Living Life a Quarter Mile at a Time [m]

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park

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Living Life a Quarter Mile at a Time [m]

POSTED ON Jul 21, 2022 10:46:23 GMT

Tam Fawley likes this

Marshall inhaled deeply, relishing in the cool breeze of that summer night and the smells and sounds it brought to him: the sharp odor of gasoline, the roar of engines, the shouts of people. He sat in a modified sports car at the edge of a gathering crowd in Slateport City, at the start of a winding track picked out of the Lower District's streets. People of all types and ages were arriving in their own vehicles, mostly sports cars, though he spotted a few motorcycles among them.

But even as he admired the various bikes, he knew the cars were the stars. He turned his gaze upon them, watching as the drivers stepped out to raucous cheers, manly back pats, and occasional swearing. Marshall quickly understood that each driver had their own crew, mechanics and fans who they could count on to support them. The onlookers almost categorized into gangs in that sense. They even had matching jackets and other paraphernalia.

Bookies ran through the throng of people with tablets. They hadn't started taking bets down, though, not yet. Marshall still had time, but not much.

Looking out his open driver's side window, he finally spotted two familiar figures: Tam Fawley and jack wainwright in street clothes, not their Ranger uniforms. Marshall stuck his head out and called to them. "Hey! Over here!"

One would think that Marshall, the racer, had invited them to tag along, but the opposite had actually happened. Tam had texted him a few days ago saying he and another Ranger were supposed to investigate dangerous drift racing activity in Slateport, and who better to accompany them but a professional racer?

The plan was simple enough. Marshall would sign up for the race and do his best to impress the new rumored Drift King while Tam and Jack did their investigation on foot.

Was Marshall nervous? Sure. Who wouldn't be?

Was he excited? Hell fucking yes.

Tam Fawley & jack wainwright

NOTES
+ Mission: The Agility & The Uproar

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Tam

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February 14th

Icirrus City, Unova

Does it matter?

Slateport Ranger Capt.

Ranger Captain

empty

indifferent

166 height

Don't know, don't care.

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Tam Fawley

Living Life a Quarter Mile at a Time [m]

POSTED ON Jul 24, 2022 21:15:09 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","twt2"]

[attr="class","main"]

Why do rangers have to investigate the non-pokémon-related underground drift racing scene?
[break][break]
Perhaps someone else would bother with asking that question, but Tam has spent long enough dealing with Slateport’s bureaucracy to know that the answer is likely to in fact be a non-answer. Chances are that this issue had been tossed around departments like if this were some kind of metaphorical pinball game, and truth be told, Tam has never liked pinball (or metaphors, for that matter).
[break][break]
”Are you into racing at all?” Tam asks jack wainwright when they make it to the supposed location of the race, his gaze wandering over cars and motorbikes alike. They hadn’t had a chance to work together before, so there’s the slight hope that maybe his superiors had the foresight of assigning this task to someone who’s a little more familiar with the scene than him.
[break][break]
Tam doesn’t know a thing about racing. Which is why he had asked for the help of the one racer he knows, since really, how different can motocross be from illegal drift racing? Tomayto, tomahto… Totally the same thing.
[break][break]
Admittedly, he had also thought @marshall might enjoy this, and considering the way he yells when he sees them, Tam had apparently been right about that one.
[break][break]
”Hey.” In stark contrast, there’s no excitement in the ranger captain’s voice, nor is there anything akin to annoyance. He’s as neutral as always. Typical Tam. ”What do you think?”
[break][break]
Better to get the insight of the expert here, no?

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]@marshall [break] jack wainwright

[attr="class","notes"]

notes

[break]
Mission - The Agility & The Uproar 🌟

[attr="class","pkmn"]

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jack

he/him

twenty-six

august 12

Hulbury

travel blogger

elite ranger

Never fear quarrels,

but seek hazardous adventures.

6'1" height

Travel is the great leveler, the great teacher, bitter as medicine, crueler than mirror-glass.

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jack wainwright

Living Life a Quarter Mile at a Time [m]

POSTED ON Jul 25, 2022 0:10:33 GMT

Jack's interest tended toward the natural. When he signed up to be a Ranger after the attack on the Spinks in Jagged Pass, his intention was to work to protect pokemon and the natural habitats that made Hoenn beautiful. Instead, he got assigned to a drift racing investigation in Slateport and he couldn't even blog about it. At least Captain Fawley and I have a mutual acquaintance in Marshall, he thinks to himself as he glances at the Ranger Captain.

