pcrdidcs

[pcrdidcs]

"you have a strong and pure soul," nikhil remarks, sharking their head. "anyone in your place would take my offer—and it wouldn't have been a bad thing at all, as it is something i deserved. revenge is a dish best served cold, they say." hearing her mention the fireworks show and that the shortcut was through the battlefield, he gets an idea. "how about i walk you through this iced valley of shadow and death? my body will be the human shield needed to keep you protected and dry as a desert, right in time for the fireworks beginning! if you don't mind, i'll accompany you to the show as well! i think i've had my fill of warfare . . . " they give her a smile, hands up the universal sign of peace. "so, have you been in enjoying your time here at the amusement park?"

snow is one of those things that saffron likes as a concept but isn't interested in experiencing for herself, like riding in an aston martin racecar or going to coachella. she brushes off the wet chunks before the chill can seep into her scalp or slip beneath her collar, huffing. "i don't want to throw a snowball at you," saffron retorts, "this is partially my own fault. i heard this was supposed to be a shortcut to the fireworks show and i didn't want to miss the beginning." she could almost laugh how absurd it sounds now. it seems like a frivolous thing to be concerned about after being pelted in the head with a snowball.

[pcrdidcs]

"you must really be going everywhere, not just anywhere," hiyori notes, because it seems like she's got it memorized as though she's the one who designed the routes themselves. following behind her to the door of the gas station, hiyori throws her hands up in the air in silent exclamation. "oh, yeah, no totally," she says with a swallow. "didn't even really want to bring a flashlight along. they get so heavy sometimes . . ." luna mentions offering snacks to spirits, which is something hiyori can definitely get behind. despite her family being estranged from their side in japan, there were still plenty of traditions and beliefs they brought with them to canada and passed down to her. hiyori imagines both her and luna sitting in the dark in an abandoned building, eating dinner with some spirits. "so, what all should we buy?" hiyori asks, walking down the aisle. she's grabbing some snacks for herself, looking for some instant rice in the process and some chopsticks. her family only ever did it with their own ancestors, but maybe chopsticks vertical in a bowl of rice is universal in the spirit world. "we should get some fruits, too," hiyori suggests. in the mini shopping basket, hiyori has already gathered some chips, some cookies, incense sticks, a small lighter, and a stack of stickers ( they canned food themed! too hard to resist ). "i know you said pack light but . . . i'm kind of hungry." adrenaline does that, the fear eating up energy so she has a chance to run or fight. "oh! they have a blanket here, luna. please tell me we can at least be scared and comfy."

               "   i   don't   have   my   driver's   license,   how   else   would   i   get   anywhere   ?   "   there   was   actually   a   lot   of   ways   she   could   get   there,   but   luna   always   found   issue   with   all   of   them:   javi   gave   too   many   lectures   about   safety,   seba   wanted   too   much   in   return,   drew   always   frowned   when   they   brought   up   urban   exploring   (   she   hated   making   him   frown   ),   and   it   felt   dangerous   to   have   an   uber   drop   them   off   at   an   abandon   building   by   themselves.   they   watched   a   lot   of   discovery   id.   the   bus   was   the   safest   option.   but   that   was   logic   she'd   keep   to   herself   on   account   of   hyori's   slow   descent   into   madness.   luna   just   needed   her   to   keep   it   together   long   enough   to   get   to   the   actual   haunted   house,   and   then   they'd   mention   most   of   the   dangerous   she   should   be   aware   of.   they   would   be   fine.   "   flashlights   are   a   no   go   because   ⸻   "   they   technically   would   be   trespassing,   but   she   doesn't   want   to   give   that   away   yet   either.   "   ⸻   it's   rude   to   the   spirits.   too   bright.   you   have   to   come   in   soft,   with   the   dim   glow   of   your   phone.   it'll   be   enough.   "   luna   assured.   she'd   done   it   plenty   of   times.   "   we   can   get   some   snacks   though,   we   buy   some   for   the   spirits   too,   thank   them   for   hosting   us   and   some   incense   since   i   don't   have   sage   on   me.   "   she   clicked   her   tongue   as   they   opened   the   gas   station   door   for   hyori   to   walk   through.   "   the   one   time   i   don't   pack   sage.   "   they   murmured   to   themselves,   following   in   after   their   friend.   

