Pilatus

Good songs for ringtones?

I used the old X-Men theme for a while. People loved it.

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

Joel Nicolosi

Joel set the bottle and glass on a partially empty table as he wound his way through the crowd. Carrying around a handle of hard liquor in a public place didn't seem like the best look and Tommy warned him there would likely be cameras everywhere for several days. Being portrayed in a negative light wasn't the problem, though. The real problem was grinding in his mind and in his chest. He felt like he didn't even really know these people and at some level felt like he had betrayed himself. Yes, he sort of knew Marinalia, but in retrospect that was just in a vacuum of a couple weeks. The whole event, the expensive suit and the fancy spread were not his scene. If there hadn't been an internationally televised race to attach it all for publicity, he wouldn't have dreamed of darkening this particular door in a million years. These people didn't know him nor did he think they were in the least bit genuinely interested in what he accomplished. It was all a script to play by while they wined and dined each other. A happy little sideshow. Winning the race was just a neat bow on top.

He had the elevator in sight and was thinking of how good it would be to go home and relax. They'd been semi-camping out in the hauler since Friday practice and he missed the quiet solitude of the shop. The circus and fanfare of the Winter Party and the race weekend would soon be over and Sol would thankfully be back to normal for a while. He pushed the call button, and heard a voice after him as the elevator started to descend. Turning around to find Sio, he slightly raised one eyebrow suspiciously. Listening to her talk his initial thoughts were something along the lines of... Yea, I bet you do need a mechanic for a '73 Stingray... the front end is loose from the factory, it's overgrown, underbuilt and handles like shit. He thought about giving her the number to the metal scrap yard, but the thoughts shuffled away in an instant and he was back to his original assumption that she was just fishing for an angle. She was cute enough, but he wasn't in the mood for cute. "Right now I'm just interested in some peace and quiet." He said looking back to watch the elevator descend.

It was about that time that Marlin arrived. Even in the growing crowd, it hadn't taken her long to find him. When she again went straight into trying to justify herself to Sio he shook his head and hoped the elevator would just move faster. Just like the race, everything again hinged on his performance and whatever script these people had prepared for it. He knew full well if he'd just sat there at the counter and laughed away Sio then the rest of them would have gone right along with it and no one would be apologizing for anything. He was just their latest fix. The dark side of him that resisted all her advances beforr was feeling vindicated and he was angry at himself for not trusting his gut right out of the gate. Maybe she did truly have some feelings for him, but the class of people she represented was something he'd fought against most of his life. Her sister had put it all in the open very plainly. He remembered how snooty they'd all been back at the track test, making coy jests and taking bets against him beforehand. They truly didn't believe he could beat her. That particular memory became much more satisfying.

The elevator doors opened up with a happy tone and Joel waited patiently as a few people stepped out.
 
@PrinceAlexus@Almalthia

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

Paige Kennedy

Paige glanced back down to her phone at Sio's reply showing an unfiltered look of amusement and irritation. Did that chick just not get it? She thought. Even in her more than slightly inebriated state she could feel a twinge of anger at Victoria's apparent inability to believe Sio and the feeling helped promote a small bit of sobriety somewhere in her clouded mind. One way or another the two had crossed paths again and the psycho car vandal had shot her mouth off. Paige attached the image of the injured M3 and shot a text right back: Tell her it doesn't take a fucking detective to figure out who keyed our car. She hit send then added another: What a dumbass. Then another: Where are you?. She had no idea where she and Milo were headed next, but was violently hoping that wherever Sio was, she could display that photo to as many as possible for maximum embarrassment.

Seeing Milo get up and take his coat brought about the moment of truth. When he extended his hand, she knew she was going to have to take it in order to even attempt standing without looking like a total fool. She took his hand and his grip was firm around hers lifting her up effortlessly. We're up! A voice in her head shouted gleefully. She smiled still having little control of her inhibitions, being pulled from her chair was something like a miniature carnival ride. Get a grip, Paige! Another voice firmly corrected. As she came to her feet, she deftly sashayed right into his other arm and ran one hand through his coat to claim it as her own. Going from sitting to standing so quickly made her head swim and she had to steady herself against him for balance finding that the heavy material carried an odd metallic scent deep in the fabric that combined with his cologne she rather liked.

With his coat on, she kept a grip on his arm to keep steady. "Lead the way, King Aragon." She said with a teasing air of importance. She still had no clue who the Trooper was referencing earlier, but it sounded funny and 'Lead the way' wasn't a phrase she often uttered to any man. Milo was an exception though and she didn't mind hanging on to him. On a few particularly adventurous nights back home, he'd actually had to carry her or Ana like drunken refugee children. She did a convincing job walking out and his coat was warm against the cold air. Everything was feeling so much like old times and for the first time in a long while she was forgetting about work.

