call me out v. 12.0

[misheard]

Call out one of the characters from my muselist with a starter, a prompt, a general 'hey can we do something with these characters' comment, a smoke signal, etc., and I'll get back to you with some kind of RP thread!

Comments

[vitis]

... Bit hard to compete, I'll give you that.

[ it's. notoriously huge, yeah.

but with the prompting, corners of john's smile quirking, he reaches over his desk to pick up an envelope he'd recently received. he pulls from it a picture, a thin piece of paper that's been slightly crinkled from water.

he passes it to alcott; it's a drawing, painted with those cheap watercolor sets that can be gotten from any old supermarket. it pictures rolling, golden hills, a setting sun, a few little homes (or what looks like homes, they are just more or less some brown smudges) along its horizon. ... it's also clearly a child's drawing, haphazard and vague as the shapes are. heck, that sun definitely has a smile and some glasses. ]

Here. This is what my littlest sister, Ruthie, drew. --Got a knack for that color theory, huh? [ debatable, but already moving on: ] I miss home, too. They know I do somethin' bad, even if I tell them all's well here. She's been into the arts lately [ for like five seconds ]; reckon Ma got her and Winfield one of those kid's drawing kits or whatever for Christmas. I get the best stuff.

[ cream of the crop of drawings (they're all great), he means, and he looks pleased with that - he sincerely does think it's the best. ]

Asked her to draw me somethin' from home, and she did the whole thing for me. Good gift, right?

[littlewomen]

[It may be unlikely to end up in a museum anytime soon, but she handles the drawing with care like it's a masterpiece. It's worth even more than a Van Gogh would be, at least to Steinbeck.]

It's wonderful.

[That isn't sarcastic. For someone who misses home, this is one of the best gifts they could receive.]

This is where you live?

[vitis]

[ a nod. ]

That's where I live! Out west.

[ so - bsd's equivalent of california. or oklahoma, all depending on where he will probably never be revealed to have lived. ]

Time's have changed things, somewhat, 'course, but that's the economy for you. [ his smile tinges just a bit with bitterness. his family lives a better life now, and it's still beautiful in his eyes, so he passes over that thought: ] You a city girl, Alcott?

[littlewomen]

Just the suburbs. I don't think I could ever live in the city. It's so busy. And you don't know any of your neighbors...

[In this situation, she sympathizes more with Steinbeck than with Fitzgerald.]

[vitis]

Yep. The city isn't exactly my cup of tea, either [ obviously, that's putting it mildly. ]: Too much steel, too much concrete, too many people intent on ignorin' one other.

[ he leans forward a touch in his chair. ]

The suburbs then? That's where you'd call home?

help I was trapped in research and headcanon

[littlewomen]

Germantown, Philadelphia. My parents met and married in Connecticut, but moved to Germantown to start a school. Everyone knows each other there - everytime I go home people on the street are asking me how I've been and if I've found myself a boyfriend.

[...as much as she's fond of her own town, she does get tired of that particular question.]

omg im sorry

[vitis]

Oh.

[ he was about to comment "sounds nice" or "miss your folks too?" or something like that, when there's that last line that has steinbeck sounding like an echochamber: ]

... Damn, people on the street, too? [ that's investment. ]

[littlewomen]

Well, people I see on the street who I've known since I was a kid... But that's still an awkward thing to be asked suddenly.

[vitis]

And what do you say? [ even if he says so lightly, it sort of leaves his mouth before he can stop it.

he does at least manage to hold his tongue before implying some fitzgerald association. good for him. ]

[littlewomen]

[If he implied anything about Fitzgerald, this conversation would be over, mostly because she would be too flustered to make words anymore.]

I'm not really looking for a relationship right now...

[You've seen how bad she is at just talking to people, John. Of course she's not dating.]

[vitis]

[ listen, the man is bffs with anxiety cthulhu. anything is possible. ]

... Well, the job does make it a bit of a pain. [ see, assuming that's alcott's reasoning and all. ] Guess I'm fortunate my folks don't really harp on about it. -- Or else they just know better than to expect it, ha.

[littlewomen]

[Valid point.]

Well, your personality is a lot different from mine... Maybe they think they don't need to harp on about it with you.

[vitis]

[ hm. steinbeck's not sure how to interpret that one; he's erring toward it being a compliment, while polite modesty begs for a different conclusion. his expression remains genial, as it tends to. ]

Yeah? Like it seems like I'm lookin', or--?

[littlewomen]

Like you can talk to people.

[At all. So, not like her.]

[vitis]

[ ah, okay. ]

... Guess so. You might be a lil' on the shyer side ["a lil'" ], but reckon you can talk to people just fine, too.

[littlewomen]

Um... th-thank you, but I really can't...

[why does John think too highly of her]

[vitis]

Really? Might not have been chattin' long, but I do like talkin' with you?

[ hee. take that, alcott. ]

[littlewomen]

[Well now she's anxious and bright red, instead of just being anxious.]

I - um - me too?

[vitis]

Hey, thanks.

[ probably, anyway. he might be putting it on just a a bit here, but he doesn't see the harm in it. and while he knows he does have to get back to his paperwork soon, "i was speaking with the strategist" feels like a very valid excuse right now. ]

I don't see you hangin' out with any of the others too often, though. [ that's probably been established. ] You got stuff you like to do?

[littlewomen]

Not really... I don't have a lot of free time now.

[Strategist is a full-time job, and when she's not writing huge plans or researching every aspect of the enemy's forces so she can write her huge plans, she's catching up on sleep.]

...Well, I used to press flowers, sometimes.

[vitis]

... Of all the former hobbies, you could definitely do worse.

[ john doesn't know what he expected, especially since somehow, that's just... very easy to imagine alcott taking the time to do. well, what little time she had. ]

You used to have a garden, then, or was it like just findin' some wayward, pretty flower outside that you just had to keep?

[littlewomen]

[John knows Alcott better than she realized.]

Just flowers from the park or the roadside. I think my collection of them is still at home.

[vitis]

[ he leans back in his chair at that, lacing his fingers behind his head. then he tips his chin upward, throwing a contemplative glance at the ceiling.

tone joking (but he's only sort of--), ]

Soo.. What're the chances of you convincin' Fitzgerald to give us more paid time off?

[littlewomen]

I'm very sorry.

[that's probably a no.]

[vitis]

[ okay, leans forward again. ]

Awww, you sure? You tried before?