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Post by indeath on Sept 11, 2023 18:02:17 GMT -6
Grim took a long drag of his cigarette as he waited for Julean and his ‘cat’ to show up. He’d been smoking a lot more lately and it dulled the edge a little. Time seemed to be on a crawl as he waited for the two weeks to end. He knew he was playing with fire even communicating with Julean but as long as they didn’t talk about it surely he would be fine. Still his heart refused to settle in his chest and his hands felt clammy. The pay off from this job was worth it or at least he kept telling himself it was.
The meetup spot was about a block or so from the location at a little coffee shop Grim liked. It was small and the old Italian woman who ran it was always sweet to him. He had a large cappuccino next to him soft stream escaping from the top. A half eaten croissant sat on his plate nearby.
He wore his suit which had been neatly pressed, he was clean shaven and his hair brushed back with product. His shoes were even polished. Almost like he was compensating for something. The PI still had dark rings around his eyes and his foot tapped nervously as he sat.
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Post by hadopelagic on Sept 13, 2023 23:44:55 GMT -6
Although Julean had workshopped his alter ego several times at home, the mission with Grim was technically the debut of Business Man, and he was anxious for everything to go well. His normally bright hair was a natural shade of black and combed flat against his head; he wore a pair of glasses (just the rectangular frames, no actual glass) and a modest off-the-rack business suit. Under the jacket, hidden, a Supreme baseball bat was strapped to his back, while the rest of his supplies were stored in his pockets or the thrifted leather briefcase he carried.
A superhero's costume was more than clothing; it was the entire package. Personality. Posture. Voice. And although he wasn't going to pull a Batman and grumble all his lines, Julean could act. He approached the cafe with his shoulders slightly slouched, as if he'd just completed an eight-hour shift at the office doing ... whatever people did in offices.
Ryu--in the form of an ocelot--walked at his side. He wore a tiny checkered bow-tie, and it took every ounce of Julean's self-restraint not to pick him up and cuddle him.
"Grim's in that coffee shop," Julean whispered, crouching and scratching Ryu between the ears. "Can you be sneaky, Bae?"
The ocelot looked up at him and made a noise in agreement, bobbing his head.
"Sweet." He gave him a quick kiss on the nose, then stood again. After adjusting his collar, Julean pushed through the coffee shop's door, leaving it open long enough for Ryu to follow. After a quick scan of the area, he saw Grim waiting at a table.
As if joining a colleague for coffee, Julean slid into the seat across from Grim.
"Long day?" He asked, clasping his hands on the tabletop.
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Post by jarahamee on Sept 14, 2023 3:35:15 GMT -6
The black ocelot, who honestly looked much too large to be any ordinary cat, padded after Businessman, looking like he also had some very official business to attend to. His tail was held up in the air, and rather than the proud prancing of an ordinary house cat, the little feline slunk with all the predatory stealth of a tiny tiger.
He darted through the open door after Julean, making soft surprised cat sounds as he moved, and then relocated himself to settle under the counter by Malgrim’s feet.
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Post by indeath on Sept 14, 2023 5:18:59 GMT -6
Grim finished his cigarette smooshing it into the ashtray Sophia had given him, and exchanged it for a chug of coffee. He almost didn’t recognize Julean as he entered the cafe, it was different to see him not in a designer tracksuit. You couldn’t even see his chest.
He noted the large cat that followed behind and the hair on his neck bristled and he could feel his palms getting sweaty. He tapped his foot trying to release the nervous energy.
No dishonesty no meddling, he could do this. He tried not laugh at Julean’s antics, lip twitching slightly. The hardest this guy had worked was on his tan.
“The longest. If I could sleep for two weeks I would. Interesting outfit you got there, very business. HR been riding your ass or what? Meeting those KPIs?”
He checked his watch making sure they still had time. The mark was meant to leave in about a half or so minutes so there was no rush, yet. He had to make sure Julean was actually prepared and they had some kind of plan.
