a snake am i?

“It cancels out the noise you are experiencing in the café?” She felt like that was very self-explanatory.  “Not a fan of classical music, I’m assuming?” She said with a shrug. She walked towards the table and asked the students to quiet down a little, which they luckily did since she asked nicely. “Now that would be a sight.” She chuckled at his comment.

//

Yes, Jason was aware that some people worked well with music in the background. But he was not one of them, not even with classical music. "While I am a connoisseur of classical music, my work time is not when I wish to appreciate it." When she approached the noisy students, he doubted anything would come of it, so he was mildly impressed when they actually listened to her. "Hmm, impressive. And here I thought they would not respond to a polite request. I will have to try and remember that." He was completely capable of being polite, of course, when the situation called for him to impress a client or another important figure. Being polite with raucous students was a waste of politeness, in his opinion.

Jason had an excellent point. He really did not have much of an excuse to be hanging around here. Perhaps his distaste for the cafe was starting to come off as performative. Which, Oz very much was. Not about this though.

“Jason, Jason, Jason,” Oz tsked, “Have you ever considered that I will cause problems on purpose. I love a good laugh.”

Oz invited himself to sit down across from Jason, and lowered his voice.

“Listen, I’m willing to be mighty generous if we can get a good things going off the ground, it’s been too squeaky clean and boring around here. I’m bored.”

//

"Oh, I have considered that. Very often, in fact. Right this moment, if we're being completely honest." After all, Oz was in fact distracting him now even more than the background noise. Jason certainly was not going to laugh about it, and he would be even more cross if Oz bothered him to the point of him making any mistakes with his work. "I however do not, which I thought you already realized." 

While he agreed with Oz on some of those points, Jason had no problems with things remaining boring. That was much more conducive for him to get more things accomplished than when things were chaotic. Not that he could not benefit at all from chaos, but Oz's brand of chaos was another thing entirely. "Really? I could never have guessed that. And I happen to be the unfortunate target of your boredom? Lucky me." Sighing, he said, "Very well. Regale me with your very generous offer."

she loved nature. fawn fauna was someone that lived a minimal eco-friendly lifestyle. it wasn’t uncommon to find her lounging around outside in the park or in a tree when she wasn’t working. today was no different. fawn lay barefoot in the park, arms stretched out above her, while she basked in the heat of the sunshine, her summer glow in fine progress. this was the life.

a figure blocked the sun above her, and a pout formed on her lips. “who goes there blocking my sunshine?  i’m like a big plant, i need my daily photosynthesis”

@happieststarters​

//

For the record, Jason did not hate nature. There were places which could be quite calming and peaceful. The problem was that in town, those sort of places were difficult to come by. Taking a walk in the park should have been peaceful, but naturally it was filled with far too many people, just like so many other parts of town. 

When he thought he had found a mostly unoccupied area, he dared to stop and take in the surroundings for a moment. It turned out to be the wrong place, though, as a voice from the ground suddenly began to chastise him. Glancing down, Jason frowned at her. "Oh forgive me, I had no idea I was committing such a horrible transgression. Whatever shall I do?"

of all the people she had to crash into today, it had to be jason koren of all people. a man notorious for his disgruntled attitude. she hadn’t intended to bump into him but it felt likely that she wouldn’t hear the end of it.

“yes, i’m aware, mr koren. any other time i would be someone who checks her surroundings, however, today my head is a bit flustered. please, have a free meal at third street in addition to my apology. it’s the least i can do”

//

He still had no idea what it was about the timing which had distracted her. As far as Jason knew, there was no particular occasion, yet she kept implying that she was distracted. He did not particularly care; he just could not imagine what was so distracting.

"This must be some very important occasion then, which I am apparently unaware of. I don't suppose you'd care to enlighten me?" The offer of the free meal was a decent response, enough to placate him at least. "How generous. I will accept that, though I will make sure not to stop by on this date in the future."

As he spoke, Ursula glanced him up and down, sizing him up. It was usually pretty easy to tell who in this town was worth talking to and who wasn’t. There was something about this man that caught her attention, though she couldn’t place her finger on exactly what it was. “Well my apologies, of course. The sacrifices one must make in order to stay beautiful,” she said, showing off her artistically done nails of purple and black.

“Such as a case like this,” she mused. “I’m sorry to draw you from your shadows, then. May I ask what you’re working on?”

//

He hardly considered focusing on one's appearance a worthy thing to sacrifice for. Jason did make sure he always looked nicely turned out, but that was an important part of making a good impression on current and potential clients, as well as him always wanting to look his best. He would never let fashion interfere with work, though. "Ah. I was unaware that was such an integral part of work, certainly not to the point of even interfering with the work of others."

His frown deepened at her pointing out that he was indeed calling attention to himself now. "As I said, when I absolutely must. And no, you may not. I'm not inclined to share such important details when my working space has been disturbed." Jason would not have been inclined to share anyway, but the irritation only reinforced that.

