choo choo open log train

[unevoke]

Who: Shinjiro (unevoke & open
When: misc. days after event 9
Where: PLACES
What: THINGS
Rating/Warning: shouldn't be anything crazy!

---

a - mcceres
[By this point, work's become a monotony. It's a way to earn money, and he doesn't bedgrudge it for that purpose, but the forced socialization doesn't suit his tastes and the risk of running into someone he's conversed with - particularly after the events of the previous week - leave him tenser than he usually is.

At least he's an entertaining sight, dressed in his standard uniform of brightly colored apron and hat, sporting one of the flattest looks known to man as he asks:]

What can I get you today?

b - some random thrift store
[Shinji's stay thus far in Cerealia has been unkind to his limited wardrobe. His hat's looking particularly worse for the wear, his pants have small rips in them, and his coat is probably going to disintegrate the moment someone touches it.

Hence, his presence at the local thrift store.

There's not a whole lot on display, most of either not in his size or in atrocious colors and patterns he would never think to wear in public. Like the shirt he pulls out off the rack in sheer disbelief: a lemon yellow, with pink beach balls and blue umbrellas.

Who the hell even thought this was a good idea? And no he's not going to buy it, don't you dare ask.]

c - the cybuddy store
[Out of all the places in Cerealia though, the CYBuddy store is where Shinji's spent the most time of late. His guilt over attempting to sacrifice the things (and in some cases successfully) have led him to return time and again, to offer assistance in the store and give the remaining CYBuddies some proper attention.

It also gives him an excuse not to be social, and to put off thinking about the terrible things he tried to do.

Of course, there's no point in spending time in the CYBuddy store if he's not going to buy anything. There's Mitsuru's CYbuddy to spoil, and since he can't exactly buy gourmet CYBuddy food (does that even exist?) he settles for toys, picking out two and weighing them against each other.

He turns, eyes questioning.]

Hey, you got any idea which of these lasts longer?

[Quality over quantity, yo.]

d - game center
[Shinjiro isn't much for games. Having played only a rare few during his childhood, he'd never developed the fervor for them many of his peers had. That said, the pseudo-game of live action Pac-man he'd played his first day here had been kind of fun. He wanders into the game center one day when it's mostly empty - blame the early hour for that - and spends a good ten minutes just walking down the rows, checking out what there is on offer.

He stops in front of a fighting game and cracks a small smile. Akihiko would probably love this.]

e - choose your own adventure
[ooc: feel free to make your own scenario or pm me for an individualized prompt!]

Comments

c!!!

[scenting]

[ malia's at the cashier, flipping through her textbook for math class and frowning at how much she has to do. she debates just throwing the book out or, oh, maybe setting it on fire. that would be really nice, actually.

but her head jerks up when she hears the voice and instead of replying, she just stares blankly at shinji. no seriously, she's just going to stare at him like he just spoke to her in japanese. (which is funny because he totally just did, lol translators.) great customer service here. ]

[unevoke]

[......O...kay......

Shinji can't really complain about customer service when his own is so abysmal, but getting stared at like this is bordering on creepy and if this is how the employees are going to act in this store, maybe he's better off finding someplace else to buy toys from.

Buuuut maybe she didn't hear him. Maybe he was too vague. Everyone deserves a second chance, right? So he tries again.]

You have any idea which of these two toys'll last longer for a dog-shaped CYBuddy?

b;

[journaler]

[There is definitely nothing wrong with yellow! Or pink, Or beach balls. At least, that's what Leia would say, if she were asked; so she doesn't think twice, seeing Shinji look at the shirt. Her wardrobe's pretty limited too, which makes for a great excuse to distract herself from job hunting in favor of clothes.

Something that's not armor for once, huh...? She wonders how well any of this stuff would hold up.]

Hmm... not a lot to choose from, is there?

[She meets Shinji's eyes for a moment, chuckling. Yeah, she's in a pretty good mood despite that.]

;

[unevoke]

[Sure is perky about this whole shopping thing, isn't she? Maybe it's a girl thing, not that he'll say it aloud.

Shinji shoves the godawful shirt back onto the rack with a sigh before responding to Leia.]

That's an understatement.

[Is he seriously going to have to visit some upscale boutique thing and get fussed over by attendants just to get a reasonable-looking shirt? Apparently. He glances over at Leia.]

There anything not out of a costume party over there?

a

[brocon]

[ This guy is on a food run! Ayumu was asked by a co-worker to do a favour for him, which included buying some fast food. If it were up to him, he wouldn't do anything like this, and would cook food for his co-worker instead. Alas, his co-worker was very insistent on the fast food. This was better than staying in the labs all day, though. It got tiring typing up data over and over for eight hours a day.

He was expecting annoying and loud mascots to welcome him to McCeres, though. Not some suspicious looking guy. ]

Aren't you supposed to be in costume?