"I'm not into racing even a little bit," he responds to the Captain, "I'm assuming I got assigned to work with you so you could provide some guidance." He feels a little out of place without his cadet armband or badge so he tucks his hands into the front pocket of the black hooded sweatshirt he was wearing. He was saved from having to admit any more ignorance about their assignment by Marshall's arrival. Jack wonders if Marshall had practiced that delinquent grin he was flashing from the window of his vehicle or if it just came naturally to the man.

While the Captain engages their racing companion, Jack leans casually against the side of the vehicle and scans the crowd. Holding a cigarette between his lips, he pretends to fumble with the Charmander-shaped lighter while his eyes flick between groups of people, identifying potential leads and hazards. As the cigarette finally lights he puts his hand to his mouth and takes a drag, hiding a frown that had begun to form.

@marshall & Tam Fawley

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Living Life a Quarter Mile at a Time [m]

POSTED ON Jul 25, 2022 9:00:14 GMT

The wary looks on his friends' faces and their somewhat awkward behavior made them stand out too much in this crowd. "I think you should look like you're having a little fun," Marshall said in response to Tam's question, the smile still tugging at his face.

Then he sobered up suddenly, the grin falling away. "People will be suspicious of you asking questions if you don't look like you belong here. It won't be hard to pretend you're total newbies to drifting, but at least look like you want to be here."

Sitting back in the driver's seat, Marshall pointed to one of the bookies ahead. "First step's first: we need to register me and the car. That guy's been speaking with all the drivers arriving and doin' stuff on his tablet. Let's get him over here, and then I can drive to the starting line. And maybe we can get some questions in about this new DK while he's taking our info down."

Tam Fawley & jack wainwright

NOTES
+ Mission: The Agility & The Uproar

☉

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Azul

Tam

He/Him

February 14th

Icirrus City, Unova

Does it matter?

Slateport Ranger Capt.

Ranger Captain

empty

indifferent

166 height

Don't know, don't care.

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Tam Fawley

Living Life a Quarter Mile at a Time [m]

POSTED ON Jul 28, 2022 18:40:42 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","twt2"]

[attr="class","main"]

Okay, so, his superiors hadn’t had the foresight to assign this task to someone who’s a little more familiar with the scene than him. That’s fine. It’s not like that’s unexpected or anything. They can still work with what they have and get the job done… Right? Truth be told, Tam isn’t too worried.
[break][break]
”Nope, racing’s not my thing.” Is the answer he gives jack wainwright, but apparently, according to Marshall, he’s supposed to at least pretend like it is. To no one’s surprise, acting also isn’t Tam’s thing, and yet…
[break][break]
”No idea what you mean, I’m having a great time.” He says to @marshall in the most neutral and monotone voice humanly possible, leaving it up for debate if he’s being honest or just extremely sarcastic. ”Sure, though, let’s do that.”
[break][break]
Even though he doesn’t say it, he’s rather impressed by Marshall’s observation skills, even if he may wonder if that’s because Marshall is going about this as if he were in some kind of spy movie. Whatever works for him, right? To Tam it’s just a job like any other. Being a ranger in Slateport can be weird like this.
[break][break]
So, turning his attention to the crowd, he finds the man with the tablet in no time, and all he does is gesture for him to approach the car.
[break][break]
In Tam’s defence, the whole ‘aloof and unbothered’ shtick he has going on tends to do wonders with making people assume that he knows exactly what he’s doing. Maybe it will this time too.

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]@marshall [break] jack wainwright

[attr="class","notes"]

notes

[break]
Mission - The Agility & The Uproar 🌟

[attr="class","pkmn"]

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jack

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twenty-six

august 12

Hulbury

travel blogger

elite ranger

Never fear quarrels,

but seek hazardous adventures.

6'1" height

Travel is the great leveler, the great teacher, bitter as medicine, crueler than mirror-glass.

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jack wainwright

Living Life a Quarter Mile at a Time [m]

POSTED ON Aug 20, 2022 15:07:23 GMT

A burst of genuine laughter erupts from Jack as he listens to Marshall's advice to look like they were having fun. He could not see the Captain's face from his angle at the side of the vehicle but his imagination was enough to fix a mirthful grin on his face. As the man with the tablet approached, Jack could only hope that he looked like he was having the best of times.

"Oy mate," Jack calls to the man as he approaches Marshall's car, "You the one we need to talk'ta to get our boy here registered?" His Galarian accent layers onto the words, thicker than usual and with the silky inflections of the young men of Wyndon. He takes another drag of his cigarette for adding effect.

