[Open]

[dead_black_eyes]

Who: Lazarus "L" Lawliet and OPEN to anyone
When: 2. December, midday-evening
Where: A weird discount grocery store in Little Tokyo followed by Espresso Yourself
What: Shiftless burnouts Struggling authors have it rough. L is out of food and his budget this week will only cover his Lysol addiction or ramen packets (unless he doesn't mind his power getting shut off again, which he does very much.) He still has enough change to go to that one hipster hangout and sit for hours with unlimited coffee refills,though.



Option 1: Midday, Little Tokyo

L received more stares in Little Tokyo than he did most locations in Locke City. Others gave the pale man a wide berth, avoiding eye contact and hurrying by, and all he was doing was carrying a basket in one of the most inexpensive discount grocery stores in the entire city. Most things were off-brand and the place wasn't quite up to the cleanliness standards of other grocery stores, and sometimes the ramen packets were stale. But for someone living on a shoestring budget ($3.78 this week, without cutting into last month's utilities), options were as slim as the times. Though, with bones protruding and a sunken quality to the skin on his face and hands, L was looking more gaunt than slim.

At least the frequency of collections bills from the hospital had slowed down, which was for the best. Irony was at its finest when someone driven to end their own life was "saved" and then put under crushing pressure to repay his debt to all those "heroes."

And now he had to worry about being different as well, even more so than he had always been different. If the universe was trying to tell him that he couldn't handle the demands of simply existing, it wasn't doing a lousy job.

Hitching up his loose jeans around his bony hips, he found the ramen packets at $.22 apiece, deciding that he could purchase enough to last if he split them up and only ate twice a day. But if he only ate once a day, he could buy eggs, too, improving the nutritional value of his meal by getting some protein. Leftover change for a carrot or two, and he wasn't doing too badly for himself.

So he bought seven packets of ramen ($1.54, leaving him $2.24), and heading toward the eggs, he noted that the price for a dozen slightly past their prime was $1.78, which he could afford and would also feed him breakfast. On opening the carton, though, it became immediately apparent that some of the eggs were broken and had been exposed to heat, hitting him in the face with the disgusting, rotted stench of sulphur. He gagged, leaving the eggs and the ramen as well, while he was at it. Rotting food, the sight or smell or even a vividly written passage about it, was enough to kill his appetite and fix his thoughts on one thing: killing germs. Food abandoned, he made a beeline for the chemical aisle, seizing a can of sale Lysol ($3.28).

In the checkout line, his empty stomach was far from his thoughts as he thought about the "clean linen" scent that he'd come to associate so strongly with safety and sterility. There was no food in his apartment, but at least no germs survived there long enough to make him ill.

Option 2: Espresso Yourself

$.50 was exactly enough to purchase a coffee with unlimited refills at one of Locke City's hipster hubs, a coffee shop called Espresso Yourself. That was ultimately a very good thing, since it was exactly how much money L had on his person. Clutching his worn laptop case and his Lysol and settling into a back corner with his cup of cheap brew, he slipped a few packets of sugar and creamer into his pockets to take home when he was finished. He would sit, and sip, and write while he was wired enough to focus, and then he would return home and very likely crash on his handful of calories and truckload of caffeine.

Focusing was pivotal. If he could finish the 17th draft of his detective novel before the coffee shop closed, he might be able to get an advance that could buy him groceries at a cleaner store.

Comments

OPTION 2

[synonymouswithdookie]

Since Ray had kind of been at the coffee shop the entire day (because he was a dick to himself and scheduled himself to work open to close), it was kind of hard to miss the creepy looking skinny dude hanging out in the corner. Hipster douchebags brought their laptops in all the time, so it wasn't really anything out of the ordinary. Business was slow, and Ray really didn't have anything better to do than hang around behind the counter and stare at people. You know, people who cram cream and sugar into their pockets. Also not uncommon, but still pretty annoying.

The Lysol though. That was kind of weird. Either way, it looked like this dude was settling in for a while.

"Hey. You need anything else?" Ray called, leaning against the counter. Maybe he could entertain himself with small talk for a couple minutes.

[dead_black_eyes]

Even if L looked odd and off-kilter on his best days, no one could say that he wasn't a fascinating person to watch. There were usually about 80 questions he inspired just by walking into a room, even when he was trying to blend in.

His pocketfuls of creamer and sugar admittedly didn't make him inconspicuous, but desperate time called for desperate measures, and pitifully, he was just that desperate.

He glanced up abruptly at the question from the young man behind the counter, reminding himself that as long as he wasn't doing anything illegal, he was perfectly within his rights to stick around until the place closed.

