Magpie Emporium, Thursday (12/9)

[drumsticksandd20s]

Yeah, so... an impromptu cross-dimensional string of gigs meant that Steph hadn't been around much for a bit, and so she was only just now catching up on a bunch of stuff at the store and getting her empty storefront-turned-artist crash pad into livable shape.

Whoops?

It also meant she didn't have any context for why her computer and phone both insisted on showing a Yule Log no matter what she did. Among other things, it made working on inventory and orders a lot more difficult, but mostly...

"This had better clear up by 10 PM or I'm gonna be so fucking pissed..."

Spoiler alert: someone was definitely going to be missing a couple of hours of her favorite actual play streaming show tonight.

[OOC: *waves hands vaguely* Open and all that!]

Comments

[myfifthrodeo]

So. Rosa had an apartment. She had eventually in that thread a part time job. And she was still only just starting to get the lay of the land!

She swung into the Magpie Emporium out of pure curiosity. This town was just full of interesting shit. She hadn't even gotten bored enough to pull out her phone, yet!

"Oh hey. A nerd store."

[drumsticksandd20s]

Oh good, a distraction from glaring at the far too persistent Yule Logs!

"The best damn one in town," said Steph, casually brushing aside the fact that it was also, you know, the only one. "It's kind of a work in progress, admittedly."

[myfifthrodeo]

"Are there more?" Rosa asked idly, looking around. She gave Steph a little smile. "I'm new. In case you hadn't already guessed."

[drumsticksandd20s]

"A newer newbie than me. Awesome." Steph grinned. "And nah, this is the only, but best, one stop Fandom shop for nerdy shit."

[myfifthrodeo]

“I’ll definitely keep that in mind,” Rosa said. She wasn’t into much nerdy shit herself, but she dug the artwork of it, sometimes. “I’m Rosa. And if you’re that new, I guess you wouldn’t know if there’s an art store around here?”

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Mmmmmmmmm, I'm pretty sure there is, actually," Steph said, her face scrunching up into a thoughtful expression. "I'm still new enough to not be able to tell you exactly where it is, though."

That would have involved being around more and maybe not so completely immersed in the worldbuilding for a new campaign setting she was working on. Who knew?

[OOC: *SHAKES FIST AT WORK*]

[myfifthrodeo]

“Well. Town’s not that big. I’m sure I’ll find something.” Rosa smiled. “I’m Rosa. You escape from dorms in Baltimore too?”

[drumsticksandd20s]

Steph made a weird noise that was an unholy blend of a snort and a guffaw.

"Not even close. From the West Coast originally, but I was on the road playing some gigs in the area when some stuff fell through. Then I stumbled across this place and figured what the hell, sticking around for a bit might be fun."

She glanced back at her laptop, Yule Log still flickering away, and sighed.

"I'm Steph, by the way. Welcome to bizarro land."

[myfifthrodeo]

“Yeah, I’ve heard. Funny thing, could have sworn I grew up there.” She smirked. “I’m from Roswell. You’re in a band?”

[drumsticksandd20s]

"I was. Haven't been for... two years-ish, now?" Steph waved her hand in a 'more or less' gesture. "I just sit in on the drums with whoever needs a drummer now."

She raised her eyebrows. "Roswell, huh? Does it really live up to its reputation?"

[myfifthrodeo]

"For aliens and government coverups?" Rosa smirked. "Well, I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."

She'd end up being very casual about being friends with aliens and having mutated DNA eventually. But it was only her second day here so far.

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Wait. Are you --" Steph's eyes widened briefly before narrowing into a more amused expression. "No, I like it. Playing up that cool enigmatic town rep. That works."

She wasn't the type to get all up in other people's business, so she wasn't going to try and pry any further. If any of the truth eventually came to light, though, she handled those kinds of revelations pretty well. If a track record of one whole revelation was any indicator anyway.

[myfifthrodeo]

If it didn't involve screaming or crying, then she'd be one up on some of the people back home when they found out Rosa was alive again and that aliens were real.

"Good," Rosa said. "I swear, it's like no one around here knows how to keep a decent secret."

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Totally. But I can't decide if that's a good thing or not, if that makes sense?" Steph looked down at the phone in her hand. Yup. Same damn Yule Log. Sigh. "The town where I grew up... I wish they'd been worse about keeping their secrets."

[myfifthrodeo]

"There's something to be said about blissful ignorance," Rosa said with a shrug. "But yeah, I guess it can get you in trouble as much as it saves you."

[drumsticksandd20s]

Steph no longer had the phone she'd had in Seattle but she could still remember Chloe's text messages about what had happened to Rachel, just about as vividly as she could picture a bloodied and battered Alex at the Haven Springs town council telling them about Jed's years of complicity in covering up Typhon's mining disaster.

All she did was shrug, though. "Yeah. Pros and cons both ways, right? Not sorry I left, either way. What brought you all the way out here from New Mexico, though? You said something about ... escaping from dorms in Baltimore?"

[myfifthrodeo]

"I'm a student over at MICA," Rosa said. Then, because no one seemed to know what that was around here, clarified "Maryland Institute College of Art. But, I don't know. I missed the small town atmosphere. The city gets too loud sometimes."

That was what happened when you could hear the resonant frequencies of things around you, even when on a macro level they were totally still.

[drumsticksandd20s]

If Alex were here, she and her empathy powers would definitely relate. Steph couldn't do anything like that, but... she could relate on a metaphorical level, at least.

"You need that sometimes, yeah," she said with a faint grin. "Just like... some time to recharge."

[myfifthrodeo]

"Exactly." Rosa smiled. ". . . Didn't really count on the nosy squirrels or boozy tap water, though."

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Me neither. I got up front notice that this place was a special kind of weird, but you probably can't disclaimer every specific kind," Steph said, laughing. "It's... definitely unique. Keeps me on my toes though, so mostly I don't mind."

Another glance at her phone, another sigh and mildly exasperated tap at the fire flickering on its screen.

"Mostly."

[myfifthrodeo]

"Guess I'll see for myself if it's too much for me," Rosa mused. "And, hey, now I know there's at least one cool person to talk to about music and stuff."

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Yeah, I'm not sure yet if there's a hard limit to the weird for me," Steph admitted, "but at least so far it never really seems like a shitty kind of weird, if that makes sense. Like... it hasn't seemed malicious, just sometimes annoying."

She grinned, though. "What kind of music are you into?"

[myfifthrodeo]

"I like old stuff," Rosa said. "Third Eye Blind, Alanis Morsette, Counting Crows. . . . You?"

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Solid stuff," Steph noted. "I'm mainly an indie-rock girl these days, and I got super into the punk scene while I was in Seattle, but I'll listen to just about any genre and I definitely appreciate the classics. Could probably give you some handwavey, dear gods recs, too, if you're looking for anything different."

[myfifthrodeo]

"That'd be cool!" Rosa said. "I actually just got a job at the record store in town, so I'll have plenty of time to check them out."

[drumsticksandd20s]

"I should check out the record store sometime," Steph said thoughtfully, just before her smile turned impish. "I used to manage one, and I have to find out if this one's up to my personal standards. No pressure or anything."

[myfifthrodeo]

"It might not be yet," Rosa said. "But I've been given free rein to paint it, so it's going to be pretty bad ass."

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Sick," Steph said decisively. "Record stores should have all the personality ever. I will definitely be checking that out... no rush, since I still have to get this place finished up myself."