lower your rpms, man

Felix Fillmore | 26 | Owner of Organic Fuel

[faiirytalcs]

"I've noticed." Anita agreed with a small laugh. Often times their conversations moved into something more philosophical, the level of it varied depending on how much wine or other things had been imbibed that evening, but it always happened. "Um, okay, give me one second, I need to let these pain killers kick in and then I'll be able to think straight." Choosing a topic of conversation had never been harder. "Did you see the way they decorated for Valentine's Day? Couldn't go three feet without being reminded I'm perpetually trapped in a dating cycle, so that was fun."

[organicfillmore]

Fillmore gave her a moment, eating just a little bit more and leaning back in his chair. "Well, that explains why everything's been so red recently...I thought one of my buddies got everyone to be Ferrari fans this year," he joked. It was true that he was more excited about upcoming races than Valentine's Day, but he'd never paid a whole lot of attention to most holidays, and a lot of his friends liked sports. "And don't be negative about it, it's not like I had a date either." Of course, he hadn't been looking for one, but. It wasn't a big deal either way.

[eyeofprovidence]

"YEAH, SURE, BUT WOULDN'T YOU RATHER HAVE SIX OR TWELVE OR SEVENTY-FOUR ANGLES? THREE'S THE BARE MINIMUM!" truthfully, bill prefers the simplicity, but who's he to resist arguing with a stranger who seems to know a little too much? creating problems where there are none is one of his favorite hobbies!

oh, so now he's bringing up the pyramids – which bill got humans to build all those millennia ago in return for fucking up his portal, of course. which this – whatever he is – probably already knows. "LINES ARE STILL A PART OF IT, AREN'T THEY? BUT STILL SEEMS WAY MORE BORING THAN A WHOLE SHAPE!"

sure, the crowd surrounding them seems to think this conversation is stupid, and bill himself remains suspicious of whoever this kid actually is, but he's still having fun. "HOW DO YOU THINK A LINE WOULD MOVE, ANYWAY? LIKE A SNAKE? WOULD IT ROTATE SLOWLY ON ITS SHORT SIDE? JUST FLOAT?"

[organicfillmore]

Fillmore thought for a moment about the 'more angles' thing, and then shook his head. "Well, if you want the most angles then this body is fine, 'cause I can't even count how many angles are on this. Or maybe even a circle because that's like infinite angles. But simple shapes are more fun."

He put his hands in his pockets and spared a glance around. There were at least four people here that didn't seem surprised that this was happening, all regulars at his place, and he grinned at them as an apology. It was easy for him to get drawn into weird discussions, and he was pretty sure the whole town was aware of that by this point. "Mm, inchworm. But it would depend on where it is, 'cause like. Even in this universe if I went to space I couldn't just walk."

[notadxmbbunny]

judy pouted at the idea of going through it, tilting her head to the side; ❛ oh no... ❜ the shifted sighed forlornly, eyes turning down to match the downward curve of her lips. ❛ yeah, of course, ❜ judy sighed, trying to swallow down the urge to inquire what was wrong and see if she could help in anyway. judy was a bit of a problem-solver — primarily of problems that weren't their own. they tended to get overly involved in things that didn't concern them, and it was something they were working on. kind of. a smile lilted on judy's lips and she nodded, clutching her drink in her hand. ❛ yeah, you're a good guy, fillmore. my friend nick could use someone like you to show him the ropes of being well behaved. ❜

[organicfillmore]

"Thanks, man." He was glad that he'd found at least one person in uniform that was trying. It was refreshing to see, after how he'd grown up. Either way, he figured he should switch the conversation up, just for safety's sake. Didn't need anyone getting nosy, even if they were being nice about it. At least now they moved on to one of Judy's friends. "Oh, I don't know about that," Fillmore replied with a small shake of the head. "I might be a decent guy but that doesn't mean I'm any kind of influence. Plus how bad can he be if he hangs out with a cop with his own free will? No offense."

[fcktvvilight]

"Uh, yeah," Dennis nodded, "I think he's pretty cool. I mean, he's not Adam in the comics, but..." Surely the guy knew that, surely. "I always wanted to be Batman growing up." And not just because of bat transformation, either. "If you're going for funny, I've heard Scott Pilgrim is good... and, we've got some Speed Racer volumes too, yeah, I think there may be more in the back."

