ROLEPLAY HQ - tn-rp-locksmith

It was a short stroll to reach the new store on Main Street: “Key Key’s Keys”. Sadly, the shop was not open, so Nox had to explore the territory through the dusty window. He put his hand on the glass and leaned forward, peering in, scanning the walls lined with thousands of metal locks. Seemed normal enough. When he left the store there was a nice handprint on the glass waiting for Key Key to find - Nox even made a smiley face with his index finger right before he left, knowing it would be something his friend would enjoy discovering on their first day of work.

Key Key looked at his watch as he walked down main street towards his shop - almost 11 am, he was quite late. He walked past the front windows and was about to turn into the doorway when he stopped in his tracks. Something in the glass had caught his eye. A smudge? He walked backwards a couple steps to see a smiley face and handprint etched onto the glass. The face was written with two strokes, one in the shape of an arrow and the other a square bracket - there was no question who the culprit was. Key Key sighed with a smile, making a mental note to dig out the windex from the back.

20:17

Opening the door to the shop revealed a minimal space. The floors were made of light bamboo, and the walls were white. Skylights allowed light to pour into what was a large, almost entirely empty space. In the center of the room was a large white rectangular table, covered with mechanical equipment and tools, with a single white mesh chair tucked into one of the sides. The only source of light other than the sun was a large backlight magnifying glass which was mounted on an arm attached to a corner of the table. The three walls were each different. The back wall was completely white and was bare, except for a single white door that was flush with the wall, with no visible hinges, no lock or keyhole - if not for the thin border between the door and the wall, one would not even know it was there. The wall on the left was covered with locks - brass locks, plastic locks, combination locks, bicycle locks. Locks old and new, cheap and pricey, simple and complex. It seemed like any type of lock could be found on this wall. The wall on the right was covered with keys - similar to the wall of locks, this wall had keys of every kind, big and small, new and old, all types of materials and shapes. One wondered if some of the keys opened things, or if they were just for show... Key Key stepped into the shop and took a seat at the table, taking a moment to recollect himself. He picked up a lock and pick from his desk and fiddled with it nervously, opening and closing the lock as he stared out the window, lost in thought.

“You know what you need,” Nox said, having opened the door to Key Key’s Key’s shop (wow). He leaned against the frame and slowly, carefully, opened the door on its creaky hinges the rest of the way. Sunlight poured in behind him. Why was there a sly grin on Nox’s face, one might ask - it was simple. He had a clever idea and he wanted to share it with his friend on this fine Monday morning. “You need a sign with your name, but it should be spelled out entirely with keys. If you do it right, you could add lights to the board and have it glow at night. What do you think?” The edge of his leather boot nudged the bamboo flooring, shifting his shadow on the ground.

After a few days of pondering over Nox's idea, Key Key came to a decision. His store, typically a mostly-empty space, had become filled with sheet metal and acrylic, neon rods and giant incandescent lights. Key Key was putting the finishing touches on his new sign, just as the evening was coming to a close. In bright red, vertical, neon letters, the sign spelled out LOCKSMITH. Underneath that, the words KEY KEYS were spelled out in giant 3D acrylic lettering. The lettering had white neon inside so that it glowed, and inside each letter were thousands of keys, filled up to the top. Underneath it, the word

was spelled out in neon blue cursive. In between KEY KEYs and

was a large yellow arrow, pointing towards the entrance of the shop. The arrow was covered in incandescent bulbs, and they flashed in a rapid cycle, making it extremely hard to miss Key Key's shop. Was it a bit over-the-top? Absolutely. Key Key grinned as he stepped back to look at his handiwork. He'd be interested to see what Nox thought when he passed by the following morning. https://64.media.tumblr.com/bd457acea13b3181aa2adb8b6fbf38f9/1c0434cf3a8af989-10/s1280x1920/36218b7d0ba4cf68a99e1226a8af2f2e7708f659.gif

When Nox approached Key Key’s Key shop it was a sight to behold. There it was. A sign made from the brightest bulbs. Blinking. Flashing. Drawing the attention of everyone who lived within a four-mile radius. They couldn’t miss it, especially at night. Nox slowly put his hand over his mouth, not to hide a smile - oh no. There was no smile anywhere near here. He did it out of reflex when he didn’t want to show Key Key his distaste for something his friend had his heart set on. The dear God no expression slowly crept over the lines of his stubbled face, drawing his brows together with concern for those that were prone to seizures. “It’s…” Words. He needed them now more than ever. Nox squint ever so slightly, judging the sign from a different angle as he stepped to the right. Nothing had changed. “It’s…” Try again. Say something nice, but don’t lie. His hand left his face and motioned the air in an attempt to draw attention away from the lack of encouragement that had failed to make an appearance. “It’s something,” he finally settled on. With a few unconvincing nods, he turned his focus away from the sign and looked to Key Key with obvious uncertainty. “So you’re keeping it then, are ya?”