You took me to your favorite place on Earth

[codeoracle]

WHO: Futaba and YOU!
WHERE: Around Heropa mostly
WHEN: Agust 6th onward (Month Catchall)
WHAT: Cat cuddling (Akira), Exploring around town (Open Prompts)
WARNINGS: None so far. Will update as necessary



1. Cat cuddling and Talks--Heropa 010 [Closed to Akira]

[Futaba pretty much had an open invitation to her home for her fellow thieves. It made it easier to just let them assume they were always welcome in her space, especially since it was the easiest way to find her as she was almost always home.

This, of course, meant that her friends could waltz in whenever they wanted and she wouldn't really care. And that meant finding her in the middle of whatever task she was busy with at the time. In this case, she was playing with her new roommate and pet, Caroline--who was currently chasing a laser all over the floor.]

Oooh, almost got it that time.

2. Seeing the City Life--Heropa and DeChima [Open]

[When she's not a home or (begrudgingly) working at her job, she can be spotted around Heropa or one of the many other import cities.

If someone was to spot her around Heropa, it's likely on the streets, flitting between shops--sometimes she's brave enough to peek into those that appear to be less busy than others. On rare occasions, she's on the beach, boots abandoned further up the beach as she wades in the surf--she has yet to obtain a suit to venture further into the water, but she doesn't mind.

DeChima is another adventure entirely, especially when it comes to tech shops. This is where she practically lives when she has the money to spare. She'll be found among these shops, looking enthusiastically at all the bits and parts, hoping to find something to tinker with. If you're spotting her here, it can be at any hour in the day as DeChima's shops stay open far later than she thought any tech shop would--someone should probably make sure she makes it home before it's too late in the evening.]

2. Welcome to Collector's Corner--Heropa [Open]

[Retail is not a business Futaba ever wanted to get involved in, even part-time. There was the aspect of having to greet and welcome customers--association with people she barely knew was hard enough as it was without having it be part of her job. At least a collector's shop was slower than usual retailers, crowds really only came in when there were new waves of imPort figures and merchandise.

Today was a slow day, as anyone could tell by how Futaba was leaning on the counter and looking bored out of her mind. Don't worry, the moment you come in she'll jump at the bell and fall into the script she's learned so well, complete with a strained grin.]

Welcome to Collector's Corner, how can I help you with your collecting needs?

[God she hated retail.]

4. Wild Card!

[Want something else that isn't listed up there? Feel free to hit me up via PM or on plurk @ likeredgold. If it's something we had planned out, let me know and I can put up another starter or you can just plop one in here!]

Comments

collector's corner

[knaval]

Hello, yes, I want to collect a VR rematch.

[riptide has put his elbows on the counter and is smiling sweetly at her. hello, friend.]

Or failing that, some other game system. I'm dyin' of boredom.

[codeoracle]

[Oh thank God, a face she knows and not one of the native fans. She can deal with that.]

Sorry, can't play on the clock--makes this job extra boring. As for consoles...We have classics like the Super Fanboy, if you're looking for a handheld that can also be a weapon, all the way up to the newest Game Station 4X.

[She gestures to the displays behind her.] So, I guess it depends on what you're looking for.

[knaval]

Blarrrgh. What's the point?

[he huffs, but grins.]

Handheld weapon, huh? Hows that work?

[codeoracle]

[Her answer, at first, is little more than a maniacal grin. Then she pulls a sample device out of one of the cabinets behind her and all but slaps it on the desk.]

It's practically a brick, so you probably could knock someone out with it. Pretty sturdy too.

[knaval]

Aw! I thought you meant it turned into a sword or something cool!

[he pokes at it.]

What can I do on it?

1

[crimeboy]

[He'd said he wanted to come over to see Futaba's new cat some time back, but things had been a little hectic. Now was better, and Akira was going to take full advantage of the lull in activity to wander over to Futaba's place. For once, he doesn't sneak in through the window, and just lets himself in through the front door. He figured they had been close enough to living together before, why not?