He tried not to look at the pastry case as he sipped his coffee and shook his head briskly. "Another refill, maybe, in a little while." Suddenly and unreasonably anxious to prove that he was doing something worthwhile, he added "I'm a novelist, you know. Finishing a manuscript tonight, with any luck."

[synonymouswithdookie]

"That's different. I usually get people in here cramming for exams or finishing last minute essays." Ray wasn't so much of a douche that he'd toss people out just for hanging around for a long time. Hell, people that stuck around usually ended up buying more shit. That or they just intended to take advantage of the refills.

"I'll stay out of your hair. Let me know when you need that refill, yeah?" It sounded like the dude was going to be busy, and he wasn't being a nuisance, soooo whatever, he could hang.

[dead_black_eyes]

L quirked a brow, as if he was surprised there weren't more douchey hipsters claiming to be pouring their boundless creativity into working on a screenplay, novel, or other pretentious waste of time.

He did appreciate that the young man was willing to leave him alone, though... until he bit his lip, staring intently at his screen with those sunken, dark eyes. Then he cleared his throat, glancing back over at the counter, though his coffee wasn't near depleted.

"Hey. I... don't suppose you have a girlfriend? Or if you've ever been in a situation where you've had to deal with garter belts, brassieres, or high heels with particularly complicated closures?"

[synonymouswithdookie]

Ray may or may not have half choked on his latte in response to the question. Well. That had kinda come out of nowhere. UM?

"I'm uh. Well no. I'm dating a guy, so that kinda thing's never... come up. Like ever."

Wow okay talking about that sort of thing was a lot more awkward than he thought it would be. This creepy guy was probably just doing research for his book though, right? So that made it less weird. Right? (Not really)

He paused for a moment and sort of half glared at the wall as he though the question over again, mumbling to himself. "Honestly though, I wouldn't put that sorta shit past him..." This was Yuji he was talking about, after all.

[dead_black_eyes]

It had been a shot in the dark, and it hadn't paid off. No real matter, but it was still mildly disappointing. He sighed softly, highlighting a large section of text and beginning to heavily edit it.

"Your significant other?" he inquired, eyes wide and too, too interested to be even remotely reassuring. "You think he has experience with those items? It's the heels I'm most interested in, since I think this scene would go over better if she kept them on throughout."

[synonymouswithdookie]

There was just something creepy about the way this guy's face right now. Ray couldn't help but stumble over his words a bit.

"I... don't know? I can like... text him and ask? Or something."

Ray wasn't exactly busy right now, so he really didn't have an excuse not to now that the offer was there. Shit.

[dead_black_eyes]

"You could?" he asked, seeming, again, very surprised. "...he wouldn't think it was weird? Or invasive? Though... yes, perhaps asking you in the first place was invasive," he admitted softly, staring at the wall somewhere over Ray's shoulder.

"What about initiation? I want the scene to be as realistic as possible, so... is it more typical for paramours to have a conversation stating their intentions prior to commencing relations, or for things to progress more or less organically? Assume that the protagonist has been with many people and is both deft and knowledgable."

Clearly, recognizing one instance of invading privacy was not recognizing all of them.

[synonymouswithdookie]

"A little invasive, but it's not like I have anything better to do right now."

Ray pulled his phone out of his pocket and started his message, nodding as he tried to incorporate the rest of what the dude was saying into it.

"Aaand sent. Now we play the waiting game."

2

[italktofish]

Arthur enjoyed a nice cup of coffee every now and again, and so he found himself in Espresso Yourself in order to get just that. He was a big guy who looked as though he might be more at home in a gym than in a coffee shop carrying a stack of books about aquariums, but there he was.

He'd settled down with his aquarium books at the table next to L's, and he was going to enjoy those books along with his cup of coffee. The only trouble was, with Arthur, "enjoying the books" also meant "loudly and randomly exclaiming "OUTRAGEOUS!" over things that might be considered interesting."

[dead_black_eyes]

He was a big guy; he likely could have broken the skinny young author in half without much effort, and that was enough to make L put up with the exclamations for a little while without comment.

But every man, even a wisp of a thing slowly dying of malnourishment, had his limits.

"Are you reading about the nitrogen cycle, or do you have something explicit, deviant, and German hidden between those pages?" He asked dryly.

[italktofish]

At least breaking skinny young authors in half seemed to be the farthest thing from Arthur's mind.

"Hardly!" Arthur held the book out for L to see. "I'm reading about saltwater aquariums--with this, I think I might be able to get a few clownfish with a new aquarium setup at home! I wonder if they're really funny like wee little clowns or if they're really serious little guys..."

