estoria | [open] yarrrrrrrr

Entry tags:

[open] yarrrrrrrr

Who: Athena Cykes (

psycholawgy) & you!
When: Icly 11/09 (or any other day!)
Where: Various places (Cosplay cafe, and around the residential district)
What: You can be accosted by her, or watch her accost someone. Your choice.
Rating/Warning: Will update as needed.

a
[ Athena had a shift today at the cosplay cafe, and she was really excited about it! It was always fun being there, since she gets to meet a lot of people. Free food was also involved sometimes, and that was the best part.

…

But today was a bust.

She was even excited to talk to customers with a pirate accent, since that was what she was cosplaying as today. A pirate! You just can't have it all.

Instead of just waiting inside for people to come in, she goes out into the street just by the cafe. She wasn't finishing her work today without showing off her cute costume. Holding out her fake sword and pointing it at any person who passes by, she exclaims: ]

It's into the cafe or Davy Jones' Locker, ye knave!

[ Marketing strategies!

Of course, anyone who works at the cosplay cafe is also free to stop her from possibly embarrassing herself and the establishment. ]

b
[ It wasn't even that late! It was just an hour or so before sundown, but a police officer robot thing approaches Athena and tells her to go home. She's not even sure why she's being told to do so, when she's not even a minor. Was it because she was little? Whatever the reason, she felt very insulted by this. ]

I'm on my way to buy some food!

[ But the officer seemed very insistent that she should go home before sundown since it wasn't safe. "Look, kid. You better head home before dark, or else you could get in trouble." ]

I'm not a kid!

[ And if it wasn't her stating that she wants to buy food that could catch someone's attention, it's her yelling that she's not a kid, because she can be loud. Now is one of those times.

Again, the officer continues to believe in its own opinion that Athena is much younger than she truly is, and decides to walk her home that very instant, grabbing her by the wrist. But Athena doesn't take kindly to people giving her unwanted physical contact. She quickly grabs the officer's wrist then moves to turn, her back facing the cop, then she crouches as she pulls its arm to throw him to the ground.

… But she may have thrown her a bit too far. The officer probably hits an innocent passer-by or the space very close to said passer-by.

Oops? ]

c
[ Or just tag with whatever! ]

[ Obligatory permissions post because Athena is a human lie detector. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ She heard that, but didn't really want to speak so loudly as to disturb the other customer around. The place was so quiet today, so she figured she may as well not disturb the peace.

From the counter, she walks back to where Kaoru is seated to hand her a menu. There's a wide selection of sandwiches, pasta, cakes, pastries, and some crepes. Of course, there's also a full menu for hot and cold coffee and chocolate drinks, as well as some tea. ]

Just Athena's fine, but Captain Athena does sound pretty cool when I hear it from someone else. [ She chuckles at that. ]

We usually get more people; I guess today's just one of those quiet days. I know there's a butler cafe somewhere closeby, too. We're better , though.

It suits you.

[Said in a gently teasing tone! Kaoru gives the building another once-over after taking the menu, not glancing at it just yet.]

A butler cafe? What a strange thing... Though if I'm perfectly honest, I don't entirely understand the purpose of this place, either. [This is said with a somewhat apologetic smile.] Dressing up to serve customers is a novel concept to me. Is it more enjoyable this way?

[ She hums in thought, putting both her hands on her hips. ]

I guess some people like people in costumes serving them. [ If there was one thing Athena was good at was making things up; she'll find a way to support her own statements later on. ] But dressing up is really fun, too. It gives customers and us waitresses and waiters something to talk about.

[ Then she claps her hands together in delight. ] I guess it makes the service more personal!

[Kaoru seems to be considering that, nodding once after a few seconds of mulling.]

I can see what you might mean. It certainly does give more to talk about, if nothing else... [And it opens up a whole new avenue of discussion! It's not the same to compliment a waiter or waitress in dress clothing.]

Do you switch between themes, in that case? Ah, which one has been your favorite so far?

I've only just started, so I haven't tried a lot of costumes yet, and it's only one costume day for me. [ Adjusts the hat on her head, now that she's become conscious of what she's wearing. ] I like this one a lot, and there's a cute school uniform that I wore the other day.

[ She'd even show Kaoru a picture if she had one, but she forgot to take a picture of it. ]

I want to try out this magical girl outfit, though!