[pcrdidcs]

rafael is ditching class. ahh, please don't be mad !! he thinks to his family, but the marketing analytics exam was kind of scary, so he pretended to have food poisoning—which wasn't difficult for the professor to believe because rafael had brought baked goods to class three weeks before and gave everyone a stomachache. ( damn, the lemon blueberry flavor was too good, though not many agreed it was worth it ). once that lie was good and believed, rafael high-tailed it to the park with the intent to study somewhere nice and sunny, but once he got to the park, he opted to do a little experiment instead. "nah, sorry," rafael says to the person who approached him. "i accidentally burned my whole backpack once, carrying that shit around. it's hella flammable, dude, like holy shit." he's watching the ants move between the two types of food offered ( a broken piece of tres leches cake and a small crumb of a vanilla cookie ). "i've got another cookie in my bag, though, on top of the marketing textbook if you want it. maybe you can combine them together! if you're gonna grab it, can you grab the bag of chips, too? i wonder if the ants would go for sour cream and onion more than sweets . . ."

Starter: Open [4 cap] @valpostart Location: Parque Cultural

Myeong broke off from her new cast in search of a moderately secluded spot she could light up at without disturbing any of the others practicing at the park. She’s just landed her first role since moving here, and although the part was small she was determined to give the performance all of herself which is why she chose to come along with the main cast to practice and help with scenes. Tedious work for someone with no more than three scenes in an hour long play, but the more face she showed the more familiar she could become with the already established cast and crew. If anyone dropped out or got fired at any moment, Mimi would be more than ready to snatch the part without a hitch.

It was a good thing she didn’t need the money at the moment. Thomas had offered to pay for all of her expenses in exchange for one weekend a month in a country of his choosing. Not much unlike their previous arrangement, except that this time she had zero obligations. Made the entire move out to Valparaiso that much more fun. Mimi could focus on familiarizing herself with the area and meeting new people which she was more than excited for. The place was beautiful, and so lovely that it reminded her a lot of New York but much less dirty. Only a month and some change into her move here and already she has found a great number of people to pass the time with on the weekends.

Mimi found a spot beneath a tree, not far enough away where she couldn’t see and hear the performers practice but enough so that her half a blunt wouldn’t blow at them. There was a shred of decency in her afterall. “Fuck. Me.” She cursed, realizing she’d forgotten to grab a lighter or had somehow misplaced it and she looked around before walking towards the closest person to her. “Got a light?” She asked, raising the blunt between her fingers.

[pcrdidcs]

nikhil was bumped into, but the stranger immediately steadied them and apologized, a sincere smile on his face. "oh, no problems at all, my friend," nikhil says. they follow his gaze to the kids already rounding the corner of an exhibit. "ah . . . family relationships. a father and his children. what joy . . . ! you know, i remember times like these with my own father. i was here on my own, looking for some inspiration, and instead, i've found nostalgia. absolutely amazing!" they smile at the other, big and genuine, and then offers his hand for a shake. "i am nikhil. a pleasure to meet you."

Starter: Open [4 cap] @valpostart Location: Quilpue Zoo

The day had been far to nice for them to stay inside and so Leandro got the kids ready for a day at the zoo. He wanted to give Rania some time to herself so she could relax and get whatever minuscule tasks she needed to done and maybe go to the salon and get her hair and nails done. Lea made sure to leave her a note detailing his intentions for the day with the twins so she didn't wake up confused that no one was around the home.

"Sonia, wait up!" he called out to his rather active and independent daughter who was more than ready to leave him and Zane behind. "If I can't see you then you're way too far." he called once more, shaking his head as he exchanged a knowing look with his son. It was more than normal for Sonia to rush ahead of them everywhere they went. "I'll stay with you, Papi." Zane said, squeezing the grip on Leandro's hand which only served to soften the older man even more. "No, it's alright. I need you to keep an eye on your sister and keep her out of trouble." Lea replied, knowing well Zane wanted to be where she was. "Dale." he urged his son forward and patted his shoulder, "Ten cuidado."

