2020-10-15: Car Talk
| Car Talk | |
|---|---|
| A chance encounter leads to Bobbi and Vic talking about cars and... operas? | |
| IC Date | October 15, 2020 |
| IC Time | late morning and noon-ish time |
| Players | Bobbi, Hector and Vic Rasmussen |
| Location | the streets of Prospect and Prospect Roasters |
It's another beautiful sunny morning in Prospect. The work crew has gotten their breakfasts and made their way into offices. Those remaining on the streets tend to have more commercial or manual jobs, 'interesting' employment, or they're truly late. With Bobbi's casual saunter as she exits 'The Artists' Guild,' it's clear that there's rarely anything she has to worry about being late for. Today she's wearing quite the outfit, a white jumpsuit and red mushroom vegan leather Italian racing shoes and matching gracing gloves that she's just putting on. A few steps and it's clear that Bobbi has coordinated her outfit with her vehicle -- a sparkling, customized, 'brand new,' white with red interior ... '83 Subaru BRAT? Given her outfit and the way she lovingly steps to the car, there's the impression of someone about to drive fast around the streets of Rome in an Alfa Romero Spider. Who knows, in the competent hands of Bobbi, this BRATmobile might well be the nicer ride.
Riding back from a desert bunker on a rental scooter, Vic drives along D street and notices her friend and pulls off to the side near the Subaru. Wearing a geeky, mushroom-like helmet, the Virtual Adept says, "Hey there Bobbi!" in greeting.
"Vic!" Bobbi exclaims as she sees the other woman pulls up in her scooter. Reflexively, Bobbi raises her left hand in greeting, but the red vegan mushroom leather gloves hide the sigil tattoo that they both know is beneath. "Have you see Evie?" Bobbi wonders as she steps closer to Vic, clearly thinking for some reason that she would have.
Vic takes the helmet off and hangs its from the scooter's handlebars by its straps and takes the shower cap off her head and puts it in a plastic bag in a pocket of her messenger bag on her back. "Not in the past couple of days. Met with her and a friend a few nights back though," she explains and then asks, "Why, is something up?"
"No, I just -- " Bobbi starts to say, as she furrows her brow and looks a bit confused. Turning slightly to look back at The Artists's Guild to figure out if she is where she thinks she is, a look down at her outfit to make sure she's wearing clothes, and then a look back to Vic with more confidence. "That's Evie's business," Bobbi explains as she gestures back to The Guild, "I was just dropping of the BRATmobile. I expected to see her, but I didn't. When I saw you, I figured you were coming to meet her or something, but I guess just a happy lil accident, huh?"
Vic looks at the vehicle and frowns and asks, "BRATmobile?" She then says, "No, just heading back from a visit to Rufus' and planning to return the rental there," she indicates the scooter with a jerk of her head and a gesture of one hand. "So, yeah, happy accident I guess." She glances at the indicated building and asks, "She has a business?" indicating her lack of foreknowledge of such a thing.
"Yeah," Bobbi says as she gently pats the matching car in front of her. "Evie runs the Artists' Guild, and I made this bad mamma jamma as the grand prize for her weekend competition," Bobbi explains as she gazes lovingly at the BRAT. "I saw Rufus the other night," Bobbi adds, "we ran into each other in the park when I was hulahooping. It was fun until some weirdo charged at us." Bobbi gives a bit of a casual shrug, apparently not to put out by the 'weirdo.' Looking to Vic, she offers, "Wanna catch up somewhere? I figure at the least I could give you a ride somewhere." Pressing her arms against the roof of the car, Bobbi leans towards Vic, a big grin on her face. "I even burnt 'Pottymouth' onto a CD," Bobbi explains as if this was the greatest thing ever, or at least somehow meaningful use of words.
Vic looks to be following along with what Bobbi's saying. She nods about the guild and thumbs up about the prize. She says, "Oh my," about the weirdo and points back at the scooter, wordlessly indicating she'll have to get it back to the rental shop first. Then, the CD stops her, so she asks, "Pottymouth?" sounding clueless about what that's a reference to and so otherwise not acknowledging the offer.
Bobbi nods to Vic returning the scooter, her enthusiasm about the ride growing, a big grin on her face. "They didn't have Pottymouth where you're from?" Bobbi says, amused but also horrified, "it's going to be ok, Vic. Just return the scooter and we'll take a ride."
Vic nods and says, "Kay, just follow me then I guess," as she puts the showercap then helmet back on and rides the scooter to the rental place and drops it and the helmet off.
Exiting the rental shop a short bit later Vic walks over to the custom white Subaru and gets into the passenger side with Bobbi.
Waiting for Vic, Bobbi lovingly rubs a rag along the BRAT, gently polishing and shining it. When Vic returns, Bobbi gives her a single emphatic nod and heads into the BRATmobile.
