TEST DRIVE MEME: At the Mall

[theearth]

THE MALL
It's where all the cool kids hang out and you can be a cool kid too.

How it Works
Due to the nature of Save the Earth, it's a more complicated process to play in than most other games. With this in mind, it can't hurt to experiment a little.

Post your character and in the comment share a few details regarding their reincarnation. Repeat if you have multiple ideas you want to try out, as many as you like. It's also suggested that you set a scene and there's a few prompts below to help there, but think outside the box if you like. Then tag around to other threads and help your fellow prospective players to test out their characters and the variations on them. Don't be afraid to presume a little CR to make a scene flow more freely, or to assume an Echo or two.

If you have an app, complete or in progress, you might want to link it.

Prompts

Chilling
There's no particular goal in mind to being here, but it's a nice place to sit around.
Browsing
The mall is made for shopping and that's just what you'll do.
Working
The place doesn't run on wishes, but takes hard work.
The Movies
There are other things to do in the mall besides shop. Are you there with a friend or are you that one guy who won't shut up?
Crime Pays
$59.99 for Call of Duty? Time for the five finger discount. Or think bigger.
Alien Invasion
The Martians* are attacking! They want our brains/world/women/hot dogs. Take these freaks out, or cower in terror.
Stake Out In
Mysterious goings on have made it seem suspicious goings on are occurring after hours at the mall. Someone is investigating, but are you with a partner or are you the mysterious thing yourself?
Meeting with Witnesses
Tensions are high and you don't trust the person you're meeting not to try something dangerous unless it's in public.
Taking Shelter
One of the dangerous foes to mankind has caused a gigantic blizzard. Its been days since it began and... now what?

*Martians are not actual Save the Earth villains.

Comments

[comparative_insanity]

Oh, you're...

[He relaxes slightly, and even manages to retract his claws somewhat. What he does instead, for just a moment, is allow his eyes to turn yellow and slit-pupilled, before willing them back to normal.]

I confess I know very little of war. I remember... fighting. But not exactly in a war. [Except from hazy memories of a battlefield under a bloated moon, but he has no idea where to fit that into the rest.]

[shendude]

Heh...I have lived through two wars even in this life. They're not hard.

[Spinning his cane slightly on the ground, turns and waves a hand, gesturing for his companion to follow him.]

Rule one! Control what others know about you. We can't have you wandering around with such a questionable wound, can we?

[comparative_insanity]

[He follows along readily enough, smiling a bit wryly at the old man's words.]

Oh, I'm usually fairly good at that. I think I used to be even better, before. [He gestures vaguely to indicate that it was in another life.]

But don't worry about that, at least. [He holds up his hands, and while there is still dried blood there, the wounds have already healed.

[shut_up_idiot]

Info!

[Browsing]

[ Youou is not a man that is very fond of colours, at least not on himself, which can be shown by his selection of so far almost exclusively black items of clothing. And the items that are not black? They're a couple of white t-shirts that have been added for his version of variety. Not that he technically needs more coloured clothing, every year, at his birthday and at christmas his family insists on giving him clothes in all the colours of the rainbow, sometimes in the same piece, but they rarely get the pleasure of seeing him in them. He does his best to wear them when suitable but with his job being what it is he doesn't really see the point in wearing nice clothes if they're just going to get dirty within the hour. Hence his preference for black clothing, it makes the stains more difficult to spot.

Having picked out enough items he looks around for a dressing room, he hasn't been in this store much before and he's still not really used to the layout. ]

[Chilling]

[ Having finished his shopping Youou decides to stop for a cup of coffee and a bit to eat. Most of the seats have already been taken and not a single table was completely free. But a few only contained one other person and the tables are big enough for more. As he bends down to sit at the closest table his eyes seem to gleam almost red as they catch the lights. ]

This seat free?

1st option yes

[comparative_insanity]

[This store is really out of Fai's usual price range, but he got a big tip the night before and so he's decided to splurge on a really nice pair of jeans that will last him a bit longer. And that's where he spies Kurogane making his rounds. At first he hangs back, wrinkling his nose at Kurogane's boring selection. Then he picks out a few little things and sneaks stealthily closer.

He pinches the other man's butt in greeting and dangles three articles of clothing in front of Kurogane's nose. One nice chocolate brown sweater, a navy blue shirt and a dark red turtleneck.]

They're called colors, sweetiepie. They ain't gonna bite you or give you indigestion, okay?

