Stop.

Barrett Flynn [Affiliated with the Pelago Islands] 9,381G

[quicksilverzen]

Forgetful Fisherman

@salmon-notsake “And here I thought I was more prepared than this…where in the heavens did I put that tackle.” After indulging far too often in Leuda’s casino, Gerard decided to take his chance at fishing instead. It was a far more acceptable activity for a priest to engage in- especially when it was compared to gambling. Yet as he shuffled through his gear bag with one hand, he couldn’t seem to find his tackle. And the more he dug, the more agitated he seemed to get. What a way to ruin his plans. Gerard had assumed he had everything when he left the church this morning, but it could’ve very well fallen out of his bag when he was packing his lunch. He stood up from his kneeling position, dusting the sand off his robes with one hand. Then he observed his rusty fishing rod, and glanced down at his bag with a thoughtful expression on his face. “Perhaps I could improvise. Hm…”

[salmon-notsake]

So he was a priest. That definitely made the clothes less weird. He appreciated that he had attempted to make himself less disruptive though, rather than taking offence. But then he started packing up. It made sense - really there wasn't any point fishing if you didn't have appropriate gear - but Barrett knew that it was disappointing when something got in the way of fishing somewhere new. Too many rainy weekends had definitely taught him that, but at least he had never left the island just to realise he couldn't fish after all.

"Hold on. If you promise not to be loud, you can use this," he told him, digging out his spare tackle and offering it out before Gerard could completely pack up. "You can share my bait too if you need it. Name's Barrett." Even he could be nice occasionally he supposed. Even if he wasn't exactly being very friendly about it.

[milkyxray-deactivated20191024]

hot for the teacher ll ray&barrett

[milkyxray-deactivated20191024]

Barrett gave a half shrug in reply, admittedly having no clue about the answer. He didn’t particularly want to ask the headmistress either: elves were unsettling. Most Magic was, in his opinion, but at least most Magic didn’t look 20 when it was hundreds of years old.

“I didn’t ask. I doubt it though. If they did, more teachers would probably get good stickers.” Now that he was actually thinking about it, he wasn’t sure he had ever received even a smiley face. Then again, he hadn’t ever given his teachers much to smile about either.

The enthusiasm was contagious. All he had really been after were pencils that didn’t snap constantly, but being rushed around and shown things with genuine excitement was nice. If he was half as helpful to all of his customers, no longer the store seemed to be doing fine even when it was empty so often.

“Is that what you were working on when I came in?” Barrett’s gaze had been flicking back and forth from the stained fingertips nearly the whole time. He had tried to be subtle, but he wasn’t sure he had succeeded. “If you don’t mind, I’d like that. The right grip is important.”

“Ah, that makes sense but is kind of disappointing! I think teachers should have a bigger budget for neat stuff like this!” His school experience would have been different had he been able to have high end art supplies like the ones here.

Maybe his art wouldn’t be so mediocre.

“Oh yeah—” Ray glanced at the sketch pad before closing it slowly. They were just small doodles of insignificant things. His paper coffee cup, a pigeon he had seen earlier that week, a butt.

“Here.” Ray picked up his pen, the same one Barrett wanted to buy, passing it to the brunette and curling his hand around Barrett’s just to make sure he had grasped it firmly.

Of course, that was the only reason.

“You want to make sure you’re holding it tight, but not too tight. Run your fingers along the ridges and find where it feels best in your hand. It’s metal but you’ll fine it’s really flexible.”

[salmon-notsake]

"I guess the school doesn't see it as worth putting more of the budget into. It seems to motivate the kids, but 'seems to' probably isn't enough." And he definitely wasn't going to ask the headmistress about it: elves made him nervous at the best of times. It was nice to see someone getting passionate about trying to make school more interesting though. He probably would have been a better student if the teachers had spent more effort on giving him a reason to care, rather than just telling him he should.

He kind of wondered what kind of student the man in front of him had been.