So he finds Futaba with her laser pointer, getting the cat all riled up by it. It's charming, and Akira smiles a little before waving at Futaba.]

You know, I always wanted to see if Morgana would chase a laser.

[codeoracle]

[Futaba looks up when Akira waltzes into the room. She clicks the pointer off, just as Caroline was preparing to pounce--which results in the cat toppling over and looking around confused at the lack of light.]

Morgana might have been insulted by that. We'd be better off dangling treasure from a string.

[crimeboy]

[Poor cat! Akira immediately feels for it, because of course he does, he loves her at first sight. She's a perfect angel and no one can contest that.]

I feel like he'd be insulted if we did that too, but only because he'd be embarrassingly pawing at it. Then yelling that he was not a cat.

[He laughs a little at that, probably to hide how much he missed Morgana. He'd get a cat here, but he definitely didn't have time for an animal that can't take care of itself like Mona could.

Sighing a little, he took up a spot on the floor, holding out a hand and clicking his tongue to see if Caroline would approach him.]

How're you guys holding up, by the way?

[codeoracle]

He's a cute cat though...I guess I can get wanting to be human when he's around us all the time though.

[Caroline seems to understand the word "cat" and believes it means she's being summoned. She totters over to Akira, sniffing at his offered hand before starting to purr and pressing herself against his hand for pets.]

I'm doing all right, mostly. What about you--[A pause as she considers her next words.] And Akechi?

2, beach

[andtherevolution]

[/it's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's a volleyball, sailing through the air and right towards Futaba's belongings. Utena follows close behind, sprinting after it, but it's too late. The ball slams against her poor boots, scattering them across the sand and making a mess out of anything else that's unfortunate enough to be left behind.]

Ugh, great...

[She mutters under her breath as she squats down to pick up one of the shoes. At least its owner isn't around. If she's lucky, maybe she can fix everything up before they get back.]

[codeoracle]

[Futaba had been coming up from the water when she saw the ball careening towards her things and resulting in an explosion of sand. There might have a slight shriek from her as she comes up the beach.]

I am going to find sand in there for days.

[andtherevolution]

[Utena cringes as soon as she hears that scream. The moral: there's no such thing as luck. Or if luck exists, it's exclusively bad luck. Oh, and even better, it's that girl from nest door. Utena's not sure if that's a plus or a minus.]

I'm really, really sorry - I'll clean all this up, I promise.

[codeoracle]

What--no it's fine! [Foot in mouth. Nice Futaba. And with that nice neighbor girl too--no one ever said she was good with this socialization thing.]

I probably shouldn't have left my stuff just...sitting here.

DE CHIMA

[khajidont]

[ Now that Jaime's been accepted to college, he needs to come to terms with a disappointing fact: his laptop is awful. He bought the cheapest model he could find three years ago, and kept it chugging along since then as it lagged its way through video games and creaked through a tenuous internet connection, but now that he actually has to use it for work, he needs an upgrade.

But he's got a full-time job, which means that by the time he winds up in some of the tech stores in De Chima, it's already getting dark - well past his dinnertime. Futaba may see Jaime staring down a line of laptops without much of an idea as to what he's supposed to get, hands stuffed in his pockets and sucking in a long breath between his teeth. ]

These are so expensive...

[ Ugh, maybe he can just make his old model work. ]

[codeoracle]

They aren't even that good of a model for that price. [It's a mutter coming from his side. She's looking over the laptops frowning at the spec card.]

Seriously, that much for 4GB of RAM? Lame. Even if it's modular you'd still have to install the right model and make sure it connects to the motherboard and that's way too much effort if you're already dropping that kind of cash.

Akihabara had this place beat, easy...