[shut_up_idiot]

The sudden pinch causes him to make a rather undignified sound that he will forever deny if pointed out to him. He turns around, eyes glaring and a snarl ready on his lips both of which seems to die down quite a bit when he sees who the culprit is. Instead he sighs, and brings up his left hand to massage the bridge of his nose in a gesture that has begun to be a lot more frequent since he met the other man, before tilting his head so that he can give Fai an unimpressed look. ]

I know what they are. [ He holds up the clothes he's already picked out. ] These are more practical.

[comparative_insanity]

Well, the rest of us that don't live incaves-

[He drops the clothes neatly in the pile of clothes that Kurogane is carrying, adding a deeply, vibrantly green shirt from another shelf to the lot.]

-don't wear our work clothes after work. We change into something clean and pretty for our social needs, like civilized people do. That means you buy some practical clothes for work, and then other clothes for after work, with the added bonus that you won't smell like motor oil and sweat when meeting people.

[shut_up_idiot]

I do not live in a cave! [ God. Why, oh why did this guy manage to rile him up so much? ] And I don't smell! I just don't see the point in having to separate my closet for after work. It's bad enough with all the fancy shit my family gets me all the time.

[ But he doesn't drop the clothes Fai has added, because that would be rude and he's been raised better than that, even though he does give the very green shirt a very sceptical look. ] Seriously?

[comparative_insanity]

[That makes Fai laugh lightly, bouncing up on the balls of his feet to plant a light kiss on the other man's cheek. It's a bit of a risky gesture, a bit too affectionate, too familiar, but it feels so... natural with this man. And god, it's not like they haven't been more intimate, so why not.]

I know you don't. But don't be silly, it's not like you have to divide your closet in half. You just grab a practical shirt when you're going to work, and then a different one when you've showered after, no fuss at all.

[He makes a soft, amused sound.] I ain't saying you need to put on pastels, just allow a bit of variety into your life.

[shut_up_idiot]

[ The kiss makes him bristle a bit, a rather prominent blush spreading across his cheeks. While the show of affection doesn't bother him as such he's still not very used to overt public displays of affection. His own parents, while very loving in their own home, tended to be much more reserved outside of it.

He considers arguing the practicality point again but he has a strong feeling that it's not going to matter one bit to Fay. And since he doesn't really feel like standing around and arguing something when he knows he's going to lose, he's deciding on the path of least resistance and just shrugs. ]

Fine, I'll try them on. But that's all I'm promising, alright. Now, where's the damn fitting room?

[ He'd rather get there before Fay decides to pick out something else for him. ]

[wordsgate]

(App-in-progress is here!. There's also a cliff-notes version of his info in his profile.)

[Browsing]

[Ah, there's what he's been looking for. He grins and slides a hand gently along the strings of the guitar hanging on the wall of the shop and gives it a longing look.]

Hello, sexy! I'm surprised nobody's bought you already.

[Sasame has been on the market for a new guitar for a while--his old one that he got in high school is in danger of kicking the bucket any day now--so even though he knows he doesn't have the money for it he can't help but drool over the black Fender Jazzmaster that the music store has on display. It's perfect, exactly what he needs! But the price...

He knows there's no way he can convince his mother to spot him the money--even if she could afford it (and he's sure she can't), she'd probably rather save that money for text books or more college classes or something more "worth while."]

Maybe it's time to get a part-time job? It'd only take me a few months to save up, right?

[Alternate!]

[That's it. He can't take it anymore. The increased stress might make school a little difficult, but that guitar is worth it.

After picking up a cup of green tea from the cafe, he puts on his best, most charming smile and asks the cashier for an application. He's intending to sit down and fill it out right away, but in his rush to get it done he whirls around and runs right into another customer behind him, dropping the application and spilling his tea all over it and his clothing.]

Damn it!

SLAMS INTO THIS LATE let's do it ALTERNATE style!!!

[secondcomingof]

[ And unfortunately for you, Sasame, that wasn't just any customer you bumped into. That customer you just jostled is one Captain Casval Mass, sir, yes, sir, and boy, are they not looking happy at all to have been victimized by your drink-related disaster.

Not that he hasn't been victimized by drinks before, but that's an entirely separate matter. Cursing at the tea that's now seeping into both their clothes, Casval glares down at the young man with a fire precious few in this world can match. ]

Bloody idiot.

[ You are about two seconds away from getting kicked in sheer frustration. Fair warning. ]

[wordsgate]

[He's crouched down to pick up his application to see if it's salvageable (it isn't), but his head snaps back up to look at the man he ran into when he hears the angry words. He frowns and straightens, but to his dismay he still has to tilt his head back to even see the stranger's face. He thought he was a pretty descent height, particularly for someone that's Japanese, but this guy...this guy is huge.

