ph_logs | Open For Business [OTA]

Open For Business [OTA]

Who: Okie and you!
What: Store prep and opening
When: Early to mid december
Where: A previously empty storefront downtown

Barn Raisin’

As it turns out, opening up a store from scratch takes a huge amount of effort. From figuring out the furniture and storage, getting all the signage in order, and especially making sure he has enough stock built up that people actually have stuff to buy, it takes Okie more time than he initially planned for.

If you’re passing on the street in the week before opening day, there is a good chance you are being recruited to help move tables or just give opinions on layout. If you’re passing on the street and you’re one of his friends, there is an additional chance that you are getting recruited to help with the move into the apartment upstairs.

Grand Opening

When everything is finally in place, the sign for Hitchcock Textiles is unveiled, and the front door is unlocked to the public. Inside are yards of fabric, yarn bundles, spindles of thread, throw blankets, scarves, socks, even bundles of unspun cotton. Okie tries to stay behind the counter as often as he can, but he paces laps around the floor, making sure all the displays are in order and trying maybe too hard to make small talk.

”Staff Was Rude”

As you shop, there is a decent chance you’ll run into one of the critters belonging to the owner. This reality was foreseen, as Okie has put up a hand drawn sign at the desk reading here are their names for when you have to complain.

The goat, Jolly, is both large and very determined to help. The more things you pick up, the more he tries to shove himself bodily under your arms in an attempt to carry it for you, regardless of protests or assurances. The smaller cotton ball, Danny, is overly nosey, perching on shoulders, heads, and yards of fabric you might’ve been attempting to inspect. The larger cotton ball, Bunny, actively pranks anyone in the establishment, including Okie. Shoes untied, cotton balls stuffed into pockets and bags, tables moved to barricade the dyed yarns. Okie will intervene when he can, but when you make a magical bargain for your life with a trickster archfey, you only try so hard to stop mischief.

Community Building

A week into operation, a chalkboard sandwich sign is placed outside the front door for all to see.

Cowboy Craft Corner, third Sunday of every month
Needles for sewing provided, other crafts welcomed but must be personally supplied

Come in on Sunday and you’ll find a number of tables set up in a line, topped with pincushions and pitchers for water, as well as Okie himself, making the rounds to make sure everyone is having a good time as well as planning and plotting patterns on sketch paper.

I’d Like To Speak To The Manager

If you don’t see the specific scenario you have in mind on the shelves, we can see if we’ve got it in the back. (This is the wildcard prompt)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I'm saying this as a friend and not to be a cunt, but you have way too much fucking shit," Darcy gripes as she helps manoeuvre a chair up the stairs, "have you thought about taking up a vow of poverty. I think most Buddhist monks basically just own a bowl and nothing else."

"You're just sayin' that as a friend so you can get your next set 'a tablecloths free," Okie responds, sounding very much like this is not his first or even tenth trip up and down this staircase today. At least this is the last of the furniture. "Be grateful I didn't ask you to help with the loom. That was a fuckin' four person job even with Mitri bein' one of them."

He spares Darcy the following thought of at least it was hot to see my boyfriend lift half of that thing on his own. For now, at least.

"I respect your craftsmanship too much," Darcy deadpans back, "I can barely imagine the stress of having to take the label off the bedsheets box and then put the tablecloth label back on."

Darcy grunts as she readjusts how she's holding the chair.

"You know, I try not to insult people's intelligence since I'm trying not to be such a bitch, but in what fucking world do you not just have a loom room on the ground fucking floor. Why would you do that."

"There is a dedicated loom room, but it's also a six foot by six foot box made out of moving parts an' we still had to move it from outside to inside."

He grimaces as he backs onto the top step, only carrying it as far as it needs to go not to block the door before signalling Darcy to set it down.

"Thanks for that. And also fuck you. Obviously I'd take the label off the curtains. I'm not giving you my nice bedsheets, that'd be stupid."

"Cheapskate," Darcy accuses as she sets the chair down, "what, am I not good enough to get your nice sheets? You're trying to stiff me out of good quality fabric? I'm putting a call-out post on the noticeboard."

There's absolutely no heat behind it, and Darcy leans against the chair for just a moment, before adding-

"C'mon. Next thing. If we take a break we'll feel more tired later."

The shop's been open for a few days when Siebren walks in, all his clothes in shades of pale. Soft blue trousers, a light tan coat, a hat that hews close to dove grey.

"Cesar suggested I speak to local artisans. Is now a good time?"

"As good a time as any, I s'pose." Okie says, pulling Bunny out of a loose nest of yarn bundles that used to be a neatly stacked display. As soon as his cottony criminal is apprehended (tucked loosely under one arm), he holds out a hand.

"Okie Hitchcock. My pleasure."

"Siebren de Kuiper. I have been, ah...affected by a supernatural state of being which has caused me to bleach fabric merely by extended proximity. Cesar thought you, as a group, might appreciate this talent for creating pastels, as they can be hard to dye using the natural dyes on hand. Is that something I should speak to you about?"

He's still not entirely sold on the whole blanching thing being useful, but he did commit to trying to talk about it with someone.

"...Huh." There's not really a way he could've had an answer prepped for this. First he's gotta process the idea of bleaching cloth by proximity, then he's gotta actually consider the potential utility of it.

"I think... There's prob'ly somethin' we could do with that. I assume it's weird magic shit, so I guess my first question would be whether or not it only works on like. Actual clothes? If I could have you bundle up with a bolt 'a fabric and have the color come out softer that'd be neat, but we don't got a whole lotta actual clothing, 'side from the socks."

Cassandra hasn't been directly involved in Okie's business-building project, mostly because she's been firmly reining in every urge to involve herself, for fear of effectively taking it over. But now that it's established and running, she can't resist putting in an appearance at the first open event -- and she's thoroughly delighted to see how many others are here. On spotting Okie making his rounds through the crowd, she immediately heads in his direction.