Barrett managed to catch a glimpse of the page before Ray closed it completely. He knew it was rude to look without permission, but that rarely ever stopped him. What he had seen was good, though it was clearly casual doodling instead of something that a lot of time and effort had gone into. He wondered if he could figure out a way to ask to see more.

The hand curled around his to show off the pen was definitely a point of distraction though. He could figure out how to ask when the assistant wasn't so close to him maybe.

"It has a good shape," he muttered, trying to ignore the innuendoes that he was certain were entirely unintended. He obviously just had a dirty mind. He adjusted his grip slightly and pressed the nib to the paper he had been given, scribbling a quick 'hi, my name is Barrett' just to test it. "It feels good to use. How long have you been using this one? I hate it when they run out too fast."

[milkyxray-deactivated20191024]

hot for the teacher ll ray&barrett

[milkyxray-deactivated20191024]

Barrett took a curious glance over the counter as Ray rushed around to help him, wondering to himself if there was a non-weird way to ask what he was working on. The man was cute and he was curious by nature, so getting him to talk about his art sounded interesting. Much more enjoyable than leaving the warmth and dryness of the store.

“I heard my students complaining that I don’t give stamps or stickers on their work like their other teachers do. I’m not interested in giving them generic things if I’m going to bother though.” He knew that stickers weren’t really something that ‘serious’ art made much use of, but he figured he lost nothing by trying the art store first anyway. Following the assistant busily checking the shelves for him, he decided he had made the right call.

He inspected the sticker packs he was shown carefully. There were other designs on the shelf, sure, but if these were popular then he would get one of them. The whole exercise was to impress the kids after all. Eventually Barrett pointed at the hamster pack, expression remaining serious as he gave a short nod.

“These ones. Everyone likes hamsters.” Maybe he should get some other things while he was here. He hated using the cheap quality stationary from the General Store. It was hard to care about your work if the materials you were using were crap. “I need to get new coloured pencils too. And regular pens if you have them.” What did art stores even sell? Was he going to look like an idiot if he kept asking for basic things?

Everyone likes hamsters.

The simple reptilian part of his brain sprang to life, whirring and running at full speed trying to store every ounce of useless information his way and spin it in a way to start some sort of personal conversation with the tall one eyed man.

Should I puff out my cheeks so I look like a hamster? Maybe eat some sunflower seeds? Just how much does he really like hamsters?

“Kids can be like that– I remember when I was younger I’d be lucky if a teacher drew a happy face. Does the school reimburse you for stuff like this? I can make an extra copy of the receipt if that’s the case.”

Ray immediately began to rush and lead the older man around the store, talking happily about the different supplies, giving honest opinions about his favorite products rather than trying to push something expensive on the teacher. He was using his enthusiasm for products piling up in the basket to try to mask his overwhelming thirst.

He had already flicked his eyes about a half dozen times to his ring finger just to check that he wasn’t married.

“Did you want to test these out? I could grab a piece of paper and let you use mine, since I use the same ones. It’s super important to use something that feels nice in your hands, since everyone has different preferences.”

Okay, now he was starting to lay it on a bit thick.

[salmon-notsake]

Barrett gave a half shrug in reply, admittedly having no clue about the answer. He didn't particularly want to ask the headmistress either: elves were unsettling. Most Magic was, in his opinion, but at least most Magic didn't look 20 when it was hundreds of years old.

"I didn't ask. I doubt it though. If they did, more teachers would probably get good stickers." Now that he was actually thinking about it, he wasn't sure he had ever received even a smiley face. Then again, he hadn't ever given his teachers much to smile about either.

The enthusiasm was contagious. All he had really been after were pencils that didn't snap constantly, but being rushed around and shown things with genuine excitement was nice. If he was half as helpful to all of his customers, no longer the store seemed to be doing fine even when it was empty so often.