[ He's not ready to order yet. ]

[unevoke]

[The day Shinji's forced to wear a costume is the day Julius Vincere himself descends into commoner hell and eats at McCeres. Possible, but highly unlikely.

That said, he greatly does not appreciate any accusations toward his uniform, positive or negative or otherwise.]

That ain't my job. [Flatly.] Can I get your order?

[Better hurry up, dude.]

c

[dragonseyes]

[Shinji's question earns him a blank look. Shin-Ah does not, in fact, have any idea which one of these lasts longer. They both look sturdy enough to survive a round with a CYBuddy.

At least Shin-Ah thinks so. He's not very familiar with CYBuddies.

...

Nope, not a clue.

Shake shake.

The very real squirrel on Shin-Ah's shoulder imitates the movement before it looks at Shinji with big, adorable eyes.]

[unevoke]

[Shin-Ah, what good are you.

Except, ah, Shinji may not know a lot about squirrels but he does know that the fluffy thing on the guy's shoulder is not a CYBuddy and is in fact real, and that throws him for a loop because he hasn't seen any other real animals around here so far.

The toys go momentarily forgotten as Shinji fixes his gaze on the ball of fluff several feet from him.]

Where'd you get the squirrel?

[Wow, how rude.]

A

[lifelong]

Can I have twenty orders of number two? [ Yes...

Minato is here by coincidence after school for reasons (mostly he's hungry). It doesn't seem like he has taken into consideration that this is Shinjiro in a different apron.

The most important is burgers. ]

[unevoke]

[Minato.......

Shinji's sure he must have heard that wrong, because who in their right mind orders more than two orders of any meal on this stupid menu, let alone twenty. He stares at Minato for a good five seconds before asking:]

You sure you don't mean two orders of number twenty?

[Minato please, this is killing his good food sensibilities.]

a!

[harepiece]

Ah! I found you!

[THAT MAKES IT SOUND LIKE HE WAS ACTIVELY HUNTING THE POOR GUY DOWN but no, it's just an enthusiastic and weird greeting...

Either way, huess who the next customer in line is?? IT'S OZ. Actually, he's the only other customer in line, since no one else is behind him yet... Which is probably a good thing, because he sure is going to take his sweetass time now that he's recognized Shinjiro.]

You really stand out here, don't you? [oz why]

[unevoke]

[OZ YOU ARE SO RUDE....

Shinji doesn't seem too pleased by Oz's presence, though he also doesn't give any other indication that he recognizes the kid in front of him other than a noncommittal grunt. (If he's perfected any sound, it's that one.)

ALSO IGNORES THAT BLATANT INSULT because really Oz??]

Can I get you something?

but i want all these prompts (a first)

[hoasen]

[It was one of those days that Vietnam didn't bring along food for lunch, but that she was planning on looking around and finding something good to eat. But now the look of McCeres is too much for her and she has to go in out of pure morbid curiosity. Was it going to be anything like McDonalds?

She wasn't even quite in line, just a little behind the person Shinjiro was serving, when they went off and he shot his robotic question. This snapped her out of her concentration (a deep study of the menu. Conclusion: It's very much like McDonalds.)]

Oh! Hello, you work here? [She suddenly looks so happy (as much as she could show, anyway) to see her favourite not!gangster...]

then we will do all of them somehow

[unevoke]

[The single bright side of having worked at McCeres for close to three weeks now is that Shinji's responses have been ingrained into his mind, able to be pulled out and fired off at the merest stimuli.

See: right now. He's halfway through 'Sorry, we don't have that on our menu' before he realizes that he actually does know the person standing in front of him, and has to reroute his brain completely.]

—Huh?

[(What a small world it is, bumping into all these people he knows.) Shinji frowns, a little sheepish at being caught at work, and relaxes. He doesn't seem displeased to see her though.]

Yeah, I started a few weeks ago. It's a job. Can I get you somethin'?

c - SLAMS INTO!!!

[telosmere]

[ Have a rabbit CYbuddy come running down the aisle towards you, Shinjiro, with a rather flustered-looking Minami rounding the corner behind it. She displays surprising dexterity for a girl who spends most of her off-school hours half asleep, and she weaves expertly between two or three shelves before putting on a burst of speed -

- but her intention to catch it in a flying leap is abruptly derailed as her gaze falls onto him. Instead, she slows, her focused expression changing into a smile. ]

Senpai!

[ The rabbit stops at Shinjiro's feet. It's a cartoon version of a rabbit more than anything else, with cute eyes - that happen to be staring right up at him.

> Pet the rabbit? ]

C

[unathletic]

[ Heung Soo's honestly not too interested in the CYBuddies. Not that this is probably a weird thing, considering he doesn't.. really look like the kind of guy who would be all that interested in cute animals. It's why he's never really given the things a second sort of consideration.

But today he's in the shop for a different reason - he's had to deliver some new stock to the store for his job, and the other guy manages to catch him just as he's about to leave. And Heung Soo is (only barely) not rude enough to just leave, so instead he just stares between the two toys...

