flambeaux: never let them see you sweat (gay sweat)
Louis de Pointe du Lac ([personal profile] flambeaux) wrote in [community profile] singillatim2024-02-05 06:23 pm

[open] General Store

WHO: Louis de Pointe du Lac and YOU (new players welcome too)
WHAT: Opening the General Store!
WHEN: throughout February (at evening/night if you want Louis) + party on an Aurora night second half of the month
WHERE: General Store, Milton

Feel free to also use this setting as open starters or closed to characters other than Louis! Just indicate it if you do! His general store? No... Our general store...

A. Home Improvement

CONTENT WARNINGS: a little bit of vampire blood, talk of hunting animals for food

It started out of the practical need to store and barter goods. Louis's home is not a fit place to entertain anyone other than rats, and he doesn't want to disturb the people who live in the Community Hall.

Louis turns his attention to the thoroughly-looted husk of the General Store. Louis feels oddly shy about starting up anything, self deprecation rearing its ugly head. Lestat called his business back home a "human hobby."

He needs all the help he can get. There's the plumbing and leaks from the recent storm, trash to throw out, walls to paint, shelves to fix. He'd like to make arrangements for daytime hours when he can't be there. And finally, putting a new coat of paint on the GENERAL STORE sign with an addition:

Marché du Lac

How handy is he? Louis did small repairs at his club when a handyman wasn't available at night, he's fairly nimble... and he's never done construction in his life. But any fool can board up a broken window and repair shelves, he reasons.

"Fuck!" he hisses when he hits his thumb with the hammer. He automatically puts his thumb in his mouth, and the taste of that little bead of blood is shockingly good. He must be hungry. Time for a break.

He slips his hammer into the loop of some scavenged cargo pants. He might be terrible at construction, but at least he looks good doing it.

...Why is he working at night?

B. Having a Few People Over

To celebrate the reopening of Milton's only general store, Louis invites the town for food and drinks on the next Aurora night. At the risk of being accused of living in it, he wears his best 3-piece suit, the gray one from home. The place is well-lit, both due to the Aurora and every light source Louis could get his hands on. It's a myth that vampires don't like light. They just have a sun allergy.

Louis used to run a club, he knows how to plan a party. He doesn't know how to cook; he enlisted help for that. Among as much variety as Louis could get, the caterer Lalo Salamanca made a mushroom stew. Delicious--but watch out! A few special mushrooms may have found their way into the batch, possibly into a few bowls, and Louis has no idea...

He puts jazz records on and opens the doors. Empty shelves have been pushed out of the way for mingling or making music--he sorely misses live music. Louis would only request that it be good. (Louis reminds himself to explicitly instruct Lestat not to eat any musicians he deems bad.)

C. Open for Business

It's little more than a single counter and a few shelves worth of stock. Louis contemplates trying to bring in people to sell their own wares just so the rest of the shelves won't look so empty.

He arranges the odd collection of whatever he could scavenge and make presentable: dry goods, cans, candy, alcohol, cigarettes. The storeroom is depressingly half empty. The freezer, moved to an unheated room, is surprisingly full of meat.

In the window he puts up a passable copy of Tim's missing bunny poster. He sets up a little seating area where people can eat and drink if they wish. (It feels odd not to place the round little tables and woven chairs outside like at home, where the weather was mild enough.)

Louis emerges from the back room in an apron at the sound of the bell over the door. His suit and tie are so people won't mistake the owner/manager for a lowly clerk... as much as anyone can "own" anything in this scavenged town.

"Evenin', what can I get for you?"

D. Back in 15

Louis expects at least one teenager to take up loitering... Big mistake. If any hapless souls hang around too long and are trusted not to steal, Louis simply takes off his apron, dons his coat, and says without warning as he leaves,

"Mind the counter while I'm gone."

Congratulations, you now work here until he returns. He'll be back in a few minutes... right?

Do you:

  1. Invite friends and avail yourselves of the candy, booze, and free aprons
  2. Actually tend the store

guidemyway: (F3BatRXXsAEHHgg)

[personal profile] guidemyway 2024-03-09 03:17 am (UTC)(link)
...I don't remember for sure.

But what if we go ask around? Surely someone has to know what to do.
desperate_times_right: (Default)

[personal profile] desperate_times_right 2024-03-09 11:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Right, of course.

[Considering what's going on with Ruby it might be weirder if she did remember.]

I saw him earlier. Russian guy with really aggressive pomade.
guidemyway: (You were born to)

[personal profile] guidemyway 2024-03-12 01:05 am (UTC)(link)
Seriously? I'm surprised he can even grow fruit out here.

[She's thinking of pomegranate.]
desperate_times_right: (:[)

[personal profile] desperate_times_right 2024-03-12 03:06 am (UTC)(link)
[Chloe exhales a kind of a shocked laugh.] Wow! Okay, you can't just - [Wait a second.] Not pomegranate. Really, like, excessively styled hair. Like an old time movie star.
guidemyway: (3999546 (46))

[personal profile] guidemyway 2024-03-16 01:54 am (UTC)(link)
Oh. Oh. Ooooooooh! I've got you. Kind of like Spruce Willis.
desperate_times_right: (argument)

[personal profile] desperate_times_right 2024-03-16 05:27 am (UTC)(link)
Like who - [On second thought, maybe it's better not to ask.] Yeah, I guess.
guidemyway: (F3Hu3TJWAAAZYwa)

[personal profile] guidemyway 2024-03-17 02:55 am (UTC)(link)
He's an actor-

I mean- I'm surprised I remember that and not like all the other things I should remembering.
desperate_times_right: (Default)

[personal profile] desperate_times_right 2024-03-17 04:29 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, seems like you remember most stuff from before you got here pretty well. Kind of weird. Maybe it's a short term memory thing?
guidemyway: (From the sky)

[personal profile] guidemyway 2024-03-18 12:18 am (UTC)(link)
...Yeah. That could be it.

I guess something we can worry about later. You're the one going numb over here.
desperate_times_right: (Default)

[personal profile] desperate_times_right 2024-03-18 01:30 am (UTC)(link)
I'm trying not to think about it. It's weird though, I don't really feel that bad otherwise.
guidemyway: (Is all you need)

[personal profile] guidemyway 2024-03-20 12:20 am (UTC)(link)
Okay. That's fair. And I mean it works up until you need to reach or grab something. We should still be getting you some help.
desperate_times_right: (Default)

[personal profile] desperate_times_right 2024-03-20 02:04 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah. I think it's still spreading. That's bad, right?
guidemyway: (You were born to)

[personal profile] guidemyway 2024-03-23 12:11 am (UTC)(link)
I'm pretty sure that's really bad- What if it doesn't stop?
desperate_times_right: (Default)

[personal profile] desperate_times_right 2024-03-23 05:43 am (UTC)(link)
It's not paralyzing me so I'm not in immediate danger I think, but if it moves to my legs I won't be able to walk.
guidemyway: (F3BcshrXsAMHLBP)

[personal profile] guidemyway 2024-04-07 01:18 am (UTC)(link)
I guess I'll just have to carry you if that happens.
desperate_times_right: (smile)

[personal profile] desperate_times_right 2024-04-07 04:00 am (UTC)(link)
That would be funny if it wasn't a real possibility.
guidemyway: (I don't know how to breathe)

[personal profile] guidemyway 2024-04-10 03:03 am (UTC)(link)
Well maybe we should just hope that it doesn't come to that then, huh?
desperate_times_right: (Default)

[personal profile] desperate_times_right 2024-04-10 08:32 am (UTC)(link)
I’d cross my fingers, but…