"Is that what you were working on when I came in?" Barrett's gaze had been flicking back and forth from the stained fingertips nearly the whole time. He had tried to be subtle, but he wasn't sure he had succeeded. "If you don't mind, I'd like that. The right grip is important."

[milkyxray-deactivated20191024]

hot for the teacher ll ray&barrett

[milkyxray-deactivated20191024]

The big upside of shopping in bad weather was definitely how empty the stores typically were. Sure, the general store or cafés were usually still busy, but little stores that weren’t frequently packed anyway tended to be virtually abandoned. Cafés were a reprieve from the weather and General Stores carried necessities, but nobody went out of their way to buy new paints if the weather was bad.

Even the man behind the counter didn’t seem too enthused to be there. He didn’t even react to Barrett entering, or at all until he was practically standing over him. Apparently he was just absorbed in some sort of drawing though, from what little he could see before he was noticed.

Trying not to laugh at the startled greeting was difficult but he kept his face blank. He doubted he could have if he didn’t have to do the same thing every time he woke a student in one of his classes.

“Stickers.” Maybe not what he expected, but it was why he was there. “Cute ones and cool ones. Nothing boring like gold stars.”

Stickers weren’t really… a prime area in an art store. At least not this one. Had this teacher been just some regular customer Ray would have advised be visit the department store a few streets over but Ray wasn’t about to shoo out his only eye candy in days out the door.

“I think you’d probably have the most luck in scrapbooking supplies—- ah, here, I’ll show you.” Ray hurried from behind the counter, wiping his graphite stained hands on his apron.

Walking down the cramped aisles of the art store he led Barrett to rows of mildly expensive scrapbooking stickers, but they were expensive for good reason. Not only were they high quality, but there were tons of different designs.

“If you’re looking for something popular… these two have been selling the best recently for people who don’t plan on using them for scrapbooking in particular.” He held up two different varieties, hoping at least one of them would catch his eye. One was cute dogs, and the other was hampsters.

“What do you think?”

[salmon-notsake]

Barrett took a curious glance over the counter as Ray rushed around to help him, wondering to himself if there was a non-weird way to ask what he was working on. The man was cute and he was curious by nature, so getting him to talk about his art sounded interesting. Much more enjoyable than leaving the warmth and dryness of the store.

"I heard my students complaining that I don't give stamps or stickers on their work like their other teachers do. I'm not interested in giving them generic things if I'm going to bother though." He knew that stickers weren't really something that 'serious' art made much use of, but he figured he lost nothing by trying the art store first anyway. Following the assistant busily checking the shelves for him, he decided he had made the right call.

He inspected the sticker packs he was shown carefully. There were other designs on the shelf, sure, but if these were popular then he would get one of them. The whole exercise was to impress the kids after all. Eventually Barrett pointed at the hamster pack, expression remaining serious as he gave a short nod.

"These ones. Everyone likes hamsters." Maybe he should get some other things while he was here. He hated using the cheap quality stationary from the General Store. It was hard to care about your work if the materials you were using were crap. "I need to get new coloured pencils too. And regular pens if you have them." What did art stores even sell? Was he going to look like an idiot if he kept asking for basic things?

[quicksilverzen]

Forgetful Fisherman

@salmon-notsake “And here I thought I was more prepared than this…where in the heavens did I put that tackle.” After indulging far too often in Leuda’s casino, Gerard decided to take his chance at fishing instead. It was a far more acceptable activity for a priest to engage in- especially when it was compared to gambling. Yet as he shuffled through his gear bag with one hand, he couldn’t seem to find his tackle. And the more he dug, the more agitated he seemed to get. What a way to ruin his plans. Gerard had assumed he had everything when he left the church this morning, but it could’ve very well fallen out of his bag when he was packing his lunch. He stood up from his kneeling position, dusting the sand off his robes with one hand. Then he observed his rusty fishing rod, and glanced down at his bag with a thoughtful expression on his face. “Perhaps I could improvise. Hm…”

[salmon-notsake]

Fishing had always been a relaxing pastime for Barrett. Even at his wildest, there had always been a sense of peace that came with casting his line out into the water. Even now that he was older and much calmer by nature, he still found it to be a relaxing way to spend his free days.