[organicfillmore]

"Oh, he's not like Adam in the comics? Bummer." Fillmore had watched the old show a decent amount as a kid, and he'd really liked all the colors and goofy stuff that everyone got up to. "Is it closer to like...that one with Jim Carrey?" That had been a good Riddler, too. "Batman's a good choice, though. He's a cool guy." Fillmore had never been into a lot of the more action-y comics, but he knew some of the guys who did. Batman guys could go either way, he'd found. "Oh, no thanks on Scott, I tried that once, wasn't really my thing." Fillmore spun to look at another shelf. "Y'know, I wonder if they ever made like...something chill."

[faiirytalcs]

It felt so simple when he said it. Bad choices weren't the end of the world and maybe that was true but there had been plenty of moments in her life before this when bad choices had ruined practically everything. One of which was searching for Cruella when no one had asked her to. But, she supposed, there had been good things that had happened because of that choice...so maybe it was true after all. "Fine, a little while longer and then I'll stop being so harsh on myself." The words felt like half of a lie already, but she would try at least. "Oh fuck, you're getting all philosophical and existential early today. Could we possibly stop debating what makes a choice good or bad and talk about, quite literally, anything else?"

[organicfillmore]

Fillmore cracked a smile. Well, at least she was agreeing with him, which meant she might try to not be so harsh on herself. That was a start, and he couldn't help her in her own mind. That would be truly wild, and honestly, very much boundary crossing. Her mind was her own. "There you go," he said around another fry, this one sticking out of his mouth like a farmer's piece of hay...or whatever they chewed on in cartoons. "And I know, I know, I'm sorry, I can't help it." He really couldn't. It had been a very annoying thing for his father for a very long time. Actually, it still probably was. "You pick what we talk about, I'll just go with the flow."

[faiirytalcs]

That was true. In her field, it was helpful to have some deep knowledge of words because you had to be able to use them properly and poetically. That's why journalists and writers existed. If she didn't appreciate words, who would? "I - okay, I do see your point but - can we just let me be in my feelings about this right now and tomorrow I can stop being so harsh? Deal?" She just needed at least another hour of being mad at herself and her poor choices and then she'd make a plan to never do it again. Anita loved a plan. "What if I want to be fulfilled by good choices? Does that count?" Dragging a glass of water in her direction, Anita took a sip before pausing. "The SEALS? I had no idea. I have such a hard time imagining that." Nothing seemed more in opposition than Fillmore and the Navy.

[organicfillmore]

Fillmore made a face. On one hand, who was he to tell someone what to do with themselves? On the other, would it be good to let Anita be so harsh on herself? It was a bit of a rock and a hard place for him. "Not for a whole day, that's so not good for you. But maybe just a little while longer, and remember bad choices aren't the end of the world," he eventually advised. He knew not everyone was as generally shameless in such a passive way as he was, but still. Sometimes it was hard for him to see people being so tough. "Good choices count, but you have to think about why you think a choice is good in the first place." A little philosophical of him, but oh well. "Yeah, I had a hard time imagining it too, that's why I didn't listen to parental judgement and didn't do it." And it had kept him directly out of any branch of government, too, just for safety's sake.

[fcktvvilight]

"No more ideas, got it," Dennis nodded. "Well, if you like Archie, I can suggest comics more in that genre. But I'm going to be honest, I don't read a lot of them. I'm partial to... Batman." And that was about it. He wasn't a huge superhero fanatic or anything, though he really should read more seeing as his job was selling and at times suggesting books. "Are you looking for action-packed or something funny?"

[organicfillmore]

Batman. Fillmore knew about Batman. "Oh, the Adam West guy. Yeah, maybe," he conceded, still looking around at all the comics in front of him just to see if anything caught his eye. "Hmm...Well, I definitely don't have anything against action, but I bet I'd like funny more."

As he spoke, he spotted something interesting, and crouched to get a better look. "Speed Racer. Cool."

[herculeskosta]

THIS GUY WAS CHILL CHILL. The sort of nonplussed Hercules aspired to be ( and was , once upon a time , until it resulted him bull-in-a-china-shopping pretty much everything in his peripherals ).