[Nodding along while listening! It seems like a pretty fascinating job, once the initial weirdness of it is left behind. Kaoru's hands fold together over the top of the menu, clearly more interested in conversation for the time being. Thankfully it's slow, so it's not like anyone else's time is being eaten up...]

A school uniform for a costume? [SOUNDS STRANGE but Kaoru just rolls with it.]

Ah, but I don't believe I've ever heard of that before. What would a "magical girl" outfit look like?

[ This time around, Athena remembers that she has Widget with her. And also her CereVice. But let's face it, she uses Widget more than she does her actual mobile device.

She draws a circle in the air with her gloved hand; it's only her right hand that's gloved, and it's fingerless save for her index and middle finger. Gloves are serious business. When she does, there's a robotic beep, and a holographic screen appears in front of her. Before the screen starts up, though, a blue and white smiley face appears from the circle she drew.

Once the actual device starts up, she opens a browser app to search of magical girl outfits. She then flips the screen to show Kaoru a bunch of different costumes in different colours. ]

Yellow's definitely my colour, but I guess blue might work too. The skirts are all so frilly, and there's ribbons everywhere. Who wouldn't be excited?!

[ Not her, that's for sure. ]

[There's a little startled noise from Kaoru, who watches pretty intently as she does her weird glove future technology magic to summon some weird smiley face. WHAT IS THIS. CereVices come in all shapes and sizes so Kaoru initially assumes that's what it might be, but if so, it's definitely the most unique one seen yet...

Before any questions about it can be made, the screen is being flipped around, and Kaoru's left looking at the costumes in a somewhat distracted way. These are just as weird why is the future so weird, who thinks of these things??]

They look— [...] Cute, but a little difficult to work in, don't they? How would one move with so many ruffles and bows?

[Questions for the ages.]

[ If there's anything that Athena can't shut up about, it's her robot-AI-computer friend. No, it's not a CereVice, Kaoru! But anyone who doesn't know that her necklace can talk would probably think it was her CereVice that's doing all the work, anyway. If Kaoru ever asked about it, then she'd show her every feature it can do like the nerd that she is.

ALAS. ]

I dunno! Why can superheroes move real fast while wearing spandex?

[THOSE QUESTIONS WILL SURELY COME AT SOME POINT because Widget really is an outlier here...

That comparison is a strike and a miss though, since Kaoru's immediately looking confused.]

I'm afraid that I don't know what spandex is. [Or superheroes, but that seems less integral to the overall understanding of the comparison.] Something difficult to move in? Is it very large...?

You don't?

[ Spandex doesn't exist in Ye Olde Japan either?! WHAT KIND OF TECHNOLOGY— it's obvious that Athena needs to learn more about history. WELL. Flipping the screen over to search for superhero outfits, then showing the results to Kaoru. At least without asking, Kaoru now knows that superheroes are people who need better fashion advice. There's a bunch of images of people wearing masks, underwear over their tights/pants, and whatnot. ]

See how tight their costumes are? It's because of the cloth they're using for their outfits. That's spandex. [ Pauses. ] I guess it's easier for them to move around, but the stuff's still really tight.

[This is the weirdest fashion subculture from the future that Kaoru's seen yet. There's definitely a look of confusion present as Athena scrolls through row after row of people who are INDECENTLY DRESSED!! and also badly dressed. What's up with all these bright, clashing colors? The stupid logos?? And everyone gave the Shinsengumi shit for having sky-blue uniforms...]

Some of them seem to match... Is this a warrior's uniform of a sort?

[The most important question here is what kind of warrior would go out in public dressed like that, honestly.]

Hey, it's something like that.

[ No, Athena, it's not. ]

They fight criminals and other bad guys, but they're usually not affiliated with the police or anything.

[ And if she knew anything about the fictional superheroes in her version of America, she would totally show Kaoru the Steel Samurai. Maybe that would be something of his interest. BUT ALAS. She mostly just knows the more popular superheroes like that one mutant in a wheelchair, or that other one with a metal helmet. ]

I don't know why they dress up that way, but some superheroes have aliases. This guy's name is probably "Birdman".

[ Conveniently points to an image with a man dressed up in an orange spandex suit, black underwear, black boots, and a detailed bird mask (beak included), and black wings. ]

[SEEMS LEGIT ENOUGH TO KAORU. There are plenty of weirdos who aren't affiliated with the police but still dress up to fight bad guys in 1860s-era Edo, even though Kaoru still struggles to see the point of such weird spandex tomfoolery.]