The insides of the BRAT are red vegan mushroom leather and matching dash. Obviously a lot of work and love went into this car. There's a strange -- though not unpleasant -- scent of new car mixed with cream of mushroom soup. "Where you wanna go?" Bobbi wonders as she turns on the sound system.
Aggressive Riot Grrrl -- that all-female punk movement that grew up in the Pacific NorthWest in the shadow of Grunge -- begins to play, though thankfully not too loud. Bobbi bobs her head enthusiasically, her dreads flipping about, as she buckles herself in and turns the BRAT on.
The engine purrs like a kitten.
"I've no major preference," Vic says. "Show me around I guess?" she asks.
Bobbi maneuvers the BRAT through downtown with practiced skill and ease -- and thankfully not at the speed she does on the motorcycles, though the BRAT seems a lot 'peppier' than one might expect or heard. Parking the car, the Riot Grrrl comes to an end, and Bobbi explains. "bratmobile is the band, pottymouth is the album. I figured since we're in the BRATmobile, gotta listen to bratmobile. Hope you liked it at least somewhat. If not, let me know, it won't hurt my feelings." With that, Bobbi gets out of the car and heads to the Basement with Vic.
"I basically tuned it out after Cherry Bomb," Vic says, "But they did a good job covering that." She follows Bobbi down to the basement and, as they head down the stairs, asks, "Did you rebuild the car yourself? Do you do custom orders like I suspect?"
Hector heads down the stairs with a coffee in one hand.
"Yep," Bobbi explain to Vic as they head down the stairs together, "rebuilt the whole thing. Got the base from Monster Joe at the junkyard." Making her way over to the couch, Bobbi settles down and begins to take off the red vegan mushroom leather gloves and matching shoes. With the shoes off, Bobbi wiggles her toes in her anklets, and then pulls her legs up and under her on the couch. "Took up most of my past few weeks," Bobbi adds as she sits there in her white adidas racing jumpsuit, a broad smile onher face.
Vic, joining Bobbi on the couch, asks the mechanic-mage, "Any chance you'd be able to advise how to get a specific vehicle cheap and then get it rebuilt if I named it?" Then, seeing Hector heading down the stairs behind them, says, "Hey there Aitch-Two," to the Sorcerer V-Dept.
Hector heads from the stairs to the large table to sit down and then gets out his laptop. "Hey, sup? Oh, and if you are looking to overhaul a vehicle I can send you some files about how to do so with technology." he nods as he boots up said laptop and sips his coffee and then gives a polite smile to Bobbi.
"Advise you?" Bobbi says as she scrunches up her nose and gives Vic a look, "I mean, that's what I /do./ I'd be happy to help you. Either you can tell me what you want or I can take you to the junkyard to pick up a base model and get it working for you. I can definitely get your a working vehichle quick, but any customization would have to wait until I finish the stretched limo I'm working on. Though, I still do have at least one free spot before the Holidays, so yours if you want it." It's now time for Bobbi's forehead to scratch as she mouths 'aitch-two?' As Hector speaks, Bobbi jokingly puts up her dukes and Three Stooges, "Wise guy, eh?"
Vic laughs at Bobbi's joke... the Three Stoges are obviously a thing from her world. She says, "Yeah, talking about step seven when you're on step zero is not very productive," to Hector before saying, "I actually hope to find and refurbish a `67 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia convertable," to Bobbi.
This car.
Hector huffs in humor at Bobbis boxing pose and then shrugs lightly at what Vic says, "Step seven is the fun part though." and then he begins typing on his laptop. "There's a new sorcerer mechanic in town too, Dallas, he owns/works at the Grandma's flea market or whatever it's called. If you're looking for collaborators." he tells Bobbi.
"Everyone is either Larry, Moe, Curly," Bobbi explains, "and usually it's not the one they think they are. Pausing a beat, Bobbi continues. "Oh, nice," Bobbi says to Vic, "I'l put Joe on that, but might take a moment to -- " Bobbi pauses and gives Vic a super serious look as she asks, "Are you into Opera, Ballet, Symphony, anything cultural like that?" Obviously, there's some reasoning for this question, but whatever it is is not at all clear. "Huh," Bobbi says as she furrows her brow and look to Hector, "I just met a mechanic named Dallas that's new in town. He had a cat on a leash. I'm supposed to see him in the next few days to show him the BRATmobile. I'll have to play 'broom closet' chicken with him."
"Sounds like someone you should meet, Bobbi," Vic comments on Hector's mention of this Dallas guy. "But any project is useless if you do the later steps without the foundations," she says in an almost lecture-y tone to her Sorcerer ally. Returning to the car discussion, she says, "My main problem is budget. I'm working on improving my available resources but I'm pretty poor right now, Bobbi, what kind of budget would this be requiring do you think? Can we find an intact chassis and work up from there?"
Hector says "Dallas was down here twice, only reason I mentioned he was a Sorcerer, so you can run into him here at some point too I'm sure."