“ Right !” Hercules says , scratching the back of his neck and nodding as if he has any clue what wood stain is. “ So like , you — got in a fight with a tree ?” he asks , mind flashing back to his small stint at caber tossing

[organicfillmore]

Fillmore had to laugh a little at the thought of him of all people fighting a tree. "No, I'm more of a tree hugger, definitely not a tree fighter," he replied calmly, inspecting his shirt. Wow, that really did look weird. And nobody had even said anything earlier, while he was still at work. Rude.

"Wood stain is like...paint for wood, sorta. You put it on something you make with wood and it changes the color and seals the wood so it doesn't get water in it. You gotta do it whenever you're making something," he explained for the guy's benefit. "And I was working on something a little more red than normal."

[eyeofprovidence]

oh, this kid – or whatever kind of monster he is – has to be fucking with him. if he had a sliver of logic to his bullshit, sure, he could maybe believe the fool was just really lucky in his guessing, but, c'mon, tracing the air? a triangle wouldn't even make the top 5 for human face shapes!

his nose scrunches, eyes still narrowed, as if squinting will somehow unveil the truth. "HOW DO YOU EVEN COME TO THAT CONCLUSION?" though bill doubts he'll explain himself. "DO I REALLY ONLY GET THREE ANGLES? THAT DOESN'T SEEM FAIR. THAT BARELY MAKES ME BETTER THAN A LINE!"

[organicfillmore]

Oh, wow, this guy was getting worked up about little stuff. He wasn't exactly sure why being a triangle would be bad. They were really strong shapes, geometrically speaking. Good for a lot of stuff, including nachos, usually.

"Huh? Three angles isn't a bad thing, man, it's just a thing," he assured the stranger. "Besides, triangles are cool. You don't build a pyramid with lines. Gotta have triangles. And those things last forever. And even if you were a line, would that be so bad? They're good for something, too."

[notadxmbbunny]

judy frowned at the dismissal of fillmore having a special someone, wishing that all her friends would find that person that made them feel out of this world. wait...was fillmore her friend ?? judy liked to believe so. he HAD just spotted her order, after all.... so when she heard the name he wanted to pass along his gift to, judy smiled and nodded their head curtly. ❛ got it; aurora. is that the pretty blonde one ?? ❜ making a display of zipping her lips, judy nodded one more and held up her pinkie; ❛ you're secret is safe with me, fillmore. swear it. ❜

[organicfillmore]

Fillmore nodded slowly to confirm, and just before Judy could get any ideas in their head, he decided to cut things off at the pass. "Yeah, she's going through it and she's a good kid," he told Judy, completely ignoring the fact that Aurora was only a couple of years younger than him and definitely wasn't a kid. "But I don't want her to know 'cause like...I don't want her to think it's pity, y'know?" Plus she was a good employee, and a free get out of parking trouble card was the least he could do. "Honestly, if I ever do anything to make you want to give me a pass, we're just gonna end up giving it to people I know. I don't know if you notice, but I behave myself pretty well."

[herculeskosta]

𝐅𝐎𝐑: open !! ( @evermorehqsstart ) 𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: utp

THIS STYLE OF MEDDLING has got him in trouble before . Stopping and speaking instead of swagging on by . Sticking his chiseled nose in other people’s business wanting , sincerely , to offer a helping hand .

Not everyone , he’s reluctantly coming to realize , wants that hand . Some would rather he keep his headphones on and jog past as if their pain or predicament is unnoticeable . Sucks for them , it’s instinct. A pull , kinda — from somewhere far , far away — tugging him like a magnet to a , well . Other magnet ?

So Hercules does stop . He removes his headphones and approaches cautiously , wiping a lil sweat from his brow ( just because he wants to help doesn’t mean he hasn’t tripped and made the situation worse a few hundred times before ) . “ Hey are you , uh - bleeding ? ”

[organicfillmore]

Fillmore was a master at not paying attention, and that included throwing on random clothes in the morning and not realizing what they looked like sometimes. So when he was parked up on one of his favorite benches, he was surprised when some dude just kinda walked up and asked if he was bleeding. "Huh?" was the first thing out of his mouth, looking down at himself and wondering if maybe he was bleeding and just hadn't noticed from the shock or whatever, but...

"Oh, no, man. Sorry for freaking you out, that's just wood stain," he told the guy. "I was working on something earlier and I guess I just didn't notice?" That happened a lot. "You got me, though, I thought I was too, for a second."