Leandro laughed as his son dashed towards his big sister, leaving him behind without a second thought. They were getting older so much faster than he was ready for. "Almost eleven years old already, God where does the time go." he said out loud as they disappeared from view. The first time they had done it, Leandro had almost called the police from fear they'd been kidnapped only to find them staring at the monkey's enclosure twenty minutes later. Now he was more used to them dashing, but even so did his best to stay somewhat close.

Lost in his thoughts, Leandro turned to follow behind them and ran straight into someone. Automatically his hands reached out to keep them steady, "Gosh, my bad." he apologized with a sincere smile, "Are you alright?" The collision hadn't been too drastic, but you could never be too sure. "I didn't see you there for a moment. Brain's following the kiddo's whatever they ran off to."

*dale - go on *ten cuidado - be careful or go with caution

[pcrdidcs]

it would've been lame for her to openly bring her sketchbook to the club, so instead, hiyori's on her phone in her notes app, typing short sentences, dialogue, environment descriptions, anything that comes to mind. she's a little out of her element here, which isn't bad. places like these, among the warmth and buzz of alcohol, the laughter and swaying of people, and the pulsing and pounding of the music, it actually helps with her creativity. she enjoys people watching, even more so when they're too buzzed to tell. glancing up, she sees someone moving from the dance floor to the bar, ending up right beside her just as she notates an idea of a ghost having a hard time with moving on so they haunt lively clubs and bars. hiyori hears him offer to pay for her drink, and she looks up, surprised. "oh, thanks . . . !" she looks to the bartender and reminds them that she's having a sweet cocktail. the stranger leans his back to the bar and looks out at the crowd; she wonders what he would look like with demon wings—or, what if the bar was underwater and they were all mer-people? hmm. . . "it's good," hiyori says. "quiet. not in the sense of it being quiet here at the club, but . . . it's been good! nice and easy today. can't complain." she offers a friendly smile. "i'm hiyori. thanks for the drink, by the way. what's gotten you in such a generous mood?"

Starter: Open [4 cap] @valpostart Location: Club Divine

The entire plan of moving him early to Chile had been his father’s and for once in his entire life Gael could not have agreed more. The moment he found out how far from home he’s be hr jumped at the opportunity. Went as far as looking into hotels and car dealerships himself to get everything situated before making the move. He didn’t pack his own clothing, or move it himself but that’s what employees were for. After years and years of doing shit himself he was more than happy to pass the boring stuff off to someone else. He was doing them a favor if he really thought about it, it wasn’t like their pay wouldn’t show out a smile on their face in the end.

He had originally wanted to reserve the VIP room but figured perhaps if he met a group of interesting enough people to take back there then he’d go for it. For the time being he enjoyed all that the club had to offer from the bar. The night was still young, and he had heard of some great amenities about that particular place.

Gael found himself moving between the dance floor and the bar, having one of the best night’s he’s had in a long time. No work to stress over for months to come, no sister, and most important no father to ruin his mood. “Can I get an amaretto sour.” He called out to the bartender as he reached the bar then glanced to the side at the person sitting, “And whatever they’re having. On me.” Gael turned his body towards the crowd and rested his back against the bar. “How’s your night coming along?”

[pcrdidcs]

"what do you mean you think i really need it?" rafael asks, slipping on his overalls. "i don't think i have a lot of pent up anger . . . " he thinks to himself all the times he's been angry . . . which, honestly, isn't a lot. he's usually panicking and scared rather than angry. even when lyt gala went down in flames, that was a desperate scream he released alone in the bathroom, not something out of rage. or when his mom kicked him out, that was also a flight response ( a literal one, as he did make his way down to chile a month later ) but he's never held it against his mom. everyone in his life is always trying to make him a better him; it's just unfortunate that no one can agree on what version would be better. " . . . i guess one time i played a game with a dm who killed my owlbear pet. that did make me pretty mad, 'cause he only did it because another player at the table would try to hog my pet, and instead of, like, you know, giving us both two pets or something that didn't involve merking hoot-hoot, he just viciously took him away from me." he clenches his hands into fists, thinking of how everyone watched the dm narrate hoot-hoot's demise with open mouths and teary eyes ten years ago. "hm. . . maybe i do need it." "what about you?" rafael asks, reaching for the bat on the table and testing its weight. "what do you need to hulk smash for? the bat feels good . . . but the crowbar looks pretty dope, too."

status / open (@valpostart) location / destrozarlo mejor!

˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡. ❝I CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO TRY THIS! I CAME HERE LAST WEEK WITH MY THERAPIST, AND IT WAS SOOO FUN.❞ Aivryn bounced on the balls of her feet, eyes gleaming with excitement as she slipped on the coveralls provided by the Destrozarlo Mejor staff. ❝Honestly, this is one of the best things I've done in a while.❞

She wiggled her brows as she handed the other their protective gear. ❝I was thinking you might really enjoy it too. You know, just letting loose and smashing stuff. And I feel like you really need it.... No offense, of course.❞ Did Aiv think they look like they needed a release? Yes. Hence, why she took them to the rage room. She wore her safety goggles, gloves and helmet before moving to look at the array of hitting equipment laid out on a table. Aivryn pursed her lips as the thought about her weapon of choice for today. ❝Whatcha thinkin' of using, hm?❞

[pcrdidcs]

( open ! ) starter location -> jardín botánico, foraging with the foodies club.

crouching down in front of a winter bush of unidentifiable berries, right beside a clump of oddly shaped, white mushrooms, hiyori sets her chin in her hands. "i'm a little concerned," she starts, "that the berries are poisonous and the mushrooms will transform us into monsters that the government will then hunt us down to experiment on." she sighs. "this is all i've got," she says, showing the other her pretty woven basket, laid with a checkered cloth, on top of which were a handful of leaves and flowers. she's surprised there's life at all in the cold chilean winter, but she's not surprised as how she was daydreaming in the middle of the explanation of what was okay to forage and what should be left alone. "i feel like i'm going to fail the pop quiz," she remarks. "what did you get?"

[pcrdidcs]

"it's not the saint's patience," hiyori says with a shake of her head. "it's probably the fear of confrontation . . . or disappointment . . . or maybe the people pleaser in me." maybe it's all of it, she thinks to herself, and is about to make a joke about how she doesn't really want to unpack that even in therapy, but then decides against it, seeing as how she has just met this person for the first time. she takes the medication and takes a couple; she does feel a headache coming on, and maybe a conversation with yazmin coupled with some ibuprofen will ensure that it goes away quickly. "that is very kind of you to offer, for a stranger," hiyori remarks. "if you won't tell the kids, i won't. we tell them things all the time that aren't true . . . or that we kind of don't follow . . . anyways, what matters is i'm away from them and they're away from me." she purses her lips, rocking back and forth on her feet. she doesn't really have anywhere to go and no one to be with, but it feels weird to ask to hang out with a stranger. "so . . . um. i'm hiyori. uh. are you here with anyone? because if not ( or, maybe if so ), can i kind of just tag along? if that's okay, i mean." hearing how it sounds, she immediately blurts out, "i'm not trying to be weird—swear. i could just use some company that's above 3 feet and actually washes their hands."

Doing things for herself was quickly becoming a Yaz tradition here in Valpo and taking herself to the zoo today happened to be the theme of the afternoon. As she was looking at the exhibit, she was quickly finding herself towards the children's area, to which she was painfully reminded on how she didn't seem to have a maternal bone in her body. Maybe it came with not really having a motherly figure to model herself after? That would have to be something she'd unpack later.

Nearly stumbling into Hiyori, she simply watched on and blinked while the other vented. Just after the other finished up her ramble, Yaz looked around briefly to ensure that she wasn't talking to someone else.

"...you're so much better than I." Yaz began with a soft chuckle, brushing a stray hair behind her shoulder. "Kids are absolutely not my thing. You must have the patience of a saint..." Looking into her purse, Yaz pulled out some ibuprofen, not sure how else to help...if she could.

"Do you want any of these? It's just generic off-brand Tylenol, I promise. Maybe it'll help with the wrist? But I also get that taking stuff from strangers is probably the stuff you tell these kids anyway, so..."

[pcrdidcs]

hiyori laughs in agreement. "well, now that i'm not a child anymore, i can say i'd sign that petition for the kids to do the chores. why even stop at their own chores? i'd like them to do mine, too. free up some time and space. who needs child labor laws?" she makes the joke, and then immediately notices a few concerned stares and glares sent her way, so she turns her back to them in the hopes that if she can't see them, they can't see her. "so . . . ! what brings you to the zoo and can i convince you to run away with me to the arcadium instead? i should probably finish out my volunteer time but the imaginary fatal mauling has be inspired to play hooky."