"And would you be the proprietor of this establishment, Master Hitchcock?" she asks, playfully formal.

"I would be, yes," he answers, accentuated by a very silly bow. "How might I be of service, young lady?"

Cassandra determinedly does not giggle at the bow.

"Do you stock embroidery thread here, by any chance?"

"We do indeed. Needles too. Got a project in mind?" He's partly playing into what he assumes is a light bit, but he's also asking genuinely. Just about anything she could ask for in here, he'd give her.

"I'd have to double check how much of which colors I've got out. I've been on top 'a writin' down all my sales, but crunchin' the numbers and updatin' the stock records is more of a time sink than I thought it'd be."

"I do, in fact." She smiles more seriously, dropping the bit for the time being. "But I also have something else in mind, now that you bring up keeping the records. Is that by any chance a task that could use regular assistance?"

"I'm not gonna ask you to leave yer other gig for it, if that's what you mean." His voice lowers, to make sure his words are only hers. "You know I'd love your help, but only if I ain't takin' you from somethin' else you want."

"To be honest, I've been feeling like a change for a while now."

(Since Dahlia Leeds's birthday, in fact. The tension at City Hall has yet to completely ebb, and she's had to swallow sharp words too many times.)

"I'd appreciate the chance, if you trust me with the figures."

"Hey, kiddo, slow down a little," Crichton says, grabbing gently for Okie's shoulder to stop him from doing another lap.

"It looks great in here, I promise. Let the customers explore it a little bit for themselves first. They'll like what they see. I know it."

Okie tries in vain to come up with some counter-argument more compelling than but what if all the yarn explodes when I stop checking it and settles for taking a deep breath and the advice he was just given.

"Crich, if I have a heart attack in here, I need you to have a cooler cause of death ready to tell Cass."

Crichton is giving him a look that says he's not going to buy it no matter what Okie comes up with so it's for the best he gives it up.

"All right, but I'm not sure where I'm gonna find an ACME style TNT box on such short notice..." he jokes.

"Relax. You've got the skillset for this. I've seen you do it. No dying. You're just going to have to stick around and do the work."

"If you don't come up with something better, just toss me in the loom. Freak weavin' accident." He's still a bit joking so he doesn't pop, but he's getting closer to actually calm.

"I'm hopin' it'll be good to have somethin' to do that ain't guard trainin'. Now that I know how to get outta trouble, I just gotta figure out how to stay out of it."

"I think that's being a little unfair to the loom, don't you?" Crichton retorts, giving Okie his best boyish grin.

"I'm maybe not the best person to ask for advice about staying out of trouble. I seem to have my own problems with that. Damn near why I took a job as an enforcer, so I can get into trouble for my job instead of as a hobby." He winks. He's not serious, except, he kind of is.

"But, seriously. I've seen the passion you have for this. Put that energy into honing your craft here the same way you would hone your sword swing. Take pride in it. This is something you've built for yourself."

"I don't really know all that many people that are good at staying out 'a trouble. It's mainly folks who have a bit of a problems problem." The most okay person he knows is probably Helena and he's aware that that took a lot of effort.

"We'll see if I built it well, I guess. I hope so, if only so I can keep workin' a job where the commute is a flight 'a stairs. It's hard to beat."

"Guess we'll both figure it out as we go." He's not going to do anything as foolish as promise not to get into Situations anymore because that would be a lie.

"I gotta admit, that is one hell of a perk. I'd just caution you to be careful not to let work take over your everything. I've been there, too. Finding the balance can be hard so don't be afraid to ask for help, okay? You'll make Cass sad otherwise."

"You know I don't understand how moving is still such a fuss when we arrived here not even owning anything!"

The answer of course is that they have to very quickly start owning things, but still.

"Turns out when you get your own place, you need to get your own forks an' bed sheets an' chairs an' junk," he says, half teasing and half also surprised cutlery doesn't spontaneously generate in new living spaces. And then, fully teasing, "An' I hear that most folks in this town own more than one set 'a clothes, but that might just be a rumor."

Mock surprise: "Well that doesn't sound real at all. I've worn one set of clothes nearly every day of my life!"

Considering her anime roots, this is not exactly an incorrect statement except for all the ways in which it is. Including how she's in a new winter outfit and finally wearing a red cloak again, after months of black.

"I could see maybe two sets, but more than that? I think that's just something they tell ya so they can sell more laundry soap. But now that I own a cloth shop I think I'm obligated to be a sellout." This is a warning to her that he won't be above shilling his own stuff to her.

"Anyway, whaddaya think of the place? Maybe a bit small for Jolly, but it's not like there's an appropriately sized space for a two hundred pound goat."

"Not except a farm," she agrees with a nod, "and we barely even fit all our pets and stuff at the farmhouse anyway so even that's not a sure thing."

She is, of course, contributing most of those pets in the form of her three Pokemon, though none of them are as big as Jolly.

"But it's nice! It's a nice place."

"At least he's smart enough not to knock too much stuff over, an' he'll get his exercise helpin' me do chores an' such. Danny an' Bunny know that this don't work without them, though, so they're gonna keep bein' brats about it."

At least not stopping them makes his mischief quota easier to meet.

"You're welcome by any time, by the by. To visit, to crash, whatever, even if I'm not here. Except the loom room, please do not go in the loom room by yourself."

"Aww thank you." Beat. "...is the loom dangerous to me or am I dangerous to the loom?"

She is not the least clumsy of people, this is a distinct possibility.

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Open For Business [OTA]

Barn raisin'

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Speak to the Manager

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Community Building

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Grand Opening

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barn raisin'

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