@RoccanIronclad,@Almalthia

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

Joel Nicolosi

Joel yawned. The women were throwing their weight around which he found particularly boring. Who was more important in politics or who had the most money, blah blah blah. Neither one was a very good look as far as he was concerned. He didn’t sign on to some night of dick measuring. The redhead, Sio, had some dirt she wanted to spill about Marlin and they had apparently met before. Women talked shit, and though he didn’t really care what about, their bickering was beginning to get on his nerves. He knocked back another drink, still completely unphased. They were all far behind him on drink count. Even Vika’s mountain sized escort hadn’t put up much of a fight.

Sio landed some social blow that Marlin found offensive and to Joel’s surprise, scurried off leaving him sitting there next to Sio. She seemed so confident only a few moments ago and then been reduced to running away in only a few seconds. He snorted a little in amusement and thought more about the car. They’d banged fenders a few times with the GT-R, but it didn’t look like anything more than superficial. The carbon fiber panels were damned expensive, even for Tommy’s budget and he’d taken great care over the years not to trade hard shots with anyone else. He wasn’t paying a lot of attention when he heard Marlin call him an asshole, which seemed a tad impertinent considering he’d just drove his ass off to win the race, but he let it roll off. He was a proud asshole.

Others arrived and the counter was becoming crowded along with the rest of the main hall. There was some extremely tall person patting Sio and Vika on the head and then some language other than plain English was being tossed around like the alcohol he was trying so hard to imbibe in peace. Vika seemed to be taking considerable offense to Sio and unable to let go of some comment. He was getting irritated as the whole scene was turning into some silly comic strip. He refilled and returned a raised glass nod to the tall blonde who seemed to be at least attempting to be civil. When Sio mentioned another round, he knocked on the counter and just pointed at the glass for the barman without even looking at anyone. These people were pathetic drinking partners, he thought.

The words, Fuck This were beginning to flash in his mind like a derelict traffic light at a busy city intersection. The Russian language continued to be batted back and forth to the point that Joel began to wonder why they hadn’t put up a Russian flag instead of an English one… or an American one. He was getting a headache and it wasn’t from the alcohol. Nearly on the verge of getting up, he stopped when he heard Vika say something to the effect of making Sio buy her own drinks and he felt a fire in his soul ignite like gasoline and a sedaline torch.

It was the way she said it… that high school, snooty, bitch tone. He could remember it well. All those losers and dirtbags he hadn’t kept the slightest bit of communication with since graduating flashed through his mind. In his high school days many girls wouldn’t give him the time of day and they all used that exact, same tone. He was a bit of an outcast then, but the street had been his great equalizer, his stage. The same car that had just won the Sol City Grand Prix had slayed many on the street back then and he found those same prissy girls and their cuck boyfriends armed with parents’ money singing much different tunes when they were forced to pay up after losing to him and the 300. It was no surprise he hadn’t even received an invitation to his ten-year high school reunion. He rolled the fingers of his now open arm along the countertop as they continued to bicker. Just the petty, selfish nature of it was writhing in his chest. He had no idea what was between Sio and Marinalia, but he did know how she must have felt: Singled out and told she wasn’t cool enough to sit at their table and have free drinks. He bit his tongue and looked straight ahead. He was unable to hide his lips from curling slightly. He had spied an open upper level when he first walked in and he knew where he was headed.

Without a word, Joel took one of the whiskey bottles along with his glass and walked off into the crowd.

@PrinceAlexus@Almalthia@Silver Fox

What Are You Listening To?

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

Paige Kennedy

The last one was the clencher. The partly cloudy feeling that started happily in the back of her head was now a full-on drunkerstorm. Usually sake wasn't quite so potent against her, but somewhere she realized she had indeed lost count and she was starting to feel like her face was sliding off. The meal hadn't done a lot to soak it up and she could feel her eyes slightly glazed as well. Paige, you are drunk. Some internal voice shouted from what felt like a distant island in the back of her mind. Thoughts were becoming harder to link together coherently, but the next voice was firm and clear like a shotgun blast: Dear God, Jesus, please just don't let me throw up. She had little doubt that he could see it. Getting trashed right out of the gate hadn't been exactly the way she envisioned the night going. Maybe he was right. Maybe she needed a release more than she knew.

