richie

[rippled]

clowntown

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weekend 0, saturday

[rippled]

[ hi. they can be at the clothing store.

saber is looking through the racks... hmm... ]

There a lot of different styles...

[gutterbound]

There's a lot of different folks. [Said glibly, flipping through an adjacent rack.] And they need their different strokes. Can't say I could pull off half the shit everyone else walked out in. I'd get arrested. So would they, if we had any cops on the scene.

[ACAB. Also he hasn't picked out exactly what he wants yet, but you bet your ass he immediately shucked the toga for a pair of pants and a fucking shirt. Enough with the Ancient Roman homage.]

You looking for something in particular?

[rippled]

Something similar to what I normally wear, I suppose...

[ they frown, pulling out hot pants. they squint at it in confusion before putting it back. not today, satan. ]

What was even with the outfits we were wearing? Was there some sort of theme?

[gutterbound]

And what might that look like?

[He wants desperately to believe it's jeans and a pullover, but that haircut says otherwise.

Richie snorts at the question, shaking his head with a bracing grin.]

The theme was "Cheeks Out for the Lord." As far as I can tell, they were all scandalous variations on your typical Christian angel. Which is funny — I don't think most people here know what that is.

[rippled]

Much more... clothed.

[ they trail off, as they realize they don't actually know how to describe it. hm. ]

Oh! The concept of angels was explained to me, but I do not know what Christian is.

[gutterbound]

Really narrowing the margins, here.

[Come on, kid.]

A "Christian" is a follower of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. One of many fine faiths stemming from the good planet Earth, of which very few of us seem to hail from. I never know my kind was in such short supply, the universe is much broader than I was led to believe.

[rippled]

[ there's a pause, as they thinking... ]

Oh! I think... I may know what you are talking about?

[ they don't sound completely sure, but they don't sound as lost as they were before.

they pull out a kimono. ]

... something like this, but not quite.

[gutterbound]

You do?

[Jesus God, please tell him there's some regular folks around after all.

Which, when he pulls out the kimono, Richie gets a mite more hope for. Maybe he's never been to the Land of the Rising Sun, but he damn well knows the look. He'll flip through the assortment with more purpose now, looking close for anything that fits the bill.]

Ah. Gotcha. Kind of Eastern leaning — you wouldn't happen to know a country named "Japan", would you?

[rippled]

Oh, yes! I believe I was in the... 17th century?

[ it's said with not total certainty, like they are just reciting a fact that someone else told them. ]

I think that sounds right.

[gutterbound]

...You don't say.

[There's something fishy going on here.]

Well. That explains why Christianity is a foreign concept to you. Can't say you're missing much, but anyway. [He'll pull out one or two sets, both on the shorter side. Un y Dos.]

Either of these do it for you?

[rippled]

Oh! The first one.

[ it seems less like of a hassle to move around in. they will happily take it. ]

I'm surprised there doesn't seem to be any currency for this.

[gutterbound]

Good stuff! Glad to help.

[one outfit get.]

Well, theoretically speaking, the dead ought not want for nothin'.

Except funnily enough, I feel just as hungry and tired and restless as I ever did when I was alive. So yeah, maybe we will get hit with the bill down the line. Just when we least expect it.

[rippled]

I'm sure they will eventually expect us to get a job.

[ their 9-5 in heaven... ]

But you're right, it is fascinating that right now there really isn't that many differences from being alive.

[gutterbound]

You really think so? I imagine they've got some other purpose in mind. Feels too much like a sheep pen for my liking.

[He turns to them, then. Thinking.]

Forgive me, but...you remember how you died, right?

[rippled]

... I do, yes. I am not surprised by dying, because it was what meant to happen.

[ they frown. ]

Ending up here is what confuses me.

[gutterbound]

Oh, me too. Absolutely none of what I was preached came true. Did you know there's no fast food in the Holy Bible?

[Terrible, but true.]

Forgive me, though: do you mean "meant" as in, hey, we're all sacks of meat and bones, it's bound to happen someday. Or...something else?

[rippled]

Ah... well, I was in a competition before I came here. And at the end of it, I was always going to... "pass on," I suppose.

[ this is the simplest way to explain it. ]

But this was much more than I was expecting.

[gutterbound]

What, like some kind of gladiator?

[MY GUY. YOU ARE SO SMALL.]

[rippled]

Oh, no, but it was also more or less a fight to the death, so the idea still stands.

[ they are so small. ]