Usually anyway.

He had ignored the fuss the best he could, but couldn't quite hold back his glare once the man beside him stood to adjust his…robes? What was he, a priest? Even if he was, he was making too much noise.

"Is something wrong? You're going to scare the fish." He wasn't usually the helpful type, but maybe if he offered then the man would be quiet. He was only a few steps from Barrett's spot, so if he scared off the fish where he was, he would scare his off too.

[salmon-notsake]

Minigames

Old Total: [4,000G]

New Total: [9,381G]

Critter Catching:

Red Dragonfly [150G]

Goliath Frog [750G]

Giraffe Stag Beetle [1,500G]

Kobane Grasshopper [150G]

Southern Firefly [450G]

Red Dragonfly [150G]

Red Dragonfly [150G]

Mountain Honeybee [530G]

Large Ladybug [580G]

Emperor Cicada [700G]

Total: [+5,110G]

Fishing:

Purchased One (1) Rusty Rod [-4,000G] @jake-out-the-humans

Sea Bass [500G]

Black Bass [280G]

Dogfish Shark [420G]

Mackerel [840G]

Fish Bone [1G]

Sardine [100G]

Cod [230G]

Black Bass [280G]

Flounder [1,200G]

Dogfish Shark [420G]

Total: [+4,271G]

[sparklyfoodcollector-blog]

salmon-notsake:

Temper Temper | Open

Barrett didn’t have much choice but to wait on the frazzled woman to grab some paper towels or something, focused instead on holding the book up out of the coffee that had pooled on the table instead of his lap. At least she had the sense to do something, not just stand there and freak out. Goddess did the coffee burn though.

“I’m fine. Probably some awkward burns, but I’ll deal with that later,” he assured her at the frantic questions, taking some of the napkins from her to get at the areas that were a little more awkward. The book could sit on a spare chair for now, he had decided.

Just because he was annoyed and his first reaction had been temper, didn’t mean he actually had to be mean to her. The space was crowded and she was clearly apologetic.

“Are you alright? It was a fresh cup, so it was pretty hot, and it splashed a bit. Did you get burnt?”

Her face flushed and she nodded, letting the man take the napkins from her. She couldn’t argue about that part. Well, she wouldn’t even attempt it, honestly. Not that it wasn’t her problem, but trying to fix that…? No, not a chance in heck.

“Of course, right. I’m sorry. Ah, cool water from the bathroom might help,” she suggested. She wasn’t sure if an ice pack would work–no, that was another awful idea. Not only would someone have to go get it, they would have to explain the situation, bring it back, and the man would have to hold it, well…it was just an awful idea. Not much else she could suggest.

“Me? I’m fine.” Felicity gave him a warm smile. “I’m used to all of this, so don’t worry about me. Focus on yourself first. Can’t help anyone if you’re hurt, right?” She kept glancing up as she wiped the table. A few napkins to push the liquid into one spot, a few more to soak up. Repeat. 

“Ah! The book/s okay, right?”

[salmon-notsake]

Barrett shrugged off the suggestion, though he knew it probably would have been smarter to take it. He would deal with the burns later even if it was less effective, if the alternative was trying to get cold water on them in the café bathroom. He wasn't sure his dignity could actually stand up to that.

"I'll just put ointment on it at home. It's already cooling off." So now his pants would be wet and uncomfortable. Like hell he was leaving just yet though. He'd just be stubborn and then sulk about it in his own head.

"It's not really a crippling injury. I'll be fine." He almost wanted to reassure her with a smile, but he knew from experience that the expression was more likely to be interpreted as pain. He didn't smile much to begin with, but apparently he was especially bad at it when he was actually trying.