[notadxmbbunny]

judy, clutching the breakfast sandwich to her chest, the aroma of it hitting her nose and making it twitch— a sigh of relief sounding from her lungs. judy brought the drink to her lips, greedily sipping on it, not even wincing when the scalding how liquid burnt the surface of her tongue. there was practically no feeling in her tongue anymore, anyways. at his request, the meter maid beamed; ❛— sure, who'd you like to pass it on to ?? ❜ judy inquired, quirking a brow, dropping the sandwich into her bag. stepping back so he had room to clean, judy let the warmth of the beverage settle into their bones, nursing the drink close to their face so the steam continued to brush her skin. ❛— is there a special sommmmeeeoonnnee, fillmore ?? oh, c'mon, you gotta tell me if there is. ❜

[organicfillmore]

Well, it was always nice to see that someone appreciated his food. Fillmore grinned to himself, starting on a bit of prep work. Nothing that would keep them from talking, but just enough to keep himself looking busy if anyone else came up. When Judy brought up 'a special someone', he raised a lazy eyebrow at them. "Nah, nothin' like that, man," he replied easily. Fillmore hadn't actually dated anyone in...well, a while. At least, nobody that he was aware of. "You know Aurora that works here? She can have it. Just don't like...mention it to her, I guess?"

[faiirytalcs]

It didn't entirely matter how it was being presented, the whole time being real or not real or a flat circle or whatever it might be was wild to think about. A crisis waiting in the wings if she thought about it for too long. "You might be one of the only people who think so." There were a handful of people who shot daggers at her when she did that at work but she'd stopped caring about that a long time ago. Words were incredible things; the least they could do was use them properly. "I - see, I can see what you're doing here and no, I wouldn't. But I'm allowed to be a little harsher with myself. How am I mean to better myself if I'm not allowed to judge?" Anita pointed out but even she knew that was a weak argument, especially with Fillmore of all people.

[organicfillmore]

Fillmore allowed himself to smile when she pointed out he might be the only person to think the dictionary thing was cool. On occasion, he liked to stand out, what could he say? "Listen, that would come in a lot of handy. And I'm not even a writer, so I bet it's even better for you," he replied with an easy shrug before making himself get serious for the next part. "No, you aren't allowed to be harsher on yourself than anyone else, 'cause you're people like anyone else," Fillmore countered, pointing at her with a fry. "Self improvement comes from wanting to be fulfilled, spiritually or otherwise, not judgement. If judgement worked, I'd be in a Navy SEALS uniform right now." He shuddered just thinking about it. "And clearly, I'm nowhere close to that, so. Figure out another reason for yourself."

[faiirytalcs]

"Time's not even real - are you trying to give me an existential crisis on top of a hangover?" Anita sighed dramatically, leaning forward to rest her chin on her hand. "The actual definition is my preferred definition which is something that arouses pity, especially through vulnerability or sadness or something that is miserably inadequate or of a very low standard...and to be fair, I feel like I fit the bill on both levels." It was one of Anita's things since she was a kid, knowing words. She loved learning vocabulary since it helped her writing so much, most of her brain space was dedicated to the dictionary. "I got nervous for my date, had some wine before I left and kept drinking at the bar, very quickly got tipsy to the point that going home with my date after the appetizers was a good idea...so if that's not pathetic, it's at least sad."

[organicfillmore]

"Okay, okay, then time is real but it's not linear," he corrected, and even as it came out of his mouth he figured that probably didn't help. "Never mind about the time thing." There, a double correction, even though he was right. Which he promptly forgot about as soon as Anita actually rattled off the full dictionary definition. Fillmore gave an impressed whistle. "Man, I can only do that with one word ever, that's so cool." And that was a genuine compliment, because, well, the reason he knew any dictionary definition was not anything to brag about. "Hmm." Fillmore leaned back in his chair, thinking over what she'd told him. "Okay, so. I personally don't think that's pathetic. Would you say it was pathetic if someone else went home with their date after just appetizers?" he ventured. This was an old technique his mom had taught him: would you say something sort of rude if it wasn't yourself? And it had done him a world of good, probably.

[eyeofprovidence]

"AND HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHAT MAKES SOMEONE A PENTAGON?" bill knows how he would – how they did all those years ago, but if this kid (or whatever he is) is more than a lucky guesser, he'd have the same explanation, wouldn't he?

