Repose Verse (reposeverse) wrote in repose, @ 2020-02-12 15:54:00 |
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Entry tags: | ~plot: off the record |
[Off The Record: V-Day Edition (2/12-2/19)]
It's the most romantic time of the year. Maybe the town is looking to attract tourists, or maybe love is in the air, but things around town get a little odd, as they tend to. A little...polished. Smooth as a frozen, botoxed face captured by a Vaseline-covered lens.
To start, a number of businesses pop up downtown in formerly empty storefronts, and they are...quaint. Oppressively so. There's a new cupcake place, a French bistro, an antiques store, an art gallery. The decor in each business vibes distinctly more 'Marshalls' or 'TJ MaXX' than homey, folksy business - a suburban idea of what a small-town looks like, perhaps. It's all absurdly clean and cute, and the staff behind the counter at each business acts as if it's a Repose staple that has been there for twenty, fifty, a hundred years. A few are run by blandly attractive white women of indeterminate age. You might also catch a glimpse of similar-looking, harried businesswomen in power suits, charging through town with their cell phones glued to their ears. These women - you've seen them before. God, somewhere, right? When was it? Have they had some work done? They've clearly had some work done. Where the fuck do you remember them from? You'll check your phone. The wave of newcomers can be seen having passive aggressive arguments with their overbearing family members, often the people running the new/old shops in town. The families will beg them to quit that big city job of theirs and come back to Repose. These conversations play out along similar lines - "You've forgotten your roots," and, "What would your grandmother think? She always said your cookies would save this bakery." Then there are the women already running the little businesses. Oddly enough, they can frequently be seen arguing with attractive men in business suits over how the Big Company he represents will put her out of business. "Troy, have you forgotten the promise we made under that apple tree when we were seven? That one, magical day? How could you do this?" Things get a little weirder after that. If you hang around downtown too long this week, you're more than likely to run into one or three women who can't remember where they are or why they're here. Catch them again at the end of the week, and they'll have their memory back, but they're behind the counter at the bakery now, smilingly accepting of what really matters. Life is about love, not money. Didn't you know that? It's about small town life and their childhood sweetheart. And the family cupcake bakery, of course. Outside town, there's a gazebo covered in fairy lights that definitely wasn't there last week. Weirder still, it always seems to be snowing just for about a hundred feet around it, even if the sun is out in the rest of town. These romances play out day after day, and residents are welcome to watch. The newcomers aren't the least bit shy about arguing with Mom or Dad or their high school boyfriend in front of everyone else. Or kissing an anonymously hunky brunet in the middle of the coffee shop, in a mysterious beam of golden light. You might feel strangely motivated to applaud. And if all the romance is making you want to never leave the house, don't worry - a package arrives at every resident's door on the morning of Feb. 14, containing a box of gourmet chocolates. |