majkemaniiia

[majkemaniiia]

Majke shrugs. It's very good and all for Pip to be reasonable and want to pay, but Majke wasn't asking. "If you want to," Majke says, nonchalantly. "You're welcome to pay if you want, but I'm not going to twist your arm one way or another."

She gives him a slight smirk of a smile.

"But you've kept me from being bored, and that's a noble pursuit, Pip."

@exsqueak-me

Good Luck / Bad Luck || Pip & Majke

[majkemaniiia]

"It's the best way to put it," Majke says, nodding along with a sly smile. "Little restaurant dates and grocery store chatter. Sometimes, when you're not looking for much of anything, flirting becomes an inconsequential pastime."

Inconsequential to the direction of her life, Majke would suppose. Yes, she'd met a lovely person here or there, but no one notable enough to stay. No date was that good, no sex was that life-changing... (yet). Majke had her flings and went along. No one had come along that she felt was worth derailing her life for.

"I didn't mean as a target demographic," Majke says with a scoff, before leaning over with a bit of a teasing look and not an ounce of shame. "What if I'm jealous of the ladies you're getting friendly with. What then, Ms McHale?" But that joke only lasts as long because both of them know it's empty.

"Well, I suppose since you're teasing, Mal, I'll bite. What was your date like? What was your bartering?"

@mal-mchale

A Couch Catch Up || Hale Spell

[majkemaniiia]

The charm was sweet, Majke.... sort of forgot she liked doing this. When Lena was young, Majke would make small charms for her. Yet, now, she felt so removed from Lena's life and many elements of magic.

Could customizing a charm be cheap? Majke supposes so. It's mostly the materials that cost money, but Majke wasn't terribly concerned. Besides, it's been a long time since she'd priced a charm. Inflation must make that more expensive?

"Ah, that. Compensation. How about this, you just let people know who made you something so fashionable and functional if they ask, and we'll call it even," she says, giving him a look. He did say he'd pay good money, but Majke wasn't into extortion... for him, at least.

@exsqueak-me

Good Luck / Bad Luck || Pip & Majke

[majkemaniiia]

Oh... Ms McHale. Majke finds Mal McHale the sort of irritating that was charming, though she wouldn't admit it besides with exasperated looks in her eyes.

"It's interesting," Majke says. "My family always believed in getting engaged with the community. They just weren't terribly politically minded." Majke shrugs with a nonchalant hum. Or hmmmmm.

Now flirting, though. Of course, Mal would be interested in that.

"Well, considering I'm a mildly public figure now, I'm doing my best to 'be good,' and not try to be overly friendly with the town. So, it's mostly passing dates in NTO and such. Few dates come of it, though... there's been a night or two."

Something Mal would know about with Majke. Mal and Majke were friends, that's all. Majke's glad Mal is more comfortable with herself, seemed to stop putting up such a front.

"Oi," Majke faux-snaps, "I don't need you honing in on my demographic. You don't want me feeling jealous, do you?"

@mal-mchale

A Couch Catch Up || Hale Spell

[majkemaniiia]

Well, okay then, Mimzy. The alps are fun.

Okay, actually, Majke would not do the alps again. Sounded like torture now with her general tiredness settled into her bones and joints and whatnot, but if she were in her twenties again? Maybe she would backpack.

Anyways, that's not the point.

"Okay, well I took the manual route on the distancing from family," Majke says with a shrug. That doesn't bother you? Majke wonders. But it's not exactly a fully voiced thought. Majke didn't mind being distanced, but her parents were still trying to talk to her. Mim's didn't.

"Yea, that's it? Sorry, Mim, but I am the cutest clerk here so you don't even have that going for you," Majke says with a slightly quirked smile. "So either you're going to have to get one of those jobs or I'm going to have to quit. Promoted to customer, solely to bother you."

She frowns then after a moment. "Okay, keep your secrets then. Tell me about something you want to talk about, yea? How are your studies going? I have to use this useless aunt energy somewhere, Lena's grown tired of it."

@madmagicmim

Shift Change Conversations || Fuchsia

[majkemaniiia]

@apennywasted

The two of them had always understood each other in ways that others didn't. It was strange, really, how animosity never washed away the amity they felt at times. Any strife between them would be easily remedied by time.