"YEAH?" his gaze narrows, head tilting at the kid saying "he'd be something else". this little shit knows something – he has to, or otherwise, whatever... thing that's somehow trapping them in this damned town just thinks it's funny. and, usually, it would be funny, but the mind games are only entertaining when he's the one in control, obviously. "WHAT WOULD I BE?"

[organicfillmore]

"Well, I don't decide, he just kinda is..." Fillmore replied with a shrug. Of course, he knew why he thought of this particular buddy as a pentagon, and it was because this buddy was more military than Fillmore had ever been, even when living on base. But eh. Some guys were just pentagonal.

"Mmhm, I'm thinking..." The young man tilted his head to a side, like he was looking at art, the way he always did when really looking at someone. It sort of helped him get the vibes. Then he did what came naturally to him as a next step: traced a few shapes in the air in front of the guy's face. "Triangle," he said with a confident grin. It was mostly in the chin, but the guy was just kinda...angular.

[notadxmbbunny]

the poor, sleepy, rabbit-lady just accepted defeat with a theatric stomp of her foot, pouting dramatically in fillmore's direction ❛ my life might as well be over, fillmore, i'm just going to die from exhaustion. nick's going to win at life and i'm going to fail. ❜ judy was so swept up in her own lament that they hadn't even noticed fillmore pushing the order in their direction, taking a moment to process what he had said before gasping. ❛ wait — noooo, fillmore, i can't... ❜ she pouted, but then the scent of her beverage wafted over her nose, making it twitch, and a bit of a sheepish smile danced on their lips; ❛ well, if they're just going to go to waste... ❜ leaning forward, judy's eyes sparkled; ❛ i will be coming back and paying for them....and, i'll turn a blind eye if you don't pay for a parking space. only one time, though — and don't tell anyone. ❜

[organicfillmore]

Fillmore was very proud of himself when he managed to only smirk when Judy finally stopped ranting and realized what was going on. He'd almost laughed, but he caught himself, in case they thought he was laughing at them. He made sure that all the food was off his counter before he pretended to wipe it, just to look busy. He'd picked that habit up as a kid. "Thank you, man, but can I transfer it to someone else? I don't really drive a lot." He had to ask, knowing exactly who he was going to give his free pass to. "But nah, I won't tell anyone anything. In fact, I already forgot what we were talking about." Which wasn't too far from a lie, he probably would forget in an hour or two.

[eyeofprovidence]

"YOU'RE SMARTER THAN YOU LOOK, KID!" he still doesn't trust whatever facade this guy is putting up one bit, even bill plasters another smile across his face. "I JUST THOUGHT THERE WERE MORE EXCITING DIMENSIONS TO THEORIZE ABOUT THAN SOME FLATLAND, Y'KNOW?" his nose crinkles as if in disgust of the mere thought.

... but, the stranger is right in that he'd fit a rectangle more than a square, even if the other might not realize why. "YEAH, YEAH, YOU'RE RIGHT. YOU'RE MORE RECTANGLE OR TRAPEZOID THAN SOME REGULAR QUADRILATERAL!" still, suspicion lurks behind his gaze, barely hidden by a lingering smile. "I MEAN, MOST HUMANS WOULD BE RECTANGLES, IF WE'RE GOING BY HOW YOU LOOK, WHICH SEEMS DUMB. THERE ISN'T MUCH VARIETY IN HOW HUMANOID SACKS OF FLASH ARE BUILT!" sure, their weird squishy torsos can vary, but in general? super rectangular!

[organicfillmore]

"Oh, thanks, man," he said to the random 'smarter than you look'. That was one of the things he was a little proud of. Then he turned his attention to the next statement. "Hmm, yeah. We can do enough of the flat stuff with Flat Stanley," he conceded. The dimension that gave him the most trouble was probably the whole one-dimensional thing, but eh. He didn't want to bring that one up. There wouldn't be much to do.

Oh, trapezoid sounded neat... "Yeah, but I didn't say rectangle 'cause of looks, then I wouldn't have thought octagon at first. Like one of my buddies? Total pentagon. Me? Not so much. If it was looks then we'd all be like...rectangles and circles and ovals." And that was simple art theory. "And you'd be something else."