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Post by hadopelagic on Sept 14, 2023 23:27:02 GMT -6
"The meeting with KPI was a time waster," Julean said, masterfully acting like a man who knew who or what a KPI was. He had an encyclopedic understanding of antonyms such as GG and ngl, but none of them were ... ugh ... corporate. "But you know who's really riding my ass?"
He turned to stare directly at Grim.
"The wife."
Julean snickered.
"Ah, what am I saying? I love her. She and little Business Junior are the reasons I work nine to five."
He glanced at the ashtray and shook his head. Why did Grim smoke those things? Unlike some people, he couldn't regen the injury to his lungs.
"Look," he murmured, lowering his voice and leaning close. "I don't know what's going on in your life right now, but those are only going to make things worse."
Julean was aware that Grim had been punished for meddling in Yoshio's affairs. Boss considered Marceline family (whether she accepted it or not), and he'd been pissed when Grim had warned Julean to keep her away from him. However, the specific details of their interaction weren't clear. The hell'd happened between those guys? Well. It'd been bad. Must've been bad, 'cause Grim had cut ties with Julean ... except for the current mission, which was too important to cancel.
"Gah. I sound like my sister. You know she forced me to quit drugs? AND vaping?!"
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Post by jarahamee on Sept 14, 2023 23:44:05 GMT -6
Business-cat made a soft sound and rolled around on his back, his little legs curled up, exposing his cream-colored belly.
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Post by indeath on Sept 15, 2023 5:27:49 GMT -6
Grim chuckled at Julean’s Business man antics. He did like the guy, the sass was on point. He smirked right back.
“It’s a shame you couldn’t make it to his baseball game… Those little tears in his little business jnr eyes. Don’t worry I’ll keep Mrs. Business happy.”
Grim waggled his eyebrows forgetting for a moment about his downstairs issues. Being a total lack of a downstairs to have problems with. He saw the large cat expose his fluffy belly and Grim couldn’t help himself, he gave it a gentle rub like he would for Nancy. He continued as the cat seemed to enjoy it.
He frowned as Julean groused him about his smoking habits, feeling prickly.
“Trust me. I need them. It’s them or booze. They’re keeping me sane. I’ll cut down in a couple weeks, okay? If I still have a mouth. Probably don’t tell your sister… So onto the actual business at hand. What do you know about breaking and entering?”
The segue was smooth as silk or at least Grim hoped it was.
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Post by hadopelagic on Sept 16, 2023 17:45:09 GMT -6
Julean smiled at Grim's affection for Ryucat. He knew they'd get along. Nobody with a heart could resist an ocelot in a bow tie.
"Straight to the point," Julean said, stalling for time. "No wonder my wife bangs you when I'm on business trips in Cleveland." What did he know about breaking and entering? Well, he wasn't clueless. "No trespassing" didn't apply to Julean Parker.
He reached for the cappucino, fully planning to take a sip. However, midway to the cup, Julean stopped himself. No. This wasn't a pal-around drinkie with friends. He was on BUSINESS, saving the world, one mission at a time. And Malgrim Albercroft was a respected colleague.
Instead, Julean clicked open his briefcase, fished around the tangle of wires, and grabbed a can of red bull.
"What's the location?" he asked. "I have years of experience sneaking into abandoned buildings, VIP parties, and clubs. Plus, we have an ace in the hole. A way to step into various doorways."
He winked at Ryu.
"Don't we, Business Cat?"
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Post by jarahamee on Sept 16, 2023 22:43:14 GMT -6
Business Cat rolled to his feet and stared at Julean with wide eyes. He made a soft “reowreow!” sound and headbutted his shoe, rubbing his face all over his shoe. His body followed, and he made a wide circle, before moving back again.
“Bruup??”
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Post by indeath on Sept 24, 2023 18:45:13 GMT -6
Grim eyeballed Julean at his brief attempt to steal his drink, thankful for the magical cat. They may just need that kind of miracle working yet with Julean around. He took a long slurp of it himself draining the entire cup. He wiped the foam mustache off with the back of his hand before he had time to think about it. He was meant to be a smooth business guy tonight. Damn. He dabbed his hand with a nearby napkin.