She takes a seat on the sofa closest to him. She doesn't quite lay back, despite the fact she wants to. (For the drama, mind you. Majke had a thing for dramatics.)

"Look at us. Bonding over our shared miseries," Majke says, mostly as a joke. But, it was true, wasn't it. Yes, she knew he struggled with his family. He knew she did too, the way she went on about it. The way they always wanted more of him...

"Two years is a long time for me to stay anywhere. I suppose I'm just... nervous about that. I found a place I might be able to call home. That's more than I've had in years."

How Did We End Up Here? || Seamus & Majke

[majkemaniiia]

Into a bracelet? Majke thinks about that. Probably, the answer was probably. Weave a few re-agents into the strings, intention and energy. Yes, that should do nicely.

"I believe that would be doable," Majke says with a smile and sets about picking a few pieces of citrine. She wasn't a transmutation sorceress by any means, but perhaps she could use a bit of her knowledge to simply alter the shape a bit.

It takes a moment, braiding and weaving a bit of red string Majke pulled from beneath the register, but the actual act wasn't that hard. Beads threaded through the braid, once around. Twice around, until the has a woven bracelet with small citrine charms and bits of luck speckled in -- thankfully stored within in wand. She's always glad her emerald ring made reagent storing convenient.

"Now, I think this suits you. What do you think, Pip?"

@exsqueak-me

Good Luck / Bad Luck || Pip & Majke

[majkemaniiia]

(Re: being Helpful, Mim. Majke wasn't! Often. She wasn't often. But, hey, this is what you get for not even letting her understand the concern. Consequences of your reasonable actions.)

"See. Constructing stories," Majke says with a nod. Martin and Majke had their now-and-again disagreements about, say, how things might be organized in the store. But that's, like, different than what Majke had implied.

(Re: Elsa's love life. Girl, stop fumbling, we all see the heart eyes. He's into you!!! Elsa.)

"Sure, yea. Well, when I was a kiddo, I decided I didn't want anything to do with my family and travelled Europe. Quarter life crisis or whatnot. I don't see you backpacking across the alps so."

@madmagicmim

Shift Change Conversations || Fuchsia

[majkemaniiia]

Majke tilts her head. The celebration itself? "Family, I suppose. A few times a year my family gets together from all over and catches up. It's a joint birthday party for everyone in that season, it's a baby shower for new children and a celebration of life for those who have passed. An all-in-one, of sorts," Majke explains.

She wonders how many other families have multiple reunions a year. Was it that her family was simply so close? Majke didn't feel close to them. She felt like she watched them from the outside, wondering what being in that circle would be like again but knowing that it was yearning for something she would ultimately not want.

"I would think it's the environment. I'm not close to them, really. Haven't been for years. Or, maybe, I never was."

@laurette-moi

Present Tense || de la Spell

[majkemaniiia]

"Even if you did text first," Majke says, "There was no guarantee it would hold true. Martin might have flittered out need to run some errand and gotten distracted, you never know."

Majke shrugs at that. Such it was. Majke was used to trying to get ahead of things so that Martin didn't have to worry as much. She even gave up on organizing the store *her* way to try to make it easier for him. Even if her way was sometimes more correct.

"If you would like to, I won't stop you," Majke says. "There are shipments that are coming in but I'll inventory them last. Even if I do inventory, we'll do it all again. You know how it is. Still, though, we need to dust more often. This is getting out of hand."

@vvinter-queen

After Hours Inventory || Elske

[majkemaniiia]

Majke almost laughs. It's sort of funny, actually. "I love a spotlight, but I don't really have a talent to show off," Majke admits. That's always been true. She's not a singer, dancer, and her acting is dubiously motivated at best. She's fine in a job or pinch, but not on stage. "I suppose it wasn't meant to be."

But, overall, that is fine with Majke. She'd rather be good at things that were practical. Even if that expressed itself as lying or scheming. Not all of her schemes were bad.