Bobbi nods along with what Vic has to say about following steps -- after all, she's been building and rebuilding a car and it's engine the past few weeks, steps are important to her. "That depends," Bobbi says as she looks at Vic. "Are you into Opera, Ballet, Symphony, cultural stuff like that?" Bobbi repeats again, almost sounding like she's asking out Vic on a date in a weird way, though her body language doesn't seem to suggest that's what she angling for -- at least not at the moment. For now, Hector's explanation of the Sorcerer seem to be heard, but not acknowledged, as Bobbi looks to get herself an answer this time around.
Vic nods dismissively about Dallas but looks confused by Bobbi's question. She ponders the question and says, "I'm not averse to these things... can enjoy them from time to time," in answer. She pauses a moment again and then asks, "What would they have to do with..." and then stops only to say, "I'm not an 'escort' Bobbi, if that's what you're thinking about suggesting."
Hector raises an eyebrow at that last bit and decides it's best if he just focuses on his coding for the moment.
"No, no, no," Bobbi reassures Vic, "That's not where I was going with this at all." There's a brief pause as she continues, "Well, actually ... but it's not what you think. My guy, Monster Joe of Monster Joe Truck and Tow, it the right person to find you what you need. But such a special order? That's beyond touring his junkyard and moving into international auto-arbitrage. Still, he can do it. But will he be motivated to do it?"
Vic just stares at Bobbi for a moment and then, sounding just a little outraged here, says, "That /is/ what you're talking about!" and then a moment later, again sounding a bit put out, asks, "'Monster Joe'?" and comments on the name by further asking, "What kind of name is 'Monster Joe'?"
Hector gets a text and after reading it packs up his laptop to head out, "I gotta jet, cya later." he says with a nod and then stands to head to the stairs.
"Well, no!" Bobbi protests to Vic, "well, I mean, you're not going to have to /sleep/ with him." Bobbi pauses for effect -- or maybe to figure out how to follow that up -- and then adds, "Monster Joe and I bonded over cultural events. Since his wife died, we've gone out a couple of times. I mean, the cultural events in Prospect aren't exactly world-class, but that's part of the fun. Dinner, drinks, culture, shit talking. Monster Joe always says Opera in Prospect is like a High School musical with shrieking and the scent of mothballs." Bobbi lifts her left hand to say goodbye to Hector, keeping her attention on Vic. As she lifts her hand, a very large -- and what was probably very painful -- sigil can be seen tattooed across her palm.
Vic also waves to Hector and says, "Be safe, Aitch-two!" as he heads toward the stairs, using anything as an excuse to think about going on a date in order to get ahead in the world.
Returning her attention to Bobbi, Vic says, "I didn't say you were trying to make me be a call girl!" shocked and now ever more outraged over the suggestion of prostitution. "Really, what kind of world is this that you live in?" she asks as if the escort thing should have been totally unambiguous.
Hector nods, "You too!" he calls back and then heads out.
"It'll be fun!" Bobbi protests, "You pick the event. I'll get three tickets. We'll go out -- dinner, drinks, culture, and shit talking -- and at some point cars are going to come up. You mention what you're looking for, and if it exists anywhere, I'll be able to pick it up a week later from his yard. Otherwise? He'll still do me a favor, but this'll light a fire under his ass." There's a pause, before Bobbi adds, "He's never tried to get fresh with me. It's just a sweet old man who's lonely. I mean, if you worked in a junkyard, you'd have a difficult time finding Opera friends."
Vic sighs and nods. She retrieves her smartphone from a pocket and does a quick search on it. She nods and says, "I've actually always wanted to see La bohème," and then asks, "Do you think he'd be interested in taking someone new with him to see it?" almost sounding pained as she does.
"Oh, that would be a lot of fun," Bobbi says with a smile, "yeah, I'll just get three tickets and tell him where to meet us. You and I will get dressed up all nice and fancy, and we'll meet him there. Then dinner and drinks afterwards. It'll be a lot of fun. Monster Joe's a really nice guy, I assure you. He just likes going out and sort of once again having some of the fun he missed out when he was raising kids and working. He sorta expected to be travelling with his wife, but ... " Bobbi gives a little shrug, "Anyway, he's a great guy."
Vic ums even while she seems releaved that its not just going to be her and Monster Joe. "I... I don't have anything 'nice' or 'fancy'," Vic admits, more pained over this than the other. "I didn't move here the conventional way if you recall," she reminds.
"Vic," Bobbi says as her eyes light-up, "I don't know if your world had Pucci, but this world does. We'll have to go shopping at the mall. I'll let you decide if the soft pretzel is the reward at the end or the fuel at the beginning."
Vic grins. "I was a mall brat in my tweens and teens and mall soft pretzils are awesome! A shopping trip sounds awesome!" She sounds very excited at this offer.
The pair then discuss plans for a mall trip.