To have the respect and position which I deserve. I believe that wealth and power should be based on merit and hard work, and I have worked more than hard enough to gain the place which I am rightfully owed. Yet sadly I still am forced to see others who are far less deserving gain prestige which they certainly have not earned.

1.  What did you dream about last night?

Answered

4. Have you ever wished on a shooting star?

Once. When I was very young and foolish. I never did it again.

8. Do you believe in guardian angels?

No. I believe in taking care of one's self, because no one else will do it for you.

9. What’s a smell that reminds you of home?

Lilacs. Even though my family moved frequently, my mother always made sure to have a lilac bush in our garden.

10. What is something (or someone) you’re in love with?

Love is a folly, as well as a weakness. I have no weaknesses.

11. Describe the memory of the last time you felt true happiness.

I have never felt true happiness. I am still attempting to achieve it.

18. Do you believe dreams have meanings or are they completely random?

I am hard-pressed to believe anything in life is random, yet it is difficult to make sense of dreams. But since they have no bearing on my daily life, I choose not to dwell on them.

27.  Have you ever written a love letter?

You might wish to see a professional about your utter and complete lack of humor and cleverness.

1. What did you dream about last night?

Nothing. I rarely dream.

3. Do you feel more connected to the moon or the sun?

I don't see what significance that might have, but I suppose I would say the moon.

6. When’s the last time you felt like you were floating?

If that is meant literally, never for I do not indulge in any narcotics. If that is meant metaphorically, the answer is also never for I do not let my emotions get the better of me.

14. Talk about one of your most cherished childhood memories

I tend not to look back on my childhood with any maudlin thoughts, but I feel rather strongly about my father's advice on how I might better myself, and how important his advice has always been to me.

17. What is something you own that is important to you? What makes it so important?

My phone. Without it, I would never be able to conduct business as smoothly as I can.

24. Are you more of a hopeless romantic or realist?

A realist. Anyone who claims to be a romantic is fooling themselves.

27. Have you ever written a love letter?

Do I strike you as the sort of person who would ever write a love letter? As I said, being romantic is foolish.

29. Do you collect anything? And what are some hobbies you have?

“Well, if you don’t mind the sound of river water, your welcome to come work at my trailer if you ever need a change of scenery.” Ray offered. Folding his arms on the table top, he smirked a bit. His attentions going down to the documents, he wasn’t trying to be nosy, but he was curious. “What are you working on anyway?”

//

Working at Ray's trailer would not be ideal either, but Jason would take that over this raucous place any day. "Thank you for the offer. I might well take you up on that the next time the maintenance crew decides to disrupt the office." He was never entirely keen on letting anyone in on his business affairs, but Ray was another client, and Jason doubted he would pry too much. Still, he kept things vague, simply saying, "A new client has recently come into some more income, and is hoping to find somewhere secure to invest it."

Tina was like a homing device for stuffy adults who were easy to irritate. She thought she should get a medal for how good she was at it, but the problem was that only stuffy adults gave awards for stuffy adult things, and never for the actually fun achievements. Tina could take a guess that the work this grumpy dude was doing was important, but then she had also met people who got just as ruffled when she interrupted their morning crossword puzzle. “That’s a waste of an effort, if you ask me,” she replied, knowing fine well this was exactly the kind of thing he wouldn’t have liked to hear. Tina smirked, tilting her head innocently enough. “How do you know it didn’t involve the financial prospects of several very important people?” Now she was being a pedant. Her far too cocky facade almost cracked into a snorted laugh as he questioned her priorities. For Tina, at least, there were far more important things than slaving away at a stressful job, like fixing up her teapots, and spending time with people she cared about (and trying to make amends with a few of them too). “A sliver sounds about right.”

//

He should have known he was running the risk of meeting ignorant people by going to the café, but Jason had assumed that the other people would be at least minding their own business. Granted he had initiated talking to her by complaining about the noise level, but he had certainly not expected to have his very business mocked. "And if you believe that, then that is why you will never achieve an important position in your own work. No one ever achieves anything without hard work and effort." As his father had told him countless times over the years. The thought that she was involved in anything of remote importance actually made Jason smirk. "Oh, I don't know, possibly your petulant attitude? But feel free to prove me wrong. Go on, tell me about your important dealings." As if she had any.

she hated rushing around, but she couldn’t stand being in that building any more. she felt claustrophobic, like the air was agonisingly seeping from puncture wounds in her lungs. becky didn’t intend to crash into anyone, but it turns out when she did, she picked quite the person to crash into.

“mr koren. my apologies” she said once again after hearing his tone “it’s this time of year” she explained vaguely “the restaurant felt stifling to me today”

//

At least she was cognizant of her error. Hearing her apologize was a step in the right direction, but Jason would not brush an affront off so easily. Especially if she had not been in a hurry for something important, as he had assumed. He was not sure what it was about "the time of year" which would make her want to rush so much.

"Accepted, but a little more awareness of the surroundings wouldn't go amiss next time. Even if there is some particular reason that you need to be out of the restaurant so quickly."