Once he was satisfied that he had dried off the best he could, he dropped his now soaked napkins into the pile building on the table. No point in making multiple trips to the bin.

"The book is alright luckily. It's old and somewhat rare, so that mattered more than me."

[salmon-notsake]

Roommate Wanted

REQUEST BOARD: Explorer's Guild

DATE OF REQUEST: 18.2.18

LOCATION: Lueda, Inner Apartments Room A101

CLASSES REQUIRED: Any

NUMBER OF PEOPLE: 1-2. I'd prefer 1.

REWARD: Cheaper Rent.

DETAILS: I've come to the conclusion that having someone to split my rent with might be a good idea. The apartment has three bedrooms but I like my space, so I'd prefer only the one room for now. I have no pets but I don't have allergies or anything, so I don't care if you do. I'm an alright cook and don't really get out much, but I don't care if you're loud or whatever. Just clean up after yourself.

[salmon-notsake]

Desperate Times

Budgeting was a bitch.

Barrett finally gave up on trying to rearrange the numbers in front of him, reluctantly accepting that he wasn't going to get anything differently. Maybe moving from the Mire Apartments to the Inner Apartments without making any changes to his income had been a little stupid. He just wanted a slightly nicer place to live, but teachers didn't really make the best money. Maybe he should get some part time work somewhere.

Or maybe he could suck it up and get a roommate.

[milkyxray-deactivated20191024]

hot for the teacher ll ray&barrett

@salmon-notsake

Days when flurries were attacking the stone streets of Leuda meant almost no business for the quiet little art store. It meant Ray sitting at the counter and doodling in a sketchbook, taking advantage of being able to test out different products and work on his own art when it was impossible to make any sales.

Everything he was doing today was mindless, scatterbrained doodles that didn’t really make sense as he daydreamed about when he could go home, and what he could have for dinner.

He was so out of it he didn’t notice the chime of the front door as someone entered until they were standing right in front of him, eyes lazily flicking upwards before the pen he was holding slipped his fingers entirely.

Holy shit.

He’d never seen the man before, he would sure as hell have remembered if he had met… this guy. He looked like he had walked out of a damn art book himself, and Ray felt his tongue dry in his mouth as he tried to stammer out words.

“… w-welcome. What can I have you— WHAT CAN I GET YOU?”

[salmon-notsake]

The big upside of shopping in bad weather was definitely how empty the stores typically were. Sure, the general store or cafés were usually still busy, but little stores that weren't frequently packed anyway tended to be virtually abandoned. Cafés were a reprieve from the weather and General Stores carried necessities, but nobody went out of their way to buy new paints if the weather was bad.

Even the man behind the counter didn't seem too enthused to be there. He didn't even react to Barrett entering, or at all until he was practically standing over him. Apparently he was just absorbed in some sort of drawing though, from what little he could see before he was noticed.

Trying not to laugh at the startled greeting was difficult but he kept his face blank. He doubted he could have if he didn't have to do the same thing every time he woke a student in one of his classes.

"Stickers." Maybe not what he expected, but it was why he was there. "Cute ones and cool ones. Nothing boring like gold stars."

[salmon-notsake]

Temper Temper | Open

Having a café attached to the library was a good idea. He had been unconvinced to start - like hell his students needed to add coffee in to the mix when they started freaking out before exams - but once he had started taking advantage himself, the appeal certainly shone through. He still got a little bit concerned when he saw somebody take some of the older texts within range, but he supposed it was a library; the books were all at just as much risk whenever they went home with someone. At least if there was a spill here, the librarians probably knew how best to handle it.

He couldn’t exactly criticise either. He was always careful, but he tended to seek out the oldest books available when he had the rare afternoon free to pursue that particular hobby.