“I’ll be bangin’ anything with two legs in a couple weeks… In fact doesn’t even need to have two. I’m all about equality. Right. Well at least you’re not completely inexperienced then. It’s in a business building a few blocks up. The satyr runs a firm… A private investigation firm. “
Grim said the words like they hurt. He even had a proper filing system and a secretary that answered phones. Nancy just knocked them off tables, it was a learning process.
“They should all be out celebrating a recent case being solved so the place should be empty. Any questions?”
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Post by hadopelagic on Oct 1, 2023 23:12:09 GMT -6
When Grim vowed to get laid, Julean shook his head in disbelief. First of all, was he referring to more or less than two legs? Did he date centaurs, or something? And seriously? How did Grim have so much game? Unfortunately, it wouldn't be ~professional~ to ask the PI about his dating life.
Instead, Julean simply cleared his throat. Ahem.
Then, the conversation moved onto business, and he frowned. Hold up. The satyr was a rival PI?
"Sure. Okay. Yeah. I have a question," Julean said, deadpan. "Are we actually saving the city, or do you just want to screw with your competition?"
He glanced down at Business Cat, then returned his stare to Grim.
"Julean Parker would gladly pull pranksies on your nemesis. He's a very unserious man. However, I am not Julean Parker. I am a professional."
As if emphasizing the point, he tapped on his frameless glasses.
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Post by jarahamee on Oct 1, 2023 23:36:04 GMT -6
Business Cat stood up on his hind legs, reaching out to hug Julean’s legs with his little cat paws, rubbing his face against him. While the cat was innocently, most certainly just a cat, his little yellow eyes seemed to beseech Julean ‘Please be good and make the right decision, Julean.’
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Post by indeath on Oct 20, 2023 16:29:47 GMT -6
Grim sipped his coffee and looked a little uncomfortable at Julean’s questioning. It was bound to come up eventually and it wasn’t like he could lie about it. That should have told Julean enough, it was mostly the truth already. Just not quite all of it.
“Both… it’s both. He does own a very dangerous weapon and uh when his partner tells him what umm we did a couple weeks ago he’ll be pretty unhinged. He’d wanna kill me but that weapon is city leveling dangerous. So there’d be casualties.. lots. So it’s serious business… but also fucking with my competition, in more ways than one. Heh. You can be Business man and Julean.”
He hoped that Business man would take this well. He really needed to pull this job off. Hopefully Business cat approved too. Who knew what he’d report to Yoshio.
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Post by hadopelagic on Nov 2, 2023 23:06:04 GMT -6
Julean reached down and gently stroked Business Cat's head. Despite is very serious persona, he smiled fondly as he smoothed the fur up Ryu's muzzle and brow.
"Let me get this straight." Returning to the matter at hand, he retrieved a yellow notepad and a pen from the briefcase. Thoughtfully, Julean tapped one end of the pen against his chin. "Your rival owns a weapon, and he's so angry at you, he's willing to shoot a hole through the city?"
Quickly, Julean jotted down a couple words in his boxy handwriting. GRUDGE, IMPULSIVE. He'd never learned cursive, and he preferred to write in caps.
"Can't have that. The man is too volatile for a magical nuke. I just have one question."
With a flourish, he used the pen to point at Malgrim.
"What'd you do with his partner? Poach a job? Betray his trust?"
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Post by jarahamee on Nov 3, 2023 2:31:24 GMT -6
Businesscat paused and made a soft meow-meow sound, as if to try to get Julean’s attention, trying to pull it away from whatever Malgrim was about to say.
He walked up onto Julean’s lap with his soft paws, and headbumped his other hand with great affection. Maybe this would be enough to save what was left of his innocence.
The cat who was definitely not a normal cat then rolled over on his back again, legs in the air.
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