Oz chuckled at Jason’s response. Despite any of their past, disagreements, Oz also had plenty of moments of quite liking the man. Their shared values and wit meant that for once in his life Oz did not have to explain himself nor moralize like he did with many, including other of the more, unsavory types around town. It was also incredibly entertaining to get Jason all wound up and see what he would do.

“Brother that makes you and me both once more,” Oz clicked his tongue. “I fucking hate it here. Terrible music, mediocre coffee, and all of it is priced as if it were liquid gold!—you have to admit we should have thought of it first. Think about it, you and me openin’ up some overpriced, gentrified place where I don’t know, we charge people ten dollars to put sparkles or charcoal into their smoothies or shit.”

//

They may have agreed on the ridiculousness of the café, and Jason might even have agreed that he would not be opposed to such a scheme to make money so easily--though he would never have entertained the notion of truly going into business with Oz. Yet the point still stood that he was being distracted from his work, now even moreso by Oz's presence. 

"Why praytell are you here then, if you hate it so much? I was not presented with a better option. What's your excuse?" The thought of trying to operate a business with Oz made him shake his head, before glancing back at his papers in what he knew would be a futile attempt to get Oz to be silent. "Hmm, you are just full of ideas, aren't you? And I would assume such a business venture would be split eighty/twenty in your favor. Perhaps seventy-five/twenty-five if I was very lucky."

His head wasn’t where it needed to be since that meeting outside Third Street. Woody’s thoughts kept fluctuating between the past and the present, it was only a hulking woof from Bullseye that caught his attention  “Sorry Bud” he apologised to the dog and tossed the frisbee across the par, watching the dog barrel off to reclaim it “Bring it back” he called out to the dog while he walked behind to catch up

@happieststarters​

//

Despite not having any work to do at the moment, Jason found himself noting that the park was rather less noisy than the café, so perhaps it would suit if he ever had to uproot himself from his office. Hopefully that would not be a regular occurrence--though his discussion with the maintenance team did not make him optimistic--but if he had to, the park might make do. Unless of course he was going to be nearly run over by a very large dog whenever he was there. Giving an indignant scoff as the dog ran past, apparently chasing a frisbee, he glared around looking for the owner, who seemed to be taking his time in following the canine. "Perhaps you might wish to throw that away from people next time," he commented, "Not everyone wishes to be part of playing fetch."

Lady had just ordered her coffee when she heard a man say: “I don’t suppose we could have a little more quiet on the premises, please? Some people do have work to do.” Well it was a little crowded in the place which was bound to get some noise going. She turned to the man with a weak smile and said: “Maybe you can get some headphones? To listen to music while you work?” It was all that she could offer from this point on, no need to arrest someone due to being too loud - after all most of them were students who were debating in their studies.

//

Music? Was she serious? Jason wanted no distractions while he worked, and he certainly would not try to cancel out already loud noise with more noise. "Are you making a serious suggestion? I fail to see how making things even more noisy could possibly help." That was only trying to put a bandage on the real problem, which it was increasingly appearing that no one other than him thought was a problem in the first place. "I simply can't believe having coffee inspired this much raucous chatter. Maybe they need to start serving decaffeinated coffee only."

Ray chuckled a bit, holding his sister in his lap for a moment, he whispered something in her ear before letting her go over to the booth he’d set up for her to sit in. “I will say though, you picked the wrong place to be doing work in. Even though this palce can be relaxing, it certainly is not the most quiet place you could be.” 

//

Yes, Jason was definitely seeing now that he had chosen an ill-advised work space. The next time the power went out, he would certainly choose another location. But being as he planned to give the building maintenance staff a very strong piece of his mind later, he hoped that would not happen again any time soon. "That unfortunately is obvious. I can understand people can get excited when they chat, but I did not expect a constant audible barrage either. I can't imagine how anyone gets anything done in such an environment."

Ursula did not often like to descend upon the town of Redwood Hollow unless she had to. This was one of the cases where she had to. She was finishing up the list that had been asked of her, but there were still a few more changes to be made. As she looked through her phone and typed out the last of her notes, her long, perfectly polished nails clacked against the screen in a cacophony she hardly noticed. Though it seemed that wasn’t the case for everyone.

“Hmmm?” She asked, looking up at the salt and pepper man who addressed her. “We’re all doing work here, darling. I’d like to see you do some silent typing on that thing,” she said, gesturing to his laptop.

//

The background noise of the café was bothersome, but tolerable for the time being. The way this woman was clacking her nails, however, was a little more than Jason could handle. Perhaps it was her closer proximity, perhaps the sound just rubbed him the wrong way. Whatever the case, it went beyond background noise. "I respect that you're doing your own work, and perhaps you are more used to working in a place like this than I am. But you are making it rather difficult for me to concentrate." Granted it was hard to type quietly, but he did not exactly bang on the keys either. "Are you so sure I can't? I do prefer not to draw attention to myself...unless I absolutely must."