He doesn't care for the tone of this stranger's voice, but he also knows he should've watched where he was going, and he certainly doesn't want to start a fight with this guy, so he takes a deep breath and does his best to sound polite.]

I'm sorry, I should've watched where I was going.

[secondcomingof]

[ Huge, and with appropriately big enough power to send you packing from this town before you can even begin to fill out another application, junior. Though Sasame is fortunate in the sense that he doesn't waste valuable resources on what looks to be, from a quick, judgmental glance, just some bumbling kid.

He looks no less displeased for it, however. A hush has fallen over the entire shop, and all eyes are on Sasame now. ]

This uniform is worth more money than you've ever seen in your life, I'd wager. [ Sharp blue eyes thin. ] So I'm curious as to how you intend on covering its laundering bills.

[ He may not be starting a fight, but he will humiliate him for the trouble he's caused. ]

[wordsgate]

[Sasame's more or less used to getting attention from other people...but usually it's not for a stupid mistake he made. The stern man in front of him would be intimidating enough even if everyone wasn't watching him, so he does what he tends to do when he feels uncomfortable--he makes a joke out of it.]

If you feel like you can skip the optional gold-plated hangers I could probably afford dry cleaning.

[secondcomingof]

[ It's a pretty ballsy gambit, considering who he's up against. The "joke" grates on his serves, though Casval doesn't say anything at first, just staring at him through the weary eyes of someone who's dealt with far too many children as of late.

But eventually, he relents with a sigh, gestures vaguely towards the counter. Congratulations, Sasame: you've been spared the wrath of a man who as may as well be God around these parts. ]

Get me some napkins, and we'll call it even. Go.

[ You're still a bloody idiot, though. ]

[wordsgate]

[Honestly, Sasame pays so little attention to the news and politics that he doesn't have a clue that he's talking to anyone of any importance (although he's certainly gotten the impression that he's rich, and he knows that uniform has to belong to some sort of military). Still, that was tense enough that he's surprised he's getting off that easily.]

Yes, sir. [He quickly goes to the counter to grab some napkins--throwing away his ruined application and empty cup while he's at it. When he returns, he holds out the napkins and clears his throat.]

I know I was a little, eh, glib, but I was serious about paying for dry cleaning.

[secondcomingof]

[ Alright, now that was more of a sincere effort. Good going. Casval accepts the wad of napkins, dabbing at the dark spot on his coat. At least it didn't drip onto his noticeably white pants. That really would've been a disaster. ]

Yours isn't the first smart mouth I've run into today, nor do I expect it to be the last, in all frankness. [ Tossing them towards the trash once he's done. ] But it's fine.

[ He had his moment of embarrassment. For not pushing the envelope farther, that was enough. Eying the stack of applications sitting on the counter, he looks back at Sasame with a (relatively) softer eye. ]

Were you looking for work here, young man?

[wordsgate]

Ah, you noticed? I was. [He chuckles.] Although I imagine I just killed my chances of getting hired here.

[secondcomingof]

Your enthusiasm was difficult to miss. [ Literally. ] Is this the first place you've tried?

[wordsgate]

Yes. At least, it's the first time I've looked for a job since I quit my old one going into college.

[secondcomingof]

Focus on your studies. Knowledge is far more valuable than minimum wage.

[ And you're welcome for that unrequested, unwarranted advice. Bitter dude with a heart of gold right here. ]

[wordsgate]

[He has to resist the urge to make a crack about this guy probably not knowing much about minimum wage.]

That's why I quit! But...you can't buy a new guitar with good grades. [He shrugs.]

[comparative_insanity]

[Fay laughs softly, running a hand gently along Kurogane's blushing cheek with a smile, before grabbing onto his arm and starting to tag him along.]

This way, you silly thing.

[Some guy they pass gives them the hairy eyeball, and Fay smiles and flips him off, wrapping an arm around Kurogane's waist demonstratively while he continues to lead him.]

I've got a couple of pants to try out, but I want to see what you look like in some clothes that aren't black.

[shut_up_idiot]

[ He shakes his head but lets Fay drag him off without resistance, and the vague feeling that he's done this before, that this is somehow normal for them even though there hasn't really been a them for very long.

He's fully prepared to ignore the guy eyeballing them, while not a great fan of PDAs he doesn't really care what some random guy thinks of him, but he can't say he really minds Fay's reaction to it either. He chuckles and leans in a bit closer. ]

Feeling possessive? You know, I don't really think he's that interested.