Honestly, Raine reminds Majke of Poe in a way. In the good qualities. They seemed intelligent and interested and always had something slightly more meaningful to say. It was... nice. Of course, Poe always took and interest in what he had to say as a chance to be a condescending prick, but whatever. Brothers.

"Yea, you seem sentimental," Majke says with a grin. It's not dismissive, though. It's... thoughtful. Later, it says. I'll consider that later.

Coffee in hand, luggage in tow, they were going to be flying to Italy. How strange to go back...

"Anything important I should know before I'm completely caught off guard by my mother asking you twenty questions upon walking in the door?"

@mxrainewhispers

Romance Not Included || Rainespell [V-Day Trope Extravaganza]

[majkemaniiia]

Part of Majke didn't want Seamus to fix it. She didn't want Seamus to do anything but listen to her complain. Complaining was easier than fixing. It meant you didn't actually have to do anything about the problem.

"Some things feel too big to fix," Majke says, after a moment. "Some things feel like there's more to them, deeper wounds."

She frowns. Being elected to a board wasn't scary. Not being able to run was. Not being able to escape town if something were to happen...

"Living room, my dear," Majke says. "All the easier to imagine your sofa is a therapy couch," she says with a laugh.

Or the sofa he'd forced her off of many times over in order to take his bed. He wouldn't have her uncomfortable, or whatever chivalrous thing he's said... He was an annoyingly stubborn gentleman at times, it was infuriating.

"Maybe it all stems back to parent issues. You know how I like to blame them."

@apennywasted

How Did We End Up Here? || Seamus & Majke

[majkemaniiia]

Majke shakes her head, almost humorously. "I don't know if I've called you anything, Pip. But now I know," she says with an airy laugh.

She knows about him generally, in the way that people saw each other in a small down. In the way that maybe they'd passed each other at the Moon Market or perhaps walking along by the lake. She didn't care to know too many people, though she supposes that's changed since being on the board. Still...

"A cuter version?" Majke repeats with a laugh. "I suppose I could whip up something custom," she muses. Thinks... "Do you have any other aesthetic requests?"

@exsqueak-me

Good Luck / Bad Luck || Pip & Majke

[majkemaniiia]

"You're awfully easy-going, aren't you, Raine," Majke asks. "Natural performer?"

Majke likes them well enough. Not enough to really date them, but hey. Good enough for pretend. And it's not like her parents really paid attention to the type of people that she dated. Any person to settle down with would probably be enough for them at this point.

Raine's question does get Majke to think. Did she?

A fated person.

"I don't know. If there is one, I haven't found them yet. I'm glad for the people who do, but maybe I'm not meant to have one, or maybe I'm better on my own..."

She pauses.

"What about you?"

@mxrainewhispers

Romance Not Included || Rainespell [V-Day Trope Extravaganza]

[majkemaniiia]

"He's not here, if you're looking for Martin," Majke says, watching as none other than Elsa Sommers walks into the Rock Shoppe. It's just before closing, which usually means its a social call, rather than a business one.

Elsa had no real reason to speak with Majke. They were friendly, sure, but Majke didn't much interact with Elsa outside of stints at the Rock Shoppe. It wasn't anything personal, Majke just wasn't a terribly personal person.

"Sorry for the dust. I've been trying to sweep up. Inventory's coming up, and I try to get ahead of as much as I can to keep Martin's blood pressure low."

@vvinter-queen

After Hours Inventory || Elske

[majkemaniiia]

After Hours Inventory || Elske

[majkemaniiia]

"We could play it off as you being nervous," Majke offers. Sometimes she forgets she can have a nice side that isn't just for show. There's part of her that wonders what her life would be like if she had, well, stayed. If she still lived in Italy under her family's fame and name. But, then again, she's happy enough where she is. Where she's been. Even if it came with years of regret...

Majke smiles. "We have the same coffee order," she says with a laugh. "Interesting." They talk their way through the security line, which Majke always hates...

On the other side, she's putting her shoes back on, when -- "Probably newer. My family is still hounding me about my 'fated person' so best to say this is new so they don't get mad I hadn't told them. Does that work with you? Maybe since New Year's?"

@mxrainewhispers

Romance Not Included || Rainespell [V-Day Trope Extravaganza]