Listening to him talk gave her a light smile again and she stroked her braided hair with one hand. She loved being complimented and her thoughts swirled. That's right, Milo-boy... One voice started.. You couldn't do it everyday, but I can, because I'm fucking awesome. Another piped in right behind: Don't be such a bitch, Paige. She blinked a few times. Aww, he's being sweet to us again. Looking back over at him, she suddenly had a look as if she'd come up with some extraordinary idea and then forgot it all a split second later. "I really wanna go do something else," She said thoughtfully. "...But I'm kinda drunk." She spoke as if she were commenting on the weather. He had a silly little grin on his face which told her he was starting to feel the effects some himself. She was pleased she was able to keep up with him that far and still be able to stand, hopefully. "I'm taking off work tomorrow..." She said, momentarily losing track of the rest of the thought. She was starting to say something else, when she felt her phone vibrating in her purse.

Sio - slide to answer

She was aware enough to know that she was not aware enough to carry on a logical phone conversation and aside from that, answering a phone call at dinner was rude, or at least where she came from it was considered rude. She fired a text back surprised at how swiftly her fingers still worked over the phone's screen.

At dinner, what's up?

@Almalthia@RoccanIronclad

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

Joel Nicolosi

“You distracted me a little.” Joel said with a smirk and gave her a playful elbow. With her head leaned on his shoulder it was easy to land a soft jab. He knocked back the rest of his drink and proceeded to refill surveying the rest of them. This lot was nothing but lightweights with the possible exception of the heavyset Russian. He liked the idea of an air tour of Sol. In spite of what “Team Air” may have thought he actually liked aircraft quite a bit too; anything with an engine and a purpose. His mind was wandering, thinking about the prize he was going to collect when he went back to Japan- A prize he hadn't mentioned a word of to anyone. Glancing down at her and considering her words, Tokyo would be a long trip to take alone. He already had his ticket booked, first class on Cathay Pacific, but it wasn’t like he couldn’t afford another at this point. She said she’d never been there, though they had never even really been on a date it seemed like fate kept throwing them together. He weighed the thought of it as Vika spoke up.

“Hey, you stop trying to pimp out your sister, chick.” He shot back at Vika with a sharp grin. He had an odd habit of pointing with two fingers and he leveled them at her with the same arm that Marlin had nestled into. He chuckled a bit. She looked like a strong gust from a ceiling fan might knock her over. Poor Vika would be stark drunk momentarily, “Don’t make me have to call the principle on you.”

It was about that time another female rolled up to the counter. Since the day had been continually full of people he’d never seen before in chaotic procession, he was feeling considerably more social than he normally would’ve been at some haunt down on the Southside. That and the fact that many of them were female and damn near scantily clad. He stole another quick glance at Marlin’s magnificently toned leg as his eyes wandered up Sio’s figure into firm eye contact. What was interesting was how both Vika and Marlin immediately seemed to bristle up at the redhead’s approach. He grinned a little. She was into him more than he thought. Being the winner had its perks in many ways and that thought was instantly confirmed as Sio took a seat directly next to him before the sisters could scare her off.

Joel liked seeing Marlin get defensive and very crisply pointing out that she was, in effect, hosting the Gala. The perfect English she spoke was cutting and he would be lying if he said he didn’t like the sound of her voice. However, the redhead seemed to be eating it up and was completely unperturbed as she took a seat next to him. His spiteful tendencies caused him to immediately turn his head casually before he could really indulge in a full view of the girl’s backside. Whenever they threw it in his face, he never gave them the satisfaction of knowing he was looking- It’d taken Marlin a few tries to catch on. As he turned his head to look back out across the floor, he could feel her eyes on him, but he didn’t look at her either.

What surprised him though, was the new girl’s slightly technical questions and his first instinct was suspicion. He thought she might be some kind of reporter looking for an angle or maybe she worked for a gossip column or something and had armed herself with some Wikipedia ice-breakers. He did, however like her choice in drinks and when the round came up he rifled it down without an ounce of hesitation. “It passed the post race inspection,” He said glancing over at her with a slight shrug. She was much closer now and he could tell he had a few years on her. His eyes had a more tired, worn look about them compared to her youth. “We have to surrender the car for twenty-four hours after finish line and I think my sponsors here had some kind of plans for it.” He briefly glanced over at Vika and her large escort as he thought about the rest of the girl’s questions, “Engine’s fine,” He continued thoughtfully thinking about his pride and joy, “I was damn near pushing that bastard down the track at the end, they knew I was faster in the turns.”

@Almalthia@PrinceAlexus

What Are You Listening To?