That last bit seemed to be said more to himself, and it quite likely made him look not unlike a harmless crazy man. He was looking like that a lot lately.

[dead_black_eyes]

...well, that made two of them.

L peered owlishly at the exposed pages. It seemed that the large, lumberjack-esque man was, indeed, that enthusiastic about aquariums. L was actually a bit jealous, since it had been an achingly long time since he'd been enthusiastic about any topic at all.

"I think they're just fish," he contributed uncertainly. "Just... devoid of a sense of humor or anything like intelligence... I imagine they're instinctive and will pursue food and flee danger, but to expect human-like behavior from them is probably overzealously optimistic."

[italktofish]

"Well, that's just what everyone thinks!" It slipped out before Arthur could stop himself. Sure, he shouldn't tell off-network people about the fish, but it was hard. "Most people just don't pay enough attention to them! If you observe them long enough, they've got little personalities of their own!" Yes, "observe" made for a fine substitution for "hold conversations with."

"Why, my goldfish all get excited when I get home in the evenings! They come over to greet me and everything!" That sounded normal enough, right?

[dead_black_eyes]

L blinked, twice, a rare occurrence for him. It definitely stood out.

It reminded him, distinctly, of arguing with a truly crazy person, which he'd had the distinct pleasure of doing when he'd been, himself, a patient at White Pines.

"Do you think," he asked slowly, "that it's possible your fish are reacting to the movement and shifts in light that they've come to associate with an impending feeding time?"

[italktofish]

To be fair, half of the network--the people he was free to talk about talking to fish with--thought he was crazy, too. He did seem to have that effect on people.

"No, the fish definitely know it's me! They say they don't get that excited to see anyone else!" Whoops. He'd almost let the talking thing slip again, and after he'd promised Karl he'd stop talking to sea life in public places, too. "You can see it in their little eyes!" There, that was a nice save.

[dead_black_eyes]

The more he talked, the more uncertain L was that he was mentally all there... especially since he seemed to genuinely believe what he was saying. L could usually tell when he was being talked-down to or screwed with, but the man seemed entirely, disarmingly earnest about his fish friends.

"They say?" he repeated, not allowing that one to get away.

2!

[shiromadoushi]

Bakura hadn't been home yet.

2 hours at the gym had left him exhausted, but the anger still burned. It was only the fact that Mr. Lyall had told him NOT to do anything that at all kept him in check.

Barely.

So it was with a very sullen and irritated air that he ordered himself a tea and scanned the shop for a seat.

[dead_black_eyes]

Over the last few hours, L had been witnessing the developments of the afternoon. He'd had no reason to be near the school, but he'd remained updated on the situation, both through the news and the the network.

And then the white-haired young man entered and brought with him an impressive storm cloud, and L couldn't help but notice him.

His dark, sunken eyes followed him, making no efforts to look away if he was caught. That kind of shame seemed to be beyond the skinny waif in the corner whose sugar packets and creamer containers were scattered and heaped behind his laptop in a way that suggested he'd been there for hours.

[shiromadoushi]

Bakura turned, almost feeling that gaze, ice cold blue narrowing as they locked in with deadened black. "The hell are you looking at?"

It was a challenge more than a question.

[dead_black_eyes]

For the first time, the spacey-looking young man blinked. It was as if he'd forgotten that he was visible to others and therefore accountable for where his gaze rested.

"You," he replied. "I'm looking at you, because I've never heard anyone order tea so furiously before."

[shiromadoushi]

There was an almost amused snort, and something that might have been a smile if Bakura wasn't so mad at the world. It was always weird when people actually responded with anything that wasn't a returned challenge or an apology or looking away....

"Must not get out much then," he returned before taking a long drag from his drunk.

[dead_black_eyes]

"No, I suppose not... but you must, given your current state. And given the breaking news over the last few hours, there's a good reason for young people to be upset."

[shiromadoushi]

"Tch..." Bakura scowled, looking down at his drink. "The cops in this city are so damned crooked..." he muttered. "Pretty damned sure they aren't allowed to do a drug bust in a friggin high school but no, they just bust in the place like it's a meth shop, arrest the one decent teacher in that entire place and the most goodie goodie student council president that ever existed. So goddamned obsessed with this non existent drug hunt, between this and arresting people for laughing... the hell is wrong with this place?!"

[dead_black_eyes]

As someone who had purchased and used illegal drugs, L could attest to the relative cleanliness of the high school. It was a flimsy excuse to raid the place if there ever was one.

"A lot is wrong," L said softly, leaning his gaunt cheek listlessly against his palm. "Has been for years. Especially in the police department. Every time they could hire a person who would make a real difference, they don't, and persist in this kind of ridiculous stunt."