He gave a polite nod to the waitress that delivered his fresh coffee, muttering a quick thanks and pushing today’s script a little more out of the way. It was something he had, had to ask for specifically - it had only ever been about half translated to English from the original runes, so the library hadn’t simply had it on hand - and he was admittedly eager to see if he could make out any more of it than others had. It had been a long day though, so the hot caffeine was sorely needed.

Right up until somebody bumped into his table and managed to knock it over anyway. He managed to lift the book out of the way in time, but wasn’t nearly as lucky himself and promptly found himself with a lap full of scalding hot coffee.

“Shit! Hey, watch where you’re going!” he snapped at whoever had bumped him.

[sparklyfoodcollector-blog]

Felicity had been meaning to finally check out the rest of the buildings and shops around Leuda since the first month she had moved. She knew the hotel and surrounding area, but the academy and library? She didn’t feel as if she actually had time.

She was determined on her day off to check it out and cross it off her list. She took her time wandering the shelves, looking from this book to that. It seemed to be mostly reference texts–which was fine, it was made for the students anyway–but the lack of pleasure reading left her feeling…off. Maybe she should try more academic texts? See where it could go? The only issue was where to start.

Coffee! Coffee is where she could always start. The cafe was a great idea–usually having food with a business brought in more customers, and gave the business a comfortable feel.

She had picked up her own hot chocolate, and thought she could squeeze through between a couple of tables to find one of her own. Unfortunately she had shoved into the person at the table…and that coffee went everywhere.

“Oh my gosh!” she gasped. Though she wasn’t working, she’d reacted this way many times over the years. Hot, cold, it didn’t matter. “I’m-I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to, I’ll go get something right away!”

She set her cup down on a clean part of the area and hurried to get the napkin holder. She started to clean up the mess. “I am so so sorry. I should have been more careful. Are you okay?”

[salmon-notsake]

Barrett didn't have much choice but to wait on the frazzled woman to grab some paper towels or something, focused instead on holding the book up out of the coffee that had pooled on the table instead of his lap. At least she had the sense to do something, not just stand there and freak out. Goddess did the coffee burn though.

"I'm fine. Probably some awkward burns, but I'll deal with that later," he assured her at the frantic questions, taking some of the napkins from her to get at the areas that were a little more awkward. The book could sit on a spare chair for now, he had decided.

Just because he was annoyed and his first reaction had been temper, didn't mean he actually had to be mean to her. The space was crowded and she was clearly apologetic.

"Are you alright? It was a fresh cup, so it was pretty hot, and it splashed a bit. Did you get burnt?"

[salmon-notsake]

Making Money (17.2.18)

Expenses:

Rent [-3,000]

Earnings:

Teacher Salary [+1,500]

Open [+500]

Total:

[+2,000] [-3,000]

Old Total [5,000G]

New Total [4,000G]

[salmon-notsake]

Temper Temper | Open

Having a café attached to the library was a good idea. He had been unconvinced to start - like hell his students needed to add coffee in to the mix when they started freaking out before exams - but once he had started taking advantage himself, the appeal certainly shone through. He still got a little bit concerned when he saw somebody take some of the older texts within range, but he supposed it was a library; the books were all at just as much risk whenever they went home with someone. At least if there was a spill here, the librarians probably knew how best to handle it.

He couldn't exactly criticise either. He was always careful, but he tended to seek out the oldest books available when he had the rare afternoon free to pursue that particular hobby.

He gave a polite nod to the waitress that delivered his fresh coffee, muttering a quick thanks and pushing today's script a little more out of the way. It was something he had, had to ask for specifically - it had only ever been about half translated to English from the original runes, so the library hadn't simply had it on hand - and he was admittedly eager to see if he could make out any more of it than others had. It had been a long day though, so the hot caffeine was sorely needed.

Right up until somebody bumped into his table and managed to knock it over anyway. He managed to lift the book out of the way in time, but wasn't nearly as lucky himself and promptly found himself with a lap full of scalding hot coffee.

"Shit! Hey, watch where you're going!" he snapped at whoever had bumped him.