And when he speaks that word, you will descend into your very own world of fear...

[somethinghidden]

WHO: Simon Newton and OPEN TO ANYONE
WHERE: Heropa, Nonah, De Chima, and Maurtia Falls.
WHEN: Jan 31 thru Feb 12
WHAT: Simon tours the Porter-cities to get a feel for them while searching for a second job! Also, continuation of memory shenanigans with Kaneki backdated to Jan 31.
WARNINGS: With Kaneki, talk of cannibalism and murder. Others, idk but will update as necessary!

Openers below! Starters are in prose, but I'll write to match your preferences.

Comments

CLOSED to Gil, sometime in early Feb, Gil's bakery in Maurtia Falls

[somethinghidden]

Maurtia Falls certainly has this air about it where people aren't so invested in each other as themselves, and imPorts don't seem like a hot commodity here as they seem in Heropa or Nonah or De Chima. Hardly any hurrah or hoo-ha for imPorts; they and their businesses don't stand out any more than the average person's, so it seems. It's quite a different atmosphere, one that Simon is still trying to determine whether or not he likes it just yet.

Oh, but there's more of an underground here, more places to gamble. The urge is real, so very real, and Simon fights it for as long as he can maintain any semblance of control. So he makes it a real focus, a mission even, to visit Gil's bakery. It'd be a welcome distraction, a good way of ignoring the niggling feeling to take as many chances as it takes to strike gold. So Simon chants the bakery address like a mantra in his mind before looking the building over when he arrives at the door. He pulls it open and enters, holding his hand up to wave at whoever he may first encounter.

also after the 2nd works since he was... an "astronaut" before then oops

[corviform]

Maurtia Falls isn't Gil's kind of city, to be honest. He enjoys the lack of personal intrusion and the weather is much more tolerable than it ever was in Florida, but city's vices are near impossible to disregard. It feels... wrong much of the time, because it is wrong. He just doesn't know what to do about it. He's no hero or vigilante and besides, what can he do about the illegal activities of the city being one person?

There are other things to focus on, such as his job, paying his rent and utilities, groceries, and trying to understand the information Kate Bishop and others have put out on the network.

But for now, he's busy at work, carrying a tray with a batch of freshly baked lemon-filled danishes over to the display case when the bell above the door jingles. The store is quiet, with a few people sitting by the window seats and old blues music playing from the radio softly in the background.

Through the glass display he sees Simon. Careful to fit the tray into the shelf in the display, he ducks his head out from it to look up and greet the man he recognizes off the network, looking somewhat surprised.

"Simon?"

woo hoo yes good, after Feb 2nd as well. XD

[somethinghidden]

"Hello," he replies, approaching his side of the glass display. Tipping his head, he continued, "See, I told you that I'd visit when I drop by."

After cursorily glancing about, he asks, "How's business for today?"

[corviform]

"Rather slow, but it's a given; the holiday season is over."

It sometimes makes for a boring day at work, but he would take boring over overworked and stressful. It's rare for this store to be that busy, though it has its moments.

Gil smooths down his white apron, bits of red and yellow can be seen smudged against the fabric. Fruit fillings, a little bit of sugar, glaze, and just a pinch of flour. His hair is tied back into a tiny ponytail, too.

"How are you? Have a seat somewhere."

[somethinghidden]

"Don't mind if I do," Simon replies, picking a table and pulling out a seat. "I'm fine. Better than when a couple weeks ago, that's for sure."

He's still battling that addiction as much as he ever is, and it helps to be busy. Though it probably also helps to be scared out of his wits after having seen a body burnt to a crisp. And while that wasn't Lunatic's work, it still weighs heavy on Simon's mind for various reasons.

"You know, it's different seeing your work clothes. Not in a bad way, of course, but something in the way of an artist at work."

[corviform]

The blood immediately rushes into his cheeks and head, a dizzying sensation that forces Gil to lean a hand against the counter and prop himself up while another hand flies to his mouth, covering part of his face with embarrassment.

"A-Artist? I wouldn't go as far as saying that..." he mumbles shyly, barely able to meet Simon's gaze as he replies.

[somethinghidden]

He chuckles. "It's just a little reminiscent. Come on now, don't be so modest. You've quite a charming place here."

Leaning on the table, he continues, "So. What would you recommend that I'd have, now that I'm here?"

[corviform]

"I'm just an assistant baker here. The owner is really the one who put this together." Gil shifts from the counter, his hand lowering to his collar to give it a nervous tug.

At Simon's request, he immediately gives the display a look over, trying to determine what would be an appropriate baked good to recommend Simon. It's packed full of various goods and even on the counter, small baskets with other delicious treats sit. Gil has to rub the back of his head, glancing over at Simon uncertainly.

"That depends, honestly. Do you like your pastries sweet? Soft? Something with a bit of a crunch to them? Then quite a few of them have fruit fillings..."

[somethinghidden]

"All right, all right." Simon relents, wondering if the owner is often around or is rather the hands-off type.

"Um, I think something if you've got anything with the fruit fillings that might be sprinkled with nuts or something crunchy, I'll go with it. Or alternatively, I wouldn't mind trying something that you like. Just to have an idea." Though it's quite possible that Gil might like making things rather than having them himself, Simon can't be sure if that's the case.

[corviform]

"Maybe one of the banana bites?"

He disappears down the counter for a moment, returning with a basket that's full of brownie-sized baked goods wrapped in plastic. Sprinkled atop are nuts and flakes. He places it in front of Simon and then lifts a hand to point to the display where some muffins sit.

"We also have some muffins, though they're lightly flavoured with real fruit filling. Nothing too overwhelming since they're heavy as it is."

They appear to have a berry-flavoured muffin with nuts and then there's a bran muffin, also banana-flavoured, with nuts mixed into it.