the most interesting thing on television, but he really didn't need it on DVD. The reruns got played often enough, and it was all over the internet. If he really wanted some merch from the show he'd get it at Hot Topic. He had some rewards points to spend anyhow, so he could get a decent deal if he did.
He scanned the rows of DVDs until he found the treasure trove; The Simpsons, Family Guy, even Daria. Michael continued to search for nothing in particular all the while feeling nostalgic for an era he wasn't born into.
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"Ah, hell. Looks like I have to get a backpack while I'm here then."
Dejected and looking as if he just lost his favorite puppy, Marcus shuffled off for a moment and put back a handful of CDs. The music he could get elsewhere. The movies and TV shows? He wanted to keep them. No use paying $10 a pop for CDs when he could 'acquire' them through his computer, right? No, no, he wouldn't do that. Just wasn't his style. Grant would do that, definitely. But not Marcus. He'd wait until he got paid again. Oh well. He kept staring at the CDs until he forced himself to turn and walk away. He usually never got to spoil himself like this, so he liked picking up a bunch of crap while he could. Leaving behind favorite bands wasn't something he wanted to do, but he needed to save a little money for a backpack. Best to set aside that money from the amount he was going to spend here.
"Oh well. Suppose I can get them some other time. Or some other place."
A quick trip to the counter saw Marcus finally put his haul into a bag, much easier to carry around the store and around the mall.
"Y'all two wanna head down to the food court? Lunch is on me. Got paid."
What did they have down there? Well, they had pizza. Tacos. Chinese food. Burgers. Hotdogs. Chinese food. They might still have Sweet Lorraine's, if Marcus remembered right. It had been a while since he'd actually gone down to the food court, and it was usually a rare treat that he drove out this far to go to the mall. Taco Bell, Panda Express, Sbarro, A&W. It all sounded good, when you were as hungry as Marcus was getting.
"What you two think? Chinese? Maybe Tacos? Burgers? I'm kind of leaning toward Chinese, but whatever is good with you is fine."
Marcus loved him some Chinese. And the food was good too.
"What you thinking?"
Dejected and looking as if he just lost his favorite puppy, Marcus shuffled off for a moment and put back a handful of CDs. The music he could get elsewhere. The movies and TV shows? He wanted to keep them. No use paying $10 a pop for CDs when he could 'acquire' them through his computer, right? No, no, he wouldn't do that. Just wasn't his style. Grant would do that, definitely. But not Marcus. He'd wait until he got paid again. Oh well. He kept staring at the CDs until he forced himself to turn and walk away. He usually never got to spoil himself like this, so he liked picking up a bunch of crap while he could. Leaving behind favorite bands wasn't something he wanted to do, but he needed to save a little money for a backpack. Best to set aside that money from the amount he was going to spend here.
"Oh well. Suppose I can get them some other time. Or some other place."
A quick trip to the counter saw Marcus finally put his haul into a bag, much easier to carry around the store and around the mall.
"Y'all two wanna head down to the food court? Lunch is on me. Got paid."
What did they have down there? Well, they had pizza. Tacos. Chinese food. Burgers. Hotdogs. Chinese food. They might still have Sweet Lorraine's, if Marcus remembered right. It had been a while since he'd actually gone down to the food court, and it was usually a rare treat that he drove out this far to go to the mall. Taco Bell, Panda Express, Sbarro, A&W. It all sounded good, when you were as hungry as Marcus was getting.
"What you two think? Chinese? Maybe Tacos? Burgers? I'm kind of leaning toward Chinese, but whatever is good with you is fine."
Marcus loved him some Chinese. And the food was good too.
"What you thinking?"
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler Dr. Nic. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.
I shouldn't have bought this. Axel was sitting alone at a food court table with a half-finished 20 ounce bottle of Coke. $2.25 for this and they sell bigger and cheaper at any of the "restaurants" here. He tapped the fingers of his left hand on the table with no particular rhythm, kicking himself for his weakness to impulse snack buying. He'd bought the bottle of Coke at a vending machine before he got to the food court and before he realized he was ripping himself off.
Axel had ended up staying in the mall out of want of something better to do. He'd been stricken quite suddenly by one of those moods where he wanted to talk to somebody interesting and maybe even hang out. He kept thinking about Laney Shaust, but they weren't really at a talking point at the moment. Their last arguments had been too recent and it would still be a while before Laney would admit she was wrong again.
Axel was watching the people around him in the food court, people who looked happier than he felt. No one knew how bitter and lonely he was suddenly feeling, and he was angry at everyone for it. Everyone else has someone who notices when they're not happy and tries to make them feel better. He recognized that he was going through the same self-pitying melodramatics he looked down on so hard in others. I don't even know why I feel depressed. It's just a stupid mood shift. Five minutes ago I was all happy about getting Season 3. But recognizing it didn't make it feel any better.
The last two inches' worth of Coke in the bottle had stayed at more or less the same level for five minutes now; it was giving Axel an excuse to stay sitting at a table doing nothing. Plausible deniability. He was still watching in the vague hope of seeing one of the people he knew and would actually want to talk to. That'd be statistically unlikely. The number of people he felt some sort of friendship with fluctuated, but a lot of the time you wouldn't need a second hand to count them. And even then, they were mostly people he'd discuss or watch things with, not the kind of people he'd share his feelings to.
Then he saw the people from the video store coming into the food court. Most of the other tables here were busy and taken; there was a good chance they might come for the space at his. At least he knew he had a common subject to talk about with them, if they did come over here. He drummed his fingers more, sipped at the Coke lightly so as not to finish it, took out his phone and looked through old messages. Tried his best to impersonate a person who was actually doing something while he thought about ways to get past the conversation block he had with people he didn't know.
Axel had ended up staying in the mall out of want of something better to do. He'd been stricken quite suddenly by one of those moods where he wanted to talk to somebody interesting and maybe even hang out. He kept thinking about Laney Shaust, but they weren't really at a talking point at the moment. Their last arguments had been too recent and it would still be a while before Laney would admit she was wrong again.
Axel was watching the people around him in the food court, people who looked happier than he felt. No one knew how bitter and lonely he was suddenly feeling, and he was angry at everyone for it. Everyone else has someone who notices when they're not happy and tries to make them feel better. He recognized that he was going through the same self-pitying melodramatics he looked down on so hard in others. I don't even know why I feel depressed. It's just a stupid mood shift. Five minutes ago I was all happy about getting Season 3. But recognizing it didn't make it feel any better.
The last two inches' worth of Coke in the bottle had stayed at more or less the same level for five minutes now; it was giving Axel an excuse to stay sitting at a table doing nothing. Plausible deniability. He was still watching in the vague hope of seeing one of the people he knew and would actually want to talk to. That'd be statistically unlikely. The number of people he felt some sort of friendship with fluctuated, but a lot of the time you wouldn't need a second hand to count them. And even then, they were mostly people he'd discuss or watch things with, not the kind of people he'd share his feelings to.
Then he saw the people from the video store coming into the food court. Most of the other tables here were busy and taken; there was a good chance they might come for the space at his. At least he knew he had a common subject to talk about with them, if they did come over here. He drummed his fingers more, sipped at the Coke lightly so as not to finish it, took out his phone and looked through old messages. Tried his best to impersonate a person who was actually doing something while he thought about ways to get past the conversation block he had with people he didn't know.
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler Flayer. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.