JUNE TEST DRIVE MEME

[thewatchers]

JUNE TEST DRIVE MEME
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Summer's here in force, the sun beating down like a hammer. Fortunately, there's still plenty to do to take your mind off the heat...


A. Swap Market Stalls
The year turns, the seasons change, and the swap market is back in business, here to offer their many exciting new wares for very reasonable prices, honestly, would they lie to you?

It’s no bad way to while away an afternoon, wandering through the rows of colorful stalls and examining the various offerings, both magical and mundane. Maybe you can buy a trinket for a friend, or a treat for yourself?

Besides, it’s nice to have something fun to do, considering the rumors that prom may be cancelled this year. Gossip claims that it’s a punishment for an unclear incident of student misbehavior, and that two seniors and a grad student have been expelled.

Given that no one can actually seem to pin down who the three people in question were, this part is probably pure rumor.

Probably.

(Hey, gossip is a valuable service, too. Can’t stop the market from talking…)

Just try not to take anything without paying. After some incidents last year, they’ve implemented a few new security features.


B. Midsummer Prep
Every good party requires a good deal of preparation beforehand, and various staff and student volunteers are beginning to set up for the upcoming celebration of the changing seasons. This year’s midsummer festival is shaping up to be a fun little affair, with all the usual traditions- food, campfires, ritual combat displays…

What, you’re not used to that last one?

Yes, well, that does explain why the preparations include both hanging up streamers and carefully warding a small wrestling ring against all sorts of magical damage.

Whether you’re here to help with the setup or just observing for the sake of curiosity, they’ll be working on it in bits and pieces for the next several days.


C. Collecting Sunshine
Sunlight has always been potent, as any of the Undead can tell you, and there is a way to save it for a rainy day. Sunstones cut in a particular way are excellent ways to magically store sunlight to be unleashed at later days, or to add to higher-level potions.

It wouldn’t do just to place them in a window and be done with it, no - it has to have direct exposure, paired with the energy of the young holding it up into the sun, or so the staff insist. One may have a sneaking suspicion that this is an excuse to make the students get more exercise.

D. Iris Network
UN: Xx_shadow_razor_xX
summer break is coming up!!! where do you want to go this year?

also dont comment on the username ok!! i made it when i came here and im NOT changing it

Comments

[nor_iron_bars]

[A black-gloved hand reaches out to steady him.]

Ce n'est pas grave- which makes one of us, I guess. You look like shit, kid.

[Is this the famous Gallic rudeness?]

Been a while, but I'm pretty sure you had two eyes last time I saw you.

[Nope. It's just Jailbreak.]

[Due to having caused some minor "security issues" the last time the swap market was running, she isn't entirely welcome back. Accordingly, she's made a very token effort to disguise herself via a long coat, a wide hat, and a hideous plaid scarf, which would be slightly more effective if she hadn't torn the sleeves off the coat.]

[pickedpocket]

The unwanted physical contact is like having a bucket of icy water thrown over him, proving more than enough to kick Garrett's mind back into gear. He firmly shrugs off the stranger's grasp without thinking, a reflexive response learned from a lifetime spent on the streets, and adjusts his footing in preparation to dodge the stranger's follow-up.
It never comes, of course, leaving him with nothing but uncomfortable silence as he's finally able to properly register the individual speaking to him.
...And upon recognising them, he cannot help but find himself wishing that he really was just being accosted by an angry market-goer.

"...I must be getting rusty if you, of all people, managed to get the drop on me. Didn't take you for the stalking type, Jailbreak."

How long has she been following him? Just because this entire endeavour was a half-cooked plan doesn't mean he wasn't still being careful about all of this. It's a concentrated effort to keep the anger in his gut from rising up whilst simultaneously maintaining his typical lukewarm attitude towards conversation, pretending that the reminder of what has been taken from him doesn't fill his chest with a volatile cocktail of emotions that he has absolutely no time to deal with right now.

"This a bounty thing, or did you just so happen to be in the area?"

[nor_iron_bars]

[Jail leans casually back against the alley wall, languid as a housecat, and folds her arms.]

Last I checked, you dropped on me. Seemed like the time to say hi.

[She shrugs.] Ain't hurting for cash these days, so this don't gotta be business if you aren't making it business. [An eyebrow raises.] You wanna sit down before you fall down and lemme buy you a drink all friendly-like? Or is this gonna be like Prague all over again?

[She doesn't bother going into detail about Prague. It is entirely possible that whatever incident she's thinking of didn't even involve Garrett, because she's had a lot of incidents with a lot of people and was very drunk for most of them. But it could have been him, maybe.]