"and, i mean, the lionesses are the real badasses anyway. the male lions are useless." he feels like there's some joke in there about human men being the same way, but he's not self-deprecating enough to call it out. zaid snorts, "yeah, i don't know human anatomy either, so i guess we can just assume that's how it works. sounds right, anyway. tendons... muscles... all that stuff! i believe you." then he sighs in faux dejection, "well, that's too bad. settling for extra hand sanitizer stations seems doable enough. cleanliness is a dying art form among the youth, i fear. bring back the olden days when the children did every chore." he teases.

[pcrdidcs]

nikhil smiles when she offers her attention and a compromise. he leans forward, resting his chin in the palm of his hand as he takes her in. there's a softness about her that he wasn't expecting, not with the way she held herself, but that is what they love most about people. there are always surprises. always secret songs hidden inside everyone, even if they couldn't sing, even if they couldn't hear it themselves. "oh, my friend, if a few drinks is all you need to belch out your favorite song, i'll open a tab right now!" he says, though it's not a joke. "a karaoke go-to song . . . what a question . . . ! i've never quite thought about it . . . let's see . . . " they mull it over for a few seconds, sipping on their watered down drink, thinking back to all the karaoke times. "hmm . . . let's say r u mine, from the arctic monkeys. there's just something so fun about that song—a desperation hidden between the drums. it's fun to sing on stage, and most times, people will join in. but . . . " he drops his voice as though he's about to tell a secret. "if it's just me and the mirror, my go-to song nickelback's rockstar." he laughs softly. "your turn to confess."

There was a certain glow from the other the way he talked about music and it was clear that he had an affinity for it. Yaz always admired when people were able to speak freely about their interests - it was also something that made her smile when it came to Vanni, too.

Sighing softly, she relented kindly to his questions, giving him a chuckle. “See, the thing is…get me a few drinks and I don’t mind karaoke. Genuinely and honestly. I just hope people don’t expect me to be good. How about we do this…?” Yaz begin to propose, now firmly squared up with him to give her full attention. “I’ll tell you my karaoke go-to song if you tell me yours. Then maybe, a big maybe, I’ll give sharing my creative flair some thought.”

[pcrdidcs]

"man down?" nikhil repeats aloud, testing the way the syllables take space in his mouth, checking it against his memory. yeah, that sounds about right . . . but before he can fully confirm, there's a snowball flying right for their knee, hitting it just as fast as they realized it was coming. nikhil reacts late, jerk back even though they've already been hit. "you, sir," nikhil says, awe lacing his words, "have impeccable aim. and speed! insanity to see in 4d, truly." nikhil scoops up snow and tries to shape it into a ball, but it's lump and a little too big for his hands. "i declare this war, then," he says confidently, though he's still messing with the snow. "three hits and you're out! what say you?"

"what" leon says turning around to look behind him, almost as the same time a snowball smacks his neck. "what the fuck," he's surprised and also a little sore so he brings a hand to the back of his head to massage the skin. he laughs as the other celebrates, "i think it's man down!," the blond jokes before picking up a snowball. he tosses it up and catches it. once, twice. "i haven't had a fight since i was kid." leon throws the ball right at nikhil's knee, impacting him. "still got it."

[pcrdidcs]

"cinnamon to savory?" he feigns a gasp. "you're a mad scientist, adem!" he doesn't really know what it means though. not that he doesn't know what cinnamon is or savory means, but rafael has a difficult time imagining what those two would taste like or how they'd come out of the kitchen and onto a plate. at the very least, adem must truly have a strong stomach, one made of something harder than steel, to be able to process all those trials and errors ( rafael himself should know, considering the amount of times he's sent himself to the bathroom ). "that's pretty cool, though," rafael finally says. "it's kind of like leveling up. super saiyan training. you'll be a kakarot in the kitchen, adem!" then, rafael beams proudly and says, "that's right—ya boi's been doing crazy shit in the kitchen! . . . alright, not crazy shit. i've just been trying to bake. it's really hard, actually. i have to measure so much shit. one time, i tried just, like, fuckin' eyeballing it and shit, right? dude, that stuff tasted awful. i had to throw it away because no one would eat it and i don't think luna or seba would've liked it if i fed it to their pets . . . even though it was pretty wasteful . . . "