.. with a blank look on his face. Yeah, he has no idea, pretty obviously so. ]

Aren't they the same?

[ Do these.. robot things even need toys to begin with.. ]

a million weeks later, i'm awful

[unevoke]

[What good are you, Heung Soo.....

Shinji's clearly picked the wrong person to ask but he doesn't see anyone else wandering the store (what happened to all the employees??) and some opinion is probably better than none.]

'S why I'm asking, to see if they are. [He knows about normal pet toys but CYBuddy ones are out of his area of expertise. Though this guy's blank reaction begs the question of:] You ever had a pet before?

[If no, that would explain a lot.]

b OF COURSE

[fingersnaps]

( This is the kind of store that Manfred von Karma would usually not be caught dead in. Yet on this particular shopping venture he has certain needs that might be met by such a place. Discretion. Improvised weaponry. You know, the usual.

He barely passes a glance at the racks of clothing; even though he does need a new suit he's going to wait until he can afford (or acquire) one that's tailored to fit. He's never worn anything that hung off him imperfectly and he's not about to start now. For a moment, his gaze lingers on the scruffy looking boy staring at a hideous t-shirt.

He speaks from the other side of the clothing rack. )

I hope you're not planning to buy that.

( What kind of desperate individual buys clothing from a thrift store? )

god i'm sorry this is so late

[unevoke]

[Poor people, that's what. Also people who don't know how clothes are properly supposed to fit, if his slightly oversized red coat and faded black pants are any indication.

He's got no inclination towards buying the shirt but the absolute distaste coming from the other side of the rack rankles him, enough that he doesn't immediately put back the shirt but instead moves it an inch closer to his body.]

So what if I do? Doesn't matter to you.

b;

[deontology]

[He's never been in a thrift store before, and in his vague attempt to learn more about this place, he occasionally finds himself walking into places he's never heard of.

It hasn't been all that productive yet for him, admittedly. Last week was 'movie theater' and that wasn't all that useful either.

He's prepared to leave, having gotten a proper walk around of this place, but--

That's pretty hideous. His brow furrows slightly.]

...Is that truly Western style? [is that really what people wear!!!]

[unevoke]

[Colorblind people, apparently. Also people who can't afford Real Clothes. But even as a proud member of the latter club, Shinji has enough decency not to impersonate a miniature sun and so Sousei only has to experience true fashion disaster for another second more before the shirt goes back on the rack. It'd almost be worth it to buy it just so he can throw it in the trash.]

Dunno, but I don't think anyone would pay money for that thing. [Seriously though, is there a trash can around.] You lookin' for Western style?

A

[littlestbaskerville]

[Surprise Lily's here!

When she sees the person behind the counter she jumps a little excited to see him.]

Shinjiro! You work here?

[unevoke]

[Has to lean over the counter a little to see who's there—but he does recognize the kid next in line and she gets his first real smile of the day, even if it is pretty small and barely visible.]

Yeah, I work here. You hungry today? I can get you something.

[And he'll even make it himself.]

c

[ionicwoman]

[For her part, she'd been here just windowshopping and seeing if she could swindle anyone into buying one for her, so when she's addressed, she turns around....!]

[Only to realize it's that guy. Ugh, her hopes and dreams crushed!]

[But she'll try to have some fun with him]

Oh? Are you planning to buy one for me? ♥

[unevoke]

[GTFO Anise, no one wants you around.

Her voice sparks familiarity before he even catches sight of her fully, and he groans inwardly at his poor luck at having bumped into creepy kink fetish girl again out of the hundreds of citizens milling around.

But he's asked and she's answered and he should at least dignify her (ridiculous) question with a reply.]

Don't be stupid. It's for a friend's CYBuddy.

[And you are definitely not his friend, Anise.]

c! sorry this is late!

[helmets]

[ celty doesn't own any pets at home, but she does have to admit that the CYBuddies are way too cute. she mostly window shops, perfectly content to admire the CYBuddies of the week on display, but she wanders in this time, having been let out of work early.

in the middle of a game of tug of war (in which her finger is the rope) with a kitten CYBuddy, she looks up at shinji's question, tilting her head. she pulls out her device with her free hand and swipes her thumb over the screen once, turning it around to show him. ]

I think it would depend on the type of CYBuddy you are purchasing it for. For robots, they seem to be rather realistic.

don't worry about it!

[unevoke]

[A text reply. Interesting. The entire outfit's interesting, honestly, but he keeps his curiosity contained and instead he crouches down in order to be able to read the small screen clearly.

....

Ah, that would make sense. He's not too great with the technology around these parts, so hopefully her reliance on her device indicates a higher level of expertise than his own.]

A dog. Looks like a shiba inu but I don't know if these things get breed-specific. [Would they really go into that much detail??] You think a squeaky toy would last long enough?

[He's got a pretty thick rope in one hand and a giraffe squeaky toy in the other.]