I'm a little surprised that such eccentric people are allowed to operate without repercussion... It seems a little dangerous, doesn't it? [Glancing at the supposed "Birdman" with a look of mild concern.]

If someone dressed like that tried to save me, I might mistake them for a criminal at first, to be honest.

[#sane reactions to superheroes]

You would?

[ Maybe it's just that Kaoru's from a different time... Athena is just a wee bit concerned over the strange costumes, when she works with a high school student who actually dresses up like a magician at all times. Stuff like superhero costumes aren't so weird when people seem to wear unusual clothes every day.

Then she thinks of Ryuko, whom she shares a flat with. Her clothes can apparently talk. That's pretty much her benchmark for strange and suspicious. Not what Birdman's wearing. ]

What's so scary about it? Is it the beak?

[ BECAUSE THERE IS CLEARLY NOTHING WRONG WITH PEOPLE SWOPPING IN IN COSTUMES. Absolutely nothing! ]

The beak is certainly a little bizarre... The fact that he's covering his face at all is suspicious, too. Where I come from, such an act is largely reserved for bandits and ninja.

[NOT TRUSTWORTHY PEOPLE AT ALL. If Kaoru ever came across some person dressed up like a leotard-wearing animal with their face partially obscured, there would definitely be some immediate bailing happening...]

Likewise, the spandex material is... certainly very revealing, isn't it? Without being aware ahead of time that such a person was on my side, I think it would be natural to assume the worst.

[So it's definitely a time difference thing, but these are also truly valid points...]

But- [ She wags a finger at Kaoru. ] But, but! Now that you know that they save people and don't mean to scare anyone, you wouldn't be scared anymore, right?

I mean, if it happens here!

[WELL... THEY'D PROBABLY STILL BE A LITTLE ALARMING. Kaoru's gaze drifts up toward the ceiling briefly, and a thoughtful hum follows.]

Mm... Well, I might still be a little startled at first, but I would certainly be more at ease knowing what I know now. Perhaps I should thank you, then? If that ever happened here, I would be able to handle the situation with greater ease because of Athena-san.

I think I'll call you or something if the cafe does a superhero theme.

[ She laughs. It'd be amusing to see Kaoru surrounded by a bunch of people in spandex. ]

[ATHENA DON'T DO THIS.]

Please do. I would be interested to see what an entire group of people like that would look like all in one space.

[Hilarious, probably.]

[ I CAN SHOW YOU THE WORLD, KAORU. SHINING, SHIMMERING, SPANDEX. ]

Great! [ That gets her so pumped up, she starts swaying forwards then backwards like an eager little girl who just got a balloon. ] I'll hold you to that.

[THE WORLD CAN KEEP ITS SPANDEX?!! But oh good lord, she sure is easy to get hyped up, isn't she? Kaoru raises a hand, gently covering a laugh, and nods.]

Then I won't let you down. [Kaoru has just signed up for a day in hell.

THAT SAID, finally picking up the menu again!] Ah, by the way... What things would you suggest here? Are there any teas or dishes that you prefer?

[ All the hype for awful and embarrassing ideas!! ]

Oh, the food! [ She totally forgot about it now. Good job, waitress. ] The sandwiches are great. You should try either the chicken BLT salad sandwich, or if you don't want meat, try the roasted tomato and mozzarella panini. They'd go well with earl grey tea, or something equally as citrusy.

[ This is the first time someone's actually asked for her suggestion ever since she started working. FEELS GOOD. ]

[MOVING UP IN THE WORLD OF COSPLAY CAFE SERVICE.

Kaoru seems to be contemplating the choices given, though. None of the suggested items are things that Kaoru would normally select, but they don't sound bad, either.]

—Then, the panini sounds delightful. If you suggest earl grey, I'll take that as well.

You got it! You won't be disappointed!

[ She turns to walk to the kitchen to place Kaoru's orders, but stops midway to look back at Kaoru. ]

It's gonna be really good!

[ And then she's off to harass the chef to add a lot of stuff in it to make it more flavourful. CAN'T DISAPPOINT HER FRIEND AFTER ALL!!

She comes back a couple minutes later with a tray, carrying Kaoru's orders. ]

I hope you didn't wait long?

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