"what kind of goat food is... the good kind?" he asks, almost cautiously. he finds rafael's mind to be a fascinating place, he's never quite sure what sort of answer he's going to get. it's one of the things adem loves about him. he chuckles then, shrugging, "i've been cooking since i was pretty young, so it's been a lot of trial and error, honestly. lately i've been adding spices you wouldn't necessarily except to things — like a dash of cinnamon to something savory. but also, clearly, i've been trying to use more things i've never cooked with before. like these," he holds up the garlic scapes, "or recently, i cooked duck for the first time." he grins, "are you getting more into the culinary arts as of late? making anything fun?"

[pcrdidcs]

she's surprised, but they're horrified. guilt-ridden. they look down at their two traitorous hands as though they had committed a heinous crime, a disgusting murder, and honestly, with the way everything went down, he is two hops and a skip from it. "my god," he gasps. "what have i done?" he presses his hands to his face. "you have my sincerest apologies—i—i don't know what came over me. the evil adrenaline . . . the rush of alluring power . . . i must not have heard you repeatedly rejecting the premise of the game. in my excitement for war, i completely disregarded your desires. what have i become . . . ?" he looks at her sternly. "please. throw a snowball at my face. it's only fair." they turn their cheek to her.

saffron is not participating in the snowball fight. she cannot stress this enough as her silhouette zigzags across the battlefield, ducking and dodging because she was hoping that this would be a shortcut to the fireworks show that would be starting soon. she freezes when the cold, wet snowball smacks her on the back of the head, gobsmacked for a moment. "you either have horrendous aim or you were completely ignoring me when i said, repeatedly, that i'm not actually playing," she grumbles, using her gloves to sop up the droplets that were now descending the back of her neck.

[pcrdidcs]

rafael smiles, a big one that's easy and carefree now that he knows she's not here to actually make his life a living hell currently. "eh, i wasn't all that great either," he confesses. "guess we both dodged a bullet. i don't know if i'd say that i have the power to ruin your life but . . . i definitely would've ruined your year. at the very least your week." he thinks about it. "you know, that's pretty impressive, ruining someone's life. i mean, it's very powerfully chaotic evil. if it wasn't so, like, you know, generally awful, that'd be a pretty neat skill." he nods as if he understands what she's saying. he had asked her about her zodiac merely because he thought it was something he should do, but he doesn't really know what it means for yazmin to be a leo. he himself is a scorpio, and that still doesn't make any sense to him. what's a scorpion doing in the zodiac anyways? were insects still animals? weren't animals animals and insects insects? "how's that coming along," he asks, referencing her attempt to be a better person. "you didn't want to try being a better person, like, because in nyc? you wanted to move all the way down here for that?" responding to her question, rafael says, "well . . . for me, all of my family moved down here. i didn't have anywhere else to go. plus, my mom basically kicked me out and . . . well, if all of my cousins were moving down here, i might as well, too. they tell me i have massive fomo, but i just don't like it when other people laugh without me." rafael shrugs.

Yaz couldn't help but chuckle. What were the odds? This was all the proof she needed that her life was a joke. There was no way that of all the ghosts from her past, this was one of them. But -- she was thankful that it wasn't worse, by all accounts.

"Hah. Something like that." She finally gave him a small grin and a nod that indicated she wasn't exactly proud. "A serial ghosted. Serial dumper. Serial home wrecker. Be glad that you dodged this bullet with me...I would have definitely ruined your life." And then...a frown. Confronting and owning up to the person she used to be was never easy and she always awaited the judgment that would come with it.

But yet, here he was. Friendly as ever.

Clearing her throat, she gave him a small wave with her free hand. "Yazmin. Leo. Um, that's a bit of a loaded question. I'm just..." It took her a moment to get her thoughts together, before finishing her thought aloud. "...trying to be a better person than I was yesterday. You? What's got you all the way here?"

