Another Strange Post [for March 31st]

[skintoskin]

[The device turns on as a young man walks toward it. He's wearing some sort of jacket and vest and... jeans. His hair is slicked back, he's wearing shades, and a cigarette sits between his lips. The sun is setting and it makes him seen even more striking. He looks confident, maybe even a little cocky, and when he speaks, his voice is low and vaguely reminiscent of an old Hollywood movie...]






This place is strange, wild, old. People wander the streets and go about their business, trying to create lives for themselves, make friends, establish some sense of normalcy in a City that holds you captive. A City that appears to send you away on whim. A City that calls some back with no consideration for their sanity, messing with their existence, trampling them like old papers in the gutter. It's my job to try and make things right.

[Yes, he's cursed, and by the Genre Curse. Meet Hard-Boiled Neil McCormick.]

Comments

[boutant]

And then you're... going to try and make things right?

[skintoskin]

Yeah. I've got to, Ari, otherwise the City is going to piss on us like rain on a leaky roof.

[boutant]

Try and stay safe, okay?

[skintoskin]

Safe. is anyone truly safe in this place?

[boutant]

As close to safe as you can, then. I don't want to have to go visit you at the hospital.

[skintoskin]

I don't want to go there, either, babe. A guy like me doesn't have time for that.

[boutant]

[ Sigh. This is the weekend of 'everyone is cursed to hit on her', isn't it? ]

Then you should try and be careful.

[skintoskin]

[I have no clue. Are Ariadne's in season?]

You know me, Ari. I've got to reach my goal, but I won't sacrifice the game.

[Why does 'hard-boiled' result in 'bad analogies'?]

[boutant]

[ They might be. ]

... Right. Good.

[ She thinks. ]

[skintoskin]

[That's not good...]

Are you safe?

[boutant]

[ Oh. :C ]

Yeah, I'm fine.

[skintoskin]

[Unless you want to be picked on...]

'Cause if you need me, I'm here for you. You know that, right?

[boutant]

[ No thank you. ]

Oh. [ She actually looks a bit surprised by that. ] Thanks.

[ So now he gets a bit of a smile. ] I'll let you know if I do, okay?

[skintoskin]

[Good. That wouldn't be healthy.]

Any time.

[She gets a sexy smile as he pulls his sunglasses down and looks at her with his blue - not Arthur brown - eyes.]

I hope you don't have a need to call on me, Ari, but the City is a harsh mistress.

[boutant]

[ Thank god they're blue, too, or else this would be even weirder than it already is. ]

Yeah, so do I.

[skintoskin]

[Life is confusing enough, yes?]

I have a place to live now, so you'll be able to find me.

[boutant]

[ Absolutely. ]

Oh yeah? Where's that?

[skintoskin]

I'm in building three. Not a bad apartment, either.

[boutant]

Oh yeah? Any roommates?

[skintoskin]

Not yet. I haven't advertised. Maybe one of the new recruits will need a place to stay and not mind sharing.

[boutant]

The ticking doesn't bother you?

[skintoskin]

Yeah, it does, but I wanted some space on my own...

[boutant]

Maybe you should get a dog or something.

[skintoskin]

Is there a pound here? I'd rather rescue then support the machinations of the City.

[Man, his head is going to hurt when the weekend is over.]

[boutant]

Yeah, there is. A friend of mine got a dog there a while back.

[ Oh Neil... ]