Strokes of Genius, Thursday (December 10)

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Her head was still full of thoughts of ladies, tigers, idiot kings, sexist archaic crap, and new boots by the time Katchoo arrived at work, and it was really the last of those thoughts that had her whistling occasional broken snippets of classic showtunes around the shelves as she restocked.

Mmm, clunky heels. She was a little sorry about the lack of cookies today, just because she could've crushed 'em under said clunky heels.

She'd have to settle for breaking out a new set of watercolors instead. Oddly, Katchoo was fine with that.

[OOC: Farmville did that thing again where it ate some of my gifts. It took the OCD with them.]

Comments

[thatsamilkshake]

Not that Francine was getting paranoid about this by now, but if the first words out of her mouth when she came in with take-out fried chicken were, "Sanity check: you love who?" well, can you really blame her?

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Katchoo bounded (clunkily) out from behind the counter over to Francine, reaching for her hand. "You, obviously, dork, but sanity has nothing to do with it. Neither does the fried chicken, but I love you for that too."

[thatsamilkshake]

"Judges will accept that answer," Francine decided, going for a quick hello-kiss that was made oddly less awkward by the fact that her patience with the entire world was wearing thin this week and she just didn't have the energy to wibble internally for thirty seconds about whether she felt stupid and clumsy doing that, or not.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Oh, good. I didn't have a bribe ready for the judges today." Katchoo looked up at her, frowning, but ooo, she didn't have to look up at quite as sharply an angle in these boots. "What happened? This isn't Raven again, is it?"

[thatsamilkshake]

"Maybe, but I don't think so. Merlin's lost his mind. He and Karla think they're madly in love. Are those new boots?"

...She was a girl. She was really, really, really a girl. Plus the frustrated bitterness didn't remotely drain out of her voice; it just shoved over to share the space with fashion commentary.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I picked 'em up at the post office after cl -- Merlin and Karla?!?" It just went to show you what Katchoo would do for Francine that her expression turned into what could only be described as the building stormfront of CHEWIE SMASH. "Do I have to break 'em in for the kicking already?"

[thatsamilkshake]

"Maybe somebody; not them." It just went to show you how easy it was to make Francine feel validated, or possibly just how twisted their lives were, that the question made her smile without irony for a second. "Dinah's gone nuts too; she thinks she and Sam Winchester are gonna get married. From what she said, it sounds like Jack Priest is acting the same way. So it's all over." Again.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Well, their lives were twisted. There wasn't really a question about that.

"Oh, hell. Because the weekend wasn't $*@!ed up enough. Point me at someone to hurt for this, I'll do it. Not them, though." Katchoo smiled wryly. "Unless there's something I can break to stop this crap from happening, that's all I can do."

[thatsamilkshake]

Francine shook her head and plopped the containers of chicken and biscuits on the counter. "We don't know what's doing it yet. I just wanted to make sure you were still...you."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Still me, honey," Katchoo confirmed. "You'd tie me up and lock me in the room if I ever went goofy over someone else again, right?"

[thatsamilkshake]

"...Maybe not the tying up part." Not while she was goofy over somebody else. Quack.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

. . . yeah, Katchoo could actually picture that really well. Artist, don't you know.

"Francine! Not that kind of tying up!"

[thatsamilkshake]

"Yeah, I got that." Sigh.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

A pause, if you will, for the gawking.

"I'm not really into that." Um. "Just so you know."

This was Francine, so did that count as TMI?

[thatsamilkshake]

Only so far as she now felt guilty enjoying the image, instead of a little brave and oddly hopeful.

"So noted."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Katchoo reached for a biscuit, more intent on worrying it to bits between her fingers than actually eating it just yet. "It's . . . never been that much fun for me, before," she admitted, more of a glimpse into those missing years than she'd been quite prepared to give.

[thatsamilkshake]

"Oh." Chicken-fried guilt with side dishes of mashed awkward in gravy and wow, I'm a moron on a stick. At least Francine could be sure she was herself. "No, I guess it --- yeah."

There was corn on the cob, wasn't there? She must have bought corn on the cob. She'd have to look in the bag again. "So if you ever go nuts again, maybe I'll just sit on you so you can't go anywhere."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

But was there cole slaw of no, really, it's okay, or baked beans of that was then, this is now?

Katchoo shook biscuit crumbs off her new boots and reached out to touch Francine's arm. "Locking me in the closet would be a nice ironic touch."

[thatsamilkshake]

"It would remind me too much of Barry Plodder." No, no baked beans. They'd reminded her too much of Father Ned's advice on spreading God's love.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Okay, fine, no baked beans. The cole slaw, though . . . ?

"Yeah, but if you sat on me, I could tickle you."

[thatsamilkshake]

"I'm strong, and could resist your tickling ways. For your own safety."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Oh, really?" Katchoo put down what was left of the poor biscuit and held both hands up in a not-intimidating-at-all-really clawed pose. "You wanna test that claim?"

[thatsamilkshake]

"Oh sure, like that's fair - you're not trapped in a locked room with me sitting on you."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"We have a storage room." Katchoo chucked a thumb toward the back of the store. "One that isn't dispensing cookies like a deranged slot machine today."

[thatsamilkshake]

Uh. Think fast, Peters. "Is there a bed?"