[pcrdidcs]

as javi pulls him into a one-armed hug, jostling rafael and telling him that he had let him win by not picking sonic, rafael can't help but think that this was the life. wasn't it ? he looks around their room, not as big as he's used to when he was in nyc living on his mom's black card, not as lavish, but it's filled with things he loved and people he loved, and the smell in the apartment was always a mix of incense and candles and baked goods and sebastian's expensive cologne that sometimes smelled cheap.

"hell yeah we rematch," rafael says with a grin. under his cousin's arm, he pretends to punch in his side. "cisneros coming in hot with a cross followed by a jab—pow pow blam kablam—and he finishes it with a feint and a cross and—and the crowd goes wild! wahh !!!!" at the mention of javi's stomach growling a minute ago, rafael jumps to his feet. "dude! i made something . . . you need to try it and tell me if it triggers your diarrhea response or something." rafael heads into the kitchen and pulls out the tray of salty pistachio, blueberry, and strawberry jam alfajores. some might say they're overstuffed, overcomplicated, and not at all traditional. rafael would be the first one to say you're fucking right. "take a bite, primo. and just know if you don't ask for 17 more, i'll die of embarrassment."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ javi leans back in his seat , his arms lifting over his head in a confident triumph as the victory screen plays on the tv before them . ❝ i'm telling you primo , ❞ he responds , a soft chuckle in his voice . ❝ ness is just too good ! ❞ he reenacts their battle , his arms mimicking ness's pk thunder move . his eyes meet rafa's in the midst of his primo's theatrics , the chuckle now turning into a bubble of laughter . ❝ oye , ❞ his arm now falls around his cousin's shoulders , pulling him in for a one - armed hug . ❝ you bring no shame , and of course i still love you . you just let me win by not picking sonic after all ! ❞ the corners of his lips are pulled into a wide grin as he pats rafa's shoulder in reassurance . ❝ we rematch in a bit ? let a few more rounds go ? i've been eyeing the snacks for a while now . did you hear my stomach a minute ago ? ❞

[pcrdidcs]

rafael is extremely confused by her response—no, by her entire reaction. for a second, he wonders if she's playing a mean trick back on him, if she's going to pretend to not know him while she's here, then go out and make his life a living hell in other ways . . . he's not sure how, considering his mom essentially disowned him and he's here in chile with some dust in his pockets and the unending confidence that his cousins would never kick him out at least, so it's not as if there's anything for her to key or destroy, but . . . a woman scorned, as they said. but they he really looks into her eyes, checking her expression as she analyzes him back. " . . . yeah, my last name is cisneros," he says slowly. "oh, shit, you really don't remember me." he doesn't know if he should be relieved or mad—who's he kidding? he's absolutely esctstaic. thank god she doesn't remember him, holy shit. he was feeling sensitive that day; he doesn't think he could take being screamed at again in public. "you're a serial ghoster, too?" he says, gasping. ". . . .wait, there's a word for people like us? jesus . . . " he lets that sink in for a second, but like water off a duck's back—and maybe just as dumb—rafael bounces back quickly. "well, shit, we can just start over! i'm rafael cisneros, reformed serial ghoster! nice to meet you, yazmin—uh, i mean, what's your name, astrology sign, and what are you doing here at the end of the world for?"

What may have been perceived as a petty slight, it was genuine...for the most part. Yaz hadn't really thought about Rafael much since he decided to fall off the place of the planet and when he began to apologize for god knows what, it began to click for her ... if only a little bit.

"Are you...?" She turned her head more curiously towards him, brown eyes seemingly analyzing him for another moment. "...is your last name Cisneros, or something? I think?" Her words were just as cloudy as her memory, not sure if she was mixing him up with another one of the boy toys that she had been unleashed on to do some morally grey work on her father's behalf.

As he continued to ramble, she couldn't help but chuckle. Not at him, per say ... but because she thought it was cute of him to apologize, for something she really didn't sweat over.

"If it makes you feel better, I didn't take it personally...one serial ghoster to another. How's your mom? She still run the company? I liked her a lot."

[pcrdidcs]

( open! ) starter -> @valpostart location: snowball fight plaza @ el carnaval de invierno

"oh, my god, what is that behind you!" they feign horror; they feign fear; there's a high-pitched terrified scream on the tips of their tongue—and then they throw the snowball at ( hopefully ) what is the back of the other's head. "touchdown! or, i mean, score! tag? something like that . . . bring it on, my friend !"