[khajidont]

Whoa. You sound like you know what you're talking about, [ Jaime says, looking at Futaba in a bit of awe, if only because he has no clue what he's doing. Khaji is trying to help, maybe, but his help is limited; when you're used to the technology of a world-conquering alien nation, your opinions on Earth tech tend to be garbage, garbage and more garbage. Which is exactly what Khaji is telling him inside his own head right now.

This girl seems to have a more nuanced view on the situation. ]

Are any of these actually good?

[codeoracle]

I build my own when I can. [She grins, adjusting her glasses in a self-satisfied way before turning to look at the devices again. De Chima was known for its tech so maybe this store was just trying to front those that sat on the shelves too long.

Still, she's determined to find something. It just takes her a moment.]

If you're just looking for something that runs, this one isn't too bad. 750 GB hard-drive. Decent processor and RAM expansion...If you need something heavy duty you'll want to see if they have one with an upgraded graphics card and additional RAM.

2;

[lempereur]

[ Yusuke's place of work, technically, like the government-assigned taxable work, is in De Chima. Turns out that when you take two weeks off work without saying anything, and use "because I hated myself" as an excuse, you end up on thin ice, so to speak.

So he has a book full of sketches to hand in to make up for lost time, and they are all better than anything the REAL Square Enix has endlessly recycled in the last ten years, that's for damn sure. On his way, he encounters a familiar redhead... ]

Futaba? It's getting late.

[codeoracle]

Oh...Hey, Inari.

[She doesn't seem concerned about the hour--or the fact she's probably breaking over a dozen curfew laws. She's having too much fun looking at all the gadgets and seeing the city come alive in a different way in the darkening night and the awakening of flickering neon signs.]

I know. But some shops don't open up till the evening and some of them have some really good tech deals.

[lempereur]

[ The lights are nice. Yusuke always liked watching people pass underneath them, observe through his hands the way the neon greens and pinks give their expressions a different meaning. ]

Are you buying something?

[codeoracle]

I'm thinking about it. I kind of want to build my own rig again. It feels weird not to have a base...might even get a laptop for mobility.

[She shrugs though, clearly indecisive.]

It was easier back home. I could just pick the part I wanted and tell Sojiro to get it. Here...I have to come out and look myself and it's not always aligned with the tech we had back home.

Collectors Corner 25/8

[stretchy_girl]

[Futaba Sakura was plotting something with Tohru Adachi. So far Gemini had little evidence of that, but the suspicion was gnawing at her that something was going on, a danger to the Constellation that needed to be watched, and nipped in the bud if necessary.

The doorbell tinkled, and in walked a young Japanese girl in her mid-to-late teens, chestnut haired, wearing a pink blouse and black skirt. She makes her way over to browse through some of the items, and it's a good few minutes before she wanders over and gives the clearly very bored Futaba a warm smile.]

Yes please, do you have anything with cats on?

[codeoracle]

[Futaba had watched the newcomer with a bored curiosity. It's not often she sees new faces outside of the influx of new arrivals, so she has to wonder about the girl. Even with her observation, she's caught a little off guard when she comes over with a question.]

Cats? [She pushes off the counter, tilting her head with the question.] We probably have a few things...depends on what you want exactly.

[stretchy_girl]

[Amiko wants something that you and she can bond over, and she already knows that you have a cat, Futaba. So she's starting there.]

I haven't been here very long, and the home the government has given me is very bare. I was hoping to find something that reminded me of my home. A poster perhaps?

[She smiles wider, trying to encourage Futaba to reciprocate the friendliness.]

I'm Amiko Kurasawa, what's your name? [Futaba]

[codeoracle]

Oh...Uh. [Socialization. The thing she hates most about this job.

She'll try; a slightly strained but still friendly smile tugs at her lips as she moves from behind the counter.]

We have some posters back this way. With cats...you're going to end up with cartoon ones, if that's okay.

[A beat, a momentary pause before a more genuine, lopsided grin comes into play.]

Futaba. Nice to meet you.