[pickedpocket]

He may not have been there for it personally, but Garrett would be hard-pressed to not know about The Prague Incident. To this very day, his old contacts are still trying to work out what the hell actually happened that night, as if 'Jailbreak was involved' isn't already a sufficient enough explanation for everything. It is entirely possible that he knows a little more about what happened than most, but he's not known for his habit of outing his fellow associates.
...which brings him to the realisation that none of said associates are actually set up out here, and that for all of his talents, he is going to be well and truly alone in this place if he doesn't start swallowing his pride real fast. It's certainly not the worst price to pay for a free coffee and a shot at reconnecting with a powerful ally, even if she can be somewhat obnoxious to deal with.

"...if you're buying, there's a dainty little café back there. Off the beaten path, decently concealed, looks like the decorator read too many nursery rhymes as a kid..."

In a manner of speaking, Garrett trusts Jailbreak. Specifically, he trusts Jailbreak in the same way you trust a honey bee to leave you alone unless you piss it off. As far as he's concerned, she the most upfront and honest professional criminal in the business, so when she offers you a drink, she's just offering you a drink. Any subsequent Prague Incidents that occur as a result of her general vicinity tend to just happen regardless of what's already happening, though it's up for debate how many of them she actually causes on purpose.
(Garrett's current estimate is 60%. It'd probably be a lot higher if he had spent more time around her.)

[nor_iron_bars]

[Jailbreak appreciates his willingness to accept her as she is: weird and kind of terrible.]

The one with all the doilies? Yeah, I know the place. Good croissants.

[She casually pushes off the wall and saunters in the general direction of the cafe. Are her slow, relaxed movements a way of reassuring Garrett that she's not about to suddenly attack him or reach for a weapon? A way of making sure he can keep up with her pace despite clearly not being entirely well right now, without insulting him by showing too much obvious concern? Just her being lazy?]

[Knowing her, it could be any or all of them.]

[The only way to find out is to follow.]

[pickedpocket]

...well, looks like brunch has taken care of itself, so Garrett's got that going for him at least. He unconciously appreciates Jailbreak's choice to take her time: It lets him move at a silent pace, and gives him a chance to maybe start working out why the hell she's even here to begin with. Was there going to be a heist happening here soon that none of his contacts had deigned to warn him about? He highly doubts that Jailbreak would have come all the way to a tiny university town in the middle of the Rhône-Alpes if there wasn't something more enticing to be had here, beyond a good drink or a pretty face.

"...didn't think I'd run into you this close to Geneva, what with that scandal at the UN headquarters a while back. Rumour has it that the the director-general himself left a meeting early one night, only to walk in on a silver-haired woman and her partner performing scandalous acts inside his office. Don't suppose you'd know anything about that, would you?"

He's never been one for gossip and rumours, but it'll help him keep up a conversational air for the time being, at least until they're guaranteed the privacy they need to discuss more...professional business. This is assuming that she's going to tell him anything at all, of course, but at least he'll still be getting a croissant for his troubles.

[nor_iron_bars]

[Clearly, he's never seen how many hours your average lesbian will drive to spend the weekend with her long-distance girlfriend.]

Listen- [Jail casually pushes open the door to the cafe, hand lingering on it just long enough that it could be accidental that it leaves enough time for Garrett to walk through without having to push it open himself. Not like she's holding it for him, you can't prove anything.] -you know how many places I'm banned from?

If I stayed way the fuck away from every town I've been run out of, jurisdiction I'm wanted in, and establishment I'm no longer welcome at, where the fuck would I even go. The moon?

[Actually, also not an option after last year's slight incident with NASA, but that's not the point.]

[pickedpocket]

The mental image of Jailbreak skipping about on the moon actually manages to get a small cackle out of Garrett, disarming his already-weakened senses long enough for him to stroll into the café without actually noticing that his potential partner in crime has just politely held the door open for him. He's putting everything he has left into saving face at this point, but not even a rigorous afternoon of purse pinching is enough to compensate for a failing body and dulled awareness. He probably doesn't even realise how bad he really looks.

"...it's like we're walking into some prince charming's fancy castle. I wonder where they're storing all the spare knights in shining armour...?"

...he's still himself enough to continue snarking, at least. And though he moves through the building a little too quickly, missing a corner or two where an assailant could be hiding, and though he doesn't so much sit in his chair as collapse into it...he does nevertheless acquire a table for him and Jailbreak that is a healthy distance away from any of other patrons.
It then occurs to him that he's supposed to be here because there was a promise of food, so he instinctively attempts to sit back up again, already planning out how to best purloin the nearby display of its pastries. Old habits die hard.

[nor_iron_bars]

[The moon's gay now, sorry not sorry.]