To Jack's surprise, it was a pretty professional operation. The man with the tablet didn't introduce himself with a name but it otherwise felt like Jack was signing Marshall up for courses at the local uni rather than a dangerous and illegal street race.

"So wots the deal with this'ere Drift King? I 'ear he's good but I bet our boy's better," Jack says to the man as he reaches into his pocket to pull out the pack of smokes. Sliding one up partially out of the pack, he offers it to the man along with a crisp high-denomination pokedollar hidden behind the pack.

The man shrugs as he lights the cigarette with a litwick-shaped lighter and leans down to look at Marshall as he taps a final button on his tablet. "There ain't much to know about the King other'n he keeps it private. His car sure is somethin' though, with flames from the exhaust like you ain't ever seen," the man says as he glances between Marshall, Tam, and the vehicle. Tucking the money into a pocket, he departs wordlessly with only a smirk at Marshall's car.

@marshall & Tam Fawley

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Living Life a Quarter Mile at a Time [m]

POSTED ON Aug 21, 2022 13:06:59 GMT

Once the bookie was out of earshot, Marshall scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Some help that guy was," he grumbled. Then he put both hands on the steering wheel, a look of determination crossing his face. "Okay. I'm off to the starting line. Good luck getting the information you need."

He took the car out of park and drove forward. The surge of people parted for him. The bookies clearly worked fast, for even though many onlookers seemed confused by the presence of a new car and driver, more than a few seemed to regard him with suspicion. Soon, he started hearing shouts of heckling.

"Who do you think you are, new guy?"

"Go back to playing with toy cars!"

"You're gonna get crushed!"

Marshall ignored them. Once upon a time, he was brand new to motorsports and had learned to thicken his skin against verbal abuse. He would never have become a professional racer if he hadn't. In fact, sometimes the best defense was a heated offense. So, after a particularly bold comment about him looking young enough to still be feeding from the breast, Marshall shot back through his open window with a cocky grin: "Your mom doesn't seem to mind!"

The crowd roared, some of them aghast and upset, many of them howling with laughter. Chuckling to himself, Marshall pulled up to the starting line. As he slowly eased between two other cars, he glanced down the line, looking for anything to indicate the Drift King's car. But soon the nose of his vehicle was flush with everyone else's and the only thing he could see was the open road.

In total, four cars were in the race, including Marshall's. The streets were barely wide enough for them all. There would be only one clear winner.

One of the organizers, visible to all drivers from where he stood on the side, held a white flag up in the air. Marshall revved his engine out of habit. Outside of his field of vision, one of the other cars, a sleek red one painted with white stripes, did too — and flames shot out of the exhaust, exciting the crowd.

His heart racing with anticipation, Marshall met the eyes of the man with the flag.

Time crawled almost to a stop.

The flag fell.

Marshall slammed his foot against the acceleration and shot forward.

Tam Fawley & jack wainwright

NOTES
+ Mission: The Agility & The Uproar

☉

close tab

played by

Azul

Tam

He/Him

February 14th

Icirrus City, Unova

Does it matter?

Slateport Ranger Capt.

Ranger Captain

empty

indifferent

166 height

Don't know, don't care.

awards

518 posts

DOLLARS

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TAG WITH @tam

Tam Fawley

Living Life a Quarter Mile at a Time [m]

POSTED ON Sept 22, 2022 9:45:21 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","twt2"]

[attr="class","main"]

Tam had not become a ranger to deal with people. In fact, quite the opposite: he had chosen to become a ranger because pokémon are much easier to deal with than people. Missions like this one are not his particular cup of tea. But, pokémon are supposedly being harmed during these races, and so it is that he’ll do his job and he’ll do it right.
[break][break]
At first, he does no more than light himself a cigarette and watch the cars with that ever so impassive expression of his. He talks to no one, he doesn’t even bother with exchanging looks with most people; as if he doesn’t consider any of them to be worth his time or energy.
[break][break]
He’s silent, and that silence pays off due to two things. The first is the fact that he overhears someone mention that the Drift King never lets anyone look under the hood of his car, and the second is that when the race is about to start, the flames are not what draws his attention to the red car: it’s the particular sound made by the revving engine.
[break][break]
”Hmm.” The cigarette is stomped out, and when he approaches jack wainwright, he calmly makes sure no one else overhears. ”Pretty sure there’s AUTOTOMIZING pokémon in that engine. Likely Klink or Klang. All those flames don’t spell anything good for them.”
[break][break]
The implication is clear: they should probably stop the race before it’s too late.

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]@marshall [break] jack wainwright

[attr="class","notes"]