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

Paige Kennedy

Listening to him talk, Paige's thoughts recoiled as he explained that he had no choice in leaving Delta and she felt a twinge of hellfire in her veins. He did have a choice and he made it when he shut everyone out when they tried to help him. Now he was lecturing her about "making the most of it" after she'd just bailed him out of a gangster racketeering screwjob that probably would have landed him in prison or dead. For a second, she felt like she was back at the Winter Party, but her expression lightened some as he seemed to become aware of what he was saying and moved on to a slightly more self-deprecating point of view. She could feel the cloud of haze from the sake spreading through her mind and decided she might want to slow down on it. She could shoot straight as an arrow, but her chopstick form wasn't the tidiest particularly when a healthy buzz was settling in.

She wasn't far out of high school when she attended her first non-family wedding. Then in college a few more and so on after. Most of her old friends and acquaintances took on more mainstream professions like schoolteachers and nurses where they met their significant other. Being there always made her feel markedly out of place. Oftentimes, the "men" were too afraid to approach her and the women regarded her as something of a novelty. Some of them were raising children and buying homes to settle down while she was carrying a gun and hunting fugitives for the Federal Government. Everyone always seemed to think it so fascinating she'd made it into the Marshals, but she could tell their praises were only window dressing. For a woman like her, it wasn't normal. She was an anomaly.  It was the way of things.

"I enjoy what I do, Milo." She said finally with a sigh. "You make things out of metal and I..." She shrugged her shoulders, "I do what I do." Relationships were never her strong suit and he knew that. Her firm moral upbringing blended with the seedy nature of her work had produced, over time, a twisted layer of barbed wire and shattered glass that she saved her heart under. She'd seen people at their most depraved do things that most could scantly imagine if they tried. There was no escaping the effects of it. "It just wears on you sometimes." She said looking back at him. Ironically, but not surprisingly, the conversation was making it's way back to work again. There really wasn't an escape from it. Being a lawman (or woman) at her level began to define oneself as a person and she knew she'd be lying to herself if she didn't like the thought of it. When he said she was probably one of the best in Sol already, it was like music to her ears.

Still, her mother, a fiery lawyer and presently a judge found her father a preacher of all things. He was a chaplain in the Air Force when they first met. Then Ana had found Milo and they seemed to be made for each other until his accident. She shook her head again lightly at the thought of it. "I'm just kind of a mess right now, I guess." She said, her accent becoming more prevalent. She downed the rest of her sake cup again.

@RoccanIronclad

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

Joel Nicolosi

Joel looked at the pint somewhat quizzically at first, but accepted it nonetheless. Perhaps she had tipped them off ahead of time, but she apparently didn’t know about liquor before beer. One wouldn’t hurt though, and in two healthy gulps he knocked down half the glass and motioned behind the counter. The barman looked confused at first and Joel pointed more firmly at a bottle of Jameson and another of Bailey’s. He stood up slightly in the barstool and glanced around the counter before retrieving two shot glasses. He poured the whiskey in one glass and the Irish cream in the second, being more liberal with the whiskey glass and not paying a lot of attention to the sound of heeled shoes clicking against the floor along with the rest of the background noise from the party setup. He dropped the pair into the pint glass and knocked the whole thing back about the time he noticed Marlin from the corner of his eye.

“Like I said,” He smirked, “I don’t really own this suit.” There was a part of him that wondered about the irreverence with which the drink he’d just concocted would have been received where she was from. Oh well. He thought with a light shrug and poured another shot for himself glancing her up and down briefly as he tipped the bottle. “You don’t clean up bad yourself,” He said, “I could’ve brought you a hoodie, though.”

The barman seemed slightly apprehensive that the entire bottle had been commandeered as he served up Marlin’s cocktail, but he was instructed to give the fast-driving, bushy-haired American a wide berth for the party. As Joel finished another shot and collected his own glass of ice to refill again, he was beginning to feel a bit out of place behind his own counter.

Joel turned round in the stool and leaned back slightly onto the bar to look at the party beginning to move into swing as guests entered into the main hall. He nodded slightly as Marlin spoke studying the entire assembly carefully and deciding what he preferred among the pictures of himself and the car. He liked the giant printed picture of the car flying the flag that they managed to print out so hastily and wondered what they would do with it afterward and where he could hang it back in his shop. “I’m just here,” He said. “I guess I don’t have any plans.” He gave her a playful, sarcastic smirk as he sipped on his drink and Vika arrived with some giant man in a white suit. He gave Victoria a wink and nodded at the Russian. It occurred to him that everyone in Marlin’s party had some sort of color coordination theme going and he was glad Tommy had hung on to the black suit. “I’m headed back to Tokyo in a couple days though,” He continued. “I’ve got a little business to take care of now that the race is over with.”

@PrinceAlexus