They only bring 'em out for special occasions. Saves a fortune on polish. [Jail flags down a nearby waitress before Garrett can completely stand up. When she said "sit down before you fall down", she meant it.]

Heyyyy, Candi, how's the wife and kids? [In deference to the fact that she's currently in a monogamous relationship, Jailbreak is not quite flirting with said waitress. She does give her a cheery wink, though, on general principles.]

[The woman- Candace according to her nametag- seems to be reasonably happy to see her, at least. She confirms that her wife and kids are, in fact, fine and takes Jail's order for a breakfast sandwich and "whatever this guy wants, my tab" with only minimal sarcastic eyerolling.]

[For all her gleefully obnoxious nonsense, Jail does genuinely like people. It makes it surprisingly easy to get along with them, in her own lackadaisical way. She might rob a rich man, but she'll always tip the waiter- and every time someone tells her a rambling story about their grandkids, she actually remembers, even if half the time she's not sure what city she's in. It's a professional skill- people are more likely to "forget" to mention you to the cops if you can make yourself likable.]

[How her ability to get along with random retail workers squares with her constant mission to annoy anyone in a position of actual authority is an exercise best left to the reader.]

[pickedpocket]

With the waitress sent off with an order for two breakfast sandwiches, all that's left to take up Garrett's attention is the woman sitting across from him. Perhaps he doesn't even realise it himself yet, but some part of Garrett has always aspired to be as effortlessly charismatic around others as Jailbreak is. Think of how much easier infiltration would be if he could just convince the guards he's someone else! Though perhaps he's not going to be doing much of that in the near future, what with Constantine's mark scarring his handsome visage...

"So, what brought you here? Something tells me you didn't just happen to be passing through the area."

Frankly, he hopes that he's gone and accidentally stumbled upon an imminent crime spree. Because if he has, it could be an excellent way of getting his foot in the door for a more permanent residence in Soleil. Even if his way of going about it is probably going to piss off the local authorities.

[nor_iron_bars]

Well, it's taco Tuesday. [It's Friday.]

Been here a while, anyway. When it comes down to it, there's really only one game in town, but it's worth playing. [With just the slightest tilt of her head, she indicates a nearby window. It's pretty far from the school, but even so the gates of Daybreak Academy are still clearly visible in the distance.]

The only one worth playing, far as some people are concerned. Apocalypse ain't great for business.

[pickedpocket]

...he just hit the jackpot. Not only is one of the very few people Garrett would consider trustworthy set up here, but her goals are apparently in alignment with his. This is exactly the golden opportunity he's been gunning for, and he sure as hell isn't about to waste it...but he can't afford to be hasty with this either, not so soon after just meeting back up with Jailbreak. He'll have to play it safe for now, leaning back in his seat and donning a mask of casual nonchalance.

"...heh. That doesn't sound much like the kind of game I'd be personally invested in. But I am kind of curious to hear what you'd be selling to someone who was actually interested. Plus, it's been a while since I last heard one of your famous 'sales pitches'..."

Just because he doesn't want all of humanity to be destroyed doesn't mean he has to start acting all upstanding and moral about it as well. He's got the reputation of a mythical thief to maintain, and he's not going to let it be tarnished by something as petty as caring about the fate of the world. He'll leave all that rubbish to the cringe-worthy 'heroes' that keep trying to convince people like him to give their patronising doctrines a chance. Fortunately, his comprehension of the French language leaves something to be desired, so any bumbling idealists around here aren't going to be grating at his patience any time soon.

[nor_iron_bars]

Hey, if you insist... [Jail straightens up from her usual casual sprawl, sitting properly in her chair, and clears her throat as she speaks with a mock-professional tone.]

So, as you may have noticed, the world has a lot of stuff. I like my stuff, and I keep most of it here. Current projections from all known reputable sources, and also me, suggest that at this rate, there will be no world, and therefore also way less stuff.

In conclusion, vote Jailbreak 2kforever.

[She relaxes back into a boneless slouch and chuckles.]

Seriously, you think I wanna outrun the apocalypse? Might be able to, sure, but God what a pain. Scrambling just to get the fuck outta dodge and losing out on so much fun shit in the bargain. Rather head that one off at the pass before Earth gets fucked up enough that we stop having stuff like the Louvre and ladies' night at Tequila Dave's.

[Two human institutions clearly equal in their contributions to art and culture.]

Nightfall's coming and I don't wanna die. That's the long and short of it. [She shrugs.] Sometimes looking out for number one means looking out for numbers two through fifty, so you can all gang up on number fifty-one for trying to, y'know, end the mcfucking world. It's a decent strategy.

[Well, he wanted to avoid idealism. Unless overwhelming selfishness counts as an ideal, that probably fits the bill.]